Online Payment Gateways

[HarryHerb]

I have a registered Thai company and one of the things we do is run a website that takes payments from customers abroad.

The transaction is charged in Thai Baht and should be payable into a Thai bank account. I also have a UK bank account, which I could use, but don't really want to attract unwanted attention from Inland Revenue with large payments into it, especially as I am not even living / working there (would anyone know if I really would have a problem with that?).

So... over the past 2 years we have tried using a merchant account with Krung Sri Ayudhya Bank (useless, rejected a lot of cards, crap interface half in Thai - not a great customer experience); Payzip (great, until it went tits up last year) and now Thai Epay (useless - no Mastercard payments and half the Visa cards get rejected with no reason and customer service always just repeats it's the issuing bank's fault).

Does anyone know of a real cc processing gateway that

1) allows Thai merchants / Thai Baht payments

2) doesn't require a US bank account

3) doesn't charge the earth because of 1) and 2)

Maybe an Asian / Singapore-based one?

Any help / advice much appreciated!

[~G~]

Why do you need the transaction to be charged in Thai Baht? We use 2checkout.com.

[LadyinRed]

For Singapore-based companies you may want to try NETS.

Another option is World Pay (they have a branch in Singapore) but I hear their rates are not the most competitive in the market.

You may have to incorporate yourself in Singapore for the above options.

Based in Hong Kong you can have AsiaPay.

Good luck!

[jezchesters]

I have a registered Thai company and one of the things we do is run a website that takes payments from customers abroad.

The transaction is charged in Thai Baht and should be payable into a Thai bank account. I also have a UK bank account, which I could use, but don't really want to attract unwanted attention from Inland Revenue with large payments into it, especially as I am not even living / working there (would anyone know if I really would have a problem with that?).

So... over the past 2 years we have tried using a merchant account with Krung Sri Ayudhya Bank (useless, rejected a lot of cards, crap interface half in Thai - not a great customer experience); Payzip (great, until it went tits up last year) and now Thai Epay (useless - no Mastercard payments and half the Visa cards get rejected with no reason and customer service always just repeats it's the issuing bank's fault).

Does anyone know of a real cc processing gateway that

1) allows Thai merchants / Thai Baht payments

2) doesn't require a US bank account

3) doesn't charge the earth because of 1) and 2)

Maybe an Asian / Singapore-based one?

Any help / advice much appreciated!

Do it through your UK bank account. You have absolutely no worries with the Inland Revenue if you don't live in the UK - you just need to ask them for a form (can't remember the number) that you sign to say you are not ordinarily resident in the UK - we did this and even ended up with a tax rebate

[smartecosse]

siam commercials business banking have a secure cc payment site that you can link your customers to , need to hold ur acc there though

[HarryHerb]

Thanks for the replies - all interesting stuff.

Why do you need the transaction to be charged in Thai Baht? We use 2checkout.com.

The transaction itself I suppose doesn't have to be in Thai Baht, but we do need the funds transferred to a Thai bank account eventually. I hadn't realised 2checkout would do this, so had just discounted them as an option. But checked their website just now and they do make payments in THB, for US$6 per transfer.

Are you happy with their service? How about the exchange rate?

Do it through your UK bank account. You have absolutely no worries with the Inland Revenue if you don't live in the UK - you just need to ask them for a form (can't remember the number) that you sign to say you are not ordinarily resident in the UK - we did this and even ended up with a tax rebate thumbsup.gif

What? Say you're not pulling my leg. Income generated abroad from non-UK company, coming into personal UK bank account and then back out again through ATM withdrawals or fund transfer is totally ok? Which payment gateway do you use?

LadyinRed, good suggestions, but unfortunately need to be incorporated, or have bank accounts in HK or Singapore - not possible for us.

Smartecosse - do you use SCB? My experience with Thai banks' own systems is that cards get rejected a lot (used Krung Sri and UOB / Bank of Asia before), with no customer support.

[~G~]

Why do you need the transaction to be charged in Thai Baht? We use 2checkout.com.

The transaction itself I suppose doesn't have to be in Thai Baht, but we do need the funds transferred to a Thai bank account eventually. I hadn't realised 2checkout would do this, so had just discounted them as an option. But checked their website just now and they do make payments in THB, for US$6 per transfer.

Are you happy with their service? How about the exchange rate?

No problem in trasferring the funds to a Thai Bank account. The service is good, support is way better than PayPal the system is quite simple to link to, pretty comfortable admin panel, no complaints.

They have a release amount of min $300 if I remember correctly, I am not sure about the Xchange rate, I will try to check and post again.

[HarryHerb]

Just read on the 2checkout website that they won't allow people to sell "travel services" (which is part of what we do). But I'm sure I've actually paid for hotels online using 2checkout! Anyone know how strict they are?

[LadyinRed]

Company incorporation in Singapore is inexpensive and fast (read www.acra.gov.sg/).

Personal, corporate, foreign currency bank accounts (other than S$) can be opened rather easily in Singapore.

Online travel services are restricted as most of them resell such services from another supplier. This is especially so for re-packaged tour/ travel services. I guess hotels are considered tangible in this category.

[Backpack_thailand]

The only way to go is ThaiEpay - Website

Brilliant system, payments every month straight into your Thai bank account. 4% commission on each purchase. I use them for all my clients who want online payment facility as well as for our own stuff.

Check them out. Very easy to set up and as they are based in BKK good support as well.

[~G~]

Just read on the 2checkout website that they won't allow people to sell "travel services" (which is part of what we do). But I'm sure I've actually paid for hotels online using 2checkout! Anyone know how strict they are?

In case of doubt, contact them and explain exactly what you wish to sell. You should get an answer in a day or two one way or another.

[Smithson]

The only way to go is ThaiEpay - Website

Brilliant system, payments every month straight into your Thai bank account. 4% commission on each purchase. I use them for all my clients who want online payment facility as well as for our own stuff.

Check them out. Very easy to set up and as they are based in BKK good support as well.

The OP has used this system and says it's useless, I tend to agree. Poor interface and forms when sending invoices, customers can't figure out what to do.

They're website says they accept Mastercard, but they haven't for months.

They used to give you the Bank of Thailand exchange rate at the end of the month, then they changed to calculating the rate daily and also switched to UOB rate for $1 notes - the worst rate in Thailand!

[mr_lob]

I use Thaiepay simply beacuse there is no other option.

Farily good system - but many bad points:

1. Extortionate exchange rates, especially on the USD

2. Have to wait up to six weeks to get paid

3. Many transactions rejected with no reason given (many customers therefore lost as they got pissed off with trying again and again)

4. They say they take MasterCard but don't

5. For some currencies, like GBP and EUR, some of my customers have been charged in Thai Baht and it has come out on their statement over what it should have

Thinking about moving to Bangkok Bank....

[Smithson]

I use Thaiepay simply beacuse there is no other option.

Farily good system - but many bad points:

1. Extortionate exchange rates, especially on the USD

2. Have to wait up to six weeks to get paid

3. Many transactions rejected with no reason given (many customers therefore lost as they got pissed off with trying again and again)

4. They say they take MasterCard but don't

Thinking about moving to Bangkok Bank....

Besides these 4 points Thaiepay was good, if there was a problem it was easy to speak to someone, which is impossible with PayPal.

The same company seems to run many business, so I didn't like them holding my money for 6 weeks. What if the economy went bad? Difficult to trust them when the have the Mastercard logo on the homepage but don't take Mastercard.

The rejected payments were also a nightmare.

[jezchesters]

If you want to have payments deposited in UK bank accounts then I know Worldpay, Metacharge and Planet Payment all work with UK accounts, all with varying setup charges and comission rates, depending on your business. Jez

[taxin]

I use Thaiepay simply beacuse there is no other option.

Farily good system - but many bad points:

1. Extortionate exchange rates, especially on the USD

2. Have to wait up to six weeks to get paid

3. Many transactions rejected with no reason given (many customers therefore lost as they got pissed off with trying again and again)

4. They say they take MasterCard but don't

5. For some currencies, like GBP and EUR, some of my customers have been charged in Thai Baht and it has come out on their statement over what it should have

Thinking about moving to Bangkok Bank....

Im actually trying to move away from Bangkok Bank because they are an absolute nightmare !!

To take a CC payment you have to have allsorts such as photo copies of there passport and copies of the actual card, so unless the customer is in front of you you really up against it !

I was considering moving over to ThaiEpay but im not sure now, one poster says its good and the other says its not ! One says they pay on time the other says 6 weeks ? Who do we believe ?

Have also tried Asiapay but my e mails are being returned…

So anyone else with any other suggestions ?

[Smithson]

I use Thaiepay simply beacuse there is no other option.

Farily good system - but many bad points:

1. Extortionate exchange rates, especially on the USD

2. Have to wait up to six weeks to get paid

3. Many transactions rejected with no reason given (many customers therefore lost as they got pissed off with trying again and again)

4. They say they take MasterCard but don't

5. For some currencies, like GBP and EUR, some of my customers have been charged in Thai Baht and it has come out on their statement over what it should have

Thinking about moving to Bangkok Bank....

Im actually trying to move away from Bangkok Bank because they are an absolute nightmare !!

To take a CC payment you have to have allsorts such as photo copies of there passport and copies of the actual card, so unless the customer is in front of you you really up against it !

I was considering moving over to ThaiEpay but im not sure now, one poster says its good and the other says its not ! One says they pay on time the other says 6 weeks ? Who do we believe ?

Have also tried Asiapay but my e mails are being returned…

So anyone else with any other suggestions ?

Thaiepay pays on the 10th of the following month, so if you receive a payment on the 1st, you get paid in 6 weeks. For payment later in the month you don't have to wait to long.

Their system doesn't seem to work for alot of ppl, but it sounds heaps better than Bangkok Bank.

I'm using PayPal at present, which leaves you vulnerable to chargebacks.

Google has a system that has just started up, but I'd say it'll be a while before it's accessible from Thailand.

[Darkhorse]

We use Worldpay which has worked very well over the last 3 years for us. It is a while ago since we set this up but I do remember having to negotiate quite hard to get the %age commission paid on credit cards down. There system works very well, great support when you need it and Worldpay itself is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

The downside is that you get paid 4 weeks after the transaction takes place. They look at this as a rolling reserve which protects them against chargebacks. It works OK for us but I feel personally the 4 weeks is a bit stiff - 2 weeks reserve I can understand.

They have an office in Singapore servicing the Asia region. Worth checking them out (pardon the pun!)

[HarryHerb]

Thanks for all your replies - even if they aren't terribly positive. And, I'm afraid to say, after 10 days of solid searching down all avenues, neither is my conclusion.

So, drumroll, please...

The most reliable way I've found to take cc payments in Thailand from overseas?

By FAX Old-fashioned, quite a lot of paperwork, but it works (or will do when our bank finally approves our application). No chargebacks and instant access to funds. Of course, you need a Thai company to do this, and it makes you liable to declare earnings, but if you're legit it's ok.

We'll still use Thai EPAY as the first line, but switch immediately to fax authorisation when the card (as happens so often) gets randomly rejected, rather than getting the customer to try again repeatedly, getting more and more pissed off and wondering if the company he is dealing with is even reputable.

Apart from the Mastercard issue, the main worry I have about Thai EPAY is that they use the UOB online payment system. Rather than going through the middleman, I originally applied direct to UOB (lower commission, but must maintain deposit of 100,000 in bank account), but a very apologetic customer rep told me that higher management were questioning the whole service after the takeover (i.e. whether they were going to continue providing it) and so they weren't taking on any new customers at the moment. That was 3 months ago. So not sure for how much longer Thai Epay will exist? I mean even the Mastercard problem comes from UOB's refusal, not theirs.

Some avenues I've tried (FYI, FWIW):

1. Paypal - ok if you have UK bank account, but doesn't look professional

2. About 100 American based companies - no international coverage

3. Ditto Australian / Singapore / HK companies

4. 2checkout - had flat refusal from them for ANY 'travel-related services'

5. Worldpay - still no response after auto-reply more than a week ago

6. Bangkok Bank - absurdly high fees

7. Siam Commercial - no reply after a week = rubbish customer service

8. So-called 'high risk' 3rd party processors (apparently travel is on the same level as porn in this world), they charge commission at nearly 20%!!

9. Other UK solutions require a merchant account at a UK bank, impossible unless you are registered in UK.

Anyway, there's not just a niche, but a great yawning chasm in this market if anyone wants to set up a new business

[mr_lob]

Thanks for all your replies - even if they aren't terribly positive. And, I'm afraid to say, after 10 days of solid searching down all avenues, neither is my conclusion.

So, drumroll, please...

The most reliable way I've found to take cc payments in Thailand from overseas?

By FAX Old-fashioned, quite a lot of paperwork, but it works (or will do when our bank finally approves our application). No chargebacks and instant access to funds. Of course, you need a Thai company to do this, and it makes you liable to declare earnings, but if you're legit it's ok.

We'll still use Thai EPAY as the first line, but switch immediately to fax authorisation when the card (as happens so often) gets randomly rejected, rather than getting the customer to try again repeatedly, getting more and more pissed off and wondering if the company he is dealing with is even reputable.

Apart from the Mastercard issue, the main worry I have about Thai EPAY is that they use the UOB online payment system. Rather than going through the middleman, I originally applied direct to UOB (lower commission, but must maintain deposit of 100,000 in bank account), but a very apologetic customer rep told me that higher management were questioning the whole service after the takeover (i.e. whether they were going to continue providing it) and so they weren't taking on any new customers at the moment. That was 3 months ago. So not sure for how much longer Thai Epay will exist? I mean even the Mastercard problem comes from UOB's refusal, not theirs.

Some avenues I've tried (FYI, FWIW):

1. Paypal - ok if you have UK bank account, but doesn't look professional

2. About 100 American based companies - no international coverage

3. Ditto Australian / Singapore / HK companies

4. 2checkout - had flat refusal from them for ANY 'travel-related services'

5. Worldpay - still no response after auto-reply more than a week ago

6. Bangkok Bank - absurdly high fees

7. Siam Commercial - no reply after a week = rubbish customer service

8. So-called 'high risk' 3rd party processors (apparently travel is on the same level as porn in this world), they charge commission at nearly 20%!!

9. Other UK solutions require a merchant account at a UK bank, impossible unless you are registered in UK.

Anyway, there's not just a niche, but a great yawning chasm in this market if anyone wants to set up a new business

I also run a travel business - and the problems with Thaiepay have got worse! Seems like nearly every transaction is being rejected - with no apparent reason given. I have lost alot of customers in the last week because of this...and i think i know why it is happening:

I spoke to UOB myself last month to try and get a direct accoutn with them for online processing, and they said they are not offering the service as of late June (UOB were Thaiepay's acquiring Bank).

Since found out that Thaiepay are now using Kasikorn Bank for online payments - whose system appears to be comparably toilet!!

[simon43]

This thread worries me! I open a new hotel in a few months and I naively assumed that accepting CC payments on my hotel website would be a no-brainer!

I spoke with Worldpay in Singapore, but they do not provide their services to hotels, ditto with 2Checkout.

I looked at Metacharge, but I'll need to set up a 'mirror' UK company/bank account etc which I don't really want to do since this hotel is a legit Thai business, and existing in Thailand only.

Does anyone else have any solutions for online CC processing for Thai companies in the travel business??

Simon

[manjara]

Thanks for all your replies - even if they aren't terribly positive. And, I'm afraid to say, after 10 days of solid searching down all avenues, neither is my conclusion.

So, drumroll, please...

The most reliable way I've found to take cc payments in Thailand from overseas?

By FAX Old-fashioned, quite a lot of paperwork, but it works (or will do when our bank finally approves our application). No chargebacks and instant access to funds. Of course, you need a Thai company to do this, and it makes you liable to declare earnings, but if you're legit it's ok.

We'll still use Thai EPAY as the first line, but switch immediately to fax authorisation when the card (as happens so often) gets randomly rejected, rather than getting the customer to try again repeatedly, getting more and more pissed off and wondering if the company he is dealing with is even reputable.

Apart from the Mastercard issue, the main worry I have about Thai EPAY is that they use the UOB online payment system. Rather than going through the middleman, I originally applied direct to UOB (lower commission, but must maintain deposit of 100,000 in bank account), but a very apologetic customer rep told me that higher management were questioning the whole service after the takeover (i.e. whether they were going to continue providing it) and so they weren't taking on any new customers at the moment. That was 3 months ago. So not sure for how much longer Thai Epay will exist? I mean even the Mastercard problem comes from UOB's refusal, not theirs.

Some avenues I've tried (FYI, FWIW):

1. Paypal - ok if you have UK bank account, but doesn't look professional

2. About 100 American based companies - no international coverage

3. Ditto Australian / Singapore / HK companies

4. 2checkout - had flat refusal from them for ANY 'travel-related services'

5. Worldpay - still no response after auto-reply more than a week ago

6. Bangkok Bank - absurdly high fees

7. Siam Commercial - no reply after a week = rubbish customer service

8. So-called 'high risk' 3rd party processors (apparently travel is on the same level as porn in this world), they charge commission at nearly 20%!!

9. Other UK solutions require a merchant account at a UK bank, impossible unless you are registered in UK.

Anyway, there's not just a niche, but a great yawning chasm in this market if anyone wants to set up a new business

I also run a travel business - and the problems with Thaiepay have got worse! Seems like nearly every transaction is being rejected - with no apparent reason given. I have lost alot of customers in the last week because of this...and i think i know why it is happening:

I spoke to UOB myself last month to try and get a direct accoutn with them for online processing, and they said they are not offering the service as of late June (UOB were Thaiepay's acquiring Bank).

Since found out that Thaiepay are now using Kasikorn Bank for online payments - whose system appears to be comparably toilet!!

I'm surprised that people don't like Paypal, although I've never used a credit card to pay through Paypal. Paypal -> Paypal is easy enough.

The problem with all of these systems is that the money resides with the banks, and they don't want it to be easy to get the money out.

It's also funny how we will trust our bank, given the s*itty treatment we almost invariably get from them, yet we don't trust online payment providers.

I'm working on getting funding for a project that would facilitate moving money between countries, but that still would not allow you to get paid directly. What it would allow is to extract moeny from Paypal or E-gold, for example, to a ThaiBank account, without significant commission and exchange losses.

Drop me a line if you are interested.

[h90]

Thanks for all your replies - even if they aren't terribly positive. And, I'm afraid to say, after 10 days of solid searching down all avenues, neither is my conclusion.

So, drumroll, please...

The most reliable way I've found to take cc payments in Thailand from overseas?

By FAX Old-fashioned, quite a lot of paperwork, but it works (or will do when our bank finally approves our application). No chargebacks and instant access to funds. Of course, you need a Thai company to do this, and it makes you liable to declare earnings, but if you're legit it's ok.

We'll still use Thai EPAY as the first line, but switch immediately to fax authorisation when the card (as happens so often) gets randomly rejected, rather than getting the customer to try again repeatedly, getting more and more pissed off and wondering if the company he is dealing with is even reputable.

Apart from the Mastercard issue, the main worry I have about Thai EPAY is that they use the UOB online payment system. Rather than going through the middleman, I originally applied direct to UOB (lower commission, but must maintain deposit of 100,000 in bank account), but a very apologetic customer rep told me that higher management were questioning the whole service after the takeover (i.e. whether they were going to continue providing it) and so they weren't taking on any new customers at the moment. That was 3 months ago. So not sure for how much longer Thai Epay will exist? I mean even the Mastercard problem comes from UOB's refusal, not theirs.

Some avenues I've tried (FYI, FWIW):

1. Paypal - ok if you have UK bank account, but doesn't look professional

2. About 100 American based companies - no international coverage

3. Ditto Australian / Singapore / HK companies

4. 2checkout - had flat refusal from them for ANY 'travel-related services'

5. Worldpay - still no response after auto-reply more than a week ago

6. Bangkok Bank - absurdly high fees

7. Siam Commercial - no reply after a week = rubbish customer service

8. So-called 'high risk' 3rd party processors (apparently travel is on the same level as porn in this world), they charge commission at nearly 20%!!

9. Other UK solutions require a merchant account at a UK bank, impossible unless you are registered in UK.

Anyway, there's not just a niche, but a great yawning chasm in this market if anyone wants to set up a new business

I also run a travel business - and the problems with Thaiepay have got worse! Seems like nearly every transaction is being rejected - with no apparent reason given. I have lost alot of customers in the last week because of this...and i think i know why it is happening:

I spoke to UOB myself last month to try and get a direct accoutn with them for online processing, and they said they are not offering the service as of late June (UOB were Thaiepay's acquiring Bank).

Since found out that Thaiepay are now using Kasikorn Bank for online payments - whose system appears to be comparably toilet!!

whats the problem with Kasikorns online payments? As I just apply for that toilet

[taxin]

Thanks for all your replies - even if they aren't terribly positive. And, I'm afraid to say, after 10 days of solid searching down all avenues, neither is my conclusion.

So, drumroll, please...

The most reliable way I've found to take cc payments in Thailand from overseas?

By FAX Old-fashioned, quite a lot of paperwork, but it works (or will do when our bank finally approves our application). No chargebacks and instant access to funds. Of course, you need a Thai company to do this, and it makes you liable to declare earnings, but if you're legit it's ok.

We'll still use Thai EPAY as the first line, but switch immediately to fax authorisation when the card (as happens so often) gets randomly rejected, rather than getting the customer to try again repeatedly, getting more and more pissed off and wondering if the company he is dealing with is even reputable.

Apart from the Mastercard issue, the main worry I have about Thai EPAY is that they use the UOB online payment system. Rather than going through the middleman, I originally applied direct to UOB (lower commission, but must maintain deposit of 100,000 in bank account), but a very apologetic customer rep told me that higher management were questioning the whole service after the takeover (i.e. whether they were going to continue providing it) and so they weren't taking on any new customers at the moment. That was 3 months ago. So not sure for how much longer Thai Epay will exist? I mean even the Mastercard problem comes from UOB's refusal, not theirs.

Some avenues I've tried (FYI, FWIW):

1. Paypal - ok if you have UK bank account, but doesn't look professional

2. About 100 American based companies - no international coverage

3. Ditto Australian / Singapore / HK companies

4. 2checkout - had flat refusal from them for ANY 'travel-related services'

5. Worldpay - still no response after auto-reply more than a week ago

6. Bangkok Bank - absurdly high fees

7. Siam Commercial - no reply after a week = rubbish customer service

8. So-called 'high risk' 3rd party processors (apparently travel is on the same level as porn in this world), they charge commission at nearly 20%!!

9. Other UK solutions require a merchant account at a UK bank, impossible unless you are registered in UK.

Anyway, there's not just a niche, but a great yawning chasm in this market if anyone wants to set up a new business

Harry, when you say BKK Bank have absurdly high fees how absurd are we talking ?

For me they are the cheapest at 2.75% ...... I have a telephone wired swipe machine which also allows me to manually type in customers card details, they gave me this for free, no deposit, no silly retainer to leave in an account. It can be a pain at times but at least the money is in my bank account instantly.

So being a "travel related" business, on top of my reluctance in waiting upto 6 weeks it looks like I will be staying with BKK bank !

[The Coder]

Did it occur to anyone to use the brand new Google Checkout?

[simon43]

Did it occur to anyone to use the brand new Google Checkout?

Yes, but it was only launched a few days ago in the USA! It is not yet available in Thailand and is still a complete unknown as to reliability, types of products and countries accepted etc

Simon

[The Coder]

Yes, but it was only launched a few days ago in the USA! It is not yet available in Thailand and is still a complete unknown as to reliability, types of products and countries accepted etc

You are right, it is for US bank accounts at this time so I guess that rules it out per this thread. But they claim this will be extended in the future. They already do list restricted products and interestingly this includes "Tours (including hotel, flight, and car reservations), travel clubs, and timeshare properties".

checkout.google.com seller FAQ

[tjo o tjim]

I'm sure it is easier in Singapore, but setting yourself up a merchant account in the US isn't that big of a deal. All you need to do is set up an EIN with the IRS to get the approval; a foreign company can do that without actually incorporating in the US.

Where do your customers come from-- being able to charge them in their "home" currency saves them at least 1%, and more often up to 3% in credit card fees. If at the same time you are getting a better merchant rate, why not do it?

[Smithson]

What is required to set up a merchant account with the Bangkok Bank? If customer are in another country and send/tell you their card numbers do you ever have problems with the card issuer thinking it may be fraud?

[taxin]

What is required to set up a merchant account with the Bangkok Bank? If customer are in another country and send/tell you their card numbers do you ever have problems with the card issuer thinking it may be fraud?

What you need 1st is to open a business account with them, which of course requires a Thai registered company. It took me a while to get the wired machine and BKK bank had to check me out by visiting my premises etc to see if I was a legit company. So if you work from home then I would say forget it.

Im not sure really if it could be called a merchant account, the machine is linked directly to the business account and does not come to me via someone else.

I do get a lot of knock backs where the card issuer blocks the transaction, what I do is call the customer and they inform there card issuer that im legit. Its normally just precautionary stuff.

The only problem is clawbacks, without a signature the consumer can request a refund, even if they have already used the product or service. Which is annoying ! Kind of like going into a bar and drinking 6 bottles of beer, then saying you have changed your mind and want your money back !! Unfortunately the head office in Bangkok simply refused to see the logic in it.