The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is planning a significant tightening of reporting requirements for gold trading and foreign exchange activities to monitor cross-border transactions better.
According to BoT Governor Vitai Ratanakorn, regulators are updating reporting requirements to gather more detailed information from gold dealers, trading platforms, exchange shops and other non-bank operators. These new regulations follow months of volatile currency movements and the baht reaching a four-year high in September.
Gold transactions settled in baht often require shops to hedge in overseas markets and conduct foreign-exchange trades, which can contribute to short-term volatility. Currently, the central bank only monitors trades routed through domestic banks. Transactions conducted directly with offshore markets, affiliates, or via cryptocurrencies are outside its oversight.
“If exporters send gold to Cambodia and settle in cryptocurrencies – which I believe is true – we won’t see anything at all,” Vitai said. “So we need to move closer and see what we can do.”
Under the new approach, the BoT will require banks to report unusual or rapid fund movements directly to the central bank, separate from existing Anti-Money Laundering Office obligations. This shift aims to close long-standing gaps that have allowed many high-risk or irregular transactions to go unnoticed by the regulator.
Oversight will also extend to more than 2,000 exchange shops, money-transfer operators and e-wallet providers, where monitoring has historically been weaker. Stricter know-your-customer (KYC) rules will apply to remote account openings, with low transaction limits until in-person verification is completed.
The central bank states that these measures reflect a more proactive supervisory framework aimed at curbing grey-market capital flows and enhancing financial stability. Officials are also collaborating with the Finance Ministry to update regulations governing the gold sector, which currently lacks direct regulatory oversight despite large volumes shifting from physical shops to online baht-denominated trading apps.
These reforms will be phased in over the coming months.
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