THB600B USDT Flow Puts Thailand PSP Controls in Focus

Thailand is bringing payment providers into a wider crackdown on illicit financial flows. Merchant screening, payment acceptance and e-money accounts are all covered, while online gambling has been added to the information shared with financial firms.

The Bank of Thailand launched the framework on September 10 with 11 financial-sector organizations. For PSPs, the focus starts with the business taking the payment.

Checks Reach Merchants Behind Aggregators

BOT’s commitments for payment providers call for stronger Know Your Merchant checks before and after onboarding. The scope includes Master Merchants such as payment facilitators and aggregators, but also their Sub-Merchants. Providers are expected to monitor merchant activity and cut off payment acceptance or digital fund-receiving services where illegal activity is identified.

That is relevant to betting businesses that receive money through an intermediary rather than holding a direct acquiring relationship. A separate Merchant Fraud Management notification is still being prepared by BOT.

Police Add Gambling Patterns to the Data

Online gambling appears directly in the BOT implementation plan. The Royal Thai Police will provide account information and online-gambling typologies to the central bank and financial institutions. High-risk transaction data can also be passed to Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office.

Banks may see the account or transfer. Payment providers have another view: the merchant that generated the transaction and, in some cases, the sub-merchant behind it.

USDT Converts at Up to THB100B a Month

The other part of the push concerns where money goes after entering the financial system. BOT Governor Vitai Ratanakorn put overseas USDT converted into Thai baht at around THB500-600 billion per six months, according to Nation Thailand.

Divided across six months, that is roughly THB83-100 billion a month, by 15M’s calculation.

Vitai gave two other before-and-after figures:

monthly cash withdrawals fell from about THB100 billion to THB40 billion – a 60% drop;
suspicious gold activity moved from around THB20 billion to THB3 billion – 85% lower.

Both percentages are 15M calculations.

BOT has not attributed the THB500-600 billion USDT total to gambling. The figure covers overseas USDT converted into baht and is being examined as part of a broader money-laundering risk.

Next Rules Will Target Merchant Fraud

Thailand is also tightening checks further along the money trail. BOT measures cover large cash transactions from THB5 million and controls around cash-settled gold trades above THB10 million.

A proposed 0.01% tax on gold transactions is also being discussed as a way to create a record of buyer, seller and transaction value. The proposal has not yet become a final rule.

For gambling operators using Thai payment channels, the immediate change is earlier in the chain: merchant access itself can now become the point of intervention. The next document to watch is BOT’s Merchant Fraud Management notification. It should provide the clearest indication of what the new framework will require from PSPs in day-to-day merchant screening.