The Bank of Thailand has joined forces with the Thai Bankers' Association and e-money service providers to announce caps on daily digital transfer and payment limits for customers aged 10 to 18 years old across the country, after finding that criminal networks have significantly and increasingly shifted their focus to luring young people into opening mule accounts. Authorities confirm that data clearly shows more than 97% of youth accounts will be unaffected, while those with a genuine need for higher limits will be able to apply for an increase. Commercial banks must complete the implementation by September 2026, while e-money service providers have until October 2026.
On 31 July, the Bank of Thailand, or BOT, published information via its official Facebook fan page, flagging a concerning trend: criminal groups are increasingly changing tactics by deceiving young people into opening bank accounts or consenting to lend their personal accounts to be used as "mule accounts" in financial crimes.
Profiling real behaviour before setting age-based caps
The BOT stated that this escalation of measures resulted from collaboration with the Thai Bankers' Association and e-money business operators to set daily transfer and payment limits for youth accounts according to age group, based on an analysis of the actual usage behaviour of customers in this group — known as Customer Profiling — so that the limits correspond to real spending patterns rather than being a blanket cap that could unnecessarily affect law-abiding users.
The figure the BOT confirmed is that more than 97% of all youth accounts will not be affected by this limit adjustment, reflecting that the measure has been designed to target specifically the at-risk group displaying abnormal behaviour, rather than being a broad, indiscriminate form of control.
Ms Chayawadee Chai-Anant, Assistant Governor for Corporate Relations and spokesperson of the Bank of Thailand, disclosed that, through monitoring data jointly with law enforcement agencies, it has been found that criminals are noticeably using deposit accounts and electronic money accounts belonging to young people as mule accounts with increasing frequency. As a result, a number of children and young people have unknowingly become implicated in financial crime cases through opening accounts or consenting to allow others to use their accounts — all of which constitutes an actual criminal offence carrying real criminal penalties, not a trivial matter to be overlooked.
Limits split into three age brackets, with low-risk transactions exempt
To break this criminal cycle, the BOT, together with the Thai Bankers' Association and e-money business operators, has established standard digital transfer and payment limits for youth customers, divided by age group as follows:
1. The 10–12 age group using e-money accounts will be permitted to transfer or make payments of no more than 3,000 baht per day. 2. The 12–15 age group using bank deposit accounts via digital channels will be permitted to carry out transactions of no more than 5,000 baht per day. 3. The 15–18 age group using bank deposit accounts via digital channels likewise will have a ceiling of no more than 10,000 baht per day.
These limits do not cover transactions considered to be low-risk, such as transferring money to one's own account within the same application, which leaves an opening so that young people's normal everyday usage is not affected more than necessary.
Option to request higher limit opened to protect legitimate users
The BOT emphasised that, so as not to impact legitimate users who genuinely need to transact above the prescribed ceiling, commercial banks and e-money service providers must notify customers in advance before adjusting limits each time, and must prepare channels through which customers with a genuine need can apply to have their limit raised — whether through mobile banking, a call centre, or a bank branch directly.
Regarding the implementation timeline, commercial banks will progressively adjust limits and complete the process by September 2026, while e-money business operators will complete their implementation by October 2026 — a relatively tight timeframe that reflects the urgency the BOT attaches to this issue.
Parents are the first line of defence; BOT to monitor continuously
Ms Chayawadee stressed that the primary goal of this measure is to reduce the chances of young people falling victim to mule account networks, and called on parents to seriously build awareness among their children about financial threats — emphasising clearly that account details must not be disclosed, and that allowing others to borrow or use one's account is absolutely prohibited, because beyond the risk of being used as a tool by criminals, it may also constitute a criminal offence as a co-perpetrator.
In terms of impact analysis, the BOT stated that, based on processing of transaction databases, these new limits cover the actual payment behaviour of the majority of children and young people, with more than 97% of legitimate users experiencing no impact whatsoever. At the same time, commercial banks and e-money service providers have prepared flexible mechanisms to accommodate cases where users have a genuine need to transact above the prescribed ceiling — such as educational expenses or essential family obligations — by being able to apply for a limit increase through mobile banking, a customer service centre (call centre), or a branch of the financial institution.
Regarding the operational timeline, financial institutions and service providers must notify customers of the details in advance before the limit reductions begin, with commercial banks progressively adjusting their systems to completion by September 2026, while e-money business operators will complete all system adjustments by October 2026.
The BOT spokesperson reiterated that luring young people into opening mule accounts is not merely a financial threat but a social threat that the family institution must collectively guard against. Parents must therefore urgently build a close understanding among their children, making them aware of the risks and legal implications — emphasising that disclosing personal information, lending one's account to others, or opening an account for another person to use constitutes conduct that falls under joint commission of a criminal offence and is subject to legal punishment without exception.
The BOT confirmed that it will continue to closely monitor the money-movement behaviour of criminal groups and stands ready to escalate or adjust its regulatory measures in a timely manner in response to the ever-evolving tactics of financial criminals, in order to build a digital financial ecosystem that is safe and sustainably protective of the nation's youth.
