Bank Savings Interest Rates

[JetsetBkk]

14 hours ago, moontang said:

Correct..and a great ATM card...a million aggregate will get you preferred rates on fixed.  Yellow pays 1.3%. and no withholding ...

 

21 hours ago, JAS21 said:

CIMB ...think it is called speed saver gives 'good'!! interest but I think you need 1M to get the top rate and that is only about 1.5% ... but it is instant access.

 

Thanks, you guys. I'm pretty sure there's a CIMB bank in Phuket's Central Festival shopping mall so I'll go there soon and get some information.    ????
 

[moontang]

3 hours ago, JetsetBkk said:

 

 

Thanks, you guys. I'm pretty sure there's a CIMB bank in Phuket's Central Festival shopping mall so I'll go there soon and get some information.    ????
 

Ur welcome...ATM was free for first year...100 per year after.  Great for ASEAN, as well as any Thai bank...better to have most of it in fixed...in case of ATM fraud...but it is chip protected 6 digit pin.

[roobaa01]

lh bank promotion 6 months fixed 1.65% min. 100k

 

wbr

roobaa01

[up-country_sinclair]

^  These days that's a pretty good rate for 6 months.

[macahoom]

 

During the week, in CIMB, I got 1.9% fixed for one year. To get that rate I had to open, at the same time, a fund account with a 5000 baht balance.

 

I can close the fund account at anytime and the 1.9% remains in force for the year.

 

I thought there must be a catch, but there isn’t one as far as I can tell.

 

Sorry, I don’t know what the required minimum and maximum deposits are for the 1.9%.

[moontang]

usually you open a speed savings with the fixed...although, most of the fixed pay at maturity.  Monthly layouts might put you at risk of going below 800k if liquidated, but interest forfeiture is the worst penalty for one that pays at maturity.  1.9 is pretty good, and represents an upward trend.  I just bought my first 4% in years in the us...13 year term, but can get 2.95 On a 2 year.

[BigC]

On 6/7/2012 at 9:59 AM, chiang mai said:

Have you seen anything else that's decent? CIMB has a 5 month fix at 3.3% but I've not seen much else that's decent, I'm also trying to spread my funds around but am running out of banks, almost impossible to stay under the 1 mill. rule.

What the name of that type of account thanks. Fixed “ xxxx”’account 

[moontang]

2 minutes ago, BigC said:

What the name of that type of account thanks. Fixed “ xxxx”’account 

it is called ancient history.....current is about 1.70 for a 12 month fixed.

[macahoom]

24 minutes ago, moontang said:

it is called ancient history.....current is about 1.70 for a 12 month fixed.

 

CIMB have a new one:

 

2.5% fixed for 24 months. Non-Thais can open it, but maximum is 1 million baht. Only available until the end of this month.

 

Maybe worth using it as the 800k immigration requirement.

 

 

[moontang]

19 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

CIMB have a new one:

 

2.5% fixed for 24 months. Non-Thais can open it, but maximum is 1 million baht.

 

Maybe worth using it as the 800k immigration requirement.

 

 

Yes, I was just in there....just don't have a maturity date during seasoning or you are opening up a can of worms.  I think the trend is now officially up on Thai interest rates...I would also be cautious on collecting the interest monthly as that could make it worth less than 800,000 if you cash it in early...you could just make it 850 to be 100% safe..also some nice benefits with a million in there..Preferred status...best ATM in the Country...

[roobaa01]

lhbank  2 % ,2.25  to 2.5 % for thb 100 k, 12 to 25 months.

in pattaya now in terminal 21

 

wbr

roobaa01

[BigC]

On 11/4/2018 at 1:34 PM, moontang said:

it is called ancient history.....current is about 1.70 for a 12 month fixed.

My wife is thai and looking at savings for her or in her name. They do an account with scb where you can choose your fixed amount you wish to pay on every month but you cannot put more or less than the agreed amount 

 

which is a shame as for example if it put the fixed amount too low every month then it’s hardly worth it

 

if too high and I struggle to make the payments then i lose.

 

long story short is someone is paying me back money every month over 3 years. 

 

Per month its its a small amount but if I put into a fixed account then I get it back with interest 

 

ideally I would like I fixed account with a low minimum but some months I might like to add more 

 

they have 2 year and 3 year fixed 

[JimmyJ]

Do any banks in Thailand or Asia in general ever offer cash bonuses for opening accounts?

 

Do any Asian credit cards pay a points bonus for getting one?

In the US, there are constant offers where if one spends with the credit card x amount in y amount of time there will be a bonus of z points (redeemable for cash, air miles, gift cards).

 

For opening bank accounts, it's usually open a (Savings and/or Checking) account and deposit x amount of money by y date, keep it in account for z days, and an advertised cash bonus will be deposited in the account.

[moontang]

57 minutes ago, BigC said:

My wife is thai and looking at savings for her or in her name. They do an account with scb where you can choose your fixed amount you wish to pay on every month but you cannot put more or less than the agreed amount 

 

which is a shame as for example if it put the fixed amount too low every month then it’s hardly worth it

 

if too high and I struggle to make the payments then i lose.

 

long story short is someone is paying me back money every month over 3 years. 

 

Per month its its a small amount but if I put into a fixed account then I get it back with interest 

 

ideally I would like I fixed account with a low minimum but some months I might like to add more 

 

they have 2 year and 3 year fixed 

we call them CD ladders in the US...so a FD ladder, here....you protect yourself against fluctuations a bit...like open four..a 6, 12, 18,24 month...and every time one matures buy another 24 month...cimb is 50k minimum...just avoid maturity during seasoning...

[moontang]

51 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Do any banks in Thailand or Asia in general ever offer cash bonuses for opening accounts?

 

Do any Asian credit cards pay a points bonus for getting one?

In the US, there are constant offers where if one spends with the credit card x amount in y amount of time there will be a bonus of z points (redeemable for cash, air miles, gift cards).

 

For opening bank accounts, it's usually open a (Savings and/or Checking) account and deposit x amount of money by y date, keep it in account for z days, and an advertised cash bonus will be deposited in the account.

credit cards in the US are far superior..but for some, they have to get one here..for various reasons...I am on my 15th trip here, and only paid for three...bonuses for savings...got 50 bucks in the us here and there..but typically at suck banks...they are very tight here..seen no tipping signs..they dont want to be friends..it creates problems..surprised they even run the AC,

[simoh1490]

1 hour ago, JimmyJ said:

Do any banks in Thailand or Asia in general ever offer cash bonuses for opening accounts?

 

Do any Asian credit cards pay a points bonus for getting one?

In the US, there are constant offers where if one spends with the credit card x amount in y amount of time there will be a bonus of z points (redeemable for cash, air miles, gift cards).

 

For opening bank accounts, it's usually open a (Savings and/or Checking) account and deposit x amount of money by y date, keep it in account for z days, and an advertised cash bonus will be deposited in the account.

I have a UOB card which issues points, I have their card because it's free, offers a high limit and for the convenience of charging in THB without cost which my UK card doesn't allow.

[simoh1490]

21 minutes ago, moontang said:

we call them CD ladders in the US...so a FD ladder, here....you protect yourself against fluctuations a bit...like open four..a 6, 12, 18,24 month...and every time one matures buy another 24 month...cimb is 50k minimum...just avoid maturity during seasoning...

In Thailand they are called stepped accounts, rarely are they a good deal.

[simoh1490]

On 9/28/2018 at 4:48 AM, moontang said:

Correct..and a great ATM card...a million aggregate will get you preferred rates on fixed.  Yellow pays 1.3%. and no withholding ...

Preferred status at CIMB is 3 million.

[moontang]

Just now, simoh1490 said:

In Thailand they are called stepped accounts, rarely are they a good deal.

no, you are confused..I am not talking about step up rates..I am talking about four individual FD with four different maturity dates, and four different interest rates...each rate being the rate for the entire term of the individual fd.

[moontang]

3 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Preferred status at CIMB is 3 million.

and again, you are misinformed, and wrong..there are two tiers of preferred status..the first one is at 1 million...and I actually got a preferred Visa debit with 120K...as I have been in transition, and had the visa extension money elsewhere...for a while.

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, moontang said:

and again, you are misinformed, and wrong..there are two tiers of preferred status..the first one is at 1 million...and I actually got a preferred visa debit with 120K...as I have been in transition, and had the visa money elsewhere...for a while.

I don't really count the 1 mill. as prefered because it doesn't offer anything useful or tangible. I had the 3 mill. prefered but I closed the account last year because despite being prefered status the bank still wouldn't give me the same native rates that they offered to Thai's unless I produced a tabien bahn - I wrote about this many months ago under my previous posting name, chiang mai.

 

I continue to find that UOB offers me the best account for my needs, I've been with them for ten years in Thailand albeit I have run parallel accounts at other banks until quite recently. UOB gives me 1% on instant access, my credit card is free and high limit and their FD's are competitive....mostly however, their security is excellent and they never deviate from their internal processes which is something that can't be said of other banks here.

[moontang]

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I don't really count the 1 mill. as prefered because it doesn't offer anything useful or tangible. I had the 3 mill. prefered but I closed the account last year because despite being prefered status the bank still wouldn't give me the same native rates that they offered to Thai's unless I produced a tabien bahn - I wrote about this many months ago under my previous posting name, chiang mai.

 

I continue to find that UOB offers me the best account for my needs, I've been with them for ten years in Thailand albeit I have run parallel accounts at other banks until quite recently. UOB gives me 1% on instant access, my credit card is free and high limit and their FD's are competitive....mostly however, their security is excellent and they never deviate from their internal processes which is something that can't be said of other banks here.

for basic preferred status, you get the best debit card in the country..that you can use at any thai bank, anywhere in the country for free....also 6500 cimb machines in ASEAN.  My 12 round trip us-LOS tickets and four more round trips in miles says thai cc are bs...but if you have to have a cc here, at least you dont get an annual fee.  Fraud protection?  bwahaha.

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, moontang said:

for basic preferred status, you get the best debit card in the country..that you can use at any thai bank, anywhere in the country for free....also 6500 cimb machines in ASEAN.  My 12 round trip us-LOS tickets and four more round trips in miles says thai cc are bs...but if you have to have a cc here, at least you dont get an annual fee.  Fraud protection?  bwahaha.

If you like those things and they work for you personally, great, there's no right or wrong in much of these things, a lot of it is personal choice and choice that suits individual circumstances.

 

For others who may be interested: my UOB CC works well for me and every transaction requires an SMS PIN approval or use of a token device, I've not had a problem with it in ten years in the UK, Europe or in Asia. Ditto I've never had a problem with banking in Thailand over the past sixteen years and I maintain balances here over 5 million baht that I transact on daily. Each to their own however!

 

 

[moontang]

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

If you like those things and they work for you personally, great, there's no right or wrong in much of these things, a lot of it is personal choice and choice that suits individual circumstances.

 

For others who may be interested: my UOB CC works well for me and every transaction requires an SMS PIN approval or use of a token device, I've not had a problem with it in ten years in the UK, Europe or in Asia. Ditto I've never had a problem with banking in Thailand over the past sixteen years and I maintain balances here over 5 million baht that I transact on daily. Each to their own however!

 

 

but, when Gnome Throw sell you something defective, or Lasada drops something on your doorstep...I simply dispute it with my US cc company....done deal...not paying.  Perhaps, you could give some hard numbers for UOB..you know, usually expressed by tenor and percent?

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, moontang said:

but, when Gnome Throw sell you something defective, or Lasada drops something on your doorstep...I simply dispute it with my US cc company....done deal...not paying.  Perhaps, you could give some hard numbers for UOB..you know, usually expressed by tenor and percent?

If you want to go into a detailed debate about the merits of one country's credit card issuers versus another, please feel free to start your own thread, I started this thread many years ago with a view to informing expats in Thailand about bank interest rates at banks here, it would be good if we can keep it on topic, don't you think!

[moontang]

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

If you want to go into a detailed debate about the merits of one country's credit card issuers versus another, please feel free to start your own thread, I started this thread many years ago with a view to informing expats in Thailand about bank interest rates at banks here, it would be good if we can keep it on topic, don't you think!

ok, forget worthless cc for the stateless...tell us what rates are available at UOB...

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, moontang said:

ok, forget worthless cc for the stateless...tell us what rates are available at UOB...

The daily interest rates of Thai banks is found here:

 

https://www.bot.or.th/english/statistics/_layouts/application/interest_rate/in_rate.aspx

 

Specials are found by visiting individual bank websites or walking through any shopping mall and looking in the window of each branch...UOB currently offers 1.70% for fourteen months on a fixed rate basis and 1.0% on Premier instant access savings, no tax deducted.

 

Now, perhaps we can open up the thread to a wider audience rather than just you and I exchanging posts, which is not really that useful.

[moontang]

On 11/4/2018 at 5:31 PM, roobaa01 said:

lhbank  2 % ,2.25  to 2.5 % for thb 100 k, 12 to 25 months.

in pattaya now in terminal 21

 

wbr

roobaa01

nope....https://www.lhbank.co.th/Rate/Deposit

[simoh1490]

A reminder for newer members:

 

Fixed Deposits in Thailand are linked to the Bank of Thailand (BOT) policy rate which is set monthly and adjusted based on economic conditions, the rate currently is 1.50% - http://www2.bot.or.th/statistics/BOTWEBSTAT.aspx?reportID=223&language=ENG

 

Typically, individual bank fixed deposit rates will be around a quarter point higher than the policy rate which is why we now see one year fixed rate deposits being offered at around 1.70% - forecasts (Kasikorn) have it that the BOT may increase their policy rate this year by 0.25% and by the end of 2019, to 2.25%...those are forecasts, expectations, they are not set in stone.

 

If you see a bank offering rates substantially higher than around 1.70% it probably means the product being offered is NOT a fixed rate deposit but is instead an insurance based product, a mutual fund or perhaps a stepped account, all of which need to be approached with great care and are not covered by the DPA insurance scheme.

 

Some of the risks to consider when taking out a fixed rate deposit:

 

Interest rate risk - will the interest rate being offered by banks rise or fall during the period of your deposit.

 

Duration risk - is the time to maturity likely to mean rates on offer will have changed substantially by the time your deposit matures.

 

Currency Risk - If you are taking out a fixed rate in THB, will the value of THB rise or fall by the time your deposit matures. A secondary question is...what currency will you need to spend at the point when your fixed rate matures.

 

Institution Risk - bank deposits in Thailand are insured up to THB 1 mill after 2020, larger deposits after this date need to consider institution risk albeit banks in Thailand are not considered risky.

 

Finally, fixed-rate deposits at Thai banks can be encashed by the customer at any point in time, with a loss of interest (which is replaced by the normal savings rate of interest for the period of the deposit) - the bank cannot usurp or cancel the deposit, only the customer.

 

 

[roobaa01]

15 hours ago, moontang said:

nope....https://www.lhbank.co.th/Rate/Deposit

a strong yes for the section on www.lhbank.co.th is called deposit promotion and not deposit rates. thereto it is not a insurance product. lh bank credit rating is solid.

 

wbr

roobaa01