Opening new bank account - ATM card charge?

[modafinil]

I am working in Thailand - I have a Non-B visa and a Work Permit. My company has been paying me in cash, but I've decided to open a Thai bank account for my salary.

I used to have an account at Kasikorn, but when I visited today they told me my account was closed due to inactivity. They told me I needed to deposit 10,000 Baht, and pay them 800 baht for an ATM card.

Are there any banks that do not charge for an ATM card?

[vento]

For salary you need to have an account in the same bank your conpany Uses (unless its a small conpany Maybe) Check with your HR/Company First if they have Any requirement for salary transfer.

[modafinil]

My company are with SCB, but they have told me that I can open an account with any bank.

[daveAustin]

Used to typically be 1k to open and 200 baht for ATM. The latter is of course a ridiculous charge and you pay every year for the privilege of having one.

[KittenKong]

I used to have an account at Kasikorn, but when I visited today they told me my account was closed due to inactivity. They told me I needed to deposit 10,000 Baht, and pay them 800 baht for an ATM card.

What type of account? What is the balance? If your savings account is unused for more than 1 year with a balance below 1000B then you will be charged 50B per month until the balance is exhausted at which point the account will be closed.

If the balance is above 1000B then the account will just be suspended but there is no monthly charge and you can reactivate it at any time by depositing any amount.

Kasikorn will try and sell you an overpriced Visa card for 800B but they also do a perfectly normal ATM card for 200B. I have one. Insist on it.

[modafinil]

I'm not sure what kind of account it was, but the balance was probably under 1000 Baht, so that explains why the account was closed.

Thank you for the tip about the normal ATM card for 200B! Is there an annual renewal fee with the 200 Baht card, do you know? I remember paying 500 Baht (I think) for a couple of years to "reactivate" my card - no doubt they tricked me into paying for the overpriced card when I opened the account.

[KittenKong]

Thank you for the tip about the normal ATM card for 200B! Is there an annual renewal fee with the 200 Baht card, do you know?

I should have said "200B per year". Sorry. The first year may cost 100B more.

The minimum opening balance for a savings account with them is 500B.

[modafinil]

I'll visit them this weekend and get my account sorted out. Thank you for the advice

[Pib]

To open a savings account the minimum opening deposit is Bt500. And the basic K-debit card has a Bt100 initial fee with Bt200 annual fee. Other K-bank debit cards get pricier. If the branch proposes a higher opening deposit and higher price debit card fee they are simply trying to hook you into to paying more like taking a higher price debit card that comes with accident/life insurance which is not worth the money due to the terms and conditions of the insurance. Seen quite a few ThaiVisa posts over the last year where some K-bank branches attempt to hit-up a farang with higher account opening requirements and saying you must also take one of their pricier debit cards.

Typically, to prevent your account from being closed due to inactivity, keep the balance at or above Bt2,000...and don't forget the annual debit card fee as that is taken out of your balance which could drop it below Bt2,000. Once the balance drops below Bt2,000 for 12 months with no user activity the bank will start deducting a Bt50/month account maintenance fee and once the account balance reaches zero the account is closed.

[Schmeen]

Rule One for banking in Thailand (for me anyway)

Have nothing to do with Kasikorn.

They were such a bunch of idiots I walked in one day and closed all my accounts with them. The muttering around the branch st my awful behaviour was like the sound of an angel to me.....555

I have now banked with SCB for 10 years, they've been as good as gold. I'd happily do the same to them though if they mess me around. I'd go to that nice yellow one next.

[maccraw]

Have been with TMB for many years --no problems with savings account and excellent on-line account in English..

[Amusements]

Funnily enough, I tried to get a new ATM card at Kasikorn yesterday, as my old one expired a few days ago. They wanted 700 Baht to give me a new one which was outrageous! I declined and went home and emailed Kasikorn head office to comfirm the price of a new ATM card. Here is the reply.

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Dear XXXXXXXX,

According to your enquiry regarding about expired debit card, we would like to inform you that you need to bring your passport, passbook and old ATM Card contact any Kbank branch in person. However, card replacement fee will be applied or not depends on these conditions;

- If you renew the card within expiry month, there will be no any card replacement fee.
- If you renew the card within 3 months after the expired date, there will be no any card replacement fee but there is an annual fee.
- If you renew the card after 3 months after the expired date, there will be a card replacement fee and also an annual fee.

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BTW. I recently replaced my ATM card at Krung Thai and it was free.

[Schmeen]

Yeah paying for ATM's is always a funny one, I object to paying for a cheque book, but I gotta so I do...... they are far more expensive than an ATM at SCB.

[balo]

Just go to the Kasikorn branch and ask for a savings account. The staff will try to open a deposit account for you because they get some sort of commission . The rules are very clear on Kasikorn website, 500 baht deposit is all you need to open a savngs account. .

I would bring a copy of the official Kasikorn website or show them myself so the staff understand I am not easily fooled. Or just call Kasikorn customer service and hand the phone over to the staff, they speak excellent English and will help you. And the staff will lose face and you can watch them and smile.

Edited February 4, 2015 by balo