Uk Personal Current (Or Equivalent) Account With Bangkok Bank’S London Branch

[OJAS]

Is it possible for a UK expat living in Thailand to open such an account? If so, I would be grateful to hear from anyone who already holds a current (or equivalent) account with Bangkok Bank’s London branch with details of their positive or negative experiences.

The reason I ask is that my existing UK current account is with the Co-op Bank, who according to a recent report I’ve read elsewhere on this forum, may be taken over by another UK bank who may not be as sympathetic towards account holders living abroad as the Co-op are in my case at least. Apparently the Co-op have run up a colossal deficit hole over the past 3-4 years, which has only recently come to light.

I already hold a savings account with Bangkok Bank here in Thailand, and, in any event, I would be far from happy if my existing Co-op account was taken over by one of the so-called “big boys” like Barclays, HSBC, etc.

[breadbin]

Not with BKK bank in London

[sugar2009]

​Re Bangkok bank account UK

well the branch in London is "Canon street Branch "very small branch near St Mary axe while in London arranged to start to transfer funds from my co-op account (off shore) to the canon street branch of Bangkok bank and from there into my savings account here then I was permitted a special account there but for funds in, which could be used in UK via a card linked to the account (UK ONLY ) all well for some years then decided the charges being raised by this style of transferring of funds was costly so with the introduction of chip and pin by the co-op it has made all the difference charges have come down greatly oh I still have linked accounts but if I go to Europe its to Paris, only as I lived in France for many years more so than in UK and as expat UK limited stays are OK but with such cross border freedom in Europe rent a car and travel all over many of the European states UN hindered make it a more relaxed visit to Europe and UK friends just jump on the Euro star and we meet up at my friends Thai restaurant in Rue crosatier in Paris "best Thai food in Paris " as to the co-op losses well yes they have been somewhat lacking in choices they or directors made but I think we are some way off to see the bank merge or worse taken over it could end up that way but for now calm is a watch word if your interested on how to save on charges from UK to B BK send me a private message and I will give you details needed to cut your charges now OK

[AyG]

(1) Bangkok Bank London provides commercial banking services, not personal ones. See http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/InternationalNetwork/InternationalBranches/Pages/BranchinUK.aspx

(2) The Coop Bank is saying that it's in a financially OK position will not need to resort to borrowing from the government. It's most unlikely to be taken over.

[yoshiwara]

You could try Nationwide BS or Metro Bank.

[AyG]

You could try Nationwide BS or Metro Bank.

I suspect that Metro Bank's financial situation is more precarious than that of the Coop. It's lost more than £100m in the first three years of operation. (http://news.sky.com/story/1085695/exclusive-metro-bank-losses-pass-100m-mark). Nationwide, however, would be my first choice. In my opinion it beats the Coop because you can send them on-line messages - a major deficiency with the Coop offering. The Coop doesn't even seem to have an email address for account queries.

[HarryMilton]

​Re Bangkok bank account UK

well the branch in London is "Canon street Branch "very small branch near St Mary axe while in London arranged to start to transfer funds from my co-op account (off shore) to the canon street branch of Bangkok bank and from there into my savings account here then I was permitted a special account there but for funds in, which could be used in UK via a card linked to the account (UK ONLY ) all well for some years then decided the charges being raised by this style of transferring of funds was costly so with the introduction of chip and pin by the co-op it has made all the difference charges have come down greatly oh I still have linked accounts but if I go to Europe its to Paris, only as I lived in France for many years more so than in UK and as expat UK limited stays are OK but with such cross border freedom in Europe rent a car and travel all over many of the European states UN hindered make it a more relaxed visit to Europe and UK friends just jump on the Euro star and we meet up at my friends Thai restaurant in Rue crosatier in Paris "best Thai food in Paris " as to the co-op losses well yes they have been somewhat lacking in choices they or directors made but I think we are some way off to see the bank merge or worse taken over it could end up that way but for now calm is a watch word if your interested on how to save on charges from UK to B BK send me a private message and I will give you details needed to cut your charges now OK

Bloody Nora, maybe 250 words or so and 2 commas. That was easy reading!

Anyway,how did you manage to do that? Bangkok Bank, London doesn't offer services to private individuals?

[HarryMilton]

You could try Nationwide BS or Metro Bank.

They'll help him open an account with Bangkok Bank, London?

[Tristanc]

not quite a responce to the current topic more like a question prompted by it but can any answer for me this : can I as U.K resident open an account with the Bangkok bank with their London office ? i.e is that easier than opening an account with the same bank inThailand, thus giving me the same benefits with out the need for reams of paper work

[CharlieH]

The last time I enquired, they refused a personal account point blank, only business users, and it would have absolutely no effect on the charges currently incurred by transferring money through them and on to Bangkok.

Thats my experience.

[bifftastic]

​Re Bangkok bank account UK

well the branch in London is "Canon street Branch "very small branch near St Mary axe while in London arranged to start to transfer funds from my co-op account (off shore) to the canon street branch of Bangkok bank and from there into my savings account here then I was permitted a special account there but for funds in, which could be used in UK via a card linked to the account (UK ONLY ) all well for some years then decided the charges being raised by this style of transferring of funds was costly so with the introduction of chip and pin by the co-op it has made all the difference charges have come down greatly oh I still have linked accounts but if I go to Europe its to Paris, only as I lived in France for many years more so than in UK and as expat UK limited stays are OK but with such cross border freedom in Europe rent a car and travel all over many of the European states UN hindered make it a more relaxed visit to Europe and UK friends just jump on the Euro star and we meet up at my friends Thai restaurant in Rue crosatier in Paris "best Thai food in Paris " as to the co-op losses well yes they have been somewhat lacking in choices they or directors made but I think we are some way off to see the bank merge or worse taken over it could end up that way but for now calm is a watch word if your interested on how to save on charges from UK to B BK send me a private message and I will give you details needed to cut your charges now OK

Bloody Nora, maybe 250 words or so and 2 commas. That was easy reading!

Anyway,how did you manage to do that? Bangkok Bank, London doesn't offer services to private individuals?

They do indeed offer transfer services to individuals, I used them for exactly that purpose last Wednesday. Sent money from my UK bank account, via Bangkok Bank London, to my Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.

not quite a responce to the current topic more like a question prompted by it but can any answer for me this : can I as U.K resident open an account with the Bangkok bank with their London office ? i.e is that easier than opening an account with the same bank inThailand, thus giving me the same benefits with out the need for reams of paper work

The short answer is no, you can't open a personal account with Bangkok Bank London branch.

Any account you open anywhere in the world is likely to involve a ream or two anyway