Why don&#x27;t banks allow tourists to open limited bank accounts in Thailand?

Andrew *********

Why do tourists need a bank account ?

Banks (worldwide) have claimed down since well for a good few years now. New banking regulations worldwide due to money laundering, fraud, scams and illegal workers and businesses. Its not something new right now. Bangkok bank weren't supposed to be opening accounts for tourists but turned a blind eye to the rules.

Sunshine ********

it will open to money laundering and all sorts of illegal activities. It's bigger than u think it is...

Greg ********

Not commercially viable - banks are a business.

Biff *******

It’s not just foreigners on tourist visas that are facing difficulties with Thai bank accounts. Lots of Thai people are having their accounts scrutinised, restricted and closed. There are signs in Thai in many branches warning customers not to let other people use their accounts. The restrictions we’re seeing now are part of an overall tightening of banking regulations due to the misuse of accounts all over the country.

The rules are quite strict, it’s just now they’re being enforced.

Jussi ********

It's normaly almost everywhere in the world,, not account for turist.

Where you can get account if only turist, what country ?

Elías ********

in many countries you can get a bank account as a tourist

Jirka ********

easy to everywhere…europe, usa, australia, zealand…with long term visa like that, everywhere

Jussi ********

@Jirka *******

but not with turist visa, same here in Thailand, DTV is turist visa

Mr *******************

Thailand allows other long term tourist visa holders to open bank accounts.

Jussi ********

Mr 5 Bank Accounts what kind of visas ? DTV visa is turist visa

Reply to

Jussi ********

Mr *******************

it's a five year visa. I know it's technically a tourist visa but it's 5 years and many people will be living here on it. Elite is also a tourist visa, incidentally, so it's not all tourist visas.

Most countries will give bank accounts to someone who is living there for five years. Many will give accounts to people who aren't, including tourists.

Anonymous ******************

Mr 5 Bank Accounts It's a 5-year tourist visa that doesn't require you to show up at immigration each single year to renew it... Add to it the very easy requirements during application in comparaison with most other visas, DTV doesn't bring any guarantee to banks.

David *******

Mr 5 Bank Accounts wrong - I don’t know of any country that allows non-residents to open bank accounts

Mr *******************

@David ******

plenty do. Singapore and Hong Kong, for example. In the DTV case we are talking about someone who very well may be resident though, on a 5 year visa.

Reply to

Mr *******************

Bruce **********

USA

Reply to

Bruce **********

John *****

It's incredibly unlikely that anything anyone says here will make a difference. Anyway, notice how you're suggesting a very limited account. It seems like people are accepting all this excessive control everywhere that didn't exist in the past.

Anonymous ******************

@John ****

Not allowing tourists to have bank accounts is not exactly "excessive control" - it's banks protecting their own interests against those doing the wrong thing

John *****

Anonymous participant 839 I'm married to a Thai so it shouldn't be a problem for me, but I sympathize with the others who do have the problem. DTV holders can stay almost the whole year in Thailand so while they are defined as tourists who would not be eligible to apply for PR later they still are completely able to set up base in Thailand for 5 years.

John *****

Anonymous participant 839 I guess you like inconvenience and the idea of guilty before proven innocent.

Anonymous ******************

@John ****

Don't quite see the relevance of guilty before innocent. Banks are entrusted with billions of dollars, why would they put solid customers at risk? Problem with many expats is they have a sense of entitlement

Reply to

Anonymous ******************

Kaler *******

They don't care hehe 😆

Sylvia ********

@Kaler ******

can you tell me which countries allow non residents to open bank accounts? My account of over 30years has been closed in the UK as they found out I no longer living there although my pension was being credited monthly

Greg ********

HSBC allows overseas residents. They hve my Thai address.

Paul *******

They shouldn't be doing that if you're a UK citizen and then there are non-resident accounts. Don't make the mistake of assuming every country is the same. Thailand was fairly lenient in the past, but is now very strict.

Actually, Thailand was always VERY strict on outgoing international transfers, unlike western countries.

Proving where the funds are coming from and for foreigners, generally requiring that you're on a work permit and you can only remit a maximum per year equivalent to your salary.

Transferring money abroad from a European or Australian bank account is so easy...while there is a maximum daily limit, all you need to do is specify a simple reason when you make the transfer such as "savings" or whatever you want and the transaction goes through. No need to show payslips or other ridiculous proofs.

Kaler *******

wise account. Or go to Singapore. But I used Binance , Visa card and Cash 😁.

Anonymous ******************

You have to look at the terms and conditions of the respective account in the UK. I maintain a UK bank account, but I have a UK phone number and address, and I visit usually once a year

Paul *******

Anonymous participant 839Yes, important to maintain some sort of mailing address over there, then it's OK but again, like you said, depends on the type of account you have.

In Switzerland for instance, non-resident accounts operate in much the same way as resident accounts, except you have to pay a monthly charge of CHF30 for account maintenance, which covers the sending fee for correspondence to your overseas address.

Of course, it's not like you receive much correspondence to justify this high cost, but that's Switzerland for you.

Ordinary resident accounts will cost anywhere from CHF5-20 so the only difference is that you pay a little more.

However, some banks will only issue a secured credit card to non-resident account holders (except possibly residents of neighboring countries such as France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy). Liechtenstein is generally considered a domestic domicile actually.

Reply to

Paul *******

Wille ***********

You already have that option with Truemoney Wallet. With the DTV you can unlock an advanced account which is basically what you describe. I just did it 2 days ago and it works fine.

7 hours ago

Idan ******************

@Wille **********

They didn’t approve my request. Which documents did you use?

Elías ********

@Idan *****************

the DTV printed PDF and a photo of the last entry stamp on my passport.

Wille ***********

And yeah, you have to choose "Non O" visa, even though you are applying with DTV. There is no option for DTV right now. Just FYI.

Wille ***********

1. Take a photo of your DTV visa in paper form. TrueMoney does not accept screenshots, digital copies, or photos taken from a phone screen. It must be a printed paper original, and all visa details must be fully readable.

2. Take a photo of the page in your passport with the entry stamp. The entire page must be visible, including the stamp clearly showing it is a DTV visa. If only part of the page is shown, your application will be rejected.

3. Photograph the payment receipt for your DTV visa. This is the receipt you received after payment through the eVisa system. Print it out and take a photo — digital versions from email are not accepted. Again, the entire paper must be visible.

4. Provide your workplace. Many encounter issues here because TrueMoney requires you to select an option under “Workplace in Thailand.” However, the DTV visa is not linked to any employer. The solution is to choose “Freelancer” as the category and enter your home address in Thailand as your workplace. This is the only way to proceed further.

Reply to

Wille ***********

Anonymous ******************

Many DTV holders appear cash-strapped. You see many posts where applicants borrow money from parents to cover the 500k, and others asking how long it has to stay in there, and do they have to show it every time they bounce. They're not exactly a prime target for banks to invest time and money in, which is probably another reason why banks are flicking them

7 hours ago

Andrew *******

Anonymous participant 839 i mean that’s horrendous speculation lol. You’ve seen a handful of applicants posting that online, and I agree I’ve seen it often enough aswell, but that’s probably an incredibly small percent like less than 5% of applicants. The same could be said for retirement visa or any visa where you need to show funds

Anonymous ******************

@Andrew ******

I don't know where you get the 5% from. I see so many posts in this group from people asking the cheapest Muay Thai course, the cheapest cooking course, the cheapest dentist. Digital Nomads forever seeking a "space" with free WiFi. Come on, the DTV was created to bring money into the country, but it's failed to do that. It's all about "cheap"

Anonymous ******************

@Andrew ******

Maybe but retirement visas and others require showing the money on a yearly basis and it's pretty restrictive. Plus, when you add all the other documents and annual checks required by immigration, it makes non-immigrant visas much safer for banks. The DTV doesn’t have those requirements. Risk VS Benefits ratio.

Reply to

Anonymous ******************

Paul *******

Anonymous participant 839 Not at all. How many retirement visa and marriage visa holders don't have the funds needed and use agents to get their extensions?

The reason banks are generally not allowing DTV holders to hold bank accounts especially during the current tumultuous period of crackdowns is because there is no consensus between government agencies on what the DTV is.

It's a special category visa that is sort of like a long term tourist visa but sort of isn't. It's not defined as a non-immigrant visa, hence why banks are avoiding it for now.

In time, some clarity might emerge.

Paul *******

Paul James Bank officials previously were making a tidy sum in backhanders from cash-strapped retirees. Now they're putting a stop to it. That's why accounts are being frozen and customers booted. They're of no value to the banks

Reply to

Paul *******

Michael ********

Anonymous participant 839 💯