Posted on 09/23/2025 8:19:12 AM PDT by delta7
Thailand has become a case study for the use of biometric data in every facet of life. Every banking transaction is monitored and scrutinized. Any perceived discrepancy is flagged as fraud and punished without due process. Regulations have overwhelmed the system, resulting in a full-fledged banking crisis. Over three million Thai bank accounts were frozen instantaneously without warning as a result of government overreach.
Transaction denied. You contact your bank to see why the payment failed only to learn that your account has been frozen–all of your accounts, for that matter. The bank is investigating you for suspicious activity and potential money laundering or fraud. There was no warning call or letter and there is no clarification as to what transaction was flagged. You’re completely locked out of your accounts and have lost the ability to purchase. You cannot fill your gas tank, you cannot purchase groceries, you’ve been completely removed from the financial system, and do not know when or if you’ll regain access to your funds.
This is the reality for millions of people banking in Thailand. The Bank of Thailand (BoT), with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, began an excessive crackdown on perceived fraud and streamlined the process under the premise of safeguarding the banking sector. Thousands of accounts are frozen each week. Panic has ensued. Retailers are no longer accepting cards, demanding payment in cash as they, too, are worried that they will be removed from the banking system.
Assistant Governor of the BoT, Darunee Saeju, publicly stated that the central bank is working to “immediately unlock wrongly affected accounts.” Saeju insists that new measures will enable the banks to verify accounts in under 48 hours. Confidence in the government and the entire banking system evaporated. People rationally fear that their account will be targeted next, without warning. Government overreach has backfired, and the people are removing themselves from the banking system entirely.
This phenomenon is not limited to Thailand. Vietnam recently erased 86 million unverified bank accounts. Governments are demanding banks track every transaction, tracing each account back to individual citizens using biometric data.
The government believes these provisions will prevent capital from leaving the radar and, therefore, taxation. Instead, governments are propelling the cycle amid this private wave, as the people cannot possibly trust the current financial system.
Early 1960s
Coming w\soon to America ... or already here?
Test driving in Asia….. coming soon to your local bank?
And who wrote the software? Who made the hardware it runs on?
Peking flips a switch...POOF
Things will still be hopping in [Roanapur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lagoon).
They do actually have a lot of fraud in Thailand - it’s one of their major industries.
With all the talk of moving overseas to find a better life, it seems "the grass ain't greener on the other side of the fence" after.
For quick calculations I use the 30 baht to a $1 rate to get ballpark numbers. Since 2009 I’ve seen the rate fluctuate between 27 to 36, with 32 bath to 1 USD about the norm.
So, the Baht has gone down a bit relative to the Dollar.
You can thank Spell Check for that comma in my first sentence.
IATS
IATG
Used to work with a hard-core Libertarian Paulestian type guy who retired and moved to Thailand. He used to brag about what a libertarian mecca Thailand was.
Wonder how he's doing these days...
That's what it was when I was stationed there in '70.
That must have been a long time ago. First time I went there it was 26 baht/dollar, stayed that way until 7/1/1977. It hasn’t been below 30 since then.
I knew someone who used to change money on the black market in sizeable amounts. I explain it like this: You take a big bundle of Thai bank notes. You go meet a guy on the street. You hand him your big bundle of Thai baht. He goes away. Later he comes back with dollars.
Not recommended for tourists.
This is
Sex tourism is never a good idea.
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