Line’s Thailand social bank pulls in 2 million users in 4 months

Japan-based Line Corporation announced that Line BK, its social banking service unit in Thailand, has surpassed 2 million users as of February 23, just four months after starting operations.

Photo credit: Line

Line BK’s performance in terms of transaction volume, loan applications, and the number of new users “exceeded expectations” during its first few months, the fintech firm said in a statement. It has also recorded around 50,000 new saving accounts a day and hit over US$700 million in total amount of financial transactions.

Moving forward, Line will add more financial solutions, including offering insurance and financial investment products.

Launched in October 2020, Line BK is a joint venture between Kasikorn Vision, a subsidiary of Kasikornbank, and Line Financial Asia, a unit of Line Corporation.

The joint venture provides financial solutions including debit cards, personal loan service, and special rate accounts with interest rates of up to 1.5% annually.

Southeast Asia’s fintech industry was estimated to reach between US$70 billion and US$100 billion by 2020, and Thailand is one of the region’s fastest-growing markets, according to a report.

Line Corporation introduced its messaging app Line in Thailand in 2012. It is currently developing plans to expand banking services into other markets, including Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia.