Opening A New Bank Account In Thailand

[Robby nz]

Something a little different:

I have just extended my retirement visa and for the first time did it with 800kb in the bank, previously I have done it on income but having to go to the embassy in BKK each year to prove income got a bit of a pest.

I have the 800kb+ in a SCB savings acc and thought I might as well get a bit more interest so went to put the 800k on a term deposit.

Very little English spoken at the branch here so the lady went along, I thought it would be a formality as I already have an account at the bank with the money in it, not so.

Seems the branch here have never done this before and they are being ultra cautious and have been calling and faxing papers back and forward to "Head office" for the last two days.

They have a pile of paper with instructions and questions, they have been asking things like; 'where is this money coming from, we need proof of your income' the money is coming from a savings acc in your bank, oh yes, back to call HO again.

'You dont have the correct visa in your passport', 'they dont give you a new visa each year only an extention, see here it is', back to call HO again.

The girl I usually deal with would like to just go ahead and put the money on TD and is trying to do the best she can for me but is afraid of getting into strife.

I told them today "just give me the money I will go to another bank" but they are not keen on that and asked me to give them another day to sort it out, I said OK and now wait to see what happens tomorrow.

When you say SCB, do you mean Standard Chartered or Siam Commerical, if the former then the branches outside of Bangkok are controlled very tightly by Bangkok head office.

Siam Commercial.

I had an acc with them in Hua Hin and then moved it to BKK because I was a patient at a hospital there at the time, very little problem with that, then when I moved to Singburi I changed the acc to here, they wanted a bit more paperwork but did it OK.

Now it would seem they have been given a new set of directives and this is what I have come up against.

[Robby nz]

Something a little different:

I have just extended my retirement visa and for the first time did it with 800kb in the bank, previously I have done it on income but having to go to the embassy in BKK each year to prove income got a bit of a pest.

I have the 800kb+ in a SCB savings acc and thought I might as well get a bit more interest so went to put the 800k on a term deposit.

Very little English spoken at the branch here so the lady went along, I thought it would be a formality as I already have an account at the bank with the money in it, not so.

Seems the branch here have never done this before and they are being ultra cautious and have been calling and faxing papers back and forward to "Head office" for the last two days.

They have a pile of paper with instructions and questions, they have been asking things like; 'where is this money coming from, we need proof of your income' the money is coming from a savings acc in your bank, oh yes, back to call HO again.

'You dont have the correct visa in your passport', 'they dont give you a new visa each year only an extention, see here it is', back to call HO again.

The girl I usually deal with would like to just go ahead and put the money on TD and is trying to do the best she can for me but is afraid of getting into strife.

I told them today "just give me the money I will go to another bank" but they are not keen on that and asked me to give them another day to sort it out, I said OK and now wait to see what happens tomorrow.

When you say SCB, do you mean Standard Chartered or Siam Commerical, if the former then the branches outside of Bangkok are controlled very tightly by Bangkok head office.

Siam Commercial.

I had an acc with them in Hua Hin and then moved it to BKK because I was a patient at a hospital there at the time, very little problem with that, then when I moved to Singburi I changed the acc to here, they wanted a bit more paperwork but did it OK.

Now it would seem they have been given a new set of directives and this is what I have come up against.

Got a call from the bank this morning with a yes answer.

All done now, dont know if the yes came from HO or they made the decision themselves, didnt ask.

[4evermaat]

That's interesting Robby, I had a similar experience when I moved from Hua Hin to Bangkok six years ago.

I tried to transfer my account from Hua Hin to a branch in Bangkok and they said I couldn't do so without a work permit, the fact I already had an account with their bank and just wanted to move it to their branch fell on deaf ears, they wouldn't budge. I said OK I will close the account and open an account elsewhere, they gave me my cash without blinking an eyelid, in excess of 1m Baht, and a walked across the road to Kasikorn and opened my account in minutes. In hindsight it was a silly thing to do.

I do wonder how future retirees will be able to prove their 800K deposit if they cannot open an account.

I think what they wanted you to do is just open a new account (not transfer the old one), then transfer the money to the new account (or withdraw and re-deposit).

There is something about opening a new account to the branch manager that must be a lot easier than transferring an existing account. Not sure if the branch that opens the account gets 'credits' and budgets based on performance, and an account opened there is counted towards the specific branch's performance to the big bosses.

i'm sure if you later had to move to a different location (especially a new province) and asked Kasikorn to 'transfer' your account to the new bank branch, you would run into the same hesitation.

[Indrid Cold]

Something of a report on opening an account.

No problems opening a pass book account at Krungthai bank in Maha Sarakham, dont rember name of plaza.

Did this with tourist visa and greased mouth thai ladyfriend. Her not that good pidgeon english outpreformed the entire bank staff.

Opening fee was 1000 bath, but it actually was 699 bath since 301 bath was deposited to the account. For this i got pass book, some documentation in thai and an ATM/VISA debit card.

I am not sure if she had to make some kind of guarantee for me, she said something about her forgetting id card made a phone call and then said something else to bank clerc who looked satisfied with this.

Whole process took like 15 minutes.

Not that importent information is that that the money for doing this went up to 1000 bath anyway since ladyfriend wanted a new cover for her iphone so she could take care of phone, not that the old one seemed to do a bad job, guess she was tired of the color and a slightly better brand cup of ice coffee.

Please bare with my poor english, this is the best a slightly dyslectic not native english speaker can do.

[sapalor]

Wauw thats great so it is better to go with a thai person right ?

[Indrid Cold]

Wauw thats great so it is better to go with a thai person right ?

Oh yes yes in case it was essential for me. My thai is limited to order nudel soup and bank personals english was even more.

Bank was full of people so a qualified guess is that it would have taken me a couple of minutes to annoy them enough.

All documentation to fill out was in thai only too.

[riclag]

I don't think there's any particular locational issue the weighs on a farang's likelihood of being able to open a Thai bank account with a tourist visa. It's probably more going to be a factor of which bank company you end up dealing with.

Last time I checked, BKK Bank's policy, as stated on their web site, said they would open savings accounts for farangs with tourist visas.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

Other members here over time also have reported good success in dealing with Kasikorn Bank.

Either of those would be a good starting place.

The thing you'll probably find a greater likelihood of in the major central BKK malls -- as opposed to the regular branches -- is being able to deal with an English speaking customer service rep. That's always a good first step.

Hi I went to a Sakon Nakhon branch of BKK Bank. to open a account so I can start transferring money to meet the Retire rule and I was told I needed someone to represent me or as my GF put it someone to ""guaranty" in writing. I went on there web site and if i'm not mistaken its says (passport with tourist visa and one of the following driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me or letter from the embassy,Tomorrow I'll go to the main office and see what they say. Never a dull mommet(lol).

[4evermaat]

I don't think there's any particular locational issue the weighs on a farang's likelihood of being able to open a Thai bank account with a tourist visa. It's probably more going to be a factor of which bank company you end up dealing with.

Last time I checked, BKK Bank's policy, as stated on their web site, said they would open savings accounts for farangs with tourist visas.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

Other members here over time also have reported good success in dealing with Kasikorn Bank.

Either of those would be a good starting place.

The thing you'll probably find a greater likelihood of in the major central BKK malls -- as opposed to the regular branches -- is being able to deal with an English speaking customer service rep. That's always a good first step.

Hi I went to a Sakon Nakhon branch of BKK Bank. to open a account so I can start transferring money to meet the Retire rule and I was told I needed someone to represent me or as my GF put it someone to ""guaranty" in writing. I went on there web site and if i'm not mistaken its says (passport with tourist visa and one of the following driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me or letter from the embassy,Tomorrow I'll go to the main office and see what they say. Never a dull mommet(lol).

The "guarantee" step isn't a big deal. Your friend/gf will just have to show their thai ID. The account will be opened in your name as normal.

[riclag]

I don't think there's any particular locational issue the weighs on a farang's likelihood of being able to open a Thai bank account with a tourist visa. It's probably more going to be a factor of which bank company you end up dealing with.

Last time I checked, BKK Bank's policy, as stated on their web site, said they would open savings accounts for farangs with tourist visas.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

Other members here over time also have reported good success in dealing with Kasikorn Bank.

Either of those would be a good starting place.

The thing you'll probably find a greater likelihood of in the major central BKK malls -- as opposed to the regular branches -- is being able to deal with an English speaking customer service rep. That's always a good first step.

Hi I went to a Sakon Nakhon branch of BKK Bank. to open a account so I can start transferring money to meet the Retire rule and I was told I needed someone to represent me or as my GF put it someone to ""guaranty" in writing. I went on there web site and if i'm not mistaken its says (passport with tourist visa and one of the following driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me or letter from the embassy,Tomorrow I'll go to the main office and see what they say. Never a dull mommet(lol).

The "guarantee" step isn't a big deal. Your friend/gf will just have to show their thai ID. The account will be opened in your name as normal.

Hi I asked her to do this and she asked the bank people at the bank they said, "they want a government worker to guarantee.

[4evermaat]

Hi I asked her to do this and she asked the bank people at the bank they said, "they want a government worker to guarantee.

That is weird. Maybe try bringing another person with you? Or try a different branch? The interpretations do seem to change from branch to branch, bank mgr/clerk to clerk, province to province.

I already had bkb accounts opened in phuket, and still had issues when i first opened account in chumphon. And that was with the atm card and passbooks of the previous account and of other banks in hand.

Crack a smile if you can and be gently persistent, with your thai friend/gf backing you up. Let us know what happens.

[riclag]

I'm going back tomorrow to the main office of BKK Bank in Sakon Nakhon to try to open a account . Regretfully My GF isn't very arguemenitive .I spoke to the guy in english at the branch bank and he concurred.(they want passport-visa -drivers licence-address in Thailand and a government worker to guarantee.

[sapalor]

Please keep us posted

[theoldgit]

I do wonder what they are asking the Thai person to guarantee, when opening a savings account there is no overdraft facility, you are depositing your money with the bank, maybe we should be checking the bank out.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[riclag]

I do wonder what they are asking the Thai person to guarantee, when opening a savings account there is no overdraft facility, you are depositing your money with the bank, maybe we should be checking the bank out.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

My GF told me that BKK Bank has a security cautious mentality .this wasn't her exact words because she can speak little English .As

she put it they do this because for the same reasons as if they(Thai's) were to try to open a Bank account in the US as a visitor.

[riclag]

I don't think there's any particular locational issue the weighs on a farang's likelihood of being able to open a Thai bank account with a tourist visa. It's probably more going to be a factor of which bank company you end up dealing with.

Last time I checked, BKK Bank's policy, as stated on their web site, said they would open savings accounts for farangs with tourist visas.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

Other members here over time also have reported good success in dealing with Kasikorn Bank.

Either of those would be a good starting place.

The thing you'll probably find a greater likelihood of in the major central BKK malls -- as opposed to the regular branches -- is being able to deal with an English speaking customer service rep. That's always a good first step.

Hi I went to a Sakon Nakhon branch of BKK Bank. to open a account so I can start transferring money to meet the Retire rule and I was told I needed someone to represent me or as my GF put it someone to ""guaranty" in writing. I went on there web site and if i'm not mistaken its says (passport with tourist visa and one of the following driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me or letter from the embassy,Tomorrow I'll go to the main office and see what they say. Never a dull mommet(lol).

Hi, BKK Bank branches in Sakon Nakhon won't honor a bank account opening in "Sakon Nakhon" unless you can meet all the requirements( passport with tourist visa and driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me (goverment working friend or someone to there liking to sponsor me.They did say however that I can open a account in BKK Bank's Bangkok office with just a passport,visa and driver's licence.After this go around I went to Sakon Nakhon branch Kasikorn Bank and opened a account with my passport and my GF was required to give her address ,phone# and signature only because they want a physical Thai address for contact purposes.My GF said if she wasn't there I wouldn't be able to open a account.There you have it and now I have it.

[4evermaat]

I do wonder what they are asking the Thai person to guarantee, when opening a savings account there is no overdraft facility, you are depositing your money with the bank, maybe we should be checking the bank out.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

My GF told me that BKK Bank has a security cautious mentality .this wasn't her exact words because she can speak little English .As

she put it they do this because for the same reasons as if they(Thai's) were to try to open a Bank account in the US as a visitor.

The "guarantee" is just a formality with some of the banks. I think ultimately you may have to go to a different branch.

Or use a different bank, and work your way into bangkok bank later. A different province account opening is another temporary option, then work your way into the local province scene

When I was opening up an account at kasikorn in Chumphon, I was a little nervous because there was only one branch in town; and i didn't want to have to go to a different location. But it all went smoothly.

[sunsetlover]

So it's a fact? It's better to go opening an account with a tourist visa on the passport, instead of just the 30-day stamp? Are EU and US passports treated equally btw?

I'm looking to open an account in BKK with the following criteria:

* Easy online banking with bill paying

* Low fees on incoming AND outgoing wire transfers to overseas banks (China, US and/or EU)

* Low or zero ATM fees

That's it, pretty straightforward.

Thanks!

[Trembly]

Something of a report on opening an account.

No problems opening a pass book account at Krungthai bank in Maha Sarakham, dont rember name of plaza.

Did this with tourist visa and greased mouth thai ladyfriend. Her not that good pidgeon english outpreformed the entire bank staff.

Opening fee was 1000 bath, but it actually was 699 bath since 301 bath was deposited to the account. For this i got pass book, some documentation in thai and an ATM/VISA debit card.

I am not sure if she had to make some kind of guarantee for me, she said something about her forgetting id card made a phone call and then said something else to bank clerc who looked satisfied with this.

Whole process took like 15 minutes.

Not that importent information is that that the money for doing this went up to 1000 bath anyway since ladyfriend wanted a new cover for her iphone so she could take care of phone, not that the old one seemed to do a bad job, guess she was tired of the color and a slightly better brand cup of ice coffee.

Please bare with my poor english, this is the best a slightly dyslectic not native english speaker can do.

Sermthai Complex (the one with Tesco Lotus in it).

[chiang mai]

So it's a fact? It's better to go opening an account with a tourist visa on the passport, instead of just the 30-day stamp? Are EU and US passports treated equally btw?

I'm looking to open an account in BKK with the following criteria:

* Easy online banking with bill paying

* Low fees on incoming AND outgoing wire transfers to overseas banks (China, US and/or EU)

* Low or zero ATM fees

That's it, pretty straightforward.

Thanks!

You don't want much, good look trying to find all that here in Thailand

When it comes to opening an account here, the type of visa doesn't really make much difference, I've been here for ten years and I have a one year retirement visa yet there are still some branches of some banks where I cannot get them to open any type of account for me, TMB Bank in Chiang Mai is a classic example. Yet talk to others and they will tell you that it's super easy to open an account at TMB, you get the idea?

[chiang mai]

I don't think there's any particular locational issue the weighs on a farang's likelihood of being able to open a Thai bank account with a tourist visa. It's probably more going to be a factor of which bank company you end up dealing with.

Last time I checked, BKK Bank's policy, as stated on their web site, said they would open savings accounts for farangs with tourist visas.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

Other members here over time also have reported good success in dealing with Kasikorn Bank.

Either of those would be a good starting place.

The thing you'll probably find a greater likelihood of in the major central BKK malls -- as opposed to the regular branches -- is being able to deal with an English speaking customer service rep. That's always a good first step.

Hi I went to a Sakon Nakhon branch of BKK Bank. to open a account so I can start transferring money to meet the Retire rule and I was told I needed someone to represent me or as my GF put it someone to ""guaranty" in writing. I went on there web site and if i'm not mistaken its says (passport with tourist visa and one of the following driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me or letter from the embassy,Tomorrow I'll go to the main office and see what they say. Never a dull mommet(lol).

Hi, BKK Bank branches in Sakon Nakhon won't honor a bank account opening in "Sakon Nakhon" unless you can meet all the requirements( passport with tourist visa and driver's licence from the states and or someone to the banks liking to represent me (goverment working friend or someone to there liking to sponsor me.They did say however that I can open a account in BKK Bank's Bangkok office with just a passport,visa and driver's licence.After this go around I went to Sakon Nakhon branch Kasikorn Bank and opened a account with my passport and my GF was required to give her address ,phone# and signature only because they want a physical Thai address for contact purposes.My GF said if she wasn't there I wouldn't be able to open a account.There you have it and now I have it.

If you were to obtain and show a Thai drivers licence you could have avoided all of that.

[Indrid Cold]

Something of a report on opening an account.

No problems opening a pass book account at Krungthai bank in Maha Sarakham, dont rember name of plaza.

Did this with tourist visa and greased mouth thai ladyfriend. Her not that good pidgeon english outpreformed the entire bank staff.

Opening fee was 1000 bath, but it actually was 699 bath since 301 bath was deposited to the account. For this i got pass book, some documentation in thai and an ATM/VISA debit card.

I am not sure if she had to make some kind of guarantee for me, she said something about her forgetting id card made a phone call and then said something else to bank clerc who looked satisfied with this.

Whole process took like 15 minutes.

Not that importent information is that that the money for doing this went up to 1000 bath anyway since ladyfriend wanted a new cover for her iphone so she could take care of phone, not that the old one seemed to do a bad job, guess she was tired of the color and a slightly better brand cup of ice coffee.

Please bare with my poor english, this is the best a slightly dyslectic not native english speaker can do.

Sermthai Complex (the one with Tesco Lotus in it).

Something of a report on opening an account.

No problems opening a pass book account at Krungthai bank in Maha Sarakham, dont rember name of plaza.

Did this with tourist visa and greased mouth thai ladyfriend. Her not that good pidgeon english outpreformed the entire bank staff.

Opening fee was 1000 bath, but it actually was 699 bath since 301 bath was deposited to the account. For this i got pass book, some documentation in thai and an ATM/VISA debit card.

I am not sure if she had to make some kind of guarantee for me, she said something about her forgetting id card made a phone call and then said something else to bank clerc who looked satisfied with this.

Whole process took like 15 minutes.

Not that importent information is that that the money for doing this went up to 1000 bath anyway since ladyfriend wanted a new cover for her iphone so she could take care of phone, not that the old one seemed to do a bad job, guess she was tired of the color and a slightly better brand cup of ice coffee.

Please bare with my poor english, this is the best a slightly dyslectic not native english speaker can do.

Sermthai Complex (the one with Tesco Lotus in it).

Yes i think thats the one. It has movies upstairs SF cinema, not the mall inside town with parking garge inside that has movies on top floor too.

[Rogue33]

Since I've been in Thailand I opened bank accounts with a few Thai banks.

SCB (Siam Commercial Bank). I opened a few bank accounts in different branches and I never had any problems to open an account with them. They only asked for passport and money to open the account.

Kasikorn. I opened a few accounts with Kasikorn. Term deposit and savings accounts. I didn't have any problem to open those accounts. They just requested my passport and money to open the account. Kasikorn also offered me a credit card because of the term deposits I have with them.

Bangkok Bank. This is actually the only bank that I had problem with. 2 branches just refused to open an account for me because I didn't have a work permit. I tried to tell them that I have a NON O and that I'm living here, didn't help. I went to another branch and they said no problem, just need passport and money to open the account. So I guess the branch manager can decide if they let foreigner open account and of what is required.

Krung Thai Bank. I opened an account there. No problem. Same requirements as other bank.

If you get refused just go to another branch and I'm pretty sure you will find a branch that will open an account for you. Maybe jst look at the bank website to find the location of branch in BKK.

[ragamuffin]

Do the savings accounts allow for online transfers to the EU or Thailand only?

[ragamuffin]

I just opened a savings account at the Kasikorn MBK branch. At least that's what I think I signed for on the Thai form.

[sapalor]

Wow was it easy to open the account at K-bank in mbk ?

[chiang mai]

I just opened a savings account at the Kasikorn MBK branch. At least that's what I think I signed for on the Thai form.

It's more likely that you've just agreed a loan at 150% interest per month and also to give them your first born.

[Sandello]

Few days ago I tried to open savings account in KBank in 2 offices on Sathorn Rd. Fail. They want work permit. I just a student with ED visa, and I don't have work permit.

Does anyone know witch KBank branch open an accounts without work permit?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Sounds from one of the above posts like the MBK branch for Kasikorn would be a good choice, as would their branches at places like Siam Paragon.

[Razzler1973]

That's interesting Bangkok Bank has that on their website about opening a bank account if you're there short-term

I live in Dubai and you cannot get travelers cheques nowadays. I do not like using my credit card and getting destroyed with fees on my own freaking money so this would be very handy. I assume it won't go dormant if it's left 9-12 months?

[chiang mai]

Few days ago I tried to open savings account in KBank in 2 offices on Sathorn Rd. Fail. They want work permit. I just a student with ED visa, and I don't have work permit.

Does anyone know witch KBank branch open an accounts without work permit?

Try the Kasikorn branches on Sukhumvit or Silom where there's a lot of tourist traffic, you just have to keep trying different branches until you find one that's not staffed with flat earth types.