UK Embassy will not accept Union Pay debit cards

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, darrendsd said:

Thanks Joe, did they issue you the card in the branch or did they send it to your house?

It was handed to me at the branch.

[Tanoshi]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The magnetic stripe version will still work until it expires as well for online transactions. After 2019 it will not work in a ATM and at most merchants.

After 31st Dec 2018 according to the link.

[ubonjoe]

Just now, darrendsd said:

So they allow you to  have 2 cards? 1 for ATM withdrawals and 1 for online transactions (until it expires)

I have 2 cards now. Both work now in a ATM.. After November 2019 the Visa card will not work in a ATM.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

After 31st Dec 2018 according to the link.

This is on the right hand side of the page.

At the top of the page.

[Tanoshi]

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

This is on the right hand side of the page.

At the top of the page.

Until 2019 is the last day of 2018, 31st Dec 2018.

If you could use it in 2019 it would state until 2020, or until the end of 2019.

Edited August 17, 2018 by Tanoshi

[Tanoshi]

12 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

After November 2019 the Visa card will not work in a ATM.

Why? Is that it's expiry date.

I was assured the Visa chip and pin debit card will be valid until it's expiry date for ATM and online transactions.

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Why? Is that it's expiry date.

I was assured the Visa chip and pin debit card will be valid until it's expiry date for ATM and online transactions.

I have seen it stated before that the target date is to have all ATM's in Thailand changed to chips only in November of 2019. Bangkok bank at one time said all of theirs would be chip only by November 2018.

My Visa card is good until 2022 and I have been told it will be good for anything other than ATM's until then.

There were a few people that got lucky and got Visa cards with a chip in them. 

 

 

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I have seen it stated before that the target date is to have all ATM's in Thailand changed to chips only in November of 2019. Bangkok bank at one time said all of theirs would be chip only by November 2018.

My Visa card is good until 2022 and I have been told it will be good for anything other than ATM's until then.

There were a few people that got lucky and got Visa cards with a chip in them. 

 

 

My Visa debit card is chip and pin, so it should be valid for any use until expiry date.

Your Visa debit card obviously has the magnetic strip only.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Your Visa debit card obviously has the magnetic strip only.

Yes 

It was issued over 6 years ago.

Tried to change to one with a chip but was told they didn't have anymore of them.

[NightSky]

Union Pay is a part of China + Brix wanting to contend the US and the west for dominance in financial control, world currency, world power etc

 

Change your bank to one that offers a visa card

[MJCM]

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

<snip>

I have a Visa and a Union Pay card now. Keeping my Visa card safe now since it is good until 2022.

Unfortunately NOT, if that Visa isn't a Credit Card but just a normal ATM/Debit Card. All current BBL Visa ATM / Debit Cards will have to be changed before 31 December 2018 to a Union Pay card unfortunately !

 

Mine is valid till 2025 but also getting pushed to change it. You will see the "warning" message every time you withdraw money from a BBL ATM, but you can (fortunately) still ignore it by pressing "proceed"

[HHTel]

I inquired at the main branch of BKK bank this morning.  The manager there said that I can use my ATM Visa debit card as I do now, i.e. for ATM withdrawals and purchase of goods, until it's expiry date in 2023 then the renewal will be Union Pay!

Do their own staff understand their own policy?  We'll see.

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, MJCM said:

Unfortunately NOT, if that Visa isn't a Credit Card but just a normal ATM/Debit Card. All current BBL Visa ATM / Debit Cards will have to be changed before 31 December 2018 to a Union Pay card unfortunately !

 

Mine is valid till 2025 but also getting pushed to change it. You will see the "warning" message every time you withdraw money from a BBL ATM, but you can (fortunately) still ignore it by pressing "proceed"

The card will not work in a ATM if it only has a magnetic stripe. It will still work for online purchases or bill payments until it expires.

December 31st may be Bangkok banks date to have all their ATM's  converted to chip only.

You can get a Union Pay card as a 2nd card for a fee of 200 baht. I have 2 cards now. Visa and Unionpay.

[MJCM]

Thanks @ubonjoe I will go to my local BBL branch but last time I asked they wanted to change my card to a UP card, which I declined. Didn't know that you can have 2 different cards.

 

I use this BBL card mainly for online payments but in the mean time i opened a KSK account where you can have a Virtual Credit Card which suits me.

[KamnanT]

5 hours ago, tolsti said:

In a word.... China.

 

Union Pay is as useful as teats on a bull.

I would have to agree.  HSBC did the same thing for all of its Hong Kong-issued ATM/debit cards a few years ago: switched from VISA debit to China Unionpay.  Acceptance of Unionpay cards in Europe is still very sparse outside of areas frequented by Chinese tourists.  On a visit to France in 2015, I couldn't find a single ATM that would accept my HSBC card...not even HSBC's own branches in France!  Now apparently LCL (a.k.a. Credit Lyonnais) has joined the Unionpay network so at least one in 10 ATMs will work.

 

My Bangkok Bank VISA debit card expires in 2020 and I will inevitably be offered a Unionpay replacement.  That will be the end of my 19 year relationship with them.

[sumrit]

I've just read through three pages of posts by concerned people ( most of them also) being confused by the rules governing Bangkok Bank's decision to ditch Visa/ Mastercard bank cards and switch to Union Pay, plus the confusion over when their cards might no longer be valid for some functions. 

 

While the vast majority of customers would appear to prefer to stick with a Visa card, it's obvious that Bangkok Bank have no intention of listening to their customers and intend going down their own Union Pay path, so why don't customers that aren't happy with them simply change banks immediately??

 

A few people here say they intend changing when their cards expire, but why wait? Change now. Bangkok Bank just might get the message if there's a large exodus. They certainly won't if people delay changing and there's only a gradual exodus over the next two-three-fours years or so. And if they don't change you'll be with a bank that does give you the service you want.

Edited August 17, 2018 by sumrit

[HHTel]

Waiting for expiry in a few years with the hope that they might change.  Not sure about most other people, but a change of banks would be a pain in the a**e.  Standing orders, direct debits, transfers set up from several banks in the UK and vice versa.  Not such a simple exercise. I've been with BKK Bank for more than 15 years so quite a lot of history built up.

[sumrit]

4 minutes ago, HHTel said:

Waiting for expiry in a few years with the hope that they might change.  Not sure about most other people, but a change of banks would be a pain in the a**e.  Standing orders, direct debits, transfers set up from several banks in the UK and vice versa.  Not such a simple exercise. I've been with BKK Bank for more than 15 years so quite a lot of history built up.

Changing, cancelling and setting up standing orders and direct debits from your UK banks to a new bank(s) in Thailand can all be done on line in a matter of minutes without any hassle at all. 

 

Likewise, setting up payments, direct debits, etc from a new bank in Thailand can also be done on line in a matter of minutes, as can cancelling those payments from your existing (Bangkok) Bank.

 

There is no 'pain in the a**e', or pain of any other kind for that matter. ?

[HHTel]

28 minutes ago, sumrit said:

Changing, cancelling and setting up standing orders and direct debits from your UK banks to a new bank(s) in Thailand can all be done on line in a matter of minutes without any hassle at all. 

 

Likewise, setting up payments, direct debits, etc from a new bank in Thailand can also be done on line in a matter of minutes, as can cancelling those payments from your existing (Bangkok) Bank.

 

There is no 'pain in the a**e', or pain of any other kind for that matter. ?

I don't have online banking in Thailand so a visit would be needed.  Automatic payments from a Thai bank, as many will know is not immediately activated (has on occasion taken weeks to 'kick in') plus with direct debits, both parties have to be involved.

Regarding UK banks, yes, relatively easy to set up a new payment online once you have details of your new bank.  Foreign payments still have to be verified by the UK bank.

Cancelling payments in Thailand is straightforward.  Setting up new payments in another bank - a little more involved.

 

[digger70]

8 hours ago, BobBKK said:

Really?  will they renew on expiry?  and MC too?  what's behind this madness?

No they Wont,,,, No Madness just more security   6  Digit  code. Not many shops have the POS Machines that can Process the Union card . 

[sumrit]

50 minutes ago, HHTel said:

I don't have online banking in Thailand so a visit would be needed.  Automatic payments from a Thai bank, as many will know is not immediately activated (has on occasion taken weeks to 'kick in') plus with direct debits, both parties have to be involved.

Regarding UK banks, yes, relatively easy to set up a new payment online once you have details of your new bank.  Foreign payments still have to be verified by the UK bank.

Cancelling payments in Thailand is straightforward.  Setting up new payments in another bank - a little more involved.

 

So you don't have online (and I assume mobile) banking, you haven't got an account at another bank and your only personal experience is with your Bangkok Bank, and this thread is running because The Bangkok Bank doesn't appear to supply customers modern needs. Sorry but no wonder you've got your head in the sand. 

 

My wife and I, between us, use Kasikorn and Krung Thai (both mine), Thanachart (joint) and  Siam Commercial (wife's). We have internet and mobile banking on all four accounts and whenever we make a payment, whether it's a single payment or (recuring) monthly payment, it is actioned immediately and a confirmation email and/or text is sent within seconds. Not INVOLVED in any way at all. Previous payment details to both individuals and businesses are stored for easy access. With new payments only the bank name and account number are needed, the individuals details (name etc) automatically comes up. You can't go wrong. Completed within seconds. Security is good with the use of one time passwords sent to your mobile to complete each transaction.

 

I've had Kasikorn for some fifteen years so that was set up with my passport and a residence certificate but with Krung Thai I just went in to the bank (on my own) with my (pink) ID Card and yellow Tabien Baan and came out with my account, (visa) chipped ATM card, internet and mobile banking plus online shopping payment availability, all within about twenty minutes or so. 

 

It is not difficult at all.

[phkauf]

I lost my old Bangkok Bank Visa ATM card and they issued me a Union Pay replacement. However Aetna (nee BUPA) can't direct debit the Union Pay card so I was able to get a VISA ATM card from the main branch on Silom. If you persist with a valid reason they will give you a VISA card, but only at the main branch on Silom (from what I am told).

All in all pretty crappy customer service on their part. But with a retirement visa, I think they are the only bank giving US citizens and account. So I'm pretty much stuck.

[Searat7]

Those of us who signed up with BB years ago (14 years for me) might run into problems moving to a new bank if we don’t have work permits. I am going to hang on to my BB ATM card with chip which expires in December 2021, hoping that BB comes to their senses by then.

[Thailand J]

35 minutes ago, phkauf said:

But with a retirement visa, I think they are the only bank giving US citizens and account. So I'm pretty much stuck.

Not so.

I am a US citizen with retirement extension. I have multiple accounts :   SCB, Bangkok Bank and K Bank. Just show your retirement extension and may be a residence certificate and ask to open an account.

You don't have to switch bank if it is troublesome, just use the VISA/Mastercard ATM card from the new bank, keep the BBL account.

You can do fund transfers online between the two accounts, practically it's just one account...hehe...

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2018 by Thailand J

[sumrit]

27 minutes ago, Searat7 said:

Those of us who signed up with BB years ago (14 years for me) might run into problems moving to a new bank if we don’t have work permits. I am going to hang on to my BB ATM card with chip which expires in December 2021, hoping that BB comes to their senses by then.

I've lived here on a retirement extension for fifteen years now. Retired when I came here and I've never had a work permit. I've never had a problem opening a new bank. Last one (Thanachart) was less than a year ago, which I originally opened in just my name then added my wife at a later date.

 

I think people read stories here on TV about people not being able to open a bank account, but when questioned further, usually find out they've only got a tourist visa and, on paper, are only in the country for a short/limited time.

[pontious]

The trouble is communication. You can speak to a zillion office staff and head office and still get different answers. Nine months ago they changed the Bangkok Bank London transfers to Thailand. They still have not published the new  rules!

They still have on there website the benefits of the Visa card, and how to apply.

Sadly I am also with TSB so I have two crap banks.!

[anon537687643]

Will Bangkok bank allow to keep Visa cards for using online and other payments and also the union pay card ?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[pontious]

Quite frankly I don't think anybody knows for sure. You can phone head office and get an answer and then phone 5 minutes later and get a completely different answer.

[phkauf]

1 hour ago, Thailand J said:

Not so.

I am a US citizen with retirement extension. I have multiple accounts :   SCB, Bangkok Bank and K Bank. Just show your retirement extension and may be a residence certificate and ask to open an account.

You don't have to switch bank if it is troublesome, just use the VISA/Mastercard ATM card from the new bank, keep the BBL account.

You can do fund transfers online between the two accounts, practically it's just one account...hehe...

 

 

 

Thanks for that. I will look into it.

[Rastaputin]

I have received a Visa ATM Card from Bangkok Bank when I opened my account in 2016 which is valid until 2022. If they will replace it with Union Pay I would have to switch Banks. But the other problem I might be facing is that I have VISa and MC Credit Cards at Bangkok Bank that I really need as I do a lot of International Travel and Paying Hotel or Flights with a Debit Card is more often than not a hassle. I have a Work Permit and a Term Deposit Account at BBL as a guarantee for the Credit Cards. Any other Bank offering similar perks?