Minors’ digital money transfers capped to fight fraud

Bank of Thailand notes troubling 70% surge in ‘mule accounts’ linked to children PUBLISHED : 31 Jul 2026 at 20:21 Officials display passbooks for mule accounts seized from online scam gangs during a media briefing at Muang Thong Thani on Dec 23, 2021. (Bangkok Post file photo) The Bank of Thailand is introducing daily limits on digital money transfers by young account holders after finding a sharp rise in the use of minors’ bank and e-money accounts as “mule accounts” by fraudsters.Intelligence gathered in concert with law enforcement agencies showed that criminal networks were increasingly exploiting deposit and e-money accounts held by young people to facilitate financial crimes, according to Chayawadee Chai-anant, assistant governor for corporate relations at the central bank. She said many young people had become involved unintentionally by opening accounts or allowing others to use them. Such actions constitute a criminal offence under the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes. In response, the central bank has worked with the Thai Bankers’ Association and e-money service providers to introduce standardised daily transfer and payment limits based on customer profiling, aiming to reflect typical usage patterns while reducing the risk of youth accounts being misused. The new standard daily limits are: Children aged 10-12: transfers or payments from e-money accounts limited to 3,000 baht per day Youth aged 12-15: bank deposit accounts using digital channels limited to 5,000 baht per day Youth aged 15-18: bank deposit accounts using digital channels limited to 10,000 baht per day. To minimise disruption for legitimate users, commercial banks and e-money operators must notify customers before adjusting the limits. As well, they must provide convenient channels, including mobile applications, call centres and branches, for customers seeking higher limits. Banks are required to adopt the new limits by September, while e-money providers have until October, said Ms Chayawadee. The central bank hopes the strengthened measures will help prevent children and teenagers from falling victim to scams or being persuaded to provide accounts for use by criminals. It is also urging parents to educate their children that opening an account for another person or allowing someone else to use their account is illegal. Ms Chayawadee said the central bank would continue monitoring developments and adapting its measures as criminal groups change their tactics. According to BoT data, the number of youth-owned deposit and e-money accounts linked to criminal activity rose from 3,371 in January 2025 to 5,741 accounts in March this year, an increase of 70.3%. The accounts were connected to cases involving total losses of 185 million baht.