Insurers are among the group of financial sector firms which will need to comply with the Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) open data project which aims to enable customers to securely send information via digital channels.
The BoT launched the ‘Your Data’ project last week and the initiative is a collaboration between the BoT, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), and other agencies.
In a report released in 2023 the BoT said that open data was part of a three pronged strategy to improve the Kingdom’s digital economy, alongside open infrastructure and open competition.
“The [open data] policy aims to build a mechanism that facilitates consumers to exercise their rights to conveniently and securely transfer their data stored at a service provider to another so that consumers can apply for and receive better services from any provider,” the BoT said in its report.
The resulting Your Data project aims to improve access to personalised financial services, especially credit and financial planning for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to Fintech News Singapore during the launch, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Financia Minister, Pichai Chunhavajira, said that open data was an important aspect of improving financial services in the country, particularly closing access gaps for SMEs.
The open data initiative will issue regulations for data transmission in 2025 with the full project due to go live in 2026.
In a speech at the event which launched the open data project Chunhavajira said that better use of data would enable more Thais to access financial services at costs that accurately reflect real risks.
“The Your Data initiative will lead to the advancement of the Thai economy towards a digital economy and increase the efficiency of various activities,” he said.
