Bangkok Bank - Shysters (Fixed Deposit A/c)

[AyG]

From time to time Bangkok Bank offers non-standard term (4/10/15 month) fixed deposit accounts with a 200,000 minimum deposit with higher interest rates. They also promote that you don't need to open a new fixed deposit account for a subsequent deposit of the same duration. That sounds fine. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that ...

I transferred significantly more than the minimum 200,000 Baht from my savings account to my 4 month fixed deposit account via the Internet expecting to get the advertised 2% rate. I checked back a week or so later to see that they're only giving me the 3 month deposit rate (1.125%) payable after 3 months, rather than 2% after 4. I feel cheated.

Now I'm going to have to transfer the money back to my savings account with loss of interest, and put it elsewhere.

Shysters of the highest water.

[RubbaJohnny]

4.6 ME Bank Oz NAB online saver around 3,*% instant acces via visa card in a currency that may fluctuate versusUSA but when the big pushhappens here I think saving in Kip Kyat or Dong will be safer than substandard thugsobrownie points.

[Pib]

In most cases there is a promotional "time window/period" in which the funds must be deposited in order to receive the higher promotional rate....normally this promotion period is only open for a certain time period for a few weeks/maybe a few months before further deposits just earn the normal rate for that maturity period OR just the 3 month rate. I'm not quite sure which way it happens. But I do know there is just a specific time window to lock in the higher, promotional rate...that window does not cover the entire period of the maturity period. Like say they have a 10 month fixed account promotional rate....the window to open the account or make further deposits to receive the promotional rate will normally only be a few weeks or maybe around 2 months...after that, the window is closed and any further deposit will get a lower rate.

I've had around 5 Bangkok Bank fixed accounts so far ranging from 5 months to 15 months and each one had that promotional window only lasting a few weeks up to around 2 months to make further deposits to get the promotional rate.

Once a fixed account matures it reverts to a 3 month rate, so unless a person is happy with the 3 month rate then they need to go into the bank and open up a new fixed account for whatever maturity they want...like maybe there was a promotional 10 month rate paying higher interest but all deposits must be made by the a certain date to get that higher promotional rate...say by 30 Apr just for discussion.

Right now the only promotional rate Bangkok Bank has is their 4 month fixed account shown at this Link at a 2% rate which also shows the rules, but it's not reflecting an end to the promotional rate probably because it's not much of a promotional above the normal rate which was around 1%. Good fixed account promotional rates have dried-up quite a bit over the last 6 to12 months due to the Bank of Thailand lowering its prime rate which in turn results in banks lowering their savings rates....plus, with the Thai economy slowing down there is less lending occurring which in turn drives less of a need for banks to obtain additional deposits through promotional rates.

And if your 4 month fixed rate had matured, adding more funds would have just given you the 3 month rate for the added funds which is standard practice for Thai bank traditional/standard fixed accounts...like a 10 month account reverts to a 3 month account upon the 10 month maturity, etc.

Now there are also other types of fixed accounts which allow monthly deposits and really don't have a promotional window but those operate under different rules than a Thai bank traditional fixed account. I don't want to imply all Thai bank fixed accounts are the same as there are quite a few with different rules.

[thepool]

I always "pays" to read and understand the rules !

[AyG]

I always "pays" to read and understand the rules !

Perhaps you'd care to point out which rule I've missed. (I rather doubt it exists.)

[thepool]

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I always "pays" to read and understand the rules !

Perhaps you'd care to point out which rule I've missed. (I rather doubt it exists.)

Read Pib's response above !

[AyG]

And if your 4 month fixed rate had matured, adding more funds would have just given you the 3 month rate for the added funds which is standard practice for Thai bank traditional/standard fixed accounts...like a 10 month account reverts to a 3 month account upon the 10 month maturity, etc.

Indeed, this is what happened to me. The original 4 month fixed account had matured. I put in a further x million Baht in the expectation that I would get the new 4 month fixed rate since their promotional material says that you don't need to open multiple fixed account with the same duration, but can add to existing ones.

What would have happened if I'd deposited the money before the original fixed account matured? Would I have gotten the current 4 month fixed rate (assuming that there was one available)?

Or does the stuff about adding to existing fixed accounts only apply to 3/6/12/&c. accounts?

[Pib]

Since Bangkok Bank don't have any longer term fixed accounts (i.e., like 6 or more months) on promotion right now they don't have any advertisement on their webpage that had a summary of the rules, like the promotional window for deposits like I mentioned earlier,

But I googled a little bit and did find this 23 Jan 14 Bangkok Bank news release talking about promotional 4 month and 10 month fixed accounts, both of them having a promotional window till 21 Feb 14 to get the promotional rate. Link.

[Pib]

What would have happened if I'd deposited the money before the original fixed account matured? Would I have gotten the current 4 month fixed rate (assuming that there was one available)?

I'm not sure whether it would have been the current rate for a 4 month account or the 3 month rate. If I had to guess I would guess the 4 month rate in effect at the time of deposit (not the promotional rate if that window had ended) since you had a 4 month fixed account. What is critical to getting the higher promotional rate is not to miss the promotional window that is open for a limited time...open for much less than the entire maturity period of the fixed account. After the maturity date additional deposits just get the 3 month rate.

Something else to keep in mind when making additional deposits at later dates, whether during or after the promotional period, is you will have different maturity dates for each deposit which means you would have some maturing before others and those matured deposits rolling over to the 3 month rate unless you went in and transferred the funds to another fixed rate account. Yea, a person has got to watch the maturity dates and promotional windows to maximize the interest earned.

Sorry for the multiple edits on this post but I keep thinking of things I should have included. Cheers.

Edited April 6, 2014 by Pib

[Pib]

One more tidbit of info and I will shut-up. Since a person would lose the bulk of interest earned on a traditional Bangkok Bank fixed account if needing to withdraw even one baht before the maturity date say for an emergency (other Thai bank traditional fixed accounts operate the same way), a person should break-up the opening deposit into multiple deposits all occurring at the same time....well, of course they are processed a few seconds/minutes apart but they all reflect the same deposit date. That way if you must tap into the fixed account to get some emergency money you can tap just one of the multiple deposits which causes interest loss only on that one deposit; not all deposits in the fixed account. See this Bangkok Bank Link for more info.

So far, I've only had one Bangkok Bank fixed account open at a time which I use for my 800K baht retirement extension of stay proof of income and emergency pot of money. Once it maturities I immediately go in, see what the best promotional rate/time period is in effect a the time, and roll all my money from the matured fixed account into the new fixed account. However, I do not roll it all over in "one" deposit; instead, I instruct the bank to roll it over as two (or more deposits) which then allows me to only impact one deposit versus all deposits/the entire account balance if I must tap the account for emergency money.

[AyG]

Read Pib's response above !

Pib's response is an accurate summary of the situation. However it doesn't justify that when I make an additional deposit to an existing 4 month fixed account (something which the bank promotes) I don't get the current 4 month fixed rate for a new 4 month term. There's nothing that I can find on the Bangkok Bank website saying that this is not what will happen. The website clearly suggests that it's equivalent to opening a new, 4 month fixed deposit.

[Pib]

Read Pib's response above !

Pib's response is an accurate summary of the situation. However it doesn't justify that when I make an additional deposit to an existing 4 month fixed account (something which the bank promotes) I don't get the current 4 month fixed rate for a new 4 month term. There's nothing that I can find on the Bangkok Bank website saying that this is not what will happen. The website clearly suggests that it's equivalent to opening a new, 4 month fixed deposit.

You are right "generally"....and it states such in para 9.1 of the "Governing Fixed Deposits Account" weblink in the lower right hand corner of above link I gave about splitting up the opening deposits. However, when opening "promotional" fixed accounts the advertisement on the Bangkok Bank webpage always said after the maturity date occurs any further deposits get the 3 month rate. I wish they still had one of those advertisements on their webpage but they don't.

So, I'm thinking there is other devil in the details/fine print as to whether you open the fixed account originally at the standard rate or the promotional rate.

[stoffel45]

I always "pays" to read and understand the rules !

Perhaps you'd care to point out which rule I've missed. (I rather doubt it exists.)

In many Thai Banks, the rule may be amended at any time, made retrospective at any time.

But usually, "the rule" is written (in favour of the Bank) after more than 3 complaints have been received.

[Gonsalviz]

If you haven't noticed, all banks (not only Thai) are shysters. Can't really imagine why you would make a transfer like this without going directly to the bank.

[sms747]

In many Thai Banks, the rule may be amended at any time, made retrospective at any time.

But usually, "the rule" is written (in favour of the Bank) after more than 3 complaints have been received.

Last year one large transfer of mine was held up, the bank had the money but the wrong ac number, by the time it was sorted the exchange rate had gone up. They gave me the lower rate when they had received the money, understandable. A few months later a much larger transfer, similar hold up only this time the rate had gone down from the day they received it- so they gave me the lower rate on the day they put it in the account, a loss of 40k!

No amount of asking for an explanation got anywhere, it was a case of they can so they do, rules made up as they go along it seems. This was Tanachart Bank.

[Pib]

I found one of Bangkok Bank promotional fixed account advertisements I had printed off the Bangkok Bank web page last year dealing with a 5 month promotional rate they had at the time. One of the sentences on the ad said the new rate will be available until 27 Aug 12...but the advertisement had only been running for a few weeks...I signed up for this 5 month fixed account on 21 Aug 12. And the same ad said after the account matures the bank would automatically roll over the account to a 3 month fixed term.

So, combined with para 9.1 of the the Governing Fixed Accounts weblink I gave above I would say the rules follow:

- Deposits made before the promotional rate window closes get the higher promotional rate

- Deposits made after the promotional rate window closes but before account maturity get the going/current rate for that term of fixed account

- Deposits made after the account matures get the 3 month rate since the bank automatically converted/rolled over the account to a 3 month term.

Yeap, with a traditional promotional fixed account that higher rate is only available for a limited time and it will probably only be shown in the advertisement for that promotion. So be sure to keep a copy of the advertisement like the brochure or web ad (of course I should practice what I preach because I can't find the promotional ad I previously saved on my computer for the current 15 month fixed account I'm in...maybe I deleted it....should have printed it out and put it with my 15 month account passbook and I will do that next time...but it mirrored the same rules as previous fixed advertisements like the 5 month one I mentioned above to include the promotional rate window). And of course in the bank's computer system I'm sure it shows them when the promotional rate period for new deposits ended if talking to a bank rep about it after the fact.

[AyG]

Just a quick footnote:

(1) All three special fixed deposit passbooks from Bangkok Bank are actually described (in small print, in Thai) on the first page as 3 month deposit accounts, even though the initial deposits were for 4, 10 and 15 months. This would explain why subsequent deposits were treated as 3 month deposits. The initial deposits are marked as special transactions with different maturity and interest rate.

(2) I opened two special fixed deposits with Krung Sri (Bank of Ayuddhaya) this morning. Much more sensible approach: all fixed deposits are recorded in a single passbook with each transaction showing maturity and interest rate.

Of the big banks, the Krung Sri rates at the moment are pretty reasonable in comparison: 5 month (2.15%), 10 month (2.5%). The smaller banks I tried (Land & Houses, Tisco) were not interested in my business - not that Krung Sri was perfect. They initially said that I had to have a work permit (I'm retired), and then said that foreigners can't receive interest. 'Phone calls to Head Office dispelled that nonsense. I do wish the staff were better trained. Nobody at the branch (in outer Bangkok) spoke English (and I struggled to remember the Thai word for "retirement"). Anyway, all was well in the end.

[Pib]

Yes sir, banking in Thailand can sometimes be very frustrating for a farang....I know I've had my fair share of frustrations. Usually it just takes persistence to work your way through the language and misunderstanding barriers although some barriers just can't be overcome like some of the Thailand banking laws/polices/customs which restricts some banking activities for farangs. Oh well, foreigners run into that to varying degrees in other countries also.