The demise of the village ATM.

[CartagenaWarlock]

22 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Was not talking major card places - they have no choice - but those that often deal in cash will often charge more for cards.  This was most apparent to me with soi travel agents (which suspect many are actually money launderers and could care less about selling tickets).

Yes, there are shops that will ask for, say 3% (which is not allowed in the US, anyway). It also depends on how many shops are competing. In Tukom and Fortune I have seen many vendors change their tune when I simply say, "OK, I will look for another shop who won't charge me". I pay 5% in some bars in Pattaya but as I mentioned earlier it was a wash for me because I get 5% cash back in restaurant and bars. 

[CartagenaWarlock]

22 hours ago, billd766 said:

And absolutely no government ever tracks the use of credit cards.

 

I used to have about 6 cc but got rid of them all years ago.

 

I have only one debit card and I know to the satang exactly how much money I have, and I know I can never spend more money than I actually have.

 

I pay no interest and my card fee is about 200 thb a year.

 

If I want or need something and I don't have the money, then either I save for it or I simply go without it.

 

I can remember being in a supermarket queue in NZ many years ago behind a woman who had maxed out 10 cards and even then couldn't pay the bill.

 

She moved off, I paid cash to the thank you of the cashier. Cashin hand = job done.

Not a single convincing argument for using cash vs. credit for me.

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, n00dle said:

as for the language barrier, though i speak thai i have never had to do more then hold up my phone and say "scan"

Scan what ??... PrompPay or TrueWallet ???... there are different payment options... some shops have both, others have one or the other.

 

Sometimes you have to communicate which option is to be used - if the vendor is stupid, then it adds additional hassle rather than getting out cash.... (I prefer cashless, but understand pro’s and con’s with each system - this is one example). 

 

In the case of the ‘language barrier’... in both circumstances the Vendor was outrageously stupid.. it happens sometimes and when it does I quickly realise its not the quality of my Thai but the stupidity of the person I’m talking with.... (I have enough conversations in Thai to know my standard)... 

 

[BritManToo]

18 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Scan what ??... PrompPay or TrueWallet ???... there are different payment options... some shops have both, others have one or the other.

I always ask 'Sa-kan'

If they want Promptpay they usually reply 'PromptPay'

No real communication skills required.

[billd766]

1 hour ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

Not a single convincing argument for using cash vs. credit for me.

Who cares that you have so many CC?

[richard_smith237]

38 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

57 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Scan what ??... PrompPay or TrueWallet ???... there are different payment options... some shops have both, others have one or the other.

I always ask 'Sa-kan'

If they want Promptpay they usually reply 'PromptPay'

No real communication skills required.

Agreed... the ‘communication skill’ is utterly minimal...  which is what makes the ‘idiot’ on the other side of the counter such an exceptional idiot !!!... 

 

Just anecdote thats all...   my point in making it is that there are pro’s and con’s with all payment systems, each have their ‘ideal use’....   

 

An ideal situation would be to have ‘all available’...   So when guys criticise digital payment (i.e. PromptPay) and suggest they’d never adopt, they are being narrow minded, and when others suggest there is no need for cash at all, they too are being narrow minded...  there are times when only using cash is ideal...

 

As often is the case, the balanced middle ground is the best option, but in these discussions it is only the extreme voices which have the loudest argument. 

 

 

 

 

 

[josephbloggs]

26 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Who cares that you have so many CC?

He does, which is why he keeps banging on about it. He has 100 of them dontcha know.

I have 1,000.

[CartagenaWarlock]

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Sometimes you have to communicate which option is to be used

Taking example of 7/11, I don't communicate. I simply wave my CC, or phone or pulled out cash from my wallet, and I found the person behind the counter smart enough to set me up for the transactions. Yes I communicate in places like Tukom because I want to ascertain if they are going to charge a fee for CC usage. 

[CartagenaWarlock]

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

As often is the case, the balanced middle ground is the best option, but in these discussions it is only the extreme voices which have the loudest argument. 

If a poster lays out pros and cons of using both methods, then it is OK. But so far nobody has posted a convincing arguments for using cash.

[Kalasin Jo]

You were lucky mate. Our nearest ATM has always been 5 km away and often empty. The next in the opposite direction is 15km. If both empty it's a 30 km trek to get cash usually at the weekend. One shop down the road, not a walk, now accepts QR payments. I guess others will follow.

[Kalasin Jo]

On 6/1/2023 at 3:49 PM, roietfortress said:

VILLAGE ATM -- hey that's my nickname !?!

 

#

Nice one! Know what you mean.

[bbbbooboo]

On 6/1/2023 at 5:01 PM, Crossy said:

 

It's supposed to mean "smart"; it just looks wrong.

 

 

 

Smart ?…. In Thailand? ????

[nrasmussen]

On 6/1/2023 at 8:51 PM, KhaoYai said:

Shops seem to behind the trend - when I put my card into a machine to pay a retailer, they always ask me to sign the chit - even though it says quite clearly on the transaction note 'No Signature Required'.

I don't know if it's because the cashier cannot read English, but whenever this happens to me I just point to the English text and say "อ่านว่าไม่ต้องเซ็น".

[nrasmussen]

On 6/2/2023 at 8:28 AM, GreasyFingers said:

1. But the cash  point of sale registers don't.

 

2. From under the mattress.

1. No electricity needed to scan a QR code.

 

2. LOL

[treetops]

3 hours ago, nrasmussen said:

1. No electricity needed to scan a QR code.

That's fine if they're on a printed card, but the ones on the till display won't be functioning without power.

[KhaoYai]

3 hours ago, nrasmussen said:

I don't know if it's because the cashier cannot read English, but whenever this happens to me I just point to the English text and say "อ่านว่าไม่ต้องเซ็น".

Tried and failed - I just accept it - its Thailand.

[KhaoYai]

On 6/2/2023 at 6:23 PM, CartagenaWarlock said:

If a poster lays out pros and cons of using both methods, then it is OK. But so far nobody has posted a convincing arguments for using cash.

How about privacy eh?  Not being inundated with marketing simply because I bought something? Not being 'profiled' by Google and the like?  If you don't mind that, that's up to you but anyone who does, has a right to privacy do they not?

 

Personally, I'm sick and tired of emptying my junk mail and worse still, receiving marketing phone calls and texts.  How do you think they get your details or know what you buy?

 

Google's 'profiling' is already suspected of playing a part in AI systems that are starting to be used by recruitment companies and credit providers.  Given the amount of mistakes they make generally, who knows what affect 'profiling' may have on people's employment and credit prospects?

 

Yes, I'm branded as a dinosaur but I believe that tech has gone way too far in some fields.  Companies hold vast amounts of information on people without them knowing and some of that information is wrong.  Not knowing its held prevents it from being corrected. They also hold that information in locations where they are protected from revelation by the law. That also prevents people from knowing how all this information is being used.

 

Some countries are now starting to form views that our information is private - let's hope that grows and that something is done about this current practice of information harvesting.

 

A friend of mine recently applied for a job which he was ideal for.  He applied via a recruitment agency online and was surprised when he didn't hear anything back.  He contacted the employer directly and got the job.  He has since learned that his details were never passed to the company when he applied via the agency.  That illustrates just how good their profiling is and how information can be wrong.  The agency probably never even read his application because it was most likely 'weeded out' by their system as he didn't tick all their boxes or may well have been rejected because of some other information held though 'profiling'.

 

Mostly, my bank card is used to withdraw cash which I then spend without anyone knowing what I spend it on. That is becoming more and more difficult though.

Edited June 4, 2023 by KhaoYai

[Sharp]

It's all part of the financial control mechanism to usher the digital CBDC they are pushing.,

Cash will be extinct in a few years .They want to track and trace all payments online .

A friend of mine who's a bank manager has been telling me for some time 

[BoganInParasite]

I've noticed in Nan province SCB seems to be closing branches and removing ATMs, including doing both in my town which is undergoing considerable growth. I have not noticed any other bank doing either over the last five years.

[kennw]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:31 PM, The Fugitive said:

Excellent points. Plus, although there is now such a thing as contactless cash withdrawals using your mobile phone, some people will continue to use their cards perpetuating the risk of reading PIN's over their shoulder and card cloning. 

And if I chose not to use a phone for payments and banking?

[khunPer]

On 6/1/2023 at 5:59 AM, Crossy said:

Anyone else seeing this trend?

We unfortunately have to get used to cashless society, just like in my Scandinavia home country – I have a feeling that the taxman there is quite happy to have everything stored in the bank account data... – I however also prefers cash in my pocket, but realized that my neighborhood is going down from 7 ATMs close by till only 2 ATMs within healthy walking distance. But always look at the bright side of live: I get good exercise...

[VBF]

On 6/1/2023 at 6:05 AM, John Drake said:

Two 7 Elevens within 400 meters and one Lotus GoFresh a little further. And a small produce market opposite one of the 7 Elevens. Used to be two SCB Atms. Both gone. Only Bangkok Bank left.

On 6/1/2023 at 6:38 AM, Crossy said:

 

There was a paper notice (in Thai of course) on the machine (sadly I didn't take a photo) which said that it was closing for "commercial reasons".

 

The machine was an on-street one in a booth, not associated with a shop. I wonder if the village had to pay for it?

I have an account with SCB. In February, I noticed that all the 7/11 stores in Pattaya that used to have SCB ATMs no longer had them. When I visited my branch, i was told that SCB and 7/11 no longer had a contract. Nobody knew, or was prepared to say, why.

As it turned out, the Bangkok Bank on Soi Bukhau has a set of other Bank logos on its ATM, including SCB. I then found that cash withdrawals using my SCB card were free of all charges.

Edited June 5, 2023 by VBF

[JoseThailand]

On 6/1/2023 at 10:59 AM, Crossy said:

The nearest ATM is now 2km away, even the nearest 7-Eleven doesn't have one, much to my surprise.

The nearest SCB ATM or any ATM?

[JoseThailand]

Just get a decent ATM card that allows withdrawing money from any ATM with no fee.

[Crossy]

4 minutes ago, JoseThailand said:

The nearest SCB ATM or any ATM?

 

Any ???? 

[Crossy]

5 minutes ago, JoseThailand said:

Just get a decent ATM card that allows withdrawing money from any ATM with no fee.

 

I'm not sure how that will reduce the 2km to the nearest ATM ???? 

 

For me it's not an issue (I use little cash anyway), but Madam doesn't drive so I have to get cash for her.

[JoseThailand]

1 minute ago, Crossy said:

I'm not sure how that will reduce the 2km to the nearest ATM ???? 

Then you have to stockpile cash

[JoseThailand]

Living in the village comes at a cost

[The Fugitive]

8 hours ago, kennw said:

And if I chose not to use a phone for payments and banking?

That's your choice of course. For many people the option to load all their cards into their mobile wallet so that they can then forget about carrying individual cards, reducing the risk of accidentally damaging them or having them skimmed or pickpocketed is attractive. Last time I was in UK travelling by bus, very few passengers paid cash to the driver. I can't actually recall anyone tapping with a card, invariably they used their mobile 'phones. 

[digger70]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:36 PM, lopburi3 said:

LINE?  What's that?  Some of us are zombies without a phone.

Line and QR code and Tik Tok and what have you or Not .

Seen the people in the Supermarket  Fumbling with their Smart Phone trying to pay, It takes ten times longer and  more people have to wait .

Not too smart . Can't get rid off Cash.,

Same with the Tills , When there's no power the whole supermarket comes to a halt .

Can't use the tills.  No one knows how to Ad up without a Phone that's if the prices are on the Items you have so no one can Pay in Cash .

No wonder this World is in a Mess