9 hours ago, Nemises said:

Carrying a wallet full of plastic cards around all day, every day? 🦕 LOL…no thanks. Much prefer technology: no cards, no wallet, just a small device 📲

 

Not hard to remember to take a charged phone out with you. 
 

 

Why carry a wallet full of cards around?

 

I decide in the morning which cards I need (typically only one card). FAR FAR lighter than a phone.

.

12 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

 

Why carry a wallet full of cards around?

 

I decide in the morning which cards I need (typically only one card). FAR FAR lighter than a phone.

.

 

 

...and does your bank card give you the weather forecast, check the cricket score and receive incoming calls?

13 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

9 hours ago, Nemises said:

Carrying a wallet full of plastic cards around all day, every day? 🦕 LOL…no thanks. Much prefer technology: no cards, no wallet, just a small device 📲

 

Not hard to remember to take a charged phone out with you. 
 

 

Why carry a wallet full of cards around?

 

I decide in the morning which cards I need (typically only one card). FAR FAR lighter than a phone.

.

 

So you don't carry a phone around with you anyway ?

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

So you don't carry a phone around with you anyway ?

 

A large percentage of the time, i scan a payment using Bangkok Bank or Krungsri mobile phone app (on my mobile phone) to pay a bill. 

 

And yes, I too have a wise digital card.

 

However after encountering multiple instances when trying to use a digital card on my phone (which as i note I have)  caused confusion,  I found a digital card caused far more issues with the seller than it was worth my time to sort , and it became blatantly obvious  a single easy to carry  physical credit card made it a lot easier, and i mean a LOT easier, and hence it made more sense.   

 

IMHO YMMV.

 

8 hours ago, oldcpu said:

However after encountering multiple instances when trying to use a digital card on my phone (which as i note I have)  caused confusion,  I found a digital card caused far more issues with the seller

ChatGPT is singing a different tune to your story 🤔

 

In Thailand is it common for expats to have more problems paying with their wise DIGITAL card, compared to when paying with their wise PHYSICAL card?

 

 

Digital vs Physical: Any Clear Difference?

 

 

From what’s reported online, there doesn’t appear to be a significant difference in payment reliability between the digital (virtual) and physical Wise cards in Thailand.

 

 

Bottom Line:

• It’s not common for expats to experience more failures with the digital Wise card than with the physical version in Thailand.

 

 

 

 

 

Aspect	Digital Card	Physical Card
Acceptance at major merchants	Similar reliability	Similar reliability
Access to mobile wallet	Excellent—fast contactless	Possible via wallet
Street vendors / small shops	Not accepted (same as physical)	Not accepted
ATM withdrawals & fees	Same high fees apply	Same high fees
Overall issue rate	No notable difference	No notable difference

9 hours ago, oldcpu said:

And yes, I too have a wise digital card.

 

However after encountering multiple instances when trying to use a digital card on my phone (which as i note I have)  caused confusion,  I found a digital card caused far more issues with the seller than it was worth my time to sort , and it became blatantly obvious  a single easy to carry  physical credit card made it a lot easier, and i mean a LOT easier, and hence it made more sense.   

 

I have my Wise digital card stored in Apple Wallet on my Apple Watch, and I use my watch daily for contactless payments. I never need the physical card. The watch works at 7-Eleven, Villa Market, Big-C, TOPS, Foodland, Starbucks, Texaco, Turtle mini marts in the BTS, KFC, every department store, and many restaurants that accept credit cards. I can’t think of anywhere it doesn’t work. A year or two ago, there were a few occasions when the digital card failed on older card scanners and I had to use the physical card, but that hasn’t happened recently.

2 hours ago, FriscoKid said:

 

I have my Wise digital card stored in Apple Wallet on my Apple Watch, and I use my watch daily for contactless payments. I never need the physical card. The watch works at 7-Eleven, Villa Market, Big-C, TOPS, Foodland, Starbucks, Texaco, Turtle mini marts in the BTS, KFC, every department store, and many restaurants that accept credit cards. I can’t think of anywhere it doesn’t work. A year or two ago, there were a few occasions when the digital card failed on older card scanners and I had to use the physical card, but that hasn’t happened recently.

My Wise digital card has been a reliable companion on my travels, allowing me to make transactions effortlessly in Thailand, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. Given my positive experience and that of others, I'm skeptical about his claims of “multiple instances…of confusion” with the digital card.

If one uses the Wise card for lots of smaller purchases ( 7/11 or supermarket groceries ) , is it more cost effective to change a large amount of say £ ----> Bt in advance , rather than keep the balance from which the card payments are made , in £ . ?

9 hours ago, Nemises said:

My Wise digital card has been a reliable companion on my travels, allowing me to make transactions effortlessly in Thailand, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. Given my positive experience and that of others, I'm skeptical about his claims of “multiple instances…of confusion” with the digital card.

 

Agreed. I have used my Wise digital card all over Europe and Asia, never an issue anywhere, unless the contactless card scanner that the merchant is using is a piece of outdated equipment, which rarely happens anymore as I mentioned.

44 minutes ago, persimmon said:

If one uses the Wise card for lots of smaller purchases ( 7/11 or supermarket groceries ) , is it more cost effective to change a large amount of say £ ----> Bt in advance , rather than keep the balance from which the card payments are made , in £ . ?

 

It depends. If you exchange a large amount of GBP to THB in your Wise account when the GBP is weak, it may not work out in your favor. For example, I exchanged a lot into Baht when the Baht was very weak last year, and now I am spending from that Baht balance in my Wise account. This has worked out well because the Baht is much stronger again now, so I am effectively spending at a more favorable past exchange rate. The outcome really depends on the timing of when you make the exchange.

 

If you do not exchange in advance, you may instead average out the rate over time. In that case, the current exchange rate applies whenever you spend, which can also work in your favor when the Baht is consistently stronger. On the other hand, if you make a large exchange when the Baht is strong, it can work against you later if the Baht weakens again. So it all comes down to timing.