pre-paid credit card valid for internet purchases ?

[orang37]

I am having a devil of a time getting a replacement card issued (long story: retirement visa, new bank manager, blah, blah, blah).

 

Ideally, I'd like to keep a small balance in a pre-paid card (linked to Paypal) to pay for things like monthly subscription charges.

 

Given Paypal's upcoming changes, not allowing incoming payments to your PayPal balance unless you have a Thai business registration, a non-Paypal solution would be better ... maybe ?

 

Ideas ?

 

thanks, ~o:37;

[JustAnotherHun]

Do you still have residency in your home country? Then a Paypal-linked prepaid CC should be no problem

 

[orang37]

13 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Do you still have residency in your home country? Then a Paypal-linked prepaid CC should be no problem

 

Thanks,  I have been residing in Thailand many years, and have no residency back in the US.

 

cheers, ~o:37;

[YT3k72Em]

Any Thai debit card should work for online purchases.

[Hamus Yaigh]

On 11/29/2021 at 1:12 PM, orang37 said:

I am having a devil of a time getting a replacement card issued

AFAIK there are prepaid cards (debit cards) and credit cards. Never heard of prepaid credit cards. Although perhaps you refer to credit cards where you need a fixed deposit upfront as collateral? I have both a debit card and a credit card of this type from K-Bank. You just have to leave 50kTHB in a fix dep account for the credit card. The debit card just works as long as there's any balance in a savings account.

[soi3eddie]

11 hours ago, YT3k72Em said:

Any Thai debit card should work for online purchases.

"Should work" is very different to will work. My Kbank debit card does not work online and I'm happy with that as it stops online fraud (and criminals getting my money). I beleive it can be opened for online purchases by contacting the bank. I did previously use a K-web shopping virtual card which is easy to activate. For online transactions I now prefer to use a UK issued credit card as it affords far better protection in case of fraud.

 

[Surasak]

Are you looking for a 'CASH' card? This is a kind of card you add cash to and use as a general debit card, to pay for goods and services in almost any country in the world.

There a many of these type of cards available from the US, UK and EU. Some are easier than others to acquire. For instance, I have a 'Revolut' cash card registered to my granddaughter's address. I can add funds from my UK bank and use it as a debit card and for transferring sterling to my Thai bank. I have also made purchases in the US, Germany and Australia with this card using the local currency. I don't like PayPal, but that is a personal choice, but there is no reason why it cannot be used through PayPal. 

Search the internet for cash cards an find what is available.

[KhunBENQ]

Thai debit cards can be used (enabled!) for online payments/purchases.

At least domestically from own experience (I use a German cc for payments outside of Thailand).

K-Bank additionally offers a virtual "K-Web Shopping Card" (VISA) with full control of balance and spending limit. Also not sure whether it works internationally.

Edited December 1, 2021 by KhunBENQ

[LikeItHot]

I use my Wise card. Load it just before purchase. Only card that works for me here.

[teeyai]

cashplus Mastercard , I have used it for around 10 years for all online shopping and linked to PayPal also . and it even improves your credit rating .

Edited December 1, 2021 by teeyai

[86Tiger]

1 hour ago, LikeItHot said:

I use my Wise card. Load it just before purchase. Only card that works for me here.

 

 

I go with this.

 

I have been impressed with how well the Wise card works.  The card would be worth having even without ability to make bank transfers.

[cnx1204]

8 minutes ago, 86Tiger said:

 

 

I go with this.

 

I have been impressed with how well the Wise card works.  The card would be worth having even without ability to make bank transfers.

SCB has such a card.  Your limit is what amount you pre-pay.  You get points that are redeemable for stuff.   Flying overseas, prepay the card and then use it for the plane tickets.  Normal credit card protection plus mega points.   Moving money with on-line banking makes it easy and painless.

[lkn]

On 11/29/2021 at 7:12 AM, orang37 said:

I am having a devil of a time getting a replacement card issued (long story: retirement visa, new bank manager, blah, blah, blah).

Did you make sure to ask for debit card? My experience is that they will gladly hand these out, as there is a yearly fee of at least 200 baht, but they may try to up sell you on a more expensive card.

 

A credit card OTOH is much harder to get as a foreigner (from what I hear).

 

Though if you really can’t get a debit card from your bank then I would second (or third) the recommendations for the Wise Mastercard.

 

Only downside with Wise is that money on your account can only be spent or withdrawn via the Mastercard, if you wish to transfer money to another bank, there is a small “balance transfer fee”, though you can transfer to other Wise users free of charge.

[misterphil]

I have an online shopping card linked to my Kasikorn bank account which basically works like a debit card. I pay for Truevisions, Aetna health insurance on monthly direct debits this way.  

[misterphil]

On 12/1/2021 at 12:59 AM, KhunBENQ said:

Thai debit cards can be used (enabled!) for online payments/purchases.

At least domestically from own experience (I use a German cc for payments outside of Thailand).

K-Bank additionally offers a virtual "K-Web Shopping Card" (VISA) with full control of balance and spending limit. Also not sure whether it works internationally.

I have this K-web card to pay my monthly direct debits. 

[misterphil]

On 12/1/2021 at 7:25 AM, 86Tiger said:

 

 

I go with this.

 

I have been impressed with how well the Wise card works.  The card would be worth having even without ability to make bank transfers.

Anybody living in Thailand and needs an income from overseas needs a Wise card. Anyone without one living here is mental. ????

[theoldgit]

5 hours ago, misterphil said:

Anybody living in Thailand and needs an income from overseas needs a Wise card. Anyone without one living here is mental. ????

 

Save that Wise Debit Cards are not readily available for those resident in Thailand.

[Neeranam]

I used to use Entropay, an online prepaid card. I'm sure there are more like this. 

[mvdf]

I have Wirex card which is reloadable with a variety of cryptocurrencies. I also have debit cards from a major Cambodian bank (ABA). I only have good things to say about this bank during my 11 years of banking experience with them. 

 

I use my Kasikorn debit card for retail purchases and ATM withdrawals within Thailand only.

 

When travelling, I use my German credit and debit cards (DKB Bank). 

 

I also use Spendl (yes, an "L" after the Spend). It is a prepaid virtual card reloadable with digital assets.   

 

  

[Neeranam]

4 hours ago, mvdf said:

I have Wirex card

Are they easy enough to get when living in Thailand?

[Neeranam]

I use Crypto.com card. 

 

You c an get up to 8% cashback with this. 

[JackGats]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:45 AM, Hamus Yaigh said:

Never heard of prepaid credit cards. 

They use the term "prepaid credit card" in Europe but you're right it's a misnomer.

 

You transfer so much on the prepaid "credit" card, then you can only spend so much. If you want to spend more, you need to replenish. These cards became popular in Europe I think because in Europe it's more difficult than in the States to get your money back in case of fraud.

[Adumbration]

20 hours ago, misterphil said:

Anybody living in Thailand and needs an income from overseas needs a Wise card. Anyone without one living here is mental. ????

I have a wise account.  I emailed them to ask if they could send me a card.  They replied saying not available to someone in Thailand.

 

If you live here full time like myself, can you please explain how you obtained their card.

[mvdf]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Are they easy enough to get when living in Thailand?

You can only order the card if the country you want it sent to (and proof of address is required for this) is listed with a check icon under the "cards" column on this page:

 

https://wirexapp.com/en/help/article/supported-countries-0182

 

For APAC countries (eligible Asian countries + Australia and NZ) it is a Visa card sent by Wirex Singapore. For Europe, it is a MasterCard sent by Wirex UK.

 

Unfortunately TH is not an eligible country. I had mine delivered to Australia.

 

[lkn]

16 hours ago, JackGats said:

These cards became popular in Europe I think because in Europe it's more difficult than in the States to get your money back in case of fraud

Fraud is fraud, and should be covered by the bank in most of Europe. I think it is more about chargebacks where U.S. banks seem more happy to comply with customer’s request to dispute a charge.

 

But in a lot of countries we tend to use debit cards (not prepaid cards), but we never really thought of it that way. You get a payment card linked to your bank account, if you need credit, you setup a credit for your bank account, and can access it via your payment card.

 

Since many countries have their own national system for cards, often with their own name, e.g. in Germany it has changed a few times, but used to be EC-Karte and is now Girocard, so when translating that to English, we just call it “credit card” because that is what the Americans seems to call these cards, and many Europeans are, or at least used to be, completely unaware of the distinction between debit and credit.

 

Over the last 5-10 years though, VISA and Mastercard have become prevalent in Europe, so now the word “debit” has started to appear in banks’ card offerings.

[JackGats]

30 minutes ago, lkn said:

 

 

Over the last 5-10 years though, VISA and Mastercard have become prevalent in Europe, so now the word “debit” has started to appear in banks’ card offerings.

Alas, many banks are phasing out the (good old) credit cards to replace them with debit cards. Debit card are more likely to get rejected whenever pre-authorisations are needed (car rentals),  plus they enable a fraudster to empty your whole bank account (instead of just stealing your allowed monthly "credit"). Now that negative interest rates and the money-laundering craze have destroyed banks' business model, banking services are in a downward spiral. I see this as the biggest threat to my expat life-style in the not too distant future.

 

Banks in Europe are now getting rid of their most solvent clients (because they have too much negative interest bearing cash and they cannot be gouged with overdraft penalties). How more perverse can it get?

[lkn]

13 minutes ago, JackGats said:

[debit cards] enable a fraudster to empty your whole bank account

You can set limits on debit cards, even different limits for ATM withdrawal, contactless, PIN & chip, swipe, and “card not present” (that would be the most likely candidate for fraud). Several banks allow you to set this yourself in their banking app. Some also allow you to lock and unlock your card. For example my KTB card is currently locked, as I am not in Thailand.

 

6 minutes ago, JackGats said:

Banks in Europe are now getting rid of their most solvent clients (because they have too much negative interest bearing cash and they cannot be gouged with overdraft penalties). How more perverse can it get?

Loans to customers still need to be covered by capital (deposits + shareholder equity), and non-secured loans are still given at rates closer to 10% than 0%, despite the negative interests we are seeing.

 

Banks are certainly hurt by the tightening regulation and capital requirements, but plenty of profit is still being made. I am not really sure what you are concerned about regarding “life as an expat”.

 

Also, as more and more commerce is happening via payment cards/online, banks get a larger and larger cut of the entire economy. That said, for a simple bank, it still seems lending is the main driver of profit.

[Neeranam]

https://www.scb.co.th/en/personal-banking/cards/prepaid-cards/scb-virtual-prepaid-card.html

[Karma80]

I use the SCB Planet pre-paid VISA card. Works very well.
Instant transfers to and from the balance, multicurrency and no international credit card surcharges.
Easily the best domestic Thai solution for an ex-pat I've found.
https://www.scb.co.th/en/personal-banking/cards/prepaid-cards/planet-scb-card.html