Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Pink ID cards in the context of banking. For those who are unaware, yeah there is an ID card not dissimilar, so Thai nationals have an ID card. It's a blue ID card, it is a Thai national ID card, it is kind of powder blue. Every Thai national is going to have one of these. If you ever talk to a Thai national in Thailand and you ask to see their ID card, some of them maybe cagey about presenting it because it has a lot of their personal information on it, but yes every Thai has one of these.

Foreign Nationals can get one as well. As we have discussed in other videos, it is possible to obtain a Pink ID card. One of the major prerequisites that has been my experience associated with the Pink ID card is one needs to have what's called a Yellow Tabian Baan or a Yellow House Book. Tabian Baan means house registration. It's a book that basically you register that as your address. I look at it as like a sort of ongoing census if you will, it's just ascertaining who lives where and your registered address goes in your blue book. In the case of Thais, you get a blue book; Permanent Residents here in Thailand also get put into a blue book but those who are non-resident, excuse me, who are on a Non-Immigrant Visa I should say but who are living in Thailand, they have a residence, they have a domicile, they may be able to get themselves a Yellow House Book. Oftentimes you see this with Thai condo owners, it's not uncommon at all to see it associated with Thai condo owners.  Again, as we have discussed in other videos it is possible for foreign nationals to own a condominium outright here in Thailand pursuant to the provisions of the Thai Condominium Act.

The point of this video though is does a Pink ID card provide any advantages in terms of banking? I thought of making this video after reading the DPA website, that's the Deposit Protection Agency website, dpa.or.th. Quoting directly: "Foreigners with Thai Baht deposit accounts at member financial institutions in Thailand are also protected under the Deposit Protection Agency Act. However, "Non-Resident Baht Accounts" as defined in the Exchange Control Act B.E 2485 (1942) I'm not protected." Then they go on to define that. A "Non-Resident Baht Account" is a special type of deposit account denominated in Thai Baht that is used solely for transactions as specified in the Exchange Control Act. A "Non-Resident" means," and let's go to the relevant one for us, "Natural persons not of Thai nationalities and not having an Alien Identity or Residence Permit." So if you have an alien Identity or Residence Permit and they say either/or here, that's relevant. It's not and/or slash, it says "alien Identity or residence permits." We've already done a video talking about Residence Permits, those who have Permanent Residence, PR.

To be clear, this is not someone who is Tax Resident in Thailand per se and a Resident Certificate regarding taxation probably isn't going to get you over that threshold. I don't know. Again it is getting into kind of a gray area here. This video I am making as much for my own edification as others and I plan to be doing an even further deep dive hopefully to be able to do an updated video to talk about this in further detail. But I think, at least from the language on this website there is enough to suggest to me that is possible that those who hold for example a Yellow House Book and or a Pink ID Card may be eligible for insurance protections for their bank account due to the fact that they in fact hold an Alien Identity doc or Permanent Residence Permit, not having an alien identity, again well you are an alien, it is a piece of ID, your Pink card, as is a Yellow House Book as I have discussed in another video.

So again I think there may be something to the notion that those who are banking in Thailand that have such documentation may be able to avail themselves of insurance protection. That said, it remains a little bit opaque. I am going to continue to do some research on that and hopefully I will be able to update folks down the line. If anybody has any insight on this and wants to provide it in the comments below, we are always happy to hear that.