Offshore lads. What bank do you get paid into?

[Franky Bear]

I have always had my wages go into my Bank of Scotland account then done transfers to my Bkk bank.The BKK bank account i have is the simple one. I can't use it abroad. I'd like to get paid into a Thai bank account, be able to use it abroad for withdrawals with no hassle and a credit card if poss and obliviously internet banking. I can't open one just yet as i don't have the relevant Type O through my recent marriage.

Basically i'm asking what you think would be the best bank for me? Bearing in mind we get paid from all the usual dodgy tax havens, would this raise any sort of red flags with the account?

Cheers

[misterphil]

I have a Kasokorn and opened it without a Non O visa.

Online banking

Virtual credit card

Had the account for around 8 years now.

[Franky Bear]

I have a Kasokorn and opened it without a Non O visa.

Online banking

Virtual credit card

Had the account for around 8 years now.

What is a virtual credit card? I've not heard of that. Would i be able to use it abroad, say in the States to pay for hotels of car hire?

[misterphil]

I have a Kasokorn and opened it without a Non O visa.

Online banking

Virtual credit card

Had the account for around 8 years now.

What is a virtual credit card? I've not heard of that. Would i be able to use it abroad, say in the States to pay for hotels of car hire?

A virtual credit card is there is no card. You have a 16 digit credit card number, expiry date and CCV number. You can use it for purchases on the internet, but wont be able to rent cars and pay for hotels.

[Franky Bear]

I have a Kasokorn and opened it without a Non O visa.

Online banking

Virtual credit card

Had the account for around 8 years now.

What is a virtual credit card? I've not heard of that. Would i be able to use it abroad, say in the States to pay for hotels of car hire?

A virtual credit card is there is no card. You have a 16 digit credit card number, expiry date and CCV number. You can use it for purchases on the internet, but wont be able to rent cars and pay for hotels.

I need a credit card i can use like a normal one anywhere in the World. I know it's hard to transfer cash out of Thailand so to use my UK card would be a pain in the backside to pay off monthly.

[Soutpeel]

I get the bulk of my salary paid into Citi bank in Singapore and only take a "small" salary in Thailand, just enough to pay the bills and have some petty cash over.

[Franky Bear]

I get the bulk of my salary paid into Citi bank in Singapore and only take a "small" salary in Thailand, just enough to pay the bills and have some petty cash over.

I need an address there though right? I just want an account set up ready for the day i can't use my parents address for my banking in the UK

[Soutpeel]

I get the bulk of my salary paid into Citi bank in Singapore and only take a "small" salary in Thailand, just enough to pay the bills and have some petty cash over.

I need an address there though right? I just want an account set up ready for the day i can't use my parents address for my banking in the UK

nope, and you dont need residence in Sing either, the "local" Sing banks will not touch you as you are non singapore resident, but the likes of Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered will.

Have a look at Citi International personal banking in Singapore, might suit what your trying to do, you can also get CC through them as well if you want it

I have nothing against Thai banks per se for doing normal banking stuff, ie drawing a bit of cash out the wall, and other basic stuff, but think I would be a bit nervous with significant chunks of change held in a Thai bank and dealing with investments etc.

[Franky Bear]

I get the bulk of my salary paid into Citi bank in Singapore and only take a "small" salary in Thailand, just enough to pay the bills and have some petty cash over.

I need an address there though right? I just want an account set up ready for the day i can't use my parents address for my banking in the UK

nope, and you dont need residence in Sing either, the "local" Sing banks will not touch you as you are non singapore resident, but the likes of Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered will.

Have a look at Citi International personal banking in Singapore, might suit what your trying to do, you can also get CC through them as well if you want it

I have nothing against Thai banks per se for doing normal banking stuff, ie drawing a bit of cash out the wall, and other basic stuff, but think I would be a bit nervous with significant chunks of change held in a Thai bank and dealing with investments etc.

Thanks a lot mate. Sound like a plan. If i do need to do anything face to face it's only next door, so to speak.

Would they give me a CC with a $(us) 10,000 credit facility right off the bat though?

[Franky Bear]

I get the bulk of my salary paid into Citi bank in Singapore and only take a "small" salary in Thailand, just enough to pay the bills and have some petty cash over.

I need an address there though right? I just want an account set up ready for the day i can't use my parents address for my banking in the UK

nope, and you dont need residence in Sing either, the "local" Sing banks will not touch you as you are non singapore resident, but the likes of Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered will.

Have a look at Citi International personal banking in Singapore, might suit what your trying to do, you can also get CC through them as well if you want it

I have nothing against Thai banks per se for doing normal banking stuff, ie drawing a bit of cash out the wall, and other basic stuff, but think I would be a bit nervous with significant chunks of change held in a Thai bank and dealing with investments etc.

I applied online now. They will get back to me in 3 working days. I owe you a beer....thanks

[Soutpeel]

Would they give me a CC with a $(us) 10,000 credit facility right off the bat though?

that you would have to ask them, guess it would depend how much you put on deposit with them, If you open a Citigold

account with them, ie you need USD 150k on account with them, suspect they will give you cc with more than a 10k credit line straight off the bat

[Franky Bear]

Would they give me a CC with a $(us) 10,000 credit facility right off the bat though?

that you would have to ask them, guess it would depend how much you put on deposit with them, If you open a Citigold

account with them, ie you need USD 150k on account with them, suspect they will give you cc with more than a 10k credit line straight off the bat

thanks again. I'll see what they say and go from there

[Soutpeel]

Would they give me a CC with a $(us) 10,000 credit facility right off the bat though?

that you would have to ask them, guess it would depend how much you put on deposit with them, If you open a Citigold

account with them, ie you need USD 150k on account with them, suspect they will give you cc with more than a 10k credit line straight off the bat

thanks again. I'll see what they say and go from there

they will in all likelyhood ask for a USD 20k-25k opening balance....but go below that and think there is a SGP$ 8-10/m cost on the account, above that no costs

[TheAceFace]

Bangkok bank, can have a USD account if you need. Also I have no issues with their online banking either.

[Franky Bear]

Bangkok bank, can have a USD account if you need. Also I have no issues with their online banking either.

I'll look into that mate. I really need a credit card though as i travel a lot

Cheers

[guzzi850m2]

My salary goes into HSBC in Singapore and then I transfer via phone baking X$ to my Siam Comm Bank.

I have a master card with Siam Comm bank (ATM) and so far I been able to withdraw money from it all over south east Asia and Russia when I worked there.

I had this account for a long time (+10 years).

I also have a Bangkok bank account which I use for on-line purchases via my Visa card, pay-pal, Agoda and so on.

[kwonitoy]

Offshore accounts: Standard Bank, HSBC. Credit and debit cards with both banks, one is basically backup

I think opening amount for Standard is 5 grand US, HSBC Jersey wants quite a bit more.

ALL payroll into offshore bank, transfer as needed into Thailand, SCB bank, debit card with this account.

[Digitalbanana]

I have a Kasokorn and opened it without a Non O visa.

Online banking

Virtual credit card

Had the account for around 8 years now.

What is a virtual credit card? I've not heard of that. Would i be able to use it abroad, say in the States to pay for hotels of car hire?

A virtual credit card is there is no card. You have a 16 digit credit card number, expiry date and CCV number. You can use it for purchases on the internet, but wont be able to rent cars and pay for hotels.

Theres also no credit? So it's a virtual debit card in fact?

[Franky Bear]

I got a reply today from City Bank. They are enquiring where my home address is, what kind of accounts i'd like and if i can go to SG to open it (which i can) so not a bad start

[jvc]

Anyone been thru the process of getting a CC from HSBC in HK with a Thai address? Straightforward?

I've had a HSBC Advance account with them for a few years. I had to visit HK to open the account.

Edited September 30, 2014 by jvc

[Soutpeel]

I got a reply today from City Bank. They are enquiring where my home address is, what kind of accounts i'd like and if i can go to SG to open it (which i can) so not a bad start

Franky, I opened mine with them from a walk-in in Singapore, literally took 4 hours to have the account set up, even with lunch in the middle, and walked out with the ATM card, and on line banking set up, they will fill all the forms in for you, you just sign on the line, copies of passport and bugger off to get something to eat, come back and everything is ready for you, ATM card with your name on it, even had a nice lady show how the on line stuff works, log everything in and make sure its working.

I have colleagues in past open these on-line from Thailand, by the fact they are asking you come in, suggests they may be getting a little tighter in their due diligence, but wouldn't read anything into this per se, but they never asked me for any confirmation or proof of home address, this seems new.

[Franky Bear]

I got a reply today from City Bank. They are enquiring where my home address is, what kind of accounts i'd like and if i can go to SG to open it (which i can) so not a bad start

Franky, I opened mine with them from a walk-in in Singapore, literally took 4 hours to have the account set up, even with lunch in the middle, and walked out with the ATM card, and on line banking set up, they will fill all the forms in for you, you just sign on the line, copies of passport and bugger off to get something to eat, come back and everything is ready for you, ATM card with your name on it, even had a nice lady show how the on line stuff works, log everything in and make sure its working.

I have colleagues in past open these on-line from Thailand, by the fact they are asking you come in, suggests they may be getting a little tighter in their due diligence, but wouldn't read anything into this per se, but they never asked me for any confirmation or proof of home address, this seems new.

They didn't say i had too, mate. I said i would though. A few nights in Singapore won;t go amiss................

infact here's a copy of the Email...

Thank you for your interest with Citibank IPB Singapore. We tried to reach you earlier in response to your online enquiry about opening an account with us.

At Citibank IPB Singapore, we cater to overseas clients who wish to open a personal banking account in Singapore.

Before we proceed, may I please confirm the following:

1. Country of mailing address that you will be using for account opening

2. What type of bank account are you interested in

3. Would you be able to visit Singapore for your account opening

With this information we can determine if we are able to proceed in opening an account for you.

Thank you and I look forward to hear from you soon!

Best Regards,

Jasmine Mong

Citibank Singapore Ltd

International Personal Bank

Customer Franchise Development

Visit our Website at http://www.ipb.citibank.com.sg

Edited September 30, 2014 by Franky Bear

[Franky Bear]

Here's the latest email from City bank. They say accounts are subject to approval, i'm pretty sure i'll be ok as i'm not exactly on minimum wage. Can someone that knows Singapore tell me if this branch is close to marina bay please...........

Thank you for your information.

Further to our conversation earlier, below is my branch address and documents required to bring. Please let me know the date and time of meeting you are available to come to the branch.

My branch address:

CITIBANK INTERNATIONAL PERSONAL BANK SINGAPORE

(Opens on Weekdays at 9:30am to 5pm)

23 Church Street, Capital Square Building

#07-01, Singapore 049481

Please bring along following documents to my branch for account opening:

1. Passport and
2. Valid Driver’s License/existing Credit Card and

3. A copy of your Company Registration Certificate if you are self-employment or latest month pay-slip if you are employed as a supporting document proof

[Soutpeel]

Here's the latest email from City bank. They say accounts are subject to approval, i'm pretty sure i'll be ok as i'm not exactly on minimum wage. Can someone that knows Singapore tell me if this branch is close to marina bay please...........

Thank you for your information.

Further to our conversation earlier, below is my branch address and documents required to bring. Please let me know the date and time of meeting you are available to come to the branch.

My branch address:

CITIBANK INTERNATIONAL PERSONAL BANK SINGAPORE

(Opens on Weekdays at 9:30am to 5pm)

23 Church Street, Capital Square Building

#07-01, Singapore 049481

Please bring along following documents to my branch for account opening:

1. Passport and
2. Valid Driver’s License/existing Credit Card and

3. A copy of your Company Registration Certificate if you are self-employment or latest month pay-slip if you are employed as a supporting document proof

yes fairly close, but then again everything is fairly close to other places in Sing LOL

BTW in terms of Citi IPB this is the only branch

it does seem they have tightened up a little, ie items 2 & 3, when i opened mine they only wanted the PP

however I did have to state who I worked for and where, but didn't have to supply proof

[Franky Bear]

Cheers Soutpeel.

[boldface]

I get the bulk of my salary paid into Citi bank in Singapore and only take a "small" salary in Thailand, just enough to pay the bills and have some petty cash over.

If you are physically working in Thailand then best make sure they are declaring and paying all your tax - I know of 2 companies that all the employees have been hammered with this in the last 2 months, one of which is a smaller firm that is looking at big trouble all concerned having not even paid the token 50k per month at all with it all going offshore.

[merijn]

I get my salary paid in a Natwest International account in Jersey.

All on my Thai home address with Bank Card, full internet banking and CC without any problem but initially set-up by my employer.

From there i use internet transfer to my Kasikorn or Bangkok Bangkok account.

(I received a Visa and Master CC from BB without any problem on my Marriage extension)

[sikishrory]

I just organised to get my offshore salary transferred into my bangkok bank account as this is where i live when im not working. When they do the transfers they have to put a reason for the transfer (salary). Wondering though if it will cause any problem at all. Anyone else doing it with Thai banks?

[CGW]

I have been using Standard bank for the past ten years or so, Citi, HBSC etc are much more expensive for transfers, can all be done online, including application, no credit card but debit card.

https://international.standardbank.com/

[Deserted]

World First.