Has anyone been charged a service fee for a low account balance by a Thai bank?

[FriscoKid]

I have a couple of Thai bank savings accounts that I rarely use, but I keep them open in case I need them someday. Each account has a balance of ฿20, and a couple times a year I move ฿100 in and out of the accounts just to show some activity and to let them know that the account owner is still breathing.

 

So far, I’ve never been charged a monthly service fee or had either bank threaten to close an account. From what I understand, most Thai banks require a ฿2,000 minimum average daily balance on savings accounts to avoid service fees, but in my experience, that requirement hasn’t been enforced.

 

Has anyone here had a different experience with Thai banks charging low balance or inactivity fees?

[JWNZ]

I believe that when your balance drops below 2000 THB, the account starts to incur service fees, those fees increase again, once the account balance drops below 1000B. Once fees have eroded the account to a zero balance, that account is then closed.
Once closed; in order to open a new one, you must visit a branch with a minimum 12-month visa and likely have to provide a certificate of residence, depending on specific bank requirements.

[msbkk]

The minimum opening balance for most banks is 500 Baht, for some 1,000 Baht. I have only seen one bank who charged customers for a low balance and that was the former Citibank Thailand.

[JohnnyBD]

8 hours ago, FriscoKid said:

I have a couple of Thai bank savings accounts that I rarely use, but I keep them open in case I need them someday. Each account has a balance of ฿20, and a couple times a year I move ฿100 in and out of the accounts just to show some activity and to let them know that the account owner is still breathing.

 

So far, I’ve never been charged a monthly service fee or had either bank threaten to close an account. From what I understand, most Thai banks require a ฿2,000 minimum average daily balance on savings accounts to avoid service fees, but in my experience, that requirement hasn’t been enforced.

 

Has anyone here had a different experience with Thai banks charging low balance or inactivity fees?

It's better to read your bank's minimum requirements, and then stay above. I get a notice every month on my BBL accts warning me of the minimum balance requirements even though I have never gone below. I think the fee on my USD acct is $10 per mth

[KhunBENQ]

Bangkok Bank has some minimum to be held for no charge.

It's sometimes it is stamped in the bank book. Might be 2000, not sure.

A bearable risk 🙄

 

20 Baht, heaven help 🫣

[KhunBENQ]

Couldn't find the answer on the BB website but some Reddit poster says that below 2000 Baht there is a fee of 50 Baht/month.

If balance is 0 the account will be closed after a year.

[CallumWK]

Most banks are 500 baht minimum. If no activity for 12 months, monthly charges start.

LH Bank is minimum 2000 baht, you can't even withdraw below that limit..

SCB and Thannachart in the past have closed my accounts because they reached ZERO, after a number of months.

Currently SCB says there is no such fee anymore, but I don't believe them, so I keep balance above 500 baht.

All banks I know about will make your account dormant if no activity for 12 or even 6 months for some banks. At that point you can't even see your balance in the app anymore.

You need to visit the branch to make it active again.

In the past few weeks I have been told by a few people that banks had closed their accounts because their address is still in their home country, although they visit Thailand often, and 2 of them live here.

[Sophon]

I don't think any Thai bank has a fee for simply not maintaining a minimum balance on a standard savings account. They do, however, have fees for accounts that are both inactive and have a low balance.

 

This is from Bangkok Bank's fees table (translated from Thai):

Quote

1. Fee for maintaining savings accounts and current accounts (excluding accounts with O/D limits):
   • Fee: 50 Baht per month.
   • Condition: Applicable to accounts with a balance of less than 2,000 Baht and no activity for 1 year or more.

 

Once the balance on the inactive account reaches zero, it will be closed by the bank.

 

The conditions for all major Thai banks are very similar on this.

[Sophon]

5 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

Most banks are 500 baht minimum. If no activity for 12 months, monthly charges start.

LH Bank is minimum 2000 baht, you can't even withdraw below that limit..

SCB and Thannachart in the past have closed my accounts because they reached ZERO, after a number of months.

Currently SCB says there is no such fee anymore, but I don't believe them, so I keep balance above 500 baht.

All banks I know about will make your account dormant if no activity for 12 or even 6 months for some banks. At that point you can't even see your balance in the app anymore.

You need to visit the branch to make it active again.

In the past few weeks I have been told by a few people that banks had closed their accounts because their address is still in their home country, although they visit Thailand often, and 2 of them live here.

 

This from SCB's FAQ:

[CallumWK]

Just now, Sophon said:

 

This from SCB's FAQ:

 

So my comment, I don't believe them what they told me,  is justified . 🙂 

[Sophon]

5 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

So my comment, I don't believe them what they told me,  is justified . 🙂 

 

True, but keeping the balance above 500 Baht won't help you. If the account is active, you don't need to keep the balance above 500 Baht, and if it is inactive you need to keep the balance above 2,000 Baht.

[CallumWK]

1 hour ago, Sophon said:

 

True, but keeping the balance above 500 Baht won't help you. If the account is active, you don't need to keep the balance above 500 Baht, and if it is inactive you need to keep the balance above 2,000 Baht.

I only have savings accounts with all banks, except Kasikorn, as I don't see the point in maintaining an account that pays 0.2%.

The Kasikorn account is the one I do all transactions with.

 

I have 1 savings account with SCB since June 2021, and the highest balance it has ever got is 505.04 Baht, and never had any fee deducted.

It has been dormant multiple times, but moving 1 baht from or to another SCB account, forgot which is the correct method, makes it active again