Fixed account for 800000 bahts

[novo58]

@DrDave................

You might just want to check what interest rate you get if you allow the money to simply roll on AFTER the original fixed term has ended. IT almost certainly WONT be the same as you got for the original term..........and how/why does the bank determine what term it will be for ????

I know this is Thailand..........and things are not always the same in all locations/branches etc.................but I found out personally and was told by Bangkok bank staff that when the original fixed term expires the money will accrue the basic standard SAVINGS ACCOUNT rate of interest on a monthly basis.( around 1%/annum)

So if you want the higher interest rate offered by fixed deposits it is up to you to enter into a new fixed term which will require a new account and new passbook.

Yes they will quickly open a new account and transfer the funds across.................but it will not have the seasoned time that you may require for immigration.

As I say ...............my experience, yours may differ.

Edited March 2, 2016 by novo58

[DrDave]

@DrDave................

You might just want to check what interest rate you get if you allow the money to simply roll on AFTER the original fixed term has ended. IT almost certainly WONT be the same as you got for the original term..........and how/why does the bank determine what term it will be for ????

I know this is Thailand..........and things are not always the same in all locations/branches etc.................but I found out personally and was told by Bangkok bank staff that when the original fixed term expires the money will accrue the basic standard SAVINGS ACCOUNT rate of interest on a monthly basis.( around 1%/annum)

So if you want the higher interest rate offered by fixed deposits it is up to you to enter into a new fixed term which will require a new account and new passbook.

Yes they will quickly open a new account and transfer the funds across.................but it will not have the seasoned time that you may require for immigration.

As I say ...............my experience, yours may differ.

BBL will automatically rollover to a 3-month fixed term at the interest rate in effect on the day of the rollover. Currently, the interest rate for a 3-month term is 1.0%, while the rate for a basic savings account is 0.5% according to BBL's website. There's also information on BBL's website that indicates that all fixed accounts will be automatically rolled over to 3-month terms at expiration.

In my case, my original 7-month term deposit at 2.5% was automatically rolled over to a 3-month term at 1.0%, which was the 3-month rate in effect on the rollover date. Actually, its been rolled over twice to 3-month terms - both times at 1.0%. At the end of the current 3-month term (later this month), I'll be shopping around for a better rate.

[Pib]

@DrDave................

You might just want to check what interest rate you get if you allow the money to simply roll on AFTER the original fixed term has ended. IT almost certainly WONT be the same as you got for the original term..........and how/why does the bank determine what term it will be for ????

I know this is Thailand..........and things are not always the same in all locations/branches etc.................but I found out personally and was told by Bangkok bank staff that when the original fixed term expires the money will accrue the basic standard SAVINGS ACCOUNT rate of interest on a monthly basis.( around 1%/annum)

So if you want the higher interest rate offered by fixed deposits it is up to you to enter into a new fixed term which will require a new account and new passbook.

Yes they will quickly open a new account and transfer the funds across.................but it will not have the seasoned time that you may require for immigration.

As I say ...............my experience, yours may differ.

BBL will automatically rollover to a 3-month fixed term at the interest rate in effect on the day of the rollover. Currently, the interest rate for a 3-month term is 1.0%, while the rate for a basic savings account is 0.5% according to BBL's website. There's also information on BBL's website that indicates that all fixed accounts will be automatically rolled over to 3-month terms at expiration.

In my case, my original 7-month term deposit at 2.5% was automatically rolled over to a 3-month term at 1.0%, which was the 3-month rate in effect on the rollover date. Actually, its been rolled over twice to 3-month terms - both times at 1.0%. At the end of the current 3-month term (later this month), I'll be shopping around for a better rate.

Yeap, that's how matured Bangkok Bank fixed accounts work...they automatically roll over to 3 month fixed accounts. I've had around 5 Bangkok Bank fixed accounts over the last 3 to 4 years (but not right now). Below is a snapshot from their webpage where it states what happens when a fixed account matures. Current 3 month fixed account rate is 1.0%

[novo58]

Pls note my original comment ( below)

So if you want the higher interest rate offered by fixed deposits it is up to you to enter into a new fixed term which will require a new account and new passbook.

[DrDave]

Pls note my original comment ( below)

So if you want the higher interest rate offered by fixed deposits it is up to you to enter into a new fixed term which will require a new account and new passbook.

The main point of posts #32 and #33 above was that BBL's fixed accounts DO NOT accrue interest at the basic savings account rate upon the expiration of the fixed term. Rather, they continue on as a fixed account with a term of 3 months regardless of the original term and will accrue interest at the current 3-month fixed account rate, unless the account owner provides instructions otherwise.

If BBL automatically rolls the balance (including accrued interest paid at the end of the term) into a new 3-month fixed account, the account number remains the same and no new passbook is issued. An entry is made to the original passbook that denotes the new term, maturation date and interest rate, along with entries for accrued interest paid and any tax withheld from the prior term.

In my case, I have a single passbook with entries as follows:

• The original 7-month term deposit noting rate and due date
• Interest paid, tax withheld
• Renewal as a 3-month term noting rate and due date (automatic rollover)
• Interest paid, tax withheld
• Renewal as a 3-month term noting rate and due date (automatic rollover)

The balance carries forward from line to line (term to term) with credits for interest and debits for tax at the end of each term. The balance doesn't reset to zero between terms, so this account/passbook should be fine for people using the "money in the bank" method for Immigration extensions of stay.

[novo58]

My final comment on this .....................if you wish to do nothing and get 1% interest so be it.

My comment stated that in order to continue to get a HIGHER RATE of interest ................you need to inform the bank of your desire and in order to invest for a new term at the higher interest rate...they will open a new account.

Dr Dave......are you a paid up member of the grammar nazi's that are common on this site ????

You continue to talk about what happens if you do nothing - and you are quite correct and I have never challenged that view....................I am talking about what happens if you want to continue to get a higher rate of interest- and I am quite correct ..the original comment being to ensure that any changes to the term of the account do not interfere with the seasoning period required by Immigration for any re-newal of permission to stay.

goodbye.

[KittenKong]

CIMB do something similar: when your TD matures they automatically roll it over onto the regular TD rate which is invariably much lower than any 5/8/12 month special they may be doing, so it pays to visit them on the day the account matures to be sure to get the best interest rate.

CIMB also actually use just one passbook for all your TDs, which is handy for immigration purposes as the one book shows your total balance regardless of when the accounts are dated and it also shows the full balance history since the first account was opened.

It's a bit of a mystery to me why people use Bangkok Bank for TDs as other banks systematically offer better rates, but each to his own.

[Pib]

Just some additive info regarding a Bangkok Bank fixed account when it matures and rolling it over. As already discussed, when a Bangkok Bank fixed account matures and assuming the account owner don't provide instructions as to what to do when it matures the fixed account automatically rolls over to a 3 month fixed account. The account number stays the same....you can just let it set in that 3 month fixed account and roll over many, many times if desired which means you now have a perpetual 3 month account earning around 1% at current rates.

But don't do what "rookie" fixed account guy (i.e., me) did the first time his fixed account matured (I think it was a 11 month fixed account which I promptly went to the bank to roll over into another fixed account promotion which I think was a 7 month account)...and you are also using this money for the Bt800K requirement for renewal of a retirement extension of stay or maybe Bt400K for a marriage extension of stay.

When I rolled the money over from the 11 to 7 month fixed account it was about one and half months before I was going to apply for my retirement extension renewal. I was under the understanding from reading the Bangkok Bank fixed account info that when rolling the funds over it did not change the account number/passbook, but boy was I wrong. The account number does not change on an auto rollover but does for an account owner instructed roll over.

When the account owner rolls over the funds to another fixed account it the same as closing the old account and opening a new account...which means new account number....and also means starting all over on the funds seasoning period in that new account for immigration extension purposes. I was shocked when the Bangkok Bank rep brought me back my new passbook with new account number in the 7 month account/passbook and my old passbook with old account number/passbook now "closed."

Anyway, it still worked out OK with immigration as the immigration officer immediately spotted in my new 7 month fixed account passbook that the money had only been there for about 1.5 months. I didn't initially say anything when handing in the paperwork as I was hoping immigration would not notice...but the immigration officer "did" immediately notice. I immediately then showed the officer the old/cancelled 11 month fixed account passbook, told the officer my story, pointed out in the passbooks where the funds transfers to the stang between the two accounts same day/time occurred...the officer said OK and my extension was approved. I was fortunate the immigration office at Chaeng Wattana/Bangkok was agreeable. But there are other posts where a very similar thing happened and the immigration officer at immigration office XYZ just said No, money not seasoned long enough for the extension...sorry. But you will also find stories such as mine from immigration offices XYZ.

I've continued to use the Bt800K money in a Thai bank method since that rookie mistake for several more annual extensions, but I will not take the chance again of rolling over a fixed account within 3 months of my annual application for extension because the next immigration officer may not be as understanding. As we have seen in many posts, immigration offices tend to enforce/interpret some extension rules differently.