Foreign Currency Account, Bangkok Bank

mrwebb8825 · January 20, 2020

My 1st question is, Can you open a foreign currency account in the NY branch of the Bangkok bank from Bangkok? Second question is, Can you open a foreign currency account without any foreign currency? I'm closing in on retirement age and am thinking it might be better to keep my SS in USD in a foreign currency account and watch the THB for awhile to see if it gets closer to normal 35:1 and up before converting any USD over. Also, I've been in Thailand for 19 yrs and all the foreign currency I have is too old to be accepted by banks here. They like the new stuff. Took a few twenties in a couple of years ago and they told me they didn't want them because the mint date was 1996. Last question is, Does a foreign currency account in the NY branch get paid better interest?

TY in advance

Pib · January 20, 2020

The NY branch is for cooperate/wholesale bank accts only; not retail, Joe Off the Street, accts. For US folks living in Thailand all the NY branch is used for is "using their ACH/ABA routing number" to do ACH IAT transfers to Thailand or US govt payments like SS.

If you want to open a USD foreign currency acct you just need to visit your local Bangkok Bank. Foreign currency acct info at the Bangkok Bank web to include fee schedule, minimum opening amount, etc.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Save-And-Invest/Save

USNret · January 21, 2020

18 hours ago, Pib said:

The NY branch is for cooperate/wholesale bank accts only; not retail, Joe Off the Street, accts. For US folks living in Thailand all the NY branch is used for is "using their ACH/ABA routing number" to do ACH IAT transfers to Thailand or US govt payments like SS.

If you want to open a USD foreign currency acct you just need to visit your local Bangkok Bank. Foreign currency acct info at the Bangkok Bank web to include fee schedule, minimum opening amount, etc.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Save-And-Invest/Save

I opened an account at Bangkok Bank last week, by the Rama 9 MRT. I asked for a foreign currency account and they said I would have to go to Silom for that so I just did a baht account.

Paradise Pete · January 21, 2020

Why do you consider 35:1 to be normal? I don't think you'll be seeing that any time soon.

sikishrory · January 21, 2020

I asked about it in Pattaya and girl said it was just for businesses.

However her English wasn't good and she may have just been trying to end any chit chat

nightbird · January 21, 2020

Mrwebb,

I have a Foreign Currency Deposit account at Krungsri. Because I didn't do any real homework before opening it, I discovered the exchange rate to THB is lower than some of the other banks like SCB and Bangkok Bank. If you do decide to open an FCD and use it for your annual retirement visa or extension of stay, it has to come from outside of Thailand to satisfy Immigration rules. I cannot remember the minimum amount for opening an account but it is not that much. In order to open it, you must deposit some money into it.

If I were to do this all over again, I would use a bank like Transferwise, keep my US$ or other currencies in it, and make the transfer to a Thai bank whenever I needed to replenish THB. You would get mid market exchange rates which you could not get in Thailand using an FCD. Over time, this adds up.

saengd · January 21, 2020

Make sure you understand the fee structure if you open a foreign currency account in Thailand:

Some banks charge a holding fee every year, others charge a fee in lieu of commission if you transfer the foreign currency overseas once again. Some banks used to charge a receiving fee when the funds are transferred in. The good news is the exchange rate to convert from USD to THB is the same as the TT rate which is the best available. Holding out for 35 baht per dollar may involve a very very long wait IMHO.

Interest rates on USD in Thailand will be poorer than those in the USA, often considerably so.

fred110 · January 21, 2020

I opened mine at bangkok bank. I needed 1000 usd to open it. One branch told me I needed to go to my embassy to get my passport verified, even gave me a form. Instead, I went to the branch on Second road and opened it no problem, in 30 minutes.

PeteDaKat · January 21, 2020

19 hours ago, Pib said:

The NY branch is for cooperate/wholesale bank accts only; not retail, Joe Off the Street, accts. For US folks living in Thailand all the NY branch is used for is "using their ACH/ABA routing number" to do ACH IAT transfers to Thailand or US govt payments like SS.

Might that info be a bit dated? I opened a Bangkok Bank account a month ago for that specific reason and the manager told me that the US has now blocked the ACH system; I could no longer send money to the Thai account that way. I must now use domestic wire transfer from US bank to BB NY routing number with Thai account number.

PeteDaKat · January 21, 2020

31 minutes ago, Paradise Pete said:

Why do you consider 35:1 to be normal? I don't think you'll be seeing that any time soon.

I don't think he'd have that many years to live to see 35:1. It hasn't been that high since the Fall of 2015.

Pib · January 21, 2020

Just now, PeteDaKat said:

Might that info be a bit dated? I opened a Bangkok Bank account a month ago for that specific reason and the manager told me that the US has now blocked the ACH system; I could no longer send money to the Thai account that way. I must now use domestic wire transfer from US bank to BB NY routing number with Thai account number.

Nope...not dated....notice I said ACH IAT transfers....but you must find a financial entity that uses ACH "IAT" for normal retails accts....ACH IAT is usually reserved for business/corporate accts if your financial entity offers ACH IAT capability. And US govt payments such as SSA, VA, etc., are paid in ACH IAT format if your have your foreign address on-file with them; otherwise it gets transmitted in ACH domestic format.

Jaxxper · January 21, 2020

I recently opened a Sterling account at the local SCB. Interest is not very good but you can draw in Sterling or Thai Baht. I wanted to move money over from the UK but was waiting to see which way the exchange rate tide was moving before converting to Baht.

Few other rules, like minimum deposit amount but can open with zero balance then you have 30 days to make a transfer.

works for me.

Pib · January 21, 2020

45 minutes ago, nightbird said:

If I were to do this all over again, I would use a bank like Transferwise, keep my US$ or other currencies in it, and make the transfer to a Thai bank whenever I needed to replenish THB. You would get mid market exchange rates which you could not get in Thailand using an FCD. Over time, this adds up.

Transferwise is not a bank...nor is their borderless acct they "imply" in their front door advertising. But when reading their Terms of Agreement on their webpage they are very clear Transferwise nor their borderless acct is a bank. See below Transferwise weblink and partial quote from the link.

This is why is why someone should never let much money set in my Borderless Acct for more than a short while....will just use it as a transitory acct for transfers.

https://transferwise.com/us/terms-of-use-tw-inc

Quote

Holding A Balance in your Borderless Account

TransferWise is not a bank and your Borderless Account is not a bank account. The specified bank account details that we provide to you in order for you to receive funds from third parties are for accounts held by TransferWise and its affiliates (and we will credit your Borderless Account, which is held by us, upon receipt of such funds), and are not for a bank account held by you. Value held as a balance in your Borderless Account represents an unsecured claim against TransferWise and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other deposit protection scheme. TransferWise invests balances held by its customers in permissible investments in accordance with state money transmitter laws. TransferWise owns the interest or other earnings on these investments, if any. TransferWise does not use balances held by its customers for operating expenses or other corporate purposes and will not voluntarily make such funds available to its creditors in the event of bankruptcy. For further information on how we look after your money, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

ThaiBunny · January 21, 2020

9 minutes ago, Pib said:

Transferwise is not a bank...nor is their borderless acct they "imply" in their front door advertising. But when reading their Terms of Agreement on their webpage they are very clear Transferwise nor their borderless acct is a bank. See below Transferwise weblink and partial quote from the link.

Transferwise offer bank accounts for a handful of countries including the US, the UK and Australia. That bank account is a real one (I can let anyone have my routing details for my US account via PM if they'd like to support my lifestyle by a generous donation). However for other currencies such as THB it's simply a wallet like PayPal and therefore not subject to any government guarantees etc

asiaexpat · January 21, 2020

A lot of bad information here, Transferwise is a service not a bank to start with. FCA at any Thai bank come with charges and exchange rates that frequently exceed the cost of a transfer of funds from USA. After researching FCA at all leading Thai banks I opted to not open one due to the final cost of exchange and will just transfer funds at the appropriate time.

Sydebolle · January 21, 2020

Bangkok Bank offers foreign currency deposit accounts in various currencies (incl. USD); but best is to open this in Thailand. Not all branches can do it, so I resorted to the head office on Silom road, where proper English is spoken as well.

Once you have your USD bank account number you then can transfer money. The inward remittance is charged with something like 400 Baht, irrespective of amount.

Advantage of that system is, that you can change money on the spot (through their Bualuang-telebanking - only works during bank working hours though) at the exchange rate known to you BEFORE you effect the transation. All other overseas inward transfers to a THB-account in Thailand are credited at a date and exchange rate defined by the bank - rather than you. Same applies to the amount, you know exactly, how much Baht you get before you change.

You can take it a step further even. I recently sold some assets and had to park two million Baht. I purchased foreign currency at Bangkok Bank to be credited onto onto my foreign currency account with them - as I speculate that the Baht will eventually have to devalue for commercial and touristic reasons and will get more Baht when changing from the foreign currency back. The girl was puzzled and did not understand, what I was doing. Only once I told her that the bank makes a profit in selling me the foreign currency she executed my order.

In these days certainly a worthwhile thinking - but do it all locally. Bangkok Bank's New York branch is most likely not a retail bank extension of their Thailand operation. Good luck!

nightbird · January 21, 2020

2 hours ago, asiaexpat said:

A lot of bad information here, Transferwise is a service not a bank to start with. FCA at any Thai bank come with charges and exchange rates that frequently exceed the cost of a transfer of funds from USA. After researching FCA at all leading Thai banks I opted to not open one due to the final cost of exchange and will just transfer funds at the appropriate time.

If you need to move money around the world, few systems can beat Transferwise, plus you get a debit card which can be used anywhere in the world and you can transfer from your US wallet into most other currencies with the lowest fees and best exchange rates. The system that Transferwise operates within has great advantages over brick and mortar banks. The definition of what a bank is, is changing. Try wiring the same amount of money from a bank in the USA to an international bank here or anywhere else and you will see the difference in fees and exchange rate savings. You can also hold large amounts in your wallets. You don't get interest but most banks interest schemes are negligible.

nightbird · January 21, 2020

4 hours ago, saengd said:

Make sure you understand the fee structure if you open a foreign currency account in Thailand:

Some banks charge a holding fee every year, others charge a fee in lieu of commission if you transfer the foreign currency overseas once again. Some banks used to charge a receiving fee when the funds are transferred in. The good news is the exchange rate to convert from USD to THB is the same as the TT rate which is the best available. Holding out for 35 baht per dollar may involve a very very long wait IMHO.

Interest rates on USD in Thailand will be poorer than those in the USA, often considerably so.

With Transferwise, you get the mid market rate which is better than the TT rate plus a smaller fee for sending the money. Can't beat it for moving money and using their debit card paying for purchases anywhere without foreign currency fees.

saengd · January 21, 2020

1 minute ago, nightbird said:

With Transferwise, you get the mid market rate which is better than the TT rate plus a smaller fee for sending the money. Can't beat it for moving money and using their debit card paying for purchases anywhere without foreign currency fees.

I'll be extremely surprised if anyone lets you have the midpoint or interbank rate!

That said, TW does look good for smaller amounts, much less so for amounts of a couple of thousand however.

nightbird · January 21, 2020

Just now, saengd said:

I'll be extremely surprised if anyone lets you have the midpoint or interbank rate!

That said, TW does look good for smaller amounts, much less so for amounts of a couple of thousand however.

I am getting extremely close to mid market rates. I just xferred US$ from my wallet to Yen and got just a fraction less than xe.com quotes. I then used my debit card to purchase something online in Japan and avoided any exchange rate loss that I would have gotten using a USA card or Paypal. The amount you save on bank fees and exchange rates is significant over a year's period.

saengd · January 21, 2020

3 minutes ago, nightbird said:

I am getting extremely close to mid market rates. I just xferred US$ from my wallet to Yen and got just a fraction less than xe.com quotes. I then used my debit card to purchase something online in Japan and avoided any exchange rate loss that I would have gotten using a USA card or Paypal. The amount you save on bank fees and exchange rates is significant over a year's period.

Close to mid market is not the same thing, I can believe close.

Some people like me used to transfer once or twice a year so TW doesn't work for us, HSBC charges me only 4 Pounds for the international transfer plus my receiving bank still only charges me 500 Baht max. BUT OK, monthly transfers are different and there it might be cost effective.

Pib · January 21, 2020

3 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

Transferwise offer bank accounts for a handful of countries including the US, the UK and Australia. That bank account is a real one (I can let anyone have my routing details for my US account via PM if they'd like to support my lifestyle by a generous donation). However for other currencies such as THB it's simply a wallet like PayPal and therefore not subject to any government guarantees etc

As stated earlier "by Transferwise themselves" they do not offer you bank accts. Yes, they offer you bank acct details for bank accts held/owned by Transferwise and are "not" a bank acct held by you. What they are really saying is they are giving you some "subaccount numbers" which link to a Transferwise master bank acct owned by Transferwise. This makes it look and act like a bank acct for you to a degree but really it's not....it just a Transferwise owned acct. Bottomline the acct is owned by Transferwise although they allow you to receive and send money from it in specific/limited ways.

Partial quote (again) from Transferwise

Quote

TransferWise is not a bank and your Borderless Account is not a bank account. The specified bank account details that we provide to you in order for you to receive funds from third parties are for accounts held by TransferWise and its affiliates (and we will credit your Borderless Account, which is held by us, upon receipt of such funds), and are not for a bank account held by you.

Big Cannon · January 21, 2020

Been using

http://bit.ly/Transferwise_Account

in combination with CIMB bank for years. CIMB will give an account even on a tourist visa, just need deposit 10k . I opened mine in Chiang Mai branch with nothing else than a passport. This combination saved me a fortune compared to the rape fees my Danish bank took. + As I'm in 20+ airports a year the card is extremely useful. IMO a good addition to any wallet and it's available to most of the planet.

Cannon

Edited January 21, 2020 by Big Cannon

Max69xl · January 21, 2020

7 hours ago, sikishrory said:

I asked about it in Pattaya and girl said it was just for businesses.

However her English wasn't good and she may have just been trying to end any chit chat

What branch in Pattaya? A FCA isn't that common compared to a savings account or a Fixed Deposit Account.

earlinclaifornia · January 21, 2020

10 hours ago, nightbird said:

Mrwebb,

I have a Foreign Currency Deposit account at Krungsri. Because I didn't do any real homework before opening it, I discovered the exchange rate to THB is lower than some of the other banks like SCB and Bangkok Bank. If you do decide to open an FCD and use it for your annual retirement visa or extension of stay, it has to come from outside of Thailand to satisfy Immigration rules. I cannot remember the minimum amount for opening an account but it is not that much. In order to open it, you must deposit some money into it.

If I were to do this all over again, I would use a bank like Transferwise, keep my US$ or other currencies in it, and make the transfer to a Thai bank whenever I needed to replenish THB. You would get mid market exchange rates which you could not get in Thailand using an FCD. Over time, this adds up.

500 baht to open NYBB

Max69xl · January 21, 2020

14 hours ago, nightbird said:

Mrwebb,

I have a Foreign Currency Deposit account at Krungsri. Because I didn't do any real homework before opening it, I discovered the exchange rate to THB is lower than some of the other banks like SCB and Bangkok Bank. If you do decide to open an FCD and use it for your annual retirement visa or extension of stay, it has to come from outside of Thailand to satisfy Immigration rules. I cannot remember the minimum amount for opening an account but it is not that much. In order to open it, you must deposit some money into it.

If I were to do this all over again, I would use a bank like Transferwise, keep my US$ or other currencies in it, and make the transfer to a Thai bank whenever I needed to replenish THB. You would get mid market exchange rates which you could not get in Thailand using an FCD. Over time, this adds up.

First of all, TransferWise is not a bank. Second, who doesn't transfer his money into his FCA from abroad? Third, the main reason for having a FCA is to keep the money in the account when the exchange rates are low and convert them into baht when the exchange rates (hopefully) recovers. You have to afford parking the money in a FCA if the exchange rates are low for a longer period of time.

nightbird · January 22, 2020

9 hours ago, Max69xl said:

First of all, TransferWise is not a bank. Second, who doesn't transfer his money into his FCA from abroad? Third, the main reason for having a FCA is to keep the money in the account when the exchange rates are low and convert them into baht when the exchange rates (hopefully) recovers. You have to afford parking the money in a FCA if the exchange rates are low for a longer period of time.

19 hours ago, saengd said:

Close to mid market is not the same thing, I can believe close.

Some people like me used to transfer once or twice a year so TW doesn't work for us, HSBC charges me only 4 Pounds for the international transfer plus my receiving bank still only charges me 500 Baht max. BUT OK, monthly transfers are different and there it might be cost effective.

I find it amazing that there is so much resistance to this new concept of banking. The amount of money you save through the exchange rates and bank fees for wire transfer is significant. Companies like xe.com use mid market rates. Transfewise also gives you mid market or very, very, close to them. Banks like HSBC, Bangkok Bank, etc., do not. If you want to save money on transfers, have a debit card that you can use all over the world without the fees usually associated with them, hold currencies like THB that you can buy things with using your card without foreign exchange fees, then TW is for you. If not,..................

TW will always give you a better exchange rate than an FCD account no matter what bank you use. I have both and I know the difference. Do your homework.

Pib · January 22, 2020

Why does an expat in Thailand really need a FCD?

With the speed of today's transfers from the home country to Thailand....that is, minutes or hours to a few days....and since the FX market typically oscillates very little on a day-to-day basis...that is, up a little, down a little....plus, a person can get a better exchange rate by using Transferwise....I think the argument of a person needing a FCD is very weak.

Toss in the associated little-to-no interest earned and "no deposit insurance" since only Thai baht accts are covered under the Thailand Deposit Protection Program.

Some might say having a FCD will allow me to repatriate my money easier. Well, as long as you get a free Credit Advice (easy/fast/free to get) from your Thai bank on any amount you transfer to a regular Thai baht acct that makes it easy (provides the proof) to repatriate the money.

While a FCD surely provides benefits to someone like a business sending/receiving a lot of foreign currency transactions, a FCD for the typical expat is probably just a case of a FCD somehow giving the expat a warn & fuzzy feeling of having his home country currency in a Thai bank acct.

Nothing against having something that gives a warm & fuzzy feeling, whether it's "really a warm & fuzzy thing--or just an imaged warm & fuzzy. I have even thought periodically about opening a FCD but I have a hard time justifying it to myself, especially since it has no deposit protection like a Thai baht acct and fast money transfer services like Transferwise give a higher exchange rate than Thai banks.

And I'll just add, No, I'm not advocating keeping your money in a Transferwise Borderless Acct for any significant amount of time as this acct is "not" a bank acct, has no deposit protection, etc....it's only a Transferwise acct....Transferwise is very clear about that in their Terms of Agreement. But a Borderless acct is very good in various ways such as if you receive a lot of payments, need to deal in various currencies, can reduce transfer fees, etc....all depends on each individual's situation. I have a Borderless Acct for two reasons only: 1) reduce/eliminate Transferwise Bank Debit (ACH) transfer fees, and 2) to speed up the transfer from 1 to 2 business days to to less than 1 business day. I only use my Borderless acct to hold funds for a "brief" period of time (a few days, a brief transitory period for upcoming transfer funding purposes) since it has no deposit protection like you have when your funds are in your home country bank acct.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Pib

yodsak · January 22, 2020

20 hours ago, saengd said:

Close to mid market is not the same thing, I can believe close.

At the minute Transferwise are giving slightly more

Max69xl · January 22, 2020

1 hour ago, nightbird said:

I find it amazing that there is so much resistance to this new concept of banking. The amount of money you save through the exchange rates and bank fees for wire transfer is significant. Companies like xe.com use mid market rates. Transfewise also gives you mid market or very, very, close to them. Banks like HSBC, Bangkok Bank, etc., do not. If you want to save money on transfers, have a debit card that you can use all over the world without the fees usually associated with them, hold currencies like THB that you can buy things with using your card without foreign exchange fees, then TW is for you. If not,..................

TW will always give you a better exchange rate than an FCD account no matter what bank you use. I have both and I know the difference. Do your homework.

I don't know who you're addressing but I have been using TW every month since 2017. Maybe you also think that TW is a bank? You can not compare TW with a FCA when it comes to exchange rates. You keep your money in a FCA in a chosen currency, for example $US just as if you had them in a bank in the US.

You don't use the account to withdraw a sum every month for living expenses. That's not the purpose of a FCA. That's what you have a savings account for. The downside with a FCA is when you know that the $US will get weaker or stay weak against the baht for a very long time. Then you have to keep the money in the account and just use it at immigration if using the money in the bank method.

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