Goodbye convenience: No more card payments for adding value to Rabbit cards

[snoop1130]

Goodbye convenience: No more card payments for adding value to Rabbit cards

By Coconuts Bangkok

 

Photo: Alyson Hurt/ Flickr

 

The Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) is bucking the global trend towards cashless payments (and common sense) and restricting credit and debit card payments from April 1.

 

Next month, payments via credit and debit cards will no longer be accepted when riders add value to their Rabbit cards, as the new rule is that digital payments will only be allowed when you add trips to your Rabbit card.

 

The trip packages, which are valid for 30 days, help commuters who ride the BTS regularly save money as they limit fares to between THB25 to THB30 per trip.

 

Full Story: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/bts-stop-accepting-credit-cards-add-value-rabbit-cards/

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-3-7

[fruitman]

So the only way to put more cash on the rabbit card is at the counter of the bts right? I wished macdonalds also could upload cash onto my rabbitcard.

[petedk]

I don't get it.

 

I use a Rabbit card and add 1000 baht every so often and pay by credit card. I don't use BTS enough on long distances to warrant a trip card.

 

Does that mean that I have to pay cash in the future? Crazy idea.

[BigBadGeordie]

Thailand 4.0

[hansnl]

Had to pay a medical bill in KK uni hospital.

Offered my debit card.

Not possible, only cash and real credit cards.

Had to find an ATM, pull out the money, hobble back to the cashier and pay by cash.

Strange.

[Silurian]

16 hours ago, fruitman said:

So the only way to put more cash on the rabbit card is at the counter of the bts right? I wished macdonalds also could upload cash onto my rabbitcard.

 

I have added cash into my Rabbit card at McDonald's in the past. I think this is still available. Maybe specific to certain branches?

 

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, hansnl said:

Had to pay a medical bill in KK uni hospital.

Offered my debit card.

Not possible, only cash and real credit cards.

Had to find an ATM, pull out the money, hobble back to the cashier and pay by cash.

Strange.

I've had that, never understood the reasoning, I even heard of it in some restaurants, quite bizarre.

[anon4637435435]

Pay cash to use a card?.. Hmm. So Perhaps do away with the cards entirely then and just accept cash? Very old worldly...perhaps get the pay phones working again while at it and maybe some horses and buggies. Ill have to wear braces to hold up my coin filled pockets.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 hours ago, petedk said:

I don't get it.

 

I use a Rabbit card and add 1000 baht every so often and pay by credit card. I don't use BTS enough on long distances to warrant a trip card.

 

Does that mean that I have to pay cash in the future? Crazy idea.

I think the answer to your question is yes.

 

Starting next month, if you want to add cash value only to the card, they won't let you use a bank card.

 

You can use a bank card to buy trips for the Rabbit card, but adding trips only makes economic sense if you're taking longer trips on BTS. For shorter trips say 3 stations or less, the trips method is more expensive than cash.

 

The Coconuts article says you still will be able to use a bank card for purchases of trips and value. But as far as I know, as the user, you don't have any way to decide which method will be used to pay for any particular BTS trip. So, if you wanted to take a short BTS trip and had both value and trips on your card, the short trip would automatically deduct a trip from your card. You wouldn't have the option to say, no, I want this BTS trip to use the stored value on my card instead of a trip.

 

[12DrinkMore]

14 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Thailand 4.0

 

Thailand 0.4

[Xobtsiwt]

The BTS, or rather the family-owned firm that developed and now profiteers from it, is one of the few things I find unforgivable in Bangkok. Right from its inception they have cut corners and resisted injunctions from the BMTA to increase capacity (which is now at breaking point for most of the day, in central areas at least) by adding carriages, the building of elevators and escalators and generally to make access easier for those who find climbing fifty or seventy steps in the summer sun tiring. In addition, the multi trip deals are no real bargain, the fares are generally out of reach of most of the working classclass Thais and there is the discriminatory no discount for retired farangs. All in all I avoid it where I can.

[MikeN]

18 hours ago, fruitman said:

So the only way to put more cash on the rabbit card is at the counter of the bts right? I wished macdonalds also could upload cash onto my rabbitcard.

At Phrom Prong station they have recently put in a couple of machines to add value to your card also. Located near the entrance to emquarter walkway.

Anybody seen these machines at other stations ? Certainly hope they have the common sense to install add-value machines for the spider cards when they eventually get here.

[AsiaCheese]

Has anyone not understanding this ever thought about the fact that credit and debit card payments incur a charge of somewhere in the region of 3-4% for the merchant? 

[Sigma6]

8 minutes ago, AsiaCheese said:

Has anyone not understanding this ever thought about the fact that credit and debit card payments incur a charge of somewhere in the region of 3-4% for the merchant? 

Yes.

 

none of the other merchants that accept rabbit pay were willing to share the fees, so the BTS are stopping card top ups. 

 

Its hardly a big inconvenience, top up 1 or 2000 baht every few months. There are atms at every station. 

 

Or use cash and join the queues...

 

up to you

[varun]

The article is not very clear.

 

Does it mean that you can only pay by plastic if you add a trips package to your Rabbit card?

If you want to add value only, you need to use cash?

However, if you decide to add a trips package AND value, then you can use your credit/debit card?

 

What's the logic here?

 

I think there's 3 separate issues that need to be addressed in the long-term:

 

1) The transition from cash to digital payments, regardless of type of ticket (Rabbit card and single-journey ticket)

2) Upgrade all machines to accept notes, so queues for exchanging notes to coins are gradually reduced.

3) More customer touch-points in multiple locations where Rabbit Card top-ups can be done, instead of only at a BTS station

 

I think 3) can be easily solved by allowing Rabbit cards to be topped up at 7-11

(similar to Hong Kong MTR)

Is this possible at the moment?

[buick]

20 hours ago, MikeN said:

At Phrom Prong station they have recently put in a couple of machines to add value to your card also. Located near the entrance to emquarter walkway.

that is great news.  i always wondered why they didn't have these in place.  i use PP frequently so will give it a try.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 hours ago, buick said:

that is great news.  i always wondered why they didn't have these in place.  i use PP frequently so will give it a try.

Yes, but I'm assuming the machines you're talking about only take cash -- not bank cards.

[JaiLai]

The BTS, or rather the family-owned firm that developed and now profiteers from it, is one of the few things I find unforgivable in Bangkok. Right from its inception they have cut corners and resisted injunctions from the BMTA to increase capacity (which is now at breaking point for most of the day, in central areas at least) by adding carriages, the building of elevators and escalators and generally to make access easier for those who find climbing fifty or seventy steps in the summer sun tiring. In addition, the multi trip deals are no real bargain, the fares are generally out of reach of most of the working classclass Thais and there is the discriminatory no discount for retired farangs. All in all I avoid it where I can.

You pay for the convenience, try going from Suthisan to Silom on the roads during rush hour as example.

MRT about 20-25 mins air conditioned, albeit crammed in like sardines.

Your other options are taxi ( more than 1 hour ) / motto taxi ( risk of death ) or bus ( risk of death by pollution)

Up to you...

[Xobtsiwt]

31 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

 

You pay for the convenience, try going from Suthisan to Silom on the roads during rush hour as example.

MRT about 20-25 mins air conditioned, albeit crammed in like sardines.

Your other options are taxi ( more than 1 hour ) / motto taxi ( risk of death ) or bus ( risk of death by pollution)

Up to you...

 

As I implied, I use it when I have to. That in no way makes it a reasonable proposition for the majority of poor Thai people, who, like trolls, exist in the heat and filth down below, waiting for an irregular, oven-like bus. Nor does it excuse the failure of the builder/operator to implement some of the original design features, nor to upgrade to suit vastly increased traffic since its inception; nor the rank prejudice of favouring one nationality over others.

[ladada]

Integration. Ha.

 

It was poor form that dual branded Bangkok Bank Rabbit ATM card was not in any way integrated, so one has to go to the counter, queue - sometimes several minutes, sign for a few hundred baht, wait far too long for  - Have a nice day and then carry on.  But now I have to go and withdraw cash from an ATM and then queue?   TIT