BANGKOK, Thailand – The Bank of Thailand (BoT) emphasized that all relevant agencies are working together to establish clear conditions for unfreezing “mule accounts” by the end of September 2025, reassuring small businesses that they can continue accepting digital payments from customers.
Daranee Saeju, Assistant Governor of the Payment Systems Policy Department at BoT, explained that during September 2025, an average of 10,000 accounts per week were flagged as suspicious. While these measures aim to track and prevent illicit transactions through e-money and cryptocurrency, some legitimate account holders were inadvertently affected.
“To minimize disruption for the public, BoT is coordinating with banks, police, and the Technology Crime Suppression Center (TCSC) to promptly unfreeze accounts belonging to innocent users,” said Daranee. “The focus is on low-value accounts, such as those holding 100–500 baht, and merchants who regularly receive payments for goods or food. Once verification is complete, unfreezing can take just 2–3 hours up to one day.”
Previously, account holders could experience delays of up to 72 hours or longer under emergency decree regulations. The revised approach standardizes notifications to affected customers, clarifying why their accounts were frozen and what actions they must take.
The BoT stressed that accounts subject to police or Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) warrants for fraudulent activity are handled separately and follow stricter procedures. The updated process for accounts mistakenly frozen due to anti-money laundering monitoring aims to reduce the burden on law-abiding citizens while ensuring that victims of scams receive maximum restitution.
“In the past, 100 complaints were received via hotline 1441, but only 11 accounts were immediately unfrozen due to verification limitations,” Daranee said. “With the new streamlined process, verification is conducted in three daily rounds, each taking no more than two hours. Once completed, affected accounts are quickly restored for normal transactions, giving merchants confidence in accepting digital payments again.”
The BoT, TCSC, AMLO, and police continue to coordinate closely to expand the tracking of illicit financial flows while minimizing disruption to legitimate users. The goal is to balance financial crime prevention with convenience for the public, particularly small merchants and everyday account holders. (TNA)
