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Will the recent announcement regarding bank account restrictions in Thailand affect foreigners?

Sep 15, 2025
7 months ago
Chris *****
ORIGINAL POSTER
Really? I mean will it be unlocked so quickly? ๐Ÿ˜…

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TLDR : Answer Summary
This conversation highlights concerns among expats regarding the freezing of their bank accounts in Thailand. It notes that recent policy changes primarily benefit Thai citizens, leaving foreigners facing long delays in resolving similar issues. Responses indicate a growing frustration over the perceived inequality in how these banking issues are handled, suggesting that while Thai citizens may see quicker resolutions, foreigners are left waiting and affected financially.
Troy *********
The country of Thailand will wake up and start catering to retirees instead of Chinese . Hey that rhymed.
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Cris ******
So... thais get an immediate fix... within a few days of this happening to them. But foreigners are currently still sitting on weeks and weeks of frozen accounts. For no reason... k
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Joann ********************
I called today to inquire about my account still frozen. Was told someone would call me in 7 working days. lol
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Walrus *******
Will withdraw mine. Moving house went to removers money and blocked. All day at local bank. Maybe 3 days..cost
*****
baht for storage and extra work. Compensation? What's that
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Warren ******
Bangkok bank will suffer if all expats with drawl there money and go to a different bank
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Lye **********
@Warren *****
most local banks would suffer if expats withdraw their money out of Thailand and go somewhere else.
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Lye **********
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Maksym ***********
And, this decision will also increase pressure to Foreigners because banks become more strict in regulations, because they have less rights and more responsibility each time ๐Ÿ˜‰
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Joe **********
Nope. It's a solution for Thais now, as they started to complain...nothing for foreigners, same thing, still and unfortunately....
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Brandon ************
As previously mentioned, this literally has nothing to do with you or any of the other foreigners whose bank accounts are frozen. This is about THAI accounts.

You can see they clearly said this is only for people whose accounts are frozen based on suspected illegal activity which is not what Bangkok Bank is doing.
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Chris *****
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
Noted on your viewpoint but I believe differently. I believe BB broadly froze many accounts due to the BB branch in Pattaya which was caught by authorities allowing Chinese national tourists to open new accounts. Let me find the article link.
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Brandon ************
@Chris ****
It's not a viewpoint. It's LITERALLY in black and white right there. Thai people are complaining, that's the ONLY reason this is in the news. All the reactions from the government are for Thai people. They do NOT care about foreigners. This "system" to unlock the accounts is not for foreigners. It's for Thai people whose accounts have been frozen based on suspected mule activity.

Bangkok Bank is asking people to come in with their visas and passports, and such. That has nothing to do with mule activity, that is KYC (Know your customer) as clearly stated in the picture I posted. That is NOT covered by any of this 4 hour etc.
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Brandon ************
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