Closing Bank Account

[Hikage]

Hello everyone,

My question is two fold.

1) I want to send most of the money in my thai farmers bank account to my australian account. I got this account legitimately with a work permit etc. I have heard you need a reason to be allowed to do this Ok, so my (true) reason is that I'm leaving the country... sounds simple right. Surely they are not going to say "no sir, you can leave but your money cannot!" OR sould I BS and give an accepted reason? What is an accepted reason? OMFG, I can't believe what I'm writing.

2) At the same time, I'd like to leave a few thousand baht in the account and just keep it for the times I return to LOS. If there are no transactions and the account is not being used will they just close it after a certain time? will bank fees slowly drain the available funds and be closed this way? I have an ATM card that can be used internationally, so I can make the occasional dummy transaction. Or will keeping the account open make my first question more difficult?

So I want to get my money out of thailand and if possible keep the account active, that is the best case scenario. If I can't keep the account open, no real biggie, but I'd hate to have to leave my money behind... LOL.

Oh yeah, I know I could use the ATM card to slowly withdraw the money from australia, but I may get more charges and fees right? Also, if the card bites the dust, I'm in trouble!

Thanks for any help!

[bkkbound04]

just being a nosey git...

it sounds like u are farang/non thai.....

i only say this because of how well u write in english...

if u are ferang how did u manage to buy/own a farm? was it a lot of grief, was it like other companies i.e u had to have thai's as directors etc?

just curious if u fancy sharing?

sorry i can't help with your questions but i'm sure some peeps will offer u some good advice based on their own experiences

atb

[samran]

doesn't sound like ole BKKBound knows much. Just to enlighten him, Hikage has a bank account with Thai Farmers Bank (now known as Kasikorn Bank). No, he doesn't own a farm.

To answer the question, I have a TFB/KB account. When I am not living in LOS, I leave a couple of thousand baht in it so it 1) doesn't get closed down and 2) so my 200 baht per year ATM card fee is paid.

[bkkbound04]

no i didn't know there was a bank called thai farmers bank, is this common knowledge or something?

i bank with scb and had heard of the thai military bank and a couple of others

sorry for the confusion on my part hikage:huh:

thanks for sharing your fountain of knowledge samran

[Hikage]

hehe, no farm bkkbound, but judging by some other threads around here, it looks like a bit of a no-go.

Thanks samran, any ideas about No. 1?

[Wee Jimmy]

no i didn't know there was a bank called thai farmers bank, is this common knowledge or something?

i bank with scb and had heard of the thai military bank and a couple of others

sorry for the confusion on my part hikage:huh:

thanks for sharing your fountain of knowledge samran   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Last year my wife had to send a large some of money to the UK for my son who had problem. She had to get my son to fax her a copy of his passport and they also wanted to know what the money was for. (Cheeky Bast*****) Last week I had to send money to my accountant for his yearly fee, I exploded in the bank when they asked why I was sending it and what was it for. They also asked for a copy of my accountants passport. (As if I carry that about with me in my back pocket) I eventualIy remembered I had a friend who's wife works in a bank and she sent it for me.

You will be able to send your money but keep your cool in the bank, some banks are easier than others to do this transaction with but it can be done.

[Heng]

Bank policies vary... but the standard is around 2 years of inactivity with a balance of less than 500 Baht for account termination.

[samran]

thanks for sharing your fountain of knowledge samran   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just accept that I have more experience than you in these things. It makes life easier for everyone

As for Part 1 Hikage, the reason you need a ‘reason’ is that after the 1997 baht devaluation the Thai central bank imposed restrictions of outward currency flows. When they ask for a reason, they are actually following statutory requirements. They are pretty easy on people who have foreign passports as the laws are mainly directed to stop Thai’s speculatively sending money offshore and lowering the value of the baht. If you are Thai acceptable reasons to transfer money include sending money to family/children for schooling, living expenses. If the are asking for a reason, say that you are leaving the country for a year or something along those lines.

As to what to do, if you don’t want to pay for a wire transfer, and if you have a substantial amount and are not in a hurry to transfer it, TFB/KB can write a National Australia Bank Cheque/Bankers Draft in Australian Dollars for you. They will debit your Thai bank account, convert it to Aussie dollars at the prevailing exchange rate, and give you the cheque for you to take home with you. You can deposit this in your Australian bank account when you get home. If you are in BKK the Karsikorn bank sub-headquarters near Aree BTS is a good place to do this. Bring your Aussie passport too as it is a requirement.

The other way which is if you only have a couple of thousand dollars worth of baht is to take the ATM card back to OZ and just draw down your money that way. Works well and I used to do it myself from time to time.

Edited June 13, 2005 by samran

[grahamb]

I have heard you need a reason to be allowed to do this  Ok, so my (true) reason is that I'm leaving the country... sounds simple right. Surely they are not going to say "no sir, you can leave but your money cannot!" OR sould I BS and give an accepted reason? What is an accepted reason? OMFG, I can't believe what I'm writing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I transferred money from Kasikorn/Thai Farmers Bank to the UK and just gave "Savings" as the reason. The bank staff actually suggested this to me.

[dvk1951]

Hikage,

Dont know the amount u want to transfer, but I routinely transfer <10000 USD and all it requires is filling out a wire transfer form, provide passport and bank transaction form. The wire transfer form askes what the funds are to be used for and I have never been questioned. With the KBank in Sriracha it seems it is only a means of protection that the bank requires should something ontoward arise.

Don't sweat it, say the funds are to pay storage fees, house mortgage, buy a car, i don't think it would matter. Just be aware that transfers are not free and depending on the amount u wish to transfer, ATM fees may be the way to go.

Hope this helps.