Krungsri Consumer chairman Thakorn Piyapan is concerned that the country's largest credit card and personal loan lender by number of accounts is not adapting fast enough on digital platforms to capture first-mover advantages amid heightening competition.
The current infrastructure is not intelligent enough to let Krungsri Consumer be an agile organisation, Mr Thakorn said in an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post.
"Although we adjust very rapidly, I think the speed is still not fast enough for what will happen in the next 1-2 years," he said. "We ran very quickly over the past two years, but we are starting to slow. We're worried about adapting to competition.
"We've adjusted our organisation to a certain level, and the rest depends on technology adoption. Any company that can be the first to reach and serve customers will be a winner. Speed will be the new focus, as we forecast this is what customers want in the future. We must be the first to offer them customised products, not just keep pace with their needs. This is why I am concerned we are not moving fast enough."
To reach a speed that enables the company to analyse future demand of customers, Krungsri Consumer is betting on technology and customer data.
Organisations that have large customer databases and are creative in using such information while collaborating with business partners to offer a full range of products and services will be winners, Mr Thakorn said.
"The speed of change is on a different scale than in the past 5-10 years," he said. "Whoever can access customers at the fastest pace and understand them the most will win."
Krungsri Consumer now has 5.8 million customers with 8.6 million accounts. Of total clients, 2.5 million are personal loan borrowers and the rest are credit card holders.
Mr Thakorn said Krungsri Consumer has the lowest non-performing loans (NPLs) in the industry, with 1.1% of loans outstanding for credit card business and 2.8-2.9% for personal loans.
He previously said that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) could help the company improve debt collection and reduce default risks. Krungsri Consumer has adopted AI for its four main business areas: call centres, credit underwriting, telemarketing and debt collection.
The company expects 850,000 new personal loan and credit card accounts this year, outpacing its target of 750,000 after the lower-than-expected impact from the Bank of Thailand's stringent measures on unsecured loans.
The company's business alliances, including with HomePro, Central Department Store and Robinson Department Store, have expanded into provincial areas, helping Krungsri Consumer tap new customers and weather the impact of the central bank's tightened rules.
According to the central bank's regulations, effective from September last year, those who earn less than 30,000 baht a month are granted no more than 1.5 times monthly income per creditor for personal loans, and those earning at least 30,000 baht will be entitled to a maximum five times per creditor.
Those earning below 30,000 baht a month are limited to three personal loan creditors, while there is no restriction in terms of the number of creditors for those earning 30,000 baht and up. In an emergency, borrowers can ask creditors for additional credit at a maximum of five times monthly income.
For credit cards, the credit lines of new cardholders are capped at 1.5 times monthly income per card for those earning from 15,000 to less than 30,000 baht a month; at three times for those earning from 30,000 to less than 50,000; and at five times for those earning 50,000 baht or more.
Mr Thakorn said the company's credit card spending this year is expected to reach 320 billion baht, surpassing the target of 300 billion.
Krungsri Consumer aims for 12% growth in credit card spending and a 9% rise in personal loan amount next year, he said.
Some 60-70% of the company's personal loan customers are those earning up to 30,000 baht a month.
Mr Thakorn, who is also head of digital banking and innovation at Bank of Ayudhya, expects the bank to roll out its online savings account opening service in November and digital lending early next year.
The bank's electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) service is being tested in the central bank's regulatory sandbox.
The e-KYC digital ID bill, which recently won cabinet approval, is a crucial means to pave the way for banks to offer account opening and lending over digital channels.
