Cashless Future

[Coss]

1 hour ago, Mekong said:

One point though Coss, the ATM machine swallowing your card had nothing to do with cashless society,

It does, when making a point in furtherance of the idea, that the cashless providers can cut you off at will.

[Old Hippie]

On 8/29/2024 at 7:17 PM, Coss said:

I'm way ahead of the conspiracy nuttery.

 It's the electricity.

Some dolts here, undid the bolts, of a Power Pylon, in the name of maintenance. It fell over, there was no power for a significant part of the country, fortunately  the company got it back up and running after a couple of days. But riots in the streets, were only hours away.

Where's yer money then? inside a set of computers that won't turn on?

   3 hours ago,  Mekong said: 

One point though Coss, the ATM machine swallowing your card had nothing to do with cashless society,

It does, when making a point in furtherance of the idea, that the cashless providers can cut you off at will.

Well, the government could also, as many have feared, recall currency or just plain outlaw it, convert it etc…when the USA started adding “anti counterfeit stripes into the currency 40 years ago, many claimed it was a tracking device to see where you got your money and spent it…if it showed up in the underground economy, they could nail you, so everyone started removing the strips…then, when they scanned the money to see if it was counterfeit, the money didn’t pass even though it was legit… 

     At some point, I will post some of the conspiracy crap I have been told by coworkers, people in passing etc…not sure where to post it, in General? USA thread? Non-Thai news or in the joke section…the sad part is, many do believe it…

[Coss]

Bloke I knew buried a gold bar under a tree in Laos, told only his brother, where it was in the advent of his death. He died from a stroke. I don't know if the gold bar has been recovered or if the brother is still alive, could be treasure for someone in the future.

[Stickman]

On 8/31/2024 at 1:48 PM, Mekong said:

And that is, I assume, how most people feel, and how it should be. Thailand though is still a cash centric society, over 80% of transactions are done in cash, I haven’t been out of Asia since 2013 now so I don’t know how cashless the west has gone.

My feeling is that here in New Zealand, over 90% of transactions are done with what we term "Pay Wave" i.e. waving your card or your mobile phone. In supermarkets, it might be 96% or 97% - I seldom see people using cash in the supermarket. I understand in some countries like Sweden, cashless use is higher still.

There is one exception when I use cash and that is at my favourite Indian restaurant. The owner is always sitting at the cash register and his eyes light up when I pay with cash. The transaction is not rung up on the till and it's obvious he puts the money in his pocket. I want to support his business as best I can and if me paying in cash means he makes a few extra dollars, then all good. Obviously, in big businesses like supermarkets it doesn't matter how you pay, it's all being declared.

Further to this, a couple of tradesmen I have had around - one a gasfitter who repaired the stove and another an electrician who did some small jobs for us preferred payment by bank transfer. As the sparky said to me, it's just not worth it for him to take cash. Too much hassle and the tax department gets really nasty if he is caught not declaring income.

 

[Mekong]

Even the Beggars in UK accept contactless

[bust]

On 8/31/2024 at 11:48 AM, Mekong said:

One point though Coss, the ATM machine swallowing your card had nothing to do with cashless society, unless you walk around its a perpetual pocket of cash you will always be reliant on electronics to access your money.

Not sure about Middle Earth but here you don't even need a card to use an ATM. I haven't carried a wallet for years. All on my phone.

Note to self "Don't Lose Your Phone"

One thing they are trying to push forward with here also is cashless gambling. The money launderers are outraged.

[Coss]

Bust - - - coincidently I just had my phone die, luckily I have multiple back ups, and the electricity is still working. Well for me, parts of NZ have outages today.

back to the point of the thread:

Thai banks intensify crackdown on mule accounts, suspending over 15,000 accounts

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has announced the implementation of stricter measures to tackle the issue of “mule accounts” used in financial fraud. As of August 1, 2024, commercial banks have begun sharing information across banks through the Central Fraud Registry (CFR) system, a centralized database used to track suspicious financial activity...

https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/thai-banks-intensify-crackdown-on-mule-accounts-suspending-over-15000-accounts-470789

[Mekong]

Again what does this crackdown in Thailand have to do with “Cashless Society” Unless all of you transactions are in cash, you need an account to receive money and to withdraw cash from.

Suspicious activities relate to loong Somchai who has been getting say 20,000 THB per month deposits and all of a sudden he is receiving 200,000 per month. If one has a bank account this activity can be observed even without a cashless society so it’s difficult to understand the point you are trying to make.

[Old Hippie]

3 hours ago, Coss said:

Bust - - - coincidently I just had my phone die, luckily I have multiple back ups, and the electricity is still working. Well for me, parts of NZ have outages today.

back to the point of the thread:

Thai banks intensify crackdown on mule accounts, suspending over 15,000 accounts

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has announced the implementation of stricter measures to tackle the issue of “mule accounts” used in financial fraud. As of August 1, 2024, commercial banks have begun sharing information across banks through the Central Fraud Registry (CFR) system, a centralized database used to track suspicious financial activity...

https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/thai-banks-intensify-crackdown-on-mule-accounts-suspending-over-15000-accounts-470789

When I opened my account at Bangkok Bank, they told me all the crap was on the USA end, mainly due to money laundering. The question has long been how to crack down on the under ground economy so the government can get their cut. Bit coin certainly didn’t help matters and it/crypto currency in general, remains the primary currency for a lot of online illegal activity. One solution I heard was no state/federal tax or lower income taxes and then have a higher sales tax, so everyone pays when they spend…I can’t see hookers and drug dealers or gambling joints filing the paper work…

[Coss]

Kong - Allow me to elaborate on this matter.

When banks engage in the practice of sharing information with one another, it creates a situation where individuals can be more easily targeted, whether justifiably or not.

This capability to target individuals is not, in my opinion, within the proper scope of a bank's responsibilities. A bank's primary function should be to serve as a secure repository for one's financial assets.

As we move closer to a society that relies less on physical currency, the processes of targeting individuals, reporting their activities, and even withholding their funds become significantly more streamlined.

This trend towards a cashless society is becoming more pronounced, although it is less evident in places like Laos and the LOS, but increasingly so in New Zealand.

To illustrate this point, I have an account with a bank here that does not accept cash deposits due to its lack of physical branches, as it operates entirely online.

During a conversation with a representative over the phone, I posed the following question: "So, in order to deposit cash into my account with your bank, I must first go to one of your competitors, open an account with them, deposit the cash there, and subsequently transfer the funds to my account with your bank?"

The representative confirmed this by responding, "Yes."

The notion of a cashless society, what a remarkable concept indeed.

Is this explanation sufficiently detailed for your needs? Or too many words?