Applying for a License to Operate as a Foreign Currency Broker

 The Policy and Foreign Exchange Regulation Department of the Bank of Thailand has established the following criteria, procedures, and conditions for consideration:

• To operate as a foreign currency broker, the applicant must possess at least one of the following qualifications as determined by the regulator:
  
  • Be a legal entity registered in Thailand with the qualifications of having registered capital and paid-up capital of no less than 5 million baht. The entity should be financially stable. The shareholders should be individuals of Thai nationality or legal entities registered in Thailand, owning more than half of the total paid-up capital. More than half of the directors in case of a limited company or public company, or more than half of the managing partners in case of a partnership, must be persons of Thai nationality. Directors who have the authority to bind the company in case of a limited company or public company, or managing partners in case of a partnership, must have suitable knowledge and experience, and must not have had their licenses for foreign exchange related businesses revoked before.
  • Be a legal entity established under foreign laws with the qualifications of having experience in operating a foreign currency broker business that provides electronic transaction matching services for buying, selling or exchanging foreign currencies among customers in countries other than Thailand and is under the supervision of the authorities or agencies that supervise such businesses in those countries for a continuous period of no less than 3 years up to the date of the application for a business license. The person responsible for operations in Thailand must have suitable knowledge and experience, and must not have had their licenses for foreign exchange related businesses revoked before.
• A foreign currency broker can operate the business in the following ways:
  
  • Foreign currency brokers that are legal entities registered in Thailand can provide two types of services: provide transaction matching services for buying, selling or exchanging foreign currencies among customers through the officials of the foreign currency brokers, and provide transaction matching services for buying, selling or exchanging foreign currencies among customers via electronic systems.
  • Foreign currency brokers that are legal entities established under foreign laws can only provide transaction matching services for buying, selling or exchanging foreign currencies among customers via electronic systems.
• Foreign currency brokers must have an appropriate, reliable system in place for providing services to clients. This system should be able to support continuous business operations and have efficient internal control procedures and risk management for conducting business.
• Foreign currency brokers are prohibited from establishing or permitting any person with any of the following characteristics to serve as controlling directors, managing directors, partners, managers, or anyone with management authority: a person who is a legal entity registered in Thailand, or a person who is responsible for operations in Thailand for a foreign exchange broker who is a legal entity established under foreign law, such as a person who has been adjudicated bankrupt or insolvent, has been sentenced to imprisonment for a violation of currency exchange laws, has been judged or ordered by the court to surrender assets to the state, or has been finally convicted of money laundering offenses under anti-money laundering laws.
• Reasons for denial, revocation, or non-renewal of a license: The officer may suggest to the Minister of Finance for consideration, in the event of non-compliance or violation of laws concerning currency exchange control or rules, regulations, orders, and announcements issued in accordance with that law, conduct that poses a threat to the currency exchange system, conduct that poses a threat to the public economically, being a person who has been ordered by the court to be put under receivership or being bankrupt or insolvent, having no transactions as permitted by the license for a continuous period of 2 years, or any other reason that the officer deems appropriate.
• In the case where an officer wishes to inspect the business premises as per the license application, the officer and the applicant must agree to the inspection of the business premises as applied for, and once the officer notifies the applicant via electronic mail or fax, the applicant must be ready to allow the officer to perform the inspection.
• All applications and related documents must be signed by an authorized signatory and bear a seal (if any). If they are in a language other than Thai, they must be accompanied by a Thai translation.
• Applications can be submitted personally or by post.
• If the officials later find that the information and supporting documents are incorrect or inconsistent, the applicant may be asked to provide additional clarifications about the facts.
• Once the officials have contacted the applicant by post, electronic mail, or fax as specified in the application, it shall be deemed that the applicant has fully received all the messages sent through these channels instantly.
• The process according to the public manual will commence once the officials have checked and found the application and documents to be complete and accurate as per the instructions in the manual.
• The Minister of Finance and the Bank of Thailand will complete their consideration within 60 working days from the date the Bank of Thailand receives the correctly completed application and supporting documents.
• The Bank of Thailand will notify the applicant of the results within 7 days from the date of completion of the consideration.
   

Data updated on June 29, 2023

Source: Bank of Thailand

Tel. 1213