Opening Account With Uk Bank From/In Thailand

[schmutzie 9]

Natwest doesn't cut it for me anymore. Plenty of other banks offer online transfers at little cost. With Natwest I have pay a courier company to send a letter authorising them to do the transfer. Then wait for my branch (which I have no way of contacting directly) to call me (they can not tell you when they will do this and will call you so that it comes through as a Thai landline, which means I'm likely to think wrong number). Then pay £20-£27 for the farce. Also, it takes from 2-5 days. With the exchange being so volatile, that can make a big difference in the rate. I want 24 hour transfer.

So, can I open/re-open a HSBC or Standard Chartered account from here or with another bank that's in the UK, put my Natwest money in that account and start to lead a happier life?

I say re-open, because I do have a UK HSBC account that's been dormant for some years, so would need new debit card and online banking access codes.

Edited September 20, 2010 by schmutzie

[Dave the Dude 4]

My first thoughts (being an ex employee of NatWest for 26 years)is do you have details & a credit balance of your now 'long gone' HSBC account, if so ask HSBC to trace it. That might take some time but if it can be done, there is your answer. You mention volatile exchange rates so I assume you are talking about a large amount of funds. If so, why limit yourself to the UK? Could you not investigate other countries to place your nest-egg?

Most High Street banks need a couple of documents to prove that you are living somewhere in the UK (Dr license,Utility bills etc.) so it might be worth you checking a few offshore websites with the understanding that they all require a certain minimum balance requirement.

Edited September 21, 2010 by Dave the Dude

[samran 11867]

why not open up a GBP account in Jersey? Easy enough to do it remotely. I used to have one and it was easy enough to transfer the cash from my Natwest account to the Jersey one (the tranfer being deemed 'local' in the UK), then use the HSBC in Jersey to transfer to Thailand.

The only problem was the fees in Jersey, HSBC charge 20 quid per month to keep the account open.

Edited September 21, 2010 by samran

[PattayaParent 336]

^HSBC not only charge a monthly fee to have an account but you need a minimum balance of 25k also or there are additional fees to pay.

I changed from them for that reason.

There are many other Building Societies / Banks that you can open accounts with online (and send supporting documents later), although the number of banks that don't charge monthly fees are dwindling.

GIYF.

Edit: I don't know any of the offshore Building Societies that offer debit cards also so you may be limited to banks.

Edited September 21, 2010 by PattayaParent

[schmutzie 9]

My first thoughts (being an ex employee of NatWest for 26 years)is do you have details & a credit balance of your now 'long gone' HSBC account, if so ask HSBC to trace it. That might take some time but if it can be done, there is your answer. You mention volatile exchange rates so I assume you are talking about a large amount of funds. If so, why limit yourself to the UK? Could you not investigate other countries to place your nest-egg?

Most High Street banks need a couple of documents to prove that you are living somewhere in the UK (Dr license,Utility bills etc.) so it might be worth you checking a few offshore websites with the understanding that they all require a certain minimum balance requirement.

Thanks Dave. It's not large funds anymore, but any pennies saved with the way things are helps. More frustration than anything.

I think we discussed this previously, but I just don't understand why Natwest can not let its customers do this, same as many other High Street banks.

Or at least let me fax through the letter. Their staff must feel like they're hired to be the support staff for a giant computer program (well, not so giant as it is).

It occurred to me about the documents, which is why I thought maybe I could talk to HSBC here. Offshore is out of my league, as is private banking.

Edited September 21, 2010 by schmutzie

[schmutzie 9]

^HSBC not only charge a monthly fee to have an account but you need a minimum balance of 25k also or there are additional fees to pay.

I changed from them for that reason.

There are many other Building Societies / Banks that you can open accounts with online (and send supporting documents later), although the number of banks that don't charge monthly fees are dwindling.

GIYF.

Edit: I don't know any of the offshore Building Societies that offer debit cards also so you may be limited to banks.

I think these offshore/private options are not suitable for my small time finances. I'm just a regular guy who needs an easy way to transfer the odd couple of thousand quid now and again. I think same as many here. Natwest is not the way to go.

[PattayaParent 336]

^There's banks that only require a minimum balance of 3,000 Quid.

And Building Societies with a 1,000 Quid minimum balance.

[prodriver 38]

^There's banks that only require a minimum balance of 3,000 Quid.

And Building Societies with a 1,000 Quid minimum balance.

Nationwide International (I.O.M.) have an account called "Instant Access Savings Account" which you can open with as little as £1. No interest on your money though....well, 0.10% on a balance of up to £999 and 0.15% on balances between £1,000 and £49,999. I have an account with them called a Base Rate Tracker Account but you need to deposit £5,000 to open one of these accounts.

What I like about them is there is no problem in transferring money to my bank in Thailand. I request the transfer by letter and it's done....no phone calls from them to verify the validity of the request which is what I used to get from LloydsTSB everytime I wanted to make a transfer.

[sarahsbloke 30]

Open an account with HiFx

You can then pay them (online) using your Natwest Debit card

And you don't have to do anyting with Natwest.

The Baht you get is fixed when to click the 'confirm' button.

(the money takes about 4 days to appear in yout Thai account, by SWIFT, no charges)

[wandrinstar 6]

Hello Natwest give me a card but i don't have to do anything with you,whoes Hi Fix then..No Charges,sounds a bit to good to be true.:jap: .

[prodriver 38]

Hello Natwest give me a card but i don't have to do anything with you,whoes Hi Fix then..No Charges,sounds a bit to good to be true.:jap: .

TorFX is another option. I don't understand too much about these type of businesses but I am looking into them as a possible way of transferring my UK State pension to Thailand when I start to receive it next year.

Check out their website at www.torfx.com/personal

[schmutzie 9]

Hello Natwest give me a card but i don't have to do anything with you,whoes Hi Fix then..No Charges,sounds a bit to good to be true.:jap: .

TorFX is another option. I don't understand too much about these type of businesses but I am looking into them as a possible way of transferring my UK State pension to Thailand when I start to receive it next year.

Check out their website at www.torfx.com/personal

Hi FX looks good to me. More streamlined than some of the other FX services I've looked at in the past.

Also need to read the small print just to be sure, but the current THB rate they offer seems good.

But it's really only the fact that Natwest are unable to provide a decent International Transfer service that's pushing me to do this. Silly.

[bkk_mike 462]

Why not leave it until the next time you're in the UK.

i.e. HBOS (Bank of Scotland, but Halifax has the same deal) lets me do transfers to Thailand on their internet banking for 9.50.

[theoldgit 6830]

As "prodriver" has said Nationwide International offer a good service and you can open an account with as little as £1.

You can open an account from Thailand, though you have to send certified documents, if you happen to be in the UK at all you can have the papers certified and sent on at any Nationwide branch for free.

You can arrange transfers to a Thai bank via tele or internet banking at a cost of £20.

I am in the process of setting up an account so that my UK State Pension, as well as my occupational pension, can be paid in Stirling, whilst the State Pension can be paid into a Thai bank it has to be paid in Baht and I understand they pay a pity poor rate, the same goes for my occupational pension.

Well worth a look http://www.nationwideinternational.com/

[prakhonchai nick 3296]

The problem living in Thailand is finding satisfactory documents for the bank/building society..No longer have utility bills.

[PattayaParent 336]

^statements from UK government offices are acceptable (pensions, NI, tax) and statements from other banks, or a confirmation of address letter from a lawyer or the British Embassy / consulate.

Utility bills won't be accepted if they're written in Thai unless you get a certified translation and you may as well use your Thai driving licence for that.

[TexasRanger 470]

^statements from UK government offices are acceptable (pensions, NI, tax) and statements from other banks, or a confirmation of address letter from a lawyer or the British Embassy / consulate.

Utility bills won't be accepted if they're written in Thai unless you get a certified translation and you may as well use your Thai driving licence for that.

I kept my Natwest account and I transfer money online to my standard HSBC account, then I transfer from there to my Kasikorn account. Slowest was 3 days, fastest was same day, fee from HSBC 17 quid. The only snag is you have to do the foreign transfer during UK banking hours, but this has worked out the easiest and most cost effective way for me, and believe me I have tried loads of different ways over the years. Oh yeah, and HSBC will let you have a Thai address and post statements to you in Thailand too.

[Lancelot 1221]

The only problem was the fees in Jersey, HSBC charge 20 quid per month to keep the account open.

20 quid? Yikes!

[PattayaParent 336]

The only problem was the fees in Jersey, HSBC charge 20 quid per month to keep the account open.

20 quid? Yikes!

AND you must keep a minimum of 25,000 Quid in the account at 0.00% interest or be faced with further charges of 20 Quid a month!!

You can avoid fees altogether though by putting 60,000 Quid in the account.

Is the chairman of HSBC named Dick Turpin by any chance?

Edited September 29, 2010 by PattayaParent