Safe bank account for money coming from abroad

[playyer]

Hi, 

I am getting money from abroad every month, and want to put it in an account not connected to an ATM card. So I have to go to a bank to withdraw etc. I dont care about interest rates, only safety. Thinking international banks like Citibank might be better. 

 

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

[lopburi3]

Not sure international banks would be any better and you would be limited to probably only one location and often very high account level requirements.  Any passbook account can be opened without an ATM card.  

 

You are aware new ATM cards here are chip type with six digit PIN available?  Not much chance of major issues and you can set daily limit to what can be withdrawn.  

 

Now if getting money from UK/USA you should seriously consider Bangkok Bank as they can transfer as a domestic account at lower rates than normal SWIFT type payment.  

[jpinx]

You don't *have* to have an ATM card attached to your account.  Many people work with bank book only.

[chiang mai]

All the banks in Thailand are safe for goodness sake and all accounts are protected by the Deposit Protection Insurance - there are many many seriously wealthy individuals in Thailand who keep huge amounts in these banks, if they can do so there's no reason at all why your pension income wont also be safe!

 

BTW - UOB, a Singaporean bank in Thailand is consistently rated in the top ten banks globally

 

Bank of Ahyudya (sp) is owned by the Japanese bank Mitusbishi which has 2.5 Trillion USD in assets.

 

and so on and on...

[OMGImInPattaya]

I would have your precious funds send via diplomatic pouch...if you believe most of the T-V posters, all your money will be immediately skimmed by bank personnel the minute it's received at their Bangkok office wire-transfer desk.

Edited November 6, 2016 by OMGImInPattaya

[impulse]

28 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

All the banks in Thailand are safe for goodness sake and all accounts are protected by the Deposit Protection Insurance - there are many many seriously wealthy individuals in Thailand who keep huge amounts in these banks, if they can do so there's no reason at all why your pension income wont also be safe!

 

BTW - UOB, a Singaporean bank in Thailand is consistently rated in the top ten banks globally

 

Bank of Ahyudya (sp) is owned by the Japanese bank Mitusbishi which has 2.5 Trillion USD in assets.

 

In fairness, Thai banks don't have a stellar reputation for reimbursing customers for losses due to ATM skimming and other credit/debit card fraud.

 

Deserved or undeserved, I don't have a clue.  But there's seldom so much scuttlebutt without a little kernel of truth.  Neglect it at your own peril.

 

There's also a huge difference between the needs of a normal pensioner and a "seriously wealthy individual".  Many banks worldwide who take excellent care of their whales fall flat on their face when it comes to their minnows.

 

And then there's the consideration of what country he's from.  Many banks won't open an account for a normal American pensioner, especially without a strong residency.  The reporting requirements are too onerous to make it profitable for them.

Edited November 6, 2016 by impulse

[lopburi3]

7 minutes ago, impulse said:

Many banks won't open an account for a normal American pensioner, especially without a strong residency.  The reporting requirements are too onerous to make it profitable for them.

All Thai banks have modified there software to make required reporting so it is costing almost nothing - makes more sense to use and accept the Americans.  Which seems to be what most do - no difference from any other foreigner.

[Oxx]

2 hours ago, chiang mai said:

Bank of Ahyudya (sp) is owned by the Japanese bank Mitusbishi which has 2.5 Trillion USD in assets.

 

and so on and on...

 

Being pedantic, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is a majority shareholder in Bank of Ayudhya, but doesn't own it.

[chiang mai]

17 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

Being pedantic, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is a majority shareholder in Bank of Ayudhya, but doesn't own it.

 

Close enough, broadly the same effect.

[chiang mai]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

 

In fairness, Thai banks don't have a stellar reputation for reimbursing customers for losses due to ATM skimming and other credit/debit card fraud.

 

Deserved or undeserved, I don't have a clue.  But there's seldom so much scuttlebutt without a little kernel of truth.  Neglect it at your own peril.

 

There's also a huge difference between the needs of a normal pensioner and a "seriously wealthy individual".  Many banks worldwide who take excellent care of their whales fall flat on their face when it comes to their minnows.

 

And then there's the consideration of what country he's from.  Many banks won't open an account for a normal American pensioner, especially without a strong residency.  The reporting requirements are too onerous to make it profitable for them.

 

I don't know about the reimbursement rate for fraudulent ATM withdrawals and I'll guess few other people on this forum do either. What I do know is that in 15 years of using Thai banks, transferring money, performing all manner of transaction including ATM transactions several times a week, I've never had a problem AND I don't know anyone who has either. And I do know that any time I have gone into my bank with a query about anything being slightly amiss, they have always been very very responsive - I get an audited statement from them twice a year and I can't perform any transactions without the correct ID and paperwork being 100% in place, this even though I know all the bank staff personally and they know me.

[impulse]

34 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

I don't know about the reimbursement rate for fraudulent ATM withdrawals and I'll guess few other people on this forum do either. What I do know is that in 15 years of using Thai banks, transferring money, performing all manner of transaction including ATM transactions several times a week, I've never had a problem AND I don't know anyone who has either. And I do know that any time I have gone into my bank with a query about anything being slightly amiss, they have always been very very responsive - I get an audited statement from them twice a year and I can't perform any transactions without the correct ID and paperwork being 100% in place, this even though I know all the bank staff personally and they know me.

 

Great data point, but only one.  There's millions more to be considered to paint the whole picture.  Thousands more just to be statistically meaningful.

 

I have a couple of co-workers whose ATM cards were skimmed and it took them weeks and many hours of frustration to get it cleared up.  I've never been skimmed, but the level of satisfaction when I went to the branch with problems has been pretty sorry.  And that's a branch in a BKK office building full of foreign companies.  Admittedly, I don't speak Thai- but lots of us that only work here don't, either.

[Pib]

On 11/6/2016 at 3:16 PM, impulse said:

 

 Many banks won't open an account for a normal American pensioner, especially without a strong residency.  The reporting requirements are too onerous to make it profitable for them.

I think you will find your statement to be untrue and based on myth....or posts from some U.S. person who "thought" that was the reason the bank would not open an account for them.   Yes, I'm sure there are some banks in some countries that prefer to not open accounts for Americans since implementation of FATCA.

 

 But for Thai banks it's business as normal in opening accounts for farangs (to include Americans) since implementation of FATCA 1 Jul 14.  Yes Thai banks have an additional questionnaire/form asking you to confirm you citizenship/if you have dual citizenship with one being American/etc....and then if  you do hold U.S. citizenship the bank has an IRS form for you to fill out which includes collection of the American's Social Security number which is used for tax reporting purposes.  Fill out those  two forms and its business as normal when it comes to account opening.

 

Now business as normal means the Thai bank still has it's own rules about what they require to open an account for a farang (any nationality) ....like a long term visa, work permit, wanting a residency letter, etc.    Heck, I've opened 3 Thai bank accounts since FACTA went into affect....at Bangkok Bnak and Krungsri Bank.  I'm on a retirement extension of stay.   Completed the extra forms as mentioned above and accounts opened.  And one of them I opened without getting a debit card with it because that's the way I wanted it....getting a debit card with a bank account is purely optional.

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Pib

[JimGant]

Quote

I have a couple of co-workers whose ATM cards were skimmed and it took them weeks and many hours of frustration to get it cleared up.

 

Should of had a Be1st Smart card, which can't be skimmed. Set the POS limit to zero, and don't lose it (which, without PIN, is probably not significant), and you're virtually ironclad. And, are other Thai banks now offering smart ATM/Debit cards? (I'm behind on my reading here.)

[lopburi3]

All Thai banks are changing to chip type cards now and ATM's have been converted so no reason not to use them.