I had a Big C food court card for paying for food there.   Actually regularly put quite a lot of money on there since I went there regularly.  Now just went again and my card did not work.  Went to the payment counter to check the card and was told that the card expires after 45 days and all the money is irrevocably gone.  Must have been close to 1000 THB still on the card.  Is this legal or is this just Thailand?

Read the fine print on the card

Pity you didn't check the terms and conditions beforehand 😕 

You must realllllly like the food court to put 1000 baht on it.

Missing the "rip-off" element of this sorry tale.

45 days is kind of generous, maybe because of the amount.

 

Don't think I've ever received a card more than 30 day, usually much less, 7-10-14 days.

11 hours ago, K2938 said:

Must have been close to 1000 THB still on the card. 

 

I only put money that I need for that particular item.

 

The lineups are never longer than what you need to wait for the dish to be prepared anyway, so you would just end up sitting at the table and waiting.

 

1000 Baht is ambitious. I never plan my life that far in advance. 

 

This is a considerable loss. I suggest a GoFundMe. 

Cash is always the way to go

2 minutes ago, sometime said:

Cash is always the way to go

They do not take cash

14 hours ago, K2938 said:

Went to the payment counter to check the card and was told that the card expires after 45 days

 

There must be a valid reason why they put an expiry date of 45 days on those cards, but I can't think of any reason.

 

I would complain to the head office somewhere. Maybe look up the phone number online. 

Go into Big C demanding to speak to a head honcho.

Tell them to at least justify where this expiry date comes from and tell them you didn't know.

The back of the card is all in Thai? Tell them you can't read Thai. 

 

Maybe try this form and see if someone gets back to you.

 

https://corporate.bigc.co.th/contact?lang=en

 

2 hours ago, K2938 said:

They do not take cash

 

It has been years since I ate at the BIG C foodcourt, but at that time you would give them cash, and they would give you a card with that amount added.

Has that changed?

When i occasionally go to that school dinners canteen vibe place i only put enough on for that visit then refund after.

 

The 45 day rule sounds normal 

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

The 45 day rule sounds normal 

Lotus's food court court card does not steal your money, Rabbit transportation card does not - it is strange.  And if it expires, then it should still refund the customer the money

 

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

When i occasionally go to that school dinners canteen vibe place i only put enough on for that visit then refund after.

 

The 45 day rule sounds normal 

I once had 4 cards for various reasons, had to leave country for family problem, came back 3 months later and cards didn’t work, nice lady at counter typed something in and added all four cards to one new one, smiled and said I needed to add ‘something’ so it will work, added 500 baht and all was well.  So it is possible.      After that I made it a rule to always cash out after eating, I might not be so lucky the next time.

 

 BTW, I once had a couple Rabbit Cards, 2 years old, they were caught in storage, was able to use them without a hitch

Remembered by me from my job IRL, formatted by AI.

 

Why Operators Set Expiry Dates

From an operator’s perspective, unspent balances create accounting and regulatory complications:

1. Liability on the balance sheet:
   Until the money is redeemed, the operator owes that value to the user. It appears as a liability (“deferred revenue”) and can’t be recognized as profit.

2. Float management & cash flow:
   Operators may hold a large pool of cash (the “float”) representing outstanding balances. Managing that money responsibly — and ensuring liquidity for redemptions — requires careful financial control.

3. Regulatory or tax implications:
   In some jurisdictions (including Thailand), stored-value systems can fall under electronic money (e-money) regulation. The longer funds remain unredeemed, the greater the compliance and reporting burden.

4. Unclaimed-funds obligations:
   If expiry were not enforced, dormant funds might legally be considered unclaimed property after a time, triggering reporting and remittance duties to the state or Bank of Thailand.

---

What Problems This Can Cause

• Accounting complexity: Businesses must estimate the proportion of breakage and recognize it as income only when redemption becomes improbable. Wrong assumptions can distort profits.

• Customer dissatisfaction: Users may feel cheated if balances expire quickly, hurting brand trust.

• Regulatory risk: If an operator treats stored balances like deposits without the proper license, they can breach financial-services laws.

• Liquidity risk: Poorly managed float can lead to shortages if too many users redeem at once.

---

In Thailand

Thailand’s Bank of Thailand (BoT) regulates stored-value cards and e-money issuers under the Payment Systems Act B.E. 2560 (2017). Operators often impose short expiry periods — like your 45 days — specifically to:

• reduce their outstanding liability,

• simplify compliance reporting to BoT,

• and avoid being classified as long-term e-money holders.

13 hours ago, K2938 said:

I had a Big C food court card for paying for food there.   Actually regularly put quite a lot of money on there since I went there regularly.  Now just went again and my card did not work.  Went to the payment counter to check the card and was told that the card expires after 45 days and all the money is irrevocably gone.  Must have been close to 1000 THB still on the card.  Is this legal or is this just Thailand?

Normally you get 7 days only

13 hours ago, Real Name Hidden said:

Read the fine print on the card

That's too hard for some.

Flame post removed 

 

@Oliver Holzerfilled

"or is this just Thailand?"

 

One of the most popular scapegoat, here at AN !

 

Not reading the terms and conditions are also Thailand's fault? 

11 minutes ago, ravip said:

"or is this just Thailand?"

 

One of the most popular scapegoat, here at AN !

 

Not reading the terms and conditions are also Thailand's fault? 

Western ones take cash. 7 days is ample time to use or refund. Best to refund daily.

 

On 10/14/2025 at 7:21 AM, Explorator en Actione said:

I once had 4 cards for various reasons, had to leave country for family problem, came back 3 months later and cards didn’t work, nice lady at counter typed something in and added all four cards to one new one, smiled and said I needed to add ‘something’ so it will work, added 500 baht and all was well.  So it is possible

You were very lucky and I'd say it was a long time ago. 

 

With all the nasty, arrogant foreigners coming to Thailand these days, I'd say these lovely hard working women are no longer interested in helping us foreigners. 

On 10/13/2025 at 10:09 PM, save the frogs said:

There must be a valid reason why they put an expiry date of 45 days on those cards, but I can't think of any reason.

You could say this about almost every walk of Thai life from banking to Immigration.  The reason is, 'we've always done it like this.'

On 10/13/2025 at 6:56 PM, EVENKEEL said:

You must realllllly like the food court to put 1000 baht on it.

yes why would you put 1000thb on a card, when the food is 50/60 thb per meal.

i always buy then cash them in each visit

11 hours ago, steve187 said:

yes why would you put 1000thb on a card, when the food is 50/60 thb per meal.

i always buy then cash them in each visit

Because it saves the time of putting money on the card before each meal and getting a refund after each meal.  Very simple.

8 hours ago, K2938 said:

Because it saves the time of putting money on the card before each meal and getting a refund after each meal.  Very simple.

I get it. For us eating at a food court is very seldom. Guess if I was living inner city I'd be a more frequent customer. 

On 10/13/2025 at 6:50 PM, K2938 said:

I had a Big C food court card for paying for food there.   Actually regularly put quite a lot of money on there since I went there regularly.  Now just went again and my card did not work.  Went to the payment counter to check the card and was told that the card expires after 45 days and all the money is irrevocably gone.  Must have been close to 1000 THB still on the card.  Is this legal or is this just Thailand?

 

Of course there's an expiration. Might be a week or month or a year, but they need to reconcile. 

 

I eat at six food courts two are big c. I exchange b100 and get the balance at the end of my meals. 

 

Why make Thailand so complicated? Saves time lol. All of how many minutes? Because your life is so important and fast paced 🤣

21 hours ago, steve187 said:

s 50/60 thb per meal.

 

60-80 Bangkok now except Terminal. Especially with egg

For all the English saying he should read terms conditions I don't think there are any on the back of the card. 

 

The cards are just not used that way. It's pretty much expected that no one is going to keep money on the card for months without using it... Except FARANG 😂

On 10/14/2025 at 3:17 PM, SAFETY FIRST said:

You were very lucky and I'd say it was a long time ago. 

 

With all the nasty, arrogant foreigners coming to Thailand these days, I'd say these lovely hard working women are no longer interested in helping us foreigners. 

and you are correct sir, it was a long time ago, and sadly you are correct again about the fine young ladies working in the FoodCourts these days, they are tired of putting up with Foreigners' BS.  Can’t count how many times I have been behind foreigners trying to bargain for food, when the prices are clearly displayed.   And argue when they try to pay cash when it is displayed “No Cash”   These are the days we live in My Friend.