How To Improve My Wife's Credit Rating

[onethailand]

Unfortunately, the Thai banks are unable to employ a bit of lateral thinking. They have been advised that a foreigner needs a WP to work. so how can a foreigner who doesn't work have any money?! Yes, they can see lots of money coming into his bank account each month... But the rules say WP so we have to refuse him a CC...

In Thailand, people are taught to follow orders. They learn by rote in school. They must quietly obey the orders of elders when they are kids. They have no chance to learn to be creative or independent.

Sadly, that's the truth. And bank employees are especially not known for lateral thinking.

[fletchsmile]

The Thai WP shows a few things: You have a job. You're legally permitted to be in Thailand. Perhaps most importantly a commitment and reason for being here. From the bank's perspective they of course want some likelihood of being paid back and want some likelihood of being able to contact you if you don't. They want some comfort that there is a downside to you of not paying.

As a foreigner you're overseas income alone is of some (but very little) comfort to a Thai bank. Think about it. Otherwise you'd get someone flying all over the world to different countries, saying and perhaps showing even how much money they have at home. They obtain cards from all these countries, max them out and don't pay. What could the bank do? legally difficult, economically perhaps not even worthwhile, administratively a hassle....

[cmsally]

As another poster has said before if you have a fairly good working relationship with one bank and you lock away a defined amount of money in the related acct; they should be willing to give your wife a credit card. You also have a business so I would imagine it should be no problem. If you get no luck at one bank hint to them you might have to move your acct to a bank more accommodating Accept the lowest credit limit, whatever it takes. For your wife this should be no problem (for you it seems the work permit is becoming fairly standard) and you should be able to get a card "attached" to the same acct.

[simon43]

Some helpful advice from several posters.

Here is another example of how 'short-sighted' Thai banks can be:

Our hotel has a POS terminal from Kasikorn Bank for customer payment by credit-cards. It took a long 'fight' last year for them to issus us with this machine. Since then, it's worked very well.

Last week, my wife and I asked Kasikorn for a facility to accept credit-card payments from our hotel website. They said that we would need to lock 200,000 baht into our account for the whole period that this facility would be available for us, ie the lifetime of the business.

I politely declined their offer and found a Thai online payment gateway that has provided us with this online payment facility for 400 baht per month and no set-up fees. Transaction charge is only 1% above that offered by Kasikorn...

Simon

[onethailand]

Last week, my wife and I asked Kasikorn for a facility to accept credit-card payments from our hotel website. They said that we would need to lock 200,000 baht into our account for the whole period that this facility would be available for us, ie the lifetime of the business.

I politely declined their offer and found a Thai online payment gateway that has provided us with this online payment facility for 400 baht per month and no set-up fees. Transaction charge is only 1% above that offered by Kasikorn...

With Kasikorn, the bank guarantee is applicable to all businesses in Thailand. They're not discriminating between Thais and farangs here. We've been asked for the same guarantee as well, and so far I've done nothing about it.

Bangkok Bank, on the other hand, doesn't want a guarantee - but they will charge you upwards of 5% for web-based transactions - needless to say this is not possible given the profit margins.

I've been told to talk to SCB as well, don't know their requirements at the moment.

In the meantime, you're either using Thaiepay or Paysbuy. Paysbuy looks like it may be getting more practical, I am studying that at the moment - but I also have Paypal as an option as I have a US account.

To be honest, I don't even bother with applying for credit here in Thailand. Major pain in the butt.

[Furbie]

I had a very agressive AMEX sales exec who really worked to get me a card.

His ultimate refusal was based upon "you don't have enough money in your various bank accounts". At the time I had a documented 5 million Baht.

I know the refusal was based on a black mark on my U.S. credit rating, but since I don't need another credit card to "show off" like many Thais, I didn't bother to clear up the black mark. My U.S. credit cards are more than I need, since my SCB debit card does it all for me everywhere in the world.

My suggestion to OP is to buy a bank fixed deposit instrument with the maximum interest possible from the bank you do business with and use it to back up the credit card, ie. let them block it with authority to draw down on it, if you don't pay the card.

Would not a debit card, that comes with almost any bank account work for the use you intend the credit card to be for?

Why did you tell them about your US cards? There is no way they can check without your SS number.