BANGKOK — A new wave of financial restrictions has hit the Myanmar diaspora in Thailand as the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) began disabling “Rabbit Cards” registered to Myanmar passport holders, commuters and station officials said Friday.
The move, which caught many by surprise on New Year’s Day, effectively strips Myanmar nationals of the ability to use the city’s primary electronic transit and retail payment system. At station counters across the capital, commuters were told their accounts were suspended due to Myanmar’s classification as a “high-risk” jurisdiction under tightened anti-money laundering protocols.
“The teller just took my card, checked my passport, and said it didn’t meet the new criteria,” said a Myanmar national who has worked in Bangkok’s hospitality sector for four years. “They gave me back my balance in cash and told me I have to buy paper tickets one by one from now on.”
The Rabbit Card is a staple of Bangkok life, allowing users to bypass long ticket lines and make small purchases at retail chains. Since 2019, Thailand has required all such cards to be linked to a government-issued ID to comply with “Know Your Customer” (KYC) regulations aimed at curbing illicit financial flows.
While BTS Group Holdings has not published a formal policy change, staff at multiple stations confirmed they were following directives to limit services for citizens of countries under international financial scrutiny. Myanmar was “blacklisted” by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in late 2022, a move that has gradually choked the banking and financial access of its citizens globally.
The suspension has fueled a sense of frustration and systemic bias among the more than two million Myanmar nationals estimated to be living in Thailand. Many of those affected hold legal work permits and long-term visas.
“It’s a blanket punishment,” another commuter told the BBC, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “Instead of checking who is a criminal and who is a legal worker, they are just blocking us based on our birthplace. It adds 20 minutes of queuing to my morning commute.”
The crackdown appears linked to a broader push by the Royal Thai Police to dismantle “nominee accounts” used by regional cyber-scam syndicates. Station personnel have been instructing those with blocked cards to call the Thai cybercrime hotline at 1441 for “verification”—a process many users find daunting and opaque.
For the time being, Myanmar passport holders are being relegated to using single-journey tokens or daily passes, which offer none of the convenience or retail benefits of the Rabbit system. There has been no official word on when or if these restrictions will be reviewed for legal residents.
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