StevenHeidbriderSr Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I plan to retire to Thailand in the Nong Khai area and during my research for the best expat banking i saw that there was a Citibank Thailand. So i called Citibanks customer service and was told that yes Citibank and Citibank Thailand are one in the same company and would ease my banking worries. Just wonder if anyone has used Citi Bank for this purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I'm assuming from your inquiry that you might be an American.... Citibank Thailand does have one main office and HQ in BKK at the corner of Asoke and Sukhumvit Roads... including Citi ATMs that can be used (at least with other U.S. banks' bank cards) without the 150 baht withdrawal fee. I've never tried a Citi U.S. card there. However, Thai banking regs at present limit so-called foreign banks like Citi to very few branches in the country....and at present... to the best of my knowledge, Citibank only has the ONE in BKK....and none anywhere near Nong Khai... Apart from that... based on prior reports here... unless you have high level account status with Citi U.S. like Citi Gold or similar levels, they won't do anything especially helpful to facilitate you moving funds from Citi U.S. accounts to a potential Citi Thailand account. By that, I mean helpful things like waiving foreign currency exchange fees, low cost or free international wire transfers and such. If you do have one of those higher level status Citi accounts, you can check with their BKK branch as to just what they will and won't do... But none of that, I'm afraid, is going to be of much use in Nong Khai. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenHeidbriderSr Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Yes I am an American and my intent was to have a Citi Thailand account and a Citi US account and do all my banking online.I assumed i could just transfer funds from one to the other as needed. Edited January 16, 2012 by StevenHeidbriderSr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 If you are coming to retire here the first thing you need to do is NOT assume anything here is anything at all like it is in the West. All those values, ideas and expectations are best left in the US as they just dont exist here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsiam Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Is citibank better than hsbc ?? Are there minimum balances as ridiculous as hsbc ?? How easy to open here and hong kong ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Yes I am an American and my intent was to have a Citi Thailand account and a Citi US account and do all my banking online.I assumed i could just transfer funds from one to the other as needed. As I said above, it depends on whether you have regular or Gold or higher account status with Citi... If you have higher status, they do have online banking that allows international funds transfers between their accounts, as best as I recall.... And their fees are reduced or waived... If you have regular account status, they'll nickle and dime charge you for everything under the sun.... Either way, you can get your funds into a Citi Thailand account... but then what? No Citi ATMs around Nong Khai.... so you'd have to be using your Citi card at other Thai bank ATMs... And they'll be charging you a fee, and possibly Citi too, after a certain number per month. Plus in Thailand, you need to know, a lot of banking stuff is done by region... Do something from one bank to another within the BKK region is one kind of fee... Do something from BKK to Isaan is invariably a higher fee, because you're going inter-regional. Advise what level/status of Citi U.S. account you have, and we can be more specific here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Generally speaking, for Americans, the best way to move money from the U.S. to Thailand is using a method that Bangkok Bank offers, whereby you can domestic ACH funds to their New York branch (which has its own U.S. ABA number), and then they'll automatically forward those funds onward to your BKK Bank Thailand account. Almost always less expensive than traditional wire transfers.... Small handling fee by the New York branch depending on the amount send, and then a 0.25% commission charged by BKK Bank in Thailand, minimum 200 and maximum 500 baht per transaction. Usually takes 2 or 3 business days to complete. Exchange rate is BKK Bank's buying TT rate. BKK Bank also offers a direct deposit setup for U.S. government pension payments if you happen to have one of those. I pretty much despise BKK Bank for what in my experience is their terrible customer service and excessive, stuffy bureaucracy... But, none of the other Thai banks offer a comparable means of economically moving funds from the U.S. to Thailand. The other route, of course, is to get a good no foreign currency fee U.S. ATM card like Charles Schwab Bank, State Farm Bank, Capital One and some others, and then withdraw your funds direct from any Thai bank ATM... Schwab and State Farm reimburse foreign bank ATM fees... Thai banks charge 150 baht per withdrawal anytime you use a non Thai bank card. You can avoid those entirely if you use any AEON ATMs, which are the one that don't charge that 150 baht fee. But I can't say off hand whether AEON has any ATMs in Nong Khai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWMcMurray Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I used to have a citi acoount in the US when I first moved to Thailand about 7 1/2 years ago. At that time, I checked with Citibank Thailand and was informed that they did not offer actual savings or checking accounts to customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Also recommend you evaluate if your current U.S. bank, CitiBank, will work for you "fee-wise" once using the bank for overseas funds transfers. A couple of banking issues seem to cause the most problems/heartburn for retirees to Thailand: 1) Being able to easy & cheaply transfer funds from their home country bank to their Thai bank. Does your current CitiBank account provide free ACH and/or SWIFT transfers? I expect they don't provide free SWIFT transfer (ain't it around $40), but I sure hope they provide free or low cost ACH transfers (but I think I've see ThaiVisa posts that say they do not). If not, there are plenty of other U.S. banks that provide free or low cost ACH transfer. Then when it comes to receiving the money your want to transfer is your Thai bank capable of receiving an "ACH" transfer otherwise you'll have to go the pricey SWIFT method. To the best of my knowledge only Bangkok Bank has ACH receipt capability through use of their Bangkok Bank NY branch (i.e., you use the NY branch routing number and your in-Thailand Bkk Bk account number). You don't need an account at their NY branch, you only use their routing number and have an in-Thailand Bkk Bk account. 2: Next issue also deals with getting money from your home country bank via use of your home country's ATM/Debit card. Does you bank charge a "foreign transaction fee(s) for using the ATM/debit card outside the U.S. and does it reimburse for ATM fees? From looking at the CitiBank basic Debit card it says it charges a 3% fee for overseas point of sale or ATM transactions....I didn't look to see about ATM fee reimbursement especially for overseas ATMs...I expect Citibank does not reimburse. While most U.S. banks nowdays charge a foreign transaction fee, many still do not such as Schwab, State Farm, Capital One, etc. While selecting a Thai bank is important what is also equally important "is your current home country bank still a good deal once you move overseas?" While living in the States you probably didn't care much about foreign transaction fees since your transactions were being accomplished within the U.S...and didn't really care about funds transfer fees since you really didn't transfer money from bank to bank. But once you move to Thailand those two things will quickly become very important and if significant fees are involved will soon become a heartache to you....that is, you get tired of paying a $40 or more SWIFT fee to transfer money to yourself....you get tired of withdrawing say 10,000 baht from an ATM using your home country debit card and getting hit with a 3% fee by your home country bank plus maybe not getting reimbursed for any ATM withdrawal fee. Getting/moving money from your home country bank can get expensive when not in the home country. The wife and I have been with Bangkok Bank for many years and we've been happy with them. When I first moved to Thailand I thought I was OK money transfer-wise with my U.S. Bank of America account (only $3 for a ACH transfer) since I had been using it for years to transfer money to Thailand, but even this transfer become problematic when they started their SafePass program which required me to buy a $20 SafePass card to do transfers over $1000 per transfer. I got that worked out but later went negative on BoA in general and definitely didn't want to use their debit card to get money via ATM due to the 3% foreign transaction fee. Even though I also had a couple other bank/credit union accounts none of them provided free ACH transfers or no foreign transaction fee debit cards. So, I opened new bank accounts with USAA Banking, Schwab Banking and State Farm Banking. All three provide free ACH transfers, the later two provide no foreign transaction fee Visa debit cards, and all three have a low fee structure...I've been very happy with all three. And then I went out and got myself a no foreign transaction fee Capital One Mastercard "credit card" with 2%/1% cash back...I use it all the time here in Thailand for my day-to-day buys...ususally earning 2% cash back and being protected under U.S. Consumer Protection Laws vs the basically non-existent Thai Consumer Protection Laws. In closing, first evaluate your current U.S. bank(s), debit card(s), and credit card(s) to see how they are going to work for you fee-wise for overseas transfers, funds withdrawals, etc. If the answer is there are going to be big fees involved, then you need to open another bank/card account(s) where you can get the same service but for free. And opening new U.S. bank accounts and credit card accounts is a heck of a lot of easy while still living in the States; once you no longer have a permanent residence in the States opening the accounts gets tougher. So, I recommend Bangkok Bank on the Thailand end and I recommend some of above mentioned banks/credit card on the U.S. end. Good luck in your retirement move to Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rijb Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I worked for Citi. Bangkok Bank is a better deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 As I said above, I've looked at Citi's U.S. offerings in the past, as they relate to spending money in Thailand and sending money to Thailand. If you have a Citi Gold or higher account, they do add on some expat-oriented perks that at least make it worth considering. If you've just got a regular ordinary Citi account, it's definitely a NO GO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbie Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Just too correct one piece of outdated information, Citi currently has three branches in Bangkok. The main branch on Asoke, one in Central World and one (I think) in the Silom area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thanks for that update, Furbie.... Citibank Thailand's website does now show a second banking location on Silom in the United Center Building there, but it doesn't mention the CentralWorld location.... http://www.citibank.co.th/en/static/Location.htm The only thing to be careful about is Citi has TONS of credit card booths and credit card locations around Thailand... But their retail banking locations are far more limited. The Thais have been moving toward loosening their foreign branch rules lately... HSBC now has more than one location in BKK. And it's good to see Citi is moving in the same direction. Someone ought to try the Citi Silom ATMs and report if they, like the Asoke ones, do NOT charge the Thai banks' 150 baht withdrawal fee when using U.S. bank cards.... I'd assume they're the same as the Asoke ones in not charging the 150 baht fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litlos Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I have Citi in Singapore and used to have in Australia. Transfer from Sin to Aust via internet free. Ok so open Thailand Citi, nope no free transfer to Thailand and Singapore office said that is just the way it is, (TIT?) They do not seem to hit me with a 150Baht fee for using my Singapore ATM card in Thailand though, will have to check again as have not used for a while. So you need to get it from Citi USA if fee free transfers etc. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 The policy on transfer fees and ATM fees is going to depend on the policy of the bank where the account is based.... which in the case of the OP would be the U.S. Accounts with Citi in Singapore may or may not have the same policies. Last time I checked with Citi U.S., for their regular accounts, they were charging a 3% foreign currency fee on all debit card purchases made abroad and all foreign ATM withdrawals such as if using a Thai bank ATM... I think Citi U.S., again for regular accounts, also was charging some kind of flat fee when using their own Citi ATMs outside the U.S. Citibank U.S. has a LONG account terms document that details their fees for their different kinds of accounts.... The 3% foreign currency fee is there... https://online.citib...al_20111215.pdf But I can't be clear about their international transfer fees... One part says they charge a $10 fee for Citi transfers to most international transfers to other Citi accounts. But then there's an addendum that sounds like they've now lifted that fee... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 A bit of feedback Citibank Thailand I have held a Citigold account in Singapore office for many years and the service received has always been exceptional and cannot fault them. due to a slight technical problem accessing my on-line account, rather than getting on the phone to Singapore, I decided to pop into Citibank in Asok, thinking they could sort this out for me, as in the literature it basically says..." As a Citigold account holder you will receive the same standard of service anywhere in the world" So into the Citigold "lounge" in Asok I go and can only say the staff in there were completely unhelpful/usless and basically didnt have a clue, net result was I used one of their phones and called Singapore to help me resolve the issue, so other than a free phone call to Singapore they did nothing to assist, once contacting Singapore, I received 3 more phone calls back on my mobile asking is every resolved to my satisifaction, this is what I call customer service Citibank Singapore = Big smiley face Citibank Singapore = Big frown...!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 The Citibank name may be the same.. But that hardly means it all works together seamlessly from country to country... Same with HSBC, unless you hold Premier account status with them.... which makes things better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Same with HSBC, unless you hold Premier account status with them.... which makes things better. Well the Citigold account is same as HSBC Premier and didnt make things easier with Citibank Thailand sorry to say..... HSBC Premier is not all its cracked up to be either had one of those for years and binned it because the customer service was dire and went to Citibank..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thanks for the first-hand experience report... I was referring to the various fee and transaction arrangements that places like Citi and HSBC provide. For expat types, they do have various provisions to waive international transfer or transaction fees once you get to Citi Gold or higher status with Citi, or HSBC Premier status with HSBC, which for U.S. accounts typically requires $100,000 or more in cumulative deposits with the bank. Whether their customer service provided at the Bangkok branches of those two banks is helpful or not for international transactions/customers is an entirely different matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkflyer Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I have Citi in Singapore and used to have in Australia. Transfer from Sin to Aust via internet free. Ok so open Thailand Citi, nope no free transfer to Thailand and Singapore office said that is just the way it is, (TIT?) They do not seem to hit me with a 150Baht fee for using my Singapore ATM card in Thailand though, will have to check again as have not used for a while. So you need to get it from Citi USA if fee free transfers etc. Cheers I assume you dont have THB account with CitiBank in Singapore. If you use their ATM card to withdraw funds in Thailand, you will be charges 3% on interbankrate, so quite a ripoff. If you SWIFT i.ex USD to Thailand, they will even charge you something like 0.25% of the amount + SGD30-35 if I remember right, and the local bank here will charge you a fee + a relatively "ok" exchange rate. To get best rate; bring large banknotes i.ex €500/USD100/SGD1000 bills and change with SuperRich or someone who needs it. But of course there is a risk..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Whether their customer service provided at the Bangkok branches of those two banks is helpful or not for international transactions/customers is an entirely different matter. Not when they claim you will receive the same level of service irrespective of where you are in the world.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I have Citi in Singapore and used to have in Australia. Transfer from Sin to Aust via internet free. Ok so open Thailand Citi, nope no free transfer to Thailand and Singapore office said that is just the way it is, (TIT?) They do not seem to hit me with a 150Baht fee for using my Singapore ATM card in Thailand though, will have to check again as have not used for a while. So you need to get it from Citi USA if fee free transfers etc. Cheers I assume you dont have THB account with CitiBank in Singapore. If you use their ATM card to withdraw funds in Thailand, you will be charges 3% on interbankrate, so quite a ripoff. If you SWIFT i.ex USD to Thailand, they will even charge you something like 0.25% of the amount + SGD30-35 if I remember right, and the local bank here will charge you a fee + a relatively "ok" exchange rate. To get best rate; bring large banknotes i.ex €500/USD100/SGD1000 bills and change with SuperRich or someone who needs it. But of course there is a risk..... First of all dont believe Citibank in Singapore offer a THB account, principle accounts with Citi in Singapore are denominated in either US$ or Sing $, multiple currency sub-accounts can be held. I use a Citbank card from Singapore all the time in Thailand and dont get hit with 3% only the THB 150....and this is the rip off from this end for SWIFT transfers....typically costs of transfer are on one party only not both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkflyer Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I have Citi in Singapore and used to have in Australia. Transfer from Sin to Aust via internet free. Ok so open Thailand Citi, nope no free transfer to Thailand and Singapore office said that is just the way it is, (TIT?) They do not seem to hit me with a 150Baht fee for using my Singapore ATM card in Thailand though, will have to check again as have not used for a while. So you need to get it from Citi USA if fee free transfers etc. Cheers I assume you dont have THB account with CitiBank in Singapore. If you use their ATM card to withdraw funds in Thailand, you will be charges 3% on interbankrate, so quite a ripoff. If you SWIFT i.ex USD to Thailand, they will even charge you something like 0.25% of the amount + SGD30-35 if I remember right, and the local bank here will charge you a fee + a relatively "ok" exchange rate. To get best rate; bring large banknotes i.ex €500/USD100/SGD1000 bills and change with SuperRich or someone who needs it. But of course there is a risk..... First of all dont believe Citibank in Singapore offer a THB account, principle accounts with Citi in Singapore are denominated in either US$ or Sing $, multiple currency sub-accounts can be held. I use a Citbank card from Singapore all the time in Thailand and dont get hit with 3% only the THB 150....and this is the rip off from this end for SWIFT transfers....typically costs of transfer are on one party only not both Hi, Interesting if you are not charged any % on the interbank rate using CitiBank SG. Is it the "Citigold" ATM card you use to withdraw funds here? I would be very surprised if CitiBank doesnt have any profit on the THB withdrawal. http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=THB&To=USD As of writing this the rate is 31.545. It would be very interesting if you could check this rate next time you do a THB withdrawal from an ATM in Thailand. If I withdraw EUR in EUR-land or USD in the US I am not hit with any % as long as the card is linked to the account equal to the currency I am withdrawing. For Swift transfers, CitiBank has charged me a % (I think it was 0.25%) of the amount they transfer. If I transfer USD10,000 - its USD25 + a SGD fee (I think it was SGD35). If i opened a time deposit (minimum 7 days) I could avoid the 0.25% fee. Then again the local bank here will give an "unfavourable" exchange rate compared to interbank (Kasikorn at the moment will buy USD TT at 31.43 + they will probably deduct THB500.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenSnapper Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 So into the Citigold "lounge" in Asok I go and can only say the staff in there were completely unhelpful/usless and basically didnt have a clue, net result was I used one of their phones and called Singapore to help me resolve the issue A few years ago, when I was a Citibank customer in my home country, I used their ATMs free of charge at their (then) office at Satorn. While I was there, I went inside and asked the staff to give me a list of all Citibank ATMs in Thailand. Not knowing that there are none except in Bangkok. The girls gave me the typical bland stare, giggled, asked other staff and nobody had even the slightest knowledge of English to understand my simple question. After a while i gave up, still amazed about the total lack of any professionality there. At least I got some first hand experience what to expect when living Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 My experience with Citi Bank have all be terrible. Like the OP I thought that having a Citi Bank account in Thailand would complement my Citi Bank account in the US. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The only thing I could do was use the Thai Citi Bank ATM in Bangkok to access my US funds but at the Citi Bank daily limit and lower exchange rate. I could not even transfer funds via the Thai Citi Bank ATM. I had to take the cash from the machine and then take the escalator upstairs and make a cash deposit into my Thai Citi Bank account. If I wanted to transfer money from the US to Citi Bank in Thailand and was not in country I would have to SWIFT from the US to Thailand, no discount for being a Citi Bank customer. When I needed to raise the deposit for my Condo purchase the exchange rate I got using the US Citi Bank ATM card in Pattaya, got me a significant lower exchange rate than my other two US based bank cards, E*trade and B of A. The final straw was when I was transiting Germany and not only did I receive a lower US dollar / Euro exchange rate but they hit me up for two additional fees, using a non Citi Bank ATM (even though it was an ATM in the lobby of a Citi Bank in Frankfurt) and a Foreign Currency transaction fee. Needless to say I am now and EX Citi Bank customer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Whether their customer service provided at the Bangkok branches of those two banks is helpful or not for international transactions/customers is an entirely different matter. Not when they claim you will receive the same level of service irrespective of where you are in the world.... I wasn't defending their service... I was merely stating a fact: Fees and charges are one aspect of international banking... Customer service is a different aspect. How a bank does on the first issue is a different matter from how they do on the second issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkflyer Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I just did a "test-withdrawal" today in Bangkok: OVERSEAS ATM WITHDRAWAL BANGKOK TH JAN 21,12 XXXXXX THB 5000.00 XXXXXXXXXXX EUR 127.97 Dr I withdrew THB5000 from Aeon, so no THB150 fee. It hit my CitiBank SG EUR-account with €127.97. This gives an exchange rate of 0,025594 (THB/EUR 39.07166). Interbank-rate now shows 0,0245389 (THB/EUR 40.7516) http://www.xe.com/uc...From=THB&To=EUR Bank margins might be higher during weekends, but they take a 4,1225% margin..... quite a "ripoff" if you ask me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) In this case, if you were using a Citibank Singapore ATM card in Thailand, you might have been better off using a Citibank Thailand ATM instead of an AEON one... In looking at the Citibank Singapore website, it appears to say that their account holders will not be charged a foreign currency exchange fee when they use their Citi SG bank card to make ATM withdrawals at Citibank ATMs in other countries... Likewise, Citibank in Thailand, AFAIK, isn't part of the 150 baht Thai banks cabal that charge a 150 baht fee on all foreign card withdrawals made from their ATMs... I regularly use the Citibank ATMs in BKK with my non-Citi U.S. bank cards, and never have been charged a 150 baht fee by Citi. But I couldn't readily find any mention of what Citi Singapore's policy is when you use a NON-Citibank ATM (such as AEON) in a foreign country with your Singapore Citibank card. Although I suspect, a 3 or 4% foreign currency fee might not be unlikely. Edited January 21, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkflyer Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I will try to do a withdrawal from a CitiBank ATM next time I am in the city. I however suspect the “Prevailing foreign currency exchange rates apply” might equal the 3-4% margin..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallGuyJohninBKK Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I will try to do a withdrawal from a CitiBank ATM next time I am in the city. I however suspect the “Prevailing foreign currency exchange rates apply” might equal the 3-4% margin..... Ya...I wondered about that too...when I saw the language..... Only way to know is try once and see... But frankly, I doubt it would be any worse than the result you got above with the AEON withdrawal.... (which was not due to anything about AEON or its ATMs, but almost certainly, fees/charges imposed by Citi). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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