diff --git a/electrum/gui/qt/settings_dialog.py b/electrum/gui/qt/settings_dialog.py
index e895d17af..1db118e6b 100644
--- a/electrum/gui/qt/settings_dialog.py
+++ b/electrum/gui/qt/settings_dialog.py
@@ -225,6 +225,17 @@ class SettingsDialog(WindowModalDialog):
         unit_combo.currentIndexChanged.connect(lambda x: on_unit(x, nz))
         gui_widgets.append((unit_label, unit_combo))
 
+        thousandsep_cb = QCheckBox(_("Add thousand separators to bitcoin amounts"))
+        thousandsep_cb.setChecked(bool(self.config.get('amt_add_thousands_sep', False)))
+        def on_set_thousandsep(v):
+            checked = v == Qt.Checked
+            if self.config.amt_add_thousands_sep != checked:
+                self.config.amt_add_thousands_sep = checked
+                self.config.set_key('amt_add_thousands_sep', checked)
+                self.window.need_update.set()
+        thousandsep_cb.stateChanged.connect(on_set_thousandsep)
+        gui_widgets.append((thousandsep_cb, None))
+
         qr_combo = QComboBox()
         qr_combo.addItem("Default", "default")
         msg = (_("For scanning QR codes.") + "\n"
diff --git a/electrum/simple_config.py b/electrum/simple_config.py
index 862f9d946..2c207db07 100644
--- a/electrum/simple_config.py
+++ b/electrum/simple_config.py
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ class SimpleConfig(Logger):
             self.decimal_point = DECIMAL_POINT_DEFAULT
         self.num_zeros = int(self.get('num_zeros', 0))
         self.amt_precision_post_satoshi = int(self.get('amt_precision_post_satoshi', 0))
+        self.amt_add_thousands_sep = bool(self.get('amt_add_thousands_sep', False))
 
     def electrum_path(self):
         # Read electrum_path from command line
@@ -659,7 +660,7 @@ class SimpleConfig(Logger):
             except:
                 pass
 
-    def format_amount(self, x, is_diff=False, whitespaces=False, add_thousands_sep=True):
+    def format_amount(self, x, is_diff=False, whitespaces=False):
         return format_satoshis(
             x,
             num_zeros=self.num_zeros,
@@ -667,7 +668,7 @@ class SimpleConfig(Logger):
             is_diff=is_diff,
             whitespaces=whitespaces,
             precision=self.amt_precision_post_satoshi,
-            add_thousands_sep=add_thousands_sep,
+            add_thousands_sep=self.amt_add_thousands_sep,
         )
 
     def format_amount_and_units(self, amount):