Thai Doctor Saves Foreign Tourist After Cardiac Arrest on Pattaya Street

[dotx]

About a year ago, I opened two bank accounts, one in Kasikorn and one in SCB Bank. I ended up using my Kasikorn account for all the transactions and the SCB account remained empty. Since I've never used it, I don't know anything about the bank and how good it is. Is it the same as Kasikorn? Better? Worse? (and if so, in what way?).

I'll continue using Kasikorn for my transactions, but I was thinking of using my SCB account just to put some money aside. Nothing big. Maybe a total of 500,000 baht or so (I'll start with a small amount and build up to that with regular deposits). I don't want to use that money for anything. Just put it aside for now. Sort of "out of sight, out of mind." I'll take it out and use in a year or so. I know it might not make the most sense financially to let money sit there, but it's the best option for me for a number of reasons. My question is whether SCB is the right bank for that. Opinions?

[soi41]

I am glad to see, that life has turned around for you. Remember a couple of years ago, when you was trying to sell your old laptop on a local forum just to survive here. And now you are one of the very few farangs actually getting richer in Thailand. Well done !

To answer your question: For a normal savings account with small regular deposits, it doesn't matter which of the major banks you use. I might be a good idea to use Kbank for even your savings, to build up a relation, to be used in the future if you need a small loan or a creditcard.

[chiangmaibruce]

Is SCB better than KBank for having an empty account with?

Is SCB the "right bank" for an account holding a large amount of money but earning interest at less than the rate of inflation?

You ask for opinions yet the only justification you provide for your unusual decision is that "it's the best option for me for a number of reasons"

Mum and dad always told me that if you can't say something nice about someone then don't say anything. With that in mind I'm handing the baton to the next reader

[edwardandtubs]

Just shop around for a suitable account with the best interest rate. You definitely won't get that at either SCB or KBank. You need at least a 3% interest rate just to stop losing money to inflation.

Edited March 18, 2012 by edwardandtubs

[dotx]

Well, the point is to avoid having an empty account at SCB, which is why I'm thinking about putting the money there.

I don't care about the interest rate. It might seem like a stupid thing to say, but this is money I'm saving for a charity project. I don't want to put it into an account that doesn't allow for last-minute withdrawals in case of an emergency. Some of the accounts that offer good interest rates ask for a minimum deposit (an amount I don't have at the moment). There's a lot more to it than that, which is why I said I have my reasons.

Hey soi41, good memory! I considered opening a second Kasikorn account, but since I have the SCB account, I figured I could just use that one. Besides, putting the money there is sort of "forgetting" I have it, since I don't use that bank for anything. So, technically, I would be using the account as sort of a "safe box," just a place to hold the money.

ETA: I haven't been able to find any account with a good interest rate that allows you to start with a very small deposit and make regular small deposits. Suggestions are welcome, but I think my options are limited.

Edited March 18, 2012 by dotx

[edwardandtubs]

dotx, your flawed logic makes fascinating reading.

[dotx]

dotx, your flawed logic makes fascinating reading.

Thank you. Happy to provide entertainment, anytime.

Like I said, there's a lot behind my reasons for not going with investments or certain types of accounts. I don't want to go into details, so I won't.

Thanks to those who are trying to answer my original question.

Edited March 18, 2012 by dotx

[Sophon]

If you opened your SCB account a year ago and it has remained empty since then, it's unlikely that the account is still open. The banks automatically closes inactive accounts with a small or no balance.

Sophon

[dotx]

If you opened your SCB account a year ago and it has remained empty since then, it's unlikely that the account is still open. The banks automatically closes inactive accounts with a small or no balance.

Sophon

It's still open. I checked with the bank yesterday.

Edited March 18, 2012 by dotx

[CharlieH]

My two pennies worth........it is always good not to keep all your eggs in one basket, so another account in another bank in my opinion makes sense, especially in Thailand where things can and often do break down, ATM machines empty etc and many other scenarios.

As for the dormant account, beware, some banks now charge if the account is not used, if nothing goes in or out in a month they will charge you, dont know if this now applies to SCB but it does to Bangkok Bank.

My advice and suggestion would be to open 2 deposit type accounts, ones that pay a better interest rate, why 2 ? well if you do need to access some money you will only lose interest on one account and not all of the money as you would in just one account.

there endeth my two penny worth.

Edited March 18, 2012 by CharlieH

[dotx]

My two pennies worth........it is always good not to keep all your eggs in one basket, so another account in another bank in my opinion makes sense, especially in Thailand where things can and often do break down, ATM machines empty etc and many other scenarios.

As for the dormant account, beware, some banks now charge if the account is not used, if nothing goes in or out in a month they will charge you, dont know if this now applies to SCB but it does to Bangkok Bank.

My advice and suggestion would be to open 2 deposit type accounts, ones that pay a better interest rate, why 2 ? well if you do need to access some money you will only lose interest on one account and not all of the money as you would in just one account.

there endeth my two penny worth.

Thanks. This is really useful information. I'll stop by SCB tomorrow and see what my options are.

SCB charged me 99 baht for not using the account for over 12 months. If I start using the account, money will be going in regularly, so it should be no problem.

[nowork114]

Check out TMB no-fixed and 3 months fixed accounts

[12DrinkMore]

TMB will give you 2.25% on a transaction account, "no fixed".

That's the best I know of for the parameters you mentioned.

[dotx]

Check out TMB no-fixed and 3 months fixed accounts

Thanks. SCB also seems to have two types of fixed accounts (http://www.scb.co.th/en/personal-banking/deposit/thai-baht-deposits/fixed-deposit-accounts). The General Fixed Deposit seems like a good fit, so I'll stop by the bank tomorrow and ask.

[dotx]

TMB will give you 2.25% on a transaction account, "no fixed".

That's the best I know of for the parameters you mentioned.

Do you know what's the minimum deposit?

[nowork114]

TMB will give you 2.25% on a transaction account, "no fixed".

That's the best I know of for the parameters you mentioned.

Do you know what's the minimum deposit?

I dont think there is minimum - I opened mine with 1,000 THB. They also have option for 3mo deposit to get interest in advance ...

[CWMcMurray]

well for my 2 cents... Kiatnakin Bank seems to always offer the best rates each time I have checked over the last few years

[Krit]

I would suggest that you get a fixed deposit account. Your money is going to work while it's in the bank, the difference is just whether it works for the bankers or you (or the charity you mention). The bankers are probably rich enough.

Bangkok Bank offers 2.625% for 4-month fixed deposit (starting from 200 000 baht) until 21 March, if you keep the money there for longer than 4 months it will change to 3 month rate after that (now 2.00%). This is not a very good offer, but anyway it's better than a savings account. As you probably know by know, you CAN withdraw your money early, if you need it for an emergency. If you withdraw very quickly, you will lose all interest, but if after some time (before maturity), you will get the same interest rate as for a savings account.

If you do not withdraw early but after one year, you would get - let's see if I can calculate this correctly - for half million you would get something like 4375 baht in the first four months and after that 6724 baht during the rest of the year. That's 11099 baht altogether. So by keeping the money in a normal savings account (0.75%) you would lose 7349 baht compared to this.

I recently opened a fixed account with SCB, as they had a very good promotion (3.40%). The teller whom I know thanked me with an extra wai for opening the account and seemed rather happy to handle it, hopefully she gets a small commission as well. SCB mostly offers slightly better rates than Bangkok Bank, but I could not find the exact rates right now.

Smaller and lesser known banks offer even higher interest, because they have more difficulty getting money from the market than big and stable banks. If you want the highest rates you should go to some unheard-of bank like the Kiatnakin Bank (although it looks like they don't offer fixed deposits for non-residents). However make sure that your deposits are covered by the deposit protection agency ( http://www.dpa.or.th/main.php?filename=index___EN ). Deposits will only be covered up to 1 million from August 2012 onwards, so if you keep more than that in one bank, you bear the risk yourself. I personally would not keep more than one million in any one Thai bank after that. Also note that many types of investments are not covered at all.

[Gone]

Silly question really. You have an SCB account already and you are on TV asking us if it is ok to put money in it? It's a bank, why wouldnt it be? It's not a hot-dog stand you're leaving your money with.

SCB doesn't stand for "Semi-Contreversial-Bank" does it?

It's a BANK man. Go in and put money in it instead of asking us. Things that make ya go.....hmmmmmmmmmm

[12DrinkMore]

TMB will give you 2.25% on a transaction account, "no fixed".

That's the best I know of for the parameters you mentioned.

Do you know what's the minimum deposit?

No minimum, although I suppose they might really want to see more than 1 baht.

There is no tax charged on the interest until you earn more than (I think) 10,000, but may be more.

[10120]

SCB is a great bank, undoubtedy the best in Thailand and one of the best in the region, offering a full global banking service. In particular, exceptional online services including worldwide funds transfers to corporate clients - nad very good online personal banking too.

I am the CFO of a large UK plc operting here for years and we conduct all our banking with SCB.

[dotx]

I really appreciate all the help. I stopped by SCB today to ask about their fixed deposit accounts. A 3-month fixed account offers 1.8 %. A bit higher (not much) for 6 and 12 months. If there was a higher rate at some point, it's now gone.