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Visa Crackdowns, QR Code Rules Spark Panic Among Pattaya Expats

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Panic, retirees not getting a coffee at Starbucks, never, may be the bun headed Gen X love'es not getting their latte.

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  • "Gone are the days of cash-in-hand jobs...."   It'll be a cold day in hell when you can't get a hand job for cash in Pattaya.    

  • Rubbish    Probably three people in the entire Thai government could explain Blockchain technology.   I challenge this.

  • I continue to pay cash  everywhere...  at immigration, at the DLT at Lotus,sssss  Big C , 7/11  and the noodle vendor  use cash    keep the digital demon's at bay buy using cash wherever you can...onc

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3 hours ago, Aviatorhi said:

Aww, look at you all angry for being poor. 

Who is?

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15 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

And all the people playing by the rules just sit there watching and enjoying their time in the casino while the card counters are escorted out.

 

While I'm no fan of corruption, anyone that entirely plays by the rules in Thailand will always come out a loser. The entire system is predicated on corruption. They wouldn't have a clue how to run a clean system. 

2 hours ago, morrobay said:

The US, UK and Australia expats have already been screwed over by the monthly income letters cancelling. Still strange why this happened to only these three countries,??

For some, including myself, it has removed the need to travel to Bangkok or Chiang Mai to get the Income letter. This saves me 2-3 days of travel and expenses that I can use on the trip or expense of my choice. 
 

Now, it takes about 1 hour to get the local bank branch to issue me a letter certifying my account, with the statement available via App or bank branch. 
 

Of course if you live close to a consulate of your home country then it may be as wash, though each situation is different. 
 

Additionally, I believe other countries have also stopped issuing the Income letters for the same reason. 

negative income tax 

 

AKA Pheu Thai's  occasional small amount handout to  the poor for  vote buying?

 

data harvest

 

Data harvest, instead of brown envelops,  for more workload?

 

 

 

17 hours ago, Everyman said:

 

There is no charge for the Thai QR code payment system. 

There are several options for using the QR code to received payment.  The safest one used by medium to larger businesses does charge a percentage.  Our restaurants use the safer QR system that includes the payment amount in the QR code.

12 hours ago, worgeordie said:

so why do Farang on tourist visa expect to open one in Thailand.

maybe because a relatively large percentage of Thailands GDP is dependent on tourism?  Making it easy for visitors is better for business than not.

12 hours ago, worgeordie said:

so why do Farang on tourist visa expect to open one in Thailand.

maybe because a relatively large percentage of Thailands GDP is dependent on tourism?  Making it easy for visitors is better for business than not.

The government’s adoption of digital ID, biometrics, and blockchain monitoring is reshaping both governmental and financial landscapes.

 

Since when men in uniform here are  that hard-working?

Without brown envelops or direct-to-pocket concessioned  traffic fine.

2 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

maybe because a relatively large percentage of Thailands GDP is dependent on tourism?  Making it easy for visitors is better for business than not.

Why would tourists on short term visa's require a bank account ? , we already know it's been abused

which is why they are cracking down , 

 

regards Worgeordie

13 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I am sure a  Thai tourist would have no problem opening a bank account,

in London , New York ,Paris or anywhere in the West.........of cause I am

been sarcastic , so why do Farang on tourist visa expect to open one in Thailand.

 

regards worgeordie

Well said.

Perhaps an alternative way to look at this is at face value - that Thailand like many countries faces challenges from illegal immigration, corruption, tax evasion and online scams. (Yes, a foreigner who uses visa agents to fake the required visa documents is just as much an illegal immigrant…). 

As for the 1984 style surveillance theories, does anyone seriously believe the Thai government has a computer system (or even the cross-department communication) necessary to collect, store, analyse and weaponise all this data for every single person in the country? We’ll all be long gone before anything like that is possible. 

Even elderly Thai vendors have mastered the QR code procedures and like the fact they no longer have to carry and bank physical cash, for security and convenience reasons. Are we foreign immigrants really too incompetent to do the same?

13 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Why would tourists on short term visa's require a bank account ? , we already know it's been abused

which is why they are cracking down , 

 

regards Worgeordie

There is no reason that a special 'tourist' account with limited features couldn't be implemented.

How I. The hell will they travel on a plane or through the airport 

I do get a laugh at all the MAGA people, and the EU types who agree with them about "Illegal immigrants" / arrest / deportation etc ... and then the day THAILAND says "We will find "Illegal Expats" and get rid of themOUCH. It must suck when THE RULES APPLY TO YOU!  555!

I have had a digital wallet for year. My wife's fingers are never out of it.😋

4 hours ago, Dart12 said:

I don’t trust keeping 800k in a Thai bank.

 

see all these freezes occurring?

 

but I have no problem pushing 65000 a month to my Thai account as a requirement to renew

 

 

Unless they start taxing you on your funds transferred to Thailand.

 

 

2 minutes ago, JustinTyme said:

and then the day THAILAND says "We will find "Illegal Expats" and get rid of them

They then say -- It's not illegal. You just don't understand Thai culture.

18 hours ago, johng said:

So how do they make money ?

QR Code under the hood is just an ATM transfer to another account as far as I can tell... the QR code has all the information to make it easy.  (i.e, transfering money using government backed infrastructure).  

From what I understand (a bit fuzzy) - promptpay fees are:

Micro payments below a 'certain amount' are typically free.  

Larger transactions, for example 1,000 baht are between 0.25% and 0.50% of the amount (so for 1000 baht it is 2.5 to 5 baht).  If the fee exceeds a certain amount (dependent on bank it can range but typically you are talking about 25 baht or so maximum). 

The network used for transactions is National ITMX Co., Ltd. which is a consortium owned by all the Thai banks and is run like a utility (i.e. it is a for profit company but it is run more like a utility not a company that is focused on maximizing profits over those that use it).

 

 

Just now, Espanol said:

 

Unless they start taxing you on your funds transferred to Thailand.

No problem -- all my 65k+ monthly funds are subject to US-Thai DTA.

1 minute ago, jerrymahoney said:

They then say -- It's not illegal. You just don't understand Thai culture.

I think after 14 years of living in Thailand, non-stop - I have a pretty good understanding of the culture ... but thanks for the uninformed ego-istic "I know best" classic Bar Stool Expert insult! 555

7 minutes ago, Nickcage49 said:

This says nothing after the scare headline. WHAT EXACTLY ARE THESE NEW RULES?

In a moment of irony, there are really "no new rules."  What there are is modern, advanced, coordinated. electronic systems that eliminate all the "good old days" work arounds, agent tricks, lies, deceit, and attempts to beat the Thailand Immigration LAWS.  Does obeying Thai immigration laws create a problem for you?  Well, that is YOUR PROBLEM.

30 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

There is no reason that a special 'tourist' account with limited features couldn't be implemented.

I know that a friend of mine from Japan who was in Canada as a tourist for 1.5 years (6 months with 2 extensions of 6 months each - after showing she had no need to work... ever), opened up a bank account.  If you are a regular visitor to a country (annually) or stay a significant amount of time, it makes sense to open a bank account locally as it makes it easier to handle your money that you are relying on locally.  I have had my credit card suspended at times when using it internationally because the modelling they do for risk analysis sees you change your behaviour and then determines it is a risk that you have been compromised.  It is fairly quick (if annoying) to get it unsuspended but it is still a risk.  If you have your credit card you are relying on compromised while you are hear and you do not travel with enough cash as backup - it can be problematic.  I have also been hear when the international cables were dredged up cutting of the international connections - which brought down the international ATM/Bank/Credit Card network for at least a week...  That was not a good think to go through without having a local account to rely on.  Personally, I use QR codes for most of my local transactions these days.

4 hours ago, KhaoHom said:

 

They will never go entirely cashless due to tourism especially as they tighten money and banking making it endlessly complicated. I can't think of a way to make the slide in tourist numbers plummet any faster. 

Imagine Thailand being a huge food court. You just add baht when needed. 

 

One possibility  

Freedom is about choice, and the more choice you have the freer you are. Anything, or anyone, who takes away choice/options is making you less free. This obsession with digital payments is a power-grab from banks, WEF, and governments and is the slow road to a dystopia like China... they (CCP) are just way further down the road. Currently we are all everywhere having our freedoms stripped away at an alarming pace... and all in the name of convenience and security. 

Also, the complete central concentration of power over finances by banks/government for all is something straight out of a George Orwell book, and a really bad idea for us... there probably already is a secret scoring system run by AI in most countries analyzing how people spend and what they spend it on. I will be using cash for as long as it is legal to use it, as I value a degree of privacy on what I spend and my life.

On top of all that, all this gathering of data, whether biometric or otherwise, is a gift to scammer, criminals, and fraudsters, as the perps are just getting better and more creative all the time, whilst the companies and their emplyees are becoming more inept. Biometric data, for example, can't be changed once it is no longer secret... reminds me of that other article on here about people giving their iris scans away for 500 baht of crpto, just so stupid.

"CASH IS KING "   -  I'll keep to that , at least for now !  

48 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Why would tourists on short term visa's require a bank account ? , we already know it's been abused

which is why they are cracking down , 

 

regards Worgeordie

I guess you were not here the last time the international network was dredged up cutting off Thailand for what seems like it was at least a week if not longer (no international ATM transactions, etc.) -- or had a your credit cards compromised and you have to wait for new cards before you can access everything.  If you are a regular visitor, or you are here for months rather than a week or two - it makes sense for you to have a local bank you can rely on.   Having robust KYC (know your client rules) that model your expected behaviour can greatly reduce the abuse - if you start receiving money locally into your account regularly - and you don't have a business or own a condo - that would be a red flag.

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Pattaya was seen as a haven for relaxed living

Correction: haven of lawlessness 

5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Now don't go leaving the bank staff out of the party!

Talking of banks, in my case SCB.

Last week I made my application for extension based on marriage.

Got my mountain of documents prepared, went to the bank in the morning and got the one year statement and bank letter stating funds in the bank.

The one year statement although signed by the bank employee, forgot to over-stamp it.

Immigration made me return to the issuing bank to get it stamped, even though I phoned them, and the IO officer spoke to the lady concerned who confirmed I was there in the morning.

Two hour round trip.

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