Which american bank is the best to use in Thailand?

[houlicha]

Schwab is both a stock brokerage house and a bank.It's mostly online services, so far as I know the only brick and mortar Schwab bank is in Reno, Nevada.The foreign exchange and ATM fees are waived, I used my Schwab card on my last trip to China.

[Kondiao]

IMO Charles Schwab is clearly the best choice. However in my experience (now I am in the U.S.A., in Arizona) Charles Schwab refused to permit me to open an account - because my "permanent address" here is a mail service (PaK Mail). This address is good enough for my DL and for the VA and for my other bank accounts, but Charles Schwab took the trouble to find out it is not a residence but a private mail service, so they cancelled my application for an account.

So, I don't see how you could open an account with them as a resident of Europe.

As for the others banks mentioned I would not advise a dog to do banking with B of A. I have had bad experiences with them and they are well known for shady practices - extra hidden fees that they charge you with without letting you know, changing the terms of agreements arbitrarily after the fact.... Yeah, I know, all banks do these things - ? - but B of A personnel have been crude and disrespectful in doing dis-service to customers.

The comments about Bangkok Bank (that was what you meant - not "Bank of Bangkok", right?) I think were correct. They have a branch in NYC that is of no use to you when you want to transfer your money out of your American bank into your BB account using that branch in New York. You can argue with the BB people in Thailand but they just don't care about your problems.

Wells Fargo is the bank I used for most of the time when I was living in Thailand - mostly just to transfer money into my BB account as needed. I had troubles with them - mostly mistakes they make and refuse to rectify. Expect to have to argue with their people on the phone - Wells Fargo personnel who do not know their bank's policies - and fight with them via email - and ultimately you have no choice but to go through their protocol, like going into the BB office to verify trial deposits made. And of course you will have a back-up plan in place, i.e. a lump of some cash or another bank you trust not to screw with you at the same time that WElls is screwing you.

For a back-up bank, I had Chase Morgan when I was in Thailand. They were even worse than WElls Fargo for coming up with off-the-wall problems to freeze the account or put a block on the online access to your account. So you have to call them and wait while they transfer you around to a person in India? who speaks good English but knows nothing about banking or you ..... you get a special secret code in order to re-establish a (new) password - just to get back to where you started. But they have a decent c.c. with free travel insurance.

That is why I would have recommended Citibank, which I have no experience with. But I see others have had issues with this bank.

Good luck

[growe237]

Do you live in Thailand or just travel there? If you live in US, you might try local banks. My husband and I travel in Thailand at least 4 mos/yr and use a bank in Maine (Bangor Savings) that pays any and all ATM and foreign exchange fees.

[bendejo]

ATM withdrawal via citibank in Thailand does not cost anything, because it is the same bank, only exchange fee apply.

You sure of that?

No, he's not. A Citibank ATM transaction in BKK was the biggest ripoff I've experienced here. ATM and foreign transaction fee was like $16 on $600. They recently charged me a "non-usage fee". That's tight a fee for nothing. I dumped them on my last trip home. They are the worst.

Yes, as Tony mentions above. Used to be free. When in Bangkok I used to go to the only Citi in town, which was in the Sathorn area, didn't cost me a thing. Then it went up to 3% (can't recall when this started, at least 4 years ago). It was a US account with at least the minimal amount such that all fees were waived, before this 3% bs.

Exchange rate: some banks will swear up and down there is no foreign exchange fee or commission, and if you look at your various statements and receipts, well, by golly, there's no fees at all. But look at the exchange rate. Capital One was (is?) an infamous one. Advert headlines about no fee, but the rates were, er, creative. Called them up, asked about it, "that was the rate at the time of transaction, sir" and then I gently inform her that the exchange rate hasn't been anywhere near that in months. I ran some figures on it, came out to about 2%. Haven't used them internationally for some time either.

But BofA was the worst.

[Zadig]

A Bangkok Bank Branch told me that they offer their customers accounts in USD, but they charge 1% fee on all deposits and withdrawals.

Did i understand her correctly ?

Is this the same at all banks in Thailand ?

Will check if CharlesSchwab allows foreigners to open accounts.

Are there Singapore Banks with USD accounts that are convenient for Non-singaporean to use while living in Thailand ? OCBC, UOB, DBS ?

[Have a Baht account at Bangkok Bank for 14 years]

Any insight appreciated.

[maxman71]

ATM withdrawal via citibank in Thailand does not cost anything, because it is the same bank, only exchange fee apply.

You sure of that?

If you have a Citigold account, which means you need to keep at least USD 50K in the account, you get to use any Citi ATM WW with no foreign access or exchange fees; same thing with the Citi credit card; no foreign exchange fees. Citi has a good presence in Asia/Pac; Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and a few others. Not sure what the costs are for accounts less than $50K.

[maxman71]

ATM withdrawal via citibank in Thailand does not cost anything, because it is the same bank, only exchange fee apply.

You sure of that?

No, he's not. A Citibank ATM transaction in BKK was the biggest ripoff I've experienced here. ATM and foreign transaction fee was like $16 on $600. They recently charged me a "non-usage fee". That's tight a fee for nothing. I dumped them on my last trip home. They are the worst.

Yes, as Tony mentions above. Used to be free. When in Bangkok I used to go to the only Citi in town, which was in the Sathorn area, didn't cost me a thing. Then it went up to 3% (can't recall when this started, at least 4 years ago). It was a US account with at least the minimal amount such that all fees were waived, before this 3% bs.

Exchange rate: some banks will swear up and down there is no foreign exchange fee or commission, and if you look at your various statements and receipts, well, by golly, there's no fees at all. But look at the exchange rate. Capital One was (is?) an infamous one. Advert headlines about no fee, but the rates were, er, creative. Called them up, asked about it, "that was the rate at the time of transaction, sir" and then I gently inform her that the exchange rate hasn't been anywhere near that in months. I ran some figures on it, came out to about 2%. Haven't used them internationally for some time either.

But BofA was the worst.

If you have a Citigold account, which means you need to keep at least USD 50K in the account, you get to use any Citi ATM WW with no foreign access or exchange fees; same thing with the Citi credit card; no foreign exchange fees. Citi has a good presence in Asia/Pac; Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and a few others. It appears the costs for Citi accounts less than $50K are pretty crappy.

[PattayaClub]

If you want to be able to bring money in by ATM debit card with NO FEES and at the best possible exchange rate and be able to deal with a bank that has fabulous online access and service as well as an international toll-free number, open a charles Schwab Bank account in the US.

My goal was to eliminate all the ridiculous fees charged by all Thai banks and many US banks. I have done that with a Schwab account.

If you do it, it is best to use somebody's US address so as to avoid hassles with the Patriot Act and other money laundering paranoia banking rules in the US.

If you have ny questions, feel free to PM. I will not follow this thread.

[sabaii69]

Forget Wells Fargo (my bank). I just got a letter from them miraculously arriving addressed to my street with no country or zip code! WF will not listen to address notification! Yet, another parcel from Texas is missing. Thais love coffee! Kamoyee muk muk (sp?)

[Hardie]

First Republic Bank has branches all over West Coast US, no ATM fees anywhere in the world with $3500 in checking account.

[Pib]

A Bangkok Bank Branch told me that they offer their customers accounts in USD, but they charge 1% fee on all deposits and withdrawals.

Did i understand her correctly ?

Is this the same at all banks in Thailand ?

Will check if CharlesSchwab allows foreigners to open accounts.

Are there Singapore Banks with USD accounts that are convenient for Non-singaporean to use while living in Thailand ? OCBC, UOB, DBS ?

[Have a Baht account at Bangkok Bank for 14 years]

Any insight appreciated.

The 1% fee you mention is when depositing or withdrawing Notes....like walking up to a teller to deposit or withdraw foreign currency. That fee would not apply when depositiong funds via a incoming wire/SWIFT transfers...just the typical 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) incoming foreign transfer receiving fee. And if you convert the foreign currency to baht there is no charge and you get the TT Buying Rate just like for an incoming wire transfer.

You can see Bangkok Bank's fee structure for a foreign currency account at this webpage. And I think you will find their fee structure to other Thai banks...not a lot of banking competition in Thailand in my opinion.

[ajarntommy222]

Hi,

I would set up a Bangkok Bank account here in Thailand. I can transfer up to 2,000USD for $3.00 from my us bank account to my Bangkok Bank account. The reason is because there is a

Bangkok Bank in New York. No, I do not have a New York account just one in Thailand. I did this through my small town bank in Florida.

[bendejo]

Forget Wells Fargo (my bank). I just got a letter from them miraculously arriving addressed to my street with no country or zip code! WF will not listen to address notification!

{...}

Funny you should mention this, not long ago I did an address change with Chase, and they made a mess of it. Is this change of address such a new concept that it's going to take some time to figure out how to make it work? Jeez...

[lannarebirth]

A Bangkok Bank Branch told me that they offer their customers accounts in USD, but they charge 1% fee on all deposits and withdrawals.

Did i understand her correctly ?

Is this the same at all banks in Thailand ?

Will check if CharlesSchwab allows foreigners to open accounts.

Are there Singapore Banks with USD accounts that are convenient for Non-singaporean to use while living in Thailand ? OCBC, UOB, DBS ?

[Have a Baht account at Bangkok Bank for 14 years]

Any insight appreciated.

Yes, that 1% fee is pretty standard amongst Thai banks. You don't want a foreign currency account at a Thai bank.

As to the OP. I'm not sure why he needs an American bank for conducting his affairs in Thailand. The best bank for Americans in Thailand is Bangkok Bank for the reasons already mentioned.

[parafareno]

If you want to be able to bring money in by ATM debit card with NO FEES and at the best possible exchange rate and be able to deal with a bank that has fabulous online access and service as well as an international toll-free number, open a charles Schwab Bank account in the US.

My goal was to eliminate all the ridiculous fees charged by all Thai banks and many US banks. I have done that with a Schwab account.

If you do it, it is best to use somebody's US address so as to avoid hassles with the Patriot Act and other money laundering paranoia banking rules in the US.

If you have ny questions, feel free to PM. I will not follow this thread.

this is what I got from customer support at Schwab

You are right, we do have what is called a Linked Schwab One Brokerage and Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account. Any ATM fees incurred by the checking will be reimbursed by Schwab at the end of each month.

However, account holders for that account will need to be either a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and also have a Social Security Number.

Please feel free to contact our Global Services team at 1-877-686-1937 to see if there is a way Schwab can meet your personal investing needs.

[parafareno]

First Republic Bank has branches all over West Coast US, no ATM fees anywhere in the world with $3500 in checking account.

are you 1000% sure?

3500 usd is a lot......

but if you pay no atm fees, that is a cool bank, and do they send the atm card to Thailand etc?

[parafareno]

now that the bank secrecy is falling apart because of big ears etc, i want to keep my money in usa....i think bank exchange info will not happen that soon between usa and EU, what do you think?

[NCC1701A]

no one can answer your question until you tell us what you are trying to accomplish.

you want to live in Thailand and withdraw money from your USA bank with no fees?

open a account at Bangkok Bank and link it to Bank of America.

Wells Fargo is terrible for international transactions. Great for in the USA.

you can add a Bangkok Bank account to your BofA online from within Thailand, but you must have a operational US cellphone to receive one time password.

Bangkok Bank has the most secure ATM cards. Very important here in Thailand.

transfer money in US dollars and do the exchange in Thailand with Bangkok Bank. much better rate.

Don't use Paypal for anything. Huge waste of money.

bring over as much as $10,000 at a time in cash and put it in the bank here. No TRANSFER fees.

make sure the US dollars you bring are brand new, in perfect condition or the banks here will not take them.

if your non US bank account exceeds $10,000 at any point, you must report that account to the IRS.

If you open the Schwab account, don't tell them you are doing it for the no international ATM fees. They only do that for tourists and business travelers, not full time. So don't flag it.

Edited September 24, 2015 by NCC1701A

[aronp1]

Chase

[ableguy]

really? How come, is this Schwab a bank? I need to withdraw via paypal to the bank and than use money in Thailand via ATM

will they send new card if I loose it?

I doubt i can open one because I am an European, not usa citizen, so probbaly I will not be able to open SCHWAB bank account at all, but i would love to buy some stocks and shit....

Using an ATM in Thailand is fraught with danger.

[Soutpeel]

ATM withdrawal via citibank in Thailand does not cost anything, because it is the same bank, only exchange fee apply.

You sure of that?

If you have a Citigold account, which means you need to keep at least USD 50K in the account, you get to use any Citi ATM WW with no foreign access or exchange fees; same thing with the Citi credit card; no foreign exchange fees. Citi has a good presence in Asia/Pac; Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and a few others. Not sure what the costs are for accounts less than $50K.

For Citigold in Singapore you need a minimum of USD 150k on account with them not 50k....your thinking of their standard "offshore" account not Citigold and if memory serves they want a minimum balance of USD 25k and if your a US citizen or PR who is not resident In Singapore ie working there chances are they will not open the account for you anyway thanks to your IRS and the Facta stuff

[Soutpeel]

now that the bank secrecy is falling apart because of big ears etc, i want to keep my money in usa....i think bank exchange info will not happen that soon between usa and EU, what do you think?

What makes you think its not happening now ?