tom in bangkok

What's the fine for not filling out a TM28? Never done a TM28 or 90-day report and a TM30 was just filed for me for the first time recently (been staying here since 2018).

Getting my next extension soon and totally forgot that TM28 was a thing ????

I saw a thread or two about how to get a virtual credit card and, as if through godly intervention, I received this email which I now pass onto you. You can thank me later ????

Unfortunately the youtube video was removed. Last time I saw one of these emails with a youtube link there was an Indian-sounding man poorly explain how their template credit card management website worked. Here's to poor attempts of scamming people!

(it's a joke please don't ban me)

3 hours ago, Max69xl said:

I have travelled with a lot of airlines,and never been informed about the possibility to show my card when checking in. Sometimes I don't even carry the card I used for my ticket. I must be a lucky man. ????

Same here. My only guess is that people get asked to show their card were flagged on their risk assessment software ????

28 minutes ago, Pib said:

yeap....that's how the great majority to Thai bank operates when it comes to debit card use, within and outside your home province/bank region.   From looking at the various debit cards offered by K-bank, they all charge the roaming fee (i.e., when withdrawing out of province/bank region).

Thanks. Didn't even know this existed.

26 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

In this day of online, instant communication between computers the out-of-province fee sounds like the sort of rip-off fee Thai banks continue to use simply because they can

Sounds like it. To add to it, you get charged an annual fee for a debit card PLUS you have to pay the issuing fee (my newest card was 700 thb..)

On 1/15/2020 at 2:51 PM, jak2002003 said:

Well, I thought that too.  But my parents were grilled about the address, as it had no house number... and in immigration woman was not very friendly with them, saying it was not a hotel and she wanted the house number... she even called over another immigration officer.

Huh, interesting. Do you know which box they ticked on the back of the arrival card? I don't have a place of my own yet and am staying with a mate, but I've never been questioned about the address on the arrival card.... maybe because I always tick the "friend's place" box?

4 hours ago, Max69xl said:

When people move to another province it's normal to change branch to avoid fees.

Is this legit? I haven't noticed any fees/charges for withdrawing at an ATM in a different province with KBank.

10 hours ago, noticojaru said:

Wake up, we're talking about kasikorn.

you're talking bulishlt.

to open a new account, I'd have to close my current one. Once I've closed it, I may not be able to open a new one, anywhere, because they've tighted KYC regulations. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to. And if I'm not? As if you were not aware of that.

I have two active accounts with KBank, the latest one was opened in the last month or so.

10 hours ago, noticojaru said:

bingo! What left is: find such a bank, find a branch, a manager that'll be willing to open an account for me on a tourist visa.

Bingo! Tourist visa. That's probably a problem!

6 hours ago, Scott Tracy said:

For information on one of the posts here, a nameless card can be given at the bank, so the punter doesn't have to wait for 2 weeks for one to arrive at their address.

It doesn't take 2 weeks in my experience (usually a day or two, pickup), but banks don't print/punch account holder names onto debit cards for non-Thais -- at least with KBank.

I think the questions/concern about it is fair enough -- usually it's only visa/mc gift cards that don't have names on them in western countries. Bottom line is that it doesn't make a difference for payment authorization, and anyone who needs to check the card (like at the airport apparently) would, at worst, ask for extra ID to confirm the payment/booking.

On 1/16/2020 at 7:57 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

Does not matter which bank issued it, if it has VISA or Mastercard on it then it should be valid worldwide. I do wonder about the reasoning behind the bank not putting your name on it? My SCB VISA Debit Card has no name, but I guess the imbeded chip identifies it as mine.

I ask this question to my KBank branch when I visit (hoping for a real answer) and always get the same response "falang debit card not have name printed". Leaves me with more questions -- one of which was why I couldn't get a special edition debit card design because it was for Thai people only.

@sometimewoodworker thanks mate. Do you have any recommendations for other loos?

While stupidly expensive, the newest Toto does look very cool and I don't think anyone here could truthfully deny that.

I've had the Toto catalogue on my shelf for a long time while I decide which toilet to buy for my new house in Bangkok. I really want the Toto Neorest NX1 (the Rolls Royce of toilets) but it's 200k THB and is not something I have any hope of justifying to my other half. I think I can get away with the Washlet GG for about 63k THB but I want to know what your thoughts are about Toto bogs.

The difference between the two models seems to just be the design and material(?) used for the unit and the lack of "electrolysed antibacterial" water. I'm sure I can negotiate the price down as well.

A bum gun is great and certainly better than dry wiping, but comforts such as anal laser-precision bidets are part of the little things in life that help.

I have a Samsung "Air Track" 1800W bagless that works great and always has strong suction. I empty the dust vortex thing every few vacuums into a plastic bag (on the balcony because dust spreads) and then bin it. Only problem is that sometimes the doughnut-shaped vortex dust thing gets clogged so the dust stops spinning around, but that's only when I don't bother taking the dust out.

I've had bagged vacuums before and after a few years it's almost impossible to find replacement bags. With bagless, you only need to get a new vacuum cleaner when the machine breaks, instead of when the manufacturer stops making bags / merchants stop selling bags.

To add to my reply, if OP doesn't bother to sign up to a different bank then I have no sympathy. Masochism for the sake of an imagined principle.

BKK Bank and KBank own more than half of the market share combined. If you're not happy with either bank and you live in Bangkok then you need to get a grip and realise that Thailand doesn't have royal commissions or enquiries into the banking industry, and so branch policy depends on how the owner/manager feels on that particular day.

Find a new bank or deal with your current one.

On 1/9/2020 at 8:48 PM, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

well, banks are banks, but a fair bank will tell you that you are about to sign an important form.

that is not what the bangkok bank clerk did. 

Mate you're not living in a place like Australia where you get a fair go and where banks won't let you sign anything before they finish their 10 minute spiel/disclaimer about the main details. You should find a different bank.

After I filled in a standard information form for KBank I was asked what colour debit card I preferred. Even if you don't speak Thai and live in the sticks, mate, there is at least one other option -- KBank.

I really do not understand why people are so loyal to their bank after (sometimes) repeated issues to do basic things.  I saw a weird payment on my account yesterday and picked up my replacement card today. Is it really this hard to spend 30-45 minutes at a bank to open a new account?

If you need to get a new debit card and you're with Bangkok Bank, you might as well spend a bit extra time to get a new debit card from another bank. Avoid Bangkok Bank like the plague for all your debit card needs.

Grab could support the Thai economy more by using a local payment processor instead of Adyen (EU company).

Either way, a good outcome from their GrabFood program.

@noticojaru why do you want a CUP/JCB debit card specifically instead of any of the other card brands?

50 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Bangkok Bank hasn't got a clue what TPN is and how it works

TPN was created by both Bangkok Bank and UnionPay, so they know how it works. Whether or not understanding of the product trickles down into the customer service and sales teams is something different though.

The requirements for processing are weird. TPN credit is okay but not debit, servers can't be "cloud based" even if the server farm is in Thailand. I'm fairly certain the servers have to be plugged into some BBL office to get approval.

1 hour ago, noticojaru said:

why are you talking gibberish? UnionPay works in 170 countries

He's saying that the number of merchants who accept UnionPay cards is quite a lot smaller than other brands. Most (if not all) of the major shopping merchants accept UnionPay, but not everywhere, and certainly not many small-medium sized merchants accept it.

It depends on why you want it (why do you want a UnionPay/JCB debit card?) as to whether or not it would be as useful as a more "mainstream" card scheme like Visa or Mastercard.

Edit: summary: day-to-day usage of a UPI card isn't going to be as possible or convenient as visa/mc. Might as well have a Diners card for the free bottle of wine at restaurants

4 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Every customer at Bangkok Bank can choose from UnionPay or Be1st Smart TPN MasterCard. 

Sure, but both cards have their own problems that standard V/MC cards don't have. Namely acceptance by merchants (UnionPay) and acceptance online (TPN).

There are no JCB debit card issuers in Thailand according to https://www.global.jcb/en/products/cards/issuer/

KBank issue JCB credit cards last time I checked. I'm not particularly interested in JCB cards, however at some point I read something about there being a difference between JCB cards issued by a Japanese bank and those that aren't.

Why are you interested in JCB and UnionPay? Visa/MC generally have better acceptance rates with merchants.

I've been working in online payments for the last 4 years dealing directly with merchants, then transitioned into the development side and had a lot of fun. In 2018 I moved to the business unit. Currently I manage relationships with clients, plan and manage the entire lifecycle of products from planning to deployment, and interact directly with contacts from the card schemes.

Looking for opportunities in the payments industry in a technical product position, either in a startup or agile company. I have experience with a number of Thai products including TPN, PromptPay, Silverlake, UPOP (through TPN), some exposure to e-wallets and shipping providers. I also have detailed knowledge of the latest mandates from Visa and Mastercard regarding SRC.

I have a degree in computer science (software development) and a postgrad diploma in business management.

If you're interested please reach out to me via PM (I'm not very comfortable posting my CV with my personal details on a public thread)

Is anyone else able to get the checkout staff to bag your stuff with the reusable bags? I've given them the bags a couple times so far and they just stack everything on the counter. Then they watch me bag everything..

Plastic bag ban does not mean your job has one less duty.