What happens if you leave Thailand? (Banking)

[ThailandPermanent]

Hey,

I couldn't find an answer to this.

I have an SCB Bank account with my savings in. But no British bank account.

If I leave Thailand, what happens to its status?

I'm worried it will close or something as I needed a work permit to open it.

Thanks

[lopburi3]

You do not need a work permit to have a bank account so should be fine.

[ThailandPermanent]

Thanks for your reply

The issue mainly is that I needed a work permit to open it to begin with. So if I then don't have one, I don't know where I stand

[daveAustin]

That you needed a wp to open it doesn't mean you need it to maintain it. I've had same account, albeit with BB, for more than 10 years and been outside the country for a year or more without using it and also dropped to 'no visa' status in the interim. Certain accounts stipulate you needed to pay in consistently, though a fine or demotion to lesser account might be the result as opposed to having it close on you.

[KhunBENQ]

Nothing happens as long as there is money on the account.

If you had an ATM card issued it will eat some money every year (a whopping 800 for a Kasikorn savings account).

In 2012 a mate who had always been here as a tourist only went to a Kasikorn branch in Pattaya with his "Thai Farmers Bank" savings book. No eyebrow risen, account still existing, new "Kasikorn" book issued.

I witnessed that. A pitty that I didn't take a picture of the old books.

The name change from "Thai Farmers Bank" to "Kasikorn" (Thai) took place in 2003!

And don't tell anybody that Kasikorn is a transcription of the Thai word for farmer .

Seems they now also want to get rid of that in public and shorten to "K-bank".

A different question is how to "handle"/manage the account from abroad.

But seems this is not your question?

Edited July 19, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[ThailandPermanent]

Thank you for the helpful replies guys

Have calmed my nerves a bit

[bkkcanuck8]

That you needed a wp to open it doesn't mean you need it to maintain it. I've had same account, albeit with BB, for more than 10 years and been outside the country for a year or more without using it and also dropped to 'no visa' status in the interim. Certain accounts stipulate you needed to pay in consistently, though a fine or demotion to lesser account might be the result as opposed to having it close on you.

I have an account at Bangkok Bank and went to get a new bankbook -- they would not give me a new bankbook for the account until I had the proper visa (it was in overstay in this case). The account was active, I could do withdrawals with the card and SWIFT transfers in... but no new bankbook

[khunano]

SCB seem to be stricter than other banks concerning visa requirements when opening a new account. A friend of mine wanted to open one with SCB for her retirement extension, she had a 90 day non-o visa and needed a bank account to mature her funds there so she could do the extension. SCB told her that she would need a one year extension of stay to open an account with them. A bit of a non-brainer but Krungsri next door was more helpful and they opened an account for her in 10 minutes.

However if you already have an account with a bank I don't expect them to make any trouble to keep your account with them if your visa status changes as they usually don't check on it anyway.

[wump]

Nothing happens as long as there is money on the account.

If you had an ATM card issued it will eat some money every year (a whopping 800 for a Kasikorn savings account).

In 2012 a mate who had always been here as a tourist only went to a Kasikorn branch in Pattaya with his "Thai Farmers Bank" savings book. No eyebrow risen, account still existing, new "Kasikorn" book issued.

I witnessed that. A pitty that I didn't take a picture of the old books.

The name change from "Thai Farmers Bank" to "Kasikorn" (Thai) took place in 2003!

And don't tell anybody that Kasikorn is a transcription of the Thai word for farmer .

Seems they now also want to get rid of that in public and shorten to "K-bank".

A different question is how to "handle"/manage the account from abroad.

But seems this is not your question?

Your figure seems incorrect. I'm pretty sure a simple K-Bank savings account is 200 Baht a year. Once the balance reaches zero the account will stay active but when you put money in again the yearly fee will be deducted. I guess your buddy hadn't used his account for 4 years and when re-using it was charged 800 Baht for the 4 years of non-payment of the yearly fee?

Edit: K-Banks in tourist areas are known for "adjusting" their fees for farangs... stuff like paying 500 Baht for a new ATM card. Do you have a receipt for the 800 Baht?

Edited July 19, 2016 by wump

[tagalong]

WUMP.....

You are correct..I have a k-bank account and got it on a retirement visa..I have never had a problem with them. They also only charge B 15 per withdrawal in another province..Other banks charge B 20...

[koo]

As long as there is money on the account, it will stay active.

If I recall correctly, BB considers an account to be active when there is more than 1000 (or is it 2000 nowadays?) balance. Once the balance goes below that threshold, they will wait for 1 year to see if there is any account activity from the customer. If not, the account will be suspended and deposits pooled to a special fund account for 5 years. After the 1+5 years have passed, the bank considers the account abandoned, closes it for good and writes off any remaining balance to their own books.

Please note that keeping above threshold amount on the account keeps it active, however monthly and annual charges on it can put it below threshold and the 1st year starts counting. You can reset this counter by simply doing a deposit, withdrawal or even only check your balance at the ATM. However, if the balance remains under the threshold, the ticker starts running again.

If your account has been under the threshold for more than a year, it will be suspended and you will need to visit a branch office to reinstate it. Some say it needs to be the same branch where it wad originally opened, others say any branch will do. However, if years have passed, it is likely your passport has expired and has been renewed, so it has to be the home branch.

So just leave 2000+ thb on the account and you should be safe for several years. :-)

[KhunBENQ]

Nothing happens as long as there is money on the account.

If you had an ATM card issued it will eat some money every year (a whopping 800 for a Kasikorn savings account).

In 2012 a mate who had always been here as a tourist only went to a Kasikorn branch in Pattaya with his "Thai Farmers Bank" savings book. No eyebrow risen, account still existing, new "Kasikorn" book issued.

I witnessed that. A pitty that I didn't take a picture of the old books.

The name change from "Thai Farmers Bank" to "Kasikorn" (Thai) took place in 2003!

And don't tell anybody that Kasikorn is a transcription of the Thai word for farmer .

Seems they now also want to get rid of that in public and shorten to "K-bank".

A different question is how to "handle"/manage the account from abroad.

But seems this is not your question?

Your figure seems incorrect. I'm pretty sure a simple K-Bank savings account is 200 Baht a year. Once the balance reaches zero the account will stay active but when you put money in again the yearly fee will be deducted. I guess your buddy hadn't used his account for 4 years and when re-using it was charged 800 Baht for the 4 years of non-payment of the yearly fee?

Edit: K-Banks in tourist areas are known for "adjusting" their fees for farangs... stuff like paying 500 Baht for a new ATM card. Do you have a receipt for the 800 Baht?

A friend is charged 500 Baht/year.

I was charged 800 Baht/year yet again.

I am aware that K-Bank is known to put unwantend addons/services to the account management.

SMS notification for every transaction e.g. is not a must for me.

E-mail notification would be enough.,

Next week I will contact and enquire.

If they insist that there is no cheaper version I will close the account next year.

(have other accounts with Bangkok B. and SCB)

My "receipt":

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

You need to keep your accounts active, if not they will send you a letter that your account have been deactivated (your bank cards will then not work). I am uncertain what the banks next step will be if you don't respond to their letter.

[ericthai]

Op no need to worry. Also as discussed many times on TV, a WP is not needed to open a bank account. Now some branches will insist on a WP, but then you just move

on to the next branch until you find one. Before I moved to Thailand and working in Thailand I opened a bank account on a visa exempt at SCB.

They yearly fee should be 200 Baht, as long as you have money in the account to cover the 200B it will not be deactivated.

[scorecard]

That you needed a wp to open it doesn't mean you need it to maintain it. I've had same account, albeit with BB, for more than 10 years and been outside the country for a year or more without using it and also dropped to 'no visa' status in the interim. Certain accounts stipulate you needed to pay in consistently, though a fine or demotion to lesser account might be the result as opposed to having it close on you.

But there was talk a while back about banks charging monthly maintenance fees on savings accounts with zero transactions after no activity for 3 months / 6 months period (forget exact details).

Don't know whether it actually happened.

One TV member said this is normal in his/her original country.

[mrfaroukh]

Usually the banks all over the world will freeze your bank account if not used for a certain time usually one year. So what you should do is to use your debit card for shopping once a month or every 2 to 3 months. Make sure you have enough money in your bank as if the balance drop below certain limit the account will be closed.

[wump]

Nothing happens as long as there is money on the account.

If you had an ATM card issued it will eat some money every year (a whopping 800 for a Kasikorn savings account).

In 2012 a mate who had always been here as a tourist only went to a Kasikorn branch in Pattaya with his "Thai Farmers Bank" savings book. No eyebrow risen, account still existing, new "Kasikorn" book issued.

I witnessed that. A pitty that I didn't take a picture of the old books.

The name change from "Thai Farmers Bank" to "Kasikorn" (Thai) took place in 2003!

And don't tell anybody that Kasikorn is a transcription of the Thai word for farmer .

Seems they now also want to get rid of that in public and shorten to "K-bank".

A different question is how to "handle"/manage the account from abroad.

But seems this is not your question?

Your figure seems incorrect. I'm pretty sure a simple K-Bank savings account is 200 Baht a year. Once the balance reaches zero the account will stay active but when you put money in again the yearly fee will be deducted. I guess your buddy hadn't used his account for 4 years and when re-using it was charged 800 Baht for the 4 years of non-payment of the yearly fee?

Edit: K-Banks in tourist areas are known for "adjusting" their fees for farangs... stuff like paying 500 Baht for a new ATM card. Do you have a receipt for the 800 Baht?

A friend is charged 500 Baht/year.

I was charged 800 Baht/year yet again.

I am aware that K-Bank is known to put unwantend addons/services to the account management.

SMS notification for every transaction e.g. is not a must for me.

E-mail notification would be enough.,

Next week I will contact and enquire.

If they insist that there is no cheaper version I will close the account next year.

(have other accounts with Bangkok B. and SCB)

My "receipt":

atmfee.jpg

Something very wrong here. It should say "Fee" somewhere and not "Commission". Also, there is no ATM involved so how come it shows up. They probably have you on some sort of (unwanted) premium card/package. Can't be just SMS alerts as these are only a couple of Baht a month.

[offset]

Nothing happens as long as there is money on the account.

If you had an ATM card issued it will eat some money every year (a whopping 800 for a Kasikorn savings account).

In 2012 a mate who had always been here as a tourist only went to a Kasikorn branch in Pattaya with his "Thai Farmers Bank" savings book. No eyebrow risen, account still existing, new "Kasikorn" book issued.

I witnessed that. A pitty that I didn't take a picture of the old books.

The name change from "Thai Farmers Bank" to "Kasikorn" (Thai) took place in 2003!

And don't tell anybody that Kasikorn is a transcription of the Thai word for farmer .

Seems they now also want to get rid of that in public and shorten to "K-bank".

A different question is how to "handle"/manage the account from abroad.

But seems this is not your question?

Your figure seems incorrect. I'm pretty sure a simple K-Bank savings account is 200 Baht a year. Once the balance reaches zero the account will stay active but when you put money in again the yearly fee will be deducted. I guess your buddy hadn't used his account for 4 years and when re-using it was charged 800 Baht for the 4 years of non-payment of the yearly fee?

Edit: K-Banks in tourist areas are known for "adjusting" their fees for farangs... stuff like paying 500 Baht for a new ATM card. Do you have a receipt for the 800 Baht?

A friend is charged 500 Baht/year.

I was charged 800 Baht/year yet again.

I am aware that K-Bank is known to put unwantend addons/services to the account management.

SMS notification for every transaction e.g. is not a must for me.

E-mail notification would be enough.,

Next week I will contact and enquire.

If they insist that there is no cheaper version I will close the account next year.

(have other accounts with Bangkok B. and SCB)

My "receipt":

atmfee.jpg

K Bank have many Debit Cards the one that cost 800 Baht you get a refund on every transaction that you make using the card I think it is 1% but i am not sure about that

[bprinceuk]

I opened an account with SCB 7 years ago without a work permit. I had a one year non immigration O visa. I still have the account.

[bkkcanuck8]

As long as there is money on the account, it will stay active.

If I recall correctly, BB considers an account to be active when there is more than 1000 (or is it 2000 nowadays?) balance. Once the balance goes below that threshold, they will wait for 1 year to see if there is any account activity from the customer. If not, the account will be suspended and deposits pooled to a special fund account for 5 years. After the 1+5 years have passed, the bank considers the account abandoned, closes it for good and writes off any remaining balance to their own books.

I am surprised (maybe not). Most countries I have dealt with if the account goes dormant the funds have to be transferred to the government for "safekeeping".

[BuckBee]

I have had trouble with some Kasikorn branches pushing unwanted fees & stipulating it normal, tried it on when I lost atm card in machine & needed new one. I went to main branch in silom as was nearest to me during day, lady pushing card wanted 400Bt fee plus card was not same package I had so would of been stung for higher anual fee, after polite approach failed I had get rude & eventually left after ripping up paperwork that had been done. I ended up going to FortuneTown which was one I opened at, got card issued for free as atm failed to return it, all done in under 10 minutes politely & my annual fee is still 200Bt which as good as gets really .

Got be careful with banks as some branches have real bad techniques at pushing/hiding services/fees, do same to thais too .

for 800Bt they sitched you up with most expensive SME Debit Card they got (always check fees & services before you go in) >

http://www.kasikornbank.com/EN/RatesAndFees/Charges/ChargesDoc/FeeService_080516_en.pdf

* good idea have internet banking setup before leaving thailand, the virtual debit card number useful tool too . I have kept one account for almost 13ys with just enough left in it keep it alive until i'm back again . Is useful even if just holidaying .

Edited July 21, 2016 by BuckBee