PayPal is cancelling personal accounts in Thailand from next year

[Keesters]

2 minutes ago, david555 said:

? You dont have family or friends in your ex Home country could send one ? 

 

I just kept my more than 25 year old number alive when moving Thailand ,and  anytime i login on PayPal they send the code to that dumb phone who hold that sim as before (only switch on when needed of course ) which i fill in online and i am in PayPal

Not so easy for those who have been here over 30 years. Parents, siblings, friends all gone now.

[cygan]

I had an account with TW now called Wise, transfering money to Thailand for my childs pvte education in Bururam, out of the blue they stopped my account, managed to finally text them and requested a review, still said no and no reason given, I had a residual sum of money about 2000 dollars and to date that has not been returned to me. I spoke with an international broker that suggested that when these companies reach a certain daily new listings they can cancell say a 100 accounts each with about a 1000 dollars citing govt money laundering laws and then invest the money on the open market before finally returning it. I believe that is exactly what WISE did and on researching find I am not the only one. BEWARE of WISE!!!. Happened about 2 mths ago. I did not use them much but was stupid enough to leave money in the proxy account.

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Not if you have a Thai address/account it’s only available if you are a resident of UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland

But if you can provide a UK address from a friend or relative then Wise will accept that and send the card to Thailand. I have done this myself.

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Not if you have a Thai address/account it’s only available if you are a resident of UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland

But if you can provide a UK address from a friend or relative then Wise will accept that and send the card to Thailand. I have done this myself.

[david555]

13 minutes ago, cygan said:

I had an account with TW now called Wise, transfering money to Thailand for my childs pvte education in Bururam, out of the blue they stopped my account, managed to finally text them and requested a review, still said no and no reason given, I had a residual sum of money about 2000 dollars and to date that has not been returned to me. I spoke with an international broker that suggested that when these companies reach a certain daily new listings they can cancell say a 100 accounts each with about a 1000 dollars citing govt money laundering laws and then invest the money on the open market before finally returning it. I believe that is exactly what WISE did and on researching find I am not the only one. BEWARE of WISE!!!. Happened about 2 mths ago. I did not use them much but was stupid enough to leave money in the proxy account.

Yes  but also governments and special OECD  money laundering measures are giving financial institutes and banks hell lately , so some like to limit the annoyance and cancel accounts ....example in The Netherlands many accounts just canceled because living in Thailand , even started in my country Belgium also with 1 bank sacking such customer's , giving problem as some have still need of their local home accounts to pay bill , or even receiving money like rent or pension , which is in some cases difficult to receive in Thailand .

The world goes crazy on any control now 

Edited November 12, 2021 by david555

[BMW Overlander]

7 hours ago, BEngBKK said:

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

Whole 3 bucks? Must be devastating.

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

1 hour ago, Peterphuket said:

You are not the only one, I was aware about this for 3 years already, if you like to hide some money anywhare in the world.....forget it.

Heard of MONERO ?

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, Snow Leopard said:

WISE is rubbish.

Care to explain your sweeping, while vague, statement about a company that very many users on this forum almost universally praise? A company that transfers money from my UK account to my Thai account often within seconds?

 

Thanks. I and I'm sure very many users of both Wise and this forum would desperately like to know what problems we can look forward to, problems that you have obviously encountered. If you've even used Wise, that is.

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

2 hours ago, Ebumbu said:

What other online options do I have for outbound transfers from Thailand?

Crypto.

[Bangkok Barry]

6 hours ago, Bagwain said:

it seems that existing accounts are OK, but no new personel accounts will be accepted

Not according to this:
“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. 

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, mahtin said:

Not cancelling. Modifying. Only use mine for online payments. No change.

Me too, and that is rarely. And I doubt that any company/business only accepts PayPal if even that function was cancelled.

[Liverpool Lou]

PayPal is not cancelling all personal accounts in Thailand.  Holders of existing personal accounts opened prior to March '21 will still be able to use their personal accounts linked to Thai bank accounts for purchases.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Ebumbu said:

Thai banks are like Hotel California.

Borders on genius. Thanks.

[berrec]

7 hours ago, Galong said:

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. 

A pain in the ass, I have a USA PayPal account and trying to open up a new Thai PayPal account with all the same business and personal information and Thai bank as the USA account, all previously approved in the USA years ago........it's a nightmare dealing with these idiots at PayPal they want full certification again of every item. 

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, tgw said:

Paypal defrauded me of 500 EUR in 2003. I won't be sorry to see them burn.

Paypal negotiated a refund for me when some goods I bought via an ad on Facebook turned out to be fake and worthless. FB, of course, were not interested. They appear quite happy to accept business from fraudsters.

[humqdpf]

I am so glad to see the end of Paypal. When I wanted to set up an account in one EU country, they told me it was possible. Then when I went to set it up and transferred the cash, they told me that it was not possible. After over a month of calling, emailing etc, they eventually sent my money back.

 

But having told me that it was "impossible" to set up an account in that country, they then showered me with emails, telling me that this was going on with my account, then that. I left a few pence in the account. Years later, they are now telling me that they are shutting the account.

 

Given how badly they treated me, I hope that my account has cost them a bundle. For years I use Wise (used to be called Transferwise) to send money almost anywhere in any currency at excellent exchange rates. No need for Paypal.

[Bangkok Barry]

50 minutes ago, Keesters said:

Not so easy for those who have been here over 30 years. Parents, siblings, friends all gone now.

It used to be possible to buy sim cards over the internet and it was useful for those who needed to be up and running as soon as they landed somewhere. Don't know if that's still the case, as these days you can buy a sim at many airports when you arrive.

[3NUMBAS]

fiddling must be out of sight

[itsari]

4 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Only one exchange, that of Wise. My online teaching company pays in USD, goes into my US bank.

 

It's nice when the dollar is up against the baht. We nearly hit 34 last month.

 

We can't go straight into the Thai bank, because of the topic of this thread.

Then just sit on it 

[soalbundy]

9 hours ago, SeaMike01 said:

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

Isn't their system somewhat different? You pay into their bank account from your home country's bank and then receive your money from a Thai bank to your Thai bank account, it is a transparent system.

[StayinThailand2much]

9 hours ago, BEngBKK said:

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

I used PP in China six years ago to transfer money to Thailand. Almost half was eaten up in fees...

[ibtg68]

9 hours 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?

I have a US PayPal account. A few months ago a friend shipped a few things to me and I reimbursed him via PayPal. My transaction went through but when I tried using PayPal to buy something on eBay, my PayPal was temporarily locked for what was deemed “suspicious fraudulent activity”. I had to answer questions regarding my previous transactions and essentially reset my account. After jumping through those hoops I again tried using PayPal and again, it was locked. Once more I jumped through the hoops and reset the account only to have it locked again when I tried to use it again. The last email I received from PayPal informed me that I could withdraw my money and transfer it to my bank account but not make any purchases until I jump through yet more hoops and reset my account yet again. I’ve withdrawn my money and pretty much written off PayPal. 

[zzaa09]

10 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

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.

The financial mafias, the world over, design their operations and practices to most assuredly benefit themselves in the most controlled manner. 

[jimn]

Without looking through 5 pages of comments. Pay pal has been used extensively by the bars in Pattaya whe they were open for live streaming. People could buy a girl or all the girlsa drink remotely using Paypal. I wonder if this has anything to do with the decision.

[jimn]

10 hours ago, Keesters said:

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

Lol where have you been? Transferwise (Wise) is the cheapest way to transfer small to medium amounts of money at a great exchange rate.

[jimn]

3 hours ago, cygan said:

I had an account with TW now called Wise, transfering money to Thailand for my childs pvte education in Bururam, out of the blue they stopped my account, managed to finally text them and requested a review, still said no and no reason given, I had a residual sum of money about 2000 dollars and to date that has not been returned to me. I spoke with an international broker that suggested that when these companies reach a certain daily new listings they can cancell say a 100 accounts each with about a 1000 dollars citing govt money laundering laws and then invest the money on the open market before finally returning it. I believe that is exactly what WISE did and on researching find I am not the only one. BEWARE of WISE!!!. Happened about 2 mths ago. I did not use them much but was stupid enough to leave money in the proxy account.

Wise after the event comes to mind. Just use Wise to transfer money to Thailand, why use it any other way.

[jimn]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

I used PP in China six years ago to transfer money to Thailand. Almost half was eaten up in fees...

More fool you lol

[zzaa09]

3 hours ago, SeaMike01 said:

If Thailand wants to be a "hub" for digital nomads they need to come up with a more realistic and flexible digital nomad visa. I can understand tightening up the overseas payment systems somewhat, but they still need to make it workable for a wide variety of transactions.

The special digital nomad visa, as they consider themselves special in a terribly fashionable manner.

[LikeItHot]

11 hours ago, HighPriority said:

But Wise DO offer a mastercard...

And they open accounts for Thais and ship the card to Thailand?

[parafareno]

THey said before we want to attract more people and now a knife in the back...what a shame....paypal to paypal transfer was great before......they messed up and they did not tax worldwide income before.....now they want to