Will the hi-tech cashless future leave a dinosaur like me behind?

[buksida]

Maybe they just don't play with K-bank cards then, never got it to work as it should. Also never been able to use the ATM with the app instead of the card though I've tried many times ... maybe I'm the dinosaur ...

[Bamboo Grove]

I was in Guangzhou, China last weekend and for the first time used my WeChat app in a restaurant. Scanned their QR code and the menu came in English, made my choices, paid for them and soon the food was carried to my table. Quite convenient, particularly, if the menu on the table is in Chinese. Everything went smoothly so I'm going to use the app more on my next trips.

[HHTel]

I was in the UK a few months ago (first time for a dozen years or so). I took my daughter for a meal before returning. I have Lloyds bank card which I've never used. The bill arrived.

"So how do I pay with my card?" I asked my daughter. "Oh, give it here, Dad"

Just like in the soaps, she took my card and waved it over the machine. Beep! All done.

"You could have picked up my card on the street outside and just spent £73 of my money without me knowing!" I said.

"Yes, Dad. But you would call the bank in the morning and report a lost card and they will refund it."

The card was a couple of years old. I'd never used it but it worked without a problem.

Doesn't seem that safe to me.

[Dannie Boy]

I was in the UK a few months ago (first time for a dozen years or so). I took my daughter for a meal before returning. I have Lloyds bank card which I've never used. The bill arrived.

"So how do I pay with my card?" I asked my daughter. "Oh, give it here, Dad"

Just like in the soaps, she took my card and waved it over the machine. Beep! All done.

"You could have picked up my card on the street outside and just spent £73 of my money without me knowing!" I said.

"Yes, Dad. But you would call the bank in the morning and report a lost card and they will refund it."

The card was a couple of years old. I'd never used it but it worked without a problem.

Doesn't seem that safe to me.

I think if you were to lose your card it could be used by others until you put a block on it - in the UK the limit on “contactless” spend is £100 so don’t wait too long to report it missing!!

[STEVE G]

^With my Luxembourg bank card I can set limits, block and unblock it at any time using a phone app.
Also, if you start to use it in anyway that is out of normal it will first request the PIN number and then block it if you don't enter that.
It's probably not completely foolproof but then there are security risks to using cash as well. In pubs and bars, staff shortchanging tipsy customers is rife everywhere.

[Big Boy]

^I've used my Bangkok Bank contactless card several times in Lotus, both in MV and out in Mon Mai and it's worked fine, just like back home and with an SMS confirmation within seconds.

Strangely enough, I'm just back from Lotus's in MV. The guy in front of us was trying to use contactless (I did see him check the amount BTW - first time I've seen contactless used in anger). Well, it was so funny to watch - short of trying it whilst standing on his head, he must have tried using his card in every conceivable position. If I'd had a camera, I could be publishing a Contactless Card Karma Sutra instead of writing this post. The poor guy had no cash, so he just kept trying. After quite some time, the position that worked was 2 hands around the machine and card holding it in one position for some time - not much contactless about that. Much more entertaining than trying to watch an old dear scanning a bar code.

Definitely not a good advert for contactless. No idea what the bank was, but the card was bright red.

[STEVE G]

^Mine just worked straight away like normal, four times now.
Incidentally, contactless bank cards have been around in the UK since 2007, so it's not exactly new technology!

[Lost]

I was in Guangzhou, China last weekend and for the first time used my WeChat app in a restaurant. Scanned their QR code and the menu came in English, made my choices, paid for them and soon the food was carried to my table. Quite convenient, particularly, if the menu on the table is in Chinese. Everything went smoothly so I'm going to use the app more on my next trips.

The upsides of tech. Once you have it down, it's simply (usually) far far more convenient for almost everything involving transactions.

Banks quickly refund any minor fraud or the like. Christ, banks even refund cash money if you've walked away from the ATM taking the card... and forgetting to take your cash (yes, it happens to some idiots you'd be surprised. Bank's refunded myself twice already ).

[Lost]

Banks quickly refund any minor fraud or the like

In the UK...

[Marco75]

7/11 does not accept my Bangkok Bank debit card to tap & go, yet I can use my overseas bank debit card?
Where as Topps accept my Bangkok bank debit card.
QR codes, do not even get me started!
I normally just pull out weekly cash at my own bank branch in case card gets swallowed, and most places I eat,drink order esp grab take cash no problems.
Only thing use app is to pay bills.
Flights use my debit card.
Although most time I've been in Aus/UK everywhere is tap and go. Nowhere near thai QR levels. And what forever resaon Internet not working on phone, ur fkd with QR codes

[404cameljockey]

I don't see how cash can die in Thailand. I always carry cash and at least one payment card.

I've finally started using QR codes this year and I find they work faultlessly 'every time they're working', many payments made! It's an 'either system is working today or it's not'. I've always hated staff swiping my card endlessly through a janky reader hoping it will read, trying another card, trying another reader if they have one etc.. The touch card readers at McDonalds seem excellent on the occasions I've tried them, I think it's a step forward, and better than queueing at a till. I'm 67 but still appreciate well-applied technology.

Dealing with Lazada/Shopee/Temu for me is online pay in advance as I've never had a problem in over ten years getting quick refunds, and COD is just an unnecessary hassle at the gate. It's a minor annoyance when some companies want to send you a code on your phone to confirm the payment, but it's a safeguard for you, I appreciate that.

Food deliveries/taxi rides are paid on the company phone app, but with a cash tip to the driver. Couldn't be simpler in my opinion. Grab/Bolt refunds have always been within a few minutes.

Direct Thai to Thai bank payments on my phone for monthly house resort maintenance charge, phone bills, payments to direct online vendors or even to friends are simple and convenient.

Of course cash is king in tiny shops and street stalls, and of course dealing informally with minor road infringements, how can that change? I also prefer cash in bars and small restaurants, if the bill is padded the method of payment doesn't change that, and I'm in the habit of counting my change. I'd probably be a bit frustrated in the UK now, from what I read here.

It's also nice to win a small victory over my Thai bank by not letting them know every single action I take every day.

[Big Boy]

Unfortunately, judging by the increasing number of muppets who I encounter at the check out in front of me these days struggling with one method or another (excluding cash) to pay their bills, it is becoming obvious that cash has had its day. I was amused at the contactless dance the guy was doing last Friday, but that novelty will soon wear off.

[Dannie Boy]

I will stick with cash in Thailand as long as I can - last week I handed over 24 x B1,000 notes at HomePro without a problem!!

[HHTel]

I'm sold on being cashless. I was against it at first but now I don't even think about how much cash I have in my pocket. Gone are the days when I've said "I need to find an ATM before I do anything else. I'm running short on cash!"
As long as I have my phone, I can go anywhere.
Even paying my bills can all be done online. Phone top up, Wifi, etc. just about anything!

[Big Boy]

..........and when the Internet goes down?