PayPal Thailand to cut off most users, all foreigners next month

The majority of PayPal users in Thailand will no longer be able to use the service next month unless they jump through a series of byzantine and bureaucratic steps that are only available to citizens.

A year after it first warned of the change and several subsequent delays, PayPal notified customers this morning that they will not be able to use the service after Dec. 15 unless they take “certain actions” that, while mystifying and poorly explained, will likely be out of reach to most.

To comply with a change in regulations meant to combat money laundering by reining in electronic transfers, the global finance giant will shut off private account holders who are not registered under a government digital identity program.

To proceed, users must first enter their Thai national ID numbers – sorry, foreign friends, noncitizens seem out of luck here. PayPal said no…