Visa to open bank account

[galoubet]

One last note on online bankiing. Last week when i downloaded the statement of my savings account with SCB which pays me a generous 0.5% pa rate of interest, i noticed an "annual fee" charge of Bth 5,000 for internet banking.

Mmmmm. That's strange. I've had an SCB savings account for over 10 years. Had internet access right from the start (SCB Easy). Never had a problem. Never been charged a fee for internet banking. The only fee they charge is the 200B/year for my ATM card.

[OJAS]

I am from the UK and I bank with Bangkok Bank and have never had a problem either at a branch or ATM. All banks in Thailand copy the passport and visa.pages when opening an account. Strangely enough I have never found an ATM down when I needed it.

Agreed. A particular advantage of Bangkok Bank over their competitors for us Brits is that it is possible to transfer funds electronically from UK accounts to Bangkok Bank accounts here via their London branch at a fraction of the cost of (and at considerably greater convenience than) normal SWIFT transfers. I gather that a similar facility exists for our American cousins via their New York branch.

IMHO their least consumer friendly banks here are Krung Thai and Kasikorn. I have had accounts with both those banks plundered by phantom ATM scammers, and neither bank showed any inclination to compensate me for my losses. Needless to say I promptly withdrew whatever was left in those accounts and stopped using them in disgust.

And banking with Ayudhya/Krungsri can also be a risky business in my experience, since, while their ATM's are more than willing to bill you for cash withdrawals, they are rather more reluctant to produce the actual cash!

[chiangrai]

I have a KRUNG THAI bank account.

I asked them for internet banking and they said it would be too dificult

and that I should just get a service that send an text message to my cellphone

every time Iuse the ATM or money arrives from abroad,they charge me 10bht each time.

I said o.k because I'd just gone through the considerable hassle of opening the acount

after being refused in several other banks.

Does anyone know how English friendly the KRUNG THAI internet banking is.Or which bank has the most English freindly internet banking.

The Farang friendliness of the bank varies according to how rural it is.My country bumpkin bank is bizarre

[umbanda]

I've opened 3 accounts with Bangkok Bank so far. I went with them because, at the time, it seemed they were the most "farang friendly" when it came to opening an account (according to what I'd been reading on ThaiVisa at least).

However, if you only had the 30 day visa, you could only open a savings account. No chequing and no internet access.

About 1 ¹/₂ years ago I opened a Term ("Fixed Account") and asked about internet access as I had recently acquired my first retirement visa. The nice girl informed me that she had already set me up for internet access when I had transferred my account from a different branch the previous year (despite not having anything more than the 30 day stamp at the time).

I think it may have something to do with a combination of (visa/account balance/manager's discretion) when it comes to what kind of account you can open and if they'll grant internet access.

I've had accounts with BB for about 9 years now and have never had problems with them or their ATMs. In fact, while travelling I've actually had more luck getting cash with my BB ATM card than I have had with my Canadian ATM or VISA card in some countries (I'm looking at you UAE) !!

[Dr Enigma]

I believe that Krungsi overall is the best. On-line access is good and they issue Master Card which you need for Internet purchases. Apparently, other banks issue Visa which doesn't work on-line.

[ubonjoe]

I believe that Krungsi overall is the best. On-line access is good and they issue Master Card which you need for Internet purchases. Apparently, other banks issue Visa which doesn't work on-line.

My Visa debit card works on line.

It even has a security feature that sends an OTP by SMS to my phone as part of the approval process.

[atyclb]

Problems I've had with banks (typically not main branch) usually related to incompetency of staff.

ie; bkk bank mall branch. Insisted on work permit to open acct despite my friend holding a retirement visa. informing staff retirement visa holders are not eligible for work permits led nowhere.

Main branch did it in a heartbeat and chuckled at above problem.

2 atm cards lost at bkk bank atms cause machine stopped working. First time Bkk bank wanted to charge me for replacement card LOL. I told them easy, just get a tech to retireve the car in your atm. Finally didn't charge me..

Lots of bizarre stuff I havn't seen in other developing countries.

KTB ADM machine out of service so I go to teller to make same deposit. Charge me more and dont care that it is the fault of broken machine.

= there are pockets of reason and logic, it is not diffuse.

[bra]

Bra opened a Bangkok Bank account with a tourist visa, plus a certified copy of my Australian Passport ID and visa stamp pages (had to be done at the Australian Embassy - cost 1500 bt). I received a passbook and Visa ATM card (not a credit card). All done in 1 day. I have had no problems in using their ATMs and making TT transfers from my Australian Bank to the Bangkok Bank account. On the few times I have visited their branches the service has been friendly and efficient

what a Rip Off 1500 baht

Well even if the Ambassador had invited me for morning tea whilst I was waiting it was still a rip off. Done by one of the Thai clerical staff in 5 minutes. One curious thing was that the bank did not just photo copy my passport - surely as good as a certified copy. Cost me a taxi and time from Sukhumvit to Sathorn and back.

[thongsuknork]

Go to siam commercial bank and open a account with a xerox copy of u r passport and internet acess welcome to forum and post u r updates enjoy

[ericthai]

In variability whenever I need to do a transaction at one of their ATM or passbook update machines they're offline. If I come to a bank of 5 different machines in a shopping mall, it one is down, it's the BB machine. Just my experience. Like a week ago, I needed to update my passbook for a one-year visa extension and the machine at the Bic C branch I went to had the red-screen of death.

The "Red Screen" normally means they have run out of money. It's normally a sign that they have had a heavy run (perhaps because of a Budhist holiday). A few years ago you had to have been in the country about 2 years before becoming a customer, but those days are gone. It does help if the branch manager knows you for getting internet connection.

Sorry to say you are wrong. I got several Thai accounts and they never checked to see how long I was in Thailand. My fist account was more than 15 years ago.

[Dr Enigma]

I believe that Krungsi overall is the best. On-line access is good and they issue Master Card which you need for Internet purchases. Apparently, other banks issue Visa which doesn't work on-line.

My Visa debit card works on line.

It even has a security feature that sends an OTP by SMS to my phone as part of the approval process.

Which bank is that? I have a SCB account where the Visa doesn't work. I was told in another thread that Visa won't work in Thailand for on-line purchases.

[ubonjoe]

 

I believe that Krungsi overall is the best. On-line access is good and they issue Master Card which you need for Internet purchases. Apparently, other banks issue Visa which doesn't work on-line.

My Visa debit card works on line.

It even has a security feature that sends an OTP by SMS to my phone as part of the approval process.

 

Which bank is that? I have a SCB account where the Visa doesn't work. I was told in another thread that Visa won't work in Thailand for on-line purchases.

Bangkok Bank.

Does yours work for debit purchases at merchants?

Mine didn't until max daily debit limit was set up by phone.

I have even used it for out of country transactions.

[Theo007]

Last Friday I went to the exchange booth at B C Extra in Pattaya with my passport, Thai driver's licence and credit card and requested a 20,000 baht advance. The girl checked the signature on the card against that on the passport and then placed the card in the machine and the transaction was immediately approved. She then removed the slip from the machine and examined it carefully and then without a word to me, she proceeded to cancel the transaction! She handed the card and passport back to me and said : " Money not for you, go away!" I asked her what the problem was and she told me that she did not understand the meaning of " Fr." in front of my name. I explained to her that I was the Priest-in-Charge of the St. Georges's Congregation in Pattaya and gave her my name card with has my name and title both in English ( Fr. ) and Thai and pointed out that in the photo on my Thai licence I was dressed in clerical garb. I was once again told " No money for you!" so I immediately went to another booth up the street and was given the money without being made to feel like a criminal.