TMB Changes rules for foreigners to use internet access

[southbot]

I have been a customer of Thai Military Bank for over 12 years. I have a savings account and a credit card with them.

The other day I received an email from them informing me that only 3 "classes" of farang can now use internet access to a TMB account or credit card.

1. Work permit and business visa - present to local office

2. Long term visa in excess of 9 months - present to local office

3. Academic visa - present to local office

If you don't have one of those, you will no longer be able to access your funds or credit card via the internet / WWW after July 1 this year.

This effects me profoundly as I have been travelling back and forth between here and overseas for the last few years.

Other projects, other places, I am often overseas.

I rely TOTALLY on my TMB internet access to manage my funds, pay bills, top up credit card, etc.

I am between setting up new business and papers and cannot provide any of the above 3 items until some time next year.

In other words, my TMB savings and credit card accounts are about to be made useless. I have to move out to a different bank.

QUESTION:

Does anybody know if this is going to be the case with other Thai banks?

Edited May 31, 2014 by southbot

[topt]

Interesting info. Sorry have not heard anything from SCB but I am surprised TMB are going to stop it for existing customers. Did they give you a time limit to produce the relevant documents?

[KittenKong]

I received no such email from TMB. Possibly because I am in one of the categories mentioned and they know it.

[gerry123]

Mmmmmmmm then i fell out of bed

[Iamemjay]

Solution easy - change banks! As for me, Krungsi has no such rule

[Pib]

Sounds similar to what other Thai banks want, preferably a work permit but a long term visa/extension of stay will usually suffice. Although depending on the branch you walk into they may only accept a work permit or just don't want to deal with a farang even with work permit....or you walk into a branch that will happy with a short term visa or visa on arrival. When it comes to a farang opening an account/getting internet banking access, the policies Thai banks "actually implement" versus what their website policies say seem to be all over the map. I'm with Bangkok Bank....no such notices/emails received but I have a 1 year retirement extension of stay.

[Tomtomtom69]

Sometimes foreigners open Thai bank accounts and activate internet banking access with a work permit during the time they work in Thailand. When their job ends and they are no longer in possession of a valid work permit and working visa, they are usually still able to use internet banking that was activated during the tenure of their employment. It seems that TMB is about to change that.

Personally, I don't understand the ridiculous justification of requiring a work permit just to transfer funds, view your account balances etc. via internet banking when none of that is required when you make those same transaction via an ATM. Internet access is just more convenient, that's all. Basically, you can't do anything via e-banking that can't be done via ATM already, because in the case of say, online wire transfers you would need to register first anyway, so what's the deal with this nonsense?

And some people have said that countries like China had restrictions. Well clearly they haven't compared Thai banks to Chinese banks then, which are definitely more user friendly than Thai banks, at least for foreigners.

1) A few years ago when I first moved to China I was initially in possession of a 30-day Chinese tourist visa and opened a Bank of China account with internet banking access, which was offered to me as part of the account registration process, absolutely no problems at all. This was at the local branch near Minzu university in Kunming. There was no need to go to the Head Office branch in god knows what city 3000km away (perhaps Beijing?) nor any other "main" branch in Kunming. My local branch sufficed.

Comparison to Thailand: A tourist can usually only open a Bangkok Bank account at the main branch in Silom in Bangkok but won't be given internet banking access (some help that is you're based in say Chiang Rai, 830km away). Usually a foreigner working in Thailand can open an account of any bank at any branch (in theory at least - or perhaps only in the province they're working in) but will need to provide all documents to prove they are working in Thailand (i.e. passport with valid visa and work permit and possibly paperwork from the company you are working for, well that's what I provided when I opened my SCB account after having started working at a new company last year).

2) Sending money out of China via a Bank of China account is no problem, no need for a work permit or anything (other banks are probably similar). Only restriction is that Chinese and foreign nationals have a quota on the amount of money they can send abroad. Foreign nationals (irrespective of status in China I believe) can convert USD500 per day or equivalent, meaning that for larger transfers, coming into the bank a few times, each time on a different day would be necessary before the transfer can be completed. Not sure if online telegraphic transfers can be done yet, about 2 years ago it wasn't possible, but maybe now it is. It's possible to send money to anyone you choose, although when I was in China I mainly transferred to my overseas based accounts in order to pay off credit cards. Sure, it's not as convenient as sitting at home in my underpants and transferring money abroad online from my Australian or European based accounts, but it's still better than the Thai option as you'll find below (unless you are working in Thailand and transferring only to yourself).

Comparison to Thailand: If you are a tourist, it might be difficult or impossible to send money abroad, even from a branch (except via Western Union). They will probably ask for a work permit to conduct the transfer, which rules out non-working individuals that are resident in Thailand on say, retirement or student visas. Last time I asked SCB, they didn't want to transfer to anyone other than my own overseas based account that I registered with them (registrations for other accounts also held by me would have been possible too, but usually take around a week or more for approval). Of course I wouldn't waste my time going into a branch to send money to myself given that an online option exists hence when I needed to send money to a friend overseas to make some purchases of equipment for me, SCB insisted on some kind of evidence of what the funds were being used for, something which was too tedious for my liking. I said "gift", but they didn't accept that - they wanted a bill of sale or something. While I could have drawn up a fake bill of sale and submitted it to them within the hour (or come back 2-3 days later with a real bill of sale from the company although due to my usual lack of a lunch break and long working hours meant that I would normally only be able to reach a bank after about 6.30pm, by which time they may or may not still do overseas transfers), it was too much trouble especially as I was on a lunch break from work (which I didn't normally get) and didn't have enough time to find an internet cafe for that purpose. So I went off to Bangkok Bank, which had no trouble sending my friend that money with a reason for transfer as "gift", but they did need to see my work permit.

3) If you are using your foreign issued ATM, debit or credit card at a Chinese ATM there are no additional user charges. So, when you withdraw say 2500 Yuan, only your home bank charges you for the transaction, in withdrawal fees and currency conversion fees, unless you happen to be an account holder of one of those banks/credit unions etc. that don't charge you for foreign withdrawal/currency conversion fees, in which case you are really lucky.

Comparison to Thai banks: All of them now charge 150-180 Baht per transaction, I believe 150 for VISA cards and 180 for Mastercard cards. China Unionpay cards, which few westerners hold unless they happen to do business with a Chinese bank are only charged 50 Baht per transaction, but either way if you make a lot of withdrawals this is a lot of money over time. Only advantage over China is that Thai ATMs might give you as much as 25000 Baht per transaction, whereas most ATMs I've seen in China set the limit at 2500 or occasionally 3000 Yuan, which is about 13000-16000 Baht (or a bit more, depending on the exchange rate). It's possible that foreign banks in Guangzhou and Shanghai, Beijing etc. such as ANZ have larger withdrawal limits but I have no idea as I've never drawn any money from such ATMs before.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[southbot]

Thank you for all the feedback. Very interesting comparison to Chinese banks Tomtomtom69, thank you for that.

To answer one question up there, TMB told me to provide required documents by 27th June, informing me that internet access to my accounts would end on 1 July if documents not provided.

I have other Thai bank accounts of course, having worked here for over 20 years.

I'll just have to transfer to another bank account which still (for now) has internet access.

In the end I guess I'll just step back 15 years in time and start to use an ATM card again.

Advance Thailand!

[topt]

Sometimes foreigners open Thai bank accounts and activate internet banking access with a work permit during the time they work in Thailand. When their job ends and they are no longer in possession of a valid work permit and working visa, they are usually still able to use internet banking that was activated during the tenure of their employment. It seems that TMB is about to change that.

Personally, I don't understand the ridiculous justification of requiring a work permit just to transfer funds, view your account balances etc. via internet banking when none of that is required when you make those same transaction via an ATM. Internet access is just more convenient, that's all. Basically, you can't do anything via e-banking that can't be done via ATM already, because in the case of say, online wire transfers you would need to register first anyway, so what's the deal with this nonsense?

And some people have said that countries like China had restrictions. Well clearly they haven't compared Thai banks to Chinese banks then, which are definitely more user friendly than Thai banks, at least for foreigners.

1) A few years ago when I first moved to China I was initially in possession of a 30-day Chinese tourist visa and opened a Bank of China account with internet banking access, which was offered to me as part of the account registration process, absolutely no problems at all. This was at the local branch near Minzu university in Kunming. There was no need to go to the Head Office branch in god knows what city 3000km away (perhaps Beijing?) nor any other "main" branch in Kunming. My local branch sufficed.

Comparison to Thailand: A tourist can usually only open a Bangkok Bank account at the main branch in Silom in Bangkok but won't be given internet banking access (some help that is you're based in say Chiang Rai, 830km away). Usually a foreigner working in Thailand can open an account of any bank at any branch (in theory at least - or perhaps only in the province they're working in) but will need to provide all documents to prove they are working in Thailand (i.e. passport with valid visa and work permit and possibly paperwork from the company you are working for, well that's what I provided when I opened my SCB account after having started working at a new company last year).

2) Sending money out of China via a Bank of China account is no problem, no need for a work permit or anything (other banks are probably similar). Only restriction is that Chinese and foreign nationals have a quota on the amount of money they can send abroad. Foreign nationals (irrespective of status in China I believe) can convert USD500 per day or equivalent, meaning that for larger transfers, coming into the bank a few times, each time on a different day would be necessary before the transfer can be completed. Not sure if online telegraphic transfers can be done yet, about 2 years ago it wasn't possible, but maybe now it is. It's possible to send money to anyone you choose, although when I was in China I mainly transferred to my overseas based accounts in order to pay off credit cards. Sure, it's not as convenient as sitting at home in my underpants and transferring money abroad online from my Australian or European based accounts, but it's still better than the Thai option as you'll find below (unless you are working in Thailand and transferring only to yourself).

Comparison to Thailand: If you are a tourist, it might be difficult or impossible to send money abroad, even from a branch (except via Western Union). They will probably ask for a work permit to conduct the transfer, which rules out non-working individuals that are resident in Thailand on say, retirement or student visas. Last time I asked SCB, they didn't want to transfer to anyone other than my own overseas based account that I registered with them (registrations for other accounts also held by me would have been possible too, but usually take around a week or more for approval). Of course I wouldn't waste my time going into a branch to send money to myself given that an online option exists hence when I needed to send money to a friend overseas to make some purchases of equipment for me, SCB insisted on some kind of evidence of what the funds were being used for, something which was too tedious for my liking. I said "gift", but they didn't accept that - they wanted a bill of sale or something. While I could have drawn up a fake bill of sale and submitted it to them within the hour (or come back 2-3 days later with a real bill of sale from the company although due to my usual lack of a lunch break and long working hours meant that I would normally only be able to reach a bank after about 6.30pm, by which time they may or may not still do overseas transfers), it was too much trouble especially as I was on a lunch break from work (which I didn't normally get) and didn't have enough time to find an internet cafe for that purpose. So I went off to Bangkok Bank, which had no trouble sending my friend that money with a reason for transfer as "gift", but they did need to see my work permit.

3) If you are using your foreign issued ATM, debit or credit card at a Chinese ATM there are no additional user charges. So, when you withdraw say 2500 Yuan, only your home bank charges you for the transaction, in withdrawal fees and currency conversion fees, unless you happen to be an account holder of one of those banks/credit unions etc. that don't charge you for foreign withdrawal/currency conversion fees, in which case you are really lucky.

Comparison to Thai banks: All of them now charge 150-180 Baht per transaction, I believe 150 for VISA cards and 180 for Mastercard cards. China Unionpay cards, which few westerners hold unless they happen to do business with a Chinese bank are only charged 50 Baht per transaction, but either way if you make a lot of withdrawals this is a lot of money over time. Only advantage over China is that Thai ATMs might give you as much as 25000 Baht per transaction, whereas most ATMs I've seen in China set the limit at 2500 or occasionally 3000 Yuan, which is about 13000-16000 Baht (or a bit more, depending on the exchange rate). It's possible that foreign banks in Guangzhou and Shanghai, Beijing etc. such as ANZ have larger withdrawal limits but I have no idea as I've never drawn any money from such ATMs before.

Just a couple of points -

I opened my first Thai account with SCB on a visa waiver, was not asked for work permit, and it was at a local branch not in BKK and have heard of many who have done the same - so I strongly disagree with that part of your comparison Oh yes and was able to get Internet access with no other problems.

Internet banking in China - three banks I am aware of require you to download software and use a USB key for authentication for any transfer. Many would argue that this is better security but to me it was also a PITA especially as I often seemed to have compatibility problems on certain web sites when trying to pay for stuff like flights. Also you would not be able to just use any old pc and go online and make a transaction if you needed to as I can with my UK and Thai accounts.

Sending money out of China - yes I discovered the limit ($500) just before I left China late last year and with no tax information had to find another way to transfer the funds out.

In my view if you want to transfer any decent amount the problem is the same in China as in Thailand.

[chainarong]

Good to see TMB is keeping up with world best practice ,you would have to wounder what idiot thought of this ,any transaction for a bank is a good transaction, a country that still uses bank books , is a bit of a worry.

[Pib]

I think now days passbooks are still primarily used to give some customers a warm fuzzy about their money...without a passbook I expect some folks feel their money may not be logged properly, might disappear, etc. I see the Wide Bay Australia bank still provides passbooks: Link.

[falang07]

I can not login to SCB at the moment, it says Sorry, you cannot login to SCB Easy Net. Anyone else?

EDIT: I can login now already.

Edited June 1, 2014 by falang07

[marcusd]

Sometimes foreigners open Thai bank accounts and activate internet banking access with a work permit during the time they work in Thailand. When their job ends and they are no longer in possession of a valid work permit and working visa, they are usually still able to use internet banking that was activated during the tenure of their employment. It seems that TMB is about to change that.

Personally, I don't understand the ridiculous justification of requiring a work permit just to transfer funds, view your account balances etc. via internet banking when none of that is required when you make those same transaction via an ATM. Internet access is just more convenient, that's all. Basically, you can't do anything via e-banking that can't be done via ATM already, because in the case of say, online wire transfers you would need to register first anyway, so what's the deal with this nonsense?

And some people have said that countries like China had restrictions. Well clearly they haven't compared Thai banks to Chinese banks then, which are definitely more user friendly than Thai banks, at least for foreigners.

1) A few years ago when I first moved to China I was initially in possession of a 30-day Chinese tourist visa and opened a Bank of China account with internet banking access, which was offered to me as part of the account registration process, absolutely no problems at all. This was at the local branch near Minzu university in Kunming. There was no need to go to the Head Office branch in god knows what city 3000km away (perhaps Beijing?) nor any other "main" branch in Kunming. My local branch sufficed.

Comparison to Thailand: A tourist can usually only open a Bangkok Bank account at the main branch in Silom in Bangkok but won't be given internet banking access (some help that is you're based in say Chiang Rai, 830km away). Usually a foreigner working in Thailand can open an account of any bank at any branch (in theory at least - or perhaps only in the province they're working in) but will need to provide all documents to prove they are working in Thailand (i.e. passport with valid visa and work permit and possibly paperwork from the company you are working for, well that's what I provided when I opened my SCB account after having started working at a new company last year).

2) Sending money out of China via a Bank of China account is no problem, no need for a work permit or anything (other banks are probably similar). Only restriction is that Chinese and foreign nationals have a quota on the amount of money they can send abroad. Foreign nationals (irrespective of status in China I believe) can convert USD500 per day or equivalent, meaning that for larger transfers, coming into the bank a few times, each time on a different day would be necessary before the transfer can be completed. Not sure if online telegraphic transfers can be done yet, about 2 years ago it wasn't possible, but maybe now it is. It's possible to send money to anyone you choose, although when I was in China I mainly transferred to my overseas based accounts in order to pay off credit cards. Sure, it's not as convenient as sitting at home in my underpants and transferring money abroad online from my Australian or European based accounts, but it's still better than the Thai option as you'll find below (unless you are working in Thailand and transferring only to yourself).

Comparison to Thailand: If you are a tourist, it might be difficult or impossible to send money abroad, even from a branch (except via Western Union). They will probably ask for a work permit to conduct the transfer, which rules out non-working individuals that are resident in Thailand on say, retirement or student visas. Last time I asked SCB, they didn't want to transfer to anyone other than my own overseas based account that I registered with them (registrations for other accounts also held by me would have been possible too, but usually take around a week or more for approval). Of course I wouldn't waste my time going into a branch to send money to myself given that an online option exists hence when I needed to send money to a friend overseas to make some purchases of equipment for me, SCB insisted on some kind of evidence of what the funds were being used for, something which was too tedious for my liking. I said "gift", but they didn't accept that - they wanted a bill of sale or something. While I could have drawn up a fake bill of sale and submitted it to them within the hour (or come back 2-3 days later with a real bill of sale from the company although due to my usual lack of a lunch break and long working hours meant that I would normally only be able to reach a bank after about 6.30pm, by which time they may or may not still do overseas transfers), it was too much trouble especially as I was on a lunch break from work (which I didn't normally get) and didn't have enough time to find an internet cafe for that purpose. So I went off to Bangkok Bank, which had no trouble sending my friend that money with a reason for transfer as "gift", but they did need to see my work permit.

3) If you are using your foreign issued ATM, debit or credit card at a Chinese ATM there are no additional user charges. So, when you withdraw say 2500 Yuan, only your home bank charges you for the transaction, in withdrawal fees and currency conversion fees, unless you happen to be an account holder of one of those banks/credit unions etc. that don't charge you for foreign withdrawal/currency conversion fees, in which case you are really lucky.

Comparison to Thai banks: All of them now charge 150-180 Baht per transaction, I believe 150 for VISA cards and 180 for Mastercard cards. China Unionpay cards, which few westerners hold unless they happen to do business with a Chinese bank are only charged 50 Baht per transaction, but either way if you make a lot of withdrawals this is a lot of money over time. Only advantage over China is that Thai ATMs might give you as much as 25000 Baht per transaction, whereas most ATMs I've seen in China set the limit at 2500 or occasionally 3000 Yuan, which is about 13000-16000 Baht (or a bit more, depending on the exchange rate). It's possible that foreign banks in Guangzhou and Shanghai, Beijing etc. such as ANZ have larger withdrawal limits but I have no idea as I've never drawn any money from such ATMs before.

I think you are mistaken. You state BANGKOK BANK SILOM... Well i opened an account in Chiang Mai Kad Suan Kaew branch in abut 30 minutes WITH internet banking on a retirement visa. NOT SILOM. And they were friendly efficient and very helpful.

[balo]

Try Kasikorn , you can open an account with a tourist visa as long as you have proof of address in Thailand. And their internet bank are among the best.

Edited June 1, 2014 by balo

[Chao Lao Beach]

Good to see TMB is keeping up with world best practice ,you would have to wounder what idiot thought of this ,any transaction for a bank is a good transaction, a country that still uses bank books , is a bit of a worry.

And what is the logic behind this I wonder ?

[mccw]

Solution easy - change banks! As for me, Krungsi has no such rule

Or get a yearly visa and use re-entry permits to go out as long as needed and then come back again,

Or just do one visa and show it and then they forget about it and he carry on as before.

Doubt they'll check every year.

[mccw]

On the logic of the policy. I guess they are trying to make the banks more stable. Ie people living in Thailand are less likely to move cash overseas at signs of bad news, political or economic.

[Tomtomtom69]

Sometimes foreigners open Thai bank accounts and activate internet banking access with a work permit during the time they work in Thailand. When their job ends and they are no longer in possession of a valid work permit and working visa, they are usually still able to use internet banking that was activated during the tenure of their employment. It seems that TMB is about to change that.

Personally, I don't understand the ridiculous justification of requiring a work permit just to transfer funds, view your account balances etc. via internet banking when none of that is required when you make those same transaction via an ATM. Internet access is just more convenient, that's all. Basically, you can't do anything via e-banking that can't be done via ATM already, because in the case of say, online wire transfers you would need to register first anyway, so what's the deal with this nonsense?

And some people have said that countries like China had restrictions. Well clearly they haven't compared Thai banks to Chinese banks then, which are definitely more user friendly than Thai banks, at least for foreigners.

1) A few years ago when I first moved to China I was initially in possession of a 30-day Chinese tourist visa and opened a Bank of China account with internet banking access, which was offered to me as part of the account registration process, absolutely no problems at all. This was at the local branch near Minzu university in Kunming. There was no need to go to the Head Office branch in god knows what city 3000km away (perhaps Beijing?) nor any other "main" branch in Kunming. My local branch sufficed.

Comparison to Thailand: A tourist can usually only open a Bangkok Bank account at the main branch in Silom in Bangkok but won't be given internet banking access (some help that is you're based in say Chiang Rai, 830km away). Usually a foreigner working in Thailand can open an account of any bank at any branch (in theory at least - or perhaps only in the province they're working in) but will need to provide all documents to prove they are working in Thailand (i.e. passport with valid visa and work permit and possibly paperwork from the company you are working for, well that's what I provided when I opened my SCB account after having started working at a new company last year).

2) Sending money out of China via a Bank of China account is no problem, no need for a work permit or anything (other banks are probably similar). Only restriction is that Chinese and foreign nationals have a quota on the amount of money they can send abroad. Foreign nationals (irrespective of status in China I believe) can convert USD500 per day or equivalent, meaning that for larger transfers, coming into the bank a few times, each time on a different day would be necessary before the transfer can be completed. Not sure if online telegraphic transfers can be done yet, about 2 years ago it wasn't possible, but maybe now it is. It's possible to send money to anyone you choose, although when I was in China I mainly transferred to my overseas based accounts in order to pay off credit cards. Sure, it's not as convenient as sitting at home in my underpants and transferring money abroad online from my Australian or European based accounts, but it's still better than the Thai option as you'll find below (unless you are working in Thailand and transferring only to yourself).

Comparison to Thailand: If you are a tourist, it might be difficult or impossible to send money abroad, even from a branch (except via Western Union). They will probably ask for a work permit to conduct the transfer, which rules out non-working individuals that are resident in Thailand on say, retirement or student visas. Last time I asked SCB, they didn't want to transfer to anyone other than my own overseas based account that I registered with them (registrations for other accounts also held by me would have been possible too, but usually take around a week or more for approval). Of course I wouldn't waste my time going into a branch to send money to myself given that an online option exists hence when I needed to send money to a friend overseas to make some purchases of equipment for me, SCB insisted on some kind of evidence of what the funds were being used for, something which was too tedious for my liking. I said "gift", but they didn't accept that - they wanted a bill of sale or something. While I could have drawn up a fake bill of sale and submitted it to them within the hour (or come back 2-3 days later with a real bill of sale from the company although due to my usual lack of a lunch break and long working hours meant that I would normally only be able to reach a bank after about 6.30pm, by which time they may or may not still do overseas transfers), it was too much trouble especially as I was on a lunch break from work (which I didn't normally get) and didn't have enough time to find an internet cafe for that purpose. So I went off to Bangkok Bank, which had no trouble sending my friend that money with a reason for transfer as "gift", but they did need to see my work permit.

3) If you are using your foreign issued ATM, debit or credit card at a Chinese ATM there are no additional user charges. So, when you withdraw say 2500 Yuan, only your home bank charges you for the transaction, in withdrawal fees and currency conversion fees, unless you happen to be an account holder of one of those banks/credit unions etc. that don't charge you for foreign withdrawal/currency conversion fees, in which case you are really lucky.

Comparison to Thai banks: All of them now charge 150-180 Baht per transaction, I believe 150 for VISA cards and 180 for Mastercard cards. China Unionpay cards, which few westerners hold unless they happen to do business with a Chinese bank are only charged 50 Baht per transaction, but either way if you make a lot of withdrawals this is a lot of money over time. Only advantage over China is that Thai ATMs might give you as much as 25000 Baht per transaction, whereas most ATMs I've seen in China set the limit at 2500 or occasionally 3000 Yuan, which is about 13000-16000 Baht (or a bit more, depending on the exchange rate). It's possible that foreign banks in Guangzhou and Shanghai, Beijing etc. such as ANZ have larger withdrawal limits but I have no idea as I've never drawn any money from such ATMs before.

Just a couple of points -

I opened my first Thai account with SCB on a visa waiver, was not asked for work permit, and it was at a local branch not in BKK and have heard of many who have done the same - so I strongly disagree with that part of your comparison Oh yes and was able to get Internet access with no other problems.

Internet banking in China - three banks I am aware of require you to download software and use a USB key for authentication for any transfer. Many would argue that this is better security but to me it was also a PITA especially as I often seemed to have compatibility problems on certain web sites when trying to pay for stuff like flights. Also you would not be able to just use any old pc and go online and make a transaction if you needed to as I can with my UK and Thai accounts.

Sending money out of China - yes I discovered the limit ($500) just before I left China late last year and with no tax information had to find another way to transfer the funds out.

In my view if you want to transfer any decent amount the problem is the same in China as in Thailand.

I think you'll find that rules may have changed since and while I appreciate your experience differed from many others, I have heard that it's no longer easy to open a bank account in Thailand on a tourist visa or visa waiver unless you open it at the main branch, usually in Bangkok where it remains straightforward. That being said, for years I only ever needed one bank account, which I opened at the main Bangkok bank branch at Silom. Went straight there to open it without even attempting a local branch, for fear of being rejected. Reason being that at the time I was on a tourist visa waiver. Later upgraded my account with internet banking access but I had to present my passport and work permit for that. Note that I only provided an example of Bangkok Bank. Other banks may be different as you say but SCB at a local branch in BKK wanted to see my work documents, work permit etc. which of course they were probably expecting even before they asked me for anything since that local branch was the one all employees on the payroll of the company use to receive their salary.

No need for tax information to send money out of China. The USD 500 a day limit can be a nuisance but unlike in Thailand, no work permit needs to be presented to send money abroad, nor any other documentation. It just means that if you want to transfer 2000 USD out you will need to come into the bank 4 days in a row. In Thailand, no matter if you want to send 200 USD out or 20000 USD, the rules are the same - work permit can do, no work permit = more than likely no can do. Try it without one and see how far you'll get.

China is hardly a money transfer friendly country, but I just wanted to make the point that it is at least a little more foreigner friendly when it comes to things like internet banking and sending money out. In Thailand you can't send money out of the country without a work permit (except maybe for Western Union, which I haven't tried). Vietnam is even stricter with money transfers requiring specific documentation and the rules are much the same for locals, who need proof of a bill of sale, invoice, university or school fee statement etc. as proof that they need to transfer money out.

Nothing wrong with the USB security authenticator. Swiss banks use a similar system that involves a card and calculator (actually a code generator). You stick a card with your account info into what looks like a calculator to generate a 16-digit code made up of numbers and letters. Every time you sign on the code is different so you can't just sign in with a normal password. Without the code generator, you can't logon, simple.

Aussie banks require a passcode sent to your mobile phone to verify some types of transactions (usually to third parties and overseas transactions) but not to logon to internet banking.

Nothing wrong with internet banking security and in any case, that has little relationship to ease of doing business for foreigners.

Edited June 4, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[Tomtomtom69]

Sometimes foreigners open Thai bank accounts and activate internet banking access with a work permit during the time they work in Thailand. When their job ends and they are no longer in possession of a valid work permit and working visa, they are usually still able to use internet banking that was activated during the tenure of their employment. It seems that TMB is about to change that.

Personally, I don't understand the ridiculous justification of requiring a work permit just to transfer funds, view your account balances etc. via internet banking when none of that is required when you make those same transaction via an ATM. Internet access is just more convenient, that's all. Basically, you can't do anything via e-banking that can't be done via ATM already, because in the case of say, online wire transfers you would need to register first anyway, so what's the deal with this nonsense?

And some people have said that countries like China had restrictions. Well clearly they haven't compared Thai banks to Chinese banks then, which are definitely more user friendly than Thai banks, at least for foreigners.

1) A few years ago when I first moved to China I was initially in possession of a 30-day Chinese tourist visa and opened a Bank of China account with internet banking access, which was offered to me as part of the account registration process, absolutely no problems at all. This was at the local branch near Minzu university in Kunming. There was no need to go to the Head Office branch in god knows what city 3000km away (perhaps Beijing?) nor any other "main" branch in Kunming. My local branch sufficed.

Comparison to Thailand: A tourist can usually only open a Bangkok Bank account at the main branch in Silom in Bangkok but won't be given internet banking access (some help that is if you're based in say Chiang Rai, 830km away). Usually a foreigner working in Thailand can open an account of any bank at any branch (in theory at least - or perhaps only in the province they're working in) but will need to provide all documents to prove they are working in Thailand (i.e. passport with valid visa and work permit and possibly paperwork from the company you are working for, well that's what I provided when I opened my SCB account after having started working at a new company last year).

2) Sending money out of China via a Bank of China account is no problem, no need for a work permit or anything (other banks are probably similar). Only restriction is that Chinese and foreign nationals have a quota on the amount of money they can send abroad. Foreign nationals (irrespective of status in China I believe) can convert USD500 per day or equivalent, meaning that for larger transfers, coming into the bank a few times, each time on a different day would be necessary before the transfer can be completed. Not sure if online telegraphic transfers can be done yet, about 2 years ago it wasn't possible, but maybe now it is. It's possible to send money to anyone you choose, although when I was in China I mainly transferred to my overseas based accounts in order to pay off credit cards. Sure, it's not as convenient as sitting at home in my underpants and transferring money abroad online from my Australian or European based accounts, but it's still better than the Thai option as you'll find below (unless you are working in Thailand and transferring only to yourself).

Comparison to Thailand: If you are a tourist, it might be difficult or impossible to send money abroad, even from a branch (except via Western Union). They will probably ask for a work permit to conduct the transfer, which rules out non-working individuals that are resident in Thailand on say, retirement or student visas. Last time I asked SCB, they didn't want to transfer to anyone other than my own overseas based account that I registered with them (registrations for other accounts also held by me would have been possible too, but usually take around a week or more for approval). Of course I wouldn't waste my time going into a branch to send money to myself given that an online option exists hence when I needed to send money to a friend overseas to make some purchases of equipment for me, SCB insisted on some kind of evidence of what the funds were being used for, something which was too tedious for my liking. I said "gift", but they didn't accept that - they wanted a bill of sale or something. While I could have drawn up a fake bill of sale and submitted it to them within the hour (or come back 2-3 days later with a real bill of sale from the company although due to my usual lack of a lunch break and long working hours meant that I would normally only be able to reach a bank after about 6.30pm, by which time they may or may not still do overseas transfers), it was too much trouble especially as I was on a lunch break from work (which I didn't normally get) and didn't have enough time to find an internet cafe for that purpose. So I went off to Bangkok Bank, which had no trouble sending my friend that money with a reason for transfer as "gift", but they did need to see my work permit.

3) If you are using your foreign issued ATM, debit or credit card at a Chinese ATM there are no additional user charges. So, when you withdraw say 2500 Yuan, only your home bank charges you for the transaction, in withdrawal fees and currency conversion fees, unless you happen to be an account holder of one of those banks/credit unions etc. that don't charge you for foreign withdrawal/currency conversion fees, in which case you are really lucky.

Comparison to Thai banks: All of them now charge 150-180 Baht per transaction, I believe 150 for VISA cards and 180 for Mastercard cards. China Unionpay cards, which few westerners hold unless they happen to do business with a Chinese bank are only charged 50 Baht per transaction, but either way if you make a lot of withdrawals this is a lot of money over time. Only advantage over China is that Thai ATMs might give you as much as 25000 Baht per transaction, whereas most ATMs I've seen in China set the limit at 2500 or occasionally 3000 Yuan, which is about 13000-16000 Baht (or a bit more, depending on the exchange rate). It's possible that foreign banks in Guangzhou and Shanghai, Beijing etc. such as ANZ have larger withdrawal limits but I have no idea as I've never drawn any money from such ATMs before.

I think you are mistaken. You state BANGKOK BANK SILOM... Well i opened an account in Chiang Mai Kad Suan Kaew branch in abut 30 minutes WITH internet banking on a retirement visa. NOT SILOM. And they were friendly efficient and very helpful.

I'm not mistaken, however you didn't read my post correctly.

A retirement visa is different from a visa waiver. It's a long term visa. OK so internet access was allowed for you too, great, but then again if you re-read the OP's post, you'll find that a retirement visa is one category that TMB allows you to use for internet banking access too, so your experience isn't something we didn't already know.

Basically any long term visa should allow you to open an account at a local branch. A visa waiver or tourist visa generally gets the bank tellers asking questions and in the end they might refer you to the main branch.