Banks in Thailand have been instructed to impose a daily cap of THB50,000 (approximately $1,537) on many online money transfers in a bid to curb financial scams, particularly those targeting vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, according to AP.

The Bank of Thailand announced the new rule on August 19 as part of wider efforts to combat the multi-billion-dollar scam industry that has spread rapidly across Southeast Asia. Regulators worldwide are increasingly pressing banks to take a more active role in safeguarding customers’ assets from criminal networks.

Daranee Saeju, Assistant Governor for Payment Systems Policy and Financial Consumer Protection, explained that the restriction is designed to prevent fraudsters from moving large sums quickly and to enable authorities to freeze suspicious funds more effectively. This, she said, would improve the chances of victims recovering at least part of their losses.

The limits will apply across three tiers of transfers: below THB50,000 , under THB200,000 ($6,147), and above that amount, depending on each customer’s risk profile and the outcome of know-your-customer (KYC) checks conducted by banks. Customers with established track records of responsible transactions will be allowed to maintain higher transfer thresholds.

The regulation will take effect for new mobile and internet banking clients by the end of this month and will extend to existing customers by year’s end.

Thailand currently has around 12mn mobile banking users. Previous rules limited mobile transfers to THB50,000 baht per transaction, with biometric verification required, and a total of THB200,000 per day.

The scale of financial fraud remains severe. In June alone, 24,500 scam-related transfer cases were reported, causing combined losses of THB2.8bn ($86.1mn) — averaging THB114,000 ($3,504) per case. The largest single fraudulent transfer recorded was THB4.9mn ($150,591). Reports indicated that scammers could siphon off half of the stolen money within just three minutes, while victims often took nearly a full day to notify authorities.

During the first half of 2025, more than 78,000 minors under 15 were linked to scam-related cases, while those aged over 65 accounted for over 416,000 incidents.