News Forum - Thailand pushes digital payments, rejects US dollar in move towards cashless society

[Thaiger]

The Bank of Thailand and central banks in four more southeast Asian countries are creating a cross-border payment zone using QR codes so that southeast Asians can make international payments digitally without having to convert and reconvert to US dollars. The bank hopes to bolster the use of digital payments to halve the amount of cash in circulation in Thailand by 2026, with the eventual goal of turning Thailand into a cashless society. On Monday at the G20 Summit in Bali, the central bank entered a memorandum of understanding with the central banks of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines […]

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[palooka]

Definitely see some benefits.

Issuing personal QR codes to every policeman on graduation would save a fortune in envelopes. 

 

[Marc26]

I barely used cash this last visit in May/June

 

And all the young Thais in the family were using their phones to pay as well

[Huckster]

2 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I barely used cash this last visit in May/June

And all the young Thais in the family were using their phones to pay as well

Hey Marc, is this also possible as an tourist? (without a thai bankaccount)
For example: something like downloading an app, and fill it up with money at an 7eleven.
Like you do when you run out of ballance with phone.
 

[Ramanathan.P]

This is a good move to move away from the US currency....

[Rookiescot]

6 minutes ago, Ramanathan.P said:

This is a good move to move away from the US currency....

And start using which currency? 

[Poolie]

I can't remember the last time I used cash, must be two years or more. Where I live, they're more focussed on keeping the phone charged for obvious reasons.

[Soidog]

With a Thai bank account the use of QR code payments is becoming much easier. There is still a ways to go before it moves fully cashless, but it’s getting better. There are other options such as Line Pay etc but the easiest is with a Thai Bank account and using QR codes. I even saw a few buskers around Bangkok with their own QR payment board.
 

They really need to get more “Tap and pay”systems in place. Many of the handheld payment terminals support this but the systems behind it don’t   

[palooka]

1 hour ago, Poolie said:

I can't remember the last time I used cash, must be two years or more. Where I live, they're more focussed on keeping the phone charged for obvious reasons.

Until the electricity and internet don't work.

Seen a few young thais nearly go into meltdown when they have an extended blackout.

[Poolie]

Both seem to work relentlessly here. No 'brown outs' where I live.

[MrStretch]

While there are benefits to not carrying cash in your pocket, there are some potentially serious downsides to the "cashless society" idea.  First, you are not the gatekeeper for your cash - that gatekeeper is a bank's computer system, which is regulated by the government.  Either could step in and stop access to your money for any reason they can come up with.

And while it's possible to be robbed, mugged or burgled, and lose your cash that way, a cyber criminal doesn't have to come anywhere near you to steal everything you have got if they can break into the system.

I can see why many Thais don't want to move to this cashless concept.  Go to any market, food street or small store or vendor and you'll most likely see people making a living without reporting all, or even any, of their income.  If cashless becomes the only way to operate, many of these people are going to lose significant parts of their income and the government is going to be asking for a share of what they are receiving via cashless apps because that is easily trackable.

Perhaps I'm a Luddite but I am not of the opinion that everything in our lives needs to be electronically connected.

[HolyCowCm]

1 hour ago, MrStretch said:

While there are benefits to not carrying cash in your pocket, there are some potentially serious downsides to the "cashless society" idea.  First, you are not the gatekeeper for your cash - that gatekeeper is a bank's computer system, which is regulated by the government.  Either could step in and stop access to your money for any reason they can come up with.

And while it's possible to be robbed, mugged or burgled, and lose your cash that way, a cyber criminal doesn't have to come anywhere near you to steal everything you have got if they can break into the system.

I can see why many Thais don't want to move to this cashless concept.  Go to any market, food street or small store or vendor and you'll most likely see people making a living without reporting all, or even any, of their income.  If cashless becomes the only way to operate, many of these people are going to lose significant parts of their income and the government is going to be asking for a share of what they are receiving via cashless apps because that is easily trackable.

Perhaps I'm a Luddite but I am not of the opinion that everything in our lives needs to be electronically connected.

I’m with you on this one. One is I don’t want everything I do and what I buy traced and tracked and filed, second I don’t trust online with my bank accounts, third, I like to use cash. Old school. Anyone can use it as they like, but I will stick to cash and credit cards. 
 

[Dedinbed]

9 hours ago, Thaiger said:

with the eventual goal of turning Thailand into a cashless society.

does mean the girls will have to get a Q R code tattooed on their parts .. 

[HolyCowCm]

Just now, Dedinbed said:

does mean the girls will have to get a Q R code tattooed on their parts .. 

or the guy on his whacker.  

[Soidog]

1 minute ago, Dedinbed said:

does mean the girls will have to get a Q R code tattooed on their parts .. 

that wouldn’t surprise me at all

[Nace]

And the banks and government then own you lock stock and barrel. They control your assets. Not you. You are at their whim. 

[Havana]

31 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

or the guy on his whacker.  

Would the guy have his whacker tattooed when it's limp or .............?

[Soidog]

6 minutes ago, Nace said:

And the banks and government then own you lock stock and barrel. They control your assets. Not you. You are at their whim. 

Why do you think that? Do you think a government or bank can just take your money from your private bank account without any legal come back on them? What’s the difference between using cash and the bank and government having your cash in their bank? Your cash doesn’t actually exist in a bank. It’s just a number in a computer system. When you draw out £100 or $100 this amount is paid in cash and the remaining figure in the computer gets deducted. Cashless payment is about convenience to you the user and the central banks not having to make the money in the first place. It also cuts out fraudulent bank notes being made. 

[MrNovax]

1 hour ago, HolyCowCm said:

I’m with you on this one. One is I don’t want everything I do and what I buy traced and tracked and filed, second I don’t trust online with my bank accounts, third, I like to use cash. Old school. Anyone can use it as they like, but I will stick to cash and credit cards. 
 

Yep, i also try to pay in cash for this reason, especially in Thailand.  There are times (large purchases, internet transactions) where cards or transfers are easier, but for day to day stuff i always pay cash.  

[Bluesofa]

1 hour ago, Dedinbed said:

does mean the girls will have to get a Q R code tattooed on their parts .. 

Quite apt that QR stands for Quick Response. Brings a new meaning to 'short-time'.

[Faz]

Thailand, a cashless society ............. never work.

[Marc26]

9 hours ago, Huckster said:

Hey Marc, is this also possible as an tourist? (without a thai bankaccount)
For example: something like downloading an app, and fill it up with money at an 7eleven.
Like you do when you run out of ballance with phone.
 

I have the WISE card 

 

It's great

It has around 50 different currencies you can have on the card

 

You just transfer money from your bank to say, your Thai Baht account

 

I am in the US right now, live in Canada

 

So I loaded up my USD account on WISE and use that

 

The fx rate when transferring is much better than at the ATM

[Wackamole]

 

Hopefully people everywhere will recognize that a cashless society is like an expressway to dystopia. 

[EdwardV]

17 hours ago, Thaiger said:

The Bank of Thailand and central banks in four more southeast Asian countries are creating a cross-border payment zone using QR codes so that southeast Asians can make international payments digitally without having to convert and reconvert to US dollars.

Well, there is still a conversion going on back and forth. All you need is one currency to deflate or rise too much and whole thing falls like a house of cards. Even so, it's a nice way to cut out the middleman, pick up any conversion fees or just the arbitrage and pocket it for whoever. 

[Soidog]

6 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I have the WISE card 

It's great

It has around 50 different currencies you can have on the card

You just transfer money from your bank to say, your Thai Baht account

I am in the US right now, live in Canada

So I loaded up my USD account on WISE and use that

The fx rate when transferring is much better than at the ATM

Yes Wise is a great option for travellers. The other option if you are U.K. based (possibly a few other countries)  is Monzo. Almost identical rates to Wise and you do the same thing with it. You can top up your Monzo card from your banking app and spend it as if it was a normal debit card. As it’s a Mastercard it’s accepted in most places. You can get cash out of an ATM using it but there is usually a 220 baht charge and as you say, the ATM exchange rates are poor. For the average holiday travel, these small amounts make little difference. If you are planning on being here for several months and spending £2,000-£3,000 each month then it can mount up.

To apply for a Monzo card just download the app and it will guide you. As its app based you can also track your spending  freeze your card if lost etc