Opening a Thai Bank Account

[donaldinho9]

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if you could please share some knowledge on the process of opening a Thai bank account. Is there a minimum deposit? Are you only issued a debit card or is it a credit/debit card? Is it easy to transfer funds to/from a Canadian bank account? Which bank offers the best service- ie Internet banking, transfer/withdrawal limits and international account transfers?

Thanks very much!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited July 9, 2016 by donaldinho9

[allane]

From one of your fellow Canadians; in general, the best bank at which to open an account is whichever bank will open an account for you. Giving your location might elicit replies from those with local knowledge. In general,

- if there is a minimum deposit, it is very small (B 500 or less).

- expect only a debit card unless you can show two years with the same employer.

- the last time I attempted to transfer funds from Canada, my bank there completely ignored my letter. Calls to the branch were answered by a machine which gave me no option except to leave a message, which I did. I received no reply. An e-mail to an employee whose E-mail address I had also went unanswered. A call to the national call centre yielded nothing other than a promise to investigate. I don't know if they investigated, but if they did, they never got back to me. Fortunately, I was in Canada while most of this was happening. A friend told me that I might be able to transfer funds online myself. I found that this was possible, though you do need to have an ATM card. You don't actually need the card, but you need a number which is on it.

- send the funds to Thailand in Canadian dollars.You will get a better exchange rate than if you make the exchange in Canada.

- while I have been here in Thailand a long time, I certainly have not attempted all types of transactions at all banks. All of them are regulated by the Bank of Thailand and operate under the same rules. At some branches, when they see a foreigner walk in, they say whatever they think will make him go away. They see no reason to help someone, who by definition, is marginal to their business. You sometimes have to go to several until you find one that wants to do business. When you find one, stay with them. Like anywhere else, banks here like customers they know and trust.

[manfredtillmann]

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

[Seligne2]

I seem to have the worst possible combination of banks:TD in Canada and BB in Thailand.

My gripe with TD is that they seem to be totally incapable of serving clients at a distance. When new here, I contacted them to transfer money to BB. They told me to go to my branch (Montreal).

As for BB, I find them unresponsive and branch-centric. I have three accounts with them. I cannot transfer funds from account A to account B online. The account is "blocked" according to my correspondent at BB iBanking. Contact my local branch (Chiang Mai) to get it changed. I am in Krabi. I faxed the branch two weeks ago: no reply, no action.

I am looking to change banks here. I think I may go with Bank of Ayudhya (the yellow bank), confusingly better known as Krungsri. I like that they are Japanese-owned.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Seligne2

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Even though you are frustrated at the lack of services for expats (TD is not an international bank, after all) you have to admit that when you call customer service, they are extremely polite, straightforward and know what they are talking about. After dealing with banks, insurance and internet in Thailand I had to give a call to TD regarding a non resident tax. Even though they were unable to help be, they pointed me to another solution. After almost 3 years of living here, I completely forgot how customer service is like back "home".

If it wasn't for 400k marriage extension, I wouldn't even bother having a bank account here. Don't see the point at all. Banks in Thailand were unwilling to even open an account for me for marriage extension.

Despicable service. I'd avoid every single Thai bank.

[manfredtillmann]

Even though you are frustrated at the lack of services for expats (TD is not an international bank, after all) you have to admit that when you call customer service, they are extremely polite, straightforward and know what they are talking about. After dealing with banks, insurance and internet in Thailand I had to give a call to TD regarding a non resident tax. Even though they were unable to help be, they pointed me to another solution. After almost 3 years of living here, I completely forgot how customer service is like back "home".

If it wasn't for 400k marriage extension, I wouldn't even bother having a bank account here. Don't see the point at all. Banks in Thailand were unwilling to even open an account for me for marriage extension.

Despicable service. I'd avoid every single Thai bank.

try opening a bank account in australia without having your '100 point id check' done. just a passport won't do it. so where do you go as a foreigner?

i enjoy the benefits of having a thai bank account as i can easily transfer funds from oz into my krungthai bank account just by using the internet.

i do this once a month, every month.

i don't know what other 'customer service' i would expect other than them holding 'the bucket open'.

they don't make any money of me otherwise.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Even though you are frustrated at the lack of services for expats (TD is not an international bank, after all) you have to admit that when you call customer service, they are extremely polite, straightforward and know what they are talking about. After dealing with banks, insurance and internet in Thailand I had to give a call to TD regarding a non resident tax. Even though they were unable to help be, they pointed me to another solution. After almost 3 years of living here, I completely forgot how customer service is like back "home".

If it wasn't for 400k marriage extension, I wouldn't even bother having a bank account here. Don't see the point at all. Banks in Thailand were unwilling to even open an account for me for marriage extension.

Despicable service. I'd avoid every single Thai bank.

try opening a bank account in australia without having your '100 point id check' done. just a passport won't do it. so where do you go as a foreigner?

i enjoy the benefits of having a thai bank account as i can easily transfer funds from oz into my krungthai bank account just by using the internet.

i do this once a month, every month.

i don't know what other 'customer service' i would expect other than them holding 'the bucket open'.

they don't make any money of me otherwise.

Well, I don't know about Australia, but in Canada they will open bank account for foreign spouses, students even tourists.

Anyway, I don't eat noodles at the market and only sometimes will eat at the food court. I always use my Canadian credit card with generous points, so they won't even make 200b a month out of me. If the service was there, I would gladly pay. SCB charged me without my approval for SMS messages... except the SMS messages are not being received. My wife complained and nothing. No refund, no call back.... nothing.

Also, paying for a debit card? Who does that?

[manfredtillmann]

Even though you are frustrated at the lack of services for expats (TD is not an international bank, after all) you have to admit that when you call customer service, they are extremely polite, straightforward and know what they are talking about. After dealing with banks, insurance and internet in Thailand I had to give a call to TD regarding a non resident tax. Even though they were unable to help be, they pointed me to another solution. After almost 3 years of living here, I completely forgot how customer service is like back "home".

If it wasn't for 400k marriage extension, I wouldn't even bother having a bank account here. Don't see the point at all. Banks in Thailand were unwilling to even open an account for me for marriage extension.

Despicable service. I'd avoid every single Thai bank.

try opening a bank account in australia without having your '100 point id check' done. just a passport won't do it. so where do you go as a foreigner?

i enjoy the benefits of having a thai bank account as i can easily transfer funds from oz into my krungthai bank account just by using the internet.

i do this once a month, every month.

i don't know what other 'customer service' i would expect other than them holding 'the bucket open'.

they don't make any money of me otherwise.

Well, I don't know about Australia, but in Canada they will open bank account for foreign spouses, students even tourists.

Anyway, I don't eat noodles at the market and only sometimes will eat at the food court. I always use my Canadian credit card with generous points, so they won't even make 200b a month out of me. If the service was there, I would gladly pay. SCB charged me without my approval for SMS messages... except the SMS messages are not being received. My wife complained and nothing. No refund, no call back.... nothing.

Also, paying for a debit card? Who does that?

australians do. and no such thing as using your oz credit card for overseas purchases without getting hit big time for 'foreign transaction fees'.

one planet, many worlds...

[cnx355]

I had a TD account in the past and yes not easy to organize a bank transfer to other countries if you are not in Canada. I changed to HSBC Canada,( they have branches in Montreal ) and once you have your bank account and internet access, you can make you transfer to Thailand online by SWIFT transfer.

And if you travel abroad and see a HSBC branch , no fee using you debit card.

Some friends use other banks to make their transfer to Thailand. ( Royal Bank, National Bank and Desjardins ) Their told me they can do swift transfer online too ;but I can not confirm as I do not do business with them )

In Thailand I use Krungri Bank to receive my funds and I have no problem to transfer money online to myself or any other person to any Krungsri branches in Thailand or any other Thai commercial bank. I also have small saving account in Bangkok Bank and K-Bank and they work fine too.

[gandalf12]

I seem to have the worst possible combination of banks:TD in Canada and BB in Thailand.

My gripe with TD is that they seem to be totally incapable of serving clients at a distance. When new here, I contacted them to transfer money to BB. They told me to go to my branch (Montreal).

As for BB, I find them unresponsive and branch-centric. I have three accounts with them. I cannot transfer funds from account A to account B online. The account is "blocked" according to my correspondent at BB iBanking. Contact my local branch (Chiang Mai) to get it changed. I am in Krabi. I faxed the branch two weeks ago: no reply, no action.

I am looking to change banks here. I think I may go with Bank of Ayudhya (the yellow bank), confusingly better known as Krungsri. I like that they are Japanese-owned.

I was with the RBC in Calgary and it is years behind the rest of the world. Canada is a nice country but the banking system is rubbish

[Seligne2]

I had a TD account in the past and yes not easy to organize a bank transfer to other countries if you are not in Canada. I changed to HSBC Canada,( they have branches in Montreal ) and once you have your bank account and internet access, you can make you transfer to Thailand online by SWIFT transfer.

And if you travel abroad and see a HSBC branch , no fee using you debit card.

Some friends use other banks to make their transfer to Thailand. ( Royal Bank, National Bank and Desjardins ) Their told me they can do swift transfer online too ;but I can not confirm as I do not do business with them )

In Thailand I use Krungri Bank to receive my funds and I have no problem to transfer money online to myself or any other person to any Krungsri branches in Thailand or any other Thai commercial bank. I also have small saving account in Bangkok Bank and K-Bank and they work fine too.

Unfortunately, I will not do business with HSBC as they are admitted money launderers.

As far as BB goes, I too have no problems sending money to other Thai banks, etc, using iBanking. My problems all relate to doing business with BB. Case in point: while living in Chiang Mai, i had a one-year deposit account in the Khao Lak branch of BB. To access the money I had to travel to Khao Lak, withdraw the funds, travel back to CM, and deposit them there. You do not have an account at a Thai bank. You have an account at a branch of a Thai bank! Big difference. (Not to mention that when I use a BB ATM in Krabi to deposit or withdraw money I pay a surcharge for not being in CM).

[donaldinho9]

Thanks for the info everyone! Anyone use BMO back in Canada and a bank here in Thailand? E-transfers are super easy with BMO in North America. Wondering if it's the same easy process to transfer CAD funds to an account here?

Cheers

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[manfredtillmann]

I had a TD account in the past and yes not easy to organize a bank transfer to other countries if you are not in Canada. I changed to HSBC Canada,( they have branches in Montreal ) and once you have your bank account and internet access, you can make you transfer to Thailand online by SWIFT transfer.

And if you travel abroad and see a HSBC branch , no fee using you debit card.

Some friends use other banks to make their transfer to Thailand. ( Royal Bank, National Bank and Desjardins ) Their told me they can do swift transfer online too ;but I can not confirm as I do not do business with them )

In Thailand I use Krungri Bank to receive my funds and I have no problem to transfer money online to myself or any other person to any Krungsri branches in Thailand or any other Thai commercial bank. I also have small saving account in Bangkok Bank and K-Bank and they work fine too.

Unfortunately, I will not do business with HSBC as they are admitted money launderers.

As far as BB goes, I too have no problems sending money to other Thai banks, etc, using iBanking. My problems all relate to doing business with BB. Case in point: while living in Chiang Mai, i had a one-year deposit account in the Khao Lak branch of BB. To access the money I had to travel to Khao Lak, withdraw the funds, travel back to CM, and deposit them there. You do not have an account at a Thai bank. You have an account at a branch of a Thai bank! Big difference. (Not to mention that when I use a BB ATM in Krabi to deposit or withdraw money I pay a surcharge for not being in CM).

money launderers? all banks are. that is the basis of banking. put in dirty, come out clean. so?

is your government any better? if you base your life on morals... there is a tread going here on tv right now about doing yourself in with helium gas...

[Goethe]

"What is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?" (Bertolt Brecht, The Threepenny Opera [1928]) (I.e. who are the bigger robbers?)

If you wish to transfer funds from Canada to Thailand, you need to investigate the best option, because not all banks offer the same service:

1. Online international transfers (see posts above)

2. Phone transfers (e.g. Manulife Bank: $25 fee for up to $10 000)

3. Requirement that you visit the Canadian bank yourself (!) -- e.g. Scotiabank: $40 fee per transfer

Another option is a currency transfer service (e.g. forex). A friend of recommends a company called "transferwise" for the best exchange rates, but I haven't used it yet.

[Seligne2]

I had a TD account in the past and yes not easy to organize a bank transfer to other countries if you are not in Canada. I changed to HSBC Canada,( they have branches in Montreal ) and once you have your bank account and internet access, you can make you transfer to Thailand online by SWIFT transfer.

And if you travel abroad and see a HSBC branch , no fee using you debit card.

Some friends use other banks to make their transfer to Thailand. ( Royal Bank, National Bank and Desjardins ) Their told me they can do swift transfer online too ;but I can not confirm as I do not do business with them )

In Thailand I use Krungri Bank to receive my funds and I have no problem to transfer money online to myself or any other person to any Krungsri branches in Thailand or any other Thai commercial bank. I also have small saving account in Bangkok Bank and K-Bank and they work fine too.

Unfortunately, I will not do business with HSBC as they are admitted money launderers.

As far as BB goes, I too have no problems sending money to other Thai banks, etc, using iBanking. My problems all relate to doing business with BB. Case in point: while living in Chiang Mai, i had a one-year deposit account in the Khao Lak branch of BB. To access the money I had to travel to Khao Lak, withdraw the funds, travel back to CM, and deposit them there. You do not have an account at a Thai bank. You have an account at a branch of a Thai bank! Big difference. (Not to mention that when I use a BB ATM in Krabi to deposit or withdraw money I pay a surcharge for not being in CM).

money launderers? all banks are. that is the basis of banking. put in dirty, come out clean. so?

is your government any better? if you base your life on morals... there is a tread going here on tv right now about doing yourself in with helium gas...

Let me understand you...because I choose whom to do business with I should top myself? Son, do you have any personality disorders we should know about?