After five years of operation, Line BK, a pioneering digital banking platform in Thailand, continues to post solid business momentum and remains confident in its competitiveness as virtual banks prepare their functions.
Rapid expansion
Line BK is a social banking platform collaboration between Kasikornbank (KBank) and Line Corporation, launched in October 2020 with an initial focus on digital lending under a personal loan licence.
Despite launching during the pandemic, when Thailand’s GDP contracted by 6.1%, Line BK achieved 1 million users just two months after its debut.
The company serves a broad customer base, including salaried employees, freelancers, and underbanked or underserved segments who often lack formal financial statements.
“Even during the pandemic, we continued to grow our business cautiously,” said Tana Pothikamjorn, chief executive at Kasikorn Line, which operates Line BK.
By October 2021, Line BK celebrated its first anniversary with 3.4 million users. Innovative financial products and strategic partnerships have played a crucial role in fuelling Line BK’s business growth.
During its third and fourth years of operation, in 2023 and 2024, the company expanded its user base to 6 million and 7 million, respectively.
However, this growth came amid Thailand’s economic slowdown and rising household debt, posing challenges to business operations.
“Many customers had to leave our platform due to weakened debt repayment capacity,” said Mr Tana.
“We also saw a significant increase in non-performing loans [NPLs], which required more time and effort to manage.”
Keys to success
In October 2025, as Line BK marks its fifth anniversary, the platform has grown its user base to 8 million despite ongoing economic headwinds.
The majority of users are Millennials (aged 29-44), accounting for 66% of total users, followed by Gen Z (aged 13-28) at 20%, Gen X (aged 45-60) 12%, and Baby Boomers (over 60) 2%.
For its digital loan services, he said Line BK serves 855,000 borrowers with an average monthly income of between 15,000 and 30,000 baht.
The average credit line per borrower is 43,000 baht, and this segment’s risk profile is typically higher than that of traditional bank customers, said Mr Tana.
As of the first half of 2025, Line BK’s total loans outstanding tallied 24.4 billion baht, up from 17.6 billion at the end of 2024.
The company aims to expand its loan portfolio to 30 billion baht by the end of this year while keeping NPLs below 3%, despite the sluggish economy and high household debt.
“On average, we receive around 10,000 loan applications a day, reflecting strong demand amid the economic slowdown,” he said.
“We only approve about 1,000 applications or 10% daily, in line with our small scale of operations and focus on maintaining asset quality.”
Although the company has continued to expand its business and manage bad debt effectively, Mr Tana said Line BK recognises the need to strengthen its capabilities and operations in all areas — particularly in risk management, including debt collection and NPL control — to ensure long-term business sustainability.
He said the company is planning to introduce new innovative features to enhance user convenience in 2026.
The platform offers a range of financial products and services, including loans, debit cards, insurance, payments and fund transfers. Line BK also integrates with Line and KBank, delivering a more seamless and connected financial experience to users.
Ready to face new rivals
Mr Tana said Line BK has operated as a virtual bank for five years, gaining valuable experience through both favourable and challenging periods, particularly in terms of NPL management.
The company’s operations have stabilised and are expected to continue growing next year, he said.
With support from KBank, Line BK is not required to acquire deposits in the same way as the first batch of virtual banks. As a result, the company holds a competitive advantage because the cost of deposit acquisition is relatively high.
With registered capital of 10 billion baht, Line BK is well-positioned to sustain its business operations over several years, said Mr Tana.
“We are confident in our capabilities and competitiveness when new virtual banks start operations next year, even amid intensifying competition and a weaker economy,” he said.
On June 19, the Bank of Thailand announced the three successful applicants for the country’s first batch of virtual banks.
The winners are required to commence business operations within one year from the date of the Finance Ministry’s approval, which was June 19. Each licence requires initial registered capital of 5 billion baht.
The winners are: ACM Holding Co (TrueMoney), backed by the Charoen Pokphand Group; Krungthai Bank, collaborating with Advanced Info Service Plc and PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc; and the SCB X consortium, comprising SCB X (the holding company of Siam Commercial Bank), KakaoBank (South Korea’s largest digital bank), and WeBank (a global digital bank known for its advanced technology).