PromptPay

[Jun]

I'm waiting for the boys to start accepting PromptPay . . .

That would be problematic.
Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, so who would want to provide an additional measure of traceability for such transactions ?

I hope cash does not disappear in Thailand. I'm reasonably optimistic on that front, since no cash means no brown envelopes. The only people who could take bribes safely might be those so far up the system, they think they are immune from prosecution.

Traditionally, I've preferred cash for all face to face transactions. Except where I want the additional protection from a credit card.

However, I've really been letting it slip in the covid era. In the UK, my only cash transaction in October has been for a massage. Likewise in September. Even there, I think I could have paid by card for at least one of them.

Contactless debit card transactions are way too easy. Wave the card at the terminal, money debited, with a record on my account and an instant notification. Far faster than some of the QR transactions that I have had to wait behind in Thailand.

I must get back to paying by cash more often. I don't want to be in a situation where the authorities can trace every transaction. That would make it too easy for them to invent new taxes and interfere in other ways.

[bkkguy]

do any Bolt drivers accept PromtPay?

[Gaybutton]

I hope cash does not disappear in Thailand.

Of course cash won't disappear. Not any time soon anyway. Maybe in a few hundred years cash will become obsolete if we haven't polluted, warred, or overpopulated ourselves into extinction by then, but I don't foresee the disappearance of cash within any of our lifetimes. Cash is, and I believe will continue to be, optional for a very long time to come.

Nobody is forced to use PromptPay, debit cards, or anything else. Everywhere you can use those you also have the option of paying cash.

You seem to be very negative about it. If you don't like it, don't trust it, or whatever, then you're still perfectly welcome to pay cash.

Me? I think it's obvious I much prefer PromptPay or using my debit card. What I won't use is a credit card. I don't even have any credit cards and I don't want one. If there is something I want to buy, but I can't afford it, I'll save up for it until I can afford it or I'll just accept that so far I've lived all my life without it, so what do I need with it now . . . ?

[Gaybutton]

do any Bolt drivers accept PromtPay?

That is a good question. I don't think they do, but don't be surprised if the day comes when you can pay that way.

I haven't read up on it, so I don't know - perhaps someone else can answer - but maybe Bolt has some sort of system that allows you to advance pay and the price of your ride is deducted from your balance rather than having to pay cash.

[Dodger]

It really is simple to use and you should give it a try if you hold a Thai bank account. You can carry around a lot less cash.

I'm sure many people will like this payment option but it's not for me.

Anything to do with scanning bar codes and using apps on a mobile phone for financial transactions gives me the chills - and paying my electric bill takes all of 30 seconds at 7/11 and the boy behind the counter is a doll.

Promtpay for me is when I take the money out of my pocket to pay for something. How much prompter can you get?

[Jun]

You seem to be very negative about it.

I'm fine with electronic payment, as long as it is fast, almost free and cash payment options still exist.

For as long as I'm hiring money boys, I definitely prefer cash. At least where prostitution is supposedly illegal.

In case you think cash is safe, there are already plenty of places in Europe where cash is no longer accepted and now even some in Thailand.

I was also reading about the new Lao railway recently. Apparently to buy tickets, you either have to use Union Pay or some local Lao payment app, called One Pay. So I can't just hand over a few hundred thousand Kip. How to pay becomes a major challenge.

There are some other transactions where no traceability may be desirable. I'm sure most members are aware that paper currencies are almost continually debased and that the freedom loving US banned its own citizens from holding gold in 1933.
So it's quite reassuring that we can still walk into a reputable gold dealer, such as the one just up the road from King Charlie's previous residence and legally buy gold sovereigns for cash, with no traceability. Under current tax rules, there is no capital gains tax on sovereigns and no reason to trace this, so it's all above board. However rules change, as Roosevelt demonstrated in 1933.

[gerefan]

Do not be concerned. Con Men, Convicts, Crooks, Criminals, Cheats and Corruption will continually crave Cash.

[Gaybutton]

places in Europe where cash is no longer accepted and now even some in Thailand.

In Thailand? Where? I have not encountered anything where cash is no longer accepted. Although, since I am among those who like things like PromptPay, that would be fine with me. I know Thailand's Prime Minister sometimes talks about trying to make Thailand a "cashless society". Of course, for people in Thailand living in poverty, "cashless society" has a different meaning.

In any case, I really do want to know - where in Thailand is cash no longer accepted?

[Gaybutton]

Anything to do with scanning bar codes and using apps on a mobile phone for financial transactions gives me the chills

Why? Why do you see it as a problem rather than a benefit?

[Dodger]

Why? Why do you see it as a problem rather than a benefit?

I guess the concern I would have would be "Hackers" obtaining your bank account information and draining your account(s).

Having said that I'm admittedly one of those guys who's behind times when it comes to using a smartphone for anything other than making phone calls and occasionally GPS. I know this is an ancient concept in the world we live in - but it works for me. I like things that are simple.

When I was working back in the U.S. I traveled continuously and used my credit card(s) for EVERYTHING and rarely used cash. Now that I'm retired in Thailand the only time I use a credit card is for purchasing a plane ticket or booking a hotel on-line, etc. Hell, with the cost-of-living over here if I leave home in the morning with two thousand baht in my pockets - at the end of the night I usually have over a thousand baht left anyway.

I've never been anywhere in Thailand where they didn't accept cash - and I doubt we'll ever see that day.

Also, as a side-note: I can't recall ever seeing an "app" that was developed in Thailand that functioned reliably on a continuous basis as intended.