The Bank of Thailand is planning to require banks to scrutinise customers who buy high-value property with cash as part of efforts to prevent illicit financial activities.

The central bank has recently opened a public hearing on proposed new rules to strengthen the risk management of cash-related transactions worth at least 5 million baht, as it seeks to prevent financial institutions from being used for money laundering and other illicit activities.

The public hearing runs from Aug 5 to Sept 3.

According to the public hearing, the proposed rules would cover cash withdrawals and deposits, banknote exchanges, and cash received for the issuance of cheques and drafts. They would also apply to the purchase, sale and exchange of foreign banknotes involving transactions worth 5 million baht or more.

Financial institutions would be required to assess whether customers' transaction behaviour is appropriate, including the rationale and necessity for conducting cash-related transactions.

If customers' stated reasons are inconsistent or transactions appear unreasonable -- such as withdrawing a very large amount of cash to purchase land or high-value property when more convenient and secure payment methods are generally available -- then financial institutions must take appropriate action, according to the proposed rules.

In a separate development, speaking at the 2026 Cybersecurity Annual Conference, titled "Responsible Innovation: Quantifying Cyber Risk for Business Trust", hosted by the Thailand Banking Sector Computer Emergency Response Team (TB-CERT) on Friday, Daranee Saeju, the central bank's assistant governor for the strategic and special projects group, said Thailand had not recorded a single unauthorised mobile banking transaction caused by the so-called "money malware" in the past 18 months.

She said the progress reflected close cooperation among regulatory agencies, financial institutions and other relevant parties, including TB-CERT, a specialised cybersecurity unit under the Thai Bankers' Association (TBA).

Cybersecurity is not simply an IT issue, she said, but is fundamental to preserving trust in the financial system. As a result, the central bank would continue to strengthen its supervisory expectations across the industry to prevent financial crime and safeguard public trust.

Nonetheless, she admitted that the nature of financial crime is changing, requiring the central bank and financial institutions to look beyond traditional cybersecurity measures.

The Bank of Thailand is broadening its approach to prevent financial infrastructure from being exploited for fraud, money laundering, and other illicit financial activities.

The central bank is also turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen its defences against increasingly sophisticated scams. AI is being used to improve customer authentication, identify suspicious behaviour, detect threats earlier, respond more quickly, reduce harm when incidents occur, and uncover networks of mule accounts.

In addition, the central bank is taking a broader approach to cybersecurity, shifting its focus beyond protecting individual financial institutions and networks to safeguarding public confidence in the financial system.

"Let us not only secure our financial system -- let us strengthen the trust that sustains it," Ms Daranee said.

Recently, the central bank announced new measures to tighten daily limits on digital fund transfers and payments for young account holders to prevent their accounts from being used as mule accounts.

The new measures were introduced after authorities found that fraudsters had increasingly shifted to using bank accounts and e-money accounts belonging to children and young people to facilitate illegal activities, according to the Bank of Thailand.

Under the new measures, daily digital transfer and payment limits will be tailored to users' ages and actual usage patterns. For youths aged 10–12, e-money accounts will have a daily transfer or payment limit of 3,000 baht.

Those aged 12–15 will face a daily limit of 5,000 baht for digital transfers and payments from bank deposit accounts, while those aged 15–18 will be subject to a daily limit of 10,000 baht.

Banks and e-money operators will gradually adjust the limits in line with the central bank's requirements, with the changes expected to be completed by September and October 2026, respectively.