Which Bank?

[Maejo Man]

I have been paying in US dollar cheques (small amounts) with the Bangkok bank till the other day, when I was informed that they no longer offered this service

Does anyone know of a bank that will accept US cheques (other than pension cheques) ? They used to charge 200 baht commission per cheque, which was not a problem.

Thanks Maejo

[Ajarn]

I have been paying in US dollar cheques (small amounts) with the Bangkok bank till the other day, when I was informed that they no longer offered this service

Does anyone know of a bank that will accept US cheques (other than pension cheques) ? They used to charge 200 baht commission per cheque, which was not a problem.

Thanks Maejo

I put a US check into my account at Kasikorn Bank recently. Took about two weeks for it to clear. Don't know what the charges were..

[Maejo Man]

Thanks for the info there Ajarn. In the past BKK Bank has always done this, and they take a couple of weeks to clear and charge you 200 baht, but as I say, the other day they just said we don't accept them any more, just pension cheques.

Thanks...

[Dustoff]

~

Perhaps BKK Bank no longer has a branch in the US? Try Thai Farmers Bank.

Altho I cannot imagine that ANY bank would refuse a desposited check; cashing one immediately is another story.. If you are talking about Travelers Cheques, try an exchange or travel agency.. If all else fails, go to the airport exchange window.

[Maejo Man]

Thanks Dustoff,

these are personal cheques, and have been paying them in for years. Yes I thought it very strange that the BKK Bank would not accept overseas dollars to be spent here. That's what banking is all about!

I called head office in Silom to get their reaction, and they informed me thay would love to have my US dollars, and that they would call their branch here and tell them to call me and apologise for the inconvenience and to come in to deposit them.

Monday will be interesting one way or another

[cmsally]

Had the same problem with Kasikorn. They told me they couldn't accept cheques, can't remember the reason. Went back on a different day, saw a different member of staff and no problem at all!

Have heard that many people never had problems with Bank of Ayudhya or Siam Commercial for cheques, but their exact requirements could have been different.

Must say service at Siam Commercial is way better than the others and come to think of it had some cheques to pay in there a few months ago and it was no problem.

[meadish_sweetball]

With the risk of sounding a bit rude, how about suggesting to your debtors they should use a 21st century method of payment instead?

[farangcm]

I have been transferring money to Krungthai bank this way for a few years. I deposit a personal check which they exchange to Thai baht at the current rate. The exchange fee is 203 baht per item. It used to take a month before the money was available, but now it is usually available in a couple of weeks--but sometimes I still have to remind them to remove the hold.

[Maejo Man]

With the risk of sounding a bit rude, how about suggesting to your debtors they should use a 21st century method of payment instead?

If you read my OP Meadish you would have noticed that I stated "small amounts" and certainly not worth paying a premium of between US$30-40 for an ET As it is cheques over $200 incur a clearance here of $30, but smaller amounts are charged at the rate of 200 baht per item, and I have no problem with this as long as they will accept them.

[sabaijai]

I had an acct with BKK Bank for 20+ years and bade them farewell after their cheque deposit policies became increasingly restrictive and expensive. I use to deposit THB cheques at BKK Bangkok for 30B and it went to 300B overnight, and then they told me the same thing they told you, no more USD cheque deposits.

I switched to SCB in 1998 and only wish I'd switched earlier. Much better service on all fronts. I've heard Bank of Asia is even better when it comes to foreign currency cheques.

[Maejo Man]

...... and then they told me the same thing they told you, no more USD cheque deposits.

It has to be a local issue Sabaijai, as head office in Silom are all too willing to accept them, as as I said, they stated that they would instruct Thapae branch to contact me. 0-9.15 hrs monday and nothing yet

[sabaijai]

...... and then they told me the same thing they told you, no more USD cheque deposits.

It has to be a local issue Sabaijai, as head office in Silom are all too willing to accept them, as as I said, they stated that they would instruct Thapae branch to contact me. 0-9.15 hrs monday and nothing yet

Walk around the corner to SCB's Tha Phae branch. I think you'll notice an immediate difference in attitude and facilities.

[meadish_sweetball]

I agree. Much better bank all in all. I made the switch 5 months ago.

[Maejo Man]

Walk around the corner to SCB's Tha Phae branch. I think you'll notice an immediate difference in attitude and facilities.

Think I will be doing just that. I had a phone call today, not from the Thapae branch, but from head office in Silom. They made their apologies and informed me that they had been in contact with their Thapae branch, and that the new policy at Thapae was not to process any private overseas cheques, excluding pension cheques. However, they would accept them in Bangkok for my account there.

The only thing that got processed at Thapae was them giving me bundles of notes when I closed an investment account, and demanded the lot in cash No I didn't walk round the corner I went and bought a new car

My other accounts will have to wait for a week or so, as I have too many direct debits on them do it swiftly.

I did ask the teller to inform the manager as to why I was closing the account, maybe it filtered through, but frankly I'm not really interested any more in their "services"