Technologies under reviewed include biometrics for electronic know-your-customers, machine learning for alternative credit scoring models, and blockchain applications for cross-border payments, supply chain financing, and document authentication. Another way in which productivity is being enhanced is through improving regional financial connectivity. Recent efforts by banks in the region to partner and adopt the Thai QR code standard and blockchain applications for cross-border payments are examples of how financial innovations can help improve regional financial connectivity and facilitate smoother cross-border financial services. Let me now turn to building immunity, which is a significant imperative for the future VUCA world. With the vast amount of data and modern analytical tools available, resilience can be significantly improved. For example, banks can use transactional data to better forecast customers’ credit demand and credit risks. Regulatory agencies can analyze financial connectedness through network analysis to detect risk events and safeguard financial stability. The Bank of Thailand has employed a number of big data analytics to detect early signals of imbalances in the economy and respond pre-emptively should risks arise. Additionally, in this increasingly digital environment, cyber resilience and cyber security must be a top priority and all of us must be prepared to prevent and respond effectively to cyber threats. Adoption of modern technologies like biometrics and blockchains can help safeguard financial information and reduce the number and magnitude of fraudulent activities.

In our part, last year the Bank of Thailand in collaboration with 15 Thai banks and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency, set up the Thailand Banking Sector Computer Emergency Response Team (TB-CERT) as a platform for banks and regulators to share information on cyber incidents and build standards and capacity for IT-personnel to handle new threats. Furthermore, to ensure that our legal framework fits with the current digital environment and can keep up with new innovations, the Bank of Thailand had proposed the New Payment Systems Act, which became effective in April of 2018. The Act unifies previously fragmented payment laws and regulations and empowers the Bank of Thailand to oversee development of the Thai payment systems and regulate new payment innovations and players. Moreover, our supervisory guidelines on management of information technology risks have also 4/6  been updated to ensure that banks have appropriate governance structure in place and can swiftly respond in the event of cyber attacks. These developments will contribute to safer environment for both service providers and customers. On inclusivity, despite high level of financial access in Thailand relative to other emerging countries, financial inclusion remains one of our top priorities. Various measures to promote financial inclusion have been implemented and many more are in the pipeline. The Bank of Thailand and the Thai Bankers’ Association will soon launch the Basic Banking Account scheme to improve financial access for vulnerable groups, especially those in the lower-income brackets.