A wave of online criticism has hit CLICX, Thailand’s first operational virtual bank, after its newly launched digital loan feature suffered an artificial intelligence loan applicant screening glitch, resulting in loans being approved for individuals with poor credit histories while prompting some borrowers to organise strategic repayment default schemes online.
CLICX is a joint venture between Krungthai Bank (KTB), Advanced Info Service (AIS) and PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR), boasting a combined domestic customer base exceeding 50 million people.
Designed as a fully branchless commercial bank, the entity operates entirely through its mobile application, targeting freelancers, self-employed workers and informal earners who typically lack formal income documentation or credit histories required by traditional lenders.
Before rolling out their lending product, CLICX gained significant market traction by offering features such as customisable deposit account numbers, including auspicious digits in the account numbers and mobile numbers, alongside promotional high-interest savings accounts offering up to 4% annually.
The controversy erupted during the official rollout of its loan service on August 1, when the massive influx of applicants crashed the app and forced a temporary shutdown.
Social media platforms were subsequently flooded with posts from applicants with blacklisted credit records or existing default histories, some exceeding 400,000 baht, who claimed that they had received approvals for loans of up to 20,000 baht within five minutes, while individuals with stable incomes and clean credit records were rejected by the AI algorithm.
The algorithmic errors fuelled a trend of strategic defaulters, known locally by the slang Thai phrase ‘Sai Bid’, where borrowers in Facebook groups encouraged one another to default on their newly acquired loans.
Financial experts note that this behaviour stems from two key misconceptions. Borrowers wrongly assume that the loans are unsecured, or that CLICX operates as an illegal, offshore lender.
In response, legal specialists have explained that CLICX is a commercial bank fully licensed and regulated by the Bank of Thailand (BOT), making every loan contract fully legally binding.
Delinquent borrowers face severe penalties, including credit bureau blacklisting, civil litigation with potential asset seizure under a 10-year statute of limitations and criminal fraud charges carrying prison sentences for those who intentionally submitted false data to support loan applications.
The incident underscores the broader household debt strain in the country, with May 2026 National Credit Bureau figures showing 3.1 million individuals are blacklisted for individual debts under 100,000 baht, totaling 105 billion baht. Including unpaid student loans, mobile bills and internet services, the total number of borrowers in default rises to 5.1 million across 9.5 million accounts, involving 1.3 trillion baht.
Gig workers, a primary target customer base for virtual banks, voiced mixed opinions, noting that digital credit provides essential liquidity for daily business expenses, though high risks of non-payment persist due to irregular earnings and unexpected medical or vehicle repair costs.
The BOT spent over four years adjusting qualifications before approving three virtual banking consortia. The remaining two groups, led by Siam Commercial Bank with South Korea's Kakao, and True Corporation with Alibaba, are preparing to launch by the end of the year. Both CLICX management and BOT representatives declined to comment on the AI failure, just stating that internal meetings are underway.
