The Thai unit of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance is seeking local partners as the company is keen to participate in TouristDigiPay, a regulatory sandbox programme that allows foreign tourists to convert digital assets into baht to spend in Thailand.

Binance, with nearly 300 million global users, is one of the most trusted and recognised names in the digital asset space, said Nirun Fuwattananukul, chief executive of Binance TH by Gulf Binance.

“As the leader in Thailand’s crypto industry, Binance TH is excited to support the TouristDigiPay initiative and demonstrate how our world-class platform can enhance the tourist experience,” he said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said last week that TouristDigiPay will be ready for tourists arriving in Thailand to use the service this year end.

The initiative, jointly developed by the Bank of Thailand and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), aims to support the tourism sector while maintaining strict anti–money laundering safeguards.

TouristDigiPay not only supports the government’s digital economy agenda but also attracts new sources of revenue from the growing global base of crypto holders, said Mr Nirun.

“Since the project involves collaboration with e-money licence holders regulated by the Bank of Thailand, we are carefully evaluating the best local partners to ensure the solution delivers a seamless, secure and compliant user experience,” Mr Nirun told the Bangkok Post.

As an operator in the crypto space, he also expressed confidence that the Thai regulators have ensured proper oversight and risk management of the intiative, particularly to prevent the direct use of digital assets as a means of payment.

Thailand’s key regulators – the SEC, Bank of Thailand and Amlo – have taken proactive measures to safeguard the public from money laundering, said Mr Nirun.

These include strict know your customer requirements such as verifying tourist identities directly through the near field communication chip embedded in their passports, rather than relying on photos alone, he said.

In addition, spending limits, for example, up to 500,000 baht per person per month, have been set to reduce the risk of large-scale illicit flows, Mr Nirun said.

“At Binance TH, we are planning to go beyond the regulatory requirements by implementing advanced risk-based systems to detect suspicious activities, enabling us to freeze accounts and report any red-flagged transactions to the authorities immediately.”