Frozen Thai bank accounts

[Dodger]

....Meanwhile, it shouldn't have happened to him, and probably most others, in the first place.

It would be hard to find anyone who would disagree with that position, including the Bank of Thailand who apparently got off their asses and took some action.

If what they're saying is true - accounts should not be frozen for more than a day or so going forward - and customers with suspect accounts, who may have their accounts frozen, are now being notified ahead of time. Not doing this in this first place would be considered illegal in most modern countries.

I have 3 bank accounts in Thailand for two primary reasons: 1) If a Thai bank ceases operations due to liquidity - funds are only insured up to one million THB at any one bank per account holder, and 2) This is Thailand. And in the event that banking systems go down at any one bank I always have a backup bank for accessing funds. This current banking disruption being a perfect example.

Thai banks (I'll avoid mentioning any one in particular) have just learned a hard lesson. It's impossible to control money launderers, phone scammers, and mules, who use the banking systems to launch their criminal activities - while, at the same time, partner with crooked agents to facilitate the opening of fraudulent accounts (insufficient funds for immigration compliance). It just doesn't work that way. And now they're caught in an avalanche of their on making.

Understanding that 95% of these people are Buddhists you'd think that they'd have a better handle on the concept of "what goes around-comes around"...

TIT

[Gaybutton]

If what they're saying is true - accounts should not be frozen for more than a day or so going forward - and customers with suspect accounts, who may have their accounts frozen, are now being notified ahead of time. Not doing this in this first place would be considered illegal in most modern countries.

As it should be. What's that typical detective show cliché - "Follow the money". Yes, follow it. Don't freeze and sit on it. I don't know how much manpower they have for that or how many accounts ought to be followed, but that is certainly not the fault of people doing nothing wrong.

I too hold several Thai bank accounts, for reasons you specify and other reasons, but nothing illegal or sinister. My reasons for doing so are my own business and I certainly should not have to explain those reasons to anyone, including those who might be considering freezing any or all of my accounts. Fortunately for me none of my accounts were frozen, but until this blows over I have to wake up every day wondering if today that is going to change.

You wrote "And now they're caught in an avalanche of their on making." That is true and a good way to put it. Whatever their reasons, it was a bad, very bad, decision. I'm sure if the banks had to pay compensation to people whose accounts were wrongly frozen, they'd be real quick to reopen the accounts and real careful about whose accounts to freeze.

See also September 16 "Headline News": viewtopic.php?p=118968#p118968

[Jun]

I had my mobile banking turned off all of a sudden with no explanation whatsoever. It took me two days of visiting the bank three times and Truemove office once, and then had to wait several days more to have it turned on again. All this to "verify my telephone number" which I already verified several years ago when I got it and showed passport, as well as verified to the bank when I got mobile banking.

Which bank ?
It seems ludicrous to me. I'd imagine that like many farang, your account shows a pattern of regular income from overseas and fairly regular expenditure on living costs. Now how could that be mistaken for anything shady ?

I'm sure if the banks had to pay compensation to people whose accounts were wrongly frozen, they'd be real quick to reopen the accounts and real careful about whose accounts to freeze.

I'd be surprised if that happens. The whole regime in Thailand seems geared towards supporting big business at the expense of the consumer.

[Gaybutton]

The whole regime in Thailand seems geared towards supporting big business at the expense of the consumer.

In this case I'd say it backfired. It not only hurt the consumer, but also hurt the reputation of the banks. I'm waiting for any news reports saying this has been a really good idea, has been highly successful, and people are pleased. Something tells me I'm going to have a long wait.

[Dodger]

One thing's for sure. There's one very large bank (I'll avoid naming them) who are going to be hurting when this thing is over.

Based on what I'm reading (and hearing) many customers of the culprit bank are rushing to open new accounts at other banks. Some are closing their accounts with the culprit bank altogether, and others are just opening accounts at other banks to have a backup. Banks like Kasikorn, SCB, etc. have to be celebrating. In any case, the culprit bank is getting a real financial ass-kicking and this will probably go on for months if not years.

I use the term "culprit bank" with the understanding that many, if not all of the other banks will have to go through a similar housecleaning of accounts, but the bank I'm referring to as the culprit has a reputation for working very closely with visa agents who creatively assist new customers open accounts.

With this banking clamp-down getting into gear I wonder what it will do to the tourist numbers?

TAT can't be happy right now, because a sizeable percentage of those visitors TAT has been counting as "tourists" are simply criminals coming here to lay the groundwork, who, if the banks and other government agencies do their jobs right, won't find Thailand such an "easy touch" anymore when it comes to money laundering, banking scams, and setting up mule-trains, etc.

I'll just stick to my motto: Do things the right way (legally)...let them deal with their own problems...and just continue enjoying life in LaLa Land.

[Jun]

One thing's for sure. There's one very large bank (I'll avoid naming them) who are going to be hurting when this thing is over.

Based on what I'm reading (and hearing) many customers of the culprit bank are rushing to open new accounts at other banks. Some are closing their accounts with the culprit bank altogether, and others are just opening accounts at other banks to have a backup. Banks like Kasikorn, SCB, etc. have to be celebrating. In any case, the culprit bank is getting a real financial ass-kicking and this will probably go on for months if not years.

I'd quite like to know if the problems are almost entirely at the one bank. The one based in Silom. Particularly as my account is elsewhere. Has anyone actually heard of accounts being frozen elsewhere ? My Kasikorn account has not been frozen.

Also, it's highly unprofessional freezing accounts without evidence of actual criminal activity. If there's some minor problem with phone accounts not matching bank accounts or something, issue warnings first !

I see no reason why anyone should not be permitted to open a bank account, providing it is used for legal activity. If you spend several months per year in Thailand, it's handy for avoiding ATM fees and making payments via the app etc.

As for "tourist numbers", well banking is so important, I think that should be a separate topic.

[Gaybutton]

I'd quite like to know if the problems are almost entirely at the one bank.

If there's some minor problem with phone accounts not matching bank accounts or something, issue warnings first !

My understanding is the problem exists for all Thai banks.

Regarding phone numbers, they do issue warnings before taking any action - at least they're supposed to.

[Jun]

My understanding is the problem exists for all Thai banks.

Whilst the problem could be at all banks, have you or anyone else heard reports of people having problems at specific banks ?
AseanNow isn't exactly full of people saying "I had a problem at bank XYZ", so it's difficult to know what's going on.

Also, what's the end game for frozen accounts ?
If a customer has legally earned funds in a bank account, surely no civilised country can deny that customer access to the money indefinitely ?
I'd hope they either have to restore access to the account or close the money and refund the cash.

There seems to be no thought at all about this.

For what it's worth, my Kasikorn account is not frozen.
If I move to Thailand, I'll do the same as Dodger and open an account at a second bank. Even in the UK, I maintain 2 current accounts and at least 2 credit cards, so there are back up options.

I'm quite keen to keep the Kasikorn account. For a start, if I withdraw cash from a UK bank account, the Thai ATMs probably charge 200 baht.
Most UK banks have a ridiculously low £300 (13,000 baht) ATM limit, so that would be a 1.5% increase in my costs. So I haven't withdrawn cash from a UK account in Thailand for well over 10 years.

[Dodger]

I found the video linked below very insightful:

https://www.google.com/search?q=integri ... tKq78,st:0

[Gaybutton]

have you or anyone else heard reports of people having problems at specific banks ?

I don't know anyone personally who has had any problems, but even if I did I would not post the name of the bank and would not permit anyone else to do so. Sorry, but Thailand has weird defamation laws and I'm not going to take the risk, no matter how minor it may be, of finding myself on the wrong end of a lawsuit.