CIMB VS Bangkok Bank For US Tourist

[XtraFly]

Hi Expats,

 

US passport holder

will stay in LOS minimum 5 months.

 

1- I need a bank that has good Bank app for iOS.

 

2- conveniently across Thailand branches or ATM’s either is fine.

 

3- No fees on ATM withdrawal or debit card transactions (In Baht of course)

 

I will transfer money from the US to this Thai Bank Account via MoneyGram or PayPal once every two weeks it’ll be transferred as Thai Baht, so I can use it right away whether cash by ATM withdrawal or by using the debit card to pay for stuff.

 

CIMB or Bangkok Bank is more superior and dominant ? Unless there’s a third better option that fits my needs. Thank you guys.

[bkk6060]

What Visa do you have?

Good luck not easy now to open an account if here as a tourist.

[Peterw42]

All the major Thai banks have online banking and branches in most towns, shopping malls etc. Bangkok bank and Kasikorn probably have the most branches and ATMs

An ATM card from one major bank can be used in any other major bank ATMs. there are often minimal charges for using another banks ATM or even your own banks ATM in another province.

 

The major banks are Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn bank, SCB Siam Commercial Bank, Krungsri. CIMB is one of the smaller banks with less branches and ATMs.

 

As others have said, you may not have much choice , often it comes down to which bank will open an account without a long stay visa or work permit etc.

[Card]

22 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

All the major Thai banks have online banking and branches in most towns, shopping malls etc. Bangkok bank and Kasikorn probably have the most branches and ATMs

An ATM card from one major bank can be used in any other major bank ATMs. there are often minimal charges for using another banks ATM or even your own banks ATM in another province.

 

The major banks are Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn bank, SCB Siam Commercial Bank, Krungsri. CIMB is one of the smaller banks with less branches and ATMs.

 

As others have said, you may not have much choice , often it comes down to which bank will open an account without a long stay visa or work permit etc.

SCB has by far the most widely available ATMs. 

[Peterw42]

16 minutes ago, Card said:

SCB has by far the most widely available ATMs. 

Not sure where you are getting your figures from, but Bangkok bank has 500 more ATMs than SCB.

 

https://scb.banks.info/thailand

 

https://bangkok.banks.info/thailand

Edited August 31, 2021 by Peterw42

[tonray]

Just now, Peterw42 said:

Not sure where you are getting those figures from Bangkok bank has 500 more ATMs than SCB.

 

https://scb.banks.info/thailand

 

https://bangkok.banks.info/thailand

Perhaps he means on his Soi....

[Trek800]

I'm using CIMB and very happy with their service. Branches are never crowded because not many people are using this bank I guess. Withdraw money from any ATM in Thailand without fee (might be free only 2 times per month) and transfer money to any Thai bank account for free from my IOS app.

[fceligoj]

CIMB is not headquartered n Thailand.  I think they are Malaysian.  In Khon Kaen, we had our mortgage with them.  They had one branch and 2 ATMs.  Several years ago they closed their branch and one of the ATMs.  So from a utilization perspective, I am not sure it is a good choice.

 

Bangkok Bank is the easiest bank for setting up transfers from the US to Thailand.  But you should really look at Wise.com as the best approach for transferring money to Thailand, best exchange rate and a very, very competitive fee structure, probably one of the best.  Check it out.

[khunjeff]

9 minutes ago, fceligoj said:

Bangkok Bank is the easiest bank for setting up transfers from the US to Thailand.  But you should really look at Wise.com as the best approach for transferring money to Thailand, best exchange rate and a very, very competitive fee structure, probably one of the best.  Check it out.

The OP should certainly take a look at Wise, but he'll need to establish a Thai bank account before it will be useful to him.

[EricTh]

It's more difficult to open a CIMB bank account compare to Bangkok Bank, they need a Thai guarantor to come personally to the bank to recommend you to open a bank account.

 

Bangkok Bank withdrawal are all chargeable outside  the home province.

 

Bangkok Bank is definitely more dominant.

Edited August 31, 2021 by EricTh

[chilly07]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Not sure where you are getting your figures from, but Bangkok bank has 500 more ATMs than SCB.

 

https://scb.banks.info/thailand

 

https://bangkok.banks.info/thailand

And despite paying my wife's mortgage to SCB for over 10 yrs they wouldn't give me an account. Bangkok bank better by far but when I first moved to Thailand they wouldn't give me an account so I got one from Krungsri. Then after seeing my regular pension payments BB allowed me to open one. I wanted BB as they are immigration  office friendly. Don't think any bank would open an account for a one trip tourist??

[LOS1]

Whichever bank you choose DO NOT transfer money in baht as you will get a very low exchange rate. Transfer as US denomination and let your Thai bank convert to baht.

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, LOS1 said:

Whichever bank you choose DO NOT transfer money in baht as you will get a very low exchange rate. Transfer as US denomination and let your Thai bank convert to baht.

Thai bank's exchange rate is even worse than Wise. Just transfer using Wise which is near the market rate.

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by EricTh

[khunPer]

On 8/30/2021 at 4:35 AM, XtraFly said:

I will transfer money from the US to this Thai Bank Account via MoneyGram or PayPal once every two weeks it’ll be transferred as Thai Baht, so I can use it right away whether cash by ATM withdrawal or by using the debit card to pay for stuff.

You will normally get little better exchange rate by transferring money in foreign currency - some used to mention Kasikorn Bank (K-bank) as the bank with the best exchange rates, but the differences might be minor. Paypals exchange rates are by the way awful.

 

Most, if not all, Thai banks have online e-banking, and a smartphone app. Paying by phone-app instead of cash in for example hypermarkets and a number of chain stores become more and more used.

 

I'm using both Bangkok Bank and SCB, and my girlfriend is using SCB and Kasikorn; those are the three major banks, and all have e-banking. mobile apps, branches all over (mainly in malls), and many ATMs; however Bangkok Bank have less and SCB most in numbers.

 

It might be difficult to open a Thai bank account as tourists, the only way is to shop around - it might not even be a brand-rule, but can be down to the individual branch; so if one named bank refuse to open an account for a tourist, then another branch of the same bank might accept it...????

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, chilly07 said:

And despite paying my wife's mortgage to SCB for over 10 yrs they wouldn't give me an account. Bangkok bank better by far but when I first moved to Thailand they wouldn't give me an account so I got one from Krungsri. Then after seeing my regular pension payments BB allowed me to open one. I wanted BB as they are immigration  office friendly. Don't think any bank would open an account for a one trip tourist??

When I first came as a tourist many years ago, I opened my first Thai bank account with Bangkok Bank, with just a tourist visa, all others didn't want to open for a tourist. But the rules have changed now... It's tougher to open.

 

It's difficult to open bank account with SCB even with retirement based visa. They prefer work permit holders.

 

One branch rejected my application so I tried another branch which approved it. I suggest you try another SCB branch which is more farang friendly. Different branches have different managers.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by EricTh

[khunPer]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Not sure where you are getting your figures from, but Bangkok bank has 500 more ATMs than SCB.

Not where I live, SCB outnumber Bangkok Bank with a factor 3 or more...
I have a Bangkok Bank ATM for my daily expenses...????

[EricTh]

4 minutes ago, khunPer said:

 

 

 Paying by phone-app instead of cash in for example hypermarkets and a number of chain stores become more and more used.

same bank might accept it...????

 

I have always wondered how the Thai use their mobile phone to pay. 

 

Which banks provide this service and is there a charge for each transaction?

 

[khunPer]

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

When I first came as a tourist many years ago, I opened my first Thai bank account with Bangkok Bank, with just a tourist visa, all others didn't want to open for a tourist.

I could open a Bangkok Bank account with a passport only, no visa - those were the days...????

[khunPer]

2 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

I have always wondered how the Thai use their mobile phone to pay. 

 

Which banks provide this service and is there a charge for each transaction?

To my knowledge, based on my girlfriend's and teen daughter's behavior, the customer-screen by the cashier shows a QR-code, you scan the code with your smart-phone and key your pin number, then the cashier get an information on the screen that payment have been transferred; no fees for the customer...????

[tonray]

8 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

I have always wondered how the Thai use their mobile phone to pay. 

 

Which banks provide this service and is there a charge for each transaction?

 

Not just Thais...I often do this to pay vendors who come to the house...I just scan the QR code they generate and done, and of course electric and water bills always this way.

[EricTh]

5 minutes ago, khunPer said:

To my knowledge, based on my girlfriend's and teen daughter's behavior, the customer-screen by the cashier shows a QR-code, you scan the code with your smart-phone and key your pin number, then the cashier get an information on the screen that payment have been transferred; no fees for the customer...????

 

What is this phone app called for Bangkok Bank? Do I need to go to Bangkok Bank to activate it?

 

 

 

[khunPer]

16 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

What is this phone app called for Bangkok Bank? Do I need to go to Bangkok Bank to activate it?

I actually have the Bangkok Bank phone app, it's called Bualuang Mobile. A kind lady in a Bangkok Bank business branch said that I needed it, and installed it for me - I didn't need it, I was asking about my investment account - it was actually little complicated, as it needs to activated from an ATM machine, but I'm sure the staff will gladly install it for you. You need a Google account to download the app, and when it's installed, it's easy to use...????

 

Based on experience from SCB, where I tried to activate a PC access for investments, and gave up - even that I had printed a detailed English description - and asked for assistance, it ended up with that it could not be activated from the English version, even that the guide said so. It had to be done in Thai language ATM-section, which has different options than those allowed for us aliens. Probably the English-languaged guide was just a translation of the Thai manual...????

[LOS1]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

Thai bank's exchange rate is even worse than Wise. Just transfer using Wise which is near the market rate.

 

True, but in the case of a "bank" doing the exchange it is better using USD. BTW, using my credit union's standard ACH transfer rate charge ($45) it is better than Wise when transferring more than $10k.  

[XtraFly]

19 hours ago, fceligoj said:

CIMB is not headquartered n Thailand.  I think they are Malaysian.  In Khon Kaen, we had our mortgage with them.  They had one branch and 2 ATMs.  Several years ago they closed their branch and one of the ATMs.  So from a utilization perspective, I am not sure it is a good choice.

 

Bangkok Bank is the easiest bank for setting up transfers from the US to Thailand.  But you should really look at Wise.com as the best approach for transferring money to Thailand, best exchange rate and a very, very competitive fee structure, probably one of the best.  Check it out.

Tha k you for that, never heard of them I’ll take a look, I compared 6 different services and MoneyGram gave me the highest conversion rate and lowest fees just slower than others, but I’ll definitely look into wise.

[XtraFly]

16 hours ago, LOS1 said:

Whichever bank you choose DO NOT transfer money in baht as you will get a very low exchange rate. Transfer as US denomination and let your Thai bank convert to baht.

I appreciate you, the conversion will take place in the US and it’s a very high rate. So from my main bank it’ll be sent to MoneyGram converted and the. Sent to hopefully my Thai bank as Bahts. Or else I’ll use your method of course

[XtraFly]

15 hours ago, tonray said:

Not just Thais...I often do this to pay vendors who come to the house...I just scan the QR code they generate and done, and of course electric and water bills always this way.

Not that it’s my business but I got really curious what vendors you pay at home ? Is that a common thing in Thailand or what I understood the massage ladies etc. LOL sorry just curious.

[tonray]

2 hours ago, XtraFly said:

Not that it’s my business but I got really curious what vendors you pay at home ? Is that a common thing in Thailand or what I understood the massage ladies etc. LOL sorry just curious.

Air conditioner service people, Landscape contractors, etc...you must have a very limited set of experiences in your short stay hotel accomodations

[XtraFly]

On 8/30/2021 at 11:12 PM, khunPer said:

You will normally get little better exchange rate by transferring money in foreign currency - some used to mention Kasikorn Bank (K-bank) as the bank with the best exchange rates, but the differences might be minor. Paypals exchange rates are by the way awful.

 

Most, if not all, Thai banks have online e-banking, and a smartphone app. Paying by phone-app instead of cash in for example hypermarkets and a number of chain stores become more and more used.

 

I'm using both Bangkok Bank and SCB, and my girlfriend is using SCB and Kasikorn; those are the three major banks, and all have e-banking. mobile apps, branches all over (mainly in malls), and many ATMs; however Bangkok Bank have less and SCB most in numbers.

 

It might be difficult to open a Thai bank account as tourists, the only way is to shop around - it might not even be a brand-rule, but can be down to the individual branch; so if one named bank refuse to open an account for a tourist, then another branch of the same bank might accept it...????

Hello my friend. I love when I see your comments, the details and all the useful info you add makes me trust your opinion and experience very easily ????