Thailand forcing Cashless Society

[Jenkins9039]

When i first moved to LOS, there was ATM's absolutely everywhere, 2-3 outside 7/11, rows inside robinsons, the malls, etc.

 

Increasingly its becoming difficult to find ATMs or worse ones that actually work (thankfully PTT).

 

Thailand is still very much a cash based society, curious how people are finding this ramp up, i.e every small 7/11 being closed and large 7/11's being opened, no ATM's etc.

[Sandboxer]

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

[FritsSikkink]

12 minutes ago, Sandboxer said:

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

You forget that a lot of Thai people who trade don't have a bank account because it takes too long to get one.

[herfiehandbag]

21 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

When i first moved to LOS, there was ATM's absolutely everywhere, 2-3 outside 7/11, rows inside robinsons, the malls, etc.

 

Increasingly its becoming difficult to find ATMs or worse ones that actually work (thankfully PTT).

 

Thailand is still very much a cash based society, curious how people are finding this ramp up, i.e every small 7/11 being closed and large 7/11's being opened, no ATM's etc.

My local 7/11 has undergone major refurbishment and extension. It retained its (Bangkok Bank) ATM.

 

So now our small town/big village has 2 Krungthai ATMs (one with deposit and one a brand new replacement machine at Sinthani), Bangkok Bank (7/11), Green Bank/KBank ADM ( although the branch closed a few years ago), Government Savings Bank ( and branch) and Farmers Bank (and branch office).

 

My problem is that I rarely have any cash!

[KhunBENQ]

20 minutes ago, Sandboxer said:

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

Nonsense post of the day or just hidden satire?

Have you ever left your farang ghetto?

[Sandboxer]

10 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

because it takes too long to get one.

No longer an excuse. Any Thai with a national ID card can get an account nowadays, on the spot.

 

https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Thailand/percent_people_bank_accounts/

 

The Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia have a slightly higher percentage of "unbanked" population but we're talking Thailand here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

Outside banks, there still seems to be plenty of ATM's. I prefer those in case the ATM decides to swallow my card.

I have yet to see a day market stall that is armed with an EFTPOS machine, so I think cash will be around for a while yet.

[marin]

7 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Nonsense post of the day or just hidden satire?

Have you ever left your farang ghetto?

Thank you. Posts like this anger me. You were much more polite than I. 

[cooked]

Anybody see the video where Kurt Schwab, president of the WEF, wants everyone to have a chip implanted in their brain? "Think of that".. he thinks it'll solve everything, can't even imagine that some may not want that.  You'll be able to use it for getting social credit points, permission to travel abroad, to support the latest official line, spend money, say what you think. You can't change human nature, but you can change human behaviour. This isn't a conspiracy theory, they keep telling us what they want to do and nobody listens.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Jenkins9039 said:

every small 7/11 being closed and large 7/11's being opened,

Something that isn't happening, every small 7-11 is not being closed!

[OneMoreFarang]

51 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

Nonsense post of the day or just hidden satire?

Have you ever left your farang ghetto?

I think Sandboxer describes Thai reality, at least in the city.

I am often regularly in Thai markets, where at least 90% of the customers and shops are Thai. And they do a lot of trade with QR codes. I didn't watch long enough to have a statistic, but somehow I guess by now more than 50% of those transactions are with App.

And that is in the open in traditional markets. I am sure more people use cashless payments in shopping malls, supermarkets, etc.

 

And as far as I see customers and merchants like that system, nobody is forcing them to use it.

 

Personally I only was once forced to use cashless payment, for one espresso in Starbugs. They didn't want my 100B note. That's another reason not to go there. 

 

 

 

[Chivas]

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

I'm quite happy within the UK to use the Debit Card for virtually everything and cash is hardly ever encountered but I'm not using one routinely within Thailand for a whole myriad of reasons

 

Edited in as regards cashless society......in the UK my nearest bank branch is now 182 miles away lol....I assure you am not joking

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

You forget that a lot of Thai people who trade don't have a bank account because it takes too long to get one.

Er, no, it does not take a Thai "too long" to open a bank account.

[OneMoreFarang]

53 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Outside banks, there still seems to be plenty of ATM's. I prefer those in case the ATM decides to swallow my card.

I have yet to see a day market stall that is armed with an EFTPOS machine, so I think cash will be around for a while yet.

They use smartphones... 

[Liverpool Lou]

56 minutes ago, cooked said:

Kurt Schwab, president of the WEF, wants everyone to have a chip implanted in their brain

No, he does not, he did not say that he wants that.

[Liverpool Lou]

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Personally I only was once forced to use cashless payment, for one espresso in Starbugs. They didn't want my 100B note. That's another reason not to go there. 

Well, it's a reason to not use that branch, there are plenty of other Starbucks that are happy with cash payments.

[Liverpool Lou]

14 minutes ago, Chivas said:

in the UK my nearest bank branch is now 182 miles away lol....I assure you am not joking

Which bank and where are you living?

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, Jenkins9039 said:

Thailand is still very much a cash based society, curious how people are finding this ramp up, i.e every small 7/11 being closed and large 7/11's being opened, no ATM's etc.

No it isn't, it's nearly a cashless society, following China. 

 

I need no cash these days. 

[Woof999]

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods

Or perhaps people that don't want their every whereabouts and every purchase to be recorded for eternity.

 

Cashless payments are wonderful for governments, LEA, advertisers and of course can be convenient for users, but you can be almost sure that data is used for nefarious reasons too. Data is everything. It is not just sitting there waiting for the end of a clawback period to then be deleted.

 

 

 

 

[Neeranam]

18 minutes ago, Chivas said:

I'm quite happy within the UK to use the Debit Card for virtually everything and cash is hardly ever encountered but I'm not using one routinely within Thailand for a whole myriad of reasons

I was in the UK last month and when in Aberdeen, a Polish bus driver refused to take my coins. Only card, I used my Kasikorn Debit card by just touching the pay thing. 

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

True that, my mother even uses Bitcoin. 

Criminals prefer cash is it is harder to trace. 

[foreverlomsak]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

I have yet to see a day market stall that is armed with an EFTPOS machine, so I think cash will be around for a while yet.

They all have mobiles and QR codes on them.

The customer scan's QR code on vendors phone enters amount and it goes straight into vendors account and "ping" vendor gets confirmation of receipt, no fancy EFTPOS machine required. 

[Lacessit]

33 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

They use smartphones... 

I see smartphones used by dumb people at the Big C checkouts, taking 3 or 4 times as long to pay while I am waiting with cash.

I can't say I have ever seen a smartphone used to pay the Akha lady who sell me vegetables from her roadside stall in the day market.

[Liverpool Lou]

20 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I was in the UK last month and when in Aberdeen, a Polish bus driver refused to take my coins. Only card, I used my Kasikorn Debit card by just touching the pay thing. 

Do non-Polish bus drivers accept cash, then?  If not, why mention where he came from?  Presumably it was nothing at all to do with his nationality or his refusing cash, more a policy of the bus company.

[OneMoreFarang]

But somehow it is funny that it's still possible to pay large sums in cash in Thailand.

Opening a Thai company with 2m THB capital: No problem, use cash if you want.

That is information from an experienced Thai accountant. 

[Chivas]

34 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Which bank and where are you living?

Am down in the South West now. Nearest Branch was 800 metres away of Royal Bank of Scotland lol

The nearest now is in Basingstoke lol 182 miles from me

I only found out when last year went to take £10k out cash and just wanted to notify them in advance

 

On the phone I'm getting Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh sorry sir the nearest one to you now is Basingstoke ????

 

They've got an agreement with Nat West as it turned out but RBS had to notify them in advance and I had to upload passport driving licence so Nat West could compare when I went in

 

Not that long ago on a small shopping area close to me (about 400 metres) there were 6 banks or building society.....today there are none

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Do non-Polish bus drivers accept cash, then?  If not, why mention where he came from?  Presumably it was nothing at all to do with his nationality or his refusing cash, more a policy of the bus company.

I mentioned it as there could be a communication problem or Polish people are lazy. Why do you think I mentioned it?

I used cash the next week, same route.

[Neeranam]

Just now, Chivas said:

Am down in the South West now. Nearest Branch was 800 metres away of Royal Bank of Scotland lol

The nearest now is in Basingstoke lol 182 miles from me

I only found out when last year went to take £10k out cash and just wanted to notify them in advance

 

On the phone I'm getting Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh sorry sir the nearest one to you now is Basingstoke ????

 

They've got an agreement with Nat West as it turned out but RBS had to notify them in advance and I had to upload passport driving licence so Nat West could compare when I went in

 

Why not use an English bank?

[billd766]

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

As long as short time can be paid by QR, who cares....

 

It's 2023. The only people who still need cash are criminals and folks who refuse to let go of archaic methods and probably still write checks ('Murica, lol). We can afford to leave those types behind us. Unnecessary baggage.

Obviously a city dweller.

 

In rural Kamphaeng Phet, 6 km from where I live, there is KBank with 3 ATM, a 7/11 with 1 ATM and a gold shop with 1 ATM.

 

If I go to the amphur village, there is the GSB bank with 3 ATM, a BAAC bank with 2 ATM, the 7/11 has 2 ATM. 2 km up the road at a PTT gas station there is a 7/11 with 2 ATM.

 

It all depends on whether you live in the city, urban or rural.

[Chivas]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Why not use an English bank?

Seriously fella and not for the first time pop off and troll elsewhere