What happens to your bank account if....?

[USslugga]

Although I don't plan on getting kicked out of Thailand, this has been in my mind lately:

 

What if I was kicked out of Thailand for whatever reason (visa issues or the like), or I had to leave suddenly, what would happen to  all the money in my Thai bank account?  Would it be easy enough to get the money sent back home?  Would my Thai atm card work at any ATMs in America to withdraw money?

 

Assuming I was unable to come back to Thailand to go to my bank, how would I get all my money out of the Thai bank account?

 

Maybe these are dumb questions but I don't know the answers. 

[CharlieH]

Moved to "BANKING"

[Jingthing]

It's a really good question because such situations do happen.

You can of course go to your bank and get and/or confirm that your ATM card is set up to work internationally. 

But that doesn't necessarily mean it actually will when you need it.

I wonder if you could hire a lawyer remotely and give them power or attorney to deal with bank accounts. Of course, even if you could, it doesn't mean you could trust them. 

[CharlieH]

Thai Bank cards generally work in most countries.

 

The best place to ask this and your other questions is the bank concerned. BUT being Thailand you are pretty much guaranteed to get differing answers from differing people and branches.

 

My advice would be to email the head office and get your answers in writing from the "horses mouth" so to speak.

[CanuckThai]

I've used my Bangkok Bank ATM card in several countries...  Withdraw the funds at an ATM that accepts your ATM "brand"   (Interact/Visa/Plus/Interlink/UnionPay/Thai... etc  

[impulse]

I can't speak to the OP's situation, but I do have a personal experience when my visa status changed. 

 

When my WP expired, I decided to enter on visa exempt status.  I went to K-Bank to wire a small amount to a company in China to pay for some goods.  I was told that I cannot wire funds on any short term visa status.  This in spite of the fact that the funds were earned legally in Thailand on a WP, with taxes paid.   That was confirmed by the branch manager, and a phone call to the main office.  They all told me that it's a Thai law, and not a bank policy.

 

So, cautionary tale-- if you have a wad of money in a Thai bank, get it out of the country before you change your visa status from long term to short term.  Otherwise, you'll have to carry a bunch of cash with you, or use your ATM card to withdraw it overseas (with all the charges that go along with that).  Sure, if it's $10,000 or less- no problem.  But if you sold your condo, you may be stuck with a big wad of cash in Thailand and no good way to get it out.

 

Which also got me to wondering, if you're a tourist in Thailand and you need to wire a significant amount to someone in an emergency, how would you do it?  Fortunately, for me it just meant I didn't order the goodies from China.  But what if my niece working in Aus needed some hospital money?

 

Edit:  On an aside, I'd also suggest anyone whose WP is going to expire get their PR, retirement, or other long term visa sorted before your WP expires.  Once it expires, converting to another long term visa becomes a lot more complicated.  My plan was to wander around SEA a little before deciding whether to pursue a retirement visa (effectively locking up my passport and ability to travel while it's being processed).  That was a mistake.  

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by impulse

[nanglong218]

Thai bank cards cannot be guaranteed to work in Thailand. Using my SCB debit card with Mastercard today's 3k grocery bill in Tesco wouldn't compute after four attempts.  As a queue built behind me I opted for cash.  Last week was fine, next week will probably be OK. The technology here is a bit hit and miss.

If transfering a considerable amount back home look into forex companies,  Their charges are low and their exchange rates good.   After visa requirements I am left with too much cash in a Thai bank which, while probably solid, is not the Australian ANZ.     The exchange rates may move against me, I don't care,  I'll put my money where it is safest.

Can someone tell me the maximum THB  you can transfer out of Thailand?

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, nanglong218 said:

Thai bank cards cannot be guaranteed to work in Thailand. Using my SCB debit card with Mastercard today's 3k grocery bill in Tesco wouldn't compute after four attempts.  As a queue built behind me I opted for cash.  Last week was fine, next week will probably be OK. The technology here is a bit hit and miss.

If transfering a considerable amount back home look into forex companies,  Their charges are low and their exchange rates good.   After visa requirements I am left with too much cash in a Thai bank which, while probably solid, is not the Australian ANZ.     The exchange rates may move against me, I don't care,  I'll put my money where it is safest.

Can someone tell me the maximum THB  you can transfer out of Thailand? 

I thought you can't transfer any out unless it was brought in for a specific purpose like buying a condo and you have the paper work to prove it.

 

CASH is $10,000 USD undeclared and $50,000 USD declared was what I read here on this forum.

 

 

[catman20]

also maybe worth considering assets also such as houses condos cars etc.

[theoldgit]

15 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Thai Bank cards generally work in most countries.

Generally being the operative word, and generally they've worked for me.

However before a trip to Europe last month I telephoned my credit card provider to advise them which countries we'd be visiting, and that worked in all three countries.

I also called Kasikorn as they'd previously advised me to do so, they issue my debit card so that's my access to the funds in my Thai account. I tried to use it once to purchase train tickets in Austria and it was declined, I didn't try any more after that.
I used my offshore debit card issued in Jersey, I'd also advised them of our travels and my Thai credit card, both of which worked fine.

[Ks45672]

My Thai credit and debit cards were all rejected on amazon UK even though I told them In advance and they assured me it will work

 

Also rejected by the airlines to book a ticket from London to bangkok

 

Funnily enough it worked in Dublin Airport To buy breakfast in a McDonald's of all places.... ?

[Suradit69]

16 hours ago, CharlieH said:

My advice would be to email the head office and get your answers in writing from the "horses mouth" so to speak.

Not sure if you want to email your bank's head office asking what would happen if you were "kicked out" of Thailand. 

[Ks45672]

2 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

Not sure if you want to email your bank's head office asking what would happen if you were "kicked out" of Thailand. 

Bank manager would rub his hands together in joy..... 

[Farang99]

15 hours ago, nanglong218 said:

Thai bank cards cannot be guaranteed to work in Thailand. Using my SCB debit card with Mastercard today's 3k grocery bill in Tesco wouldn't compute after four attempts.  As a queue built behind me I opted for cash.  Last week was fine, next week will probably be OK. The technology here is a bit hit and miss.

If transfering a considerable amount back home look into forex companies,  Their charges are low and their exchange rates good.   After visa requirements I am left with too much cash in a Thai bank which, while probably solid, is not the Australian ANZ.     The exchange rates may move against me, I don't care,  I'll put my money where it is safest.

Can someone tell me the maximum THB  you can transfer out of Thailand?

On holiday in UK I found that some stores would accept my Bangkok Bank Visa card, while others rejected it. and sometimes got both reactions from the same store on different days. Always needed to carry a bunch of cash in case.

[Esso49]

15 hours ago, nanglong218 said:

Thai bank cards cannot be guaranteed to work in Thailand. Using my SCB debit card with Mastercard today's 3k grocery bill in Tesco wouldn't compute after four attempts.  As a queue built behind me I opted for cash.  Last week was fine, next week will probably be OK. The technology here is a bit hit and miss.

If transfering a considerable amount back home look into forex companies,  Their charges are low and their exchange rates good.   After visa requirements I am left with too much cash in a Thai bank which, while probably solid, is not the Australian ANZ.     The exchange rates may move against me, I don't care,  I'll put my money where it is safest.

Can someone tell me the maximum THB  you can transfer out of Thailand?

There could be 2 issues why the card did not work. Generally the card reader is as fault 90% of the time as the slot/card reader has become dirty.  All card readers,  like anything else , need to be maintained and cleaned.   An alcohol wipe does the trick but do they do that in any store here? Also never keep your card near your phone as it can become de-magnetised and will not work.

[Jonnapat]

My Bangkok Bank credit card has, over the years been taken to UK, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Australia. 

Never had a problem, maybe just been lucky?

[Seeall]

1 hour ago, Esso49 said:

There could be 2 issues why the card did not work. Generally the card reader is as fault 90% of the time as the slot/card reader has become dirty.  All card readers,  like anything else , need to be maintained and cleaned.   An alcohol wipe does the trick but do they do that in any store here? Also never keep your card near your phone as it can become de-magnetised and will not work.

type the number in, mag strip not needed

[scorecard]

18 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's a really good question because such situations do happen.

You can of course go to your bank and get and/or confirm that your ATM card is set up to work internationally. 

But that doesn't necessarily mean it actually will when you need it.

I wonder if you could hire a lawyer remotely and give them power or attorney to deal with bank accounts. Of course, even if you could, it doesn't mean you could trust them. 

 Further, why not telephone the call center of your Thai bank(s) and ask them direct questions. Perhaps even call, take notes, then e.mail the 'conversation' to the bank and ask for confirmation that the comments from the bank are correct / re confirmed and push for a reply, re-send the e.mail etc. 

 

A similar call to the Bank of Thailand (BOT) might also be worthwhile to get some information / learn what regulations might be in place in regard to this situation. 

 

 

I did the call and then e.mail once, years back with true visions, after some insistence they did e.mail a reply, saying that what the call center person had advised was incorrect.

 

Further, do you have a will? Is there a specific and workable appraoch in place in the case of your death, so that the funds can/will go to the folks you nominate, in your will? 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2018 by scorecard

[Tongjaw]

I have an Kasikorn savings account with ATM. I have used that card quite a few times overseas at ATM’s and had no issue. Countries I’ve used my Thai ATM are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Austalia, France, Germany and U.K. I did however go to my account branch prior to travelling and informed them I would be oversea so it would not be declined and swallowed up by a foreign ATM. 

[sitti]

I can speak from legal a standpoint (my father is a judge) that nothing will happen to your bank account if you get kicked out. Under any circumstance your bank accounts cannot be frozen without a court order. Immigration has no power to touch your account. And simple immigration matters won't grant the authorities such court order. You should be able to withdraw money as you normally could. Withdrawing from or transferring to abroad is an issue between you and your banks.

 

A very typical scenario I can think of is getting caught for drug trafficking. In this case, you wouldn't get kicked out but instead you get to stay in Thailand for a long time. Many foreigners checked into Bangkok Hilton for that. Court will most definitely grant a request from police and issue an order to freeze all your accounts.

[orientalist]

Although I don't plan on getting kicked out of Thailand, this has been in my mind lately:
 
What if I was kicked out of Thailand for whatever reason (visa issues or the like), or I had to leave suddenly, what would happen to  all the money in my Thai bank account?  Would it be easy enough to get the money sent back home?  Would my Thai atm card work at any ATMs in America to withdraw money?
 
Assuming I was unable to come back to Thailand to go to my bank, how would I get all my money out of the Thai bank account?
 
Maybe these are dumb questions but I don't know the answers. 

If you can, sign up for online banking. Then you have the option of transferring your money (with some limits) overseas or to a friend in Thailand.

I have used my standard Kasikorn debit card at ATMs in places like Kyoto, Mandalay and Luang Prabang without problems, but always within a few weeks of using it in Thailand (i. e. a normal vacation period. You might have problems using it overseas for over a month.

Sent from my cell phone using Thaivisa mobile app

[Lacessit]

It's unlikely someone would get kicked out of Thailand without any notice at all. My strategy would be to withdraw all my funds in baht, then buy gold. Yes, it would be discounted in other countries because it's not 99.99%; however, AFAIK one would not have to declare it when leaving Thailand.

[essox essox]

On 9/10/2018 at 3:53 PM, CharlieH said:

Thai Bank cards generally work in most countries.

 

The best place to ask this and your other questions is the bank concerned. BUT being Thailand you are pretty much guaranteed to get differing answers from differing people and branches.

 

My advice would be to email the head office and get your answers in writing from the "horses mouth" so to speak.

i have used my bank cards in atm machines in hong kong and macau being visa cards

Edited September 11, 2018 by essox essox
extra thought

[davidst01]

Set up an account with https://bx.in.th/THB/ETH/

 

Link your thai bank account with them. 

 

Transfer money when you are overseas to your account with bx. Buy bitcoin or any crypto. Send the bitcoin to any wallet overseas that you have set up. Sell that bitcoin on any exchange overseas. Fund it to your overseas bank account. Easy

[Jingthing]

14 minutes ago, MultiX said:

What I need to have Thai bank account?

Maybe you don't need one but most expats do.

 

I use for --

transferring money in to buy condo

immigration qualification annually

automatic payment of utility bills

convenience and economy of transferring in large amounts for local spending rather than rely on foreign ATM cards

Edited September 16, 2018 by Jingthing