Best Farang Friendly Banks And Why

[kanga2cool]

Hi guys new to Chiang Mai and first post on this forum. My question is which banks has you have good experience with English speaking staff. I wish to open a saving account with a debit card and online banking also with low account keeping and atm frees.

Which bank would you recommend and why.

Thank you in advance for your response & have a nice day.

[alant]

bangkok bank takes some beating. others may be better if you have a work permit etc but a bank that offers most facilities to farangs is rare and bangkok do that.

[martijn12345]

I had no problems opening an account at Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank, no work permit needed.

[gotlost]

Siam Commercial Bank (purple) requires nothing but money.

[PMNL]

Siam commercial Bank, Tesco Lotus Hang Dong Branch.

Excellent services, The manager name is Arunothai, she has service mind.

You can even phone to do your transection.

SCBEASY is internet banking with fantastic functions.

No fee for transfer within SCB bank in CM,minmum fee for transfer to SCB outside chinagmai and reasonable fee for transfer to another bank account.

They offer realtime transfer and 2 days transfer.Fees are different.

Plus 24 hours call center services 027777777 how easy life is with them.

[brommers]

Hi guys new to Chiang Mai and first post on this forum. My question is which banks has you have good experience with English speaking staff. I wish to open a saving account with a debit card and online banking also with low account keeping and atm frees.

Which bank would you recommend and why.

Thank you in advance for your response & have a nice day.

You can get everything you want at Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew. They are English speaking in the main and have many farang customers. I have had an account there for years & have never had a problem. They are open 7 days a week, from 10am until 8pm, and have a lot of ATM & other transaction machines outside the branch for times when they are closed.

[Bearnagh]

I opened an account with the Bangkok bank using only an "O" type visa and my passport (and some money of course). I suppose I should add that my (Thai) wife was there to do much of the talking, which was a major bonus. The account was opened and I had my "Be1st" ATM card within 20 minutes!! (In the UK it takes at least a fortnight). Additionally, I had my password for e-banking the following day. This was a most impressive display of efficiency.

Also- there is a Bangkok Bank ATM at every 7-11 store. (Although you can use just about any card in any machine, there is a small charge (typically 20 Baht) for using an ATM from another bank to your own.)

[piercefilmlid]

I opened a savings account with SCB a few years ago, which I have not used very much.

I went along to a branch the other day to have my passbook updated and was shocked to see a 50 baht a month fee imposed since the beginning of 2009. This appears to be an "inactivity fee" - on a SAVINGS account!

Banks are evil

[Pond Life]

My branch of Bangkok bank gives me interest without tax.

Ayuttaya Bank charges me tax on my interest.

[caf]

My branch of Bangkok bank gives me interest without tax.

Ayuttaya Bank charges me tax on my interest.

Ayuttaya may be showing gross and net interest, bangkok may be showing net interest only ( ie having already taxed you)

[alant]

interest from SAVINGS accounts are tax free for first 20,000 of interest (20k i think) but it must be a savings account i understand not an investment account, having said that with current interest rates????

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Personal opinion: It depends more on the person / individual staff member and his/her attitude and language skills, than on the bank.

[NancyL]

Another vote for Bangkok Bank at KSK, but much depends upon where what part of town you live/work and type of visa. I've heard that it's important to open an account at the branch you plan to use as your "main" branch because not all of a bank's services are available at every branch to all customers, unlike in the U.S. where you can utilize all banking services at any branch of your bank.

[rohitsuk]

Hi guys new to Chiang Mai and first post on this forum. My question is which banks has you have good experience with English speaking staff. I wish to open a saving account with a debit card and online banking also with low account keeping and atm frees.

Which bank would you recommend and why.

Thank you in advance for your response & have a nice day.

I agree with OPs Bangkok Bank is definitely number one. I have had an account with them for 25 years and have NEVER had a serious problem with anything EVER. As to HSBC which I ditched last year in total frustration, I seemed to have a problem with EVERYTHING and ALL the TIME, apart from their miserable interest rates and outrageous charges. Well, it is a Brit Bank and we all know how brilliant they have proved to be.

Beware TMB and Krung (Krook) Thai bank they regularly "lose" customer's money, float remittances and delay payments to suit them, which Bangkok Bank never does.

When I walk into my branch in Nong Hoi I am greeted by my name, a wai and a little bob. If I were egocentric I might get to think I was actuaklly somebody important !!! And when did that last happen in the UK ? Well not this century that's for sure and not often last century either.

Oh yes, I do have to confess an interest. I am a shareholder in Bangkok Bank but that is a measure of my confidence in them and not the reason for this post.

[chiang mai]

Hi guys new to Chiang Mai and first post on this forum. My question is which banks has you have good experience with English speaking staff. I wish to open a saving account with a debit card and online banking also with low account keeping and atm frees.

Which bank would you recommend and why.

Thank you in advance for your response & have a nice day.

Well, it is a Brit Bank and we all know how brilliant they have proved to be.

Do pray expand on this point.

[cmdream]

Hi guys new to Chiang Mai and first post on this forum. My question is which banks has you have good experience with English speaking staff. I wish to open a saving account with a debit card and online banking also with low account keeping and atm frees.

Which bank would you recommend and why.

Thank you in advance for your response & have a nice day.

Well, it is a Brit Bank and we all know how brilliant they have proved to be.

Do pray expand on this point.

Just look at your bottom tag line

[chiang mai]

Hi guys new to Chiang Mai and first post on this forum. My question is which banks has you have good experience with English speaking staff. I wish to open a saving account with a debit card and online banking also with low account keeping and atm frees.

Which bank would you recommend and why.

Thank you in advance for your response & have a nice day.

Well, it is a Brit Bank and we all know how brilliant they have proved to be.

Do pray expand on this point.

Just look at your bottom tag line

Oh sorry, I thought the discussion was about retail and investment banks and not central banks! That being the case, you want to chat about central banks, the Fed et al and its judicious oversight capabilities and Lehman's, personally if I were you I simply wouldn't go there on that subject but hey, you guys are into risk in a big way so go for it.

[pjclark1]

You can get everything you want at Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew. They are English speaking in the main and have many farang customers. I have had an account there for years & have never had a problem. They are open 7 days a week, from 10am until 8pm, and have a lot of ATM & other transaction machines outside the branch for times when they are closed.

Sorry but this branch has become difficult for white people, increasingly Bangkok Bank branches seem to be putting obstacles in front of foreigners wanting accounts. They don't seem to know their own rules. I have an account with Bangkok bank, but it was hard to open even knowing Thai and having a Thai national with an account at the same brach with me.

Siam Commercial will allow anyone to open an account at the moment, but the forms are in Thai, best take a Thai speaker with you if you can't read the forms.

The rules and desires of the banks change very quickly out here, just becuse it was easy to open an account xx years ago .........

[annabel]

You can get everything you want at Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew. They are English speaking in the main and have many farang customers. I have had an account there for years & have never had a problem. They are open 7 days a week, from 10am until 8pm, and have a lot of ATM & other transaction machines outside the branch for times when they are closed.

Sorry but this branch has become difficult for white people, increasingly Bangkok Bank branches seem to be putting obstacles in front of foreigners wanting accounts. They don't seem to know their own rules. I have an account with Bangkok bank, but it was hard to open even knowing Thai and having a Thai national with an account at the same brach with me.

Siam Commercial will allow anyone to open an account at the moment, but the forms are in Thai, best take a Thai speaker with you if you can't read the forms.

The rules and desires of the banks change very quickly out here, just becuse it was easy to open an account xx years ago .........

I had Bangkok Bank for 2 years (2005 2006) and it was ok when I started, but at the time they didn't allow Internet Banking to Farangs who opened an account with a retirement visa. So that was not convenient. Then I had a problem when my ATM card was stolen while I was travelling in Canada and I didn't notice it till 2 weeks later as I was not using it in Canada. When I did finally notice it, it took 3 days to get it cancelled as they insisted on a police report and a letter signed by me which they wouldn't accept by fax or e-mail and all kinds of other non sense and since I was in Canada it was a nightmare. Anyway , 8,000 cdn $$$ later out of my account and I was now back in Thailand and they did nothing but nothing to help me out to get the actual bank receipts of the transactions which I needed to send to the police in Canada so they could track down the places where the card was used and try try to nail the culprit. They wasted 3 months of my time running to the branch on Tapae Road, back and forth and kept saying to contact Bangkok which I also did....anyway conclusion is ...I lost 8,000 cdn $$ and these guys never did anything at all to help out or admit that their system sucks and that they were partly to blame! They make you fill in 2-3 forms with passport copy and signatures to get a stupid new passbook, but nobody noticed anything unsual about 4-5 transactions a day for the exact same amount of 3,310 Baht each going through everyday for 15 days and to top it, gave me a hard time and wasted 3 more days to cancel the card cause I wasn't in the country ....Pffffff!!! The other stupid thing is, with all banks ATM cards here in Thailand, you DON"T NEED A PIN # TO PURCHASE SOMETHING IN A SHOP !! ONLY TO WITHDRAW FROM ATM!! This is so insane as no banks in Canada allow the ATM to be used without a PIN # whether in a shop or at the atm .... so if you ever lose you ATM card get it cancelled as fast as possible....

I then switched to SCB on Chang Peuak, and on top of being able to have internet banking access I found the staff in general so much more helpful and friendly than Bangkok Bank. I had a few problems there also with a car loan payment issue with the Siam Commercial Financial department and even though the Bank is more or less independant of them , they got involved and solved the problem quite efficiently .... I vouch for Siam ...for sure. I deal with 3 branches, Hang Dong Big C, Nong Hoi "89" shopping centre, and Chang Peuak and no matter which Branch I go to there is always someone there to immediately help you and who can speak English...

As for HSBC>...... Total Nightmare these people all over the world. I had accounts with them in 3 different Countries over the past 20 years and not only are they crazy with their charges , their service is lamentable and has gotten worse and worse over the years....they need a kick in the head for sure....I am just now closing my last account in one country with them and even doing that is proving to be a nightmare with them ....total nightmare....Stay away from HSBC at all costs no matter where you are in the world

[Maejo Man]

........increasingly Bangkok Bank branches seem to be putting obstacles in front of foreigners wanting accounts. They don't seem to know their own rules. I have an account with Bangkok bank, but it was hard to open even knowing Thai and having a Thai national with an account at the same brach with me.

Siam Commercial will allow anyone to open an account at the moment, but the forms are in Thai

I then switched to SCB on Chang Peuak, and on top of being able to have internet banking access I found the staff in general so much more helpful and friendly than Bangkok Bank.

....Stay away from HSBC at all costs no matter where you are in the world

A few observations...I had several Bangkok bank accounts for many years, and always found them to be helpful, untill they moved the goal posts once more. I could process an overseas cheque with them for 200 baht, then all of a sudden they wanted 2000 baht, so time for a move. I went to SCB head office, and they were more than helpful, and still process my cheques. They also have a very good rate for remitting baht overseas by TT.

As for HSBC, they would have to have one of the highest accounting costs of any bank! I get charged US$40 for a TT where as the same service from SCB is 300 baht.

Banking is a personal thing, and it really depends on what services you actually need from your bank. For general banking and simple ATM transactions, any Thai bank offeres reasonable service, but for overseas expat transactions you have to shop around till you find one that suits your needs

[Sao Jiang Mai]

In my experience if you are transferring money from abroad KBank is the only one which - when thoroughly and heavily pressured - will get your money to you within fifteen minutes of the transfer...very useful considering other banks will sit on it for up to a week! Bangkok Bank I personally detest, they are great to you and suck up when times are good but treat you like crap during hard times. Resulting in my booting them when times are good again.

[wernerfreitag]

Sao Jiang Mai,

- when thoroughly and heavily pressured -

What exactly does it mean? It always took me 3 days with Kasikorn.

[Pai2009]

You can get everything you want at Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew. They are English speaking in the main and have many farang customers. I have had an account there for years & have never had a problem. They are open 7 days a week, from 10am until 8pm, and have a lot of ATM & other transaction machines outside the branch for times when they are closed.

Sorry but this branch has become difficult for white people, increasingly Bangkok Bank branches seem to be putting obstacles in front of foreigners wanting accounts. They don't seem to know their own rules. I have an account with Bangkok bank, but it was hard to open even knowing Thai and having a Thai national with an account at the same brach with me.

Siam Commercial will allow anyone to open an account at the moment, but the forms are in Thai, best take a Thai speaker with you if you can't read the forms.

The rules and desires of the banks change very quickly out here, just becuse it was easy to open an account xx years ago .........

I had Bangkok Bank for 2 years (2005 2006) and it was ok when I started, but at the time they didn't allow Internet Banking to Farangs who opened an account with a retirement visa. So that was not convenient. Then I had a problem when my ATM card was stolen while I was travelling in Canada and I didn't notice it till 2 weeks later as I was not using it in Canada. When I did finally notice it, it took 3 days to get it cancelled as they insisted on a police report and a letter signed by me which they wouldn't accept by fax or e-mail and all kinds of other non sense and since I was in Canada it was a nightmare. Anyway , 8,000 cdn $$$ later out of my account and I was now back in Thailand and they did nothing but nothing to help me out to get the actual bank receipts of the transactions which I needed to send to the police in Canada so they could track down the places where the card was used and try try to nail the culprit. They wasted 3 months of my time running to the branch on Tapae Road, back and forth and kept saying to contact Bangkok which I also did....anyway conclusion is ...I lost 8,000 cdn $$ and these guys never did anything at all to help out or admit that their system sucks and that they were partly to blame! They make you fill in 2-3 forms with passport copy and signatures to get a stupid new passbook, but nobody noticed anything unsual about 4-5 transactions a day for the exact same amount of 3,310 Baht each going through everyday for 15 days and to top it, gave me a hard time and wasted 3 more days to cancel the card cause I wasn't in the country ....Pffffff!!! The other stupid thing is, with all banks ATM cards here in Thailand, you DON"T NEED A PIN # TO PURCHASE SOMETHING IN A SHOP !! ONLY TO WITHDRAW FROM ATM!! This is so insane as no banks in Canada allow the ATM to be used without a PIN # whether in a shop or at the atm .... so if you ever lose you ATM card get it cancelled as fast as possible....

I then switched to SCB on Chang Peuak, and on top of being able to have internet banking access I found the staff in general so much more helpful and friendly than Bangkok Bank. I had a few problems there also with a car loan payment issue with the Siam Commercial Financial department and even though the Bank is more or less independant of them , they got involved and solved the problem quite efficiently .... I vouch for Siam ...for sure. I deal with 3 branches, Hang Dong Big C, Nong Hoi "89" shopping centre, and Chang Peuak and no matter which Branch I go to there is always someone there to immediately help you and who can speak English...

As for HSBC>...... Total Nightmare these people all over the world. I had accounts with them in 3 different Countries over the past 20 years and not only are they crazy with their charges , their service is lamentable and has gotten worse and worse over the years....they need a kick in the head for sure....I am just now closing my last account in one country with them and even doing that is proving to be a nightmare with them ....total nightmare....Stay away from HSBC at all costs no matter where you are in the world

Agreed 100%, even when you forgot your passbook, just hand in you ID card, passprot, SCB can do the banking for you.

The SCBeasy is so excellent and you can get it activated as soon as you received your passbook and ATM card, which normally 5 mins to me.

Plus you can apply for a free sms alert for free, for every single movement of over 3000 baht in and out of your account.

the sms services apply to credit card as well. Life is easy with them. Never wanted to use anyother bank.

However, one thing bad on my favorite bank is the interest rate is quite low. If you want to invest in a bond, long tern saving, funds then it is another story.

[Sao Jiang Mai]

Heavily pressured means making tons of calls to BKK and CM branches, getting London bank manager to call, threatening to move all accounts elsewhere. After about six months of letters and calls, we finally got them to get our fortnighly transfers done in under 15 minutes. Which is a huge difference.

[annabel]

You can get everything you want at Bangkok Bank in Kad Suan Kaew. They are English speaking in the main and have many farang customers. I have had an account there for years & have never had a problem. They are open 7 days a week, from 10am until 8pm, and have a lot of ATM & other transaction machines outside the branch for times when they are closed.

Sorry but this branch has become difficult for white people, increasingly Bangkok Bank branches seem to be putting obstacles in front of foreigners wanting accounts. They don't seem to know their own rules. I have an account with Bangkok bank, but it was hard to open even knowing Thai and having a Thai national with an account at the same brach with me.

Siam Commercial will allow anyone to open an account at the moment, but the forms are in Thai, best take a Thai speaker with you if you can't read the forms.

The rules and desires of the banks change very quickly out here, just becuse it was easy to open an account xx years ago .........

I had Bangkok Bank for 2 years (2005 2006) and it was ok when I started, but at the time they didn't allow Internet Banking to Farangs who opened an account with a retirement visa. So that was not convenient. Then I had a problem when my ATM card was stolen while I was travelling in Canada and I didn't notice it till 2 weeks later as I was not using it in Canada. When I did finally notice it, it took 3 days to get it cancelled as they insisted on a police report and a letter signed by me which they wouldn't accept by fax or e-mail and all kinds of other non sense and since I was in Canada it was a nightmare. Anyway , 8,000 cdn $$$ later out of my account and I was now back in Thailand and they did nothing but nothing to help me out to get the actual bank receipts of the transactions which I needed to send to the police in Canada so they could track down the places where the card was used and try try to nail the culprit. They wasted 3 months of my time running to the branch on Tapae Road, back and forth and kept saying to contact Bangkok which I also did....anyway conclusion is ...I lost 8,000 cdn $$ and these guys never did anything at all to help out or admit that their system sucks and that they were partly to blame! They make you fill in 2-3 forms with passport copy and signatures to get a stupid new passbook, but nobody noticed anything unsual about 4-5 transactions a day for the exact same amount of 3,310 Baht each going through everyday for 15 days and to top it, gave me a hard time and wasted 3 more days to cancel the card cause I wasn't in the country ....Pffffff!!! The other stupid thing is, with all banks ATM cards here in Thailand, you DON"T NEED A PIN # TO PURCHASE SOMETHING IN A SHOP !! ONLY TO WITHDRAW FROM ATM!! This is so insane as no banks in Canada allow the ATM to be used without a PIN # whether in a shop or at the atm .... so if you ever lose you ATM card get it cancelled as fast as possible....

I then switched to SCB on Chang Peuak, and on top of being able to have internet banking access I found the staff in general so much more helpful and friendly than Bangkok Bank. I had a few problems there also with a car loan payment issue with the Siam Commercial Financial department and even though the Bank is more or less independant of them , they got involved and solved the problem quite efficiently .... I vouch for Siam ...for sure. I deal with 3 branches, Hang Dong Big C, Nong Hoi "89" shopping centre, and Chang Peuak and no matter which Branch I go to there is always someone there to immediately help you and who can speak English...

As for HSBC>...... Total Nightmare these people all over the world. I had accounts with them in 3 different Countries over the past 20 years and not only are they crazy with their charges , their service is lamentable and has gotten worse and worse over the years....they need a kick in the head for sure....I am just now closing my last account in one country with them and even doing that is proving to be a nightmare with them ....total nightmare....Stay away from HSBC at all costs no matter where you are in the world

Agreed 100%, even when you forgot your passbook, just hand in you ID card, passprot, SCB can do the banking for you.

The SCBeasy is so excellent and you can get it activated as soon as you received your passbook and ATM card, which normally 5 mins to me.

Plus you can apply for a free sms alert for free, for every single movement of over 3000 baht in and out of your account.

the sms services apply to credit card as well. Life is easy with them. Never wanted to use anyother bank.

However, one thing bad on my favorite bank is the interest rate is quite low. If you want to invest in a bond, long tern saving, funds then it is another story.

Totally agree with you on the interest rates they give, BUT I did look elsewhere and didn't find much better.... Which bank has better interest rates for long term deposit of let's say 1 year...?? As far as transfers which most of mine have come from HSBC Hong Kong ...if done in the morning money was there by afternoon.....if done in afternoon ...absolutely there the next morning.... no such thing as 2-3 days or what ..? 1 week ?? unheard of with Siam ...ooops sorry .... yes that has happened with Paypal transfer....BUT that was not Siam sittingon the money but Paypal....!!!!

[annabel]

Heavily pressured means making tons of calls to BKK and CM branches, getting London bank manager to call, threatening to move all accounts elsewhere. After about six months of letters and calls, we finally got them to get our fortnighly transfers done in under 15 minutes. Which is a huge difference.

Man you have patience but none like I have had for 20 years with HSBC...This bank sounds just like HSBC if not worse..... And if this is what you are going through now, and I don't mean to be impolite, but don't be a fool like I was , hanging on to them out of fear of having turbulence in your finances ... cause I was afraid to change banks having linked Corporate bank accounts with them for my Company in 3 different not easy to deal with countries being Hong Kong, Bangladesh and India.... That is the only reason I beared their brunt and brutal treatment and exhorbitant charges and wasted time of arguing for 2-3 months to get things corrected and unacceptable charges refunded .... and in most cases lost the case and wasted so much time .... These typpe of banks are to be avoided like the plague to anybody sensible ..... Grrrrr..... just the thought of them raises my blood pressure ..... ...CHANGE BANKS NOW!!!!!!

[mcgriffith]

A couple of points to some above posts.

Thai tax of 15% is automatically withdrawn from all fixed deposit accounts.

If you have a simple savings account, with a balance under 20,000 THB (I seem to recall, correct me if I am wrong), the Finance Ministry has temporarily suspended the 15% tax.

Thai banks pay very little interest now- most are .50% on savings, .75% to 1% on fixed deposits.

This is still better than most US banks! Schwab is paying me a laughable 1/10 of 1 percent on cash I have in a retirement account. I get a whopping 49 cents a month on $57,000+ dollars.

I have accts at BBL and BAY. Both offer complete online services, bill paying, transfer capabilities.

It's funny, I tried SCB when I first arrived- they were rude (and incompetent) to me.

The bank everyone is bashing, BBL, was absolutely the best for me personally in customer service, etc. Khun Malai (who is now district manager for CR province, based in Mae Sai) was and is a great banker and friend. Lots of farang have dealt with her over the years and have a very good relationship with BBL because of her.

Just goes to show that every person will have a different experience, based on who you interacted with, and on which day.

[Tywais]

The bank everyone is bashing, BBL, was absolutely the best for me personally in customer service

Just goes to show that every person will have a different experience, based on who you interacted with, and on which day.

I was afraid to jump into the fire, but since you have ... I've had accounts with BBL for over 20 years and their service to me has been exemplary. If I use Internet banking, I promptly get a message notifying me that my account has been accessed. Regarding foreign checks, I have deposited several times US personal checks including just a couple of weeks ago and the charge has always been $10.00 and with conversion rates matching the daily rates listed. Don't know where the 2000 Baht one member mentioned came into play.

Every time I visit, I get chatted up and seem to have my own personal handler or two. They always call me ajarn when talking with me and I return the respect by being polite. Went in a couple of days ago and started to punch the queue button and got waved directly over by my overseer before the ticket came out. Deposited my checks from work and asked about getting a Be1st VISA card and she personally walked me over to the person handling it and kept checking that I was being dealt with properly. Got the card in about 20 minutes with the forms being filled in by the assistant rather then my having to do it. When I was leaving, she called out to me to make sure everything was completed ok.

Lot's more examples like above but I believe you get the idea - I'm very happy with their service. Actually, just got a VIP card from them that whenever I come and need personal attention I get a private room to discuss it with a rep in. Unfortunately that service is in Bangkok only.

[vagabond48]

This is still better than most US banks! Schwab is paying me a laughable 1/10 of 1 percent on cash I have in a retirement account. I get a whopping 49 cents a month on $57,000+ dollars.

Try their high yield savings paying 1.05% apy and get their dreaded all fee reimbursed VISA ATM card with a max of $500 daily limit or their high yield checking paying .75% apy also with an all fee reimbursed VISA ATM card with a max of $2000 daily limit.

That should put a few extra bucks ($500+, pre taxed of course) into your account.

Edit: oh, I forgot, they are both FDIC insured.

Edit: I just realized you have a retirement account so, I don't know if these will work for you.

Edited October 17, 2009 by vagabond48

[kanga2cool]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It was very helpful. Eventually, I went to Bangkok Bank at Chang Puerk. Soon as I walked into the bank, I was approched and greeted by the senior staff member who was by that time incharge for the Bank Manager who was on vacation. He was only to happy to setup a B1st smart card or any account but Online Banking due to the rule of Thai National Bank. Farang who dosn't live in Thailand or hold Non-O immigration visa are not allow to access internet banking even you had an account!. I believe it could be money laundry protection reasons.

Anyway, to make it short, becasue I'm in the Country with on a Tourist visa so they try to find the way to assist me. my wife who is the General Manager of the Hotel here (we have been married for 10 years), has to filled the .. ..kind of - gaurantee form. .

After that I received my internet banking access so over all the experience at the bank and the staff who tried hard to please me even with there broken english. I do understand that Rules and Regulations that apply to the Bank only time will tell how things works out, as one mumber pointed out it all depends on the day and the staff you met at the Bank after all, this is Thailand.