Thailand Government Savings Bank: Delivering a Smart Branch Experience in the Digital Era

Interconnection technology enables seamless and fast data transfer between the GSB and its branches across Thailand, allowing branch employees to engage customers more efficiently and injecting vitality into Thailand's economy.

Established in 1913 by HM King Vajiravudh (King Rama VI), Government Savings Bank (GSB), formerly known as the Savings Office, was initially created to become a safe place for asset storage and to help Thai people save money. For over a century, GSB has been fully committed to providing reliable financial services with the aim to ensure quality and safety for its 25 million customers. The social bank strives to offer Thai people innovative products that promote saving and financial sustainability across generations.

Realizing the need for digital transformation and ever-changing demands from its clients in the past decade, GSB worked closely with its partners from both the public and private sectors to continuously develop new services for its staff and customers, in order to guarantee frictionless operations across systems. Aiming to become "more than just a bank" for all Thais, the century-old bank vows to help drive the digital economy while contributing to a better society for generations to come.

Digitalization Held Back by Outdated Systems

Under its long-term mission to become a fully digital social bank, GSB focuses on enabling smart, efficient and safe operations at over 1000 branches. Many solutions and products used in the bank's legacy IT system were no longer available in the market, making updates installation difficult, leading to high maintenance costs. The previous system did not facilitate GSB's cloud data transfer, jeopardizing future network expansion.

The bank sought the network infrastructure that would to ensure smooth operations and an identical level of services everywhere, both at small and big branches alike. A new infrastructure was needed to improve GSB's efficiency across all banking services, reduce Operations and Maintenance (O&M) costs, as well as enhance user experience in both online banking situations and traditional branches.

Huawei SD-WAN Solution Enables Smart Branches

When GSB spoke to Huawei about its requirements into consideration, Huawei proposed its SD-WAN solution to help create a strong cloud-based network to accommodate new demands and future business expansion. The integrated solution is an ideal choice for large financial institutions, thanks to its capability to interconnect headquarters, remote branches, and multiple clouds. The synchronized system ensures service continuity, efficiency, and stability at all branches, without compromising data security.

Huawei SD-WAN's key features include:

1. Intelligent Ultra-Broadband and On-Demand Interconnection enable reliable and scalable interconnection between branches, headquarters, and clouds.

2. Zero-touch configuration provides simple and reliable service roll-out and maintenance without the need for on-site staff.

3. Smart O&M with Unified Management allows cloud-based management of Local Area Networks (LANs) and WANs, simplifying system deployment and reducing O&M costs.

4. Excellent full-service experience supports emerging technologies such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud, driving branches toward digital transformation, while paving the way for flexible — yet secure — business and network expansion.

Seamless and Fast Interconnection

The powerful Huawei network solution met all of GSB's requirements, in line with the bank's digital strategy. Featuring more than 6000 applications, the intelligent platform helps the bank realize its smart branch mission. Huawei SD-WAN Solution accelerates service rollouts, reduces O&M costs, and ensures smooth service operations. These benefits are enjoyed by both GSB staff and customers. The future-proof solution can accommodate new demands and support the fifth-generation network, ensuring sustainable business growth for GSB.

Driven by innovations, GSB will strive to build a new digital bank with high-quality financial services to improve people's livelihood and boost economic development in Thailand.