What is the least amount of money you can keep in your Thai bank to keep the account open? If only on a temporary basis.

2,000 baht with at least one transaction per year. 

I think it varies from bank to bank and also depends on the account type. I have one account that requires a minimum 5k Baht. The bigger problem is the period of inactivity which can see the account charged for no transactions.

2 minutes ago, Nemises said:

2,000 baht with at least one transaction per year. 

I reckon that is correct.  I had an inactive Kasikorn account which was below 2000 they then started taking a 50 baht fee each month.  It got down to about 500 and I put 2000 in and the monthly fee then stopped.  I made sure there was minor activity on it and resurrected the account when I visited the branch.  

Can I cancel my debit card account with Bangkok Bank an keep just an ordinary account, "is that a current account?" Can I still transfer money from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank through Wise?

24 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

What is the least amount of money you can keep in your Thai bank to keep the account open? If only on a temporary basis.

 

I believe you can go below 2000 baht for up to a year with no activity before the account is declared inactive and monthly service fees will commence. 

 

You can drop to 0 baht and still have one year before the account is closed.

 

I withdrew all funds from a Krungsri savings account, the clerk would not close it at the time, said it would close automatically.  It remained open with 0 baht for two years, no activity, no service fees.

 

 

12 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Can I cancel my debit card account with Bangkok Bank an keep just an ordinary account, "is that a current account?" Can I still transfer money from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank through Wise?

Your debit card account IS an ordinary account.  A current account has a cheque book which is not what you want.  When your debit card expires if you don't replace it you won't get charged for a new one, dunno if you can cancel an unexpired card.  Yes, you can use Wise to top up your account, that's what I did.

17 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

I believe you can go below 2000 baht for up to a year with no activity before the account is declared inactive and monthly service fees will commence. 

 

You can drop to 0 baht and still have one year before the account is closed.

 

I withdrew all funds from a Krungsri savings account, the clerk would not close it at the time, said it would close automatically.  It remained open with 0 baht for two years, no activity, no service fees.

 

 

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

1 minute ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

No.  Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya) is the yellow one, Krungthai is blue.

6 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

 

59 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Can I cancel my debit card account with Bangkok Bank an keep just an ordinary account, "is that a current account?" Can I still transfer money from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank through Wise?

cancel the card in branch and they won't deduct the annual fee, may refund pro rata fee paid already

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

What is the least amount of money you can keep in your Thai bank to keep the account open? If only on a temporary basis.

Which Bank?

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

I reckon that is correct.  I had an inactive Kasikorn account which was below 2000 they then started taking a 50 baht fee each month.  It got down to about 500 and I put 2000 in and the monthly fee then stopped.  I made sure there was minor activity on it and resurrected the account when I visited the branch.  

As said above - when gets below a set amount (believe 2k is normal for a period of time) they start to charge a monthly fee until empty - but you can still use and make deposits to get it above that amount.  Below is BBL official notice:

Quote

If your savings account has been inactive for more than one year with a balance of less than Baht 2,000, a maintenance fee of Baht 50 will be deducted from your account each month. When the balance is zero, your account will be automatically closed.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/-/media/Files/Personal/Other-Services/Branch-Services/International-Branches/ExpatBooklet_Jan2017.ashx?la=en&hash=15587776FB3E6C04F9DE10BC2742AFE153E20D44#:~:text=If your savings account has,account will be automatically closed.

36 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

Which Bank?

Bangkok Bank. 

Why keep an account if less than 500-1000$ balance longer term anyway.

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Can I cancel my debit card account with Bangkok Bank an keep just an ordinary account, "is that a current account?" Can I still transfer money from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank through Wise?

You can cut the Debit Card in half and throw it away. The account will still be active.

And yes, Wise will still send money to it.

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

But it is spelled differently.

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Can I cancel my debit card account with Bangkok Bank an keep just an ordinary account, "is that a current account?" Can I still transfer money from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank through Wise?

Come on NoShow, use your brain.

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

Specsavers may help.

 

3 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

What is the least amount of money you can keep in your Thai bank to keep the account open? If only on a temporary basis.

Running low then?

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

Specsavers may help.

 

I only got mixed up with the colours and the names being similar.

27 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Why keep an account if less than 500-1000$ balance longer term anyway.

There is a good reason I can assure you. have to watch the defamation rule.

4 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

I only got mixed up with the colours and the names being similar.

 

Are you colour blind ?

If you are using Bangkok bank due to getting a visa via an agent it pays to keep the account active if you wish to keep agent fees down. 

 

I pissed off to NZ for 5 years and had to activate a new account on my return. It costs extra to do so (Unless you've already got 'sufficient' funds to cover everything). 

3 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Can I cancel my debit card account with Bangkok Bank an keep just an ordinary account, "is that a current account?" Can I still transfer money from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank through Wise?

What you would class as a 'current' account in the UK, is referred to as a 'checking' account in Thailand.
This type of account comes with a cheque book and not available to foreigners, hence we use the 'Savings' type accounts.

 

You can cancel your debit card, return it to the bank, that will only save annual fee charges.
Should you wish to then withdraw cash, you'd require your passport and passbook to withdraw over the counter.

3 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

You can’t be serious, trolling.

3 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

For some who may not know:

 

Krungsri, also known as Bank of Ayudhya, is the 5th largest commercial bank in Thailand.

Krungthai, also known at KTB, is a government Ministry of Finance owned commercial bank.

For 3 years during Covid balance was around 500 give or take in my SCB account to allow for Debit Card annual fee. Twice a year used there mobile top up facility

 

 

5 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Is Krungsri and Krungthai the same bank? It has the same colours?

Have you ever been in Thailand?

4 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Why keep an account if less than 500-1000$ balance longer term anyway.

What???