Thai banks are at it again

Letter to Pattaya Mail

23. July 2004

Editor;

This week I went to Krung Thai Bank to get my account passbook updated

and when I asked, where it shows the accrued interest for the first

half year I was told, "Farangs don't get interest on savings

accounts". Sounds familiar? When was it the last time that they tried

that on foreigners? 4 years or 5 years ago?

I had then requested and was given the internal memo of the bank's

head office (I presume) that states these different rates. With that

in hand I checked with other banks and the result of that was, that -

excluding the Bank of Asia - all other queried banks have the same

‘policy'. According to one banker it was a ‘mutual agreement' (‘ruam

mueh') among them to stop paying foreigners any interest, in the case

of the KTB since October 17th of last year.

One wonders if that amounts to fraudulent banking, if they quietly

and unilaterally change the conditions without telling the customer.

It seems to be of no concern if a foreigner is only on visit in

Thailand or permanent and/or working here, as in my case, the account

was opened by my employer, a well known Thai company. It would only

be different - I was told - if the foreigner has a house registration,

which is basically impossible.

Now we can wait for another white lie, that this has been implemented

on orders of the Bank of Thailand, which isn't true and which would

not even be legally possible. What the B-o-T decreed, however, is that

the current interest rates have to be prominently displayed in every

branch. Given that the banks have different ‘groups' of customers,

they normally should be forced to show interest rates for all the

different groups of customers.

So everybody better check with his bank, if they behave like Krung

Thai, Bangkok, Kasikorn and Siam Commercial bank (the ones I had

checked).

The last time they tried this scam, these Thai banks lost a lot of

foreigners, lost face and even many Thais, who went with their money

from these banks to the B-o-A, which by the way has a better service

(some branches open on Sat/Sun). And beside that, who said that

anybody has to keep vast amounts of money in Thailand, where even the

regular interest rates are ridiculous?

Sam Munich

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Source: http://www.pattayamail.com

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thats tough if you have a few million bahts saved ,

someone is taking the p1ss

Well it wouldn't surprise me, actually. I have an account with Siam Commercial Bank. Each month my salary (from one of the major international employers) is paid directly into my account, which is supposedly a daily-interest savings account.

When they update the passbook, it itemizes every single ATM withdrawal and even the most trivial debit. But if I make several deposits it only only shows one entry at the end of the month with all the deposits combined! It's a sneaky little trick that allows them to sit on the incoming money for weeks at a time collecting interest for the bank and nothing for me.

Of course, I could complain, and have, but my employer will only allow my salary to be paid directly to SCB. I have no choice, and in any event, TIT.

SCB also screws those of us with American Express accounts in USD. Whenever we go to pay our bills at Amex on Paholyothin, they use the worst exchange rate available on the day to pay THEIR BILL! When pressed on this they blame the Bank of Thailand. This is partly true, because in reality, Amex has no banking or financial status here and MUST USE Siam Comm Bank as its banking partner. Oh, there's that word again "partner". (My advice to anyone thinking about investing in Thailand or a joint-venture with a Thai partner - don't. Look at Carlseberg, look at Pizza Hut, look at Amex, look at the American guy who got thrown out of the country after getting shafted by a famous telecoms partner..)

For those of us who are already here, it may be time to investigate Citibank..anyone have any personal experience with them?

Kasikorn pays intrest on closing of the account. It may not be much but it's something.

"For those of us who are already here, it may be time to investigate Citibank..anyone have any personal experience with them? "

I tried using them in America. Had nothing but hassles. I even sent a letter to some regional manager to fix my situation. Didn't do anything of course.

If you never need any real cs help, I bet citibank is just fine.

Farangs Get 0% Interest On Bank accounts ?

What if it's a joint account with wifey?

Farangs Get 0% Interest On Bank accounts ?

What if it's a joint account with wifey?

I have joint account at Bangkok Bank and receive normal interest every six months, including this past June.

get my interest every 6 months from kasikorn ,last time in june . granted its not much , but hope there isnt a new policy in place here . as lopburi points out ,joint account is the answer for those who are affected .

I m also getting the interest as usual in SCB bank.I never had any complaints.Their service is excellent.and usually not as crowdy as Bangkok Bank.

Farangs Get 0% Interest On Bank accounts ?

What if it's a joint account with wifey?

I have joint account at Bangkok Bank and receive normal interest every six months, including this past June.

I got interest on my Phuket Krung Thai account in June (1,600 baht ) but nothing on my Bangkok Krung Thai account.

But I did get interest on my Bangkok Krung Thai account in December and June last year.

Perhaps Phuket don't realise I'm farang

I get interest on my Bangkok Bank accounts.