OJAS

On 7/2/2025 at 11:43 AM, spidermike007 said:

There's been a lot of debate about that but if you send it to your Thai woman or to a Thai friend you can trust, according to attorneys I've spoken with it's a pretty effective work around. 

Wise should be avoided in this situation, though. When creating your Thai partner/friend as a new payee recipient they will insist on their name being recorded in the Latin format. But Thai names on Thai bank accounts are usually stated in Thai script, therefore leading to a mismatch which could prove problematical as Thai banks scrutinise financial transactions more closely.

This is likely the reason why my test transfer of just under ฿400 to my Thai wife's account failed a few days ago, despite Wise having sent the money to her Thai bank.

If, however, we are talking about single transfers of huge amounts, then SWIFT would appear to be the way forward in any event.

1 hour ago, James105 said:

I remembered she lied to get a position she is so clearly not qualified for and is completely out of her depth.

I'm more inclined to point the finger of blame at the gullible individual who appointed her to this position - namely two-tier Kier.

On 6/30/2025 at 7:28 PM, lungbing said:

My application was rejected for having Insufficient information.  The only information missing that I can think of is my middle name, and I don't have one.

That also happened to me a while back. So I then completed all non-mandatory fields and resubmitted, whereupon my application was approved. And I don't have a middle name either!

3 hours ago, pepper402 said:

I tried that - but I can't connect at all with my DTAC SIM.  Maybe DTAC also turned me off...  😞

Do you have a current roaming package?

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/roaming/rate/usa/

8 hours ago, rwilem said:

Right, you really want to stay up on these things, be 'pro-active' if you can. Being outside the country brings an added challenge to navigating all the bank stuff going on.

It is possible to check whether your SIM registration is compliant for banking purposes by dialling *161# If you then get some Thai text followed by the last 4 digits of your existing passport number, you're OK.

Not sure whether the OP can do this from the States, though - and your second sentence would appear to be particularly apposite in his case!

1 minute ago, CallumWK said:

 

Actually not worth a reply, as you have shown what an idiot you are

Congratulations on being the second person whom I've added to my ignore list. I've got absolutely no time for trolls like you.

On 7/1/2025 at 9:06 AM, CallumWK said:

 

You need to be an IT geek to download an app from the Google Playstore? I'm surprised you manage to post on an online forum.

There's rather more involved than downloading an app from the Google Playstore, I think, as previous posters have pointed out.

On 7/1/2025 at 9:06 AM, CallumWK said:

 

You expect to get everything for free?

 

So I should be skipping up and down my soi in a state of unbridled ecstasy having just forked out up to ฿24,000 for a tablet solely in order to be able to watch EPL games, right?

On 7/1/2025 at 9:06 AM, CallumWK said:

The price is already published, if you could be bothered to look it up.

 

 

“MONOMAX Standard” Monthly Package: 299 Baht/month

“MONOMAX Standard” Monthly Package: 2,999 Baht/year

Available for purchase via Google Play Store and Apple Store

Exclusive for AIS customers! Get “MONOMAX Standard”

At the best price available:

Monthly Package 199 Bath/month (from 299 Baht) - dial *899 to subscribe

Monthly Package 1,999 Bath/year (from 2,999 Baht) - dial *899*1 to subscribe

 

Available for all AIS mobile customers (prepaid and postpaid) and AIS 3BB FIBRE 3 broadband customers (new, existing, and port-in customers, both individuals and businesses). Enjoy live broadcasts for all matches throughout the season on AIS PLAY with live viewing on up to 11 channels in Full HD quality.

I was already well aware of the pricing list, thank you very much.

19 hours ago, cgros said:

 

In cases of accounts being funded in the requisite amount for less than 4 months, will the bank letter explicitly state that that the account is to be frozen for 4 months? If so, that could surely prove problematical for IMM.

28 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Same in my case, my passport number changes with every new passport issued.

 

Yep, looks like after being issued with a new passport from now on we'll need to follow up a trip to our bank to update our passport details with a trip to an appropriate SIM card retail outlet to get our SIM card registration updated on the basis of the last 4 digits of our new passport number!

Great news on the Krungsri Biz Online front, judging from recent posts! Does anyone know whether SCB and KTB likewise gave subscribers to their online personal banking facilities an opportunity to switch to business accounts before pulling the plug?

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

Sounds like you may have a problem,  the solution to not being able to log in is to log in and change stuff.  You're in a loop!  

Sounds to me like @pepper402 may have been caught up in the situation referred to in the following thread on the Banking forum:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1359645-does-your-sim-registration-and-bank-details-match/

If he has an AIS SIM card, he will need to visit an AIS Shop to get things sorted (just as I had to do in my case) - which he clearly cannot do at the present time! Presumably similar if he has a DTAC or True SIM card?

On 7/1/2025 at 10:46 AM, Upnotover said:

That also works here, although not every merchant has a machine for it.  Wave your card (or phone) at them and say "TAP".  Then do exactly the same as you did in the UK.

Do you know what the maximum limit per contactless transaction is in LOS, please? Unlikely to be anywhere near the £100 (= ฿4,400) UK limit, I would have thought.

I have to say that I'm finding the amount of hassle involved for those of us who, like myself, aren't whizzo IT geeks in order to be able to watch the games subscribed to - not to mention the additional expense involved if, as in my case, we don't already possess the necessary kit beyond a smartphone - extremely off-putting in signing up for these deals.

I also have my doubts as to whether we're likely to get anything like the comprehensive service provided by True for 199/299 THB pcm or 1,999/2,999 THB pa. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

1 hour ago, oldcpu said:

My wife contacted our local branch of Krungsri. They stated there was no point to use Krungsri Biz online, as that too would have it online closed in the relatively near future.  Frankly - I don't believe that.

 

But according to what my wife was told by the Krungsri rep, it is Bank of Thailand recent policy for all banks to have their computer based online banking (ie access via laptop.desktop computer) to be closed, while banking via the bank's smartphone apps, will continue. 

On the Krungsri Biz point, I now gather that there are charges levied for the use of business accounts which don't apply in the case of personal accounts.

If it does turn out that the BOT is, indeed, behind any move to discontinue online banking across the board, then, quite frankly, I am disgusted - while not being at all surprised at the same time, I have to say. IMHO they would have been far better off in their regulatory capacity in getting Thai banks to waive their annual credit and debit card fees of around 250 THB. In that way, contactless forms of payment, which have proved to be such a resounding success in my home country (UK) since the pandemic, could, hopefully, have taken off here more than they have. As I found out on my last trip to the UK in May 2024, you only need to hold a credit or debit card (which don't attract any annual fees) against a scanner for 1 second max until you hear a beep in order to pay for restaurant meals, supermarket purchases, bus fares, etc. Far more convenient than having to spend at least 30 seconds (if you're lucky) in faffing about with a slow and erratic banking app and then aiming an e-pot shot with it at a QR code, I would have thought!

We should also not forget that we presumably have the BOT to thank for the fact that Wise have not been able to make their card available in Thailand thus far, for some ridiculous regulatory reason in all probability!

The only inference which I think that we can draw from all this is that the BOT are, in their regulatory capacity, out to make the whole banking process for Thai account holders just as cumbersome and awkward as it humanly can be - presumably in the name of "security".

On 6/25/2025 at 9:36 AM, Bredbury Blue said:

Now, all British citizens abroad can vote, no matter how long they’ve been away.

All very well if the MP for the constituency in which you're registered is prepared to take up the cudgels on your behalf as an overseas voter - and, equally importantly, you have a suitable friend or relative in the UK who is prepared to act as your voting proxy at elections (postal voting is impractical from Thailand).

In my case, unfortunately, neither is applicable any longer.

Just because your witnessed life cert was received on 29 May does not, unfortunately, appear to mean that it would have been actioned by the DWP on that date - or, indeed, any time soon thereafter. In my case, although tracking indicated a delivery date of 29 January, it was not until 20 February that they finally got round to processing my life cert (as they informed me when I subsequently double-checked with them).

Maybe the long and winding road (via the M6, M62 and M1/A1) which our witnessed life certs have, I presume, to follow between their receipt at Wolverhampton and their eventual landing in the in-tray of an individual working at DWP's Newcastle upon Tyne office could have something to do with the delay? But, even so, it is clearly totally unacceptable for them to be dragging their feet in your case as a result of systemic shortcomings at their end.

If you are experiencing no joy in receiving responses to your written communications with DWP, then I can only suggest that you call them on +44-191-218-7777 Mondays-Fridays between 2.00pm and midnight local time in Thailand instead.

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

10 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

 

I'm having the same issue with Wise - Krungsri. Previously worked, now it bounces saying account details don't match (they do, and no details have been changed). Haven't been to the bank to try and fix it yet, wondering if it will work if I delete the payee in the Wise account and then set it up again. 

If the payee in question is a Thai national, might this also be down to the Thai v Latin script account holder's name issue I've alluded to?

On 6/26/2025 at 12:08 AM, PatThaiM said:

I did a transfer last Friday to a Thai persons Kasikorn account.

Interesting! I would have thought that there would have been a mismatch between their account name as probably recorded in Thai script by Kasikorn and that recorded in Latin script when you presumably set them up as a new Wise recipient, which might have caused the transfer to be rejected at the final hurdle by Kasikorn. A test transfer of just under 400THB which I initiated to my Thai wife a couple of days ago has not shown up in her Bangkok Bank account for likely this very reason (I had received an email from Wise confirming that the money was on its way to them). I have alerted Wise to the need IMHO for it to be possible for Thai names to be stated in Thai script when setting up new recipients given the increasing importance now being given by Thai banks to the reconciliation of account names. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear from the reply I've received that this will be happening any time soon.

3 hours ago, pimmmm said:

I read some people on here have their UK bank registered to their Thai address?

My Co-op account has been registered to my Thai address since I moved here in 2008, with no problems thus far. 🤞

1 hour ago, dayo202 said:

UK banks are looking at any reason to shut us expats account down.

Barclays seem to be the worst culprits in that regard: there have been a fair few reports on here over the years about them gleefully going after expats with zeal and gusto and abruptly closing their onshore accounts at ultra-short notice with reckless abandon. However, apart from isolated reports concerning NatWest and TSB specifically, I'm not aware from what has been said (or, more to the point, not) on AN about any other UK banks indulging in such skulduggery.

50 minutes ago, offset said:

Just came back from my branch she did not have a clue what I wanted so she rang head office

Head office told me I have to do nothing till I get a notification online and telephone with the details of uploading to Krungsri online biz to be sent to me on the 1st of July 

Sounds hopeful for those of us who, like myself, have a strong aversion to Thai banking apps. Please do let us know in due course what 1 July brings in your case.🤞

Incidentally, does anyone know whether SCB and KTB have allowed personal account holders to switch to biz accounts following the scrapping of their online banking services?

52 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

Now  initially, before residing in Thailand, I suspect to initially obtain the Type-OA in the USA, you may be able to use health insurance obtained in the USA.   That only works for the initial visa (I believe)

A US insurer would, however, have to append signatures to a Foreign Insurance Certificate*, which might prove easier said than done in practice.

* https://longstay.tgia.org/document/foreign_insurance_certificate.pdf

1 hour ago, lookingfornofixbeingthefix said:

plus will my hotel be sufficient enough for the TM7?

Just make sure that they have registered you with IMM for TM30 purposes, though.

54 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Some people never move with tech, my parents refused to use ATMs

Why should we be expected to embrace the lousy apps which Thai banks seem hell-bent on ramming down our throats come hell or high water, whereas this need does not arise in the case of their UK counterparts because they are all sticking with internet banking?

Incidentally I did have a go with the dreaded Bangkok Bank app for a couple of months before dumping it in disgust after coming close for the umpteenth time to hurling my smartphone against a wall in sheer frustration over its slowness!

21 hours ago, Magictoad said:

My personal main target is that we'll known coffee chain Starf#£ks.

Yep, I only found out that those clowns no longer accept cash when I tried to pay for an Americano with a 1,000 THB note while awaiting the results of a blood test at a local hospital a couple of days ago. It therefore came as a huge relief to be informed by the doctor I subsequently saw that I should give up drinking caffeine-laden Americanos because of my medical condition. As a result, I won't need to do business with this rabble ever again in any event. Thanks, doc!😛

On 6/24/2025 at 2:03 PM, Tropicalevo said:

Kasikorn Biz online account

Presumably you mean Krungsri Biz online account? And I take it that one will need to have an existing bona fide business account with Krungsri in order to be able to open a second one for personal use?