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A Canadian guy at my hostel here in Bangkok lost his wallet last night so is without cash and cards. He flies back to Canada later today but needs some money to survive on and pay the hostel bill.

He called the Visa emergency number and I was surprised to hear that they cannot get him emergency money today. I have used this service in the past in more difficult places than Thailand but I guess things have changed.

There are Western Union offices or agents nearby and he has PayPal. But Googling for the two in combination I learn that Western union does not support PayPal at this time and, worse, there are some scams around involving the pair.

He also asked at the hostel if he could pay his bill using PayPal and transfer some extra money that they might be able to give him in cash - but apparently it's not possible.

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    I went looking for a MoneyGram office or agent but couldn't find the one on Google Maps. In the meantime he met some friend in town who loaned him some money. But this is still a problem many others are likely to face with Khao San Road being both a notorious all-night spot for drinking and getting into trouble as well as being a major hub for travellers.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 31, 2013 at 8:28
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    If he lost his credit card, shouldn't he block his credit card having the effect his paypal account is blocked as well?
    – user141
    Aug 31, 2013 at 8:31
  • He did block his card (directly through VISA, not through his bank). I have a personal dislike for PayPal so don't know what effects a cancelled payment card has.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 31, 2013 at 8:33
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    Related: Is Visa's Emergency Cash Disbursement reliable?
    – Nean Der Thal
    Aug 31, 2013 at 10:52
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    Does he have an American Express? They tend to have excellent emergency assistance in the event of lost cards, needing a cash advance until a new card is issued etc
    – Gagravarr
    Aug 31, 2013 at 10:53

3 Answers 3

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It is strange that the hostel doesn't want to be paid by paypal. It costs, but it is rather simple to send money to anybody with an email address. Since he is willing to pay the additional charge he mayb should point the hostel to this explanation on paypals website. and emphasize that this will be the only way he can pay. If they really stands on their position he could say that he will write an online evaluation on platforms like tripadvisor, booking.com or zoover indicating their unwillingness to assist in a crisis situation. That has worked for me quite well in the past. They will not be friendly in solving the issue, but who cares. If that really does not solve the issue, he could always send money through paypal to fellow travelers willing to help.

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    I think it's something to do with the fact that it's a small hostel and the people running the hostel aren't the real "boss" and he only pops in from time to time and probably handles the money stuff and wants nothing to do with the day-to-day running of the place. I didn't find the managers unfriendly to help and got more the impression they are scared to second-guess the owner and probably can't access the hostel's PayPal without him.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 31, 2013 at 8:23
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    Not strange to me. Perfectly normal to me for a small place to only accept local currency, or local currency and the top 2-3 credit cards. It would be reasonable of them to have a sign to that effect, and reasonable of the guest to ask upfront if he can pay his bill another way. Your point about it being easy may be true, and (assuming it is) it would be nice of them to cooperate if they can - but as HT points out, maybe they can't, and maybe no one has explained it well. While the reviews you're suggesting would be factually accurate, it seems nasty to act as if it's the hostel's fault
    – hunter2
    Sep 2, 2013 at 6:43
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  • Paypal still takes 7 days to withdraw cash to a Thai bank. (But you can spend it with another paypal merchant immediately).

  • Western Union / MoneyGram are your best bets if you want immediacy.

  • Bank Wire transfer or using certain licensed money exchangers can also be a few hours if you meet their cutoff times.

  • A friend who can spot you the funds locally within Thailand is in a better position. you can send funds via Thai post or even via local bank deposit and it is available immediately. There are cash deposit machines (CDM) at most bank branches and inside some shopping malls. Even now some atm machines double as a CDM...which can be kind of annoying as it is one more thing to break and can make the line longer if there is only 1 atm in that immediate area.

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Everex app, download it. you can fund your wallet with paypal, bank or crypto.

you will need ID hopefully before you lose that as well.

saved my ass, will save others im sure.

best of all, you can cash out at an atm with no bank card or ID. As long as you already did kyc.

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    What is "kyc"? Never heard it before.
    – hippietrail
    Sep 22, 2019 at 7:32
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    @hippietrail I think it means know your customer.
    – mdewey
    Sep 22, 2019 at 16:40

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