The best bank to open an account in pattaya

[LongTimeLurker]

15 hours ago, Espanol said:

 

Indeed. I fully agree. 

 

What I'm asking is which is that bank and which branch.

 

 

It's a lottery, you just have to keep trying until you find a branch that doesn't want to see a work permit or to sell you insurance.

 

Edit: from your OP it appears you came in on a 30 day stamp?

 

Difficult to get a bank account with one of them, but I have a mate that did manage it several years ago at the Kasikorn Branch at Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya.

Edited August 3, 2021 by LongTimeLurker

[shortstop2]

Some ideas:

 

I recently opened a SCB Easy Net savings account at their Central Festival branch (not sure if open now).

 

A friend recently opened up a Krungsri Mee Tae Dai account at Krungsri Central Festival (not sure if open now).  Think he had to get a residency form at Immigration first.  At that time he did not yet have a one year extension of stay.

 

If you are willing to pay for insurance the Bangkok Bank branch near Soi VC will do everything for you.  If worse comes to worse, an option.

Edited August 3, 2021 by shortstop2

[HashBrownHarry]

Always used BKK bank on 2nd road ( main branch ), been very good over the years.

[Espanol]

6 hours ago, Kerryd said:

...

 

The odds that you will be able to scam your way into getting them to open an account using a hotel room as an address are very low.

Think about it. Would a bank in your country open an account for someone using "Room 11 at Sam's Motel" as an address ? No. They wouldn't. And you know it. And they certainly wouldn't open a chequing account for you and hand over a book of blank cheques either.
(And yes, that is what a lot of people that come to Thailand try to do because they think the bank isn't smart enough to figure out that they are going to bounce a bunch of cheques right before hopping on a plane and flying home.)

And I seriously doubt that Immigration is going to accept "room 106 at the Bayview Hotel" as an address when you apply for your Retirement Extension.

But hey, I've only been living here for 17 years and on my 10th "Retirement Extension" so obviously I have no clue.  

You know what ? On second thought, ignore everything I've written.

Just party all weekend and then on Monday morning stagger into the closest bank and throw a hundred baht bill on the counter and tell them to open a chequing account for you because you are flying out the next day and can't be bothered with paperwork and such.

See how far that gets you.

 

Since I have clearly stated that I intend to rent a condo in Pattaya and open a deposit account to deposit 400,000 baht and apply for residency, I don't know what you are talking about. ????

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Espanol

[Espanol]

1 hour ago, LongTimeLurker said:

from your OP it appears you came in on a 30 day stamp?

 

I will enter Thailand with a visa exemption of 45 days (formerly 30 days, before CoVid-19) and then I will get married and will apply for marriage visa (hence the 400,000 baht) or may be tourist visa (whatever turns out to be easier to get), to stay 3 aditional months before returning home.

 

In future I will be staying 6 months in Thailand and 6 months in Spain every year.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Espanol

[In Full Agreement]

10 hours ago, Kerryd said:

The odds that you will be able to scam your way into getting them to open an account using a hotel room as an address are very low.

 

I know 11- 12 years  to acquire a "retirement Visa"   did not require an official residency contract.   But the former lady captain at Soi 5 Jomtiem immigration "preferred" an applicant have a 6 month residence contract.    In other words she made up her own requirement.      

 

At one time a hotel room as an address was perfectly acceptable.

[scubascuba3]

29 minutes ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

I know 11- 12 years  to acquire a "retirement Visa"   did not require an official residency contract.   But the former lady captain at Soi 5 Jomtiem immigration "preferred" an applicant have a 6 month residence contract.    In other words she made up her own requirement.      

 

At one time a hotel room as an address was perfectly acceptable.

I'm confident you could go to Jomtien tomorrow with a hotel invoice and get a residence certificate which can be used for a retirement non imm O visa and extension. i know someone who was living in a hotel long-term 40k baht a month with retirement extension

Edited August 3, 2021 by scubascuba3

[Chivas]

Again whats clearly more important and on the basis you've already got an account is never let it get run down and unwittingly closed because its clearly not easy to open a new one

 

Have had mine with SCB since 1994 I think it was and they charge 200 Baht each 1st August for the debit card facility

[bbko]

On 8/3/2021 at 8:08 AM, Kerryd said:

Look, it's not that hard.

If you are going to be putting money in a bank with the intent of using it for a "retirement visa", you are going to need a proper address. 
Period.
The odds that you will be able to scam your way into getting them to open an account using a hotel room as an address are very low.

Think about it. Would a bank in your country open an account for someone using "Room 11 at Sam's Motel" as an address ? No. They wouldn't. And you know it. And they certainly wouldn't open a chequing account for you and hand over a book of blank cheques either.
(And yes, that is what a lot of people that come to Thailand try to do because they think the bank isn't smart enough to figure out that they are going to bounce a bunch of cheques right before hopping on a plane and flying home.)

And I seriously doubt that Immigration is going to accept "room 106 at the Bayview Hotel" as an address when you apply for your Retirement Extension.

You're assuming the person staying at a hotel is going to write "room 106 at the Bayview Hotel" as an address and not 310/2 Beach Rd, Apartment 106, Pattaya City, Amphoe Bang Lamung, Chon Buri 20150?

[Kerryd]

4 hours ago, bbko said:

You're assuming the person staying at a hotel is going to write "room 106 at the Bayview Hotel" as an address and not 310/2 Beach Rd, Apartment 106, Pattaya City, Amphoe Bang Lamung, Chon Buri 20150?

Generally they expect you to be able to prove that is your address.

You know, with something like a rental/lease agreement, utility bills and so on. When I lived in an apartment "downtown" I had to get a copy of the owner's housebook as well as the landlady's ID card.
When I started renting a house (somewhere else) I had to have a copy of the rental agreement, but when I showed copies of my utility bills (with that address on them) that was good enough.

I did that for years until I got my license and could use that. (Which is funny but I won't explain why.)

Sigh. Comprehension is a lost art.

I did NOT say it would be impossible to get a residency certificate or open an account using a hotel as an address, I said the odds were low that someone would be successful.

But hey, it seems a lot of you really want to push the "scam" method instead of doing things properly. 

Got to wonder about that.

 

[Gottfrid]

On 7/31/2021 at 11:09 PM, RichardColeman said:

I seem to lose 600 baht a year the wife tells me not to worry about.

Of course. Wife is always right. ????

[thaisabai]

I agree with most comments: Bangkok Bank opposite soi 6 is very good, using them since 10 years.

very little documentation required to open an account.

 

Despite that, i had a bit of a problem yesterday. I needed 80,000 Baht for an eye surgery.

went to the soi Bhuakao branch and presented my US-visa card. Was told, this card does not work because the card number is printed (flat, not raised numbers) so they couldn't process it.

then I tried my US debit card and was told the limit for withdrawal is 25,000 Baht.

Finally I used my Bangkok bank Mastercard and they allowed me to withdraw 60,000 Baht.

Then I went to the ATM and managed to withdraw another 25,000 Baht with my US debit card.

 

Only mistake I made: I didn't count the 60,000 I got inside bc I trusted the counting machine which displayed 60,000 and did not recount the money they gave me.

2nd mistake I made at the ATM outside by again not counting the 25,000 Baht withdraw, because behind me was a girl, very nervous waiting to use the ATM; she seemed to be in a hurry or needed to pee!

after returning to my place, I counted my money and was 4,000 Baht short !

 

Lesson learned !

[BudRight]

On 8/5/2021 at 7:36 PM, Kerryd said:

Generally they expect you to be able to prove that is your address.

You know, with something like a rental/lease agreement, utility bills and so on. When I lived in an apartment "downtown" I had to get a copy of the owner's housebook as well as the landlady's ID card.
When I started renting a house (somewhere else) I had to have a copy of the rental agreement, but when I showed copies of my utility bills (with that address on them) that was good enough.

I did that for years until I got my license and could use that. (Which is funny but I won't explain why.)

Sigh. Comprehension is a lost art.

I did NOT say it would be impossible to get a residency certificate or open an account using a hotel as an address, I said the odds were low that someone would be successful.

But hey, it seems a lot of you really want to push the "scam" method instead of doing things properly. 

Got to wonder about that.

 

Maybe the OP doesn't want to rent an apartment for a year on a short stay visa, but instead get a bank account, then a retirement visa, then an apartment. Or maybe the OP wants to...travel around and see the country instead of staying in one place. That isn't a "scam" it's just a different way to retire.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, BudRight said:

Maybe the OP doesn't want to rent an apartment for a year on a short stay visa, but instead get a bank account, then a retirement visa, then an apartment. Or maybe the OP wants to...travel around and see the country instead of staying in one place. That isn't a "scam" it's just a different way to retire.

That's a 6 month old post you responded to.

Generally you have to have an address for a bank account and retirement extension. 

Doesn't stop you traveling. 

[lemonwaterjoe]

Even this thread is a bit older just a recent update: Bangkok Bank Jomtien 2nd road is very easy to deal with.

[CFC]

In  a previous post, it was mentioned that paying for Insurance helps you get a bank account. Anyone know how much the Insurance costs?

[Espanol]

On 9/5/2022 at 12:01 PM, CFC said:

In  a previous post, it was mentioned that paying for Insurance helps you get a bank account. Anyone know how much the Insurance costs?

 

Sorry, I did it last year, but I can't remenber the cost now.

 

You can ask for the exact cost at the Bangkok Bank. Only that bank opens accounts for non-residents.

 

[Bruno123]

On 9/5/2022 at 11:01 AM, CFC said:

In  a previous post, it was mentioned that paying for Insurance helps you get a bank account. Anyone know how much the Insurance costs?

It doesn't help ☺️

[Dart12]

I was denied at Krunsgri because not have right visa , even though been here over 2 years.

Bangkok bank had no problem.  but needed residency cert.

this is HERESAY from FB yesterday, but maybe it will work for you:  

 

****Bangkok Bank opened my account on a tourist visa, l told them l wanted to buy a car 

[jacko45k]

12 hours ago, Dart12 said:

I was denied at Krunsgri because not have right visa , even though been here over 2 years.

Well so have a lot of folks on Covid extensions but it is still a tourist visa entry. Some banks insist on a work permit, some are happy to see Non-Imm-O or retirement/ marriage extensions. Others want to sell you insurance... which is a bit of a scam really.