Thai Bank accounts

[azza33]

Just been looking at Bangkok bank site and it appears opening savings account for tourist is a lot easier now.
Perhaps this is old new?

How do I open an account if I'm not a Thai resident?
Foreigners ..... even a tourist visa can open a savings account with Bangkok Bank at any of our branches nationwide.

I am a tourist and want to deposit and withdraw cash while I am traveling in Thailand. Can I open an account at Bangkok Bank?
Yes, you can open a 'Resident Baht Account' and make transactions via any Bangkok Bank's counter or you can apply for a Be1st debit card to use within Thailand. This account provides you with access to your funds from any ATM machine in the country however, you will not be able to access your funds from overseas

This is taken from Bangkok banks FAQ
- seems a lot easier than before as long as you are holding a 60 day tourist visa and not the visa on arrival.

[f0xxee]

Hi Azza,

Its a pinch of piss matey.... All it takes is your passport to get a US dollar Account at the Yellow bank (Bank of Ayudhya) and even easier at Kasikorn. Money is withdrawn in baht through the ATM of USD if required over the counter.

Bangkok bank are seeking customers and the newest bank, Thanachart or T-bank are trolling hard for Falang deposits.

or whats it's worth I am pretty happy with the B of A service and nothing has gone missing to date!

[azza33]

The foreign currency accounts were always available (lots of fees i thought) - and no way i'd want a USD account these days

I'd prefer a baht account which now seems more freely on offer.

After getting 22 baht to the dollar during the peak of the GFC , i wanna put a few dollars over there now that its back above 30 (for the aussie)

[PigDogg]

Nice thing about Bangkok Bank is that Americans can make ACH transfers via the New York branch for 10 bucks and on the Bangkok end there's 500 baht charge so about 800 baht total.

Think there's a similar scheme for Brits with the London branch.

[cheesy]

i opend a account last year with bangkok bank and they wanted somebody with authority to be my garountor and they would not give me a account untill i had this so i went outside and got a police of the street told him i would give him some money if he would help me.
no problems then.
i did this on a tourist visa

[Jerome]

haha

[Ivor Biggun]

For any Brits/Euros who have an account here's a link to the London Branch of Bangkok Bank. http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok....UK.aspx It's the only mainstream Thai bank with a branch there as far as I'm aware.

[rxpharm]

While this is an old thread, there are some updates that need to be posted. Many Thai banks have made it more difficult for foreigners to open a bank account. Most now require that an foreigner be a resident of Thailand - ie: long term stay visa (retirement visa), work permit/work visa, property owner (ie condominium)

Bangkok Bank is one of the few remaining Thai banks that is not as strict.

Here are there requirements:

You can open a savings account at any Bangkok Bank branch.

Minimum Deposit 500Bt

Required Documents

For Thai nationals

Thai Citizen ID card or another photo ID card issued by the government

For foreigners

1. Foreigner with a Work Permit

Passport
Work Permit

2. Foreigner with Long-stay or Tourist Visa

Passport and one of the following documents:

2.1 An official document from another country, such as a document from the
relevant agency giving evidence of the customer's right to receive pension
funds, OR a letter of reference from one of the following:

Embassy or international organization
Customer's home bank to Bangkok Bank via the SWIFT messaging network
Person acceptable to Bangkok Bank e.g. branch officer, customer, government officer or company executive
Educational institution located in Thailand and acceptable to the bank
Company that is acceptable to the bank, confirming the customer is in the process of getting a work permit


2.2 Other documents that show the name of the customer e.g. a document
showing the ownership of real estate in Thailand such as a unit in a
condominium

3. Foreigner with Permanent Residence in Thailand

Passport, or Certificate of Residence, or Alien Certificate
House Registration

Note that you should also apply for internet banking at the same time - and also check for minimum account balance required to keep the account active. Some banks will close an account if not active for more than x months if it is below the minimum balance.

To apply for Bualuang iBanking, either visit any ATM with your ATM or debit card, or print out an application form to take into your nearest branch.

Foreign customers registering should provide their passport and evidence of a local residential address (not PO Box or Hotel), as well as a list of accounts to be registered.

Need help? You can quickly find answers to a number of common questions about Bualuang iBanking in our Frequently Asked Questions section

[Road Runner]

While this is an old thread, there are some updates that need to be posted. Many Thai banks have made it more difficult for foreigners to open a bank account. Most now require that an foreigner be a resident of Thailand - ie: .....property owner (ie condominium)

Note that you should also apply for internet banking at the same time - and also check for minimum account balance required to keep the account active. Some banks will close an account if not active for more than x months if it is below the minimum balance.

I would add a few details to Rxpharm's post.

If you purchase a condominium make sure that your name is entered onto the property booklet when you buy it - for a falang it will normally be a yellow book.
My booklet has not been ammended correctly - but it does have Herself's name on it so she can get accounts registered to her.

In my case the appartment charge, electricity and water are in my name despite it not being in the book?
If the property book does not have your name it will be useless to get an account unless the bank makes a mistake.
If they do give you an account on a wrongly completed book your money could be at risk!

Another 'trick' is that each month your bank will often deduct an adminstration fee for 'looking after' your account.
It is usually quite small, but if you only have a small amount left in the account you will quickly find that your balance is zero and then they close your account.
It happened to one account that I had and it has happened to two of Herselfs accounts.
She gave them s#*t on the phone and in the local branch but it made no difference.

Finally my experience of internet banking in Thailand has been that it is worse than useless.
I have had accounts with Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial and Kassikorn. None were truely accessible online.

All insisted that to do anything worthwhile I had to present myself at my local branch - ie. in Bangkok for the Bangkok Bank, Pattaya for the SCB and Mukdahan for the Kassikorn in order to do anything.
Bizarrely although the the Bangkok Bank did not offer any real internet access other than to check the balance in Thailand or the UK, the account could be operated in the UK almost as a normal UK account - but I had to either go to London or write a letter for every transaction I wanted to complete.

Herself has accounts with Kassikorn and the Thai Farmers Bank. The Thai Farmers are at least honest enough to admit that they don't do internet banking.
In the case of Kassikorn she went into her local branch to pay a simple bill and said 'Internet banking - for what?'

RR.

[Rockheart]

Here is the latest bank account information from Bangkok Bank.
They have a product called Foreign Currency Deposit (FCD)

FCD allows you to keep your money in an account in your home currency.
When you need to take out Thai Baht you can simply transfer some money from your FCD account to your Thai account.
The conditions seem very easy for anyone to open an account, even on a tourist visa.
You would need your Passport certified, a letter of reference, or a long term lease worth more than 100,000 baht.
So an apartment at 10,000 baht per month would be sufficient, but not even necessary.
Looks pretty easy.
https://www.bangkokbank.com/-/media/.../fcd_expat.pdf


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