Opening A New Bank Account In Thailand 2021

[jackdd]

On 1/3/2020 at 12:59 PM, PaulHamon said:

They told me new rule across all Branches (document was from 2019/2562, unsure on Month) only O-A (retirement visa) can open accounts with them now.

 

[...]

 

 

Actually this is just the case because the person who wrote this document doesn't have much knowledge about visas, and the person at the branch is taking this document literally.

It says:

Retirement: Use passport together with a visa which says "retirement" or which is visa "O-A".

Because of the bold and underlined word retirement, this looks like the headline of this page, and most likely there are other pages for other cases, for example married to Thai and so on.

The document says "retirement or O-A". The problem is that a visa which says "retirement" just doesn't exist, the person who wrote this was most likely referring to the non-immigrant O visa. He just make a mistake due to a lack of knowledge about visas. Can probably be solved by explaining this mistake to them.

 

 

In general Krungsri seems to be the easiest bank to open an account, at least a few months ago i was told a one year rental contract (nobody will confirm this ???? ) is enough, they don't care about the visa.

[kiever]

On 1/2/2020 at 11:25 AM, Caldera said:

Can you elaborate on that, please? Is that an agent that assisted you with opening an account? Did you need anything besides your passport?

http://tiktokservicesthailand.com/

they set up bank account for me when i came LOS with 30 days tourist visa (30 days visa exemption). i didnt have even tourist visa when i came .
dont need any paperworks other than your passport and dont need to buy silly insurance from bank.

i also get my thai driver license with them in 3 hours only.we went land of transport mornin 07:00 and i was keeping my driver license at 10:00 am
they are just great.
bad thing : they provide their services only in pattaya

Edited January 4, 2020 by kiever

[JimmyJ]

I'm here from the US on a SETV.

 

Went to Bangkok Bank at Kad Suen Kaew mall.

 

Showed my passport.

Showed rent receipts.

The clerk said the receipts do not help - he had a sample form that he said I need to get from Thai Imm. stating that "XYZ Street" is where I am living.

I need to bring a passport photo for the form.

 

He said with that I can open an account.

 

Will be going to Imm. to extend my SETV next week and will get this form taken care of (hopefully) as well.

[EricTh]

13 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

I'm here from the US on a SETV.

 

Went to Bangkok Bank at Kad Suen Kaew mall.

 

Showed my passport.

Showed rent receipts.

The clerk said the receipts do not help - he had a sample form that he said I need to get from Thai Imm. stating that "XYZ Street" is where I am living.

I need to bring a passport photo for the form.

 

He said with that I can open an account.

 

Will be going to Imm. to extend my SETV next week and will get this form taken care of (hopefully) as well.

That is called a Residence Cert and it's free if you can wait a few weeks for it. If you want it the next day, it is 500 baht.

 

You need to provide rental agreement , passport size photos to immigration.

[JimmyJ]

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

That is called a Residence Cert and it's free if you can wait a few weeks for it. If you want it the next day, it is 500 baht.

 

You need to provide rental agreement , passport size photos to immigration.

I don't have a rental agreement other than my receipts - staying at a hotel. I've been there for almost 2 months and have receipts showing this.

The  hotel name is on the receipts.

Will this suffice?

[EricTh]

5 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

I don't have a rental agreement other than my receipts - staying at a hotel. I've been there for almost 2 months and have receipts showing this.

The  hotel name is on the receipts.

Will this suffice?

It won't suffice because immigration is 'document-crazy'.

 

It's easier to open a bank account if you have a one year rental agreement with the condo etc.

 

It is difficult in the case of hotel because you can just leave the next day. Having receipts is not sufficient because it goes to show you have lived there before and not whether you will still live there in the next few months.

 

There is no harm trying but I do suggest you get an official letter from manager of hotel that you have stayed there for xx months.

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by EricTh

[dode57k]

Havent read the whole thread so apologies if a little off track but thought I'd share. I have 2 accounts with BKK bank and rely on the app heavily as I'm out the country a lot. Its a pain in the ass to be honest. Crashing loads and requires to be uninstalled and reinstalled many times.

So thought I'd try SCB. I was given the usual "no work permit no account" by girl at the door but asked to see the manager and presented him with...

Passport with thai elite visa.

Rental agreement.

Thai driving licence.

Marriage cert.

Wifes ID card.

Wife's tabien baan.

Wife's bank card from his own branch.

My BKK bank details.

Showed him my Buddha round my neck ????????

 

And with a smile said "how can you refuse me"

He laughed and opened an account for me

The app works beautifully btw ????????????

 

[CharlieH]

Previous topic for reference and information is here:

 

 

[pixeltrix]

Is possible to open bank account on non imigrant 90 days B visa?

[w94005m]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:13 PM, pixeltrix said:

Is possible to open bank account on non imigrant 90 days B visa?

I have a Bangkok Bank account with about 200,000 baht, but it's in Buriram and I wanted to open one with Bankok Bank in Jomtien, where I want to get the "retirement" visa. Was in Laos for 2 years and only have tourist visa now, but do have condo rental. However, they refused, even though I am an existing customer. I may try a different branch just to be sure.

 

They said, much as in the old thread in CharlieH's post, that without a work permit or condo ownership, I need a certified letter from Embassy to confirm my passport isn't fake or a letter from one of my UK or USA banks. Showing them electronically or whatever is apparently way too modern for Thailand.

 

Going to try the bank first, as there is no way I am going up to BKK to my Embassy with Covid-19 ongoing. There are online options with the Embassies, but they are expensive and slow.

[EbhB]

My experience so far:

Corporate at Bangkok Bank: both paperwork and the online bank is seriously insane, but it all worked well with papers from my lawyer & a newly formed company.

 

SCB with work permit: not too hard, some extra scrutiny of passport, but GREAT app that totally worked right out of the box.

 

TMB with work permit & no english: kinda fun with 3-5 of the ladies plodding on until it was up and running ????

[stoicccc]

Which SCB branch opens accounts for farang without work permit? I have NON-O based on Thai spouse.

[sometimewoodworker]

On 9/3/2020 at 11:46 AM, stoicccc said:

Which SCB branch opens accounts for farang without work permit? I have NON-O based on Thai spouse.

All my accounts have been opened without a work permit, 4 of them SCB in 2 different branches & have/had accounts in 6 banks over the years. Your taking either your spouse or a Thai friend with an account in that branch makes life easier.

 

You give no location information so there is no point in giving any to you.

[speedbird111]

On 9/8/2020 at 8:49 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

All my accounts have been opened without a work permit, 4 of them SCB in 2 different branches & have/had accounts in 6 banks over the years. Your taking either your spouse or a Thai friend with an account in that branch makes life easier.

 

You give no location information so there is no point in giving any to you.

 

On 9/8/2020 at 8:49 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

All my accounts have been opened without a work permit, 4 of them SCB in 2 different branches & have/had accounts in 6 banks over the years. Your taking either your spouse or a Thai friend with an account in that branch makes life easier.

 

You give no location information so there is no point in giving any to you.

Latest update 21st October 2020.

 

I have held a very active Kassikorn Bank account since 2013 with their Jomtien Branch (Close to Immigration). As my pension has just kicked in (October 2020), I wanted to open a second bank account with Kassikorn for my monthly pension payments to ensure that these were seperate from my daily living costs account. I didn't only go to Kassikorn, I also tried SCB ... Here are the actual results. No fabrication and No Joke, this is the actual truth .. hot off the press so to speak.

 

1. Kassikorn bank (Jomtien Branch) told me that I am only allowed one savings account with them and therefore refused a second account request. They told me that I could open a DEPOSIT account whereby I would have to deposit a minimum of THB 200K. This money could not be touched for a minimum period of 6 months with an interest rate of 0.54%. Of course I declined.

 

2. SCB

Siam Commercial Bank (Bid C Extra, Pattaya Klang). Tried to open a new account with the SCB. They were not interested, contrary to previous posts. The very first question on enquiring if I could open a new account with them was .. "Do you have a work Permit" to which I responded that Farangs with retirement visas are not allowed to work so no, no work permit. This fell upon deaf ears and then she asked me if I owned property. I answered No, I rent property as I have done for the past 5 years, She then asked me if I was married. Again my answer was No. End of conversation. Sorry mister, you cannot open a bank account with SCB.

 

Enough said.... Not a single retiree has a work permit. We are RETIRED (Comprende). There are tens of thousands living and spending in Thailand daily, legally, with all documentation readily available from immigration. Many of us don't own our own homes and too many are not married. I also questioned this with the branch manager who told me that he would allow it if he could but this is the new law. Strange that other banks no nothing about this new law.

 

Eventually I went to Krungsri in Soi Khao Noi. Where I had almost accepted bureaucratic defeat, it transpires that it is actually possible to open a new bank account with the minimum of fuss. Opened a new account, received a debit card, Mobile app installation by the helpfull lady and all this with an interest rate of 1.10% per month on your actual balance, calculated on a monthly basis. Dedbit card charge is THB 498.00 for 3 years and useable with all ATM's.

 

After my hallowing experiences of the past few days, I cannot recommend Krungsri Bank highly enough who are accommodating and flexible. All that was needed was a residence letter from Immigration.

 

Moral of the story is ... The big banks seem to making the rules up as they go. One says this, another says that. The law of the land should be made clear and adopted by all. Sadly this does not appear to be the case.

 

I have been visting Thailand since 2007 and living here since 2015. This is my very first post on the Thai Visa Forum because I feel the need to inform of updates on the forever changing environmement in which we choose to live.

 

Any contrary experiences would be appreciated.

[sometimewoodworker]

21 minutes ago, speedbird111 said:

Moral of the story is ... The big banks seem to making the rules up as they go. One says this, another says that. The law of the land should be made clear and adopted by all.

Who the banks accept as customers has nothing much to do with law.

individual managers, both account and branch, decide who they will accept as a customer. It has always been like this here from the first time I opened an account in the 1980s (on a visa exempt entry) to now.

Different branches have different rules not to mention that different people in the same branch can have different rules, these are variable depending on many factors including if you are accompanied by a Thai 
 

There is little consistency apart from US citizens having a more difficult time because of the reports needed for them.

Edited October 21, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[speedbird111]

27 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Who the banks accept as customers has nothing much to do with law.

individual managers, both account and branch, decide who they will accept as a customer. It has always been like this here from the first time I opened an account in the 1980s (on a visa exempt entry) to now.

Different branches have different rules not to mention that different people in the same branch can have different rules, these are variable depending on many factors including if you are accompanied by a Thai 
 

There is little consistency apart from US citizens having a more difficult time because of the reports needed for them.

From your comments it sounds to me as though you are backing the inconsistency of banking regulations in Thailand. Everywhere in the world banking protocols have EVERYTHING to do with the law. Because the Statutory law governs the principles and protocols of banking. It has "Always been like this here" does not make it right. Different branches have different rules ... While I reluctantly agree, why should this be tolerated? Today the counter clerk had her mobile in her hand while taliking to me, obviously more concerned with her mobile than my significant monetary contibution. Where do we draw the line?

 

What applies to one individual does not necessarily apply to another here and you accept this?. If one has ample funds and wants to open a bank account why should he/she not have the same rights as let's say a house owner, or someone with a work permit? Tell me where in the world is there such latitude?

 

No society has such "Do as we want" regulations that you apparently accept. Being a Swiss Citizen, I had to tick 20+ U.S form boxes with No, No, No before I could open my account. I asked why do I have to do this as I am Swiss not American. Please tick the boxes sir. There is no logic to the madness.

 

While I accept that we are living in Thailand, and duly respect and accept the law, there is an inevitable lust to correct wrong doings.

[sometimewoodworker]

10 hours ago, speedbird111 said:

From your comments it sounds to me as though you are backing the inconsistency of banking regulations in Thailand.

It isn’t the banking regulations. I accept the fact that it is not the same as a western country.

 

The banking regulations in the U.K. do not bar an expat citizen living here from opening an account. It is virtually impossible for anyone not living in the U.K. to open an account, and many have had their accounts closed because they no longer live there.

10 hours ago, speedbird111 said:

No society has such "Do as we want" regulations that you apparently accept.

There is an example of exactly that.

10 hours ago, speedbird111 said:

Being a Swiss Citizen, I had to tick 20+ U.S form boxes with No, No, No before I could open my account. I asked why do I have to do this as I am Swiss not American.

Because of the overreaching actions of the USA IR department.

 

11 hours ago, speedbird111 said:

While I accept that we are living in Thailand, and duly respect and accept the law, there is an inevitable lust to correct wrong doings.

They are not “wrong doings” it is the historical Thai  culture  that you need to understand, to know why things work the way they do.

 

So it’s a lust for things to work the same way as at home, “we're not in Kansas anymore” as Dorothy  said.

[Neeranam]

On 10/21/2020 at 8:25 PM, speedbird111 said:

No society has such "Do as we want" regulations that you apparently accept. Being a Swiss Citizen, I had to tick 20+ U.S form boxes with No, No, No before I could open my account. I asked why do I have to do this as I am Swiss not American. Please tick the boxes sir. There is no logic to the madness.

In Switzerland, as a Thai, I need 3 million baht to open a bank account and it costs 10,000 baht per year. 

I suggest you rid yourself of this colonial attitude, which probably is noticeable in your demeanour. Showing humility gets everything here, not demanding your rights, of which as a guest, you have none. 

[stat]

@neeranam

Opening a cost free account in Germany would be no problem for you with no minimum holding. Switzerland is a very special case. I assume in every country, even if you are guest, you should be treated with a little respect. But you are right some foreigners in Thailand behave very bad.

[JackGats]

On 1/3/2020 at 5:02 PM, jackdd said:

 

In general Krungsri seems to be the easiest bank to open an account, at least a few months ago i was told a one year rental contract (nobody will confirm this ???? ) is enough, they don't care about the visa.

I opened my account in late 2017 with Bangkok Bank while I was on a tourist 30-day visa waiver. A letter from my hotel was accepted as "rental contract". I had been told other banks would reject me.

[JackGats]

On 1/4/2020 at 6:10 AM, JimmyJ said:

I don't have a rental agreement other than my receipts - staying at a hotel. I've been there for almost 2 months and have receipts showing this.

The  hotel name is on the receipts.

Will this suffice?

It suffices if you get it in Pattaya through an agency.

 

Also, I forgot to mention the Bangkok Bank I opened my account with back then was in Pattaya (2nd road opposite Soi 6). In Thailand branches of the same bank tend to behave like they didn't belong to the same outfit. That's why (correct me if I'm wrong) if your bank account is with a branch in Pattaya and you move to Bangkok, you will pay a small ATM fee even if you use the bank's own ATMs in Bangkok.

[gamb00ler]

I would suggest that before opening an account new arrivals first get several Residence Certificates (RC) from Immigration.  You will need them as well as Passport (PP) to obtain:

• Thai driver license (use non-expired home country license to simplify process+PP)
• Thai Tax ID (take along driver license, RC and PP, only took 10 mins.)
• Thai Bank account (also take DL, Thai Tax ID on official cardstock and PP)
• vehicle registration

I also recommend you get the first 3 in the order listed.  It seems that to add the Thai Tax ID to an existing account is a process that only the bank's head office understands.  I did this three times and each required about 45 minutes while the tellers phoned for help.  One branch just said "go to your home branch" after talking amongst their local staff for 15 minutes.

 

Bangkok bank was the easiest for me with just my PP and RC.

 

SCB at first insisted on work permit, but after I asked them to call Head Office they were OK with just PP and RC.  However they did require a Thai Tax ID to open their high interest EZ Savings Account (1.5%)

 

Kasikorn was extremely adamant that I must already have my "retirement visa" (12 month extension of stay) in place before opening account.  After I had my extension they created another obstacle by claiming I needed to deposit 10K ฿ to open.  With a smile I just said "That's not true" and waited while they consulted someone on the phone.  I opened it with a 1K ฿ deposit.

 

Good luck!

 

[Polaky]

I cannot understand why they make it difficult to open a debit account, we are actually doing them a favour by enriching their lending powers, until recently I was always on a Non OA so never had the need for an account, now on a TV I approached Bangkok bank, to open an account would cost me around 6000 bath, 500 for card, 500 for account, the rest for a throwaway insurance, no residency certificate or letter from consulate with aide you, if your already on a non o then it is a piece of cake, but not tourist or exempt, they might be getting more strict, tried a number of different banks to no avail.

[BudRight]

On 11/20/2021 at 9:26 AM, Polaky said:

I cannot understand why they make it difficult to open a debit account, we are actually doing them a favour by enriching their lending powers, until recently I was always on a Non OA so never had the need for an account, now on a TV I approached Bangkok bank, to open an account would cost me around 6000 bath, 500 for card, 500 for account, the rest for a throwaway insurance, no residency certificate or letter from consulate with aide you, if your already on a non o then it is a piece of cake, but not tourist or exempt, they might be getting more strict, tried a number of different banks to no avail.

I don't know if you have noticed, but everyone is insane now. The crazy daily rules about COVID, the banking restrictions, the immigration laws, the politics and I don't just mean Thailand. Everybody is completely nuts. I personally feel the situation is terminal. 

[BudRight]

On 10/21/2020 at 7:08 PM, speedbird111 said:

 

Latest update 21st October 2020.

 

I have held a very active Kassikorn Bank account since 2013 with their Jomtien Branch (Close to Immigration). As my pension has just kicked in (October 2020), I wanted to open a second bank account with Kassikorn for my monthly pension payments to ensure that these were seperate from my daily living costs account. I didn't only go to Kassikorn, I also tried SCB ... Here are the actual results. No fabrication and No Joke, this is the actual truth .. hot off the press so to speak.

 

1. Kassikorn bank (Jomtien Branch) told me that I am only allowed one savings account with them and therefore refused a second account request. They told me that I could open a DEPOSIT account whereby I would have to deposit a minimum of THB 200K. This money could not be touched for a minimum period of 6 months with an interest rate of 0.54%. Of course I declined.

 

2. SCB

Siam Commercial Bank (Bid C Extra, Pattaya Klang). Tried to open a new account with the SCB. They were not interested, contrary to previous posts. The very first question on enquiring if I could open a new account with them was .. "Do you have a work Permit" to which I responded that Farangs with retirement visas are not allowed to work so no, no work permit. This fell upon deaf ears and then she asked me if I owned property. I answered No, I rent property as I have done for the past 5 years, She then asked me if I was married. Again my answer was No. End of conversation. Sorry mister, you cannot open a bank account with SCB.

 

Enough said.... Not a single retiree has a work permit. We are RETIRED (Comprende). There are tens of thousands living and spending in Thailand daily, legally, with all documentation readily available from immigration. Many of us don't own our own homes and too many are not married. I also questioned this with the branch manager who told me that he would allow it if he could but this is the new law. Strange that other banks no nothing about this new law.

 

Eventually I went to Krungsri in Soi Khao Noi. Where I had almost accepted bureaucratic defeat, it transpires that it is actually possible to open a new bank account with the minimum of fuss. Opened a new account, received a debit card, Mobile app installation by the helpfull lady and all this with an interest rate of 1.10% per month on your actual balance, calculated on a monthly basis. Dedbit card charge is THB 498.00 for 3 years and useable with all ATM's.

 

After my hallowing experiences of the past few days, I cannot recommend Krungsri Bank highly enough who are accommodating and flexible. All that was needed was a residence letter from Immigration.

 

Moral of the story is ... The big banks seem to making the rules up as they go. One says this, another says that. The law of the land should be made clear and adopted by all. Sadly this does not appear to be the case.

 

I have been visting Thailand since 2007 and living here since 2015. This is my very first post on the Thai Visa Forum because I feel the need to inform of updates on the forever changing environmement in which we choose to live.

 

Any contrary experiences would be appreciated.

Krungsri in Soi Khao Noi.

I don't see this place on a map. It's in Pattaya? What is the exact address please?

 

Thank you.

[dinga]

On 2/12/2022 at 10:48 PM, BudRight said:

I don't know if you have noticed, but everyone is insane now. The crazy daily rules about COVID, the banking restrictions, the immigration laws, the politics and I don't just mean Thailand. Everybody is completely nuts. I personally feel the situation is terminal. 

Absolutely agree - but our home is pressing for a podium finish in the Crazy Stakes (I'm lucky enough to have Permanent Residence status - just returned from the Klaeng Branch of SCB where I attempted to open an EZ Savings Account.  All documents present and correct - but copies need to be sent to BKK HQ for their approval to open the Account.  Will take ONE WEEK).  Absolute madness.....  

[dinga]

On 2/21/2022 at 2:11 PM, dinga said:

Absolutely agree - but our home is pressing for a podium finish in the Crazy Stakes (I'm lucky enough to have Permanent Residence status - just returned from the Klaeng Branch of SCB where I attempted to open an EZ Savings Account.  All documents present and correct - but copies need to be sent to BKK HQ for their approval to open the Account.  Will take ONE WEEK).  Absolute madness.....  

It got worse......

 

After 3 weeks awaiting (with many followup calls by my wife), the SCB Klaeng staff called her and questioned why my visa had expired!!!!!!!!!!! (I don't need a bl**dy visa as I have had PR status since 2012  -  they were baffled by a re-entry permit that I got in 2018 before Covid made overseas travel pretty well impractical up until now).  My wife and I attended the Bank yet again - explained the PR circumstances - and they took yet more copies of the documents that had been previously provided for referral to their  HQ 

 

Late last week, my wife gets a call from the Bank and is told that I've been approved to open a new account.  A premature HOORAY!

 

So, I go into the Klaeng Branch for a 3rd time yesterday.  They were preparing to issue a new Savings Account Passbook when I again said I wanted an EZ Savings Account.  Much discussion and a call to my wife, who relayed the bad news that the Branch couldn't open this account as they didn't have the necessary camera equipment to take my photo.  I now need to go into the SCB Branch at the local Tesco shopping centre to do so - but sadly that Branch is closed this week due to staff Covid infections. 

 

I can supposedly go there next week to open the account.  That'll be 4 visits to SCB but I'm expecting additional visits will be needed -  absolute TING TONG 

[dinga]

On 3/22/2022 at 7:42 PM, dinga said:

It got worse......

 

After 3 weeks awaiting (with many followup calls by my wife), the SCB Klaeng staff called her and questioned why my visa had expired!!!!!!!!!!! (I don't need a bl**dy visa as I have had PR status since 2012  -  they were baffled by a re-entry permit that I got in 2018 before Covid made overseas travel pretty well impractical up until now).  My wife and I attended the Bank yet again - explained the PR circumstances - and they took yet more copies of the documents that had been previously provided for referral to their  HQ 

 

Late last week, my wife gets a call from the Bank and is told that I've been approved to open a new account.  A premature HOORAY!

 

So, I go into the Klaeng Branch for a 3rd time yesterday.  They were preparing to issue a new Savings Account Passbook when I again said I wanted an EZ Savings Account.  Much discussion and a call to my wife, who relayed the bad news that the Branch couldn't open this account as they didn't have the necessary camera equipment to take my photo.  I now need to go into the SCB Branch at the local Tesco shopping centre to do so - but sadly that Branch is closed this week due to staff Covid infections. 

 

I can supposedly go there next week to open the account.  That'll be 4 visits to SCB but I'm expecting additional visits will be needed -  absolute TING TONG 

Sadly, my prediction came true.

 

Went into the SCB Klaeng Branch again yesterday (this was Number 4 visit), after my wife was called by the Bank and told everything was prepared so that the following would be done at the Branch (1) Firstly, I needed to open a Savings Account (usual Passbook Account); then (2) EZ Savings Account could be opened at that Branch (no mention of - indeed complete silence about - having to go to the Tesco Branch to do so).

 

Step 1 accomplished painlessly - Step 2 not so........

 

After 90 minutes of messing around (including downloading SCB Easy Net App onto my HP), SCB says that the EZ Savings Account is restricted to Thai citizens.  Have never heard such nonsense - such a restriction is NOT on the English version of their Product Sales Sheet, and farang folks here have apparently been successful in opening this type of account.  All this was to no avail, and I was sent packing having opened a Savings Account I don't want and in a very, very unhappy mood.

 

I'll create a new Topic to answer the SCB Klaeng's request for details of the Branches where farangs have successfully opened EZ Savings Accounts.

 

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Edited March 29, 2022 by dinga

[dinga]

On 3/29/2022 at 8:11 AM, dinga said:

Sadly, my prediction came true.

 

Went into the SCB Klaeng Branch again yesterday (this was Number 4 visit), after my wife was called by the Bank and told everything was prepared so that the following would be done at the Branch (1) Firstly, I needed to open a Savings Account (usual Passbook Account); then (2) EZ Savings Account could be opened at that Branch (no mention of - indeed complete silence about - having to go to the Tesco Branch to do so).

 

Step 1 accomplished painlessly - Step 2 not so........

 

After 90 minutes of messing around (including downloading SCB Easy Net App onto my HP), SCB says that the EZ Savings Account is restricted to Thai citizens.  Have never heard such nonsense - such a restriction is NOT on the English version of their Product Sales Sheet, and farang folks here have apparently been successful in opening this type of account.  All this was to no avail, and I was sent packing having opened a Savings Account I don't want and in a very, very unhappy mood.

 

I'll create a new Topic to answer the SCB Klaeng's request for details of the Branches where farangs have successfully opened EZ Savings Accounts.

 

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

SUCCESS - after 5 visits and buckets of patience by my wife, I now have an EZ Savings Account.  Perhaps there is a reward for persistence (though clearly the SCB staff training regime needs to educate staff about PR status/implications) 

[DesertSkyGuy]

I arrived  on an e-visa 60 day Tourist visa at Hua Him May 1 2022 and less than a week later I went to Bangkok Bank and the gentleman told me to get a certificate of residence from Thai immigration main office.. Prachuap KhiriKhan  ..not  the Immigration office at Blueport. Also he said to get my passport verified by my embassy(USA). I made copies of my passport bio page,entry stamp and arrival card tm6     # and 2 passport photos and my 1 month contract with my hotel and 500 Thai baht and  rode out to immigration office. Within 1 hour I left with my certificate of residency.  Then I researched getting my passport verified..and didn't really want to send it off in the mail..so the next day I went back to Bangkok Bank and I asked the Lady working there of there was any option. She said I could buy their insurance for 5000 baht ..so I did..figured it would cost similar to use an agent and I could open it THAT DAY.  A week later I transferred my 800,000+ baht and now have applied for my non O visa. I also  have a Thai car and Motorbike license which takes 2 certificate of residence applications and 1000 baht total...anyway..glad it is all done...I know some will say they would never pay for the insurance...that's fine..I just wanted the account opened so I could proceed..and I was right there with the option to get it done .I hope this info helps someone ,cheers