Bangkok Bank

[gkinbkk]

Just arrived in TH and looking for a bank. Have been recommended BKK Bank. No so much worried about the products but more about service. If I have to call the call centre what sort of response will I get? Will they be able to resolve my problems without going into a branch? Should I be looking somewhere else for decent customer service?

[bkkjames]

Personal opinion, try Kbank or UOB. 

[wolf5370]

Been with BKK Bank for years and never needed to call customer service - there are branches in most malls/supermarkts, so I drop in, though the only problems I've ever had has been down to Barclays in the UK - twice! I find they have good service, good exchange rates and give a debit card with 50k limit straight off the bat with new accounts (Be1st). I also have other bank accounts,but tend to just use BKK.

[gotlost]

I too have been with Bangkok Bank for years and have nothing but excellent services. A point on the phone service if it gets technical you will need to go to your branch and produce your passport for ID for your account. So any banks phone service may be limited to this.

[CharlieH]

Been with BKK Bank for years and never needed to call customer service - there are branches in most malls/supermarkts, so I drop in, though the only problems I've ever had has been down to Barclays in the UK - twice! I find they have good service, good exchange rates and give a debit card with 50k limit straight off the bat with new accounts (Be1st). I also have other bank accounts,but tend to just use BKK.

Also been with BKK for several years, transfer money from Uk regularly, no complaints always very easy and straight forward in all my contact with them.

Easy to call in to any local office always helpful and efficient. Never ever needed to call the call centre.

[wordchild]

I would endorse much of the above, been with them a couple of years for personal banking and also have business accounts with them, very good service for local banking , way better than any uk bank.

[KoreaElte]

My observation is this:

All the "big 4" thai banks are "OK". The service you get greatly depends on the branch.

For the past two years and until last month I had accounts with SCB and K Bank and Bangkok Bank.

Now I only have K-Bank. OK I have HSBC also but that doesn't count because they aren't really Thai and there's only one branch.

Most Thai business contacts I know love and use Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank.

All the banks I mentioned have good English-speaking call centers.

Here's my review:

SCB:

My experience was that at my branch Siam Commercial bank totally sucked! Excellent ATM network but the dam_n things are in poor state of repair and when you report it to the English speaking and very polite call center they promise to send a tech but then nothing gets done.

For a few months last year the electricity company changed the format of the barcode on the bills. Every bank quickly updated their ATMs but SCB took over 2 months so during that time you couldn't pay your electricity bill by scanning the barcode at an SCB ATM.

In the branch, they have no queuing system and people avoid me because my Thai is poor and their English is poor. In absence of a queing system I am conveniently overlooked and a million people who entered after me get served and I still sit there and smile.

Yet most of my Thai contacts use and love SCB and tell me "It's your branch, dude".

K-Bank:

Awesome! They try to help me with the most random stuff I throw at them. They call me back, they give me good rates on incoming wire transfers, they unlock the door for me at 6.01pm to write me a bank draft after closing time, the manager gives me his mobile number and tries to speak English, ATM faults are addressed quickly , Internet banking is solid. Yet many of my Thai friends tell me that K-Bank sucks. I tell them "It's your branch, dude."

Bangkok Bank:

That was my first account actually. Solid internet and phone banking. I like that they have a "Be 1st" Visa debit card with micro-chip. If you use that card you are well protected against skimming / cloning but it won't work upcountry as it will only work with the latest model BKK bank ATM which are progressively being rolled out. Also what I like with BKK Bank is that the phone banking allows you to set limits for the visa debit card - including a zero limit so the card can't be used until you switch it back on. Branch service was OK, phone service was OK. ATM network is OK. Also nice with BKK bank is that they have cash withdrawal limit of 20000 baht per hit whereas the other Thai banks usually limit you to 15000 baht per hit. But then you can do multiple withdrawals in a day and the total daily limit is usually higher so that's perhaps a moot point.

Another issue with Bangkok Bank is that they are like the only Thai bank that doesn't let me pay a Thai HSBC credit card online or via ATM. All the other bank's have that connection.

I closed BKK Bank account when I switched from the Be 1st Visa card to a BTS Visa card that doubles as a BTS ticket. They gave me the card and told me it's ready to go but the ATMs never let me load value onto the BTS chip. The branch screwed me around for 2 weeks and I don't have time for that. 4 visits to the branch later they still told me it is working and I'm doing something wrong. Eventually I had the manager go to the ATM with me and see first hand that the option isn't enabled on my card. She apologized and went to her terminal to fix it. Next day I try to use it and it's still not working.

On the 4 visits to the branch they never took it seriously and basically kept telling me "the ATM you tried was broken" - So I tried 3 other ATMs and went back then they told me they forgot to activate the option, bla bla bla. Long story and any more detail would be off-topic so let me summarize:

BKK Bank is OK but my branch let me down. I closed it and my Thai friends who use Bangkok Bank tell me "Bangkok Bank is great, it's your branch, dude."

[Tatsujin]

I personally have found Bangkok Bank to be a little 'difficult' on numerous occasions when requesting things from them. I switched over to using Kasikorn Bank about 2.5 years ago and haven't looked back since, online banking, staff friendly and helpful etc etc so they would be my recommendation from now on to anyone

Edit:

Oh, forgot to add that the previous poster is very correct in saying the service (and also willingness to bend the rules sometimes in terms of paperwork) depends on which Branch you go to and this is I would say the same with every Bank. I've found that whenever I needed something (printed statements, questions or problems about account etc) then I've got on better using the branches further out from the center of Bangkok. Certainly, the staff at what was Seri Center (now Paradise Park) Branch are generally excellent.

Edited August 25, 2010 by Tatsujin

[wordchild]

i would agree the branch you are with is important, for Bangkok bank (so i was told by my branch manager) they have designated certain branches as farang friendly ie a reasonable number of english speakers upgraded foreign exchange personel etc. three of these that i know of are suk soi 8 (opp soi 11) , suk soi 43 (between emporium and thonglor) and the branch at the emporium .

[ESB7]

Siam Commercial Bank........Easynet does actually make life easier.

[chainarong]

Been with BkkBank for donkey years no trouble also KBank is also fine.

[inzman]

Bangkok Bank has terrible customer service, took 6 months to activate my internet banking and it still didn't work properly. K-Bank had me up and running in 1 day. Superior service and easy to do business with. SCB is also very prompt and service friendly for farongs.JMHO

[RolandGarros]

Bangkok Bank has terrible customer service, took 6 months to activate my internet banking and it still didn't work properly. K-Bank had me up and running in 1 day. Superior service and easy to do business with. SCB is also very prompt and service friendly for farongs.JMHO

This surprises me - I signed up with Bangkok Bank the first week I was in Thailand and it was all really easy. Been here a few years now and use their internet banking all the time and have never had a problem. I've recommended friends do the same and they've never had problems either. So not sure what your particular circumstances might have been. I also use Bangkok Bank for a lot of expat-type services and have found them to be pretty good.

[Suradit]

Have used Bangkok Bank for nearly 15 years. Never any problems (unlike my US bank).

I make dollar transfers to their New York branch regularly and have access to those funds in Pattaya within 1 or 2 days of the transfer. Never a hitch.

Only needed to call customer service once. The person I spoke to was fluent in English and the issue was dealt with quickly ... although as it turned out it was a mistake on my part, not the banks.

I'm sure the other major banks are equally good, but I find Bangkok Bank to be excellent.

[Tywais]

I've had an account with BB for 25 years and their service has been exemplary. But as mentioned, it can depend on the specific branch and management. I recently was given an Exclusive Membership (VIP) card that gives me discounts on services plus a personal representative assigned to me. Soon as I walk into my branch, the rep comes straight over to me to assist in my needs.

Internet banking has improved since I first got it. Before I had to go to the branch and fill out forms to add a payee and wait for approval, now I can do it online and immediately have a new payee added.

[Somnambulist]

I use BB for int'l transfers into Thailand because they have the best rates, but then transfer large chunks of money at a time to my SCB account and enjoy their far lower domestic transaction rates.

[ianguygil]

I have been pretty open in this forum in the past that I work for Bangkok Bank.

We are not perfect, but we are always happy to receive feedback and strive to do better. If any of you have problems or concerns please contact me via PM. I will then deal with your issues in a confidential manner via email. It is up to you to decide what you publish on this forum as to the problem and our response. I personally find this forum to be valuable and have helped a few members directly. Customer feedback is one of the best resources we have to help us to improve. So please feel free to PM me and I will do what I can to try to help.

Good luck

Ian

Edited August 31, 2010 by ianguygil

[Heng]

Dinosaur but reliable. Have never lost any deposit or interest. Service varies by branch. Low holding costs and almost no fees means you can pretty much have accounts at 5-6 banks if you don't want to depend on one bank.

[Chunky1]

bkk bank's option to transfer via ach to bangkok bank ny is just awesome.

[reefsurfah]

bkk bank's option to transfer via ach to bangkok bank ny is just awesome.

I wasn't able to do a domestic transfer via ATM bangkok bank to a bangkok bank account outside of bangkok. Has anyone got that to work? I was able to do it from Krung Thai atm to bangkok bank account outside of bangkok.

[gotlost]

bkk bank's option to transfer via ach to bangkok bank ny is just awesome.

I wasn't able to do a domestic transfer via ATM bangkok bank to a bangkok bank account outside of bangkok. Has anyone got that to work? I was able to do it from Krung Thai atm to bangkok bank account outside of bangkok.

I do that all the time with Bangkok Bank. Chiang Mai to Surin.

[ianguygil]

It should definitely work. Please go in to the nearest branch if you still can not get it to work. They will stand with you and take you through the steps. If you need more help please PM me. Thanks