KTB preps digital wallet for gold trade
Krungthai Bank (KTB) plans to introduce Thailand’s first endto-end gold trading platform dubbed Krungthai Gold Wallet on Oct 25.
The new digital wallet enables investors to trade gold at global market prices without any commission fee on its mobile app Pao Tang.
This application, developed by Infinitas by KTB, is an open platform for all, even people who are not KTB customers.
Rawin Boonyanusasna, senior executive vice-president and head of global markets group at KTB, said Krungthai Gold Wallet is set to “disrupt traditional gold investment in Thailand”.
He said the bank offers a broader range of assets to meet investor demand, in line with online investment trends.
“Minimum investment is only 0.1 ounce or approximately 6,000 baht [referencing the exchange rate and gold price as of Oct 7]. Trading is available Monday through Friday [excluding public holidays] between 7am and 2am, so investors can trade during the open hours of foreign markets and won’t miss a chance arising from changes in global gold prices,” said Mr Rawin.
“The price used in trading is referenced against global market prices in US dollars to reduce the risk of currency fluctuation.”
He said when investors purchase gold with 99.99% purity on the platform, it is automatically added to MTS Gold’s wallet and they receive the money in their accounts in real time.
This investment style avoids the burden of keeping physical gold bars safe.
KTB also offers Thailand’s first fully electronic foreign currency deposit (FCD) account.
The inaugural gold trading service through Krungthai Gold Wallet is in collaboration with MTS Gold Mae Thongsuk, a major Thai gold trader, starting on Oct 25.
Nattapong Hirunyasiri, chief executive of MTS Gold Group, said gold has been a popular investment alternative for years in Thailand and other countries.
He believes connecting MTS Gold Mae Thongsuk to the Pao Tang app will advance Thailand’s gold industry as it diversifies trading channels.
Alisara Mahasantana, assistant governor for financial market operations at the Bank of Thailand, said the central bank is developing a new forex ecosystem to enable Thais to invest in foreign assets easily.
She said the central bank relaxed regulations to allow domestic trading of foreign assets and gold in US dollars, as well as allowing Thais to open FCD accounts, buy and sell foreign currencies, and freely transfer foreign currencies between FCD accounts.
The launch of Krungthai Gold Wallet aims to make the online investment service end-to-end and facilitate investment in foreign assets as well as the management of foreign currency funds, said Mr Rawin.