Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is focusing on providing an e-marketplace platform for the business-to-consumer (B2C) segment in a fresh effort to retain its market share in payment service amid intensified competition from tech and platform giants.
The entertainment sector is the bank's target for its e-marketplace platform through a partnership model, said Thana Thienachariya, senior executive vice-president and chief marketing officer.
SCB, the country's second-largest lender by assets, plans to gradually develop its e-marketplace as competition heats up from global giants.
Several e-commerce platforms have failed to bring in a profit, so the bank is looking for the right method for providing the service.
"Digital products and services will be our key items on the platform to keep pace with consumers. Movies, concert tickets and gift vouchers are examples of the products that will be available on our e-marketplace platform. We have no plans to offer physical products because they need space for inventory, leading to higher risks," said Mr Thana.
Upgrading to a more advanced platform, the bank may need partners who have expertise in the field, he said.
SCB is also looking to team up with producers and service providers to employ the bank's platform. The strategy would facilitate growth of the bank's customer and data bases, key areas of e-marketplace platform adoption, said Mr Thana.
The bank, in collaboration with SF Corporation, sells movie tickets on its e-marketplace platform, a feature of the SCB Easy mobile app. SCB spent 20 million baht developing and attracting users to the platform.
There are 6 million SCB Easy users, a number which the bank looks to increase to 10 million by year-end.
The mobile app generated 2 million financial transactions per day as of January, doubling from the end of Aug 2017. SCB has attracted 300,000 new users per month, of which 100,000-150,000 are new clients.
SCB shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 148 baht, down 1 baht, in trade worth 713 million baht.
