Interest Bearing Accounts in Thailand

[ftpjtm]

With the new 800K requirement, I want to re-visit the issue of having an interest bearing account at a Thai bank.

 

I am an American and currently only spend 3 months per year in Thailand, so I get by with tourist visas so far. But at some point I would like to have a retirement visa of some sort. 

 

I have several IRA accounts (this is a retirement account which I am not able to withdraw funds from until I reach a certain age or I will be penalized by the US government) and I would not mind directing about 800K from one of those accounts into a Thai bank, if I was able to earn some income on it. I have no problem reporting that income to the US government, I'm not interested in trying to hide interest income from the US tax authorities. 

 

I have heard that most (all?) Thai financial institutions will not allow Americans to open interest bearing accounts, because they do not want to be bothered with the mandatory reporting to the US government. 

 

Does anyone know if Thai banks are prohibited from opening interest bearing accounts to Americans? Or are they reluctant to do so due to reporting requirements? 

 

Has anyone contacted Citibank in Thailand about this? They obviously would understand what reporting requirements for Americans area.

[Sheryl]

They are certainly not prohibited from it. Whether any are reluctant, I don't know.

 

All savings accounts in Thailand are "interest bearing" though at such low rates as to be negligible. Fixed deposits are better though not high - I too have been thinking of your approach and just surveyed it, best I could find was 2% for a 3 year FD at Krung Sri.

 

Most TV members have savings accounts and some also have FDs. People have had issues with some banks around visa status with some not wanting to open accounts unless the person had a work permit but I don't recall anyone having an  issue because of being American.

[skatewash]

Yes, you can open a bank account in Thailand.  It probably won't be easy but if persistent you will probably succeed.  Here's some good general advice on the process:

https://iglu.net/opening-a-bank-account-in-thailand/

 

Give it a try at one of the biggest banks (e.g., Bangkok Bank).  If you're unsuccessful, try to figure out the reason why.  With Bangkok Bank according to their online requirements, you can do so with an embassy letter or certificate of residence (issued by immigration).  You are unlikely to be able to get an immigration office to issue you a certificate of residence because you aren't here on a long-term stay (e.g., can't file 90-Day Reports).  For the embassy letter, it can just basically be a statutory declaration of your address.  It's not too important what it says it's important that it's stamped by the US Embassy and that it verifies that your passport is good and you are who you say you are.  This should help you establish your address for the bank.  If you have a Thai friend that can be helpful, especially if they have an account at that bank or high social standing (government employee, businessman, etc.).

 

As you probably already understand being a US citizen makes you an undesirable customer for a foreign bank.  The US government forces foreign banks to basically become auxiliaries of the IRS and for some reason, they seem to take this the wrong way! ????  That said, most foreign banks do have American customers in Thailand so it's possible if you help them overcome the hurdles.  You will be filling out a lot of extra IRS paperwork when you open an account in Thailand just because you are an American.  They will be very interested in your Social Security number.  Bangkok Bank wanted to see my actual social security card.  The point here is to make it as easy as possible for them to feel all warm and fuzzy that you are legit and won't cause them endless headaches if they open an account for you.  In other words, don't get pissy when they start asking you to fill in the IRS related paperwork.  If you want to get pissy with someone get pissy with the US government, the Thai banks are just executing proper CYA procedures.

 

You should definitely get an interest-bearing account and internet banking and an ATM/Debit Card (a MasterCard one, not a Union Pay one).  Try to make the experience as pleasant as possible for the people who work at the bank.  Seriously, be a mensch, not a jerk.

 

Be prepared to be rejected at some branches.  Soldier on.  You may run into a situation where you will be asked to purchase some sort of insurance or other product or they won't open an account for you.  You don't have to do this.  Try at another branch.  If you think it will help you to open the account you might want to mention what you will be using the account for (immigration purposes) and how much money you will be keeping in the account.  If you think you should buy some sort of insurance you might try the Bangkok Bank Accident Insurance Smart Plan which covers motorcycles (one of the few that does) which is available for a couple thousand baht.  Again, you don't have to, but if you think it will get you the account it is not a worthless product to have.  I've claimed on it twice so far. ????

 

Finally, nothing against CitiBank but understand that it's CitiBank Thailand not CitiBank US and there's not much connection between the two.  Not saying it's a bad bank at all, just cautioning that it's not like a Citibank branch in New Jersey and one in Florida, it's a whole different animal.

 

You probably have a Thia mobile SIM but you really need one when dealing with Thai banks so if you don't, get one.  They can be had very cheaply, doesn't need to be a smartphone, an ancient style Samsung will do.  Prepaid plans are cheap, too.  The phone will be used in setting up your bank account and managing your bank account (receiving SMS and such).

[ftpjtm]

Thanks for the responses.

 

At one point I did have an account at Krungthai, opened in Pattaya, but closed it because we couldn't use it to pay our water and electric bills in Sattahip from it. We now have an account in my Thai wife's name at TMB, and yes, I know I can't use this account to prove income for a retirement visa.

 

When I opened the Krungthai account they told me they'd only open a non interest bearing account for me.

 

Glad to hear that some foreigners have savings or FD accounts, which is at least something, but I was really thinking of investment accounts investing in Thai and/or international equities. Has anyone looked into opening something like that? I know that Citibank and HSBC, for example, offer that type of account in other countries, do they in Thailand?

 

Another thought. Has anyone looked into the possibility of having a US/HKG/European based investment account at Citibank or HSBC or USB etc and have the BKK branch issue a statement showing funds on hand?

[ftpjtm]

I was just browsing the Citibank Thailand website and they do offer mutual fund accounts from Thai and international brokerage houses. 

 

Has anyone looked into the possibility of a non Thai opening one of these?

 

I certainly would not object to moving some of my IRA funds into one if that was possible.

 

https://www.citibank.co.th/en/investments/investment-mutual-funds.htm

[Sheryl]

19 minutes ago, ftpjtm said:

Thanks for the responses.

 

At one point I did have an account at Krungthai, opened in Pattaya, but closed it because we couldn't use it to pay our water and electric bills in Sattahip from it. We now have an account in my Thai wife's name at TMB, and yes, I know I can't use this account to prove income for a retirement visa.

 

 

if you are married to a Thai you can get an extension based on marriage, requirement is only 400K not 800K.

[ftpjtm]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

if you are married to a Thai you can get an extension based on marriage, requirement is only 400K not 800K.

Okay, yes I guess I knew that. But as someone who has done well investing my money it irks me to sit even 400k for a long period interest free. And I'd gladly move much more than that to a Thai based investment account if it had the potential to earn international standard returns and qualified me for a retirement visa.

 

And same discussion applies to others who do need to keep 800k here.

[skatewash]

I think you will find that Thai Immigration restricts the kinds of accounts that you can use to show your deposits for extension of stay.  My understanding is that two criteria must be met:  1) balance must be readily accessible at all times (meaning you can withdraw the money without waiting) with only a possible loss of interest, and 2) the principal is not subject to potential market losses.  They have a savings account in mind or a fixed-term account.  Nothing more exotic than that, they like the accounts that come with a passbook.  They will also accept FCD (Foreign Currency Deposit) accounts.

 

When you start talking about investments and funds I think you're rapidly running afoul of the second criteria.  The best you can do is in the range of 2-3% interest in a fixed term account, 1-1.5% in a regular savings account.  There's no interest earned in an FCD account.

[ftpjtm]

16 minutes ago, skatewash said:

and 2) the principal is not subject to potential market losses.  

Okay, that quashes that idea.

 

I'm not sure why Thailand is trying so hard to keep my money out of the country.