Key Takeaways
- Only two things about this process are actually codified law: the USD 50,000 threshold for reporting an inward remittance, and the standard KYC document set. Almost everything else you will be told at the branch is bank practice, not statute.
- A director attending in person, holding a work permit, having a Thai signatory, or producing a lease are all reported practice, varying by bank and by branch, not by law.
- The most common frustration is a genuine chicken-and-egg problem: some banks expect the attending director to already hold a work permit, but a work permit application often needs evidence of the company, which needs the bank account.
- No bank publishes its actual account-opening criteria. Expect to try more than one.
In Detail
What is actually the rule
Two things here are codified and apply regardless of which bank or branch you deal with.
The first is the Foreign Exchange Transaction form. Any inward remittance of foreign currency, or a foreign-currency-to-Baht conversion, at or above USD 50,000 or its equivalent requires the receiving Thai bank to prepare a Foreign Exchange Transaction form (FET, formerly Thor Tor 3) and report it to the Bank of Thailand. This sits under Bank of Thailand foreign exchange control regulations.1 Below that threshold, a bank is not obliged to issue an FET. In practice it typically issues a credit note or advice letter instead, based on the SWIFT transfer documentation.1
The second is the KYC document set. To open a corporate account you need the company registration documents, the Articles of Association, the shareholder list, a board resolution authorising the account, and identification for directors and shareholders. This is required under general anti-money-laundering law and is consistent across every source we checked.2 That consistency is itself the signal that it is a rule rather than a preference: practice varies by bank, a legal requirement does not.
A 2026 headline reported the Bank of Thailand tightening documentation verification for large foreign currency inflows. We could not confirm whether this changed the FET threshold or process itself, or only described banks applying existing rules more strictly. Treat the USD 50,000 figure as current and treat the tightening claim as unconfirmed.3
What is bank practice, not law
Everything below this line is reported consistently across corporate service firms and law firms, and none of it is a national statute or a Bank of Thailand notification. It varies by bank and reportedly by branch and by the individual officer you get. Some of it you will be told is mandatory. Ask for it in writing, and if you cannot get that, treat it as negotiable.
A director attending in person at the branch is reported as close to universal, with remote or online opening described as unavailable for foreign-owned companies.4 Foreign-owned entities are also reported to face heavier KYC and anti-money-laundering scrutiny than a wholly Thai-owned company, and processing that is generally slower and harder than in Singapore.24
The chicken-and-egg problem
The single most common complaint in the sources we reviewed is this. Several banks are reported to expect the attending director to hold a Non-Immigrant B visa together with a work permit, or an LTR visa. A work permit application, in turn, often needs evidence of the company, which can mean a bank account or proof of paid-up capital. Each side of that loop wants what the other side produces.5
Owners commonly break the loop by sequencing an LTR or BOI-linked visa that does not depend on the work permit, or by using a Thai-resident authorised signatory to open the account first. Whether a Thai signatory eases account opening is itself only commentary. No source we checked could establish whether it is a formal bank requirement anywhere, a genuine workaround, or simply advice some corporate service firms give to sell their own signatory service.6
Other practice you will likely meet
Lease or office-address evidence, proof that the company has a real operating address, is commonly requested as part of the KYC pack, though it is not a codified bank-wide rule.7 A typical timeline, once a complete document set is submitted and the bank has no follow-up queries, is one to two weeks. That is not a regulatory service standard, and it extends when the bank asks for more, which foreign-owned applicants are reported to hit more often than Thai-owned ones.2
Where this connects to your registered capital
Banks are reported to require evidence of the inward remittance before they will credit foreign shareholder capital to the company’s account, which is the practical companion to the capital question in registered capital. Where registered capital exceeds THB 5 million, banking evidence of the share-payment remittance to a director’s account must be filed with the incorporation application, or within 15 days of DBD approval if a director cannot yet open a Thai account.8 Failure inside that window can leave the registration noted as unconfirmed for share-payment evidence, or in the DBD revoking the incorporation.8
Below THB 5 million, DBD Order 2/2569 sets a separate and lower bar. Where foreign shareholding is under 50 percent, or a wholly Thai-owned company has a foreign director with signing authority, the same kind of bank-statement evidence is required regardless of capital size.9
**Whether a Thai signatory requirement is codified anywhere.** Some commentary suggests it eases account opening. No source, for or against, could establish whether any bank or regulator treats it as a formal requirement.
**Banking practice generally is reported, not documented.** Our sources here are almost entirely provider and law-firm commentary describing what clients experienced, not bank policy manuals or Bank of Thailand notifications. No bank publishes its actual account-opening criteria, so every practice item above should be read as "commonly reported", not "confirmed rule at every bank".
**Whether 2026 brought a real tightening of FET processing** beyond existing rules, or only stricter enforcement of the same USD 50,000 threshold, could not be confirmed.
What this means for you
Prepare the full KYC pack before you book the first appointment: registration documents, the Articles of Association, the shareholder list, the board resolution authorising the account, and identification for every director and shareholder. Bring lease or office-address evidence even though it is not guaranteed to be asked for, because it costs little to have and can stop a first visit ending in a request to come back. If your registered capital involves an inward remittance near or above USD 50,000, know before you go whether the bank will issue an FET or a credit note, since that affects what paperwork you need on the Thailand side.
Being told no, or being told something that sounds like a hard rule, at one branch is not a verdict on your company. It is one officer’s application of practice that the next branch, or the next bank, may apply differently. Trying more than one bank is normal here, not a sign that something is wrong with your structure.
Before your first bank appointment
- Do you have the full KYC set ready: registration documents, Articles of Association, shareholder list, board resolution, and ID for every director and shareholder?
- Have you checked whether the attending director will be expected to already hold a work permit or a particular visa class at this bank?
- If that creates a chicken-and-egg problem, have you planned a visa route or a Thai signatory that does not depend on the work permit existing first?
- Do you have lease or office-address evidence on hand even if nobody has asked for it yet?
- If your capital comes in as a remittance near or above USD 50,000, do you know whether this bank will issue an FET or a credit note, and what evidence that leaves you with for DBD?
- If one bank declines or stalls, is your plan to escalate at that branch, or to try a different bank? The second is usually faster.
This article is one of twenty-four chapters. The complete guide adds six working tools: a registered-capital worksheet, an annual compliance calendar, an incorporation document checklist, a partner due-diligence checklist, a setup cost and timeline comparison, and a decision tree for choosing your structure.
Sources
9 sources for this article, 0 of them primary. Where we could not verify something, the article says so rather than estimating.
- DeeMoney, www.deemoney.com
- Emerhub, emerhub.com
- AIM Bangkok, aimbangkok.com
- Commenda, www.commenda.io
- Gentle Law IBL, www.gentlelawibl.com
- VBA Partners, vbapartners.com
- Tila Legal, tilalegal.com
- Nishimura & Asahi, www.nishimura.com
- PKF Thailand, pkfthailand.asia
This article is general information about doing business in Thailand and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Every figure is cited with its source and its date. Thai regulation is changing quickly and rules current at publication may change without notice. Confirm anything you intend to act on with qualified Thai counsel.