Opening A New Bank Account In Thailand

[timi2546]

Did you get internet banking? Thanks for all your feedback guys

hi, i tried to get BB internet banking (ekamai bangkok),

i was asked wpermit , so didnt get it.-

thai military bank in pattaya

gave internet access in few days, so, it is ok for me

cheers,

timi

[BWPattaya]

You’ll need either a work permit or a non-O immigration visa in your passport to open a Thai bank account these days.

Deposit of 500-1000 Baht is required with Bangkok Bank (head office, silom road) when open a new account in your name.

I have several accounts, Be 1st debit card and internet banking as well based on non-O immigration visa with Bangkok Bank head office.

Sorry, but you are wrong. I recently sold a house and went to the bank (SCB) with the buyers. I asked for the money in cash to place in my Kasikorn account. They didn't like the idea of me carrying a lot of cash so they suggested I open an account with them (SCB) but I said I didn't have my passport or a letter from Immigration. They asked for my driving licence and immediately opened an account. Just asked me to take my passport in later.

[alstaxi]

Thanks alstaxi, what about transfers from overseas? Are they as quick and reliable as BB?

yes , same same as BB

[alstaxi]

I have my account and credit card with Bangkok Bank, choose them because I was told they are the best when it comes to getting funds into the country by wire transfer. This is true, if my bank in Canada does a transfer, the next day the funds are in my account here. Getting a credit card required a hold on double the credit limit of the card???

The thing that I found odd was that if you go to any branch other than the one you have your account, they charge you to withdraw AND to deposit money to/from your account. Is this standard procedure with all banks in Thailand? What about the holding of funds for the CC ?

Bangkok Bank will charge you to deposit and withdraw money at any branch/atm that is not where you opened your account. They have some other strange rules that are repeated on this forum weekly. Kasikorn Bank has none of the problems you will encounter at Bangkok Bank, from opening an account, to atm card ,to internet access. I suggest you visit Kasikorn Bank, take your passport , its all you need, oh yeah 100 baht for the atm card.

Hi I am Bangkok Bank based but use almost exclusively automated machines. I do not see the charges you are referring to, regardless of branch. What are you doing?

I know I have an outstanding Bangkok Bank question regarding internet banking, but will attempt to deal with this on Monday the 24^th.

Take your pass book into your branch and update it, they are charging you 20 baht for each withdrawal , at an atm not bolted to the front of the branch you opened your account at.

[Sophon]

Take your pass book into your branch and update it, they are charging you 20 baht for each withdrawal , at an atm not bolted to the front of the branch you opened your account at.

Sorry, but it is simply not true that Bankok Bank charge for use of all other ATM's than the one at your home branch. Bangkok Bank does, however, charge a fee if you use an ATM in another province, but so do other banks.

Sophon

[alstaxi]

Take your pass book into your branch and update it, they are charging you 20 baht for each withdrawal , at an atm not bolted to the front of the branch you opened your account at.

Sorry, but it is simply not true that Bankok Bank charge for use of all other ATM's than the one at your home branch. Bangkok Bank does, however, charge a fee if you use an ATM in another province, but so do other banks.

Sophon

Bangkok Bank may not charge a fee for withdrawals from a branch other than your own, now, they most assuredly did, a year ago, which is why I no longer deal with them. Maybe they are trying to get back lost customers, but they still have some rules Kasikorn simply does not, from opening an account, to accessing it via the internet, to obtaing an ATM card,

Kasikorn Bank does not care which province you are in , as long as it is a Kasikorn ATM, its free.

[Sophon]

Take your pass book into your branch and update it, they are charging you 20 baht for each withdrawal , at an atm not bolted to the front of the branch you opened your account at.

Sorry, but it is simply not true that Bankok Bank charge for use of all other ATM's than the one at your home branch. Bangkok Bank does, however, charge a fee if you use an ATM in another province, but so do other banks.

Sophon

Bangkok Bank may not charge a fee for withdrawals from a branch other than your own, now, they most assuredly did, a year ago, which is why I no longer deal with them. Maybe they are trying to get back lost customers, but they still have some rules Kasikorn simply does not, from opening an account, to accessing it via the internet, to obtaing an ATM card,

Kasikorn Bank does not care which province you are in , as long as it is a Kasikorn ATM, its free.

Still not true.

I have had my Bangkok Bank account for more than five years, and have been using ATM's all over Bangkok without ever paying an ATM fee. I don't know what the specific circumstances were that resulted in you being charged fees, but your blanket statement that Bangkok Bank charges for all use of ATM's or branches other than your home branch simply isn't true, nor was it a year ago.

Sophon

[alstaxi]

Take your pass book into your branch and update it, they are charging you 20 baht for each withdrawal , at an atm not bolted to the front of the branch you opened your account at.

Sorry, but it is simply not true that Bankok Bank charge for use of all other ATM's than the one at your home branch. Bangkok Bank does, however, charge a fee if you use an ATM in another province, but so do other banks.

Sophon

Bangkok Bank may not charge a fee for withdrawals from a branch other than your own, now, they most assuredly did, a year ago, which is why I no longer deal with them. Maybe they are trying to get back lost customers, but they still have some rules Kasikorn simply does not, from opening an account, to accessing it via the internet, to obtaing an ATM card,

Kasikorn Bank does not care which province you are in , as long as it is a Kasikorn ATM, its free.

Still not true.

I have had my Bangkok Bank account for more than five years, and have been using ATM's all over Bangkok without ever paying an ATM fee. I don't know what the specific circumstances were that resulted in you being charged fees, but your blanket statement that Bangkok Bank charges for all use of ATM's or branches other than your home branch simply isn't true, nor was it a year ago.

Sophon

The specific circumstances that led to me , and several others being charged a 20 baht withdrawal fee , were ,each and every time we withdrew funds from a Bangkok Bank machine that was not bolted to the front of the branch we opened the account at, we were charged 20 baht. Sevaral thousand baht in 20 baht fees, over a 10 year period resulted in myself and most of my friends that dealt with Bangkok Bank, moving over to Kasikorn. Either you are very lucky or I was swindled out of many 20 baht fees.

Edited August 12, 2009 by alstaxi

[alstaxi]

I have my account and credit card with Bangkok Bank, choose them because I was told they are the best when it comes to getting funds into the country by wire transfer. This is true, if my bank in Canada does a transfer, the next day the funds are in my account here. Getting a credit card required a hold on double the credit limit of the card???

The thing that I found odd was that if you go to any branch other than the one you have your account, they charge you to withdraw AND to deposit money to/from your account. Is this standard procedure with all banks in Thailand? What about the holding of funds for the CC ?

Apparently the Bangkok Bank is only charging Canadians 20 baht for a withdrawal, and Australians and Americans and Pommes and people I know from Hong Kong, others are withdrawing with no service charge.

Edited August 12, 2009 by alstaxi

[tyroon]

Just a quick question again. Can a tourist with a one month visa open a USD bank account in Thailand? If so, what would be the requirements?

[jc14all]

I'm a newbie on my way to Thailand in Oct and researching this thread has provided some very helpful information. I will be OA status and from what I read here I shouldn't have a problem setting up a FCD account with a Thai bank in Bangkok if I have my passport and a second form of ID. Here I pose this question...

1. Should I establish my account while in Bangkok or should I wait to to do so at my final destination Chiang Mai?

2. Does Chiang Mai have the same bank branches as the banks in Bangkok?

3. Which bank in Chiang Mai has internet banking capabilities with FCD?

[Newguy70]

Kasikorn Bank , cnr of Sukh soi 33 & Sukh rd

Passport (w/visa) / Residency letter; Deposit amount "Up to you"

I was in, and out in about 20 minutes.

[GungaDin]

^^^ a residency letter is not required at that branch.

Just a passport and some cash.

[Newguy70]

^^^ a residency letter is not required at that branch.

Just a passport and some cash.

You are correct, made the mistake of providing the letter, prior to any request for said document. She smiled, not sure if she made a copy or not, then returned said document back to me.

[hunglikea]

Still not true.

I have had my Bangkok Bank account for more than five years, and have been using ATM's all over Bangkok without ever paying an ATM fee. I don't know what the specific circumstances were that resulted in you being charged fees, but your blanket statement that Bangkok Bank charges for all use of ATM's or branches other than your home branch simply isn't true, nor was it a year ago.

Sophon

Bangkok Bank charges 10 baht for withdrawals from their ATM's and 20 baht for withdrawals from other bank's ATMs whether in Bangkok or anywhere else in Thailand. You obviously have never checked your receipts.

[bernie66]

Something interesting for Americans wanting to open an account with Siam Commercial Bank. Siam Bank has a New York branch that you can open an account with online. Open the account online then have the account transferred to a branch in Thailand.

[pkrv]

Apparently the Bangkok Bank is only charging Canadians 20 baht for a withdrawal, and Australians and Americans and Pommes and people I know from Hong Kong, others are withdrawing with no service charge.

Hi Guys literally just back from Bangkok and as promised whist there checked up on a few things with Bangkok Bank. (We have a joint passbook savings account on a tourist visa, phone banking, direct debit facilities (to automatically pay bills etc), get interest, and international debit and separate cash point card (each costs 200 THB per year, local cards are free)) and obviously a passbook.

Charges:

My branch at Bangkok Bank is the head office in Silom. I made a point of withdrawing 10,000 THB from the Bangkok Bank branch in the Central Chidlom store, and updated my passbook the next day. I confirm no charge was made for the withdrawal. (I am UK based).

Internet Banking:

When you open a passbook savings account on a tourist visa is it set to customer type 53. On a 1 year Non immigration visa it is set to type 11.

I did succeed in getting my passbook saving account (type 53 tourist visa based account) upgraded for internet banking.

But it took some effort.

Step 1 - you have to get past the 'meeter and greeter' at the head office. Because they will insist on a work permit – which is not strictly true. I explained that I was unable to pay one off bills for my condominium from my existing account when I am over in the UK.

Step 2 - I was asked to wait to see the senior member of staff on the floor, and she was very helpful. We talked through the possibilities but essentially although I could use my debit card whist in Thailand to pay bills I really needed a way to pay bills remotely and importantly monitor my accounts as there are direct debits (electricity bills) occurring.

The senior lady could not actually do anything because she did not have the authority to upgrade the account because it was type 53.

However she offered to take up the issue in a senior management meeting that evening.

I was invited back the next day but asked to bring along our passports, land registry document (blue book) and the chanote (property ownership document), the brown odd sized Thai legal paper because this has our names on it.

Step 3 – Fill in the forms. They do have them for upgrading your account it can be done. But you have to have a good reason such as paying Thai bills from overseas. This is then authorised 'up the chain'. The process takes about a week or so to complete and to receive your Bualuang iBanking User ID (by email) and PIN (by post).

BTW the lady at Bangkok Banks head office was SRI and she really, really, helped us.

So yes you can get internet banking on a tourist visa at Bangkok Bank, and the bank does have standard forms to do this. Ask for these forms for a type 53 account.

For completness sake Bangkok Banks SWIFT ID is BKKBTHBK

Edited September 8, 2009 by pkrv

[pkrv]

This thread is actually great - it finally consolidates our collective understanding of Thai banking and what services are available.

To be honest I rummaged around in past threads several years ago 2006/7- and a new thread popped up every few weeks. All were rubbish hence opening a Bangkok Bank account back in 2007 because although time consuming it did at least have a procedure for doing so in my position (tourist visa).

Now I am in a great position as I have a fully operational account complete with internet access. So I am now turning my thoughts to foreign exchange (FX) transfers.

I have no problems opening a second account with KasikornBank/K Bank Cyberbanking, as this seems to be a fairly simple process. But I have not been able to find KasikornBank's TT Buying Rate (TT stands for Telegraphic Transfer), i.e the rate in my case that GBP is converted into Thai Baht when it hits my account, for example from a GBP/Sterling SWIFT transfer.

Here is the link for Bangkok Bank's FX rates

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkok%20bank/...s/fx_rates.aspx

and BTW the rates are very good (I was heavily involved in this area in the past) And given that this rate is actually the single most important factor in a transfer, I was interested in KasikornBank's TT Buying Rates.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkok%20bank/...s/fx_rates.aspx

Edited September 9, 2009 by pkrv

[pkrv]

Stupid of me the edit timed out before I could correct my mistake. KasikornBank's rates are here:

http://www.cb.ktb.co.th/prod/bishis.nsf/(Current)?OpenAgent

and seem to be fairly close - not bad at all.

[pkrv]

IMO usefull information

Can someone tell me what the SWIFT code is for Bank Of Ayudyha? Or point me in the direction of a link that would give that info? I want to transfer some cash into my account there and I dont want to have to call them from overseas just to ask that

thanks in advance

From their website:

Inward Remittance Services

Service Feature

With faster and more secure international remittance system (SWIFT), you can receive inward remittance for your money transfer from remitter worldwide. The remitter just have to correctly indicate your account name/number and Bank of Ayudhya SWIFT Code (AYUDTHBK) to ensure that the amount of money will be directly credited into your account.

Remittance Fees:

• 0.25% of amount transferred (min. THB 200.00 and max. THB 500.00)

• THB 20.00 per transaction in case the recipient account is outside specific clearing zone (Clearing zone covers Bangkok and metropolitan areas)

Condition :

For remittance amount equivalent to USD 20,000.00 or above , the customer must fill in Foreign Exchange Transaction Form as per Bank of Thailand's Regulations.

http://www.krungsri.com/en/ourservice-cons...st.aspx?cid=207

Original thread

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Swift-Codes-t297136.html

[mxyzptlk]

This is my experience of opening a bank account.

I live in Nong Ki, Buriram. I went with my tgf to the local TMB to try to open an account. I have a Multiple Non Immigrant O visa.

My application was declined, because I was not on my gf's house book, so I was unable to provide proof of residency. Next stop was the Kasikorn Bank in Nang Rong. All I showed them was my passport/visa and my gf's ID card, signed a few forms and within about 30 minutes I had a savings account with book and ATM/Debit card and the necessary info to register for internet banking. After I got home, I successfully registered for internet banking. The ATM card cost 100 baht. I opened the acount with 1000 baht. Quite a painless experience really.

[britmaveric]

^dont need your gf's ID to get a savings account. K Bank is the easiest to do always.

[mxyzptlk]

^dont need your gf's ID to get a savings account. K Bank is the easiest to do always.

They specifically asked for my gf's ID card.

I didn't show anything that they didn't ask for....

[britmaveric]

^opened mine with just passport!!

[mxyzptlk]

^opened mine with just passport!!

Could it be branch specific?

[GungaDin]

^^^ Yes, that's why i direct peeps to Kasikorn at Sukhumvit Rd & Soi 33 in BKK.

[mxyzptlk]

^^^ Yes, that's why i direct peeps to Kasikorn at Sukhumvit Rd & Soi 33 in BKK.

Yes, I've seen your recommendations previously GungaDin, but Nang Rong is a wee bit closer for me than BKK....

[teeddubb]

I have heard from many people that claim to have opened a bank account with no more than a passport. I have heard the passport and a letter from the embassy. I got denied at Siam Commercial Bank in the mall with a current non O visa, a letter of employment (not in thailand), Thai drivers license, a letter from the embassy, and my wife standing there with her account book from that bank. I have come to the conclusion that it is only the branch you go to as to weather they will give you an account or not. It has been about 2 years since I tried last. I am coming home in a couple of weeks and want to try again. Can everyone who has a bank account in BKK please leave me some info so I can make a list of places to try.

1) Branch name and location that let you open the account.

2) What documentation you had to provide to open the account.

Thanks guys,

Bernie

opened account at kasikorn at centara(sp?) mall in udon thani with a US passport (tourist visa), 5000 USD and nothing else. My friend opened one the next day - same place and way w/ tgf.

[teeddubb]

opened account at kasikorn at centara(sp) mall in udon thani with a US passport (tourist visa), 5000 USD and nothing else. My friend opened one the next day - same place and way w/ tgf.

[partington]

Something interesting for Americans wanting to open an account with Siam Commercial Bank. Siam Bank has a New York branch that you can open an account with online. Open the account online then have the account transferred to a branch in Thailand.

I think not. Kindly post the link for opening a personal account at this purely commercial office.