Opening a bank account

[persimmon]

Having a Thai person accompany you and vouch for your respectability has worked in the past , particularly if they are a long time resident and well known in the area . Might still work ? Failing that , a non O retirement ( over 50 ) visa is available from your home country . Just needs proof of Bt 800 k in the bank ( not necessarily a Thai bank ).

[Lorry]

12 hours ago, persimmon said:

, a non O retirement ( over 50 ) visa is available from your home country . Just needs proof of Bt 800 k in the bank ( not necessarily a Thai bank ).

A non-OA visa, good for a 1- year stay,  is available in your home country. 

There are differences between OA and  O visa, e.g. OA visa requires health insurance (a pita)

 

A non-O visa from your home country is only good for a stay of 90 days,  but can be extended in Thailand, for a stay of 1 year,  at the immigration office.  This extension requires 800,000 in a Thai bank account. And this bank account is not easy to get.

[Upnotover]

26 minutes ago, Lorry said:

A non-OA visa, good for a 1- year stay,  is available in your home country. 

There are differences between OA and  O visa, e.g. OA visa requires health insurance (a pita)

 

A non-O visa from your home country is only good for a stay of 90 days,  but can be extended in Thailand, for a stay of 1 year,  at the immigration office.  This extension requires 800,000 in a Thai bank account. And this bank account is not easy to get

The point being made was that getting a non-O (single) in your home country does not require a Thai bank account.  And once you have entered with a non-O getting that Thai account for an extension is very easy indeed because you now meet the banks requirement.

[luicks]

3 different banks in my little town in Loei province refused to open another bank account for me (I have an SCB account) saying they can't do it on a non-O visa despite having 8 years of yearly extensions, only non-OA allowed. TiT

 

[Liverpool Lou]

On 4/17/2025 at 1:53 PM, NativeBob said:

Any inspection in the branch will show that account was opened to farang on tourist visa, which is prohibited.

No they won't try to contact you and ask nicely to clear things up. They will simply close your account. Not "suspend" or whatever, but hardcore shut it down. 

So please think twice before using magical agent.

If an account was authorised to be opened by the branch management (all new accounts require management/senior staff sign-off) the same branch management are not going to close the account that they authorised.  Please think twice before magical fear-mongering warnings.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 4/17/2025 at 11:23 PM, Suetape said:

On 4/17/2025 at 1:53 PM, NativeBob said:

Any inspection in the branch will show that account was opened to farang on tourist visa, which is prohibited.

No they won't try to contact you and ask nicely to clear things up. They will simply close your account. Not "suspend" or whatever, but hardcore shut it down. 

So please think twice before using magical agent.

Prohibited by Thai law or prohibited by bank policy?  

Bank policy/BoT recommendations; there is no statute prohibiting such action and branch managers have discretion as to who is permitted to open accounts and the requirement or waiving of certain conditions.

[safarimike11]

On 4/16/2025 at 9:15 AM, Tropicalevo said:

I have heard that Bangkok Bank sometimes say yes.

Friend of a friend managed to open one.

You may have to try in a couple of different branches though.

My opinion is to try a main branch of either Bangkok Bank or SCB. I wanted to open a fixed account last year (off-topic I know) both banks mentioned required 3 documents: passport, Thai driving licence (okay license) and my blue condo book. Although I had existing accounts with each bank, SCB was the one I ultimately chose on this occasion - the reason being that the process was much easier, more user-friendly and more streamlined.

[bravo19]

19 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

How does that work? 

Very easy! You can apply for a Non-O visa at Thai embassy in your home country. After that and arrived in Thailand no problem to get a Bank account. As a tourist no Bank account is needed!

[CallumWK]

1 minute ago, bravo19 said:

Very easy! You can apply for a Non-O visa at Thai embassy in your home country. After that and arrived in Thailand no problem to get a Bank account. As a tourist no Bank account is needed!

 

Still depends on the bank manager.

I live here more than 30 year, of which 17 on retirement extension, having my own yellow book and pink ID card

Only 2 years ago, SCB in Pattaya Big C extra refused me opening an account, and said I needed work permit.

In the meantime I have opened SCB accounts in 3 different branches.

Had a well funded Thanachart account for at least 10 years. Earlier this year I wanted to open an additional account in the same branch where I have my account and was refused. New policy, need work permit now to open an account.

Bangkok bank near Numchai refused to open a savings account, although I had a fixed one previously. I opened one in Central festival a bit later.

[oldcpu]

8 hours ago, CallumWK said:

 

Still depends on the bank manager.

 

Bank policies can also be slow in trickling down to individual banks at times as well.  Further I believe not all bank branches (nor their branch managers) may be up to date on policy.

 

When the 10-year LTR visa first came out, my wife was chatting to the local branch manager at a Krungsri bank, and she noted that branch had not yet been authorized by Krungsri HQ in Bangkok to open an account for a foreigner on an LTR visa.  In the same mall, UOB, SCB and KBank all had the same policy (not to open an account for LTR visa holders).  Less than 6 months later, thou, the policy changed. LTR visa holders now can open accounts in those banks.

 

I suspect a non-Bangkok branch may need to check with HQ in Bangkok at times, to confirm they have the current policy implementation.

 

Politely convincing a branch manager (to check with Bangkok when one has been refused to allow an account to open) may not be the easiest thing to do - given the cultural need to save face.

 

I may try to open a new account in SCB in the coming days.  My wife noted with an SCB account, one can then apply for a SCB planet visa 'debit' card. There is currently a promotion that if one then uses that card to purchase more than 20,000 THB equivalent in foreign currency items (ie when one is traveling abroad),  as a perk (for that 20,000) one is given 'one free dragon pass' ... where one dragon pass gives one a single free airport lounge access (for any airport lounge that honors dragon pass).  Such a pass is typically ~1300 THB equivalent to ~1700 THB equivalent value.  Purportedly (according to my wife)  this SCB planet card gives one the spot foreign exchange rate, although i am skeptical if that is true.

[treetops]

16 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

Purportedly (according to my wife)  this SCB planet card gives one the spot foreign exchange rate, although i am skeptical if that is true.

 

From their website:

[CallumWK]

2 hours ago, treetops said:

 

From their website:

 

I guess that mean you don't get the mid market rate, as you would get from Mastercard or Visa, plus 2.5% "fee".

[Lorry]

22 hours ago, Upnotover said:

And once you have entered with a non-O getting that Thai account for an extension is very easy indeed because you now meet the banks requirement.

Many posters have,  through the years,  reported that this is not so easy. 

Possible, yes.

Easy, no.

[treetops]

12 hours ago, CallumWK said:

I guess that mean you don't get the mid market rate, as you would get from Mastercard or Visa, plus 2.5% "fee".

 

There's no 2.5% fee, they make that clear elsewhere, but the wording in the snip I posted makes me think they're loading the rate to make their money so not ideal.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 4/20/2025 at 12:02 PM, bravo19 said:

On 4/19/2025 at 4:32 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

How does that work? 

Very easy! You can apply for a Non-O visa at Thai embassy in your home country. After that and arrived in Thailand no problem to get a Bank account. As a tourist no Bank account is needed!

Having a retirement extension is nowhere near a guarantee that opening a new bank account is an easy process or that it is "no problem", in the real world.  It certainly is not possible to "open as many accounts as you want" as easily as you make it seem.  If I am wrong please tell me how many new accounts you have been able to open "very easily" and the names of the cooperating banks.