I've been in Bangkok since August and getting small bills is one of the biggest hassles. ATMs only give out 1,000 baht notes.
One of the places to get change from is a toll road booth, but if you are riding with Thai people who also desperately need small bills, then a farang will never be fast enough to pay the toll first.
I started buying a few bags of cashews from 7-11, paying with a 1,000 baht bill, and getting lots of small bills back. Sometimes I'd even get lucky and instead of a 500, they would give me all 100s. It worked for a while, but then someone I live with figured out what I was doing and started buying cashews too, and I got sick of eating them.
We finally were able to set up a bank account, so I announced I would go to Bangkok Bank and change some 1,000 baht bills from the ATM into 20s, 50s and 100s. I've never heard such a blunt response: "Thais don't do that".
I'm American. The new approach works, but the bank clearly doesn't like giving out the money and last week started to restrict it. I wanted 3,000 baht of 100s, but they said they only had enough for 2,000 baht. So I tried to get some extra 500s, and they didn't have enough of those, either.
What's funny is that I've used the same words as you - I've become the ATM that people go to for cash. No one disapproves. It's a widespread problem and people are even hoarding the smaller denominations to the extent they can which only makes things worse, but why is this even an issue?
What has worked for me so far in Phuket is yes going into 7 Eleven and buying some small item and also the gas stations always have had small bill change. I always put 40 or 60 baht in the motorbike and always pay them with a 1000 baht bill and thus far they have always been able to exchange it. Phuket as I said is more insulated because of the many tourists right now, but alternatives are needed before this system gets legs...
Interesting insights, you share my plight. I don't know if you speak Thai, but learning how to be very specific about changing 1000 notes into smaller bills has made that part much easier for me. I also utilise 711s, tapping them up for 100 THB notes and smaller. Most ATMs do give out 100 notes as well. So rather than withdrawing 2,000 THB, for example, you could withdraw 1,900 THB. That's what I do. Always X,000 + 900 baht.
I would also suggest that the banks within the malls are much better provisioned with cash reserves, compared to the bigger banks on the streets. If you use a bank within a mall - doesn't even need to be the bank that you have an account with - they often have the automatic ticketing machine. Early morning as soon as the mall opens (10/11am).
Choose 'cashier / teller' option when you press the touchscreen to get the paper ticket stub for the queue. Many Thais can be observed using this service - especially delivery drivers, grab / foodpanda etc.
One ATM recently gave me the "quick cash" option of 900 baht, as well as the usual 1,000, 2,000, 10,000… It was in a mall but I can't remember which bank it was.
Pretty sure they all do, everywhere, just need to choose 'other amount', then weirdly you always need to choose 'saving account,' even though it's your current account, before typing 1,900 (THB) for example.
I mean it was a preset choice, the screen offered "900" and "1,900" so I didn't have to type it. I have never seen that before and it obviously is a response to demand. I found it interesting to observe that, as always, empirical reality supersedes politics.
Yes, a guy at the French embassy once told me that "saving account" means "current account" in Thailand. Maybe a subtle detail got lost in translation.
People are easily encouraged or enticed but the flip side of that is , they are easily discouraged too. Adopt a slogan (everyone else has one!) "Resist fake money!" . I have had quite a few conversations with people about this and you make more of an impact if you call it "fake money" (which it is); try to separate real money from fake money ; it will make it harder for them to be duped. Rather surprisingly a few people are already smelling a rat. One person in a local store was saying that she went to the bank to check if her "social welfare" payments had come in . When she checked her account there was nothing but the teller pointed out that the money was "on her ID card". So , big discussion "why isn't it in my account" etc etc. So upon overhearing this I pointed out that it was "fake money"; that really put the cat among the pigeons. The Pheu Thai Party really did me a big favour when they proposed giving out a lump sum to digital wallets that would be geofenced and have an expiry date - they really made my job a lot easier (big thank you to them!).
On the upside, Thailand is still essentially a rural country and village sociology is still very far removed from the 15-minute city model. I just don't see it happening for a very long time, if at all.
Which brings me to a macro-level thought I have been having for a while: the empirical reality of the world means that we are headed towards a two-tiered humanity, quite similar to what Huxley described in Brave New World, the New World Order slaves on the one hand, and on the other hand, the free "savages" living in "reservations", having refused the "advances of technology".
I guess free-thinkers will always have somewhere to go, it will just have to be far, very far from any cities.
I have also thought about that a lot. Perhaps for a while, we will co-habit the cities, until those who reject CBDC and digital ID are forced onto the 'reservations' out of necessity to buy/sell/grow within a barter and parallel economy. Exciting times to be alive, try to think about what we could build, rather than how we might become enslaved. It's all down to us and our choices.
I don't use apps but people standing ahead ofe in line at some places have been having delays. Also I almost ran out of gas when going to Phuket Town because the first two huge gas stations did not have ATMs anymore. I am positive that the first one used to have an ATM I used it maybe one year ago. That would be the 5th ATM taken out in this area of Phuket. For now the many tourists insulate against them going cashless...and sister Pla took all of my husband's welfare money for her business. Thanks for the heads up
That's a good point about the tourists insulating us against cashless happening too fast. Although almost all vendors have QR codes for domestic spending customers to transfer directly to their bank accounts, not as many have card machines. I see the queues outside currency exchanges like 'Superich' are getting longer, as more international tourists stand in line to obtain Thai baht.
As far as the CBDC and government e-wallet stuff, I expect almost all Thais owning a smartphone to sign up. The posters stuck up all around Bangkok (for the elections) are covered in promises for cash giveaways. The incentives to roll out 'free' e-tokens will make it irresistible for most people in this country, with little to no awareness of how much control the government will have over the monetary system if we go fully digital.
I foresee cash, QR payments, and card payments, running concurrently beside any CBDC for quite a while. We have time to spread awareness and try set up alternative currencies, parallel economies, and promote decentralisation.
The ‘freebies’ given out to entice / snare people into believing a cashless system will be safer and effective in protecting their finances vaguely reminds me of something…
Hmm, free doughnuts or free burgers to entice / snare people to offer their arms for a safe and effective thingamabob…
Spot on there. They'll use the carrot and the stick interchangeably for sure. Just hope the stick doesn't become a concentration camp (digital or physical) for this fellow rambler :-)
Great join-the-dots job, Nicholas. Having seen how unquestioningly Thais slapped on face nappies at government command, they'll embrace CBDCs with gullible alacrity. One has only to watch them queueing to pay for their daily ration of cholesterol at any of the myriad 7/11 outlets across the kingdom to see the direction in which the wind is blowing. Definitely going West, my beautiful, naive, infuriating and utterly loveable adopted country, in both senses of the word.
Well...demand for *freedom* is on the increase. It's all a game in this life and at least we are player characters. Being non player characters must be so boring and predictable!
I've been in Bangkok since August and getting small bills is one of the biggest hassles. ATMs only give out 1,000 baht notes.
One of the places to get change from is a toll road booth, but if you are riding with Thai people who also desperately need small bills, then a farang will never be fast enough to pay the toll first.
I started buying a few bags of cashews from 7-11, paying with a 1,000 baht bill, and getting lots of small bills back. Sometimes I'd even get lucky and instead of a 500, they would give me all 100s. It worked for a while, but then someone I live with figured out what I was doing and started buying cashews too, and I got sick of eating them.
We finally were able to set up a bank account, so I announced I would go to Bangkok Bank and change some 1,000 baht bills from the ATM into 20s, 50s and 100s. I've never heard such a blunt response: "Thais don't do that".
I'm American. The new approach works, but the bank clearly doesn't like giving out the money and last week started to restrict it. I wanted 3,000 baht of 100s, but they said they only had enough for 2,000 baht. So I tried to get some extra 500s, and they didn't have enough of those, either.
What's funny is that I've used the same words as you - I've become the ATM that people go to for cash. No one disapproves. It's a widespread problem and people are even hoarding the smaller denominations to the extent they can which only makes things worse, but why is this even an issue?
What has worked for me so far in Phuket is yes going into 7 Eleven and buying some small item and also the gas stations always have had small bill change. I always put 40 or 60 baht in the motorbike and always pay them with a 1000 baht bill and thus far they have always been able to exchange it. Phuket as I said is more insulated because of the many tourists right now, but alternatives are needed before this system gets legs...
Interesting insights, you share my plight. I don't know if you speak Thai, but learning how to be very specific about changing 1000 notes into smaller bills has made that part much easier for me. I also utilise 711s, tapping them up for 100 THB notes and smaller. Most ATMs do give out 100 notes as well. So rather than withdrawing 2,000 THB, for example, you could withdraw 1,900 THB. That's what I do. Always X,000 + 900 baht.
I would also suggest that the banks within the malls are much better provisioned with cash reserves, compared to the bigger banks on the streets. If you use a bank within a mall - doesn't even need to be the bank that you have an account with - they often have the automatic ticketing machine. Early morning as soon as the mall opens (10/11am).
Choose 'cashier / teller' option when you press the touchscreen to get the paper ticket stub for the queue. Many Thais can be observed using this service - especially delivery drivers, grab / foodpanda etc.
One ATM recently gave me the "quick cash" option of 900 baht, as well as the usual 1,000, 2,000, 10,000… It was in a mall but I can't remember which bank it was.
Pretty sure they all do, everywhere, just need to choose 'other amount', then weirdly you always need to choose 'saving account,' even though it's your current account, before typing 1,900 (THB) for example.
I mean it was a preset choice, the screen offered "900" and "1,900" so I didn't have to type it. I have never seen that before and it obviously is a response to demand. I found it interesting to observe that, as always, empirical reality supersedes politics.
Yes, a guy at the French embassy once told me that "saving account" means "current account" in Thailand. Maybe a subtle detail got lost in translation.
People are easily encouraged or enticed but the flip side of that is , they are easily discouraged too. Adopt a slogan (everyone else has one!) "Resist fake money!" . I have had quite a few conversations with people about this and you make more of an impact if you call it "fake money" (which it is); try to separate real money from fake money ; it will make it harder for them to be duped. Rather surprisingly a few people are already smelling a rat. One person in a local store was saying that she went to the bank to check if her "social welfare" payments had come in . When she checked her account there was nothing but the teller pointed out that the money was "on her ID card". So , big discussion "why isn't it in my account" etc etc. So upon overhearing this I pointed out that it was "fake money"; that really put the cat among the pigeons. The Pheu Thai Party really did me a big favour when they proposed giving out a lump sum to digital wallets that would be geofenced and have an expiry date - they really made my job a lot easier (big thank you to them!).
I also use Kasikorn and have had these messages.
On the upside, Thailand is still essentially a rural country and village sociology is still very far removed from the 15-minute city model. I just don't see it happening for a very long time, if at all.
Which brings me to a macro-level thought I have been having for a while: the empirical reality of the world means that we are headed towards a two-tiered humanity, quite similar to what Huxley described in Brave New World, the New World Order slaves on the one hand, and on the other hand, the free "savages" living in "reservations", having refused the "advances of technology".
I guess free-thinkers will always have somewhere to go, it will just have to be far, very far from any cities.
I have also thought about that a lot. Perhaps for a while, we will co-habit the cities, until those who reject CBDC and digital ID are forced onto the 'reservations' out of necessity to buy/sell/grow within a barter and parallel economy. Exciting times to be alive, try to think about what we could build, rather than how we might become enslaved. It's all down to us and our choices.
I don't use apps but people standing ahead ofe in line at some places have been having delays. Also I almost ran out of gas when going to Phuket Town because the first two huge gas stations did not have ATMs anymore. I am positive that the first one used to have an ATM I used it maybe one year ago. That would be the 5th ATM taken out in this area of Phuket. For now the many tourists insulate against them going cashless...and sister Pla took all of my husband's welfare money for her business. Thanks for the heads up
That's a good point about the tourists insulating us against cashless happening too fast. Although almost all vendors have QR codes for domestic spending customers to transfer directly to their bank accounts, not as many have card machines. I see the queues outside currency exchanges like 'Superich' are getting longer, as more international tourists stand in line to obtain Thai baht.
As far as the CBDC and government e-wallet stuff, I expect almost all Thais owning a smartphone to sign up. The posters stuck up all around Bangkok (for the elections) are covered in promises for cash giveaways. The incentives to roll out 'free' e-tokens will make it irresistible for most people in this country, with little to no awareness of how much control the government will have over the monetary system if we go fully digital.
I foresee cash, QR payments, and card payments, running concurrently beside any CBDC for quite a while. We have time to spread awareness and try set up alternative currencies, parallel economies, and promote decentralisation.
The ‘freebies’ given out to entice / snare people into believing a cashless system will be safer and effective in protecting their finances vaguely reminds me of something…
Hmm, free doughnuts or free burgers to entice / snare people to offer their arms for a safe and effective thingamabob…
Don’t mind me, I’m getting old and rambling.
Spot on there. They'll use the carrot and the stick interchangeably for sure. Just hope the stick doesn't become a concentration camp (digital or physical) for this fellow rambler :-)
Great join-the-dots job, Nicholas. Having seen how unquestioningly Thais slapped on face nappies at government command, they'll embrace CBDCs with gullible alacrity. One has only to watch them queueing to pay for their daily ration of cholesterol at any of the myriad 7/11 outlets across the kingdom to see the direction in which the wind is blowing. Definitely going West, my beautiful, naive, infuriating and utterly loveable adopted country, in both senses of the word.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65249034.amp
Speak of the devil. Demand for bank notes reduced - allegedly.
Well...demand for *freedom* is on the increase. It's all a game in this life and at least we are player characters. Being non player characters must be so boring and predictable!