PayPal will no longer be available to the vast majority of people in Thailand from February 2022.
PayPal recently announced that anyone in Thailand who set up a personal account before March 2021, will no longer be able to receive payments or even have a balance on their account from February 2022.
“PayPal is preparing to relaunch services in Thailand. If your account was opened prior to March 7, 2021, you will need to take some action to continue using your account in Thailand, the company says on its website.
The move essentially means that as of February next year, PayPal will no longer be available to customers with personal accounts in Thailand.
For people who rely on PayPal to receive payments from overseas, they will no longer be able to do so without a registered business account.
Online teachers, freelance workers, digital nomads or even people in Thailand who use PayPal to receive money from friends and family overseas will have to find an alternative.
In order to get a registered business account, people will need to be registered via the Thai government’s Know Your Business (KYB) scheme.
Registration for a business account requires applicants to submit their 13 digit registration number, as well as the identification documents of all company shareholders with more than 25% stake in the company. In addition, anyone who is authorised to use said business account is also required to submit their identification documents.
Furthermore, business accounts will then be charged 7% VAT on all transactions, while domestic transactions can only be made in Thai baht and must be linked to a Thai bank account.
Business customers will also no longer be able to transfer money bank accounts in the United States.
The move has come about after the Thai government overhauled regulation of the country’s fintech sector.
This means that PayPal has been forced to adhere to a new regulatory framework in order to be able to operate in Thailand.
However, speculation online says the move is to do with Thailand cracking down on money laundering.
Last year PayPal announced it was no longer accepting new registrations for accounts from people in Thailand.
Source - ASIAN NOW
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