Citibank Thailand

[BKK90210]

Citibank Thailand

Has anyone open/have the account with them?

I’m currently in the US but will be moving to Thailand in a few months. I have both mastercard (not through banking) and banking service with them here in the US and this’s what they just told me….

For….

Credit card - I should get the credit card from CitibankThailand based branch (in Bkk) because what I’m having now is the NorthAmerican based credit card number. If I’m trying to use it in Thailand I will be charged an extra 3% for each transaction

Banking service – I should open the checking/saving account with them in Bkk because I can choose either thai baths OR US dollars account.

Question - Hmm….I wonder if I can open these accounts with them from the US…without being in thailand yet?

PS…oh just called the US postal service and they said they can forward the mails for up to 1 yr to Thailand for free

[Gary A]

I'm not too familiar with Citibank Thailand except that I damaged my US Citibank ATM card (cracked) and went to Citibank Bangkok to try to get a replacement. Citibank Bangkok may just as well have been Bum Fark Bank Africa.

I can tell you that I have a $6,000 US minimum balance in my Citibank (California) US account and ATM transactions are free except for the one percent currency exchange fee. They charge a flat $30 fee for wire transfers regardless of the amount. I wire transfer to Siam Commercial Bank and the money has ALWAYS been in the Siam bank the very next day. You should wire the funds in US dollars to avoid the currency exchange fees.

I kept my US credit cards and use the Citibank free bill pay service to pay them. I do everything online including the wire transfers. CD's also count for maintaing the minumum balance so I do get 4.75 percent interest on my $6,000 minimum balance.

Citibank Thailand

Has anyone open/have the account with them?

I’m currently in the US but will be moving to Thailand in a few months. I have both mastercard (not through banking) and banking service with them here in the US and this’s what they just told me….

For….

Credit card - I should get the credit card from CitibankThailand based branch (in Bkk) because what I’m having now is the NorthAmerican based credit card number. If I’m trying to use it in Thailand I will be charged an extra 3% for each transaction

Banking service – I should open the checking/saving account with them in Bkk because I can choose either thai baths OR US dollars account.

Question - Hmm….I wonder if I can open these accounts with them from the US…without being in thailand yet?

PS…oh just called the US postal service and they said they can forward the mails for up to 1 yr to Thailand for free

[BKK90210]

Thanks Gary

I also have the account with Fidelity (brokerage, Roth, & pension). They also have an international wire transfer option with only $15 plus 3 free atm withdrawals per month.....Hmm...I wonder if I should be using Fidelity instead. But I want to use Citibank as a back up bank just in case. The reason is that I'm trying to close my bank of America account, they're horrible in transactions fee.

[Thairish]

I have a Citibank Visa here, and if I remember correctly, you need a work permit and at least 3 months of your salary bank a/c statements. You can check here

[LaReina]

Citibank and even Chase are completely different banks when it comes to Thailand. The right hand is not too friendly with the left.

Having a Citibank account or credit card does absolutely nothing for you in Bangkok, in terms of opening up an account here.

[Momenthai]

In terms of retail banking I think Citibank Thailand offer current/savings accounts so that they can have the licence but when I tried to open an account I think the minimum balance was Bt1m and it was a similar story with HSBC.

Regarding getting a credit card, I have a citi one which was fairly easy to get and the lady I spoke to was very helpful (she completed the form and sent a messenger to my office to get me to sign it) but I work in Thailand so have a work permit and regular income. If you don't have a regular income in Thailand I'm not sure how easy it is. There are other threads on here about getting credit cards when you don't work in Thailand, I think you have to deposit the same amount as your credit limit with the bank (which arguably defeats the object of having a cc but it at least means you don't get hit with transaction charges and I beleive you can put the deposit into a savings account).

I bank in Thailand with a local bank and have never had any problems with them. The banking is completely free and there is no minimum balance, some local banks even offer Visa debit cards. I transferred money out of Thailand last week and it cost US30 and arrived in HK the next day with no issues.

[Michael W]

As far as ATM withdrawals from a U.S. Citibank account, Citibank Thailand is treated no differently than Bangkok Bank or any other Thai bank. When I withdrew 1000 baht from an ATM in the Citibank in Sathorn, Bangkok, it showed up on my U.S. Citibank statement as just another Bangkok non-Citibank bank with the same 1 % fee charged.