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Dr. Veerathai Santiprabhob
Former Governor
Bank of Thailand
Veerathai Santiprabhob is a distinguished macroeconomist and financial professional with over 30 years of experience spanning economic policy design, commercial banking, and capital markets. He served as the 23rd Governor of the Bank of Thailand (2015–2020), where he led the digital transformation of Thailand’s financial system and steered the country’s macroeconomic and financial stability through a period of global uncertainty.
Prior to his governorship, he held senior executive roles at the Stock Exchange of Thailand and Siam Commercial Bank, and contributed to national economic and financial policy as a member of several high-level committees.
Internationally, he served on the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the IMF and chaired key groups including the BIS Central Bank Governance Group, the BIS Asian Consultative Council, and the SEACEN Board of Governors.
Currently, Veerathai serves as an independent director of leading listed corporations, including SCBX, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Minor International, and Thai Airways International.
Deeply committed to social impact, he focuses his efforts on sustainability and Buddhism. He chairs the Independent Oversight Advisory Committee of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the board of Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). He also serves on the board of Chiang Mai University as well as on the International Advisory Board of Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN).
Veerathai holds a Ph.D. and A.M. in Economics from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Economics (First Class Honors) from Thammasat University. He is a recipient of the Anandamahidol Foundation Scholarship and the Eisenhower Fellowship.
Speaking at SFF 2026
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4:50–5:30pmWed 18 NovFutureMatters StageHall 5, Singapore EXPOPremium
Technology Rewiring
Scaling Real-Time Payments: Adoption, Commercial Innovation and the Economics of Inclusion
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Jean Bosco IyacuChief Executive OfficerMojaloop Foundation
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Kosta PericDeputy Director, Inclusive Financial SystemsGates Foundation
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Sateesh PalagiriChief of Mobility SolutionsNational Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI)
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Sara BritesDeputy GovernorBanco Central de Timor-Leste
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Dr. Veerathai SantiprabhobFormer GovernorBank of Thailand
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Pat PatelChief Executive Officer, USA, LATAM, Middle East & Africa; Co-CEO, GFTN ConnectionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
About this session
Instant payments can reach millions of the unbanked but only if the economics work for everyone building the rails. Around the world, national real-time payment systems are proving that speed and inclusion can coexist, yet many struggle to balance universal access with commercial viability. Getting that balance right is now a defining test of payments strategy.
You will learn: how to design instant payment schemes that serve the underserved without eroding sustainability; which governance and pricing models drive long-term adoption; and what lessons successful national roadmaps offer to markets still building theirs. Miss this session, and you risk designing a system that scales in usage but never in value. -
