Kullarat Phongsathaporn

Kullarat is a go-to fintech lawyer for many leading players in global, regional, and local markets and chosen by corporate counsels and awarded the Client Choice award. She also provides pro-bono services for startups that have fintech businesses that will positively impact the public in her personal time. Her focused work in fintech over the past nine years spans all areas related to the use of technology and digitalization in financial markets, including:

• e-payment/money remittance
• virtual banking and digital banking
• digital assets, cryptocurrencies, tokenization, ICOs/STOs, blockchain, Web 3.0, DeFi
• consumer financing
• financial platforms
• AML/CFT and innovative KYC/CDD, Digital ID
• equity and debt crowdfunding and P2P lending 
• Investment, join ventures and collaboration projects in fintech
• artificial intelligence in finance
• wealthtech
• data analytics

Kullarat has led many national and international projects, many of which are the first of its kind, such as PromptPay-PayNow linkage, Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Trading Platform, blockchain projects by Blockchain Community Initiative, National Digital ID, and National Digital Trading Platform.

She leads various investment and utility token offerings and tokenization projects from end-to-end process across various sectors, including real estate, loyalty/reward programs, transportation systems, retailer memberships, entertainment, media, commodity, and collectibles and working closely with the Thai SEC, the BOT, and the Revenue Department. Recently, she has led many pioneering sustainability-focused fintech projects such as tokenization for renewable energy, like RECs, carbon credit, and electric vehicles.

With her expansive expertise in digital assets, blockchain, Web 3.0, and tokenization, Kullarat is listed as one of the Influential Women in the Crypto Asset Industry by E-Finance Thai and was featured in the Cointelegraph's documentary on crypto in Thailand. She is a member and frequent speaker at Asia Crypto Alliance and has spoken and written articles about tokenization and other digital asset and blockchain related in Asia.

Kullarat has dedicated herself to the origination and expansion of our fintech and digital assets practice. She has contributed to the setup and growth of fintech markets in Thailand in various ways through many speaking engagements, trainings, and pro bono projects with the Bank of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Thai FinTech Association, the Thai Digital Asset Association, the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association, etc., as well as frequent academic lectures, publications, client trainings and media interviews covering various fintech aspects.

• Advised the participating banks and payment networks on a digital payment linkage between the two countries via Thailand’s PromptPay and Singapore’s PayNow real-time retail payment systems, the first of its kind in the world. The pioneering project allows funds to be transferred instantly, seamlessly and securely, and at any time of the day, between customer accounts in Thailand and Singapore. This project was awarded "Initiative of the Year for 2022" by the Central Banking journal and was mentioned in the Report to the G20 by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (BIS). Kullarat was invited to speak about the project at the Singapore FinTech Festival.
• Advised and prepared legal documentation for several national e-payment projects including: 1) electronic data capture (EDC) expansion project to increase the number of point-of-sale (POS) terminals, 2) national welfare cards project and 3) QR code payment project. These projects are a part of Thailand’s National E-payment Master Plan (NEMP) which aims to reduce cash use and facilitate the country's digital economy transition.
• Representing the Thailand Blockchain Community Initiative (BCI), a cooperative of 22 banks and a number of leading enterprises formed to drive blockchain collaboration in the financial and business sectors and to bolster competitiveness for both businesses and the nation as a whole. Awarded a “Top Firm for Creating a New Standard”, FT Innovative Lawyers APAC Awards, 2019 for our work on BCI's first project which involved the development of an electronic letter of guarantee (e-LG) via a shared blockchain platform.
• Assisting in digital token offerings and tokenization projects across various sectors, including renewable energy, real estate, loyalty/reward programs, electric vehicles, transportation systems, and retailer memberships, covering all legal aspects of issuances. Led the first two investment token offering projects in Thailand, SIRIHUB tokens, Thailand's first and among the world’s first regulated real estate backed investment tokens, and the "Destiny Token", the first regulated ICO paving a new way of film financing.
• Advised a leading listed energy group in relation to the first blockchain-based one-stop service for tokenized renewable energy certificates and renewable purchases and the first renewable energy certificate trading platform in Thailand. The project was awarded 2021 Renewable Energy Markets™ Asia Award.
• Supporting the National Digital Trade Platform (NDTP) project with legal and regulatory advice. NDTP is a central platform that connects with the National Single Window System (NSW), which will provide online import-export data related to customs, export agents, freight forwarders, shipping and airline companies, and will also be linked with 36 government agencies that issue licences and certifications. NDTP will improve the trading system and hasten the service process for private companies, thereby reducing the time and cost spent on completing transactions. The new system will also enhance transparency and give SMEs enterprises better opportunities to trade internationally and have easier access to funds. 
• Successfully assisted businesses in setting up companies and obtaining relevant licenses, such as payment licenses, digital asset licenses, consumer finance licenses, FX business licenses, and more.

• "Band 1" in FinTech Legal, Chambers FinTech Guide, 2024
• "Band 2" in Technology, Media, Telecommunications (TMT), Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2024
• "Up and Coming" in Technology, Media, Telecommunications (TMT), Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2021-2023
• "Client Choice Award," Lexology, 2024
• "Rising Star" in Equity Capital Markets, IFLR Rising Stars Awards Asia-Pacific, 2022
• "Next Generation Partner" in Banking & Finance, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2021-2024
• "Who's Who Legal" - Recommended for FinTech, 2021-2024
• "Top 10 Legal Innovator of the Year Award for Asia Pacific," Financial Times, 2019

• Thai Bar Association, 2009-Present
• The Lawyers Council of Thailand, 2008-Present
• Registered Foreign Lawyer, The Council of The Law Society of New South Wales, 2024-Present