ATM users will be required to use their debit or credit cards as proof of identity to deposit money starting next month.
Starting Nov. 15, depositing cash at ATMs belonging to 11 banks will require the use of cards, according to the new regulations from the Anti-Money Laundering Office meant to combat money laundering.
The requirement applies to all major banks: Krungthai, Kasikorn, Siam Commercial, Bangkok, Ayudhya, TMB, Thanachart, UOB, Kiatnakin Phatra, CIMB, Government Savings, and Government Housing.
No fees will be charged for inserting cards for identification, but deposit fees will be assessed depending on the rules of each bank.
The move was criticized for not allowing people to use other forms of identification.
“So why not use your national ID card? Don’t they have chips in those cards?” one reader wrote.
“And why do we have ID cards that act like smart cards? Will they not work?” another mused.
However, customers unable to verify their identity with a card can use their national ID card or passports to make transactions inside bank branches or banking agents such as convenience stores.
ATMs, where cash could readily be deposited into anyone’s account without identification, are often used by criminal elements, according to the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
Short of aggressively prosecuting money launderers, the authorities have launched a raft of collateral measures designed to make it less convenient for launderers – and everyone else. Earlier this year, Thailand threatened to freeze out PayPal users in an attempt to discourage the service’s abuse.
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