Extra step now for opening a bank account

[MadMac]

My account is on zero for something like 6 years. Does not get closed. And I'm not going to that Lad Prao branch.

[new2here]

Why would anyone go to Bangkok Bank anyway. This is the last resort if one has no other option.

Besides it being the best choice, Bangkok Bank is the only bank that has a US branch.

It appears that Kasikorn still has their Los Angeles office. Both BBLs New York and KBanks LA offices are not traditional retail bank offices, but are offices of their respective banks.

http://www.kasikornbank.com/en/serviceschannel/searchservicechannel/overseasbranches/pages/overseasbranches2.aspx

I'm sure they are just offices not actual a bank functioning location. Just like Chase bank has an office in Bangkok but you can't do banking there.

Yes, that is correct. Neither office is licensed by State of California or New York to act as or offer traditional retail banking services to the general public like opening or closing US based accounts or accepting/disbursing US/foreign currency.. They are however offices of the respective banks and employees are direct employees of the bank.

I've used the LA office of KBank before when I needed to sign some KBank documents related to my Thai accounts that required a bank officer witness. They've also given me print outs of my accounts as well as accepted some bank documents as a courtesy and forwarded them back to BKK with their normal inter-office FedEx mailing back to Ratburana.

I've always found the LA office to be helpful, but they are clear in that they can't do most "normal" bank functions that a typical retail customer might need or think of.

[NancyL]

OK, today I went to the Kad Suan Kaew branch of Bangkok Bank. To review, the OP claims he was told -- at that branch -- that there is now a new rule that every foreigner, regardless of visa status, must "go to either Thai immigration or my home country embassy and have them confirm the validity of my passport and address. This applies to existing customers opening new accounts as well as new customers."

I have two fixed deposit accounts with terms that expired last week, so I told them I wanted to close those accounts and roll the money into new accounts at their latest promotional rate. Note -- I requested to open two new accounts. I'm an existing customer. So, I nestled in for a half-hour of the usual form-signing, including the form for the U.S. gov't disclosing my U.S. address for tax purposes and my SSN. No surprises here. The customer service gal looked at her computer screen and asked if we still lived at Room XXX in XYZ Condo. I said "No, we haven't lived in that room for over five years. I came here to notify you when we moved to Room ZZZ" Ok, she input the correct room number. Then, I watched in wonderment as the she efficiently made copies, filed in forms, input data, printed documents and stamped, stamped, stamped and stamped. Eventually she was done and I was presented with the old passbooks for the two expired accounts and the two new passbooks with a nice little wai.

"What, don't I have to go to Immigration to confirm my address or to my Consulate to confirm the validity of my passport?" She looked very puzzled. "Khun Nancy, we know who you are and you just told us where you live."

So, I hunted up the short-haired customer service rep who normally sits at Desk 8, the one the OP says he talked with and showed her this thread. "Oh", she said with that nervous little Thai laugh. "Here is what he must have meant". She showed me a sign she has encased in plastic behind her desk, like she must have it handy to bring forward when she wants to brush off someone. It's simply a distillation of the policy stated on the Bangkok Bank website of the documents needed for a foreigner to open a bank account. Here is what her little sign says:

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OPENING ACCOUNT;

** Valid Passport and one of the following:

- Letter of recommendation from a person or organization acceptable to Bangkok Bank or;

- Letter from Thai Immigration confirming your residential address in Thailand or;

- Letter from embassy confirming your valid passport or;

- Property Ownership or;

- Property Purchase Agreement

- Work Permit

This isn't a new requirement! Nothing has changed! They don't require this of existing customers who are opening new accounts. She said what is different is that now they want a written personal reference for the customer's file, not just someone coming in person to serve as a reference at the time the account is opened.

They do have an example letter that can be taken to Immigration to confirm residential address, but it would seem to me that most people would be able to come up with one of the other options for establishing credibility with Bangkok Bank.

[Mapguy]

Excellent, NancyL. OP's basic complaint was quite misleading, if not incorrect, and has generated four pages of back-and-forth and the usual irrelevancies over not much of anything. Such is the nature of ThaiVisa too often regarding some practical (often quite important) matters like banking.

Another example with banking is the sometimes incomplete reports involving opening fixed deposit account. There are differences in rules among banks, and sometimes there is simply difficulty for foreigners understanding what the detailed nature of those differences is.

Ah, well!!

[dcnx]

OK, today I went to the Kad Suan Kaew branch of Bangkok Bank. To review, the OP claims he was told -- at that branch -- that there is now a new rule that every foreigner, regardless of visa status, must "go to either Thai immigration or my home country embassy and have them confirm the validity of my passport and address. This applies to existing customers opening new accounts as well as new customers."

I have two fixed deposit accounts with terms that expired last week, so I told them I wanted to close those accounts and roll the money into new accounts at their latest promotional rate. Note -- I requested to open two new accounts. I'm an existing customer. So, I nestled in for a half-hour of the usual form-signing, including the form for the U.S. gov't disclosing my U.S. address for tax purposes and my SSN. No surprises here. The customer service gal looked at her computer screen and asked if we still lived at Room XXX in XYZ Condo. I said "No, we haven't lived in that room for over five years. I came here to notify you when we moved to Room ZZZ" Ok, she input the correct room number. Then, I watched in wonderment as the she efficiently made copies, filed in forms, input data, printed documents and stamped, stamped, stamped and stamped. Eventually she was done and I was presented with the old passbooks for the two expired accounts and the two new passbooks with a nice little wai.

"What, don't I have to go to Immigration to confirm my address or to my Consulate to confirm the validity of my passport?" She looked very puzzled. "Khun Nancy, we know who you are and you just told us where you live."

So, I hunted up the short-haired customer service rep who normally sits at Desk 8, the one the OP says he talked with and showed her this thread. "Oh", she said with that nervous little Thai laugh. "Here is what he must have meant". She showed me a sign she has encased in plastic behind her desk, like she must have it handy to bring forward when she wants to brush off someone. It's simply a distillation of the policy stated on the Bangkok Bank website of the documents needed for a foreigner to open a bank account. Here is what her little sign says:

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OPENING ACCOUNT;

** Valid Passport and one of the following:

- Letter of recommendation from a person or organization acceptable to Bangkok Bank or;

- Letter from Thai Immigration confirming your residential address in Thailand or;

- Letter from embassy confirming your valid passport or;

- Property Ownership or;

- Property Purchase Agreement

- Work Permit

This isn't a new requirement! Nothing has changed! They don't require this of existing customers who are opening new accounts.

She said what is different is that now they want a written personal reference for the customer's file, not just someone coming in person to serve as a reference at the time the account is opened.

They do have an example letter that can be taken to Immigration to confirm residential address, but it would seem to me that most people would be able to come up with one of the other options for establishing credibility with Bangkok Bank.

Incredible.

Back we go tomorrow, if time permits. She specifically said I needed that, a letter from the embassy or immigration, or my new account as well as my girlfriend for her new account. I have two current accounts with BKB in two cities, been with them for almost ten years, yet, this is what I was told.

Perhaps you just have a lot more money in your account than I do. :-) It is also possible she just didn't feel like opening any more accounts that day, as it was fairly late. She was very strict about what we needed.

[Tywais]

Incredible.

Back we go tomorrow, if time permits. She specifically said I needed that, a letter from the embassy or immigration, or my new account as well as my girlfriend for her new account. I have two current accounts with BKB in two cities, been with them for almost ten years, yet, this is what I was told.

Perhaps you just have a lot more money in your account than I do. :-) It is also possible she just didn't feel like opening any more accounts that day, as it was fairly late. She was very strict about what we needed.

Next time ask to speak to a manager or her superior. Also, get the phone number of the head office in Bangkok and inform them you are going to contact them if still no results. A call to the Bangkok office has often settled the matter.

[NancyL]

OK, today I went to the Kad Suan Kaew branch of Bangkok Bank. To review, the OP claims he was told -- at that branch -- that there is now a new rule that every foreigner, regardless of visa status, must "go to either Thai immigration or my home country embassy and have them confirm the validity of my passport and address. This applies to existing customers opening new accounts as well as new customers."

I have two fixed deposit accounts with terms that expired last week, so I told them I wanted to close those accounts and roll the money into new accounts at their latest promotional rate. Note -- I requested to open two new accounts. I'm an existing customer. So, I nestled in for a half-hour of the usual form-signing, including the form for the U.S. gov't disclosing my U.S. address for tax purposes and my SSN. No surprises here. The customer service gal looked at her computer screen and asked if we still lived at Room XXX in XYZ Condo. I said "No, we haven't lived in that room for over five years. I came here to notify you when we moved to Room ZZZ" Ok, she input the correct room number. Then, I watched in wonderment as the she efficiently made copies, filed in forms, input data, printed documents and stamped, stamped, stamped and stamped. Eventually she was done and I was presented with the old passbooks for the two expired accounts and the two new passbooks with a nice little wai.

"What, don't I have to go to Immigration to confirm my address or to my Consulate to confirm the validity of my passport?" She looked very puzzled. "Khun Nancy, we know who you are and you just told us where you live."

So, I hunted up the short-haired customer service rep who normally sits at Desk 8, the one the OP says he talked with and showed her this thread. "Oh", she said with that nervous little Thai laugh. "Here is what he must have meant". She showed me a sign she has encased in plastic behind her desk, like she must have it handy to bring forward when she wants to brush off someone. It's simply a distillation of the policy stated on the Bangkok Bank website of the documents needed for a foreigner to open a bank account. Here is what her little sign says:

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OPENING ACCOUNT;

** Valid Passport and one of the following:

- Letter of recommendation from a person or organization acceptable to Bangkok Bank or;

- Letter from Thai Immigration confirming your residential address in Thailand or;

- Letter from embassy confirming your valid passport or;

- Property Ownership or;

- Property Purchase Agreement

- Work Permit

This isn't a new requirement! Nothing has changed! They don't require this of existing customers who are opening new accounts.

She said what is different is that now they want a written personal reference for the customer's file, not just someone coming in person to serve as a reference at the time the account is opened.

They do have an example letter that can be taken to Immigration to confirm residential address, but it would seem to me that most people would be able to come up with one of the other options for establishing credibility with Bangkok Bank.

Incredible.

Back we go tomorrow, if time permits. She specifically said I needed that, a letter from the embassy or immigration, or my new account as well as my girlfriend for her new account. I have two current accounts with BKB in two cities, been with them for almost ten years, yet, this is what I was told.

Perhaps you just have a lot more money in your account than I do. :-) It is also possible she just didn't feel like opening any more accounts that day, as it was fairly late. She was very strict about what we needed.

Perhaps she was having difficulty communicating with you, or thought she would. It's absolutely not necessary to bring in a Thai person to open an account, unless that person's name in going to be on the account. It may not have been clear to her, either, that you already have accounts at other branches of Bangkok Bank. And you're right, too, that they are less than enthusiastic about starting on tasks that involve multiple forms and stamping later in the day. I think their cut-off for tasks like this is 6 pm.

Meanwhile, you might be thinking about which organizations you belong to or which well-placed people you know who could provide a letter of reference in case the above suppositions are incorrect.

[NancyL]

OK, today I went to the Kad Suan Kaew branch of Bangkok Bank. To review, the OP claims he was told -- at that branch -- that there is now a new rule that every foreigner, regardless of visa status, must "go to either Thai immigration or my home country embassy and have them confirm the validity of my passport and address. This applies to existing customers opening new accounts as well as new customers."

I have two fixed deposit accounts with terms that expired last week, so I told them I wanted to close those accounts and roll the money into new accounts at their latest promotional rate. Note -- I requested to open two new accounts. I'm an existing customer. So, I nestled in for a half-hour of the usual form-signing, including the form for the U.S. gov't disclosing my U.S. address for tax purposes and my SSN. No surprises here. The customer service gal looked at her computer screen and asked if we still lived at Room XXX in XYZ Condo. I said "No, we haven't lived in that room for over five years. I came here to notify you when we moved to Room ZZZ" Ok, she input the correct room number. Then, I watched in wonderment as the she efficiently made copies, filed in forms, input data, printed documents and stamped, stamped, stamped and stamped. Eventually she was done and I was presented with the old passbooks for the two expired accounts and the two new passbooks with a nice little wai.

"What, don't I have to go to Immigration to confirm my address or to my Consulate to confirm the validity of my passport?" She looked very puzzled. "Khun Nancy, we know who you are and you just told us where you live."

So, I hunted up the short-haired customer service rep who normally sits at Desk 8, the one the OP says he talked with and showed her this thread. "Oh", she said with that nervous little Thai laugh. "Here is what he must have meant". She showed me a sign she has encased in plastic behind her desk, like she must have it handy to bring forward when she wants to brush off someone. It's simply a distillation of the policy stated on the Bangkok Bank website of the documents needed for a foreigner to open a bank account. Here is what her little sign says:

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OPENING ACCOUNT;

** Valid Passport and one of the following:

- Letter of recommendation from a person or organization acceptable to Bangkok Bank or;

- Letter from Thai Immigration confirming your residential address in Thailand or;

- Letter from embassy confirming your valid passport or;

- Property Ownership or;

- Property Purchase Agreement

- Work Permit

This isn't a new requirement! Nothing has changed! They don't require this of existing customers who are opening new accounts.

She said what is different is that now they want a written personal reference for the customer's file, not just someone coming in person to serve as a reference at the time the account is opened.

They do have an example letter that can be taken to Immigration to confirm residential address, but it would seem to me that most people would be able to come up with one of the other options for establishing credibility with Bangkok Bank.

Incredible.

Back we go tomorrow, if time permits. She specifically said I needed that, a letter from the embassy or immigration, or my new account as well as my girlfriend for her new account. I have two current accounts with BKB in two cities, been with them for almost ten years, yet, this is what I was told.

Perhaps you just have a lot more money in your account than I do. :-) It is also possible she just didn't feel like opening any more accounts that day, as it was fairly late. She was very strict about what we needed.

Perhaps she was having difficulty communicating with you, or thought she would. It's absolutely not necessary to bring in a Thai person to open an account, unless that person's name in going to be on the account. It may not have been clear to her, either, that you already have accounts at other branches of Bangkok Bank. And you're right, too, that they are less than enthusiastic about starting on tasks that involve multiple forms and stamping later in the day. I think their cut-off for tasks like this is 6 pm.

Meanwhile, you might be thinking about which organizations you belong to or which well-placed people you know who could provide a letter of reference in case the above suppositions are incorrect.

[Sparkles]

Mr Sombat, who I believe is the currency manager at BB KSK,has always been most helpful over the 7 years we have been customers

[dcnx]

UOB opened an account for her with no problem or additional papers/forms needed. I haven't had the time to try BKB again.

[MadMac]

UOB opened an account for her with no problem or additional papers/forms needed. I haven't had the time to try BKB again.

Hope you got the V care one with free accident insurance.

[dcnx]

Update:

As a current account holder they would open a new account now. Pethaps that was a misunderstanding from before. However, the person with me from before returned and was treated rudely in front of me so I chose to not open a new account with them.

The person with me is a Chinese citizen, a somewhat wealthy, very normal person. Not a moat pooper. I've never in my life seen anyone at any bank treat a potential customer with such contempt. While we were trying to find the best solution for her, hitting more roadblocks, they (two of them) actually told her to go look at another bank, because now Bangkok Bank is now "very strict" with new account holders, "starting this year." Translated, hit the bricks Chinese.

Curious, we went to the mall branch at Festival later in the day and they opened an account for her with no problem, the same as UOB.

It is painfully clear what the original problem was at the first branch, and that is they obviously do not want to deal with Chinese customers in that branch.

I'll be changing branches as well. I like Bangkok Bank, but I prefer not to deal with this branch any longer. The smug face on the pretty boy (wearing foundation face make up) working with the chubby woman was enough to make me want to vomit. He kept rolling his eyes, leaning back in his chair and looking away, and mumbling under his breath. Totally unprofessional in every way.

That's my update. The issues were all branch and Chinese related.

[scottiejohn]

I have just had what can only be described as a pleasant surprise/experience opening a personal bank account today in CM. From entering the bank to finally leaving the total time spent was 1hr 20min of which 20mins were in the bank.

I entered the empty Bangkok Bank Panthip Plaza Branch at 1030 today and asked to open an account. Passport/visa and intro letter from my UK bank asked for and handed over. Told I would be phoned within 1hr maybe 2hr when a/c ready. 5min total.

Call received at 1128 and as I was in the plaza window shopping arrived 2 mins later to find it fairly busy. Hovered over the ticket issuing machine to see what option I should choose when the teller I had dealt with earlier called out my name and indicated a seat. Other people still queuing/ waiting for number to be called, but I was straight into a seat.

15 mins of frantic form filling and signatures then pass book ATM card etc issued and it was all done.

From some previous posts I had expected some sort of problem but I had done my homework, had the correct visa (tourist), letter of introduction from my bank and address details of where I was staying. That was it. I chose the Panthip branch as it is closest to where I stay/intend retiring. Could not have been simpler. I work for a UK bank and I do not believe you could do it any easier or quicker there!

Well done Bangkok Bank Panthip Plaza Chiang Mai.

[mikey88]

What type of visa do you have...

I opened one recently no problem at all.

Retirement visa, lease agreement and money....that's all...took minutes.

[elektrified]

Update:

As a current account holder they would open a new account now. Pethaps that was a misunderstanding from before. However, the person with me from before returned and was treated rudely in front of me so I chose to not open a new account with them.

The person with me is a Chinese citizen, a somewhat wealthy, very normal person. Not a moat pooper. I've never in my life seen anyone at any bank treat a potential customer with such contempt. While we were trying to find the best solution for her, hitting more roadblocks, they (two of them) actually told her to go look at another bank, because now Bangkok Bank is now "very strict" with new account holders, "starting this year." Translated, hit the bricks Chinese.

Curious, we went to the mall branch at Festival later in the day and they opened an account for her with no problem, the same as UOB.

It is painfully clear what the original problem was at the first branch, and that is they obviously do not want to deal with Chinese customers in that branch.

I'll be changing branches as well. I like Bangkok Bank, but I prefer not to deal with this branch any longer. The smug face on the pretty boy (wearing foundation face make up) working with the chubby woman was enough to make me want to vomit. He kept rolling his eyes, leaning back in his chair and looking away, and mumbling under his breath. Totally unprofessional in every way.

That's my update. The issues were all branch and Chinese related.

That makes sense. The Thais dislike the Chinese immensely.

[elektrified]

I had to go to my home branch of Kasikorn Bank the other day. It's the main branch. I only usually need to go there once a year or so. Any way while I was in there, there was a loudmouth older American guy complete with gold chains and bracelets, white leather shoes, etc. trying to open a new account there, bragging about how much money (always referring to USD and not Baht; like many Americans do) he was going to put on deposit.... He became absolutely livid when the woman - I think she is the manager there, told him that he must sign a U.S. tax form before he could open an account. He quite loudly and rudely exclaimed "What's this?" and dropped the form on her desk. At that point my queue was called but after I finished my business I saw him get up and storm out uttering "this is bullshit" with many Thais staring at him. Some people will never learn how to behave in Thailand.

[NancyL]

I had to go to my home branch of Kasikorn Bank the other day. It's the main branch. I only usually need to go there once a year or so. Any way while I was in there, there was a loudmouth older American guy complete with gold chains and bracelets, white leather shoes, etc. trying to open a new account there, bragging about how much money (always referring to USD and not Baht; like many Americans do) he was going to put on deposit.... He became absolutely livid when the woman - I think she is the manager there, told him that he must sign a U.S. tax form before he could open an account. He quite loudly and rudely exclaimed "What's this?" and dropped the form on her desk. At that point my queue was called but after I finished my business I saw him get up and storm out uttering "this is bullshit" with many Thais staring at him. Some people will never learn how to behave in Thailand.

Obviously the man was a newcomer, so maybe he will learn how to behave in Thailand.

He apparently hadn't heard that EVERY bank in Thailand complies with the U.S. reporting requirements so he will be asked to sign this form every place where he tries to open a bank account.

[CMBob]

....Some people will never learn how to behave in Thailand.

I'd only alter your sentiments by saying that it's likely the guy behaves like a jerk in every country. And he'll learn (maybe) that he's not going to open a bank or brokerage account in this country without filling out one of those forms (and the form asks for minimal information with the important addition of one's social security number so the bank can report interest earned back to the IRS).

[arunsakda]

I had to go to my home branch of Kasikorn Bank the other day. It's the main branch. I only usually need to go there once a year or so. Any way while I was in there, there was a loudmouth older American guy complete with gold chains and bracelets, white leather shoes, etc. trying to open a new account there, bragging about how much money (always referring to USD and not Baht; like many Americans do) he was going to put on deposit.... He became absolutely livid when the woman - I think she is the manager there, told him that he must sign a U.S. tax form before he could open an account. He quite loudly and rudely exclaimed "What's this?" and dropped the form on her desk. At that point my queue was called but after I finished my business I saw him get up and storm out uttering "this is bullshit" with many Thais staring at him. Some people will never learn how to behave in Thailand.

He should go back to the US and to open an account without providing SS number.

Perhaps this is another newcomer who has not been following what has been developing with FATCA over the last few years. 2015 they started with Indian Americans, who have stashed vast sums, properties and businesses in their homeland.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/nris-in-news/fatca-prompting-us-nris-to-sell-property-in-india/articleshow/50226526.cms

Perhaps this is another one of those gormless clods who believes he will come to Thailand and pull a fast one on the US tax authorities , ex-wives, and creditors. Hiding the pittance of income he earns in interest from Thai banks, renting out Condos casually without paying tax to anyone, or the soon to be failed business he intends to start.

For sure though making a scene and swearing in public is bad form anywhere. In Thailand casting a shadow of negativity on all expats.

A low variety of Farang scum and rubbish, in white leather shoes.

Edited April 24, 2016 by arunsakda

[gt162]

What branch of Bangkok Bank told you this and what type of visa do you have?

I suspect it was a branch not used to dealing with foreigners. If you look at the Bangkok Bank website under "Foreigner Customers - Opening an Account" http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

You'll see that there are several options to verify your identity with Bangkok Bank. A "reference letter" from your embassy is indeed one option. (I don't know of any embassy that would write such a letter!) or a reference from your home bank or a person known to them. I've served as the "person known to them" as reference for several people opening accounts at the Kad Suan Kaew branch since I'm a long-time customer with what they consider to be an acceptably large amount on deposit. The Kad Suan Kaew branch is very foreigner friendly and interested in opening accounts for people who intend to be long-term residents. They especially like the 800,000 baht accounts used to justify retirement visa extensions.

And yes, for many people Bangkok Bank is indeed the best bank to use, esp. for U.S. retirees and others who receive regular payments from the U.S. that they'd like to have direct deposited into their local Thai bank account. Bangkok Bank has a commercial branch in New York City, so you can use the U.S. ACH system to transfer funds as if Bangkok Bank was a U.S.-based bank. It's easy to use internet banking with your U.S. bank to transfer money into your Bangkok Bank account too and avoid expensive wire transfer fees.

No other Thai bank is tied into the U.S. ACH system this way. (ACH is automated clearing house system where use the routing number and account number to direct a funds transfer)

Thanks Nancy for the good and needed info.

What happens if my US banks has Thailand as my mailing address. Will they close my accounts or do I need a US address or mail forwarding mail box?

Edited April 25, 2016 by gt162

[NancyL]

You should ask your U.S. bank about their policy of maintain accounts for customers with foreign addresses. I do know that some investment firms won't maintain accounts for people with foreign addresses and some credit card companies won't send new cards to foreign addresses.

In general, it's a good idea to keep a U.S. mailing address. We use a commercial mail forwarding service. You can do a Google search using those terms to learn about "mail forwarding service" to learn about the benefits of having one. Ours is located in Florida, so as far as our U.S. credit union is concerned, we have a Florida mailing address -- a street address. The mailing service accepts our mail, scans and emails an image of the envelop and we tell them if they should hold that piece or dispose of it. Periodically, at our request, they bundle the mail and send it to us. We specifically selected a service that will forward mail via both USPS and DHL so that we can order goods from Amazon/Drugstore.com/eBay/etc and have goods shipped to us via USPS since it's well-known that shipping goods via that route is less likely to encounter problems with Thai customs. Not all mail forwarding services will use USPS.

I think this is more reliable that imposing on a friend and relative to forward mail. I've seen too many cases where an expat has set this up as a way to handle their mail without thinking about the long-term implications. Friends and relatives age, get divorced, move, go on holiday and can become unreliable over time. Commercial mail forwarding services don't.

[arunsakda]

Think I have the same service, Sarasota?

[NancyL]

Think I have the same service, Sarasota?

No, Miami. Florida has many such services.

[FolkGuitar]

I was at the bank today (my usual branch of the Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew,) and noticed that there is now a sign stating that an additional form 'may be' required to open an account if they don't know you.

There are several alternative methods:

1. They know you already....

2. Someone they know vouches for you...

3. A form from your consulate...

4. A form from Immigration

[NancyL]

Bangkok Bank Kad Suan Kaew is one of the sponsors of the CM Expats Club. In the past, it has been our practice for one of the officers to introduce new lifetime members to the staff of BB-KSK if the new members has asked for help in opening an account for the purposes of transferring funds from their home country to obtain a retirement visa. This has fulfilled their requirement "No. 2" as listed in FolkGuitar's post above.

Recently, BB-KSK asked us to supply a written letter that they could put in the applicant's file at the bank. Last week, the Board of CEC developed such a letter, as a service for its members. It verifies identity of the member, date of joining CEC and reason the member has told us s/he wishes to open an account at Bangkok Bank.

Apparently, BB-KSK is under pressure to have a document trail in an applicant's file these days.

[scottiejohn]

I was at the bank today (my usual branch of the Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew,) and noticed that there is now a sign stating that an additional form 'may be' required to open an account if they don't know you.

There are several alternative methods:

1. They know you already....

2. Someone they know vouches for you...

3. A form from your consulate...

4. A form from Immigration

Add to the above;

Letter from your bank addressed to the branch you wish to open your account at. It worked for me!

PS I was never asked for 'proof of address' just asked what my address was. I just shewed a business card with the address in Thai on it. It worked.