Is This Really A Bank?

[chiang mai]

I was in Bangkok for a couple of days this week and needed to transfer 300,00 Baht from my HSBC account to my Bangkok Bank account in Chiang Mai so as to be able to make some forth coming payments easier to manage. Since HSBC and BB are right next door to each other in BKK I figured I'd get a cashiers check from HSBC and then nip next door and deposit it with BB. The first part went fine and I got the cashiers check which cost me nothing - in BB however was where the problems began.

A succession of staff examined the check as if it were alien matter and murmured how they would need to hold the check for four days whilst it cleared to make sure it wasn't stolen or a forgery. Also, they would have to charge me 350 baht for the privilege of depositing it into my account. Finally the manager was summoned and she repeated the same story. What if I took the check back to Chiang Mai and deposited it there, would they still need to hold it for four days and charge me 350 baht also I asked? Yes came the answer. Okay, tell me what I have to do to get 300,00 from the bank next door into this bank without you ripping me off for 350 baht plus having free use of that money for four days I asked. Well sir she replied, you could take the check back next door, ask them to cancel it and give you 300,000 in cash and then bring it back here for deposit. If you do that we you can have access to the funds tomorrow, not today, tomorrow. But we'll still have to charge you 350 baht but your branch is up country and that's a long way away. Alternatively you could take your 300,000 on the plane back to CM and deposit it and there will be no charge (assuming I didn't get mugged somewhere along the line).

I'm not sure you really understand how banks work I said. Banks make their money by lending to customers and this is financed by the banks deposits. If you make it difficult for customers to make deposits surely you will go out of business - she smiled! I gave up and started to leave. As I neared the door she came after me and said there is another way to solve the problem, you could open an account here and you'll have no fees to pay and access to the money tomorrow. Why would I want two bank accounts with you I asked and before she could answer I said okay, let's do that. May I have your passport please and we'll open the account in ten minutes. I don't have my passport with me I replied, it's back in CM. Sorry she answered, no passport, no new account.

Don't you just love Thailand!

[sibeymai]

yeah, same bas_tards who promised they'd loan me money to buy a house then reneged after I paid the deposit. needless to say I didn't get my deposit back.

[tijnebijn]

I got a same kind of experience lately.

Went to check out at measai border,need (IF THEY ASK FOR)money to show for a non-O,also got my mother with me,so 40k together in our pockets.Well after the visa,we went to SCB,and they work in the same way.I stay in CM province, and like you proberly know Maesai is in chiangrai province and went to the shopping centre(CR) there and wanted to put the money back in the bank account,and the same you said ,if you bring it with you to cm,no problem but we have to charge you.

Far away????

It's a bank isn't it,really rediculous indeed,so now I understand (BANKS)all have the same policy.

Thanks for writing,so i can understand SCB is not the only bank who does that.

[TAWP]

Thai banks still charge like it was the 1940s and there didn't exist any computer-network (WAN) for every bank-company...here.

[tijnebijn]

yeah some things really are still old fashioned,it's still a third world country on this subject.Did not know that TAWP.I got a lot more educated when I started reading thaivisa.

[Axel]

Cheques (cashier or others) can be deposited with funds credited once made available. Takes 1-3 days, up country longer.

So the only problem here, SCB does not trust HSBC, or perhaps have no agreements on each others' cheques, which would include samples and signatures.

Handling fee? Baht 350 sounds a bit steep although only 0.0012 %. For this amount SCB has to send the cheque back through clearing to get the money.

Perhaps remittance would have been more efficient.

[jbsears]

I have a BKK Bank account. The one thing that bothers me with them is that I can't deposit my check at the small branches. I went to the small branch at Big C Metropolitan and wanted to deposit my check into my savings account. They said I would have to go to one of the big branches like Siam or Phayathai. I didn't understand what they were there for then. I asked them what they do at the location and they had no response for me.

[wintermute]

This is precisely why I don't bank in Thailand. It's filled with too many shady regulations, the customer service actually works against you, and there is little to no oversight for foreigner accounts.

[singa-traz]

Needed a Credit Card and Applied in Bangkok Bank.

The staff kindly explained me that there was no problem, I could apply for the card, and would only be required a fixed deposit of the same amount as my credit limit

Bank Policy ...

I questioned the definition of Credit Card to the staff, who felt a bit embarrassed.

[MiG16]

cant comment on the how or why...but can just tell you that every thai bank charge baht 10 for every baht 10,000 transferred between one province to the other. plus a handling fee of bht 20. so as per your bht 300,000 amount that needs to be transferred (bangkok to chiangmai) they would charge 300 + 20 = 320 bht. i pay that when needing to make transfers too.

[TAWP]

One of my adventures: Wanted to apply for a VISA-card that could be used to pay things online too. Should be easy enough, everyone back home can get them, only requirement being that they have a pulse.

So down we go, tell the lady what I want and she hands me a card. Without credit ofcourse, since I don't need it. "Yes, it will work online."

Ofcourse it didn't.

Went back, talked to the other woman handling cards. She cut the first card, and we did the whole thing again.

Ofcourse the new card didn't work.

Got tired and called the customer service.

"No, only credit cards [not VISA debit cards] work online."

That was just how it was, only those cards was offered with that feature.

And I didn't wanted credit - due to inheritly bad bank-security here in Thailand and since it requires a Work permit.

So now I have got a very fancy ATM-card, more or less. Yes, it can be used in some Thai store, which I never will do anyway...

Added: Should perhaps add that I do have a VISA-card, but since I have a local account too and money wanders in to that account aswell, I wanted a locally based VISA-card aswell...

Edited January 26, 2007 by TAWP

[astral]

I banked with BBL for years, but gave up.

Too few tellers and ATM's and too many long queues.

PS there is local clearing for each region, possible province

so cheques are usually cleared within 24 hours..........

Between the Thai banks.

Not sure if this will include HSBC.

[petedk]

Needed a Credit Card and Applied in Bangkok Bank.

The staff kindly explained me that there was no problem, I could apply for the card, and would only be required a fixed deposit of the same amount as my credit limit laugh.gif

Bank Policy ...

I questioned the definition of Credit Card to the staff, who felt a bit embarrassed.

Uhmm... I applied for a Visa card and had 2 million Baht in the bank. I was told "Sorry, without a documented income of 80,000 baht per month foreigners cannot have a credit card".

I also agree that banks here are 20 years behind Europe. I have had 2 or 3 cheques sent from England and when I deposited them in the bank took about 6 weeks to clear. I complained several ties only to be met with " In process , sir. Please wait". I lived in Denmark for a few years and similar cheques were cleared within 2 days.

[singa-traz]

Needed a Credit Card and Applied in Bangkok Bank.

The staff kindly explained me that there was no problem, I could apply for the card, and would only be required a fixed deposit of the same amount as my credit limit laugh.gif

Bank Policy ...

I questioned the definition of Credit Card to the staff, who felt a bit embarrassed.

Uhmm... I applied for a Visa card and had 2 million Baht in the bank. I was told "Sorry, without a documented income of 80,000 baht per month foreigners cannot have a credit card".

...

Should have written "In addition to all the existing requirements (income/WP, ...), a fixed deposit of the same amount ...

[farangsay]

This is not a "bankers in Thailand' thread , they

are same same everywhere. I won't bore you

with my experience with bankers in Western

countries but I can affirm that in England

they changed their name by deed poll but

got a discount because they were only

changing one letter.

[naka]

I banked with BBL for years, but gave up.

Too few tellers and ATM's and too many long queues.

PS there is local clearing for each region, possible province

so cheques are usually cleared within 24 hours..........

Between the Thai banks.

Not sure if this will include HSBC.

HSBC does not belong to the Thai Banking Network. This probably had something to

do with Chiang Mai's costs/delays.

These banks do.

* Bangkok Bank

* KASIKORNBANK

* TMB

* Siam Commercial Bank

* Bank of Ayudhya

* Krung Thai Bank

* Bank Thai

* Siam City Bank

* GHBA

* UOBT

* SCBT

* GSB

* Thanachart Bank

Naka.

[Johpa]

I'm not sure you really understand how banks work I said. Banks make their money by lending to customers and this is financed by the banks deposits.

Not exactly, many retail banks catering to individual checking & savings accounts make a good part of their profits on such fees as you are discussing.

At least things have improved so that it no longer takes weeks for money wired from abroad to reach a Thai based account although many banks charge far more these days for such international transfers, around $40 last time I checked at Bank America. So no need to get your panties out of alignment over a 350B fee.

[chiang mai]

I'm not sure you really understand how banks work I said. Banks make their money by lending to customers and this is financed by the banks deposits.

Not exactly, many retail banks catering to individual checking & savings accounts make a good part of their profits on such fees as you are discussing.

At least things have improved so that it no longer takes weeks for money wired from abroad to reach a Thai based account although many banks charge far more these days for such international transfers, around $40 last time I checked at Bank America. So no need to get your panties out of alignment over a 350B fee.

Big sigh!

[penguin]

Bangkok Bank, don't know how they stay in business myself. When l banked with them you always had to set aside half an hour just to make a deposit, the line was always out the door, any time, any day of the week. I closed my account when asked to pay 100 baht service fee to deposit 10,000 baht cash into my account which was in another branch 80 kms away. I bank with SCB now, not perfect but at least the local branches have enough tellers so that l'm usually done in a few minutes.

[eljeque]

"As I neared the door she came after me and said there is another way to solve the problem, you could open an account here and you'll have no fees to pay and access to the money tomorrow. Why would I want two bank accounts with you I asked..."

You are absolutely right. You would have two bank accounts, but they would not be with this one branch as you stated. Branches are significant unto themselves. Branches in each area (province I think) are grouped into no fee agreements, as far as I can tell.

I live in Pattaya. I was paid for a deposit for a house by an SCB check for 1.4M baht from SCB Branch in Pattaya. I was going to BKK so I took the check with me. SCB on Suk Soi 3/1 wanted a couple of thousand baht to deposit. I chose to wait until I returned home. They suggested that I do so.

I had a SCB CREDIT CARD in 1993 worth 50,000 baht. I needed to make a deposit of 200,000 (4X) into a fixed deposit account earning about 8% / annum to secure it, and also have a specific account from where the card's charges would be deducted.

I do my best to have as little to do with the Thai banking system as possible.

[Heng]

cant comment on the how or why...but can just tell you that every thai bank charge baht 10 for every baht 10,000 transferred between one province to the other. plus a handling fee of bht 20. so as per your bht 300,000 amount that needs to be transferred (bangkok to chiangmai) they would charge 300 + 20 = 320 bht. i pay that when needing to make transfers too.

Yes. The OP may as well be asking why he/she sweats more in Thailand than in cooler climates. It's just the way it is. If HSBC were allowed to have a branch in Chiang Mai, there'd likely be a transfer charge as well.

That said, the fee for depositing cashiers checks from HSBC (and Citibank, and Deutsche Bank for that matter) into Bangkok Bank in Bangkok is zero. The clearing time in my experience is 1-2 days.

[Johpa]

Whether it is in Thailand or elsewhere, it is best to get friendly with the people in one particular bank branch and try to do anything that matters in that branch. Often the branch manager or assistant will waive some of the small fees knowing you are a regular customer and friend of the branch. And yes, in Thailand sometimes you have to travel with a whole lot of cash for depositing into your local branch instead of depositing the cash at the nearest available branch.

BTW, my wife and I have had a joint account at the same Bangkok Bank branch for over 20 years and have never had any problems.

[jEFFREYk44]

I prefer Kasikorn, I live a few hundred meters from their HQ, the tall building near Rama 9 bridge, and always get great service from their staff, very nice. Bangkok Bank and SCB are a joke, had an experience with Bank of Ayudhya that was nice

[tuky]

If, like me you do not have a work permit, your are in trouble.

[IMA_FARANG]

I was in Bangkok for a couple of days this week and needed to transfer 300,00 Baht from my HSBC account to my Bangkok Bank account in Chiang Mai so as to be able to make some forth coming payments easier to manage. Since HSBC and BB are right next door to each other in BKK I figured I'd get a cashiers check from HSBC and then nip next door and deposit it with BB. The first part went fine and I got the cashiers check which cost me nothing - in BB however was where the problems began.

A succession of staff examined the check as if it were alien matter and murmured how they would need to hold the check for four days whilst it cleared to make sure it wasn't stolen or a forgery. Also, they would have to charge me 350 baht for the privilege of depositing it into my account. Finally the manager was summoned and she repeated the same story. What if I took the check back to Chiang Mai and deposited it there, would they still need to hold it for four days and charge me 350 baht also I asked? Yes came the answer. Okay, tell me what I have to do to get 300,00 from the bank next door into this bank without you ripping me off for 350 baht plus having free use of that money for four days I asked. Well sir she replied, you could take the check back next door, ask them to cancel it and give you 300,000 in cash and then bring it back here for deposit. If you do that we you can have access to the funds tomorrow, not today, tomorrow. But we'll still have to charge you 350 baht but your branch is up country and that's a long way away. Alternatively you could take your 300,000 on the plane back to CM and deposit it and there will be no charge (assuming I didn't get mugged somewhere along the line).

I'm not sure you really understand how banks work I said. Banks make their money by lending to customers and this is financed by the banks deposits. If you make it difficult for customers to make deposits surely you will go out of business - she smiled! I gave up and started to leave. As I neared the door she came after me and said there is another way to solve the problem, you could open an account here and you'll have no fees to pay and access to the money tomorrow. Why would I want two bank accounts with you I asked and before she could answer I said okay, let's do that. May I have your passport please and we'll open the account in ten minutes. I don't have my passport with me I replied, it's back in CM. Sorry she answered, no passport, no new account.

Don't you just love Thailand!

You must be British. Only a Brit would quibble about a 380 baht fee for 300,000 Baht transfer.

I had a Thai friend who ran a guest house in BKK for some years.

There were two classes of rooms, one that was 300 baht a night, and another with a slightly larger room, a bigger fridge, and a double bed that went for 450 baht a night.

Just about every Brit who stayed there insisted that they should have the larger room and fridge at the 300 baht rate. Seems to be something in the national mindset that requires getting one-up on all the rest.

Some even asked to have the double bed moved out of the larger room to get the 300 baht rate.

Something to do with the "Channel fog stops ferry, Continent cut off from civilization" mindset.

[Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t]

I would have just got cash, I mean if they are right door to each other, just have them hand you three 100K stacks, walk next door and deposit... simple, easy, and no drama. I hate checks in Thailand traveler's cashiers, whatever they tend to act like you just handed them a strip of soiled toilet paper when they see it.

Mabey it's just me, but I find that it's rarely a pleasant experience.

[chiang mai]

I was in Bangkok for a couple of days this week and needed to transfer 300,00 Baht from my HSBC account to my Bangkok Bank account in Chiang Mai so as to be able to make some forth coming payments easier to manage. Since HSBC and BB are right next door to each other in BKK I figured I'd get a cashiers check from HSBC and then nip next door and deposit it with BB. The first part went fine and I got the cashiers check which cost me nothing - in BB however was where the problems began.

A succession of staff examined the check as if it were alien matter and murmured how they would need to hold the check for four days whilst it cleared to make sure it wasn't stolen or a forgery. Also, they would have to charge me 350 baht for the privilege of depositing it into my account. Finally the manager was summoned and she repeated the same story. What if I took the check back to Chiang Mai and deposited it there, would they still need to hold it for four days and charge me 350 baht also I asked? Yes came the answer. Okay, tell me what I have to do to get 300,00 from the bank next door into this bank without you ripping me off for 350 baht plus having free use of that money for four days I asked. Well sir she replied, you could take the check back next door, ask them to cancel it and give you 300,000 in cash and then bring it back here for deposit. If you do that we you can have access to the funds tomorrow, not today, tomorrow. But we'll still have to charge you 350 baht but your branch is up country and that's a long way away. Alternatively you could take your 300,000 on the plane back to CM and deposit it and there will be no charge (assuming I didn't get mugged somewhere along the line).

I'm not sure you really understand how banks work I said. Banks make their money by lending to customers and this is financed by the banks deposits. If you make it difficult for customers to make deposits surely you will go out of business - she smiled! I gave up and started to leave. As I neared the door she came after me and said there is another way to solve the problem, you could open an account here and you'll have no fees to pay and access to the money tomorrow. Why would I want two bank accounts with you I asked and before she could answer I said okay, let's do that. May I have your passport please and we'll open the account in ten minutes. I don't have my passport with me I replied, it's back in CM. Sorry she answered, no passport, no new account.

Don't you just love Thailand!

You must be British. Only a Brit would quibble about a 380 baht fee for 300,000 Baht transfer.

I had a Thai friend who ran a guest house in BKK for some years.

There were two classes of rooms, one that was 300 baht a night, and another with a slightly larger room, a bigger fridge, and a double bed that went for 450 baht a night.

Just about every Brit who stayed there insisted that they should have the larger room and fridge at the 300 baht rate. Seems to be something in the national mindset that requires getting one-up on all the rest.

Some even asked to have the double bed moved out of the larger room to get the 300 baht rate.

Something to do with the "Channel fog stops ferry, Continent cut off from civilization" mindset.

Sorry that you didn't enjoy the story or gain anything from it other than to make snide remarks about Brit's - you're very sad!

[pgs]

I've also had cause to query fees from time to time. Some of them I think are thought of on the spur of the moment 'farang special'. ;-) But, TiT. If we want to be here, we have to put up with their rules - no matter how crazy or annoying. Shame our homelands pander to foreigners better than to locals...

Query on banking if anyone can assist.

We have been trying to get the relevant infor from KTB for transferring money from here to our Thai account. Local branch (Chaiyaphum) staff have almost non-existant English skills past 'hello'. Even TW has trouble getting them to understand the info we need for our bank in Oz. Calls & emails to KTB HQ result in the usual 'privacy act, can't tell you' type responses. All we have asked for is the SWIFT details for the branch - surely this shouldn't be a 'privacy issue' we have the account number.

Can anyone fill in the blanks for me? Western Union has pathetic exchange rates on top of their too high fees.