As Thailand accelerates its ambitions to become a regional logistics, manufacturing and clean energy hub, a quieter transformation is unfolding beneath the surface of Southeast Asia’s financial system.Across the Mekong region, a large share of cross-border commerce no longer moves primarily through traditional bank-to-bank SWIFT transfers. Instead, businesses, traders and migrant workers increasingly rely on currency exchange operators, pooled settlement arrangements and regional payment networks that have evolved alongside the realities of ASEAN trade.
According to the Mekong Financial Flow Analysis Report (Updated March 2026), pooled liquidity and currency exchange settlement systems now account for a significant share of financial flows into Thailand from neighbouring economies.
The report estimates that such channels account for approximately 40–55% of business settlement flows from Cambodia to Thailand, 35–45% from Myanmar, and 30–40% from Laos. Even in Vietnam, which has a more developed banking sector and rapidly expanding digital payment infrastructure, pooled settlement models still account for an estimated 15–25% of crossborder business transactions.
The findings reflect broader structural conditions across Southeast Asia, where banking infrastructure, foreign exchange regulations, transaction costs and settlement speed vary significantly between countries.
