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Been paying attention to a few more receipts. and whether they add VAT and/or service is inconsistent to the point of frustrating. For example The Coffee Club will list their prices excluding service charge, except for their airport branches, there the prices do include service charge. And speaking of The Coffee Club, I downloaded their app which had a coupon for a free drink (worth 100 baht), but guess what: I still had to pay service charge on the price of the free drink (so the true cost was 10 baht). That is not really free… Something similar with a seafood buffet: They listed the price with VAT and service charge and then stamped a 10% discount on that price. Turns out the 10% discount was on the price excluding service charge, so we still had to pay service charge on the full amount, meaning the effective discount was only 9.1%. I generally don’t mind high prices, i.e. I assume most stores run at a small profit, and if one shop is more expensive than another, they may pay their staff more, use better ingredients, have higher rent, etc. What I do mind is this “trickery”, because it signals that the shop owner is effectively trying to deceive the customer by padding the bill with “hidden” expenses…

There is the difference that gold does have demand beyond pure speculation, i.e. gold will never drop to $0 because it can be used for electronics, jewelry, and fillings. But as an investment, yes, gold and bitcoin are pretty much the same thing, and I would put neither in my investment portfolio.

What you write is not wrong, but I am talking about creating money, not just simple deposits in a regular bank, which you are correct, would be no different than depositing/lending bitcoins to a third party (which is subject to solvency requirements, i.e. the need to have assets valued at least the same as their liabilities). Money (very simplified) is created when we lend money, for example I want to buy a house, so a mortgage backed security is created, this is (indirectly) “sold” to a central bank that prints the amount of money I need to buy this house, but in return gets security in my house. This increases the money supply, and over the next 20 or so years, I will pay down my mortgage, which in theory decrease the money supply again, and eventually the central bank’s liability (to me) will be zero (the money they issued to pay for my mortgage backed security), and I will be the full owner of the house (so the asset is removed from their balance sheet, but so is the liability, as I paid back the loan). You are right that nobody can go to the central bank and demand a fraction of a house for a 100 dollar bill, even though the dollar bill (amongst others) is backed by real estate. However, you can demand foreign currency for your dollar bill, and also, the Federal Reserve and ECB both have as their goal to keep price stability, so in that sense, a 100 dollar bill does have sort of a fixed value based on their inflation targets and basket of goods that are used to measure inflation (and yes, I know inflation is currently higher than their target). You can’t demand foreign currency for a bitcoin (but if you are lucky, someone will buy your coin for foreign currency), nor does anyone work to ensure price stability. Central banks also buy government bonds, so in the case of the Argentine Peso, this was backed more by the government’s ability to service their debt, i.e. pay the interests associated with these bonds bought by their central bank. But even though some central banks do a terrible job at keeping price stability, or staying solvent for that matter, does not mean that regular fiat money is not backed by anything, it is, just, if your money is backed by bonds issued by a government that doesn’t have enough tax revenue to pay the interests on these bonds, then the value of this money is headed toward zero. Also worth mentioning here that the Peso losing 90% of its value (or whatever it lost), has a good explanation, small currency fluctuations are hard to explain, but larger moves can generally be explained by the actions of the issuing party, or the credit worthiness of those who issued the assets held by the issuing party (and which back the currency). Many crypto proponents think that crypto is the next step in currency, but in many ways, it is really taking us back to a bartering system where the crypto coins you hold are no longer credits, but instead just commodities that you hope to be able to sell in the future.

This is not really true. Banks have balance sheets, when they issue money it is a liability and they need a corresponding asset to balance it. For example if the ECB “prints” 100M euros, what they actually do is buy bonds for 100M and pays with money they “printed”, but this money is now a liability for them, but as they now hold 100M worth of bonds, it is effectively backed by those bonds. These bonds could be mortgage backed securities, so effectively they hold 100M worth of real estate to back the 100M euro they issued. Central banks will hold a mix of assets, such as government bonds, mortgage backed securities, and foreign currencies. Bitcoin on the other hand is nobody’s liability.

Agree, though the banks should also optimize their apps for the QR code payment flow. I just tested KTB Next on WiFi and it shows the splash screens for five full seconds, after this, it shows an ad banner that I have to dismiss. On cellular, I think the splash screen may take even longer, I really don’t get what the app is doing. KPlus is worse in the sense that when I open it, it will often show a dialog asking if I want to continue my session. If I select No, the app is just killed and I have to launch it again. If I select Yes, it will spend a few seconds trying to login, but will often fail, and then I can do what it is, that I want to do in the app. Granted, for both of the apps mentioned, you can select SCAN from their home screen menu, and it will skip some of the above, but with KPlus it will activate camera and let you scan a QR code and then it may show an error, because it tried to continue a session that had timed out, in fact, it shows this error twice, and then you have to go over the entire process again (after you login with biometrics or password). Contactless payments (via NFC) is a much better solution, but there is definitely room for improvements regarding how QR code payments are handled by some banking apps. Another thing that frustrates me is how everyone wants their own system. MRT, BTS, and Airport Link have 3 different contactless payment systems, and same does all the different food courts in Thailand. 7-Eleven accepts Apple Pay, True Wallet, but neither PromptPay QR or Thai debit cards (even those with VISA/MasterCard logo), except for UOB (I think). I understand this is about wanting control and fees, but that is where governments needs to step in.

I don’t know about the “worked in 5-star hotels”, but I do know that there are some contractors that more or less specialize in selling their services to Westerners at high prices, but use the same low skill workers that I would personally avoid.

A friend of mine is a mason and I can tell you an uneven wall is absolutely not acceptable “back home”. They will repeatedly check their work with a levelling instrument. As for plastering an uneven wall: The plaster should not be more than 1mm, the thicker it is, the more chance you have for the plastering material to crack. But if you get the wall done by unskilled migrant workers that receive 300-500 baht/day, you get uneven walls, and they fix it with thick layers of plaster. I see it all over the place in Thailand, and I see cracked walls all over the place as well.

From what I can tell, only by linking your Rabbit card to LINE Wallet and then add your VISA or MasterCard to LINE Wallet and use as payment method. Based on my own experience doing this 5+ years ago, it was fairly easy, but based on my girlfriend’s experience, it took more than two weeks to get her LINE Wallet activated, but in the end, it was possible to do on a tourist visa! And according to LINE, it should only take 1-2 working days to get verified for LINE Wallet.

I had uploaded her native ID card and yesterday we received an update, it basically just said “ups… the issue has already been fixed”, and indeed, she can now use LINE Wallet.

Generally countries that offer high interests are countries with weak currencies that are only getting weaker, and when it comes to developing countries that underperform compared to more developed countries, you should not expect the exchange rate to “get back” to where it was, when you exchanged the money. I know someone who 5-6 years ago was tempted and exchanged a large part of their money from THB to LAK because of a 6% interest rate on a one year fixed deposit account. I did try to talk them out of it, but alas, and despite the 6% yearly gains, the value in THB is now down > 20% Making it worse is that this person actually sold Apple shares to make the “investment”.

That would be the “money from abroad” (required for buying property or documenting your retirement visa). Sorry if it wasn’t clear that when you pick this, the amount obviously does not matter, as it needs to be from abroad and therefore go through regular bank settlement, rather than just an instant domestic transfer from one of Wise’s local Thai accounts.

It seems Wise has different routes for money below and above 50,000 baht, and also for money that needs to be reported as “from abroad”. If below 50,000 baht, it’s pretty much always instant, above 50,000 baht and it may take a little longer (although can still be seconds), and money “from abroad”? I have no personal experience, but this is probably where the “two bankdays” can happen, i.e. normal bank settlement standards.

For last year, I received a total of 0.60 EUR as interests (balance cashback). In theory, I now have to report this to the tax authorities, and if I want to get a deduction for the withholding tax, I believe it needs to be reported as “foreign income / capital gains” (of which some tax has already been paid), which may lead to my tax return taking longer to process. When I saw the opt-out option, I figured it was for situations like mine, where getting the money is probably more trouble than it is worth.

When you link a bank account, you can transfer your LINE Wallet balance to your bank account. I bought a Rabbit card long ago, linked it to my LINE Wallet, and then added my bank account (Krungthai) to LINE Wallet, after which I could withdrew everything from my Rabbit card, so that it has a balance of zero (and no worries about my money expiring). I have also linked my bank ATM card (VISA Debit) to my LINE Wallet / Rabbit LINE Pay account, and when I use the BTS, money is withdrawn from my bank account via the VISA card. But this is set up in the BTS section of the LINE Wallet app, so presumably this is only when I use the Rabbit card (or maybe only when I use the BTS?) I must confess, I find this all a bit confusing because of all the different terms, i.e. LINE Pay, Rabbit card, LINE Wallet, BTS section of LINE Wallet, Rabbit LINE Pay, and my Rabbit card being linked to my LINE Wallet, so is my Rabbit card effectively a physical card backed by LINE Wallet? But since VISA card is only added under BTS, is VISA card backing LINE Wallet? Or is it backing the Rabbit card? Or only train journeys? Though I only use this for BTS when I am in Bangkok.

The added advantage of linking BTS to Rabbit LINE Pay (in addition to not having to do manual top-ups) is that you can keep a zero balance. I don’t want to keep money on various prepaid cards, especially when those cards have expiration dates.

I have my BTS card linked to my LINE Wallet, and my LINE Wallet linked to my VISA card, so each time I use the BTS, my VISA card is debited, but indirectly via LINE Pay. I don’t understand why LINE Pay must be involved here, but alas… Anyway, was in Bangkok with my girlfriend, and it got a little annoying having to wait for her buying a ticket each time we took the train. So I told her to buy a BTS card and then my intention was to set up this Rube Goldberg machine for her as well. Lo and behold, to sign up for LINE Wallet, she first needs to be verified, which means uploading selfie, passport, promise your first born, etc. and then wait “1-2 working days”. LINE staff probably have one day work weeks, because 3 weeks later, and we have long since left Bangkok, but there is finally a reply from LINE Wallet: Please upload Work Permit, ID Card, or Driver’s License. It is not said, but I assume they mean Thai ID Card, or Thai Driver’s License. We are just tourists, we don’t have this stuff. What we do have is money and a VISA and MasterCard, that we would like to use to pay for our train rides in Bangkok. I have two questions: Is LINE Wallet the only option for automatic payment of your BTS trips? Is it possible for tourists to sign up for LINE Wallet? For the records, I did sign up for LINE Wallet myself on a tourist visa, but it is many years ago, and back then, it seems the requirements were lax. I actually did get a message some 2-3 years ago saying that my LINE Wallet needed extra verification, but then a day or so later, I got a new message saying sorry for the inconvenience, everything is fine!

When I first came to Thailand, it was zero baht for street food, a 20 baht bill for a regular Thai place, and 100 baht bill if it was a fancy place. With digital payments though, I no longer tip, and nobody seems disappointed.

Back in my own country it is actually required by law to always list the final price with everything included! And tipping is up to the customer, but I have never seen anyone tip at a restaurant at a shopping mall, where Thailand now add a 10% mandatory service charge, not included in the listed price (which also lack the VAT).

The story I heard was that originally there were delis / butchers that, amongst others, sold prepared meals “to take home”, and some entrepreneural people would set up tables outside these shops and provide plates etc., so you would order the meal from the deli, but it was served by a third party, and you paid them a tip for this service (i.e. service charge). If it worked exactly like that, I do not know, but I assume it’s not a lot different from today’s corkage fee in some countries, where you can bring your own wine, but pay the staff for “serving it” (and glasses). But since the old times, tipping has gone mad in the U.S., where you tip basically every service worker you interact with, and even some you do not interact with, like cleaning staff at hotels, as their base salary on its own seems insufficient to make ends meet. Lots of countries though had abandoned tipping: The first time I visited Japan, I was told that it could be seen as impolite to tip (as you’re telling the owner that they do not know how to price their stuff, or that the employees get too low a salary and need your handouts). But tourism has spoiled many countries that used to be devoid of tipping, as when e.g. Americans visit, they will bring their habit of tipping, and then the locals will start to expect it from all tourists. What really bothers me though is not so much that restaurants have a 10% service charge, but that they do not include it in the listed price, and now, it seems, they also do not include VAT in the listed price, this is just ridiculous! Every customer wants to know the actual price!

I am looking forward to reading the analysis, what has been posted so far is only the prologue of a series of articles about how to “improve” Thailand. And it does mention that investing in education will be part of the plan, and it is a 10+ year “plan”, so unsure what you think he is overlooking (given that so far we just have a rough outline of what to come). But, as Chartchai himself admit, those in power do not seem to care about this, so it’s merely an intellectual exercise.

I should add that I am almost as annoyed by the department stores where there is pretty much always a 20-30% discount on the item you want to buy. If the item is always on sale, it is not actually a sale, you just increased the list price to make it look like I am getting a good deal! But at least in this situation, the “surprise” is not to my disadvantage, i.e. looking at the price tag, then the employee telling me that actual price is 20-30% lower. Unlike the restaurant where I read the price, eat the meal, and then is presented with a bill that is 17.7% higher than what I expected… and then add in the charge for the ice cubes and what have you…

My first trip to Bangkok in a while and I was surprised to find that some restaurants at shopping malls (IconSiam, Central World) now list their prices without sales tax (VAT) and also add a 10% service charge to the bill. Is this a new thing? In Thailand / Chiang Mai, I only ever remember having seen this at the restaurant at Four Seasons, and they make it rather clear that the list price is exclusive of service charge and sales tax, unlike the restaurants at the mall, where I did not notice it until the inflated bill came. Rather annoying development, if this will be the norm. The service charge is just a hidden fee: If they want to increase prices by 10%, they should do so on the menu, not try to disguise it via a “fee”, same with the VAT, it is 7% everywhere in Thailand, it serves no purpose to give me the price without VAT, unless there is actually a possibility for me to get it back, but last I checked, tourists do not get VAT refunds for the meals they had in Bangkok when leaving the country…

Most clerks I run into still seem unaware of the contactless payment option, and I have to tell them to please use that, as it should be more convenient for both parties, but several times I have found that my card fails on the first attempt, but succeeds at the second attempt. Though I think this is only at Central Department Stores. Though I have since switched to using QR payment: Contactless is more convenient, but with Kasikorn (which I now use) the bank statement will just say “Debit Card” for all card payments, where with QR payments, there is some extra description of who the money was paid to.

It shouldn’t require an AGM decision, but it would be pretty autocratic of a committee to decide this on their own without any co-owner input (i.e. the AGM). Also, they could be bound by past AGM resolutions. E.g. if AGM decided to hire a management company on a two year contract, approved a budget that included the management company as one of the expenses, or similar. And of course, if they do change management to a more expensive company, they will likely not follow the budget approved by the co-owners.

This is highly unlikely. If banks had a weak link like this, I think we would see a lot more stories about people losing money, and strong encryption is table stakes for a software development platform/framework. You also see people losing money from their bank account in the “developed world”, and it pretty much always comes down to some sort of social engineering. I recently signed up for online banking with Kasikorn. They got the last four digits of my phone number wrong, customer service could confirm this, and also confirm that my real number was associated with my account (just not online banking). It was required to receive an initial OTP to activate my account, and the customer service representative told me that under no circumstances were she allowed to fix my wrong number, for this, I had to come to the branch with the usual set of documents. Quite sure that policy had been instated to limit the possibility of a social engineering attack.