Best BKK Account for Farang - No ATM Fees - No Work Permit

[Will2011]

I have a TMB debit card I paid 400thb/year, which allows me to withdraw from any Thai ATMs free of charge. It's great and i use it everyday.

Do you know the name of that card? I can't find it.

Sorry for the very late reply, as I just found out I had a notification using the ipad. Tmb no limit is the name of the card I'm using.

[Langsuan Man]

Some people have trouble with Bangkok Bank and online banking because the clerks at most branches don't know or understand the rules

At one time there was a requirement to have a work permit to have Bangkok Bank online banking but that was changed several years ago, yet it does require a special code to be inputted by the branch staff for the option for online banking to be available without a work permit

If you find yourself in that position, just insist that they call the main branch in Bangkok and they will tell them exactly how to do it and will give them the correct code with which to open the account with online banking included, without a work permit

[mpa]

As I already mentioned, no luck. Only work permit, nothing else works. Pity.

[BKKdreaming]

Bangkok bank in Silom turned me down last month at the Main Office

I needed a "letter" from embassy ?????

[hawker9000]

Bangkok bank in Silom turned me down last month at the Main Office

I needed a "letter" from embassy ?????

'Just goes to show it's all about the knowledge level, training, and supervision of bank employees rather than any actual requirement for these extra documents. You can't do anything about the existence of such employees. All you can do is spend some shoe leather and keep trying until you find one who knows what they're doing. TIT.

[lopburi3]

Bangkok bank in Silom turned me down last month at the Main Office

I needed a "letter" from embassy ?????

Following is account opening requirement from there website:

1. Foreigner with a Work Permit
   • Passport
   • Work Permit

2. Foreigner with Long-stay or Tourist Visa
   • Passport and one of the following documents:

     2.1 An official document from another country, such as a document from the

     relevant agency giving evidence of the customer’s right to receive pension

     funds, OR a letter of reference from one of the following:

     • Embassy or international organization
     • Customer’s home bank to Bangkok Bank via the SWIFT messaging network
     • Person acceptable to Bangkok Bank e.g. branch officer, customer, government officer or company executive
     • Educational institution located in Thailand and acceptable to the bank
     • Company that is acceptable to the bank, confirming the customer is in the process of getting a work permit

2.2 Other documents that show the name of the customer e.g. a document

showing the ownership of real estate in Thailand such as a unit in a

condominium

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As I already mentioned, no luck. Only work permit, nothing else works. Pity.

Opening a Thai bank account as a foreigner is a lot like playing roulette. It all depends on where your ball falls.

Thai banks are notorious for having differing rules, or different understandings/interpretations of the actual rules, from bank branch to bank branch, even within the same banking company.

So, the lesson is, even if you've been turned down at one branch or a couple branches, there's always going to be another branch somewhere that's going to be willing to open an account with you -- though it may take some hunting on your part and a willingness to be declined some number of times before finally getting approved.

Sometimes it takes a bit of persuasion, polite insistence, asking to speak to the branch manager, or even having the local branch call the main headquarters for guidance/clarification. Taking along a Thai GF or wife to help as a mediator also can prove useful at times.

BKK Bank, as Lopburi posted above, has very clear rules and ones actually posted on their website re account openings for foreigners, even if all their branch staff don't always know or follow them. Basically, all you really need is your passport and a pension document (though there are other document options available as well). BKK Bank's rules are very clear that they'll open new accounts without work permits.

The Bangkok Bank branch in the basement of Siam Paragon seems to be pretty friendly in terms of new account openings. So is the Standard Chartered main HQ branch on Sathorn Road. Both of those also have English-speaking CSRs available, as well. There are other success stories with other banking companies, if you read thru the member posts here.

Edited September 9, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[BKKdreaming]

I will try The Bangkok Bank branch in the basement of Siam Paragon the next time ,

does it matter if I ask for a savings account or an ATM account ?

and can I get Zero interest so I have no tax forms to fill out for a few pennies !

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I will try The Bangkok Bank branch in the basement of Siam Paragon the next time ,

does it matter if I ask for a savings account or an ATM account ?

and can I get Zero interest so I have no tax forms to fill out for a few pennies !

Unless you're fluent in Thai, when you enter the branch and get a queue ticket, tell the staff there you'd like to speak with an English speaking CSR.

Just start off asking for a regular savings account with a Be1st ATM card. And then, once you're talking with the new accounts rep, just check with her to confirm that it will include online banking.

For the regular savings account, their current interest rate is pretty paltry. I've never kept much of a big balance in their savings account, so I've never gotten more than a handful of baht per year in interest from them. Thus, never have done anything with Thai tax stuff.

[hawker9000]

I will try The Bangkok Bank branch in the basement of Siam Paragon the next time ,

does it matter if I ask for a savings account or an ATM account ?

and can I get Zero interest so I have no tax forms to fill out for a few pennies !

Open an account with so much as a satang in it, and you have to check the right box on your tax return anyway, since it's a foreign account. Reporting the interest is just a matter of including it along with your other interest on Sked B (Interest & Ordinary Dividends). Truly no big deal. Bigger deal if your foreign accounts aggregate to US $10K or more.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It's not clear, now, whether the prior poster was referring to Thai tax forms or home country tax forms in his post.

But if he was referring to the U.S., for example, he would have to report he had a foreign bank account, whether or not he earned interest on that account. That's just by checking the box that asks, did you have any foreign bank accounts during the year.

But, AFAIK, if the annual interest earnings are under $10, then that doesn't need to be specifically listed as interest earning on your tax return anyway. And in the U.S., banks don't even issue 1099 statements for interest earnings below that annual amount.

Same thing on the Thai side. Depending on the account, it's either going to be tax free up to 20,000 baht per year of interest, or, the bank will already have withheld the standard 15% off of whatever peanuts interest a standard savings account earned during the year, with regular savings account rates at what, 0.5% or so?

Edited September 10, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[hawker9000]

It's not clear, now, whether the prior poster was referring to Thai tax forms or home country tax forms in his post.

But if he was referring to the U.S., for example, he would have to report he had a foreign bank account, whether or not he earned interest on that account. That's just by checking the box that asks, did you have any foreign bank accounts during the year.

But, AFAIK, if the annual interest earnings are under $10, then that doesn't need to be specifically listed as interest earning on your tax return anyway. And in the U.S., banks don't even issue 1099 statements for interest earnings below that annual amount.

Same thing on the Thai side. Depending on the account, it's either going to be tax free up to 20,000 baht per year of interest, or, the bank will already have withheld the standard 15% off of whatever peanuts interest a standard savings account earned during the year, with regular savings account rates at what, 0.5% or so?

"if the annual interest earnings are under $10, then that doesn't need to be specifically listed as interest earning on your tax return anyway."

Incorrect. ALL interest is taxable and supposed to be reported (unless you're below the reporting threshold entirely). It is true that you don't get a 1099 for amounts below $10. But because you don't get a 1099 for it doesn't mean it's not reportable.

I know next to nothing about Thai tax reporting, but unless there's other significant income from Thai sources or you're a resident and bringing income into Thailand from another country in the same year in which you derive it, I don't believe a few bucks of interest on a savings account are going to trigger a Thai filing requirement, esp. for a non-resident.

[hawker9000]

It's not clear, now, whether the prior poster was referring to Thai tax forms or home country tax forms in his post.

But if he was referring to the U.S., for example, he would have to report he had a foreign bank account, whether or not he earned interest on that account. That's just by checking the box that asks, did you have any foreign bank accounts during the year.

But, AFAIK, if the annual interest earnings are under $10, then that doesn't need to be specifically listed as interest earning on your tax return anyway. And in the U.S., banks don't even issue 1099 statements for interest earnings below that annual amount.

Same thing on the Thai side. Depending on the account, it's either going to be tax free up to 20,000 baht per year of interest, or, the bank will already have withheld the standard 15% off of whatever peanuts interest a standard savings account earned during the year, with regular savings account rates at what, 0.5% or so?

[Pib]

It's not clear, now, whether the prior poster was referring to Thai tax forms or home country tax forms in his post.

But if he was referring to the U.S., for example, he would have to report he had a foreign bank account, whether or not he earned interest on that account. That's just by checking the box that asks, did you have any foreign bank accounts during the year.

But, AFAIK, if the annual interest earnings are under $10, then that doesn't need to be specifically listed as interest earning on your tax return anyway. And in the U.S., banks don't even issue 1099 statements for interest earnings below that annual amount.

Same thing on the Thai side. Depending on the account, it's either going to be tax free up to 20,000 baht per year of interest, or, the bank will already have withheld the standard 15% off of whatever peanuts interest a standard savings account earned during the year, with regular savings account rates at what, 0.5% or so?

"if the annual interest earnings are under $10, then that doesn't need to be specifically listed as interest earning on your tax return anyway."

Incorrect. ALL interest is taxable and supposed to be reported (unless you're below the reporting threshold entirely). It is true that you don't get a 1099 for amounts below $10. But because you don't get a 1099 for it doesn't mean it's not reportable.

I know next to nothing about Thai tax reporting, but unless there's other significant income from Thai sources or you're a resident and bringing income into Thailand from another country in the same year in which you derive it, I don't believe a few bucks of interest on a savings account are going to trigger a Thai filing requirement, esp. for a non-resident.

Yeap, even amounts of less than $10 that are not reported via a tax form such as the 1099-INT must be reported per U.S. IRS Pubs. Below is an IRS Training webpage that sums it up pretty clearly. But many people do think that if the institution didn't send me a tax form then I don't have to report it.....and the part about less than $10 with no tax form is believed to be the tax rule but it's not. Some folks probably even think if no tax form provided by the financial institution, then the IRS has no proof/way to find out I'm not reporting the interest---no doubt that makes it harder for the IRS especially for foreign accounts. The reason that $10 interest earned rule is in effect today is simply to save financial institutions money by not having to produce/mail tax documents for interest amounts under $10....it saves those institutions money but does not relieve the tax payer of not reporting the small amount of interest earned. And Thai banks don't send you tax forms....you have to go ask for them like for matured fixed savings accounts where 15% tax on interest earned has has been withheld/given to Uncle Somchai which you can file to get refunded. For a Thai bank regular savings account you pretty much just have to keep track of it yourself from your ibanking/getting a statement. But I expect the IRS won't seek its dogs on you for not reporting such a small amount....not to imply you are still not required to report the amount under the IRS rule. For me, I just report everything...even amounts under $10 with no forms...I think I can count on one finger the number of times over the years that it increased my tax by a few dollars....peace of mind of not needing to worry about the IRS dogs was worth those few dollars.

http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/08/08_08_005.jsp?level=basic

[JimGant]

If you're filing a Sched B only because you're required to because you had a foreign bank account, best to have a line item, regardless of how paltry, showing interest from this account. I mean, it might become obvious to someone at IRS that the only reason you're filing a Sched B is not because you have over $1500 in interest (if not, you're not required to file), but because you have a foreign bank account, thus have checked Part III, block 7A -- and maybe even block 7B, showing you're required to file a FBAR. No line item with foreign earnings, regardless of size, might stand out.

If you don't want to report Thai interest, don't file a Sched B. But if you're being kosher, and thus filing a Sched B 'cause you have a Thai bank account, have a Thai line item for any interest earned -- right amongst all those US interest line items, like (in my situation) $4 for Schwab and $2 for Suntrust. And who knows -- maybe eventually under FATCA, Thai banks will be reporting all US person interest, even paltry amounts. If so, the IRS will be interested to marry-up Thai 1099 equivalents with what your Sched B says. (But, yeah, that's a stretch -- maybe....)