Day C18: Account Opening Success!

August 7, 2023

As I biked out of Pattaya city proper, it was a very familiar ride. The rolling hills and tailwinds would propel me along for the first 10km, then it would flatten out. The biggest hill began right after the Laem Chabang port and it climbed all the way to a nice little spot where I figured a break was in order.

I really didn't care much about a bank account by this point, strangely enough. So many other successes had already been done. Getting the condo back online, solving the electricity dilemma, procuring that ownership document, and more.

I had a half-hearted plan to try a circuit of banks in Chonburi and see what happened. Instead though, I noticed a whole bunch of banks on the left side of the highway while sailing through Si Racha. Out of curiosity I stopped at the first one. It was called GH Bank.

I hadn't a clue what this bank was so I took a number and waited, then went online to research. Turns out it's a government housing bank that provides loans to low income earners. Totally the opposite of what I wanted so there was no point in waiting. But I asked the clerk anyway if they had a general bank account and she said yes but they wanted a work permit. Forget that then.

The next one, Krungthai Bank, same speech and result.

While whizzing down another hill, I saw this yellow bank called Krungsri and slammed on the brakes. I remembered back in Bangkok it was the bank that I gotten the furthest with, and they even said I could open an account with a 30 day stamp. The only sticking point was they said I had to apply in Chonburi province, not Bangkok. Well right here was a Krungsri bank in Chonburi province, so why the hell not try.

The staff were friendly, and at first they wanted a work permit. That's always how it goes. I politely explained my case and showed all the documents. She wasn't sure what to do. She kept saying, "Your visa." I told her, "I don't have a visa", and I had explained to her earlier why not. I said, "People need a bank account to apply for a visa, and you're saying I need a visa to apply for a bank account."

She then asked if I was retired. "Mai retire" I told her, not retired yet.

She then asked for a Thai drivers license. Same problem: you need a visa for a drivers license and a drivers license for a visa.

I sensed she geniunely wanted to help me out and was looking for loopholes. She asked, "Do you have an international drivers license and ID card?" I did actually. Surprisingly, it worked.

What happened next was a tortuous series of phone calls, with the dreaded word 'Mai dai' coming up many times. Basically it means we can't do it.

Then it was more questions, more phone calls, then I needed to sign a bunch of stuff. Then it was no, then it was yes, then more phone calls. Then no, then more signing, then maybe, then photos, then no, then maybe, and then a whole bunch more signing, then yes.

This was all causing me to nearly have a heart attack but I had to keep my cool. This whole thing had gone on for over 2 hours.

In the end I got an account with debit card, passbook, and access to the app which allows for international transfers back and forth. At some point in the process I read the terms and conditions and it explains why my earlier Bank of Bangkok account closed during covid.

The account will close if the customer does not request a new card before the expiry date.

Essentially it means I should have applied for that card replacement way back pre-covid as I knew it was going to expire. But what does it matter now, I have a new account and will keep a close eye on things and manage it far better than the old one.

Both her and the manager got a big wai from me after this was all done. These guys were truly heroes.

I had to take a picture so I could remember where this was. This was now my home branch.

For that matter, Si Racha just became one of my new favorite spots in Thailand. It was always a great stop, and conveniently located right along the Bangkok-Pattaya highway. For bike rides back and forth, it always ended up being a place to grab food or relax on the long journey.

There is just something about the vibes here that are so relaxed and happy. If you asked me back then if I would be biking the other direction and successfully opening a bank account 15 years later, I would not have believed it. What better place than to enjoy on future trips. Fun fact: it is the home of the famous Si Racha hot sauce.

I ended up so gobsmacked that this actually succeeded, the result was I got disoriented and not sure where to bike next. All the while, it occured to me that the infrastructure was already set up for foreigners to open bank accounts. Forms were all in English, including the lengthy terms and conditions. The app was in English too, including the debit card itself. Put simply, the system could readily process foreign applications. So it begs the question, why can't foreigners open bank accounts in Thailand? The only answer I could think of is politics.

At some point I realized I was famished and needed more food before biking to a minivan station. That done, I folded the bike and got on. The minivan driver only wanted 100 baht, including the bike, but there was a catch.

The catch was the driver dumped me on the side of the highway about 3km away from my destination before the end of the BTS line. This meant I had to cycle on the motorway portion which was entirely dangerous, and then find a gap in traffic to move over the the frontage road.

But it didn't matter. With a combination of a minimalist backpack and a folding bike it wasn't much of an issue for me.

Today was super successful in and out of itself.

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