PayPal has won a last-minute reprieve in Thailand, announcing late last night that it had averted its de facto shut down.
Two days before most of its customers in Thailand were to be cut off due to new government regulations intended to combat money laundering, the company announced just before midnight that it would continue to operate as normal – for now – and acknowledged all the on-again, off-again confusion.
“We deeply value our customers in Thailand, and we have been listening carefully to their concerns about proposed changes to our services,” it said in a statement from company spokesperson Pannavach Pichaibavornphat. “There has been confusion amongst our customers, especially freelancers, casual sellers, and sole proprietors, and we sincerely apologize for this.
We have been listening to the concerns expressed by our customers in Thailand, and we have been working closely with the Thai authorities to try and address these concerns,” “As a result, we are pleased to inform you that you can continue to use your PayPal account as usual.”
Say BuhBye to PayPal next month, Thailand
The majority of the service’s customers in Thailand were set to be cut off on Monday.
How the global financial giant prevailed against government attempts to regulate it out of widespread operation were unclear. The company’s statements have not mentioned the regulatory threat it faced, instead euphemistically branding the changes as a “relaunch.”
Coconuts has reached out to the company for more information.
In a separate email sent to account holders just before dawn, it made it clear it was a temporary reprieve.
“This extended functionality will remain in effect while we continue to work on updating our products and processes for the relaunch of PayPal in Thailand,” it said. “The transfer of accounts to PayPal Thailand will still be going ahead later this year, and we will be in touch with any necessary instructions for your account.”
Under new reporting requirements, only account holders registered under the government’s Know Your Business system would have been able to continue operating, and transaction fees would have been charged 7% VAT, with domestic transactions only possible in Thai baht.
The company said it would “update our products and processes to ensure regulatory compliance in Thailand. This will include collecting the necessary identification data from natural persons for Know Your Customer (KYC) verification in accordance with Thai laws.”
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