A plan to require bank customers to use debit or credit cards as proof of identity to deposit money at ATMS has been indefinitely postponed, according to the central bank.
Bank of Thailand spokesperson Sethaput Suthiwaru said the banks and the Anti-Money Laundering Office were looking at other forms of ID verification after abandoning last week’s proposal to use cards, which was to go into effect Nov. 15.
“Currently, the Bank of Thailand is looking for other methods that would not affect people. At present, there is no conclusion which method to use,” Sethaput said, adding that the card plan was set aside “so as not to be a burden on the people.”
Sethaput said they considered using national identification cards, as all citizens carry them – an idea members of the public favored – but argued that it could be risky as people were prone to losing them.
He added that card readers were expensive to implement nationwide and would be neither convenient nor affordable.
There could be more convenient means of verifying identification such as using mobile banking apps, entering ID numbers, or OTPs. The banks have yet to determine what is the best option.
The desire to implement identity controls is meant to fight money laundering.
