Everyman

On 6/10/2025 at 8:18 PM, renaissanc said:

To be quite honest, change your bank to Kasikorn or SCB before you leave. Those are modern banks. Krungthai and Krungsri are old-style banks. They probably even use manual typewriters still. I've used SCB for many years. Their online app is very good.

The restrictions on transfer amounts to those banks is enough reason to avoid them, by itself. 

Kasikorn is very popular. I often pay freelancers with scan pay and they have the KBank app 75% of the time. 

On 6/8/2025 at 9:58 PM, Brick Top said:

It causes a big problem for people who live abroad . I know one of my customers hasn't been to Thailand for 6 years and has to send funds via the online banking  to pay her electricity and water and maintenance payments for her Condominium. 

She did have the app , but has changed her phone and you cant reinstall the app outside of Thailand 

 

Also if you have the app already and go back to your country for a few months and change or lose your phone , you have to go to the Thai bank in person to have the app installed back on your replacement phone. So If your in your own country and want transfer funds from your Thai bank  , you wont be able to.

I don’t know about other banks, but I managed to move the Bangkok Bank app to a new phone in Australia when I got one there. 

19 minutes ago, ukrules said:

I heard it only applies to people who are physically inside the US at the time of the transfer and has been criticised by many due to this being a huge gaping loophole.

 

The whole bill is an ugly mess. Congress should just let the tax cuts expire. The government needs more revenue. 

What I find weird in the press in that when criticizing the bill they call the tax cuts “for the rich.”

Yet when the consequences of allowing the cuts to expire are discussed, they say it would raise everyone’s taxes. 
 

It surely can’t be both. 

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

 

I have a particular practical gripe with the Thai banking apps... apart from not liking to do personal banking stuff and having to do typing for that on a small 6 inch phone screen.

 

On my phone, I use several very essential for me extensions that require the use of "accessibility services" in Android to be turned on. And, the Thai banking apps don't allow that, meaning, every time I want to use the banking app, I have to go into my Android settings and turn off 3-4 accessibility service settings one by one, and then go back and re-enable them when I done with the banking apps...  It's just an ANNOYING HASSLE!

 

 

Sounds like you need a better phone. 

3 hours ago, CallumWK said:

 

No they are not.

 

I have a friend who has a good friend working at immigration (not a desk officer)

Another friend had an issue with an extension, and had his previous extension done by an agent.

They went to see the IO, he simply glanced at the stamp in my friend's passport, and immediately knew which agent had done the extension

yes because the immigration officer’s name is written on it. 

12 hours ago, zz4096 said:

 

Who know what the OP's motivation is for starting this thread. It's seems to be a common theme; someone starts a thread about an issue they're having and someone immediately claps back with "well I've been here a thousand years and never had any problems so you must be doing something wrong". 

I put more stock into such threads when there is a technical explanation rather than a social one. For instance, I have never had a problem with Wise, but I always use the phone app and never transfer from a PC.

I do see people claiming they “have been in Thailand 30 years and never been ripped off by a taxi or tuk-tuk.” I am sure those people are lying, probably about being in Thailand at all. Thai people are regularly ripped off by taxis, so maybe those enlightened foreigners can teach Thai people how to do it. 

That sucks but it clearly only affects money sent by non-U.S. citizens. Still I had to find a different article to read that, since the NY Times article kept blathering on about Africa instead of the details of the bill. 

So for US citizens sending money to Thailand it will mostly be a matter of proving US citizenship. 

Still, better the bill not pass at all. 

On 6/1/2025 at 10:33 PM, redwood1 said:

 

What?.....We just have to wait?

 

What is this groundhog day or some thing....

 

The very first day they announced the taxes....Everyone on this forum agreed we will 'JUST HAVE TO WAIT" for the details..

 

6 months later...we will 'JUST HAVE TO WAIT"

 

1 year later...we will 'JUST HAVE TO WAIT"

 

Going on 2 years later...we will 'JUST HAVE TO WAIT"

 

Folks any momentum this tax had at the beginning has long long ago been frittered away....

 

The Thais realized some time ago that they got in WAY over their head (hopelessly so)  

with trying on this income tax, especially with the farang expats...

 

So any of you thinking   we will 'JUST HAVE TO WAIT" for clarity...

 

I think you will ' HAVE TO WAIT" for a VERY VERY long time....Most likely forever...

Exactly. We waited. Nothing happened. Story over. 

16 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

So you think Bangkok Bank has a lot of dodgy accounts?

 

It was a branch of SCB in Pattaya where the four employees were found to be involved with improperly setting up accounts for foreigners who did not qualify.

 

 

That's quite a blinkered view. Just as some Thai bank employees may be dishonest, I would suggest the amount of dishonest foreigners living in Thailand is far, far higher.

 

 

Why does a bona fide tourist need a bank account in any country where he doesn't live?

To avoid the 250 baht ATM fee. Is this a serious question? Did you just wake up with a hangover ?

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

But agents can still open accounts most likely, so anyone dodgy will just use an agent

I doubt that will work anymore, if it’s even worth the risk. And if it’s still possible it will be a lot more expensive.

I’ve been expecting that this would happen, eventually. 

That said, the rumors that it will affect other nationalities are just rumors at this point. Until they aren’t.  😟 

Since there is speculation in the article, I speculate that all foreigners will have to show up at a branch and show one of those three types of documents, as a once off, or have their accounts closed.

That will affect me since I opened my BBL account with a work permit in 2005, but I no longer have it and I am still too young for a retirement visa, am not married and don’t own a condo. 

Edit: Maybe I will get lucky and they will only close accounts opened in the last few years or something. 

It asked me for a scan when I first tried to set it up. Two days later asked again. And again. Two days later again . i gave up 

17 hours ago, LosLobo said:

 

Wait — you asked yourself a question just so you could answer it and call everyone else dishonest. That’s very clever.

Then you said:
“Saying tax rates are lower on the second is just dishonest.”

But the second rate is 2%. The first is 5%.
So you’re literally saying it’s dishonest to state that 2 is less than 5?

That’s not an argument.
If your logic can’t survive its own example, it might be time to rethink the point.

Seems reality has been optional for some folks for a while now.

what the hell are you talking about 

1 hour ago, LosLobo said:

 

You're right to be paying attention. The sharp drop in the S&P500 last night did line up with the weak 20-year bond auction — a clear sign that investors are growing uneasy about U.S. fiscal policy.
 

What’s spooking the market isn’t just the size of the debt, but who benefits from the proposed budget. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” pushes massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy while slashing key social programs. It's projected to add $4–5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Bond buyers are starting to balk — and when bond demand dries up, yields rise and stocks feel the pressure.
 

It’s not just about one bad auction — it’s about a creeping realization that the U.S. might be entering a structurally unsustainable fiscal path. If that continues, we could see more of this volatility.
 

Definitely a week to watch.
 

And here’s the kicker: this legislation isn’t just fiscally reckless — it’s a full-scale economic realignment. It guts support for the working majority while handing windfalls to billionaires. That might please a few donors, but it risks hollowing out the base of the U.S. economy — the very people who keep demand alive. The market’s not driven by fairness, but it does care about instability. And right now, it smells smoke.

Calling the  Trump tax cuts “tax cuts for the wealthy” has always been total nonsense. It comes down to, which is more? 5% of 50,000 or 2% of 500,000? 

The latter is more in absolute terms, even though the percent is larger on the first value. But saying tax rates are lower on the second is just dishonest.

If the tax cuts expire (and they should, it’s the best option) then watch how fast the narrative shifts to describing it as a tax increase on everybody. Nobody will even mention “the rich.” 

7 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Right, if you bought money in last year and were a resident then you owe tax on it - don't make the mistake that you don't because you do. Until they get around to changing it then the announcement back in 2023 stands.

 

I wasn't a Thai tax resident in 2024 and I won’t be in 2025. 

On 3/21/2025 at 1:58 AM, Moonlover said:

Wise has to care where the money is coming from because they are required to do so by the regulatory institutes. Just like banks they required to report any suspicious activities.

 

One factor that I note from the O/Ps post is that he kept a large sum of money, 'over 5 figures of assets' in his account. (What ever that means) Why I wonder? Wise is set up to transfer money, not as a depository. That's what banks are for. It's that sort of unusual activity that the regulars are likely to pick up on.

 

I only deposit money into my Wise account when I wish to make a transfer and it is usually only there for as long as it takes to complete that transfer, a matter of minutes.

 

That's what Wise does and they are very good at it and I'm happy to continue using them.

 

 

It always seemed unwise to use Wise for amateur Forex trading. As if we know what the baht or other currencies will do anyway. 

Best not to hold currency with them. They are not a bank. Just have them deduct funds as needed from a real account when sending money. 

That pink bank is crap. My friend has an account there that he has to use because he works for the Thai government. He complains about it constantly. 

This app looks completely pointless. Why would I want convert foreign currency into some crappy card? 

If it worked like WeixinPay or Alipay in China where you can link it to a foreign credit card, that would be useful. 

Although the foreign bank tends to freak out and it requires a few phone calls to explain what is going on. 

Sorry about your experience.

It seems consistent with the experiences of others in that there is no consistency from TRD and one should stay away from them if at all possible. 

It especially dumb in the case of long term resident visas because these are supposed to be the “high quality foreigners” that Thailand is looking for.

Im outside the Kingdom at the moment but judging from the news there’s been general change of sentiment and Thais are really turning against foreigners in general. 

On 4/25/2025 at 11:54 PM, Dexxter said:

 

I agree. Imagine having to bend the rules so you can put YOUR money into a bank that can then make life difficult for you, or even keep your money, because you "broke the rules". Not worth the risk.

 

I have never bothered getting a bank account in Thailand although my wife does have one into which I remit funds from overseas. I don't have the urgent need to use QR codes or even my credit card. I just use cash for everything, my wife pays our utilities from her account and I pay the monthly rent using Wise for direct transfers from my overseas account to the landlord. Who needs a bank?

Apparentjy your wife needs one. You’re just using her account. 

My BKK Bank account is registered to a phone number that is also registered to me. I have not received any such notification. I am overseas at the moment, outside Thailand. 

7 hours ago, advancebooking said:

I logged onto my ktb app on the phone. Opened the travel card icon to see my travel visa card. It offered a new card. I tried to order but no I cannot get it because Im farang. 

 

I called the head office. They said they only offer to thais. Maybe they make annoucement in June this year but unsure. 

 

Do you have a travel card with any other bank in Thailand. I think they are really useful to load on any currency you want. 

 

Any other options for us oldies living in Thailand. Any other type of card that one can use for travelling abroad?

 

thanks

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