Bank of Thailand Boosts Mobile Security with New Transfer Limits

[kingstonkid]

5 hours ago, Sig said:

Not quite sure what a North American mentality could possibly be. I'm an American and I'm guessing that the average American mentality could be fairly different than the other 20+ countries of North America.

Your 1.8 million baht comment is completely irrelevant to my comment, in which I said nothing about that, at all, and isn't something that even fits into what I had mentioned.

I have no worries about what an American bank would do regarding stopping payments because I have no bank accounts in America, nor do I have any other "western account". Again, irrelevant to my point.

I was doing exactly that, thinking about the average Thai, although that doesn't really have any bearing on my thoughts that it would be good to have such limits automatically placed on a minor's account. I don't think it is particularly relevant to my thoughts regarding freedom from governmental control over assets of adults either. How banks conduct their business in this matter should be something the government should keep their nose out of IMO. Banks are perfectly capable of dealing with it by themselves, or they go out of business or lose their clients. None of the governments business. Of course, that is debatable and if one supports a model more toward the ends of fascism or communism, then that would be rejected outright. Sure, go ahead and attribute that to "western thought". But I think so with the thought of the best for the average Thai in mind.

 

My point about weestern banks is that they also put limits.

 

I do not know what group you hang with but i know very few Thais that can do a tfr of 50K  Howevr, the challenge that is faced is that for political reasons the PTP has to show that they care about the people.  With the recent number of issues with peole losing money to scams something had to be  done.  If the banks were willing to self regulate it would be great. BUT there is not system in place nor a willingness to do anything.  Hell they just look at customers and smile saying sorry nothing we can do.

 

Is it ideal for th government to step in NO but if they have to they have to.  Do not forget that the other part of this law is gong to be resrictions as well as responsibilities for banks.

 

This will make the average Thai person in the voting areas that PTP and BJT are concerned about happy and realy willnot affect many others inteh day to day life.

 

 

[Sheryl]

On 1/3/2025 at 12:09 PM, John Drake said:

 

Well, I'm not worried about some silly motorbike. I'm worried about going into a hospital, as I did a few years ago, and needing to get kidney stones removed. I pay in cash and only operate in cash. And its cost was a lot more than 50,000 for kidney stone removal. What do I do next time, have them wheel me while I'm in agony to the nearest Bangkok Bank/SCB branch to get the money first???

 

Exactly the problem. And especially a concern for the elderly, precisely the group now being limited.

 

I am right now sitting outside the cardiac ICU at a major hospital for a Cambodian friend who just had a quintuple bypass (4 grafts, 5 vessels).   His family is scrambling to sell some land to cover costs but as he could not safely wait I fronted them the money.  2 deposit payments so far: 52k before the angiogram, 1 million before the surgery (and these will not fully cover costs, there will be more due later).  First deposit paid with mobile banking, Thai bank (thankfully the 50k cap nto yet instituted as I could not have left the hospital to go in person to bank at this juncture). Second deposit exceeded my Thai bank balance (excluding the 800k visa account) so used 2 US credit cards. One tripped a fraud alert, one didn't. Cleared the fraud alert with a phone call, no need to "come in person", just answer a series of ID verification questions.  No one presumed to try to ascertain if I was being "scammed", just that I was I.

 

But not all expats have credit cards with high credit limits from their home country, many have all their assets with them here in Thailand. A huge problem looming for expats in situations like this if there is a 50k cap automatically applied.  Going in person to the bank in such situations not possible.

 

Extra security, including phone call to the bank,  would be fine, but an absolute cap is not warranted.

 

 

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

But not all expats have credit cards with high credit limits from their home country, many have all their assets with them here in Thailand. A huge problem looming for expats in situations like this if there is a 50k cap automatically applied.  Going in person to the bank in such situations not possible.

 

And that's the problem in a nutshell. Thanks.

[Sheryl]

I wonder if could get around this dilemma by use of debit card instead of mobile app?

[chiang mai]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

I wonder if could get around this dilemma by use of debit card instead of mobile app?

Your debit card has preset limits which would need to be changed to accomodate a large withdrawal if not already set high. FWIW mione are st at 50k baht but are occasionally/temporarily changed as the need arises.

[Sheryl]

5 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Your debit card has preset limits which would need to be changed to accomodate a large withdrawal if not already set high. FWIW mione are st at 50k baht but are occasionally/temporarily changed as the need arises.

If by preset limits you mean something set by the bank, as opposed to the settings one can adjust oneself, there does not appear to be one.  AFAIK the limit is the total amount in the account, a charge in excess of that would not go through.

 

The issue is, will this new 50k cap for the elderly affect this,  either by the charge being rejected, or by the ability to reset the debit card limit via mobile app being restricted? I certainly do nto want to keep my debit card limit set high all the time, in case someone swipes the card. But neither do I want to suddenly find myself unable to reset the limit when making a large purchase.

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, Sheryl said:

If by preset limits you mean something set by the bank, as opposed to the settings one can adjust oneself, there does not appear to be one.  AFAIK the limit is the total amount in the account, a charge in excess of that would not go through.

 

The issue is, will this new 50k cap for the elderly affect this,  either by the charge being rejected, or by the ability to reset the debit card limit via mobile app being restricted? I certainly do nto want to keep my debit card limit set high all the time, in case someone swipes the card. But neither do I want to suddenly find myself unable to reset the limit when making a large purchase.

Both my BBL and UOB debit cards have preset limits that were agreed when the account was opened, these can be changed on request.

[Sheryl]

13 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Both my BBL and UOB debit cards have preset limits that were agreed when the account was opened, these can be changed on request.

Not the case with my Kasikorn debit card, thankfully. It is a Kasikorn Visa debt card, don't know if that is what makes the difference or if it is a bank specific thing.

[chiang mai]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Not the case with my Kasikorn debit card, thankfully. It is a Kasikorn Visa debt card, don't know if that is what makes the difference or if it is a bank specific thing.

All debit cards are associated with one network or another, Visa or Mastercard, that's not the issue. Debit card limits are variable and set by the customer and the bank at account opening. It's likely however that some banks may have set a farang card to "no limit" but I'm certain you will find the bank is able to reduce the limit, which helps prevent loss in the vent of fraud or loss.

[Sheryl]

26 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

All debit cards are associated with one network or another, Visa or Mastercard, that's not the issue. Debit card limits are variable and set by the customer and the bank at account opening. It's likely however that some banks may have set a farang card to "no limit" but I'm certain you will find the bank is able to reduce the limit, which helps prevent loss in the vent of fraud or loss.

I can reduce (or raise) the limit myself, any time, using the mobile app.

 

That is not the issue.

 

The issue is whether this new 50k cap on mobile banking transactions by the "elderly" will interfere with that, creating a problem when for example there is an emrgency need to pay a hospital bill or deposit.

[chiang mai]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

I can reduce (or raise) the limit myself, any time, using the mobile app.

 

That is not the issue.

 

The issue is whether this new 50k cap on mobile banking transactions by the "elderly" will interfere with that, creating a problem when for example there is an emrgency need to pay a hospital bill or deposit.

The limits for mobile apps and debit cards are different:

 

Per AI for brevity:

 

the limits for mobile apps and debit cards are not the same at banks in Thailand: 

 

• Mobile banking

  The Bank of Thailand has mandated a daily transaction limit of 50,000 baht for mobile banking users as a fraud prevention measure. 

   
• Debit cards

  The maximum withdrawal limit for a debit card at ICBC (Thai) is 50,000 baht per transaction and 100,000 baht per day. 

   
• Bangkok Bank

  The maximum transaction amount for funds transfer through Bangkok Bank mobile banking is 2,000,000 baht. 

   

To check your debit card's daily limit, you can: Call your bank, Visit a branch, and Read the account disclosure or agreement. 

 

 

Some banks and credit unions may set daily spending or withdrawal limits for security reasons. 

[Liverpool Lou]

On 1/3/2025 at 3:53 PM, blaze master said:

On 1/1/2025 at 9:34 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

...that will not apply to most people but may protect two distinct vulnerable groups.

 

For now. Until the protection evolves to include all groups. 

You're suggesting that there'd be something wrong with protecting everyone from scams?

[blaze master]

10 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You're suggesting that there'd be something wrong with protecting everyone from scams?

 

No.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

The limits for mobile apps and debit cards are different:

 

Per AI for brevity:

 

the limits for mobile apps and debit cards are not the same at banks in Thailand: 

 

• Mobile banking

  The Bank of Thailand has mandated a daily transaction limit of 50,000 baht for mobile banking users as a fraud prevention measure. 

   
• Debit cards

  The maximum withdrawal limit for a debit card at ICBC (Thai) is 50,000 baht per transaction and 100,000 baht per day. 

   
• Bangkok Bank

  The maximum transaction amount for funds transfer through Bangkok Bank mobile banking is 2,000,000 baht. 

   

To check your debit card's daily limit, you can: Call your bank, Visit a branch, and Read the account disclosure or agreement. 

 

 

Some banks and credit unions may set daily spending or withdrawal limits for security reasons. 

AI is, as usual  not an accurate source.

 

The first paragraph  is misleading since the 50k limit is not for most accounts, just people of certain ages.

 

The second paragraph refers specifically to a foreign (Chinese) bank, and also seems to refer to cash withdrawals not purchases. 

 

4th and 5th paras are generic and not Thai specific. 

 

The Kasikorn mobile app  allows one to adjust debit card spending limits. I have done it many, many  times, and also have used that card for purchases well in excess of 50 000 baht. 

[Lorry]

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

AI is, as usual  not an accurate source.

 

The first paragraph  is misleading since the 50k limit is not for most accounts, just people of certain ages.

 

The second paragraph refers specifically to a foreign (Chinese) bank, and also seems to refer to cash withdrawals not purchases. 

 

4th and 5th paras are generic and not Thai specific. 

 

The Kasikorn mobile app  allows one to adjust debit card spending limits. I have done it many, many  times, and also have used that card for purchases well in excess of 50 000 baht. 

Visa debit cards from Kbank have limits that are preset by the bank and that the customer can adjust. 

There are 3 types of limits:

Limit for ATM withdrawals. 

Limit for ATM transfers. 

Limit for spending (ie swiping).

There are maximum limits, you cannot raise the limit higher than the maximum.

Maximum for cash withdrawals is the lowest, 200,000 iirc.

Maximum for ATM transfers 1,000,000.

Maximum for spending 500,000.

 

Bangkok Bank has a similar system.

 

So, yes, you can use the card for hospital deposits in most cases.

1,000,000 deposit is very high, but even this would be possible. 

Most people don't have more than 1,000,000 in a savings account  anyway.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 1/4/2025 at 6:00 PM, Sheryl said:

The second paragraph refers specifically to a foreign (Chinese) bank

ICBC (Thai) is a Thai bank.

[CallumWK]

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

ICBC (Thai) is a Thai bank.

It's a foreign bank operating in Thailand under a Thai license, like every foreign bank. That doesn't make them a Thai bank