Smell of trouble: Bangkok busts 7 Vietnamese for selling cannabis

[JThai]

I'm Citigold in the US. Does any one know the requirements to open a CitiBank account in Thailand? I'm only here on a Tourist or ED Visa and I don't work here thus I have no work permit. Still I'm interested in having a real account here in Thailand. Is it possisble?

[Pib]

While CitiBank in Thailand has the same name as its parent western company named CitiBank, CitiBank Thailand operates under Thai laws and Bank of Thailand regulations. But no, having needing to have a work permit is not a hard core requirement to open a bank account in Thailand...all the bank websites seem to imply that though...but you will see plenty of ThaiVisa posts where people open bank accounts with no visa/extension of stay at all...just the 15 to 30 day stamp they got when arriving Thailand.

When it comes to opening a bank account in Thailand, it can vary from bank-to-bank and branch-to-branch within the same bank as to how receptive they are to opening a bank account for a farang. If one bank/branch refuses to open an account for you, just try another bank/branch...repeat until successful. You will also now need to complete some FATCA related forms when getting a Thai bank account as all Thai banks now comply with FATCA and therefore may report account info to the IRS/Uncle Sam for U.S. citizens. Other threads on ThaiVisa gives a full rundown on FATCA.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Pib

[JThai]

Thanks, I'm just looking for any one with experiance with Citibank specifically. I want to use the free transfers from my Citi US account and all that. I know the in the Philippines they are one of the banks that follows the law to the T and won't allow foreigners who are not legal perminant residents of the PI to open an account. I am hoping to hear that in Thailand it might be possible to get a Citibank account with a tourist or ED visa.

[Pib]

You can use the Search function in ThaiVisa to see what some folks have said about opening accounts with Citibank. I just did a Search...a bunch of past threads came up in the Search...I only scanned this one briefly, but some of the posts seemed to be talking account opening a Thai Citibank account based on having a CitiBank Gold account from another country...just having a CitiBank account in another country didn't seem to help. But as mentioned earlier, how easy or hard it is to open an account at any bank in Thailand..from branch to branch...can vary for foreigners. Some branches seem to be farang friendly; others don't seem to be. Good luck.

[midas]

I am a Citi Gold member in Sydney Australia but I can tell you from experience what Pib has written is correct. If ever I have had any problems with my Sydney account they didn't even want to know me in the Bangkok branch even though I live here. They may as well be different companies as far as getting international customer support and the most help I have ever had from them in Bangkok is to allow me to use their phone to contact Sydney.

From post # 16 in the link provided by Pib

So into the Citigold "lounge" in Asok I go and can only say the staff in there were completely unhelpful/usless and basically didnt have a clue, net result was I used one of their phones and called Singapore to help me resolve the issue, so other than a free phone call to Singapore they did nothing to assist, once contacting Singapore, I received 3 more phone calls back on my mobile asking is every resolved to my satisifaction, this is what I call customer service

In summary I would say Citibank would be the least likely bank that would allow you to open an account, particularly with you being on a non-work-related visa . You might be able to open an account with one of the other Thai banks however.

Edited October 13, 2014 by midas

[Soutpeel]

I am a Citi Gold member in Sydney Australia but I can tell you from experience what Pib has written is correct. If ever I have had any problems with my Sydney account they didn't even want to know me in the Bangkok branch even though I live here. They may as well be different companies as far as getting international customer support and the most help I have ever had from them in Bangkok is to allow me to use their phone to contact Sydney.

From post # 16 in the link provided by Pib

So into the Citigold "lounge" in Asok I go and can only say the staff in there were completely unhelpful/usless and basically didnt have a clue, net result was I used one of their phones and called Singapore to help me resolve the issue, so other than a free phone call to Singapore they did nothing to assist, once contacting Singapore, I received 3 more phone calls back on my mobile asking is every resolved to my satisifaction, this is what I call customer service

In summary I would say Citibank would be the least likely bank that would allow you to open an account, particularly with you being on a non-work-related visa . You might be able to open an account with one of the other Thai banks however.

That quote pib posted looks mine, I posted a while back, if the OP has a citigold account in US can facilitate opening an account for him in Thailand, if that's what he desires, but as regards Citi Bkk my comments still stand, they are useless, even though the Citibank marketing blurb, states as a citigold account holder you will receive the same level of service at any citigold lounge anywhere in the world, you may in other countries, Thailand not

Citibank Singapore are very good on the customer service front BKK are not

[arnestockholm]

Have an IPB gold account with citibank in Singapore and as I wanted to open a citigold account in Bangkok it was very easy. My account manager from Singapore come over and goes with me to the citibank branch at the exchange tower. And we together open the account within 20 minutes. Had only the 30 day stamp, but they wanted to see my condo rental. Works very well.

[JThai]

Have an IPB gold account with citibank in Singapore and as I wanted to open a citigold account in Bangkok it was very easy. My account manager from Singapore come over and goes with me to the citibank branch at the exchange tower. And we together open the account within 20 minutes. Had only the 30 day stamp, but they wanted to see my condo rental. Works very well.

I'm only barley lowly CitiGold in the US. I don't think they will be flying here to personally escort me down to Citibank to open my account haha.

[arnestockholm]

Yes but if you have a relationship manager he maybe could call them.

[Soutpeel]

Have an IPB gold account with citibank in Singapore and as I wanted to open a citigold account in Bangkok it was very easy. My account manager from Singapore come over and goes with me to the citibank branch at the exchange tower. And we together open the account within 20 minutes. Had only the 30 day stamp, but they wanted to see my condo rental. Works very well.

I'm only barley lowly CitiGold in the US. I don't think they will be flying here to personally escort me down to Citibank to open my account haha.

I am a citigold IPB account in Singapore and pretty sure no relationship manager came from sing to Thailand to open an account for a customer either and why would they ?

It can all be done on line, customer service is good in sing, but doesn't include things like this, Citibank in sing is good, but they are still a bank, and they will not spring the cash to fly some one in, if it can be done on line which it can. So calling BS on this poster s comment

[arnestockholm]

As a citigold private client account holder it's quite usual to get this service. My account manager is visiting clients in Thailand on regular basis. And why? Because they like to have my deposits? Maybe it's different with the normal gold account. So before calling out BS you should think.

[Monkorn]

Good luck trying to use the free global transfer service. I recently opened a Citibank account at the Central World location and was not able to use the free global transfer function from my USA based Citibank account. I found the staff at the Central World location rather unknowledgeable so I went to the location in the Interchange building. I spoke with a manager there, not sure if he can be named here, but he spoke great English and was aware of the various account features from abroad. He indicated that global transfers have been suspended to Thailand since May. He said it was due to political reasons. He advised the only way to transfer from Citi USA to Citi Thailand is through a wire transfer which runs $25 USD for gold members or $35 for non-gold members or through ATM withdrawals. If you're not a Citi gold member, then USA Citi charges a 3% transaction fee for the ATM. I ended up paying for the wire and it posted to my Thai account in about 12 hours. I was impressed considering it was a wire.

Something else to note, according to the manager at the Interchange location, Citi Thailand account holders can't wire to their own Citi accounts abroad. He's had several customers attempt to do so via the online option and they were blocked. He insisted that wires had to be sent to a secondary beneficiary. My wife and I hold joint Citi accounts here and the USA and he said that neither of us could be a beneficiary when sending from Thailand. I find this quite strange and haven't tested it myself, but it's something to consider when looking to move funds abroad through Citi wire transfers from Thailand.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Monkorn

[Monkorn]

Thanks, I'm just looking for any one with experiance with Citibank specifically. I want to use the free transfers from my Citi US account and all that. I know the in the Philippines they are one of the banks that follows the law to the T and won't allow foreigners who are not legal perminant residents of the PI to open an account. I am hoping to hear that in Thailand it might be possible to get a Citibank account with a tourist or ED visa.

Unless you're willing to sink a considerable amount of money into an account, I find it highly unlikely that Citi will open something for you on a tourist or ED visa. Within the past few weeks, I went through an account opening here in Thailand with Citi. I have a multi-entry Non-O visa and a letter from the National Research Council of Thailand indicating I'm working with some local scholars through next year. Because I don't have a work permit, which the NRCT won't issue or assist with because "research" isn't employment that needs a work permit in their eyes, I was refused an individual account. Since my wife is Thai and we have joint checking/savings with USA Citi, they allowed me to be a secondary account holder with her as the primary. We had to show my Non-O visa, NRCT letter, proof of USA Citi account, her USA and Thai passports, driver's license, and Thai ID. It was absolutely ridiculous the amount of paper work just to open an account for me. The only purpose for using Citibank Thailand was for the free global transfers, which actually can't be used when sending to Thailand from the USA. To compound matters, they stipulated that if 100,00 BHT wasn't deposited within 5 business days, we would be charge a monthly fee of 100 BHT. If your account ever dips below 100,000 BHT you'll also be charged 100 BHT per month. That should be a non-issue, but something to consider.

That said, I think there are better options than Citibank Thailand, especially from what your explained.

[JThai]

Looks like the only benfit to Citigold USA is using the Citibank ATM's here and other countries (they just pulled out of 11 though) with no fees and no forex charges (best rate). I have other cards that do that now at all ATM's though. I still like the option though so I might keep gold status.

Sounds like a Thai Citibank account will be too hard to get and useless for me in my situation. Actually I'm not sure why I need a Thai bank at all. I guess one option is that I can store my baht in the Thai bank and feel free to carry that card with me. Where as right now I don't like having my US cards when I walk around as losing it would make it pretty hard for me.

[Pib]

Just go try a Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn Bank branch in any area that has a lot of farangs...these two banks seem to be the most farang friendly. If opening a Bangkok Bank account you can transfer money using the much cheaper ACH method vs the pricey SWIFT method....Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability.

[JThai]

Just go try a Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn Bank branch in any area that has a lot of farangs...these two banks seem to be the most farang friendly. If opening a Bangkok Bank account you can transfer money using the much cheaper ACH method vs the pricey SWIFT method....Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability.

ACH that sounds cool but do you know the fee and the exchange rate? Also can you comment on reasons why I might want a BKK bank when my US banks already give free ATM and best rates with no 1% forex fees? Just looking for an excuse to get an account here haha.

[JThai]

They do have a cool Be1st Smart Rabbit Card that is ATM/Visa Debit AND BTS Rabbit card. That might not be a bad thing to have. Too bad the Rabbit still doesn't work on the MRT as well.

[Pib]

Just go try a Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn Bank branch in any area that has a lot of farangs...these two banks seem to be the most farang friendly. If opening a Bangkok Bank account you can transfer money using the much cheaper ACH method vs the pricey SWIFT method....Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability.

ACH that sounds cool but do you know the fee and the exchange rate? Also can you comment on reasons why I might want a BKK bank when my US banks already give free ATM and best rates with no 1% forex fees? Just looking for an excuse to get an account here haha.

The ACH fee would be whatever Sending fee your U.S. bank (i.e., CitiBank) in your case may charge....most U.S. banks do not charge an ACH sending fee but some do "plus" the Bangkok Bank New York branch sliding scale fee which would be $5 or $10 on the amounts people send "plus" the in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch currency receipt/conversion fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max). All Thai banks charge a currency receipt/conversion fee whether the money arrives in foreign currency or already converted to baht....some banks may have a Bt300 min fee....some may charge a flat Bt500, but most seem to use the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) fee structure. But assuming your Sending bank does not charge an ACH fee, your total Bangkok Bank fees for a $2,000 transfer would be approx $11.25....quite a bit cheaper than a SWIFT fee which will be in the $20 to $50 ballpark depending on your Sending bank.

The exchange rate you will receive is their "TT Buying Rate". DO NOT alllow your home country sending bank to convert to baht when sending as you'll surely get a exchange rate several percent lower than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate. Banks outside of Thailand will give a lower exchange rate since Thai baht is not a major world currency, practically not used outside of Thailand except maybe as monopoly game money replacement. But your foreign bank will probably make it sound like it's best if you do allow them to convert for you...get their "competitive rate." A competitive rate that basically carries a hidden fee due to the lower exchange rate. Kinda like using PayPal or Western Union to send money to another country...low/no fees but lower exchange rate. The Thai bank TT Buying Rate and 0% foreign transaction fee Visa exchange rate are pretty close to each other. You can read more about using Bangkok Bank ACH funds transfer capability at this Bangkok Bank webpage.

It was you who asked about opening a Citibank Thailand account which although carrying its western parent's name is really just a Thai bank operating under Thai laws/regulations....just like when a foreign bank operates in the U.S. it must be licensed and operated under U.S. laws/regulations. Whether you need a Thai bank account or not is your call. It's definitely comes in handy for anyone staying any length of time in Thailand, like getting some of the card products you talked about, having a secure place to put your cash versus under you mattress, what if your foreign cards stop working for whatever reason, transferring money into Thailand, and of course once you fall in love in Thailand and then leave your loved one behind until next visit you can just leave them your debit card and keep your account topped up by transferring money from the U.S. to that account.

Yeap, up to you if you want a Thai bank account or not....and don't get hung-up on having a CitiBank account as CitiBank is a small bank in Thailand compared to all the other major banks like Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Kaisikorn Bank, Krungsri Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Thai Military Bank, Thanachart Bank, etc..etc...etc.

[JThai]

Thanks. I give up on the Ctibank draem. It's of no use to me, I'll just use their ATMs and deposit the money at another bank. Bangkok Bank is sounding good. So with bangkok bank what fees are there for using their ATM card around BKK or in CM or Pattaya? It's ok if you don't want to reply to this, I can do some more digging for myself but if you know it would be eaiser .

Funny you mention falling in love. The one thing I like about Thailand versus the Philippines is that the girls I'm dating here have education, jobs, careers and actually buy me stuff sometimes (what a concept). I'm hoping I don't end up in a situation where I'm supporting some one and a whole family, but hey you never know haha.

[Pib]

Most Thai banks charge an ATM withdrawal fee when you are out of the province/region your home branch is in ....each bank in Thailand has the country divided-up in banking regions regarding how fees are charged when doing transfers between those regions or provinces.

Say you open a Bangkok Bank account within the Bangkok Bank Metro Region which is Bangkok proper and the surrounding provinces there would be no charge for any withdrawal from a Bangkok Bank ATM. But go to Pattaya, it would be either a Bt15 or Bt20 fee. Go to this Bangkok Bank webpage and look at the area titled "ATM Services."

The Bangkok Bank website does not have even a close second among Thai banks when it comes to quality and quantity of banking info (in English and Thai).

[JThai]

Most Thai banks charge an ATM withdrawal fee when you are out of the province/region your home branch is in ....each bank in Thailand has the country divided-up in banking regions regarding how fees are charged when doing transfers between those regions or provinces.

Say you open a Bangkok Bank account within the Bangkok Bank Metro Region which is Bangkok proper and the surrounding provinces there would be no charge for any withdrawal from a Bangkok Bank ATM. But go to Pattaya, it would be either a Bt15 or Bt20 fee. Go to this Bangkok Bank webpage and look at the area titled "ATM Services."

The Bangkok Bank website does not have even a close second among Thai banks when it comes to quality and quantity of banking info (in English and Thai).

Thanks, kinda sad that it will be cheaper to get cash from my foreign card when visting Pattaya than an in country bank, even at the same bank.

[Monkorn]

Most Thai banks charge an ATM withdrawal fee when you are out of the province/region your home branch is in ....each bank in Thailand has the country divided-up in banking regions regarding how fees are charged when doing transfers between those regions or provinces.

This is the only advantage that I found with Citibank Thailand. Your ATM card allows unlimited use from any bank, Citi or otherwise, in Thailand free of charge. Maybe other banks offer this as well, but I didn't look enough to find out. If it weren't for my wife's insistence on being a loyal Citi customer, I wouldn't have opened an account in Thailand with them.

Does anyone know if non-Citi ATMs charge a fee for Citi customers? I didn't ask and Citi didn't tell. They did sell the "free use" though as if it were some type of advantage over their competitors.

[Pib]

Most Thai banks charge an ATM withdrawal fee when you are out of the province/region your home branch is in ....each bank in Thailand has the country divided-up in banking regions regarding how fees are charged when doing transfers between those regions or provinces.

This is the only advantage that I found with Citibank Thailand. Your ATM card allows unlimited use from any bank, Citi or otherwise, in Thailand free of charge. Maybe other banks offer this as well, but I didn't look enough to find out. If it weren't for my wife's insistence on being a loyal Citi customer, I wouldn't have opened an account in Thailand with them.

Does anyone know if non-Citi ATMs charge a fee for Citi customers? I didn't ask and Citi didn't tell. They did sell the "free use" though as if it were some type of advantage over their competitors.

Where you say unlimited, fee-free use from any ATM in Thailand that sure implies all Thai bank ATMs....are you sure you are not meaning to say from any "Citibank ATM" in Thailand. Info from their website implies (and partially quoted below) at Citibank ATMs and participating ATMs...and non-Citibank ATMs may charge a fee. But you are asking for confirmation from others...if no one answers give it try one day in a non-Citi ATM...worst thing that would happen is the ATM would charge a fee of Bt20. And in Thailand it's not like Citibank ATMs are that common like other Thai bank ATMs which are partially on every soi, in every mall, etc.

Quote

• Fee-free cash withdrawal through Citibank ATM and participating ATM locally and globally*
• *Transaction fee is waived for Citi ATMs worldwide, except Citi ATMs in Australia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, and Kazakhstan. Country coverage may be subject to change. Citibank reserves the right to modify the list without prior notice. Withdrawal from non Citibank's ATM may be subject to transaction fee, depending on respective banks. This deposit product is under protection of Deposit Protection Agency within the coverage stipulated by the law.

  End Quote

Edited October 16, 2014 by Pib

[Monkorn]

The rep told us we can withdraw anywhere in Thailand free of Charge. I asked if that's just at Citi or anywhere, she said anywhere. I had my wife ask in Thai to be sure. The rep responded that we won't be charged. I'm now wondering if she meant Citi won't charge? I'm beginning to think that doesn't mean the ATM bank won't do so. It's only a potential 20 baht fee, but I already feel overcharged having to pay for the wire since we couldn't use the global transfer. I didn't want to be bothered with a series of ATM withdrawals over a few days to satisfy the deposit. I'll wait a week or so for any responses, if not I'll try and report my experience.

[Pib]

Keep in mind that if Citibank is part of the Nataional ATM Pool which most Thai banks are part of, for the first 4 or 5 withdrawals per month within your bank region/province there won't be any charge. But if another province/region, the ATM Pool thingie don't apply.

When I use my Bangkok Bank debit card issued from a branch here in Bangkok, for a couple withdrawals per month from any other bank ATM (or at the least the ones I've tried) here in Bangkok there has been no charge. But if I draw cash from an ATM say in Nakhorn Pathom which is a province bordering Bangkok city limits (and I live pretty close to that border between Bangkok and Nakhon Pathom) there is usually a charge. If you happen to live and shop pretty close to a province/banking region border on one side of the soi the ATM withdrawal may be free but on the other side of soi in another province you might be charged. It can hurt your head.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Pib

[JThai]

Boom - just got confirmation that my State Farm account is now open after I had to send in my drivers license to prove ID. Thanks again for the SF tip!

Now I have 3 cards with no forex and ATM's refunded (Fidelity is unconfirmed but looks solid based on forums that they don't charge the 1%)!

[Pib]

Good deal. Yeap, I think maintaining a home country drivers license, especially if your home country is the U.S., can come in very handy in proving identity. Quite a few bank applications still request such identification...if you don't have a drivers license for some reason then a state ID comes in handy. Of course a passport is helpful for financial applications sometimes but that could imply you don't live in the U.S. anymore if you can't provide some form of state or military ID. The wife and I keep our U.S. drivers licenses valid by just doing renewal by mail every 6 years or so...more expensive compared to being able to show up at the DMV due to notary/mailing costs, but if you live a half a world away its kinda hard to swing by the DMV to renew your license.

I'm too lazy to look back through this thread to see what no foreign transaction fee "credit" cards you may have, but having some of those can greatly reduce your need to even bring money into a foreign country like Thailand plus many cards have cash back (say 1.5%) or points rewards also. I use several such cards from Capital One and others...use them almost daily pretty much everywhere, Lotus, Big C, Foodland, Tops, fast food places, hospitals, fuel stations, HomePro, etc...etc...etc. Use of the credit cards also helps to maintain your credit rating in the home country. The credit card bills are ebills, so I just logon and pay them via ACH transfer.

[JThai]

Good deal. Yeap, I think maintaining a home country drivers license, especially if your home country is the U.S., can come in very handy in proving identity. Quite a few bank applications still request such identification...if you don't have a drivers license for some reason then a state ID comes in handy. Of course a passport is helpful for financial applications sometimes but that could imply you don't live in the U.S. anymore if you can't provide some form of state or military ID. The wife and I keep our U.S. drivers licenses valid by just doing renewal by mail every 6 years or so...more expensive compared to being able to show up at the DMV due to notary/mailing costs, but if you live a half a world away its kinda hard to swing by the DMV to renew your license.

I'm too lazy to look back through this thread to see what no foreign transaction fee "credit" cards you may have, but having some of those can greatly reduce your need to even bring money into a foreign country like Thailand plus many cards have cash back (say 1.5%) or points rewards also. I use several such cards from Capital One and others...use them almost daily pretty much everywhere, Lotus, Big C, Foodland, Tops, fast food places, hospitals, fuel stations, HomePro, etc...etc...etc. Use of the credit cards also helps to maintain your credit rating in the home country. The credit card bills are ebills, so I just logon and pay them via ACH transfer.

Yup I use Capital One, HSBC, and PenFed each of them with no forex fees! and some with a 1% rebate or points. Just pay online.

Sure is great to make dollars and spend THB or PHP haha.

[Pib]

In case you don't know, in addition to the PenFed credit card (they actually have around a half dozen) not charging a foreign transaction fee PenFed cards also do not apply a "cash advance" fee...the great majority of credit cards will apply a 3% cash advance fee.

And with the PenFed credit card you can withdraw up to $2,000 per day/transaction....and of course you get the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate...your Schwab and St Farm cards have a $1,000 daily limit. I've been doing $2,000 (approx Bt64K) withdrawals with the PenFed credit card since AEON started charging a Bt150 fee...I have the cash advance put into my Bangkok Bank account during the same action...takes about 5 minutes to accomplish. Then I come home, logon to my PenFed account and pay the advance in full via ACH transfer pull from one of my other banks (could also pay from PenFed savings account if desired) to avoid any interest charge since the card does start charging interest from day one...initiating the ACH transfer from PenFed counts as payment on that day so no interest charge occurs.

Have done this around 8 times now since early 14 or so....not one penny paid in interest or fees. I tried to get the PenFed cash advance daily limit raised from $2,000 to like $3,000 or $4,000 by writing them...they replied NO...NO....NO!!!...it's a policy PenFed won't bend on. But you can come back the next day and withdraw another $2,000 right up to the full credit limit on your card....it's just they are hard core on their policy regarding the $2,000 daily cash transaction limit. Would be nice if it was higher...that way I wouldn't have to visit the bank as often...but it's still twice as high as most debit card daily transaction limits.

Sounds like you are setup pretty well now for getting cash fee-free (i.e, fully reimbursed on ATM use fees) and with no foreign transaction fees...in case on company changes their policy or their card stops working you have one or more backups...sure helps to minimize the headaches and fees in getting money when outside the home country. If you decide to go the Bangkok Bank route in opening an account I would recommend you go to their branch on the 1st floor of the HQ Bangkok Bank building on Silom Road in Bangkok...many farangs have accounts there...I have multiple accounts there....they are use to dealing with farangs...hopefully (no guarantee) they would open an account for you....don't dress like a bum when going. Something good about having an account there is if the branch ever needs you to deal with HQ Bangkok Bank folks over anything, well, all the HQ offices start on the 2nd floor....bank branch on the first floor...the HQ functions in the rest of the building.

Good luck.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Pib

[JThai]

Wow did not know about the Cash Advance trick!.That's great if I ever need such a huge amount in one day. That sounds like the absolute best way to get cash in to Bangkok Bank, must better than the ACH method! Also I'm guessing you can time it, because yesterday and today happens during our day time in BKK. Usually EST.

Thank you kind sir! I was going to ask what branch I should get an account in, you answered it already. I think I will do that when I get back in two months. I'm just annoyed at the thought of having to pay feeds to take out money in CM or Pattaya when the main reason I want the account is to keep cash accessible but not with me when I travel around.

All Americans should read this thread and get their money sorted out!