Banking Interest Rates

[nicelee808]

Hi All,

Does anybody know, as a foreigner(falang) I have read I can open a account with my passport and Non O visa, are there any recommendations to any accounts/bank that I shound open that would pay a yearly interest rate and if anyone knows roughly what sort of interest rates are available.

Also which account should I open for my wife, she is Thai, again accounts/bank and what sort of interest rate she should be looking for.

Any Input would be appreciated.

Regards Lee

[chiangmaibruce]

I'm not 100% sure i understand your question, but here goes:

There is a pinned topic about opening a bank account in the business forum page .. as well as frequent threads in the body of the forum - just search and/or scroll through threads to find them

If you are just asking about current interest rates for transaction accounts there look here: http://www.bot.or.th/english/statistics/financialmarkets/interestrate/_layouts/application/interest_rate/IN_Rate.aspx

See also this prior thread in relation to term-deposit accounts: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/262584-different-fixed-deposit-bank-interest-rates-for-foreigners/

[nicelee808]

To Clarify,

I will be depositing 400K Baht into a Thai bank for 2-3 years or more what bank account should I put it in?

My wife will be depositing 200k Baht into a Thai bank for 1-2 years what bank account should she put it in?

[CharlieH]

They are all pretty much the same, deposit/saving will get you around 2.5- 3% ish dependent on where you go, you'll need to shop around, they all have websites. Dont forget that you will lose 15% of any interest to tax.

You also need to consider whether or not you want online banking and whether or not you'll be transferring money regularly from abroad, which country etc.

Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn seem to be popular with many and I use them both. Doesnt pay to have all your eggs in one basket.

Edited March 15, 2012 by CharlieH

[chiangmaibruce]

To Clarify,

I will be depositing 400K Baht into a Thai bank for 2-3 years or more what bank account should I put it in?

My wife will be depositing 200k Baht into a Thai bank for 1-2 years what bank account should she put it in?

The answer depends on what you want/need to use the account/s for ... will it be related to your visa? do you need to have internet banking? debit card? etc. If none of the above apply to you, then have you considered and ruled out mutual funds, for example?

[nicelee808]

To Clarify,

I will be depositing 400K Baht into a Thai bank for 2-3 years or more what bank account should I put it in?

My wife will be depositing 200k Baht into a Thai bank for 1-2 years what bank account should she put it in?

The answer depends on what you want/need to use the account/s for ... will it be related to your visa? do you need to have internet banking? debit card? etc. If none of the above apply to you, then have you considered and ruled out mutual funds, for example?

The 400k for me will remain in the bank for my visa extension, I dont need internet banking(I dont think!), wouldnt mind a debit card but probably not essential.

would really just like the money to do something while its sitting there

[nicelee808]

They are all pretty much the same, deposit/saving will get you around 2.5- 3% ish dependent on where you go, you'll need to shop around, they all have websites. Dont forget that you will lose 15% of any interest to tax.

You also need to consider whether or not you want online banking and whether or not you'll be transferring money regularly from abroad, which country etc.

Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn seem to be popular with many and I use them both. Doesnt pay to have all your eggs in one basket.

I will be transferring money from abroad once in a while

[JimGant]

It sounds like you should open several accounts -- for sure, a savings account, probably jointly with your wife, into which you can transfer money into, and take money out of -- including with an ATM/ debit card and with direct debits of your electric, phone, other utility bills. It pays only a piddlin' .75% (per the above mentioned scale), but it's the flexible account you'll need.

But it need not hold the bulk of your funds. A fixed account, which, if you can leave alone for several years, will pay the best interest (again, as shown with link posted above). If there's a major doubt about not needing this money, you can open several fixed accounts ( one, two, three year maturities), then have the flexibility of either using the money at each maturity -- or rolling it over. And, if the shiite hits the fan before any of them mature, you'll not have to close one big account (and lose all the interest, except for .75%) -- but only close one(s) closest to maturity.

Anyway, accounts used for retirement extension can't be joint. And, presumably, a bank letter that shows all your fixed accounts equal more than 400k will do the trick (some past discussion has indicated some of the hick immigration offices don't like fixed accounts, and probably dislike even more using several.....).

And, I'd also have an Internet banking account, where you can link all your accounts, and see them on-line. Handy, even if just to see that the money you've wired over has hit your account.

Dont forget that you will lose 15% of any interest to tax.

No. You can go to the amphur, with a letter from the bank showing the withheld interest, and they have the forms to get this withheld money back. A no-brainer by the Thais, if the bank interest is the only money you're earning within Thailand -- and thus well below the threshold where any taxes are owed.

Edited March 15, 2012 by JimGant

[chiangmaibruce]

Just adding a couple of things to what Jim just wrote:

1. Before you open that term account you probably should check (with the staff of the Immigration office you attend) as to what types of accounts they will accept. Some Thaivisa users report that some staff insist the money is in a transaction account ... another 'rule' that is all over the place in practice

2. The tax mentioned is called "withholding tax" and if you do a thaivisa forum search on this then you should find earlier threads detailing the process of obtaining the refund. There is also an article on this issue in the web site of one of the Pattaya expat clubs (use google to locate)

[JimGant]

The 'laddering' of several fixed accounts can be accomplished within a single fixed account -- with the laddering occuring amongst several fixed deposits (with different maturities) within this single fixed account. This, at least, at Bangkok Bank (the followimg from their website):

Do you know?

You can add multiple deposits to the same account. This gives you the advantage of not having to carry more than one passbook. If you add your deposits over a period of time they will mature at different times which gives you more flexibility when it comes to withdrawing your money.

A single passbook, with laddered deposits, probably would be less confusing to the immigration officer than a packet of passbooks.