SCB to reduce number of branches to 400

[webfact]

SCB to reduce number of branches to 400

 

 

BANGKOK, 22nd January 2018 (NNT) - Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) will downsize its brick-and-mortar branches to 400 over the next few years, as it shifts to online banking solutions to meet customer demand. 

SCB President & CEO Arthid Nanthawithaya said that banks have been forced to change the way they service clients, amid fierce competition in the commercial banking sector and widespread technology adoption. In addition, the revenue structure of banks has drastically changed from the 30:70 ratio of fees to interest rates in the past to a new reality where banks can expect less revenue from interest rates as time goes on. 

This year, SCB aims to increase banking efficiency, high-yield lending, digital banking, data utilization, and support for small businesses. Its main sources of revenue will be corporate loans, consumer loans, and wealth management. 

Most notably, SCB plans on reducing the number of branches from 1,153 to 400 and employees from 27,000 to 15,000, in order to focus on online banking, technology adoption, and data solutions.

 

-- nnt 2018-01-22

[Jingthing]

That's a lot.

What happens when you need to go to your "home" branch when it is closed?

Will they assign a new branch to replace the original "home" branch?

[lopburi3]

Most banks seem to be phasing out the home bank requirement these days and expect that will continue.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Most banks seem to be phasing out the home bank requirement these days and expect that will continue.

I hope you're right. 

[canopy]

Hopefully they will put an end to dinging customers with ridiculous extra fees whenever doing something out of province. Then I wake up.

 

[allane]

Once, with TMB, I was assigned a new home branch, and new account number, when the branch where I had opened my account closed. I learned of the closure when I took my passbook into another branch for a transaction or update.

[shady86]

How about reducing annual fee for Atm and increasing no of atm machines.

[worgeordie]

Will it end up like the UK where they have,and still are closing

so many branches,that said there are a lot of banks here.

regards worgeordie

[Briggsy]

Wow almost two-thirds of the branches are to close. That is a significant change.

 

However I am not surprised, it is happening all over the world. Thailand is behind the curve as it is much less technologically advanced, much more of a cash economy and safeguards with the financial sector are weaker. But the trend towards online banking, cashless payments and fewer branches cannot be avoided. Expect the other banks to announce something similar. The bank bringing up the rear may be Krung Thai as it has a different business model more tied in with the public service.

 

I have always thought that having so many branches must be costing the banks here a fortune.

[phetphet]

If other Thai banks don't immediately do the same, they may find many of their customers going elsewhere.

 

 

[Dmaxdan]

Once, with TMB, I was assigned a new home branch, and new account number, when the branch where I had opened my account closed. I learned of the closure when I took my passbook into another branch for a transaction or update.

SCB did exactly the same to me a few years ago. Closed my branch, moved me to a new one with a new account number. The problem I had was that I'd just submitted my marriage extension application using the old number for this account a week earlier. So all the bank details used for immigration became obsolete during my under review period. My new branch gave me a letter for immigration to explain what they had done, because now I had a new bank book which looked like I'd only opened the account about two days earlier.

Luckily immigration excepted these additions and the extension was granted

If anyone uses a SCB account for their visa extensions then you might want to try and find out if the branch were you opened your account is one scheduled to close. At the time it caused me quite a bit of grief.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Jingthing]

As I assumed some potential headaches with this change for expats. Ugh.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[GinBoy2]

Well this is all well and good if they also change fundamentally how they process their business.

In 10 years I probably needed to actually go into a bank branch once, maybe twice, to my US bank, even with me living in Thailand, everything could be done either online or with a phone banker.

Contrast that with your Thai bank. Everything you do seems to require a copy of your passport, which you need to sign, for what reason I have never been able to fathom. Paper still rules here, so that needs to change if they really are serious about closing branches on this scale.

I 'suspect' that this will be a typical Thai initiative. Implement the top top level eye catching headline without implementing any of the fundamental changes at the ground level to ensure the top level is actually workable

Edited January 22, 2018 by GinBoy2

[KMartinHandyman]

Hopefully they will put an end to dinging customers with ridiculous extra fees whenever doing something out of province. Then I wake up.
 

They will not change that money maker is my opinion.

[dinsdale]

Just now, webfact said:

Most notably, SCB plans on reducing the number of branches from 1,153 to 400 and employees from 27,000 to 15,000, in order to focus on online banking, technology adoption, and data solutions.

What this really means is to increase profits. They're going to sack more than half of their employees. Greed. Disgraceful. Economic terms: downsizing/efficiencies.

[Moti24]

I've been with SCB for 13 years, but everything seems to be a problem for them: transferring account, issuing a new book, call centre giving conflicting advise, sometimes the log-in page times out before I've had a chance to complete it, and the list goes on.  I've just opened an account at a different bank, so the balance in my SCB account can dwindle down over the next year.

 

As far as I'm concerned, SCB can close 1,152 branches, leaving the HQ in Wireless Road to wonder where they went wrong.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Moti24

[laocowboy2]

1 hour ago, Moti24 said:

I've been with SCB for 13 years, but everything seems to be a problem for them: transferring account, issuing a new book, call centre giving conflicting advise, sometimes the log-in page times out before I've had a chance to complete it, and the list goes on.  I've just opened an account at a different bank, so the balance in my SCB account can dwindle down over the next year.

 

As far as I'm concerned, SCB can close 1,152 branches, leaving the HQ in Wireless Road to wonder where they went wrong.

HQ not on Wireless Road.

[scorecard]

 

An old friend from Australia recently mentioned that most OZ banks are doing the same, reducing physical branches, and

 

- Creating big improvements to telephone banking with every bank employee capable of fully handling all inquires / all actual transactions by phone, better use of internet capabilities (and policy that bank staff who answer the phone cannot transfer the call).

- Better / wider internet banking facilities, including easier electronic money transfer, partly aimed at totally getting rid of cheque transactions.

- Much better security arrangements.

- For physical deposits of cash, customers will be able to deposit at any deposit machine of any bank, and more such machines. 

 

Macquarie BAnk in OZ have been doing most of the above for at lwast 30 years and successfully. 

Edited January 23, 2018 by scorecard

[shady86]

Banking are waste of time in Thailand. Neighbors like Singapore and Malaysia already got rid of bank book years ago and most transactions can be done online and atm machines. I can withdraw huge amount of cash with just atm card and id card in Malaysia from counter with fingerprint verification, no signatures needed. In Thailand I need to carry passport and book bank for the same thing or waste 10 minutes at atm withdrawing max 25 or 30k per round.

[brain150]

Cashless Society here we come ....

 

Who ever thinks that this is a good thing is utterly insane !!!

[jackdd]

48 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Banking are waste of time in Thailand. Neighbors like Singapore and Malaysia already got rid of bank book years ago and most transactions can be done online and atm machines. I can withdraw huge amount of cash with just atm card and id card in Malaysia from counter with fingerprint verification, no signatures needed. In Thailand I need to carry passport and book bank for the same thing or waste 10 minutes at atm withdrawing max 25 or 30k per round.

Imho Thailand should simply introduce 10000thb notes, handling larger amounts of money is always kinda annoying. Why don't they do it? Afraid of counterfeits?

Edited January 23, 2018 by jackdd

[Briggsy]

6 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Imho Thailand should simply introduce 10000thb notes, handling larger amounts of money is always kinda annoying. Why don't they do it? Afraid of counterfeits?

There are huge downsides for having large notes. The 500 Euros are being phased out. Counterfeiting is one reason. Black economy is another. Criminal activity is another. Money laundering is another.

 

Here's some interesting reading for ya.

[shady86]

Imho Thailand should simply introduce 10000thb notes, handling larger amounts of money is always kinda annoying. Why don't they do it? Afraid of counterfeits?

Money laundering would be a big problem, same as what happened in India. Only Singapore still has SGD 1,000 note which I find it convenient to carry around. I don't mind carrying 1k baht notes but I still don't understand why the machine can only dispense 25 or 30pcs of note per round. With the value of money getting smaller, machines should be upgraded to dispense more cash at a time.

[kickstart]

These are farangs writing these posts ,if our local Thai population knew that our local SCB was to close, thay will not be happy.

I have a small holding rearing cattle ,all our buying and selling is done in cash ,we sold some cattle a few months ago 160k, all cash and it was soon a journey to our local bank to deposit that money ,the guy who brought our cattle deals only in cash ,can never see him  use  a bank transfer , do not think he would know how to ,meet a farmer friend of mine in the bank just withdrawn 80k to buy 2 dairy cows,again no cashless system here .

If our local SCB closes ,it will be a long drive to the next one ,but it will not close ,as in this area we have  3 big  factories,  all they workers  wages ,a good few thousand  of them  are paid in to SCB  and it is surprising   how many I have seen sill go in to the bank  with they passbook to withdraw they money  . 

SCB  wants to think again  about closing bank branches all banks have adverts saying use internet banking ,but how many Thai's over 40 ? can use internet banking ,or want to  /can trust , still prefer they little passbook.

They are Thailands biggest commercial bank ,I would expect  other banks to follow 

As someone said it would help if the upper limit for ATM  machines was increased

[khunPer]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

SCB plans on reducing the number of branches from 1,153 to 400

Sounds like an average of 5-6 branches in each Thai province – seem like we're having a long way to the bank in the future – sad, as there's a lot one still only can do in a home-branch; hope they'll upgrade their Internet banking, but feel sorry for Thais not used to eService...

Edited January 23, 2018 by khunPer

[jackdd]

5 hours ago, Briggsy said:

There are huge downsides for having large notes. The 500 Euros are being phased out. Counterfeiting is one reason. Black economy is another. Criminal activity is another. Money laundering is another.

 

Here's some interesting reading for ya.

Nearly everybody in Thailand is corrupt already, would they really become even more corrupt just because there are larger bank notes? And money laundering... here in Thailand are companies like Super Rich or Top Charoen which probably have the sole purpose of laundering money, but i don't think anybody cares about this.

 

5 hours ago, shady86 said:

but I still don't understand why the machine can only dispense 25 or 30pcs of note per round. With the value of money getting smaller, machines should be upgraded to dispense more cash at a time.

I think that's simply a mechanical limitation (the slot is too small) of the ATM. And the lifespan of an ATM seems to be quite long, so probably most ATMs that are in use today were build 10 or 20 years ago, when 20 or 30k was worth more than today. But maybe on the Deposit Machines it's possible to withdraw more money? At least they shouldn't have this mechanical limitation, but i never tried it.

[shady86]

These are farangs writing these posts ,if our local Thai population knew that our local SCB was to close, thay will not be happy.
I have a small holding rearing cattle ,all our buying and selling is done in cash ,we sold some cattle a few months ago 160k, all cash and it was soon a journey to our local bank to deposit that money ,the guy who brought our cattle deals only in cash ,can never see him  use  a bank transfer , do not think he would know how to ,meet a farmer friend of mine in the bank just withdrawn 80k to buy 2 dairy cows,again no cashless system here .
If our local SCB closes ,it will be a long drive to the next one ,but it will not close ,as in this area we have  3 big  factories,  all they workers  wages ,a good few thousand  of them  are paid in to SCB  and it is surprising   how many I have seen sill go in to the bank  with they passbook to withdraw they money  . 
SCB  wants to think again  about closing bank branches all banks have adverts saying use internet banking ,but how many Thai's over 40 ? can use internet banking ,or want to  /can trust , still prefer they little passbook.
They are Thailands biggest commercial bank ,I would expect  other banks to follow 
As someone said it would help if the upper limit for ATM  machines was increased

I have one friend living upcountry who actually charges people who want to bank in money to their own or someone's account. Instead of driving to nearest bank, she charged them for every transaction made.