Jay Mart Plc (JMart) subsidiaries have joined forces with Humanica to launch loans on the digital platform for employees of clients of the country's top HR solutions provider.
Temjai Pay will offer loans to employees of companies for which Humanica provides payroll and human resources services, while J Fintech Co, a subsidiary of SET-listed JMart, will act as a lender.
Humanica is approaching 400-500 firms with total headcount of 200,000 to use the online lending platform, which enables staff to apply for loans via smartphone and have the loan payments deducted from salary.
Kitipat Chollavuth, chief executive of J Fintech, said the loan product will be available from June and will charge a competitive interest rate not exceeding 15%.
Money will be transferred to the borrower's PromptPay account shortly after loan approval, or the next day if transferred to a bank account.
"The credit limit is based on the borrower's working days," Mr Kitipat said.
Soontorn Dentham, chief executive of Humanica, said the lending product will be running at full steam by the fourth quarter at the earliest.
"Non-performing loans are expected to be very low, not exceeding 1%, because repayment is automatically deducted from salary," Mr Soonthorn said.
He said credit information based on HR data is trustworthy and demand is high for this type of loan.
Loan growth, however, will depend on the percentage of loans that turn sour.
Thanawat Lertwattanarak, chief executive of J Ventures, said the borrowers are subject to two expenses: transaction fees and interest.
J Ventures, the owner of the digital lending platform and another subsidiary of JMart, said it plans to launch the J Loan product for those who don't qualify for commercial bank loans.
The product is an aspect of digital lending and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending for which J Ventures is seeking a licence from authorities, Mr Thanawat said, adding that the company aims to be the first to win a P2P licence in Thailand.
