International Monetary Fund and World Bank unveil digital fraud roadmap

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have unveiled a global roadmap to help countries prevent, identify and combat cyber-enabled fraud in digital financial services.

Called the Bangkok Blueprint, it was developed in coordination with the Bank of Thailand and released Wednesday during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group annual meetings. Its stated goals are to strengthen trust in digital financial services and expand financial inclusion.

The blueprint has five pillars: strategic and legal foundations; fraud mitigation throughout its life cycle; existing risk mitigation and enforcement frameworks; domestic and cross-border cooperation; and consumer protection and resilience.

The roadmap recognizes that fraud schemes can involve social media, digital platforms, e-commerce and telecom networks. It calls for clear accountability and timely public-private cooperation within and across borders, and encourages countries to adapt its 12 key considerations to their own legal, institutional and market conditions.

Central bank governor Vitai Ratanakorn said digital finance had broadened access, innovation and efficiency while also enabling fraud to occur with greater speed, scale and sophistication.