Future Uncertain for Retiree Bank Accounts in Thailand

[potless]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

but when you have no option for cash these charges are going to go up because you will simply have no alternative, the banks really will have you by the $$$$$.

Totally agree. My view is that if both the banks and governments want cashless, ultimately, it cannot be good for the individual.

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, potless said:

Totally agree. My view is that if both the banks and governments want cashless, ultimately, it cannot be good for the individual.

 

Long ways off, it's more for tracking money going to vendors, especially those small businesses that aren't reporting for tax purposes. The government wants all these little mom and pop shops to start showing their revenue, they're looking for tax cheats.

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

speaking of Thai banks and charges, I used a QR payment from Bangkok bank the other day to pay for a 250baht bar bill (just to try it out) well it worked ok but I was charged 15baht for the pleasure, Thai people think cashless is something to brag about, they may need to think again if banks are going to charge like this for every transaction and it might be 15baht now  (which IMO should be free)  but when you have no option for cash these charges are going to go up because you will simply have no alternative, the banks really will have you by the $$$$$.  I am personally 100% against cashless - there is only one winner  and it ain't us. 

AI Overview

 

Key points about QR code payments in Thailand:

 

No transaction fees:

Most banks in Thailand, including Krungthai Bank, Bangkok Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank, do not charge a fee for using QR code payments.

 

Cross-border payments:

You can also use QR codes to make cross-border payments to other ASEAN countries without incurring additional fees.

 

So what are you banging on about @smedly in your (off topic) post?

[Yumthai]

36 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Not sure I am worried about them tracing my purchase of an ice cream cone for my daughter at a local vendor. But hey, to each their own.

But perhaps for other kind of ice cream service you'd rather use an untraceable payment method.

[Old Croc]

12 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Maybe the "Admiral of the fleet" is hoping you'll kick the bucket before you spend it all, so he can then commandeer your bank account 🤪

He already gained enough to buy a som tum lunch for the staff.  Also he'd have to fight the missus for the spoils I leave behind, and she takes on 12' pythons singlehanded.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, lordgrinz said:

I use those QR codes with my SCB account, no fee.

Same with Krungthai bank.

[smedly]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

really ?

 

I don't know enough about it to conclude who charged 15baht, I always leave a 20baht tip, need to look further into it, food for thought

I just checked my statement and there is a charge of 15baht - worth noting, I am not registered with BKB for promptpay which may have something to do with it, for e.g. if I make an atm withdrawal from a non BKB atm I am charged 15baht, I have now registered for PP not sure what difference it will make when scanning a QR code

[proton]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

the retiree permit system, particularly the "O" non-immigrant visa with annual extensions, has stayed largely unchanged for 30 years, except for increased cash requirements. Given the changing landscape, assuming it will remain the same for decades is likely optimistic, writes  Barry Kenyon for Pattaya Mail.

 

 

So Barry why and how do you think it will change? this is just uniformed speculative scaremongering.

[smedly]

32 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

AI Overview

 

Key points about QR code payments in Thailand:

 

No transaction fees:

Most banks in Thailand, including Krungthai Bank, Bangkok Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank, do not charge a fee for using QR code payments.

 

Cross-border payments:

You can also use QR codes to make cross-border payments to other ASEAN countries without incurring additional fees.

 

So what are you banging on about @smedly in your (off topic) post?

I thought I had you on ignore 🙂

 

anyway read my above post, I wasn't using PP just scanned the QR code in the bar and BKB did charge me 15baht - it was on my statement 

[Digitalbanana]

1 hour ago, Robert_Smith said:

What about when transferring some money to a local brass??

If this is a daily necessity for you Bob, then I can see your point.

[potless]

15 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Long ways off, it's more for tracking money going to vendors, especially those small businesses that aren't reporting for tax purposes. The government wants all these little mom and pop shops to start showing their revenue, they're looking for tax cheats.

Banks want businesses to churn all income through bank accounts in order to charge more fees. Not disagreeing with your example.

 

[CallumWK]

22 minutes ago, smedly said:

I just checked my statement and there is a charge of 15baht - worth noting, I am not registered with BKB for promptpay which may have something to do with it,

You can't make a QR code payment if you weren't registered with promptpay already, and you also can have only 1 promptpay account registration, regardless how many banking app you have on your phone.

 

 

No, you cannot make QR code payments using the PromptPay system in Thailand without registering for a PromptPay account; you need to link your bank account to your phone number or ID card to generate a unique QR code for payments through the PromptPay network. 

Key points about PromptPay QR code payments:

Registration required:

To use PromptPay QR codes, you need to register your bank account with your mobile phone number or ID card through your bank's mobile banking app or other channels. 

Scanning QR codes:

When paying with PromptPay, you scan the merchant's QR code displayed at the store using your mobile banking app. 

Instant transfer:

Once scanned, the payment is instantly deducted from your linked bank account.

[actonion]

I have a Siam Commercial Bank account with a Debit card..Does anyone know  why i can use this card in several shops  in Pattaya  to pay my shopping bills  BUT places like    Travel agents, Car dealerships, some,  but not all Restaurants charge 2 or 3% for using this card, when i ask why they charge a percentage they tell me  its because   the Banks charge them, I question the Bank  the lady shrugs her shoulders...

[pomchop]

i would bet that absolutely nothing of sustance will change until and unless the big bosses at the big banks say ok...and they will only say ok if it is to their benefit and bottom line to say ok.

 

Bangkok Bank is the largest bank in Thailand by total assets. It's also a leading bank in Southeast Asia. 

[jaywalker2]

12 minutes ago, actonion said:

I have a Siam Commercial Bank account with a Debit card..Does anyone know  why i can use this card in several shops  in Pattaya  to pay my shopping bills  BUT places like    Travel agents, Car dealerships, some,  but not all Restaurants charge 2 or 3% for using this card, when i ask why they charge a percentage they tell me  its because   the Banks charge them, I question the Bank  the lady shrugs her shoulders...

That's the charge for credit cards, I think. They sometimes add that on. I've never been charged for my debit card.

[jaywalker2]

I went into an SCB branch today to update my passbook. The update ATM was no longer there so I had to go inside and ask a customer service rep. Imagine my surprise, when I looked at my bank book afterwards and saw that they'd charged me 100 baht for the "service."

[smedly]

21 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

You can't make a QR code payment if you weren't registered with promptpay already

100% incorrect you may think you are using PP when in fact you are not, when I opened my banking app to explore PP just now, it asks for a recipients Ph No, not the say a QR scan won't work as it clearly does whether registered for PP or not, I only registered for PP 1 hour ago, I made the QR payment I mentioned above over 1 week ago as a test, now there may be some confusion on my part what the 15baht charge was for, it could have been an atm withdrawal I made a few days prior but it did come up on my phone screen when I completed the transaction, so the jury is out on that TBH, maybe when I completed the transaction it just flashed up recent transactions on my account and the 15baht was unrealated - yes confusing

[hotandsticky]

1 minute ago, jaywalker2 said:

I went into an SCB branch today to update my passbook. The update ATM was no longer there so I had to go inside and ask a customer service rep. Imagine my surprise, when I looked at my bank book afterwards and saw that they'd charged me 100 baht for the "service."

 

 

I find it highly unlikely that they would levy a 100 Baht "service charge" for updating a passbook.

 

Not something I have ever experienced at BKB or K Bank.

[actonion]

4 minutes ago, jaywalker2 said:

That's the charge for credit cards, I think. They sometimes add that on. I've never been charged for my debit card.

Yes its understandable that they will charge a perecentage on Credit cards while they wait for their payment, but Debit cards = instant cash into their account, which is why  i question it...

[jaywalker2]

Just now, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I find it highly unlikely that they would levy a 100 Baht "service charge" for updating a passbook.

 

Not something I have ever experienced at BKB or K Bank.

Well, there was a new charge of 100 baht right after I updated the passbook. I don't know what else it could have been for. And it's the first time I've experienced it too but before there were always update machines with the ATMS. Not anymore.

[madone]

Quote

Future Uncertain for Retiree Bank Accounts in Thailand

 

Talk about shameless clickbait. the only mention of retirees or retirement vsia is added as an afterthought 

[jwl53]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

New regulations slated for April 2025 will require biometric authentication, like facial recognition, for opening accounts. Each account will also need to be linked to a single registered device.

But we already have this in place, when changing my phone I have to go to the banks to register it with them before I can access my online banking

Both my banks required facial recognition 18 month ago

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

I see nothing in the article that refers to 'uncertainty' for existing retiree bank accounts. Did I miss something?

No, no need to worry.

[jwl53]

2 hours ago, KireB said:

I buy several items a day and have never been charged. Try using PromptPay.

I pay for virtually everything by scanning from petrol stations to lazada to macro to local street food never ever had a charge added, think it must by your bar scamming you

[Hardcastle P]

2 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

I seem to recall the banks had no facility to do the face recognition for foreigners (because they could only enter Thai ID numbers, not passports into their facial recognition system). Maybe they worked it out. Dunno.

The last time I changed my phone I had to go to my BB to load the app they certainly took a photo of me whilst setting the app up that was about 8 months ago.

[Seeall]

3 hours ago, gargamon said:

K-bank had never charged me a fee to use qr codes. I abandoned BKK bank a couple of years ago when they stopped allowing counter ATM withdrawals.

Well you are fine then with your bank forever and they will never put it up or change anything will they

[proton]

Scanners are a pain in the arse waiting in a check out lane, takes some of them forever, don't even get the phones out until it's all been checked out, sometimes not until the assistant has packed the items away. I never scan anything, always have the cash ready.

[daejung]

3 hours ago, smedly said:

, I used a QR payment from Bangkok bank the other day to pay for a 250baht bar bill (just to try it out) well it worked ok but I was charged 15baht

I use QR payment with Bangkok Bank application to pay everything and am never charged any fee

[riverhigh]

Difficulty of opening Thai bank accounts has been discussed many times. You can blame the two-week millionaires for this problem. They  would come to Thailand and want a cheap place to securely park their money. They would open a bank account, deposit money and then close it a few weeks. Very  expensive for the banks. 

[trainman34014]

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I opened a new bank account yesterday.

A simple statement, but it ivolved months of endeavour, disappointment, at least six trips to the local town and about about 12 hours of mine and my wifes time. Most of the latter involved interminable sitting, as the main curiosity, in various office waiting areas or watching a clerk dressed as Admiral of the fleet painstakingly writing on endless amounts of forms. Most of these had to have my signature emblazed on the bottom. My arthritic fingers had a workout comparable to an Immigration extension visit.  I had to give details of my long dead parents and make up an address in my home country from whence  I left permanently 15 years ago.

The new acount was needed because the bank I had used for 14 years doesn't have a branch nor ATM within 120 kms and updated security measures necessitaed a closer relationship.

The bank insisted I had to get some sort of quasi recognition by getting a pink ID card and my own personal coloured house book. I'm not worthy of inclusion on the real one despite my considerable contribution to the building of such.

This involved the local orbitors office and took some time and several visits because, inadvertantly, I first fronted on Valentines day. This is apparently a big deal for marriages. I did wonder at the many young couples flooding in. The Admiral had taken a day off and his replacement was loud and incompetant and eventually told us to go away and come back tomorrow after we had spent hours waiting. The boss probably got his splendid uniform because he's clever enough to know when to have a day off. 

With this new documentation the bank relented and allowed me an account, albeit restricted in amounts transferred because I'm over 75 and not to be trusted with my own money.

Just a thought.  If you've been here for 15 years you should have had a Pink Card and House Yellow Book for many years already.  Amazing how many Farang can't seem to get their affairs in order !