Bangkok Bank, led by Director and Executive Vice President Dr. Thaweelap Rittapirom, Senior Executive Vice President Siridej Aungudomsin, and Executive Vice President Pochanee Kongkalai, welcomed Bank of Thailand governor Dr. Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput, President of Money Expo Santi Viriyarangsarit, and Chairman of the event Pakanee Viriyarangsarit during the opening ceremony of Money Expo 2020 to visit the Bank's booth. The Bank divided its booth into three zones: Smart Lifestyle, Financial Freedom and Investment Plan to support customers’ financial needs in the New Normal era, while reaffirming its motto “puan koo kit” by providing assistance measures to help customers get through the COVID-19 crisis. The 20th Money Expo was held from October 22-25, 2020 at Challenger Hall 1-2, IMPACT Muang Thong Thani.
Director and Executive Vice President Dr. Thaweelap Rittapirom said that the Bank participated in Money Expo 2020 under the concept of “Bangkok Bank Wealth Journey”. During the event, the Bank offered a wide range of financial products and services covering savings, investment and loans to meet consumer needs in the New Normal era, as well as digital financial experiences to serve customers anytime, anywhere in line with current consumer behavior, while enabling them to directly access supportive measures to combat COVID-19 from the Bank’s financial experts and business partners.
This year the Bangkok Bank booth comprising an area of 1,000 square meters was divided into three zones providing financial products and services according to participant interest, promoting a cashless experience to help consumers manage their finances more conveniently and quickly. The three zones were:
- Smart Lifestyle connects consumer lifestyles in the New Normal era with various digital services from the Bank such as Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking on a new system with a more user-friendly experience for a variety of transactions, BeMerchant NextGen which allows merchants to accept payments easily and conveniently, responding to the needs of customers who choose to pay via digital channels, Specialty Coffee Shop which offers special priced coffee when making contactless payments, e-Stamp Collection activities to receive special gifts, and Enjoy Your Journey with our Privileges which offers special privileges for traveling in Thailand with products and services from Bangkok Bank.
- Financial Freedom brings together a wide range of loan and saving products and services. The services include SME Loans providing expert advice to businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, Bualuang Loans with special interest rates, BIZ iBanking to support the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, Properties for Sales, Deposits / Credit Cards, as well as all types of Be1st Smart Cards for safe cashless spending with great value and privileges for new cardholders and the opportunity to make merit as a “giver” under co-branded credit and debit cards jointly offered by Bangkok Bank and the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital.
- Investment Plan offers financial and investment plans to build wealth and financial stability from Bangkok Bank and leading partners including brokerage account opening services from Bualuang Securities, mutual funds from Bualuang Asset Management and Bangkok Capital Asset Management for long term investment with tax benefits, bancassurance from AIA and Bangkok Life Assurance, non-life insurance from Bangkok Insurance, and B-Advice from the Bank for those who want to begin their journey to creating wealth, success and long-term stability.
As a leader in digital payment solutions, the bank organized promotional activities to offer customers top-notch digital experiences such as Special Rewards when applying for the Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking service at the event or receiving a Tote Bag Limited Edition worth 195 baht when applying for BeMerchant NextGen. Customers also got access to e-Stamp collection via QR Code when registering to join Money Expo 2020 or when applying for products and services during the event. They could redeem a drink at a special price via Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking when collecting one e-Stamp or receive additional gifts when collecting three e-Stamps.
Dr. Thaweelap added that in order to ensure the safety of participants during the COVID-19 situation, the Bank had put in place preventive measures by strictly following the rules of the Centre for the COVID-19 Situation Administration and the Money Expo organizers. This included limiting the number of staff at the booth, staff wearing mask or face shield, having partitions between counters, providing hand sanitizers, setting up tables and chairs with social distancing, and cleaning of booth equipment with alcohol, etc.
The Bank has launched measures to help debtors overcome the COVID-19 situation by providing useful advice and guidelines to ease the burden of retail customers and SMEs. Supportive measures for Bualuang Loan and unsecured personal loan customers include a 3-month loan holiday and at least a 30% reduction in installments. The Bank is also helping ease the burden of retail customers by reducing the minimum installment payment rate from 10% to 5% until December 31, 2021 for all types of Bangkok Bank credit cardholders. Customers could ask for advice on the various measures as well as financial planning directly from bank staff and partner companies at the event.
Furthermore, business customers who use loan services of Bangkok Bank and other financial institutions with a credit limit of 50-500 million baht can apply for the BOT’s DR BIZ project. Bangkok Bank joined the project that aims to increase the efficiency of debt management for all financial institutions in an integrated and comprehensive manner. The project, which helps customers to survive the current challenging situation, includes measures such as fixing old debt such as reducing installment payments, extending debt repayment periods, adjusting conditions to suit customer needs, and setting the appropriate grace periods and installment periods. In addition, the project also provides new loans to promising debtors with a clear business plan, intention to conduct business seriously, and good debt repayment behavior to help their business move forward. The DR BIZ project is open for applications until December 31, 2020. Those interested in participating this project can ask for more information at the Bangkok Bank booth at the event.
“The Bank is aware of changes in consumer behavior to adapt to the New Normal, especially the increasing uses of electronic and online banking channels to avoid touching cash. An economic slowdown, political uncertainty and the COVID-19 situation have prompted people to increasingly pay attention to financial planning, which is not only about creating wealth but also ensuring security under rapidly changing global circumstances. Therefore, the Bank and our subsidiaries offer a wide range of products to meet the needs of customers including those who want to save money, to invest in various ways, who need access to credit, and those affected by the COVID-19 situation who want to access banking assistance measures. The Bank also offers real-time access to the same products, services, and promotions on the organizer's website www.moneyexpoonline.com to provide greater convenience to customers while cementing our status as a “Trusted Partner” ready to support customers in every situation.”
Visitors to the Bangkok Bank booth could inquire about products and services, request financial and investment advice, apply for services, and receive promotions and special souvenirs. Money Expo 2020 was held from October 22-25, 2020 at Challenger Hall 1-2, IMPACT Muang Thong Thani.