Foreign Bank in Thailand

[TT1951]

Plenty of phone calls etc so maybe someone here (satisfied customer) can help.

 

Living here permanently on a retirement visa.

 

I am from OZ but have no and want no OZ Bank accounts.

 

I have all my funds in Bangkok Bank.

 

I want to open a second Bank Account non Thai and Deposit 250k USD.

 

I talked to HSBC Thailand but they don't do personnel Accounts.

I looked at Citi Bank Singapore but looks like you need a Sing Pass which I don't have.

I went into the UOB in Buriram but they wouldn't open an account for me.

 

Any advise is welcomed, cheers.

[gamb00ler]

You will find several recommendations in the Interest Rate thread:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1152546-bank-savings-interest-rates-2021/

[Liverpool Lou]

42 minutes ago, TT1951 said:

Any advise is welcomed,

Those banks that you referred to, operating in Thailand, with "non-Thai" names are registered here as Thai banks, i.e. Citibank is Citibank Thailand, UOB is United Overseas Bank Thailand.   They are subject to the same Bank of Thailand regulations as local Thai banks.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[KhunBENQ]

4 hours ago, TT1951 said:

I want to open a second Bank Account non Thai and Deposit 250k USD.

As written: there is no "foreign" bank. All banks are licensed under the same Thai rules.

If you want to keep the money in USD there are foreign currency accounts (also at Bangkok Bank).

I have no expertise on that except that it is expensive in terms of fees.

[TT1951]

53 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

As written: there is no "foreign" bank. All banks are licensed under the same Thai rules.

If you want to keep the money in USD there are foreign currency accounts (also at Bangkok Bank).

I have no expertise on that except that it is expensive in terms of fees.

Thanks all for the much appreciated info

[BonMot]

I would put that money in Singapore. Private banking. I'd go further to say buying Sing dollars as well.

[TT1951]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:34 AM, BonMot said:

I would put that money in Singapore. Private banking. I'd go further to say buying Sing dollars as well.

That would be nice but without a Sing Pass (work permit or singapore address) I am not able to open a Singapore Bank Account it seems.

 

Cheers

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

The only Western bank in Thailand I am aware of that is both a branch of the parent company and offers consumer banking services is Citibank. As a branch, its financial security is the same as the parent company's, although it is still subject to Thailand's banking regulations.

 

Unfortunately, Citi is in the process of selling its Thai consumer banking operations to United Overseas Bank (Thai) Public Company Limited. As a locally incorporated entity, UOB (Thai)'s financial strength is only as good as the local company's balance sheet. 

 

After Citi finishes its sale to UOB (Thai), it appears that there won't be any Western bank branches offering consumer banking services in Thailand. There are other American, European, Japanese, Indian and Malaysian banks with branches in Thailand, but I don't think any of them offer consumer banking services. Your choices are then limited to Thai banks or the locally incorporated ventures of non-Thai banks.

 

There are banks, HSBC comes to mind, that offer offshore accounts based in many of the world's financial centers, but Thailand isn't among them. If you're interested, google HSBC offshore account.