Account opening which Thai bank for money transfer via Wise

[stat]

I am looking to open an bank account in Thailand:

 

1. Is there any bank that does not charge for using their ATM or make a counter withdrawal if I have an account with that bank (even when in another province)
2. Account should be free
3. Anything elso to consider? (Grab bonuses, wise transfer shows as international etc)?

 

Thanks!

 

My gut feeling tells me Bangkok Bank, then yellow bank as they are the ones that do not charge foreign CC counter withdrawal. How about Citibank here in Thailand? I live in Hua Hin on OA Visa (close to Market Village) but maybe will move in the coming months. Will withdraw about 60.000 Baht per month on average. Reason for this post, my main credit card got cancelled for living in Thailand (instead of Germany)...

 

 

[Lemsta69]

I use Bangkok Bank (BBL) and tbh I'm not very happy with them. They charge a 15 baht out-of-province ATM withdrawal fee which is not a massive amount but it just annoys me for some reason even though I'm trying to become for jai yen yen or whatever it's called. They're paying me less interest because I'm a dirty foreigner which makes it even more annoying ????

 

You can avoid that fee by using the Cardless Cash function at most BBL ATMs but you need their Bualuang app installed on your smartphone and a data connection. 

 

I had to use an agent in Pattaya to open my account almost a year ago. All I got was a silly ATM card that only supports Union Pay, whatever that is. Now they want B599 to renew the almost useless card. 

 

Sensing money via Wise to a BBL account is a bit of an issue. You have to choose "Funds for long stay" from a drop-down menu but they can't guarantee the incoming funds will be marked as an International Transfer. Forum members have reported occasional failures with Wise's software and the funds are tagged as local transfers which requires additional legwork. 

 

Also it takes longer for the funds to arrive because they do a batch transfer around 2pm each business day. 

 

On top of that, BBL won't give you a 12 month statement on the spot at a branch. Max is 6 months @ 100 baht. They have to send a request to head office for a 12 month statement and it can take some time to arrive. Other members can comment on the usual timeframes, I haven't needed it yet.

 

I'm looking to switch to KBank as soon as I get around to obtaining a residence certificate from Chaeng Wattana. 

 

This is just my experience, other members will be along soon enough to provide more input.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Lemsta69
remove bold text. devs please fix mmkay?

[scubascuba3]

Bangkok Bank is best especially if you want to use the account for retirement extension eventually.

 

I thought all banks charged around 15 baht for out of province withdrawals.

 

I also have Kasikorn and Krunsgri 

[fdsa]

 

 

your choice  is pretty limited - only 3 banks are suitable. Among these three I have an account only with Bangkok Bank and could agree that it is not the best bank.

I think that you should try Kasikorn as I know many people who have accounts with Kasikorn and are very happy with it.

[soi3eddie]

Kasikorn Bank (was Thai Farmer then) has been great for me over the last 18 years. If you don't like the out of area ATM fee then take out maximum allowed each time to minimize the cost. One thing I used to do do was bank transfer to GF at no fee and she could withdraw from her card at no fee. You can also use QR code or debit card at no fee. Simples? No?