bradiston

I went to the WU office in Central here in Pattaya. It's not really an office, more of a glorified booth, but it does have a couple of knowledgeable ladies working there who might be able to help you. They got me an account set up (KYC and all). But it turned out useless for my purposes as WU won't deal with overseas business accounts.

Are you sending £ or some other currency to be converted into £, to your own £ account in a bank in the UK? Looks like you're transferring online from a bank here. Have you tried cash over the counter? WU will do it, for 99 THB I think to a nominee who picks up at the other end in person. Dead simple. Is it a large amount? Everybody runs KYC nowadays, so setting up accounts is a total pain. I had a totally unproductive time trying to transfer money from Thailand to an Indian bank account in payment for online meds. Nobody wanted to know. Dee, Wise, WU, XE, Remitly, Ria, Revolut, Instarem etc etc. And SWIFT from my UK bank charges £25. I found a way in the end which didn't involve banks or apps. Find somebody here you trust who has contacts in target country. Pay them here in cash or however, Promptpay, Thai bank transfer etc etc. Get receipt and photo evidence (they supplied both for me without question). They transfer to the contact in destination country, who will use an ATM or local bank branch to pay into the destination bank account. Yes, such people do exist! And it worked. Maybe not really relevant in your case, but maybe of use to others. YMMV

You think it's any different in your country, wherever that is? You come from the land of no scams? Ha! Pull the other one. Everyone's a scammer babe, and that's no lie...

Agreed. I did an Open University software engineering course. Not exactly MIT, but by far the hardest part was the customer requirements analysis. Coding was simple once you knew exactly what they wanted. The thing is with corporations the size of Google or Microsoft is, they have a customer base in the many millions, billions in the case of Android users. I would put Microsoft on a par with Thailand's public health ministry in terms of knowing what the hell they're doing, and knowing what their (captive) audiences want. Android's development is in the hands of several disparate agencies. Google is only a part of it, and has angered many seasoned developers with it's addition of bespoke chunks of code and built in apps, eg Play Store. But it persists as a decent OS. Linux based, of course.

Yes, but where is the actual data to support your assertion that "... the overwhelming majority of smartphones running Android are insecure by design, just a few of them are designed and set up properly", and "... you do NOT control your phone and thus could not setup it properly to be secure." Is this a reference to allegations of spying by the likes of Huawei? Was that ever proved? Does Microsoft harvest data? Or Intel? Or AMD? Who knows? How do most people control their pcs? Answer, they don't. They buy one mostly with MS Windows preinstalled, and trust to MS. I bought a Lenovo laptop in derk com. The "technician" there attempted and failed to upgrade it to Windows 11. When I got it home it was covered in viruses, and I had to wipe the whole thing clean and start again. It was a clean, sealed, boxed model before he got his hands on it. You can't possibly have access to the data on "the overwhelming majority of smartphones running Android" because that would be an astronomical number of devices, involving many different manufacturers, different versions of Android, and in 150 or so different countries. Hackers go after pc based systems for ransom demands, malware etc, because pc systems, maybe not so much Linux/Unix based networks, are far more vulnerable than smartphones running Android. And are a much greater liability. Inject the malware into one node and the whole network is potentially infected. Sure, phones are vulnerable to infected apps being downloaded, but I've not heard of a case where a power grid or hospital was brought down by the hacking of a mobile phone. The long and the short of it is, I don't see how you can assert a mobile phone is potentially, or, in almost every case, actually, less secure than a PC. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet See the list of affected OS down at the bottom? I don't see Android there. Just a variety of versions of MS Windows. The list of shame. Junk.

Whence do you get the basis for your claims?

So you drop your Samsung on the floor, it breaks, and that's somehow the phone's fault? How about your desktop screen? Or your laptop? Or spilling coffee all over the keyboard? Or the mouse packs up, then the infernal touchpad. Then the whole piece of junk freezes. And all the while it's gobbling up electricity. Gotta keep those chips cool. You know those bitcoin mining farms? They use more power than Argentina. https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/crypto/bitcoin-mining-how-much-electricity-it-takes-and-why-people-are-worried/#:~:text=How much energy does mining,for the average US household. Open knowledge some brands phone home? Links? Apps update. It's usually automatic, but you can control when. Sometimes the developers screw up and the app becomes unusable or whatever. But rarely nowadays. And on Windows Update. You never had a problem with it? One I know of... It tells me I'm up to date, but when I click "Check for updates", there's 5 waiting. Brilliant programming people. And then the design teams decide to remove the Start button and completely redesign the whole GUI. And now the right click for context menus has brilliantly hidden the 3 items I use most, copy/delete and paste, so I have to click again. Windows! What a total fxxxxx disaster. Phone. Can't read the screen? Try holding it nearer your face. Can't do that with a laptop. Adjust the text size and brightness. Oh right, you can do that on windows. Just 9 clicks. To hell with it.

Just one more comment from me (hopefully). Android is a great OS! Windows is the absolute pits. YMMV!

There is also a possible issue of receiving an OTP abroad. My UK bank has recently (it only took them 10 years) brought in the ability to send an OTP to my Thai number. And my Philippines bank the same. I'm not sure how a Thai OTP works abroad. There have been lengthy discussions in this forum on this topic. Can't remember what the consensus was.

I think it's already happened in the UK. Retail banking is labour intensive and probably far less lucrative than other branches of banking. The real estate value of the outlets is a nice little earner on resale too. I always saw online banking as a godsend. No more paper, queues, parking, etc. But I worked in a cash intensive industry, so had wads of cash that had to be deposited. No way out. Same goes for market traders here, wins, cab drivers, street hustlers etc etc. If the retail banks disappeared from the high street, a lot of people would be left stranded. ATMs with deposit facilities help, but for small change etc, it needs a teller service.

I have the same VPN on both my laptop and my mobile. The mobile version is simplicity itself. The laptop version is a pita, like all things running on Microsoft Windows. I have Tor browser and Ghostery on both. My UK bank recommends software that has always proved problematic in the past, as an additional safeguard. Come May 1st this year, they are shutting down all accounts that are no longer paying them interest. They were bought out by RBS, which was merged with NatWest. How much bigger can they get? They blocked me from accessing my account for 5 working days while their idiot fraud team investigated a transaction I was trying to make to another UK bank account owned by 2 fully registered in the UK companies. Eventually they apologised and coughed up a measly £350 compo. UK banks. By comparison I find Krungthai exactly what I need. Only a few branches here in Pattaya, but very short queues if you need counter service. I use the ATM maybe once a month max, more recently every 6 weeks approximately, and change all my 1k notes into 500s. The only reason I ever go inside. Wise is fine, but I've had to lodge a formal complaint with them for demanding to see the source of a $131 transfer to India. The source was my $ account with them. They wanted to see the source of that account, which is my UK account. But when I transfer in 50 times the amount in sterling, they have no problem at all. Anyway, enough on banks and banking. I found a way to transfer the money in the end.

Sure, but the OP 's problem is he has to switch to a smartphone because KT desktop banking is being switched off. So what's the problem with migrating other apps? Otherwise the smartphone will be semi redundant before he even starts, and he'll be forever switching between the two. This thread seems to have become an argument between those who love mobile phones, and those who hate them. It's pointless.

Well I'm sure there's a meteor out there just hurtling earthwards that's going to change all that Mr Owl. The only reason we're here is because that happened millions of years ago. Purely by chance. The odds must have been trillions to one. Anyway, we're here now, for better or worse, and we're a clever species. Now I read the greatest threat to our survival isn't climate change, nor over population. It's population shrinkage. We could become extinct due to our reluctance to reproduce. Birth rates are collapsing. My little mobile tells me so. It must be true! And btw, why do you need online banking? Just to move money around? You could do that with a phone call. Might have to pay extra, but if mobile banking is really such a chore... Have you looked at Wise? You can move money from your UK bank into your Wise account, then from there into your Krungthai account. It's fairly painless. I use it all the time. Easy to set up. Biometrics optional. You still need to log into your UK bank to transfer the money over to Wise, but there are no charges, and I imagine you use your laptop to do that. You're then able to transfer into your THB account when you want. In the end though, I think you'll have to grit your teeth and grapple with a smart phone. You're no technophobe if as you say you've designed and maintained websites, so I don't know what the source of your reluctance is. Just get yourself a cheapie, under 5k for sure. That's my advice. Sure, there's a learning curve, like with anything.

Makes you wonder how homo sapiens ever got out of the stone age. What's wrong with flint? Been using it for 20,000 years. Why do I need this new fangled metal thing? .

Many many years ago I came back from Oz via Singapore and then overland to Bangkok. I've never ever recovered from the stare the immigration/customs officer gave me at I think the Malaysian border. It sent a chill down my spine and scared the living daylights out of me. Seemed to be looking into my soul. If I'd had anything I'd have cracked there and then, but it worked. Never EVER mess with these guys.

Well, Mr Owl, I'd put you up for National Treasure if they had nominations from the public. I'm 73 but got bitten by the computer programming bug in my 40s. Can hardly look at a screen now. Overload. But my phone screen is my friend. Horribly addictive, but there again, I no longer drink or smoke, so can beat an addiction if I really have to. Good luck with your Nokia. I'm not sure it will run a banking app, but I could be wrong.

How are you going to compare prices out shopping on your laptop? Prices for comparison in places like white goods stores, hardware shops, even malls. You've got to stop and have a coffee somewhere that has WiFi. And lugging that around? Oh god, you can remember places you never knew you were going to have to go to? Like a branch of this or that store, a bar, a resto, an anything anywhere you need to look up real time. Who still uses email? Only cranky old lappy users. Sure, you can ring to change a time or place, but what happens if they don't pick up? Just keep ringing? Sooner or later, cash won't be king. Grubby, easily lost or stolen, wait for change, fumble fumble, I've got it here somewhere (the 1 baht coin to round it off after counting out the other 47 baht). Hey, we're in the Digi generation! All payments recorded on my phone for transfer to my accounts when I get home. But, as I always say: YMMV!

Well I rent a scooter, but I don't drive around all day. And a phone is really quite cost effective. Mine cost about 7k. It should be ok for 3 years at least. It upgrades to the latest android, so isn't yet defunct. My scooter on the other hand, lies idle when I go away. I still pay rent on it even though I'm not using it. It doesn't fit in my pocket, and it's got no dating app.

If you have an MS Windows emulator on your Linux installation you could probably install the KTB windows app. But I think you'll just be adding another layer of complexity. Mobile phones are the way to go! How do you stay in touch when you're away from your laptop? How do you compare prices for instance? Find places? Read messages/emails. Pay anywhere for anything. You can run a VPN. Use a private browser. I have a laptop. It serves only one or two purposes. To run apps like spreadsheets, to login to my UK bank that doesn't have an app, and do my tax return. That's it!

Doubt it. Linux is not MS Windows!

No idea what news channels are available in China. I watch CGTN and their news channel until it disappeared. off my cable. Google blocked is no great loss as far as news is concerned. I think there is widespread use of VPNs in China and elsewhere. I have a Chinese friend who connects through one on Messenger. Is Al Jazeera blocked? DW? France 24? I used to watch CGTN news channel but it's disappeared from my cable feed. Still have RT, which of course to me is the pits, and a couple of other Russian channels. We are fed propaganda too. But being an ardent supporter of Europe and the Western Alliance against Putin, I don't really care. You can train your brain to sift through the patent BS and get to some sort of idea of what's happening.

Why are you downloading from a website, and not a mobile site on your phone?

I have fingerprint scanning enabled. If you go to Settings, Security settings, Biometrics you can disable all biometrics. Or select the ones you want to use, face, finger print or biometric scan. I can't find any setting to only use data. I suggest going to the nearest branch. BTW Your link is to the Thai version of Play Store. Try the English one. Reviews are not much to go by. They go back to 2017. And some people just don't know how to review. They give 5 * and then complain it doesn't work. I found going into my branch and getting help was the answer.

It's Krungthai Next ver 12.1.1. Android. No problem over WiFi or data SIM. Are you an Apple user?

AFAIK, penetrative sex with a minor = statutory rape. But TIT. Minors can't legally give their consent. End of. This poor kid sounds like she's completely traumatised. PTSD. I would say the police are implicated by their idiot handling of the case.