@Robert ********

Don't forget that Pattaya also accepted large sums of money from customers to manipulate accounts for the purpose of obtaining extensions of stay, and for opening accounts for tourists when this went against the bank's policy. So yes, the staff are absolutely to blame, but let's be realistic, so too are the customers

@Cris *****

You agreed to the terms and conditions of the account. Because of money laundering every bank contract now has a "freeze" option for suspicious activities on the account

@Jarmo ********

Booted because you don't meet the requirements to have a bank account in Thailand?

@Jay ******

On the contrary I think they're well aware of what they're doing. After being stung by a money laundering scam, they're now weeding out the customers they no longer want

@AK ******

I don't think it's "most" at all. The general pattern seems to be

✅ Opened since 2023

✅ Opened on a tourist visa

✅ Opened in Pattaya or Jomtien

✅ Opened with "help" from an agent

✅ Unusual activity on 800k lump sum

✅ Account holder's address is very far from branch where account is held

✅ Unusually high deposits/withdrawals on a regular basis

I'm not saying this is a comprehensive red-flag list, but it appears these are the warnings. I know about a dozen Bangkok Bank account holders, myself included who are totally unaffected. A figure someone quoted (and there's no reliable source, except a local manager) is BB has over 50,000 foreign customers in Thailand, and about 10,000 accounts have been affected

@Jarmo ********

I don't think they're afraid of losing a comparatively few foreign customers, but if you've been booted from one bank, would another bank be keen to take you on?

@Cris *****

Probably because you signed a contract to that effect?

@Stuart **********

Interesting. I'm certainly not, but I set my account up totally correctly, have never used an agent, never used the dodgy 800k method, and when summoned months ago for facial recognition scans I attended without fail. If you actually believe that other banks won't be auditing their accounts in the future, that's good for you! However, this is a worldwide shake-up and a lot of misinformed expats actually believe it's only Bangkok Bank!

@Wannikea ********

Because people love to over-dramatise!

@Bruce *******

Why change banks mid-stream when you know it could cause immigration problems?