File photo: REUTERS

 

By Jonathan Fairfield

 

PayPal will no longer be available to the vast majority of people in Thailand from February 2022.

 

PayPal recently announced that anyone in Thailand who set up a personal account before March 2021, will no longer be able to receive payments or even have a balance on their account from February 2022.

 

“PayPal is preparing to relaunch services in Thailand. If your account was opened prior to March 7, 2021, you will need to take some action to continue using your account in Thailand, the company says on its website. 

 

The move essentially means that as of February next year, PayPal will no longer be available to customers with personal accounts in Thailand. 

 

For people who rely on PayPal to receive payments from overseas, they will no longer be able to do so without a registered business account. 

 

Online teachers, freelance workers, digital nomads or even people in Thailand who use PayPal to receive money from friends and family overseas will have to find an alternative.

 

In order to get a registered business account, people will need to be registered via the Thai government’s Know Your Business (KYB) scheme. 

 

Registration for a business account requires applicants to submit their 13 digit registration number, as well as the identification documents of all company shareholders with more than 25% stake in the company. In addition, anyone who is authorised to use said business account is also required to submit their identification documents.

 

Furthermore, business accounts will then be charged 7% VAT on all transactions, while domestic transactions can only be made in Thai baht and must be linked to a Thai bank account.

 

Business customers will also no longer be able to transfer money bank accounts in the United States.

 

The move has come about after the Thai government overhauled regulation of the country’s fintech sector. 

 

This means that PayPal has been forced to adhere to a new regulatory framework in order to be able to operate in Thailand. 

 

However, speculation online says the move is to do with Thailand cracking down on money laundering. 

Last year PayPal announced it was no longer accepting new registrations for accounts from people in Thailand.

 

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Consider it a public service. It's the Nokia of payment platforms and should be a footnote in history.

I closed three PayPal accounts yesterday: my personal account, my wife's personal account, and our business account.  Goodbye PayPal hello Wise.

26 minutes ago, Galong said:

I closed three PayPal accounts yesterday: my personal account, my wife's personal account, and our business account.  Goodbye PayPal hello Wise.

Precisely. Technology evolves constantly. PayPal has ran it's course, it belongs to the past. Let it rot.

 

Money laundering in Thailand? I don't believe it. Who would be so dishonest as to hide ill gotten gains? Certainly not my noodle vendor.????

I get three requests a week from Paypal to update my personal details.  Is this the same spoof thing?  How can I close my account?  Will the real Paypal please stand up.

58 minutes ago, Galong said:

I closed three PayPal accounts yesterday: my personal account, my wife's personal account, and our business account.  Goodbye PayPal hello Wise.

So did I, but only one personal account. May PalPal rot in peace.

And what makes you think that 'Wise' won't have to adhere to Thai government requirements as well?

1 hour ago, Galong said:

I closed three PayPal accounts yesterday: my personal account, my wife's personal account, and our business account.  Goodbye PayPal hello Wise.

I have never seen a checkout option with WISE listed

 

OOOPS

 

I teach online and get paid with PayPal. Fortunately it's a US acct. Goes to my US bank, then here to my LOS bank with Wise.

 

The online teaching company in their newsletter last week asked which other services we'd like to get paid with, I suspect that's related to this situation.

Funny isn't it. Some months ago they were blethering on and on about the cashless society coming to Thailand, and now they are shutting down one of the pillars of the new "cashless" system.

 

I suppose that it is all about control - Paypal is basically not owned, controlled or delivers it's profits to the Thai establishment, so it goes. No doubt other International money transfer and payment channels will follow - should fit well with the trumpeted. ambitions to attract the wealthy tourists and expats!

 

I don't use PayPal very often, mostly for receiving fees from some online teaching and for buying second hand books from the UK. I suppose I could use my UK PayPal instead, and transfer the money in and out of my UK account. Interestingly transfering money between my Thai PayPal to my Thai bank takes up to a couple of days, whereas between my UK PayPal and my UK bank it is instant.

4 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

I have never seen a checkout option with WISE listed

 

But Wise DO offer a mastercard...

1 hour ago, webfact said:

In order to get a registered business account, people will need to be registered via the Thai government’s Know Your Business (KYB) scheme. 

 

Registration for a business account requires applicants to submit their 13 digit registration number, as well as the identification documents of all company shareholders with more than 25% stake in the company. In addition, anyone who is authorised to use said business account is also required to submit their identification documents.

 

Furthermore, business accounts will then be charged 7% VAT on all transactions, while domestic transactions can only be made in Thai baht and must be linked to a Thai bank account.

Hahaha. Absolutely absurd. And yet they've been screaming for the past few years about becoming "the hub" of this and that, like digital nomads, skilled expats, "Smart visas", e-commerce, yadda yadda. This just totally kills it.

10 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

I have never seen a checkout option with WISE listed

 

 

Yes, I don't know what this guy is talking about. PayPal is still the king of payment systems. It's Thailand that sucks. Thankfully I still have Canadian PayPal account.

3 minutes ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Hahaha. Absolutely absurd. And yet they've been screaming for the past few years about becoming "the hub" of this and that, like digital nomads, skilled expats, "Smart visas", e-commerce, yadda yadda. This just totally kills it.

Yet another example of that peculiarly Thai governing classes skill in "Podiatric marksmanship"!

 

Losing the best consumer protection I've had since cancelling my Amex card some years ago. Now I'm down to Kasikorn virtual credit cards. I wonder how little consumer protection they give. 

18 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

I have never seen a checkout option with WISE listed

 

Me neither. Until a few minutes ago I'd never even heard of Wise. 

This is to discourage people working illegally here. I hope Wise follows too. For instance by allowing transfers from and to bank accounts under the same name only and with work permit.

Goodbye PayPal. Hello Crypto.

Last time I transferred money to pp the money disappeared... so I will not miss pp ....

Just confirming. Only applies to Thai PayPal accounts? Accounts registered in UK and elsewhere unaffected. Yes? Or will Ppal block the use of these if currently staying in Thailand?

4 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

Just confirming. Only applies to Thai PayPal accounts? Accounts registered in UK and elsewhere unaffected. Yes? Or will Ppal block the use of these if currently staying in Thailand?

Only affects Thai PayPal accounts. If you have a UK (or USA etc.) PayPal account  you can still use it but if you need the money in Thailand you will have to find an alternative way to get it here.

38 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

But Wise DO offer a mastercard...

Not for Thailand residents. Just as PayPal never offered their card here. 

What are they requiring for business accounts?  I have one that I rarely use but haven't received any notices.   Do they actually want a copy of your Thai company registration docs?

More government meddling in personel choices about money. I think every government will keep up this mission creep until everyone has an account with a Central Bank and this is the only option available. 

 

I moved my Paypal account to the UK a few months ago. I also use XE Currency to transfer money from the UK to my Thai account. I have used it about 20 times now. 2 GBP fee. Faultless and within 24 hours so far. WISE is rubbish. Okay if you are from the US i suppose. 

PayPal have had their day, and you'd think that they'd be falling over themselves to help us and to get some business back, but they're doing the opposite. As others mentioned, I reckon it's not all their fault, but the government here to collect tax from people 'navigating the system.'

 

5 minutes ago, Heng said:

What are they requiring for business accounts?  I have one that I rarely use but haven't received any notices.   Do they actually want a copy of your Thai company registration docs?

Yes, and more... not quite all directors' and staff's cats' birth and death certificates, but it's feeling a bit like that!

54 minutes ago, SeaMike01 said:

And what makes you think that 'Wise' won't have to adhere to Thai government requirements as well?

They might, but I find them a lot easier to deal with and their exchange rate knocks PayPal's out of the water.

1 minute ago, 2long said:

Yes, and more... not quite all directors' and staff's cats' birth and death certificates, but it's feeling a bit like that!

Yes, when we set up our business account they wanted all sort of things that I considered none of their business, such as income amounts. Docs are one things; financial records are another.  

Plus, we had a business account for some time and they asked us to do it all again sometime later.  It was tedious and, in my opinion, not necessary as nothing had changed.