Thailand Post branches out into banking

[webfact]

Thailand Post branches out  into banking 

By JIRAPAN BOONNOON 
 THE NATION

 

 

Thailand Post has joined hands with 10 banks to provide money deposit services via its 1,200 branches and counter services nationwide. 

 

The firm expects 50,000 transactions per month with value of around Bt700 million in the next three months.

 

Thailand Post president Smorn Terdthumpiboon said the firm is partnering Bank of Ayutthaya, CIMB Thai Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Kiatnakin Bank, Government Savings Bank, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank, Thai Credit Retail Bank, Tisco Bank and Thai Military Bank for the money deposit service. 

 

The Bank@Post services will serve as a counter for banks, which are reducing the number of their branches in recent times. The service targets upcountry customers and online shop owners who can deposit their money via Thailand Post branches and counter services. The maximum deposit is Bt20,000 to Bt50,000 per transaction depending on the terms and conditions of each partner bank.

 

The firm will also launch a promotion campaign for customers, with fee charge for deposits at Bt5 per transaction from now util the end of April.

 

She said that the Bank@Post services will serve as an alternative choice for people who live upcountry. They will be able to deposit their money via Thailand Post branches and counter services without going to the bank.

 

The firm in the second quarter will invite Bangkok Bank to participate in the Bank@Post services. It will also provide new money withdrawal services while in the next step, it will provide loans and e-KYC (know your customer).

 

She said by the end of this year Thailand Post will install e-KYC machines.

 

Recently, Thailand Post initiated many other financial services such as COD through Wallet@Post Application, which has recently been used for 1 million transactions, traffic ticket payment at post office and M-Pass top-up service for automatic payments for tollways and expressway.

 

The firm by the end of this year expects to generate revenue of around Bt30 billion revenue with net profit of around Bt4.4 billion.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Corporate/30366112

 

 -- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-20

[Crossy]

Let's hope the funds don't get "lost" in the post.

 

[ezzra]

Have you ever seen the inside of a local post office? at best it look like a rubbish dump, at worst, a complete shamble, an ordinary letter from BKK to Chonburi takes 2 weeks and the reverse 3 weeks to arrive, good luck to them handling money your monies now...

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand Post has joined hands with 10 banks to provide money deposit services via its 1,200 branches and counter services nationwide. 

an arm of the government involved directly in banking ? doesnt sound good; note bangkok bank is not referenced

[colinneil]

Well they have to try something to keep Thai post afloat, deliveries are a joke.

Kerry are knocking spots off them at that.

Last week we got mail delivered, several items 1 of them had been in circulation for over 5 weeks.

The local postman here delivers all the months mail together on the same day.

Oh sorry  Mr Somchai that bank deposit you made last month should arrive shortly.

[Samui Bodoh]

I do not trust ThaiPost with a postcard; I would NEVER trust them with money.

 

I have often felt that their slogan should be;

 

"We Steal Your Stuff While Laughing About It"

 

 

[CharlieH]

Always amazed me in this day and age that they still only except cash !

No card or electronic payment service of any kind. (Not in my area).

[jonclark]

Sorry - Did i read that correctly - They are going to charge 5 baht for people to deposit their money,  which is part of a promotion campaign. So can I assume the fee we pay to give our money to banks will actually increase.  

 

Thailand's banking system, because it is so massively protected by government provides its customers which such poor value for money that it needs foreign banks to come in and add some badly needed competition. It should be about delivering a fast, efficient and cost effective service to the customer and empowering them with choice. Not charging them to deposit money.  

[notagain]

34 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

an arm of the government involved directly in banking ?

You might look who is the majority shareholders of most banks in thailand sometime.

[ChrisY1]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Have you ever seen the inside of a local post office? at best it look like a rubbish dump, at worst, a complete shamble, an ordinary letter from BKK to Chonburi takes 2 weeks and the reverse 3 weeks to arrive, good luck to them handling money your monies now...

Yes....the rear of Cha Am post office is like a bomb went off....crap everywhere and I'm guessing that's the norm!

[hansnl]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Have you ever seen the inside of a local post office? at best it look like a rubbish dump, at worst, a complete shamble, an ordinary letter from BKK to Chonburi takes 2 weeks and the reverse 3 weeks to arrive, good luck to them handling money your monies now...

In Khon Kaen there must be another Thailand Post, as I never had any complaint about Thailand Post whatsoever.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, jonclark said:

Sorry - Did i read that correctly - They are going to charge 5 baht for people to deposit their money,  which is part of a promotion campaign. So can I assume the fee we pay to give our money to banks will actually increase.  

 

Thailand's banking system, because it is so massively protected by government provides its customers which such poor value for money that it needs foreign banks to come in and add some badly needed competition. It should be about delivering a fast, efficient and cost effective service to the customer and empowering them with choice. Not charging them to deposit money.  

Good points.

 

I read an article a few weeks ago about reduction of branches in many countries.

 

Main points:

 

- Electronic banking, payments etc., will increase but there will always be a need for cash, and that also means facilities to deposit cash into bank accounts.

 

- In fact as electronic banking increases many banks will take the attitude that the only reason to keep branches open is to accept cash deposits into customers accounts. Everything else can be done through internet banking and by telephone banking.

 

- Also mentioned many banks (globally) now using services offered by other organizations for cash deposits with very small fees, therefore banks able to close the walk-in branches.  It also mentioned a bank in Australia following all of the above, and when customer deposits using other facilities the bank actually owning that account refunds any deposit fees paid by the customer.

 

Seems to me this is the future. 

 

[shady86]

Why would anyone pay a fee to get their money deposited. Might as well keep money under pillow with the interest rates here. Banks should invest in more CDMs, not charging more for useless services. 

[MisterPenguin]

4 hours ago, Crossy said:

Let's hope the funds don't get "lost" in the post.

 

Or delivered to the same wrong address. Accidentally of course.

 

 

[bluesofa]

3 hours ago, colinneil said:

Well they have to try something to keep Thai post afloat, deliveries are a joke.

Kerry are knocking spots off them at that.

Last week we got mail delivered, several items 1 of them had been in circulation for over 5 weeks.

The local postman here delivers all the months mail together on the same day.

Oh sorry  Mr Somchai that bank deposit you made last month should arrive shortly.

Looks like we suffer the same fate with a month's worth of mail delivered in one drop.

I often receive receipts for payments made monthly by online banking, for the previous two months - TOT, three different AIS accounts - two mobile postpaid and AIS fibre for the internet.

 

Being a boring bastard, I've kept track over recent months of how many items our post-lady delivered each time, with no more than one delivery per month:

13, 7, 3, 1, 3, 6, 7, 16.

 

Centre of the list above with one item: An A4 sized package, too large for the mailbox at our gate, so she had to ring the doorbell.

 

Any documents I have to send, I always use EMS. I can track them, and they always arrive in one/two days.

 

[bluesofa]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Have you ever seen the inside of a local post office? at best it look like a rubbish dump, at worst, a complete shamble, an ordinary letter from BKK to Chonburi takes 2 weeks and the reverse 3 weeks to arrive, good luck to them handling money your monies now...

Twenty years ago, I lived on Nong Khai.

Someone sent a passport by EMS to Nong Khai, but it didn't arrive. Very unusual then.

It was way before Thailand Post had any sort of online tracking website. Back then you needed to phone Thailand Post, wait in a call queue, and give them the tracking reference. They told you where your item was currently located.

 

I went with another guy to the main office. They initially denied they had received it there.

After some discussion and telling them the call centre had confirmed it arrived at that post office a week before, they reluctantly accepted the fact, but claimed they didn't have the EMS package.

After a lot more pressuring, they took us into the rear of the building where the mail and EMS was sorted.

They made a point of showing us the outstanding incoming EMS in one large tray.

 

They even let us look around to prove they didn't have it.

There were a few 'sorting tables' which were just pushed together against a wall. On the floor under one of the tables, and against the wall we (not the staff) found the EMS package. It had dropped down a gap between one table and the wall.

The staff just looked amazed that someone could come in and find an item they insisted wasn't there.

 

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, shady86 said:

Why would anyone pay a fee to get their money deposited. Might as well keep money under pillow with the interest rates here. Banks should invest in more CDMs, not charging more for useless services. 

Yes but some banks / maybe all banks also have ADM deposit fees.

 

If they are not charging ADM fees now, you can have a guarantee it will come, Thai banks are just as greedy as banks in any country.. 

 

Personally I'm not surprised that Thailand Post is getting into the act, they have lots of resources and big national infrastructure / distribution infrastructure, and they should always be looking for opportunities to use that infrastructure for extra revenus, whether post related or not 

 

[bluesofa]

8 minutes ago, scorecard said:

{snipped}

Personally I'm not surprised that Thailand Post is getting into the act, they have lots of resources and big national infrastructure / distribution infrastructure, and they should always be looking for opportunities to use that infrastructure for extra revenus, whether post related or not

While I'd agree that Thailand Post is getting involved due to their resources and national infrastructure, it's the bad reputation they have for dumping delivering mail.

I feel the chance of improving it will be as easy as pushing string uphill.

 

My impression is that anyone working being paid by a government department has a job for life, and doesn't need to do any real work to continue being paid. There's just no incentive.

Bad 'civil service' staff have to be extremely 'bad' to warrant dismissal, they're just normally shunted around to somewhere else.

 

[Just Weird]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Have you ever seen the inside of a local post office? at best it look like a rubbish dump, at worst, a complete shamble, an ordinary letter from BKK to Chonburi takes 2 weeks and the reverse 3 weeks to arrive, good luck to them handling money your monies now...

Pay next to nothing extra and register your post, it will be there in two or three days.

[Just Weird]

6 hours ago, YetAnother said:

an arm of the government involved directly in banking ? doesnt sound good; note bangkok bank is not referenced

The state aleady has stakes in a few banks, why don't you like the sound of that now?

 

Bangkok Bank is clearly mentioned.

[Just Weird]

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

Well they have to try something to keep Thai post afloat, deliveries are a joke.

Kerry are knocking spots off them at that.

Last week we got mail delivered, several items 1 of them had been in circulation for over 5 weeks.

The local postman here delivers all the months mail together on the same day.

Oh sorry  Mr Somchai that bank deposit you made last month should arrive shortly.

Why did you make that comment?  Thai Post generally offers a very efficient system, just because you've got a lazy postman doesn't mean the whole system is "a joke".

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, jonclark said:

Sorry - Did i read that correctly - They are going to charge 5 baht for people to deposit their money,  which is part of a promotion campaign. So can I assume the fee we pay to give our money to banks will actually increase.  

 

Thailand's banking system, because it is so massively protected by government provides its customers which such poor value for money that it needs foreign banks to come in and add some badly needed competition. It should be about delivering a fast, efficient and cost effective service to the customer and empowering them with choice. Not charging them to deposit money.  

For someone who does not have a bank located conveniently that would involve much more expense than B5 to get to a bank this has got to be a good thing, not a bad thing.  And this is not the banking system charging depositors, it's the Post Office charging a very small fee for providing a service that it does not have to do!

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Yes....the rear of Cha Am post office is like a bomb went off....crap everywhere and I'm guessing that's the norm!

Never does any harm to guess and speculate on Thaivisa does it? 

 

What does the state of the Post Offices' back rooms matter as long as it can do it's job, which it generally can (with the exception of colinneil's postman, of course, but that's an exception).

[Just Weird]

4 hours ago, hansnl said:

In Khon Kaen there must be another Thailand Post, as I never had any complaint about Thailand Post whatsoever.

You're not the only one, hansnl.  You have to remember, though, that this is Thaivisa where everything Thai is a disaster even if it really isn't!

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, shady86 said:

Why would anyone pay a fee to get their money deposited. Might as well keep money under pillow with the interest rates here. Banks should invest in more CDMs, not charging more for useless services. 

Why would someone whose bank in not located conveniently pay 5 BAHT to avoid travelling to another town?  Because it's a good idea, perhaps? 

 

By the way, it's the PO that's doing the charging, not the banks!

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Any documents I have to send, I always use EMS. I can track them, and they always arrive in one/two days.

You can also do that with registered post it's cheaper and almost as quick as EMS!

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

You can also do that with registered post it's cheaper and almost as quick as EMS!

Domestic registered only allows tracking at the origin and destination, not intermediate points.

 

Looking at the price I paid yesterday for 102g, it seems like 20 Baht more for EMS (42 Baht) than registered.

Having had items held up for days at different locations, and one go missing (I posted earlier), I'm happier to be able to follow it, rather than just wait to check if it's been delivered.

 

It's down to personal choice.

 

[DrTuner]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Have you ever seen the inside of a local post office? at best it look like a rubbish dump, at worst, a complete shamble, an ordinary letter from BKK to Chonburi takes 2 weeks and the reverse 3 weeks to arrive, good luck to them handling money your monies now...

The post office on Sukhumvit in Na Jomthien is pretty pristine inside and out. The one in Naklua is a complete mess. Depends. I agree with the normal post being very, very slow. I always send EMS.

[DrTuner]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

The staff just looked amazed that someone could come in and find an item they insisted wasn't there.

I love that look on Thai faces. It's when they can't process just how massive the face loss was and their system completely shuts down. Should be daily goal for every farang to cause it. Face culture must die.

[shady86]

Why would someone whose bank in not located conveniently pay 5 BAHT to avoid travelling to another town?  Because it's a good idea, perhaps? 
 
By the way, it's the PO that's doing the charging, not the banks!

I live in middle of bangkok and all banks are within 5 mins of walking distance. Why use bank if its not located nearby and convenient.