Paypal no longer available to foreigners starting October 2022

[Bangkok Barry]

On 6/16/2022 at 12:30 PM, doctormann said:

I received an email from Paypal, back in March, that seemed to indicate that the changes would not affect my account.  I only use PayPal for occasional bill paying - sometimes convenient - but not for other types of transaction so maybe this is why,

 

Email reproduced below:

 

Your PayPal account will no longer be limited on March 7.
     
      

Dear *************,
     
      We recently contacted you about some changes to your PayPal account, which relate to the relaunch of our services in Thailand.

We have been listening to the concerns expressed by our customers in Thailand, and we have been working closely with the Thai authorities to try and address these concerns.

As a result, we are pleased to inform you that you can continue to use your PayPal account as usual. The previously communicated limitation to your account, scheduled to take effect on March 7, 2022, will no longer be implemented.

What this means
 
You will still be able to use your PayPal wallet’s current functionality after March 7, 2022. This means that you may continue shopping with your PayPal wallet, as well as sending and receiving money with your PayPal account.

You do not need to take any action. 

More information can be found on our website. 

This extended functionality will remain in effect while we continue to work on updating our products and processes for the relaunch of PayPal in Thailand. The transfer of accounts to PayPal Thailand will still be going ahead later this year, and we will be in touch with any necessary instructions for your account.

We deeply value our customers in Thailand, and sincerely apologize for the confusion we have caused. 

Thank you for being a PayPal customer.      
      

 

 

I've had the same two communications. I'm confused. It appears that the new email reverses info given in the old one, and now only Thais will be able to use PayPal in Thailand from later this year. Needing a Thai ID card follows on from needing one to pay utility bills in places like 7-11, I believe.

But does this only apply to accounts set up in Thailand? Mine is set up in the UK and PayPal takes payments out of my UK bank account. I can't see that my being in Thailand, with the account based elsewhere, means that any transactions I make will now be blocked. Those who set up their PP account in Thailand, different story. I only use it maybe once or twice a year, for instance to buy software, so what happens doesn't bother me too much. But for those foreigners using it for business - again, different story.

[Bangkok Barry]

On 6/16/2022 at 2:40 PM, JimmyJ said:

On 6/16/2022 at 10:27 AM, Pouatchee said:

Check the links and my copy and paste... welcome to the Thai Bronze Age where going backwards is a sign of the times.

Paypal Bronze Age, isn't it?

 

Or did Thailand insist on this? 

(Seems unlikely to me).

PP are not in the business of preventing people using their services. Thailand insisted on it, and PP have been discussing how they must implement the government's demands. So, Bronze Age Thailand. That should not come as a surprise.

[Mavideol]

On 6/22/2022 at 6:08 PM, Regyai said:

Got the email, from the last U-turn its gone exponentially worse. If you are a foreigner you can <deleted> off it seems ????

 

following the link in the email....

https://www.paypal.com/th/webapps/mpp/thailand-relaunch-faq?locale.x=en_TH&utm_source=epsilon&utm_campaign=A_OW_EM_AH_HR_NI_NI_202206_239351_Email_NDID_Phase1_Consumer_2_TH_en_TH&utm_medium=email

 

 

some time ago here on AsianNow somebody said  the vaccine certificate had a 13 digit number that could be used as a Tax ID or Thai ID, did anybody ever try to register with that number.... I used that number at 7 Eleven to get a Sim card and they accepted it, the girl had to try 3 times but it was accepted at the 3rd trial

[Bangkok Barry]

On 6/16/2022 at 8:28 PM, VocalNeal said:

Intriguing then that the email they sent me was in English but I suppose they don't know, maybe I could be a farang Thai? 

What language have you used when using them in the past? There might be a clue there as to why they wrote to you in English. It says, in bold, you need a Thai ID to register. If you are a foreigner without then you won't be able to, and that is why they emphasised it in bold as it's important. I guess those who have dealt with PP in Thai might have received the email in Thai.

[Mavideol]

3 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

What language have you used when using them in the past? There might be a clue there as to why they wrote to you in English. It says, in bold, you need a Thai ID to register. If you are a foreigner without then you won't be able to, and that is why they emphasised it in bold as it's important. I guess those who have dealt with PP in Thai might have received the email in Thai.

I registered in Thailand 8 years ago and receive all their correspondence in English

[doctormann]

29 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

I received the same letter but they send another one on June 6 with updated information which is the same as the link provided here...

I have received nothing new from them since the previous email that they sent some time ago.  I guess that I'll find out that my account has been discontinued when it ceases to work.  I'm really not too bothered - rarely use it anyway.

[bangkokairportlink]

So funny if you really do not understand that you are concerned only if you opened your Paypal account with a Thai address, which is so stupid from the start.

A paypal account should be opened with the address registered on your passport.

Anybody who opened a Paypal account abroad, I mean anybody smart, is not concerned by this.

 

[bangkokairportlink]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I've had the same two communications. I'm confused. It appears that the new email reverses info given in the old one, and now only Thais will be able to use PayPal in Thailand from later this year. Needing a Thai ID card follows on from needing one to pay utility bills in places like 7-11, I believe.

But does this only apply to accounts set up in Thailand? Mine is set up in the UK and PayPal takes payments out of my UK bank account. I can't see that my being in Thailand, with the account based elsewhere, means that any transactions I make will now be blocked. Those who set up their PP account in Thailand, different story. I only use it maybe once or twice a year, for instance to buy software, so what happens doesn't bother me too much. But for those foreigners using it for business - again, different story.

yes you are not concerned.

 

[konaboy]

On 6/16/2022 at 6:21 AM, ezzra said:

I use PP with my Local bank Visa card and i haven't heard anything of the sort, infect i just logged into my account and there's nothing there to indicate what the OP is saying...

I think he is right. Read somewhere a few months ago you had to set up a Thai company to do vlogs on PP. Not sure of all the details.

[doctormann]

1 hour ago, doctormann said:

I have received nothing new from them since the previous email that they sent some time ago.  I guess that I'll find out that my account has been discontinued when it ceases to work.  I'm really not too bothered - rarely use it anyway.

Just been looking at my PayPal account settings.

My registered address is in Thailand - don't have a UK address so that was not an option when registering my account.

The ID Number that I used - and which appears on the settings - is the one that is on my vaccination certificate.  This was obviously accepted when I registered.  Whether or not it remains valid after October remains to be seen.

 

[ThePugAndMe]

5 hours ago, bangkokairportlink said:

So funny if you really do not understand that you are concerned only if you opened your Paypal account with a Thai address, which is so stupid from the start.

A paypal account should be opened with the address registered on your passport.

Anybody who opened a Paypal account abroad, I mean anybody smart, is not concerned by this.

 

I don't have an address in the UK (my home country) or a bank account there anymore so what freaking country am I supposed to open the account in? Drop the "anyone smart" part of your message, it's nothing to do with being smart... just what makes life easier.

 

What's the chances of Paypal / Thai government reversing their decision if we make a big stink about it?

[Regyai]

30 minutes ago, ThePugAndMe said:

I don't have an address in the UK (my home country) or a bank account there anymore so what freaking country am I supposed to open the account in? Drop the "anyone smart" part of your message, it's nothing to do with being smart... just what makes life easier.

 

What's the chances of Paypal / Thai government reversing their decision if we make a big stink about it?

Who knows, but if history is any indication, the undercurrent of disgruntled customers did cause their previous volte-face in March.

[rbkk]

47 minutes ago, ThePugAndMe said:

What's the chances of Paypal / Thai government reversing their decision if we make a big stink about it?

You mean like all farting at the same time?

[EricTh]

Isn't Wise a much better payment system than Paypal?

 

Paypal's exchange rate is not as good as Wise so why not switch to Wise?

 

Wise account can receive and send money.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by EricTh

[Isan Farang]

8 hours ago, EricTh said:

Isn't Wise a much better payment system than Paypal?

 

Paypal's exchange rate is not as good as Wise so why not switch to Wise?

 

Wise account can receive and send money.

 

 

Just checking if Wise can be used from USA to my Thai registered Wise account.

 

I assume i can hold in USD and keep there untill i decide to change to Baht or make a payment to someone in USD

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, Isan Farang said:

Just checking if Wise can be used from USA to my Thai registered Wise account.

 

I assume i can hold in USD and keep there untill i decide to change to Baht or make a payment to someone in USD

Yes, you can hold in USD and get paid in USD too. The details are in the link below.

 

https://wise.com/us/multi-currency-account/

 

 

[fdsa]

13 hours ago, EricTh said:

Isn't Wise a much better payment system than Paypal?

Paypal is much more widely accepted. I haven't met a single web store yet which accepts Wise payments, and every 2nd web store accepts Paypal.

[Mark1066]

20 hours ago, bangkokairportlink said:

So funny if you really do not understand that you are concerned only if you opened your Paypal account with a Thai address, which is so stupid from the start.

A paypal account should be opened with the address registered on your passport.

Anybody who opened a Paypal account abroad, I mean anybody smart, is not concerned by this.

 

UK passports are not registered with any particular address, what are you talking about? It's not an address-specific document.

[Regyai]

9 minutes ago, fdsa said:

Paypal is much more widely accepted. I haven't met a single web store yet which accepts Wise payments, and every 2nd web store accepts Paypal.

Because Wise is a conduit for cut price international bank transfers, not an online payments platform.

 

 

5 minutes ago, Mark1066 said:

UK passports are not registered with any particular address, what are you talking about? It's not an address-specific document.

I think he was alluding to having a PayPal account in your country of birth, and overlooking the obvious omission that only a Thai PayPal account can integrate with your Thai bank account.  

[VocalNeal]

20 hours ago, bangkokairportlink said:

A paypal account should be opened with the address registered on your passport.

From the best of my knowledge my passport doesn't have an address. So how I could use it I don't know.

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

From the best of my knowledge my passport doesn't have an address. So how I could use it I don't know.

Indeed USA passport only has a page to enter an address if you see fit to do so (and have had 3 types of USA passports).  

[doctormann]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Indeed USA passport only has a page to enter an address if you see fit to do so (and have had 3 types of USA passports).  

UK passports have a page that can be used to supply emergency contact details.  This is purely voluntary and you would not normally put your own details there.

 

[Regyai]

13 minutes ago, doctormann said:

UK passports have a page that can be used to supply emergency contact details.  This is purely voluntary and you would not normally put your own details there.

 

Whatever address you put there wouldn't be 'registered' in the manner suggested for the purpose of opening a PayPal account (or much anything else)

[doctormann]

Just now, Regyai said:

Whatever address you put there wouldn't be 'registered' in the manner suggested for the purpose of opening a PayPal account (or much anything else)

Absolutely.

 

[sandyf]

On 6/22/2022 at 11:11 AM, Eff1n2ret said:

I've sent Paypal a message that if they won't let me link my UK bank account I'm done with them.

If you have a UK bank account i would assume the address for that account is not in Thailand.

You should be able to change your Paypal address to that address by adding an address and then making it the primary address.

I can't remember how long I have been using Paypal, must be well over 20 years and never had a problem. When I came to live in Thailand I changed the Paypal address to a UK postbox, as I did with my UK bank account. My UK bank has been linked to Paypal since I started and a couple of years ago also linked my Wise account. I use my Thai telephone number for verification.

[Mark1066]

6 minutes ago, sandyf said:

If you have a UK bank account i would assume the address for that account is not in Thailand.

You should be able to change your Paypal address to that address by adding an address and then making it the primary address.

I can't remember how long I have been using Paypal, must be well over 20 years and never had a problem. When I came to live in Thailand I changed the Paypal address to a UK postbox, as I did with my UK bank account. My UK bank has been linked to Paypal since I started and a couple of years ago also linked my Wise account. I use my Thai telephone number for verification.

I closed my UK residents bank account a few years ago as I was fed up of keeping up a pretence on the occasions I had to deal with the bank directly. I know it would have been possible to maintain it but it involved pretending I lived in a country that I didn't, so I saw opening a Thai PayPal account and linking it to a Thai bank account as the lesser of two evils, certainly not as a stupid decision anyway.

[tomazbodner]

Thank you for this. Went to read the conditions - you need Thai ID card to proceed. I don't have it. So I just went to close Paypal altogether.

[Regyai]

12 minutes ago, sandyf said:

If you have a UK bank account i would assume the address for that account is not in Thailand.

You should be able to change your Paypal address to that address by adding an address and then making it the primary address.

I can't remember how long I have been using Paypal, must be well over 20 years and never had a problem. When I came to live in Thailand I changed the Paypal address to a UK postbox, as I did with my UK bank account. My UK bank has been linked to Paypal since I started and a couple of years ago also linked my Wise account. I use my Thai telephone number for verification.

Yes - with a UK PayPal Account

 

But a Thai PayPal Account cant be reverse engineered as you suggest because as they stand only Thai and (perversely) USA Banks are possible

And as the the underlying subject matter of the thread states come October the Thai PayPal account is ceased as hes not a Thai national

Edited June 30, 2022 by Regyai

[sandyf]

14 hours ago, EricTh said:

Isn't Wise a much better payment system than Paypal?

Apples and oranges, and I fail to see what would represent a payment system.

Paypal is a payment processor with effectively a built in prepayment arrangement.

Wise is more of a financial & banking institution, Wise payments are bank transfers. You can link a Wise account to payment processors such as G pay and Paypal.

My Wise account is linked to Paypal, I prefer the Paypal arrangement for recurring charges than a bank direct debit.

[sandyf]

7 minutes ago, Mark1066 said:

I closed my UK residents bank account a few years ago as I was fed up of keeping up a pretence on the occasions I had to deal with the bank directly. I know it would have been possible to maintain it but it involved pretending I lived in a country that I didn't, so I saw opening a Thai PayPal account and linking it to a Thai bank account as the lesser of two evils, certainly not as a stupid decision anyway.

My response was to another, but when it comes to finances decisions are very seldom   stupid. We can only do what we think best at the time, but the passage of time can often indicate it may not have been the best decision.

Those of us that have come here from other parts of the world have a tendency to forget that the BOT has Currency Exchange Regulations in place and have a legal obligation in respect of those regulations. Not surprising that the rules for Thailand may be somewhat different to what they would be in other countries. I suspect the BOT have put pressure on Paypal.