BANGKOK, THAILAND – From 19 May, Wise shifted its Thailand services to a locally licensed entity, unlocking direct Baht transfers abroad and full PromptPay integration for customers in the country.
Baht transfers without detours
People who earned their income in Thailand had previously been unable to send Baht directly overseas via Wise. That changed in May, when customers were allowed to transfer THB from a local bank account or from their Wise balance at the mid-market rate, with fees shown separately. The new setup aimed to remove a long‑standing obstacle for expatriates and locally paid workers.
At the same time, the new regulation restricted other routes. Transfers between two foreign accounts, such as from the United States to Singapore via Wise Thailand, no longer went through. Foreign currencies like USD or GBP also could not be sent directly abroad from a Wise balance; funds first had to be converted into Baht.
PromptPay opens up daily life
Wise fully integrated PromptPay into its Thai offering. Customers could send money to any PromptPay ID – mobile phone number or ID number – and receive payments via QR code or e‑wallet ID. Scan‑and‑pay support for PromptPay QR and ThaiQR codes was added to the service.
This change targeted a recurring problem in smaller shops and at market stalls, where foreign cards had often failed. With the QR function, that bottleneck disappeared, and Wise users were able to pay where international cards simply were not accepted.
Physical cards but no Thai ATMs
Wise began issuing both digital and physical cards to addresses in Thailand. These cards covered online payments, in‑store purchases and cash withdrawals abroad. For many users, this brought the service closer to a conventional multi‑currency card.
One function, however, was removed: cash could no longer be withdrawn from Thai ATMs with the Wise card. The company instead pointed users to PromptPay for everyday spending. Anyone who regularly needed cash in hand had to adjust to this change.
Foreign currencies only in transit
Incoming transfers in foreign currencies were now automatically converted into Baht at the prevailing mid‑market rate, with fees included. Customers who had wanted to park USD or EUR in their Wise account lost this option under the new rules.
More than 40 currencies remained available to hold and exchange, as long as the funds originated in Thailand. The system thus stayed flexible, but effectively in only one direction, with Baht as the central hub.
Who benefits – and who loses out?
In April, Wise sent verification requests to all customers in Thailand, with the changes taking effect from 19 May. Anyone no longer living in the country was asked to update their address details in their account.
Whether the new structure was truly simpler, or whether the losses – no ATM access, no foreign‑currency accounts, no third‑country transfers – weighed more heavily than the new features, would be decided by users themselves. That judgment would become clear once the first transfer under the new rules had been completed.