Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing banking in 2026. I like to take a moment at the end of the year to do kind of roundup videos. That's why I do a big tranche of videos where it's like, what's happening with this visa in 2026? What's happening with company set ups in 2026? Work Permits, whatever. It gives me an opportunity to do sort of a roundup and a redux if you will, to do a review of basic information for people who are new to this stuff. And there are a number of folks out there who are new this year to Thailand. There is every year. We see this primarily during high season. We see an influx of new people. They take a look around in Thailand, they say, "hey, I might want to live here." 

Well in the past, setting up a bank account could be a bit onerous and cumbersome; different banks had different rules. Moving forward, if you're coming into Thailand and you are here on a Tourist Visa, you're here on a Destination Thailand Visa, you're here on a Visa Exemption, even if you're here on a visa-on-arrival, Tourist Visa-on-arrival for example, you may not be able to get a bank account at all. In fact I would say that's a foregone conclusion. DTV Visas are specifically barred from obtaining bank accounts. Meanwhile folks with Tourist Visas and Visa exemptions are also barred from obtaining bank accounts. Banking this year has been a hot topic here in Thailand, unfortunately. We've had in my opinion all kind of undue influence from the outside specifically, World Economic Forum actors as well as these folks from the OECD who are coming in here in my opinion to subvert Thailand's sovereignty on the issue of banking, and tax for that matter, and all of this is kind of interconnected when you sort of understand the nuances of it; it all really is interconnected, this banking and tax policy stuff. 

That being said, yeah, it's been a hot button issue here, and there's been all kinds of talk of people having their accounts frozen, having to go in, make sure biometrics are done. How the account is set up will be very dispositive to how it is maintained over time and how many issues you have with it. As I have discussed in other videos, as well as in our paid news service which for folks who are interested in that, you can check that out by emailing us, [email protected], we can put you on the mailing list for long-form content, and that can be done by emailing us there. I get into a lot of stuff talking about expat land, banking, tax etc. If you're interested in a deeper dive on that, again email us, we will get you on the list for that. Also while I'm talking my book, my better half and I did set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. It's called Pancake Palace, as the name implies, it's breakfast anytime as well as American Diner style food. I really need people to understand; it's not just a breakfast place. I've noticed recently in the evenings, not a lot of activity whereas in the sort of morning, late morning, lunch time we do get quite a crowd these days. But again, we're not a breakfast place exclusively. We've got hamburgers, cheeseburgers, buffalo wings, chilli bowls, grilled cheese sandwiches; chicken wings, not necessarily buffalo wings if you're not into spicy. We've got potato salad, coleslaw, all the stuff that you like. If you're an American food enthusiast, please come check us out, again Pancake Palace, links in the description below; we'd love to see you. 

That said, going back to the main thrust of this, Bank Accounts in 2026. Again, I think if you are in the tourist categories and the DTV you are probably up a creek without a paddle in terms of trying to get a bank account open. Now for those who want to come to Thailand and live here, retirees for example, if you're looking to come here, get a bank account set up and you're finding a lot of this to be overwhelming, it's probably not a bad idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.