Hotels in Thailand warn: the country does not accept Russian bank cards

A number of hotels in Thailand have warned guests that cards of international payment systems issued by Russian banks are no longer accepted in the country, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia reports.

Tourists asked clarifying questions to hoteliers, recalling that they use cards issued by banks that were not subject to sanctions. Hoteliers, in turn, reported that they had received a corresponding decree from banks and were obliged to heed it. The situation looks rather strange, ATOR notes: probably, the reason is the ignorance of Thai bank employees about the essence of the sanctions against Russian banks and cards of international payment systems. The fact that they really may not be aware of this is evidenced, for example, by the fact that American Express cards are mentioned among the “cards of Russian banks” (only Russian Standard Bank issued premium cards of this system, and in general they are very rare in Russia). It seems that overly zealous bank employees are simply playing it safe, experts say.

It is clarified that the cards of any Russian banks, including those that were not subject to Western sanctions, fell under the restrictions. “If your deposit was left with a card, please change it to a cash deposit in baht. If your deposit is left in cash and it is already exceeded, we recommend that you pay off the debt or replenish the deposit”, - one of the hotels informed tourists.

At the same time, ATOR noted that no centralized restrictions were introduced at the level of the entire kingdom. “Not accepting Russian cards is some kind of local setting of Thai banks “just in case,” the experts said. ATOR also informs that medical assistance to Russians in hotels in Thailand is provided only for cash. At the same time, in stores and restaurants in Thailand, Russians calmly pay with cards, ATOR reports.

Earlier in March, ATOR recommended that Russians planning trips to foreign countries take a certain amount of cash with them. Against the backdrop of news about the blocking of bank cards that fell under EU sanctions, Russians were urged to be more prudent and not rely solely on non-cash payments for purchases and services on vacation.