Some Basic Bank Questions For Thailand

[Portlandstone]

Hi, I will arrive in Thailand in a few days.

1) What withdrawal limits do most banks put on their ATMs? Either per transaction, or per day. (My bank, an overseas ANZ branch, will allow a max of about $600 usd withdrawal per day).

2) Are Thai banks still charging 150 baht or so per ATM withdrawal?

3) I will bring some cash with me, if I bring US dollars will banks allow me to open a US dollar account or will they insist on converting it into baht?

4) Is there any limit on the amount one can bring into Thailand and deposit into a standard account in one day? I may bring about five to seven thousand dollars.

5) If I have money transfered from my overseas bank into a Thai bank, what is a general charge to receive that money? Will they accept a transfer in US dollars, or?

6) Are Thai banks paying any interest on in their standard customer accounts, or is it 0% ?

Anything I should be cautious of or think twice about? Thanks.

[nowork114]

Hi, I will arrive in Thailand in a few days.

1) What withdrawal limits do most banks put on their ATMs? Either per transaction, or per day. (My bank, an overseas ANZ branch, will allow a max of about $600 usd withdrawal per day).

2) Are Thai banks still charging 150 baht or so per ATM withdrawal?

3) I will bring some cash with me, if I bring US dollars will banks allow me to open a US dollar account or will they insist on converting it into baht?

4) Is there any limit on the amount one can bring into Thailand and deposit into a standard account in one day? I may bring about five to seven thousand dollars.

5) If I have money transfered from my overseas bank into a Thai bank, what is a general charge to receive that money? Will they accept a transfer in US dollars, or?

6) Are Thai banks paying any interest on in their standard customer accounts, or is it 0% ?

Anything I should be cautious of or think twice about? Thanks.

1) 20,000 withdrawal / 60,000 day limit per card

2) Yes, but you can still find some ATM without this tax

3) For standard account you have to convert to THB

4) Check customs website

5) Yes, there is just service charge. If you want to transfer more, negotiate conditions with bank before transfering.

6) Interest is usually 1-1.5%

Wouldn't it be better to hide the money in Hongkong or Singapore? Thai economy and Thai baht is not particulary stable ...

[chiangmaibruce]

Hi. You can find answers to all your questions either in the "pinned topics" section at the top of the forum page (e.g. bringing money into thailand) or in existing threads (e.g. USD accounts) .. just scroll down the list of existing threads and/or use the forum search facility. Also look at the web sites of the major thai banks ... most/all have english language pages and provide interest rates, etc etc

You will soon see that clear concise answers are not possible as different bank staff (let alone different banks) will give you different answers to the same question ... sometimes due to variations in policy, sometimes ignorance or whim .... but very briefly

1. see existing threads on this ... answer is all over the place but assume 10,000 baht per withdrawal to be safe

2. yes, if you use an atm

3. see existing threads on this topic ... some people have usd accounts ... depends on the bank and their policy as to what they require (to open a foreign currency account) and whether they even offer this service

4. no, but you may have to declare this on exit from your country and/or entry to thailand depending on amount (see pinned topic)

5. see many existing threads on bank transfers ... each bank has their policy on this. complicated topic as there may be multiple charges, different exchange rates offered etc. best to read some of the threads here in TV

6. see each bank's web site for the answer to this question. if it's not 0% then it won't be a hel_l of a lot more. i assume you mean just normal transaction accounts, yes?

[Time Traveller]

Hi, I will arrive in Thailand in a few days.

1) What withdrawal limits do most banks put on their ATMs? Either per transaction, or per day. (My bank, an overseas ANZ branch, will allow a max of about $600 usd withdrawal per day).

2) Are Thai banks still charging 150 baht or so per ATM withdrawal?

3) I will bring some cash with me, if I bring US dollars will banks allow me to open a US dollar account or will they insist on converting it into baht?

4) Is there any limit on the amount one can bring into Thailand and deposit into a standard account in one day? I may bring about five to seven thousand dollars.

5) If I have money transfered from my overseas bank into a Thai bank, what is a general charge to receive that money? Will they accept a transfer in US dollars, or?

6) Are Thai banks paying any interest on in their standard customer accounts, or is it 0% ?

Anything I should be cautious of or think twice about? Thanks.

1) 20,000 withdrawal / 60,000 day limit per card

2) Yes, but you can still find some ATM without this tax

3) For standard account you have to convert to THB

4) Check customs website

5) Yes, there is just service charge. If you want to transfer more, negotiate conditions with bank before transfering.

6) Interest is usually 1-1.5%

Wouldn't it be better to hide the money in Hongkong or Singapore? Thai economy and Thai baht is not particulary stable ...

1. Not correct. Withdrawal limit depends on bank and the atm. It can be up to 25,000 at a time and up to 250,000 bt or more per day depending upon the limit you set when you open the account.

2. You can avoid it by TTing funds to your thai bank account - of course there is a fee for this - or simply bringing cash and then exchanging it when you arrive

3. You can open USD account. But you need long term visa, that is can not on tourist visa.

4. There is no limit to the amount of foreign currency you can bring into thailand. Above $20,000 you'll need to declare.

5. Yes. Yes. The charge is very small from the Thai bank account side. Check with the bank.

6. Interest depends on the account type. An at call deposit will on average currently earn about 0.5-0.75%, more for term deposits. Also if you're not a thai resident, then banks will not pay interest to your account.

Why would he want hide such a small amount in HK or Singapore when he is going to be in Thailand? Contrary to what many people think the Thai banking system is quite sound.