Foreign Currency Deposit Accounts

[fceligoj]

Has anyone open such an account here in Thailand?

If so, could you give us some insight in how it works and if it has any advantages that would be beneficial to us farangs?

Here is what Bangkok Bank says:

"Whether you’re a foreigner or Thai national, you can open a foreign currency deposit account in any of 14 currencies. This is a convenient way to protect yourself from currency risks, save on transaction fees if you receive income in a foreign currency, and act quickly when exchange rates move in your favor.

A foreign currency account can be opened as a savings, fixed deposit or current account and can be accessed online via Bualuang iBanking to view account balances and transfer funds into your local baht account.

You can also transfer funds to an overseas account or withdraw foreign bank notes from your account. The minimum initial deposit is USD 1,000 or the equivalent in another currency."


Thanks, Frank

[4MyEgo]

Are you talking about for example transferring Australian dollars to a Thai bank account in Australian dollars ?

If anyone knows the answer to this, I would like to know the process, thanks.

[THAIJAMES]

The main advantage of such accounts is that you can transfer money from overseas without converting into Thai Baht. If you think the Baht will lose value then this is advantageous as you can slowly take out money as needed. Any withdrawals are automatically converted into Thai Baht.

Note that it is very expensive to wire the foreign currency in such account outside the country or to convert it into notes.