Int'l bank acct in bkk, but not usa?

[everyera]

i've read the forum discussions. i've tried to imagine what i couldn't see. it has all been very very helpful, (and has helped keep me in touch. can you imagine what it's like to leave your heart somewhere?), but i still have a question . . perhaps even a request.

it seems to me that the easiest/cheapest way to transfer money would be if that money were held in an international bank with offices/branches located in the usa and bangkok.

operating on that assumption i tried to find internatioanl banks with offices in the usa. citibank international personal banking accounts (IPB) popped up as a good choice. i followed that lead until i came to the sign up page for an account. it offered no choice to sign up for usa residents. it did not offer any explanation. (my guess/hope is that the web page was regionally specific and since i was in the usa it knew that i could not get an account and did not offer it).

i live in the usa now, expect to be in thai before end of year. my question is: is it possible for a usa citizen to open a citibank international personal banking (IPB) account in thailand? (on 60/90 day toursit visa?)

if yes, it is possible, must a domestic account be in existance in the usa prior to opening the thai int'l account?

if no, it is not possible, what was the impediment?

is my assumption valid regarding same bank international account to domestic account transfers being without cost, except for the standard conversion rate?

fees? setup requirements? my understanding is no minimum to open but $35/month if balance is below $25,000us. with a money transfer costing a minimum of $35, and ATM transactions at about 5%, i figure the $35 is well spent, if it is possible.

i appreciate whatever input you can provide.

thank you.

[caughtintheact]

First, I can't answer your specific question, but I am pretty sure you have to be in Thailand to open an account with any bank here, whether or not it is a branch of a foreign bank or not.  

I used to have an account with Bank America in the USA, but even with the account here, and an account here, they wanted to take three weeks or so to cash a check written on my USA account.  This was after BA stopped doing retail banking in Thailand.  Prior to that they would cash a check immediately.  

I recently did a wire transfer from USAA Federal Savings Bank in Texas to Thai Farmers Bank (KASIKORN), and it was done in about 5 working days with no hassle, except I had to call USAA (collect) first to provide the security information thy asked for.  The fee was $35.  You also need the Thai bank's swift code, address and phone number.  You might be asked for a routing number, but Thai banks do not use them.  

You always have the option of using a credit card to withdraw money from your USA account while in Thailand, and repaying from your USA savings or checking account.  

If you are transferring large amounts of money, I can see your point about wanting to use one bank, but for small amounts, say $2500 or so, I don't think you will have problems.  It would be better of course if you were able to do online banking with the local bank, so you could take expeditious followup action should anything go wrong, and certainly things have been known to go wrong.  

Perhaps our resident lawyer, Dr. Patpong can shed some light on the Thai laws on whether or not you have to be physically present in Thailand to open an account.

[Roger13]

and ATM transactions at about 5%,

You always have the option of using a credit card to withdraw money from your USA account while in Thailand, and repaying from your USA savings or checking account.  

Your quote of 5% seems very high for ATM charge

Maybe this is for a Cash Advance on a Credit Card

ATM withdrawals are much cheaper if you have a Debit

Card on your USA Savings or Checking accounts, which is taking money from Funds in your account.

There are many ATMs in Thailand from which you can

draw funds from your account in USA - there is no need

to Transfer funds thru a Bank here for a Holiday

[caughtintheact]

Roger13 - you are right.  ATM transactions are more like 2-2.5%, but that may depend on the bank.  Ifanyone gets charged much more, they should change credit cards.

[lopburi3]

I do not believe that there is any advantage of having an account in a US branch bank here in Thailand.  First of all it is not convenient as they likely only have one office here.  Secondly they will not be happy to serve you unless you are depositing many hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Do not believe you would save much, if anything, in fees.  American banks wrote that book.

A wire transfer from my mid-west US bank to my local Bangkok Bank takes less than 2 days.  If I call Monday night Bangkok time the money is in my account here Wednesday.

For atm or debit card use you should not pay more than 1% more then the wholesale exchange rate with most US banks (some large ones are exceptions) plus the normal atm fee.  It should be spelled out in the fine print of your electronic funds transfer agreement.

[everyera]

thank you.

first of all i failed to mention that i intend to move to thailand. my initial entry will be with a tourist visa, which i expect/hope to be able to extend into a Non Im, probably O, visa.

while no one said so, yes it was stupid of me to ask if anyone knew the loss of a heart. of course you all do and have followed it to Thailand. or so i suspect.

back to money and banks:

another bank i looked at was hsbc. they require a $5,000 opening deposit. they didn't have a usa branch so i dropped it there. (although it is important to note that all a bank needs to qualify for really cheap transfer rates is an ABA number. American Banking something or other. a routing number of a particular type. if any BKK bank has an ABA number i would love to know of it).

as to responses to those who were kind enough to respond to my post. thank you. while informative i am not yet certain i know what best to do. currently i am of the opinion that:

i bring some TCs with me for deposit into a bkk local bank. wait until acclimated, then research an int'l bank from bkk end.

my 5% ATM charge is based on never have had one, and for a reason. banks seem to think it is their money i have left in trust to them. to ban me from using a real live teller without a fee being charged, and to then charge me for the only other way i have to interact with a bank is venal.

but i must bend with the breeze. looking only briefly, in the hopes i never have to actually use my atm card, i noticed a fee structure. it dealt only with the usa, and requested i phone for rates outside the usa. rather like an auctioneer saying in his catalog, phone for reserve. if i have to ask, i can't afford it.

if i use my bank and their atm system, i am charged nothing! if i use either another bank or their system, i am charged a fee plus the other bank will charge me a fee plus the other system will charge me a fee. all so i can get my 'demand deposit'.

after a brief calculation of fees i could see, i decided that i couldn't afford to call for 'other' rates.

so since most of you seem to use atm cards i must ask:

are these cards based on english/usa banks or on thai/bkk banks?

if based on a local Thai bank, then how did you get your money into the country initially and how do you add to it?

[lopburi3]

Most travelers or those supporting a 'friend' use the atm or debit card and this is an excellent method for the least cost.  You get an exchange rate above the normal cash rate (even after the bank takes a 1% fee) and there is no charge at this end for atm use.  The only cost is your home bank charge of about $1-2 per transaction.  For travel/support amounts this is probably the best.  Card should be linked to Plus/Cirrus or one of the other major systems.  Can be debit card.

For money transfer it is best to do only when needed, at about $9,000 as this saves on the transfer fees.  Most banks will charge about $45 for foreign wires and then there is a small charge at this end.  But this brings in a lot of 'baht' at one time and you can draw this with a local atm card at any atm in the country.

You might call Bangkok Bank office in New York to see if they have an ABA number.  Some have said they do although I just pay my foreign wire transfer fee every two or three months as I know it works.

[Roger13]

it seems to me that the easiest/cheapest way to transfer money would be if that money were held in an international bank with offices/branches located in the usa and bangkok.

I would suggest that you first find a bank in USA that issues an International Debit Card on your Savings or Checking Account - VISA or MasterCard (with, as Lopburi says, "Plus" or "Cirrus" system symbols on it).

Then ask that Bank for the name of their Correspondent Bank in Thailand. If you then choose to Bank with them - that should reduce delays on Transfers and keep charges to a minimum.

[pepi2005]

Hello,

somewhat motivated by your comments here, yesterday I tried to open an account at one of the banks you suggested here, just to be told that without a working permit it's not possible to get what I need. However, I was sent to another bank and given the tip that it's possible there. After 20 minutes in the waiting line, I was, too, politely informed that 'without working permit [..] not possible.' And you couldn't imagine how much I smiled before .. but no way.

But, they continued, I could go to the [ask me by PM if you're interested] Bank - there it should 'really' be possible.

To keep it short - it wasn't. Lucky me my girlfriend was my compagnion and after a few minutes of discussions between her and the personel, I could indeed open an account including ATM feature after she showed her ID card.

I was so happy that I entered the other 2 banks just to tell them (without telling them, where it was) that I am now the proud owner of a banking account. Maybe it has some educational effect on them when they know that the $$$ will float around them if they just act like clerky boneheads.

So the bottom line is: it definitely seems not to be possible to open a banking account in TH when not having a work permit (anymore? -> pressure by USA & various ACME's). Everything is getting more complicated in this country every month (like in Wasteland) .. but still there are exceptions if you have people you can count of or who are really willing to help.

just my 2 cents-

Pepi