AWOL Issue 470

Page 1

FOR THE EXPAT IN ALL OF US! ISSUE 470 16th March 2018

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banking on it

banking at 7-eleven not necessarily what you might expect

•The• story last month that banking services would be available at 7-Eleven stores soon was greeted with thailand

much glee by customers who have a long trek to their nearest branch, and Siam Commercial Bank were widely announced as being the first to offer this. However it seems as if this boon to customers was incorrectly reported and, as with many stories, seized upon by users of social media and forums with a resulting internet of chinese whispers. The reality is that the Bank of Thailand announced an upcoming regulatory rule change that would allow commercial banks to assign private companies – like 7-Eleven franchises – to provide services on their behalf. That rule change was set to happen during March. However there are strict limits in place for any authorised banking agent; any individual transaction cannot exceed 5,000 baht, and there is a limit per customer of 20,000 baht per day. Transactions would only be deposits and withdrawals, but as 7-Eleven stores already offer bill payment facilities that is neither here nor there. And given the presence of ATMs outside almost every 7-Eleven, the only additional service would be the ability to deposit cash, and the amounts involved would really only benefit small operations, such as street food vendors, but it will be a big bonus for them, to avoid having to travel to the bank and face the long queues there often are, or having to keep the cash on them. The question it begs though is why don’t the banks simply install more ADMs, which are capable of handling much larger deposits? The reason behind the possible use of banking agents is simply that, like most of the western world, banks are closing branches and cutting staff, due, they say, to a reduction in customers using their counter services. Others might say it is a self-fulfilling prophecy driven more by cutting costs and increasing profits than any effort to improve customer service.


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