Finance Foreign Nationals Face Account Bans in Bangkok Bank Crackdown

[couchpotato]

37 minutes ago, SongSomSoda said:

if he has done nothing illegal he most likely needs to set up Face ID , update book , Tax ID and maybe verify the ownership of the mobile number he uses for online banking.

Face ID=yes,  Bank Book=yes,  Verify Mobile nbr=yes,  Passport=yes,  Tax ID not required. 

And possibly Residence letter from IO and address verification documents 

[couchpotato]

43 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

 

why do you need an agent to open a bank account? it's hardly rocket science.

He didn't say he used an Agent..read what he wrote.

[treetops]

1 hour ago, SongSomSoda said:

sorry , what do you mean with BBL. 

 

Bangkok Bank Limited.  You used BBK in your post.

[Puccini]

1 hour ago, SongSomSoda said:

sorry , what do you mean with BBL. 

 

BBL is the symbol for Bangkok Bank Limited on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). It is akin to using MSFT for Microsoft Corporation. Stock symbols, aka ticker symbols, are best avoided outside stock investment forums.

[Patong2021]

On 5/28/2025 at 6:34 PM, ozz1 said:

And they want foreign investment  here anyone investing here should have a big think about it

 

The  procedures will not negatively impact legitimate foreign investment. How would it? What it will do is  answer the international pressures to  combat money laundering and tax evasion.

[SongSomSoda]

2 hours ago, couchpotato said:

Face ID=yes,  Bank Book=yes,  Verify Mobile nbr=yes,  Passport=yes,  Tax ID not required. 

And possibly Residence letter from IO and address verification documents 

i had to give my german Tax ID (steuer-ID) when i opened my bank account with Bangkok Bank last year.

yes residence letter but only when opening the bank account needed i guess.

 

Tax ID and thai driving licence was  a must otherwise no bank account, they were very serious and strict.

[DonniePeverley]

5 hours ago, SongSomSoda said:

if he has done nothing illegal he most likely needs to set up Face ID , update book , Tax ID and maybe verify the ownership of the mobile number he uses for online banking.

 

 

Nope, his account was closed. 

 

 

[stevenl]

11 hours ago, shdmn said:

This is not the same as GCash or Maya Pay in the Philippines. Those give you an actual bank account number that you can transfer money directly into with Wise. 

 

These are not like bank accounts.  They require you to add the credit through cash or foreign credit card, so you are forced to pay their exchange rates in addition to whatever transaction fees you were already paying before.  In other words, it's just one more middleman.  Less than useless.  Other Thai banks are doing something similar.

You asked a question, i gave you information. The least you could have done is saying 'thanks, but that's not the same ' before indicating why it's not what you're looking for.

 

Common courtesy.

[sandyf]

On 6/8/2025 at 4:22 PM, mikebike said:

Not sure why consulates (not embassies it is a consul's job) would do that. And if they did, how would it be easier, or better, than just showing your 65k/m or 800k in the bank?

Indeed, the letter came from the Embassy's Consular Section. However the notice issued by immigration when it first came about referred to "Embassies".

As for your second point, strikes me the Thais decided it would be better to see the income appearing in the bank.

[mikebike]

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

Indeed, the letter came from the Embassy's Consular Section. However the notice issued by immigration when it first came about referred to "Embassies".

As for your second point, strikes me the Thais decided it would be better to see the income appearing in the bank.

Yes, no doubt that seeing the money actually coming into the country would be the goal I expect 😊 Unfortunately, the letter seems to only refer to relatives of a Thai national. My wife is farang 😊

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, mikebike said:

😊 Unfortunately, the letter seems to only refer to relatives of a Thai national. My wife is farang 😊

That is not the case. the income letters were available to anyone requiring proof of income.  Many were on retirement extensions without any Thai relatives.

[Ohyesuare]

Just got a notification on my Bangkok Bank app to update my info (KYC). Have the account since 2019 and on a long term visa. Tested and everything still works though.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, Ohyesuare said:

Just got a notification on my Bangkok Bank app to update my info (KYC). Have the account since 2019 and on a long term visa. Tested and everything still works though.

 

That's interesting insofar as they might have decided to give affected customers some advance warning before locking them out, which didn't seem to be the case before.

 

Did they tell you any specifics, such as where you need to go ("your" branch or any branch) and by what date?

[shdmn]

On 6/9/2025 at 7:36 PM, stevenl said:

You asked a question, i gave you information. The least you could have done is saying 'thanks, but that's not the same ' before indicating why it's not what you're looking for.

 

Common courtesy.

 

You gave bad info after doing a google search for the wrong thing.  Now you are apparently upset after I tried to explain the error and think you deserve a gold star participation award instead?

[stevenl]

6 hours ago, shdmn said:

 

You gave bad info after doing a google search for the wrong thing.  Now you are apparently upset after I tried to explain the error and think you deserve a gold star participation award instead?

Upset? Just disappointed you lack common courtesy.

Google search? No, i just remembered i saw something that could be what you were looking for and managed to refind it.

[Ohyesuare]

20 hours ago, Caldera said:

 

That's interesting insofar as they might have decided to give affected customers some advance warning before locking them out, which didn't seem to be the case before.

 

Did they tell you any specifics, such as where you need to go ("your" branch or any branch) and by what date?

 

I just updated it through the app where the notification directed me to.

[Caldera]

2 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

I just updated it through the app where the notification directed me to.

 

What can you update there? Do they allow you to upload your new passport nowadays, or is that just a KYC questionnaire?

[Ohyesuare]

45 minutes ago, Caldera said:

 

What can you update there? Do they allow you to upload your new passport nowadays, or is that just a KYC questionnaire?

 

It was just a KYC questionnaire. They wanted my address, occupation, net worth, source of funds, contact phone number etc..