Embedded finance is a topic that is growing in importance across the industry. However, best practice is about more than distribution. The real opportunities in embedded finance come from leveraging the assets of the respective partners to create wholly new products and experiences.

The KASIKORN LINE joint venture, a partnership between KASIKORNBANK and LINE (the largest social messaging app in Thailand), achieves this in two important ways. The first is that banking products are fully integrated into the LINE platform. Customers manage their products entirely within the LINE app, and onboarding can also be fully digital. The second is the innovative approach to credit risk. Data on customer behaviour in the LINE app is used to inform the credit scoring process. As a result, LINE BK has been able to successfully advance loans to the underbanked customer segment. While it is still early to judge the success of this approach, this has proven so far to be a highly effective way of assessing risk.

The KASIKORN LINE joint venture is a strong example for other banks to follow when it comes to partnerships of this nature and is a worthy winner of the Model Bank 2022 Award for Embedded Finance.