Pattaya Enhances Safety Measures with Realistic Fire Drill on School Buses

[Nevh]

I am looking to have a 2nd bank account here in Thailand - I am already with Bankok Bank. I am not interested in what the requiremenst are to acquire one as every branch could be different.

I want an account where I can transfer Money in from abroad (as I do with BKK) have an ATM Card and is generally accessible all over Thailand - including smaller towns eg Nang Rong,.

 

Can someone please advise waht their experiences are with These requirements with different Banks...eg Siam, khasikorn, Khrung Thai......

 

Thanks for some quick replies.....and Happy New Year to you all!

[balo]

I have best experience with Kasikorn , I have opened up accounts with them in Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai .  ATM card 200 baht fee, internet banking ready within a week from opening.  

 

You just need to visit their branches , some of the staff are not interested to assist you but I found out that you can call the head office in BKK and hand the phone over to the manager , they will be more polite to you so it shouldnt be a problem.  Of course you need to bring the required documents with you.  

 

 

 

 

 

[chiang mai]

There are more threads and posts on the subject of bank accounts in Thailand on the TVF than on any other single subject, the forum is a gold mine of information on this subject, including several pinned threads. The OP may wish to review some of those threads/posts.

[KhunBENQ]

3 hours ago, Nevh said:

I want an account where I can transfer Money in from abroad (as I do with BKK) have an ATM Card and is generally accessible all over Thailand - including smaller towns eg Nang Rong,

Hard to think which of the major banks would not fulfill these requirements.

ATM nationwide: the only minor annoyance is the fee you pay for withdrawals outside the branch region (province). 15 Baht per transaction or so.

This applies to almost all banks.

I read that TMB(?) offers free withdrawals nationwide. Not sure.

 

Within the region/province up to five withdrawals per month at other banks ATM are free of charge.

Other banks: member of the "ATM pool". Hard to find a bank that is not member of this pool.

"Region": for Bangkok not only the city of Bangkok but also  neighboring provinces are included (the whole big junk of concrete :>).

 

Nang Rong (district town): tell me a district town which has less than a double digit number of ATMs of the major banks? Which 7/11 has no ATM attached?

A search shows: Bangkok Bank, SCB, Kasikorn, Krungsri, Krung Thai...

Too tired to search for the others.

[Nevh]

Thanks everyone for your comments - I had indeed  read some other Topics and certainly Kasikorn seemed to be the preferred bank....  While there are clearly other Options, it seems that Kasikorn still is the favourite - lets ee what happens when I ask them.

 

Thanks again.

[lungbing]

OP,

Kasikorn for me too.  Nearly 20 years with them back when they were Thai Farmers Bank.  Never a problem.

[lopburi3]

Depends on what you use now - Bangkok Bank is the only offering domestic type transfers from UK/USA AFAIK.  You normally use ATM's in Thailand and they accept cards from all banks so really not an issue if there is a local branch or not for most things.  

[Nevh]

Depends on what you use now - Bangkok Bank is the only offering domestic type transfers from UK/USA AFAIK.  You normally use ATM's in Thailand and they accept cards from all banks so really not an issue if there is a local branch or not for most things.  

 

Lopburi13 - what do you mean by domestic type Transfers? I Transfer Money to BK Bank from my Switzerland and UK bank accounts - are you suggesting this is not possible with other Banks??

[lopburi3]

No I am saying there is an alternative to using international (SWIFT) type transfers which is normally much cheaper by using the Bangkok Bank branch offices in UK and USA so it is treated as a domestic transfer by the sending bank. 

Edited January 15, 2017 by lopburi3

[Nevh]

Thanks for the clarification Lopburi13 - understood.

7 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

No I am saying there is an alternative to using international (SWIFT) type transfers which is normally much cheaper by using the Bangkok Bank branch offices in UK and USA so it is treated as a domestic transfer by the sending bank. 

 

[1337markus]

It is dependent on the attitude of the staff at any branch of any bank. Similar to good food at a restaurant; after a while their food and service wains; so too does bank service. In general bank managers are rotated on a 2 year basis; so if you have a good manager try and find their next branch.

[toenail]

Stay away from UOB- very few branches & poorly trained bank operators ( if they cannot answer your question, the "account specialist" will put you on hold & never return. And why does UOB have to close at 3pm? I am still working . 

[chiang mai]

11 minutes ago, toenail said:

Stay away from UOB- very few branches & poorly trained bank operators ( if they cannot answer your question, the "account specialist" will put you on hold & never return. And why does UOB have to close at 3pm? I am still working . 

 

Nonsense, over 200 branches in Thailand and some of the best working practices of any bank in Thailand - consistently rated in the top ten safest banks in the world!

[dotpoom]

The one that has a polite assistant behind the counter.

[Pib]

Go open a Krungsri Bank Mee Tai Dai (MTD) account.   I have one.   I also have Bangkok Bank accounts.

 

With a MTD earn an interest rate 2 to 3 times higher than the rate for a typical Thai bank regular savings account....basically you are earning Fixed Account rates "without" all the restriction/penalties/Thai withholding tax implications of a Fixed Rate account.   By withholding tax implications I mean the 15% withholding tax applied to a Fixed Savings account for "any amount of interest earned" is not withheld for a MTD account unless you exceed Bt20K interest earned per year (just like a regular savings account).   You can have ibanking, debit card, etc., just like a regular savings account.    Get their Krungsri No Annual Fee Visa debit card, but they also have a variety of other Visa cards also....some of which include insurance...etc...etc....etc....but these extra benefits cards have a higher annual fee.

 

Krungsri Debit Cards/Fees

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/CardProducts/KrungsriDebitcard/debit-card-fees.html

 

You can wire money into the account from overseas--you can do this will all Thai banks.  If you are a U.S. person wanting to continue to use low cost ACH transfers, well, Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability for ad-hoc transfers, U.S. govt pension payments/direct deposits, etc.  And Krungsri ibanking works just as good as Bangkok Bank ibanking....some times I transfer money from my Krungsri account to my Bangkok Bank account via Krungsri inbanking....takes about a millisecond to arrive my account.

 

Krungsri webpage regarding MTD

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/SavingsDeposit/MeeTaeDaiSavings.html

 

Snapshot from Interest Rates Doc describing MTD in detail

 

 

And the two Krungsri Bank branches I regularly deal with treat me professionally, cheerfully, without any "you are a farang" hassles/roadblocks sometimes encountered  at Thai bank branches.    I get my annual bank letter for my annual retirement extension of stay from one of the branches....takes them about 15 minutes to issue....cost is Bt100 compared to the Bangkok Bank cost of Bt200 for the letter which is also issued in about 15 minutes.   

 

Your results may vary at it is Thailand and you just don't know what to expect from branch to branch even for branches part of the same parent bank.

 

 

[louse1953]

37 minutes ago, Pib said:

Go open a Krungsri Bank Mee Tai Dai (MTD) account.   I have one.   I also have Bangkok Bank accounts.

 

With a MTD earn an interest rate 2 to 3 times higher than the rate for a typical Thai bank regular savings account....basically you are earning Fixed Account rates "without" all the restriction/penalties/Thai withholding tax implications of a Fixed Rate account.   By withholding tax implications I mean the 15% withholding tax applied to a Fixed Savings account for "any amount of interest earned" is not withheld for a MTD account unless you exceed Bt20K interest earned per year (just like a regular savings account).   You can have ibanking, debit card, etc., just like a regular savings account.    Get their Krungsri No Annual Fee Visa debit card, but they also have a variety of other Visa cards also....some of which include insurance...etc...etc....etc....but these extra benefits cards have a higher annual fee.

 

Krungsri Debit Cards/Fees

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/CardProducts/KrungsriDebitcard/debit-card-fees.html

 

You can wire money into the account from overseas--you can do this will all Thai banks.  If you are a U.S. person wanting to continue to use low cost ACH transfers, well, Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability for ad-hoc transfers, U.S. govt pension payments/direct deposits, etc.  And Krungsri ibanking works just as good as Bangkok Bank ibanking....some times I transfer money from my Krungsri account to my Bangkok Bank account via Krungsri inbanking....takes about a millisecond to arrive my account.

 

Krungsri webpage regarding MTD

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/SavingsDeposit/MeeTaeDaiSavings.html

 

Snapshot from Interest Rates Doc describing MTD in detail

 

 

And the two Krungsri Bank branches I regularly deal with treat me professionally, cheerfully, without any "you are a farang" hassles/roadblocks sometimes encountered  at Thai bank branches.    I get my annual bank letter for my annual retirement extension of stay from one of the branches....takes them about 15 minutes to issue....cost is Bt100 compared to the Bangkok Bank cost of Bt200 for the letter which is also issued in about 15 minutes.   

 

Your results may vary at it is Thailand and you just don't know what to expect from branch to branch even for branches part of the same parent bank.

 

 

Whenever you post this,you always neglect to say that you can claim the 15% withholding tax back,if you are retired.Saying this would give a fairer assessment.Thanks for the info as this will help me diversify my money.My Bangkok Bank does a letter for 100 baht.

Edited January 16, 2017 by louse1953

[al007]

All the banks here are difficult

 

But I still love and prefer Thailand

[Pib]

Sure you can claim refund...you can claim it regardless of which bank withheld it/sent it along to govt coffers.   It's just not having to take the steps to reclaim it is a plus in my book.  Although not a hard process in most cases for most people, it still a process which requires you to apply for the refund with the govt revenue folks, which I did for 4 years at my local revenue office.  Always got the refund in approx a month.  But I wished I just didn't have to do it.

 

It was worth doing when fixed interest rates were significantly higher, but now with interest rates coming down so much and the MTD rate being almost the same as fixed rate accounts, when a person looks at the flexibility/benefits a MTD  account it offers in comparison to a Fixed account and if a person would just as soon not deal with the tax refund process, a MTD account is simply a winner.

[Ireland32]

Bangkok and Kasikorn

[flyingdoc]

Bangkok Bank for international transactions, and you can open a Sterling account with them in BKK.  Otherwise Krung Thai have not been mentioned, but are favourable to open a farang account !  SCB if you want to get personal banking and service, paying in overseas cheques et al, even though it is a long wait before they are cleared!

[chiang mai]

Personally if I were looking for a new bank account in Thailand I would look at banks who:

 

Don't insist I buy insurance just to get an ATM card.

Give me access to all their products and not just some fixed rates and deny me the higher rate products because I'm not Thai.

Give me online access.

Have good levels of security and use one time passwords for online access.

Don't let me take shortcuts such as using substitute identification just because I left my passport at home.

Applies bank policies fairly evenly and consistently across all branches.

 

On the basis of the above it would rule out many of the banks in Thailand but not all.

 

[Singhaman]

Be aware Bangkok Bank are now only issuing Union Pay Debit cards which merchants do not accept here and they are not accepted in Europe. See my previous post http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/959827-bangkok-bank-debit-cards-update/  .

Last week I opened an account at Kasikorn bank, straightforward requirements and account opened, Visa debit card issued, and internet/mobile banking all set up within an hour!

As regards transfers from Europe I use Western Union online Bank to Bank service. Transfer Fee GBP £2.90, favourable / competitive exchange rates and money in my Thai account within 2 days. 

 

[chicowoodduck]

Sperm bank seems to be somewhat popular in Pattaya on Soi Sex (6) ?

[elgordo38]

16 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Hard to think which of the major banks would not fulfill these requirements.

ATM nationwide: the only minor annoyance is the fee you pay for withdrawals outside the branch region (province). 15 Baht per transaction or so.

This applies to almost all banks.

I read that TMB(?) offers free withdrawals nationwide. Not sure.

 

Within the region/province up to five withdrawals per month at other banks ATM are free of charge.

Other banks: member of the "ATM pool". Hard to find a bank that is not member of this pool.

"Region": for Bangkok not only the city of Bangkok but also  neighboring provinces are included (the whole big junk of concrete :>).

 

Nang Rong (district town): tell me a district town which has less than a double digit number of ATMs of the major banks? Which 7/11 has no ATM attached?

A search shows: Bangkok Bank, SCB, Kasikorn, Krungsri, Krung Thai...

Too tired to search for the others.

No queues at the TMB. A long tale for another time. 

[Pib]

2 hours ago, Singhaman said:

Be aware Bangkok Bank are now only issuing Union Pay Debit cards which merchants do not accept here and they are not accepted in Europe. See my previous post http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/959827-bangkok-bank-debit-cards-update/  .

Last week I opened an account at Kasikorn bank, straightforward requirements and account opened, Visa debit card issued, and internet/mobile banking all set up within an hour!

As regards transfers from Europe I use Western Union online Bank to Bank service. Transfer Fee GBP £2.90, favourable / competitive exchange rates and money in my Thai account within 2 days. 

 

I got my 'Visa" card from Bangkok Bank a few weeks ago.   But yes, Bangkok Bank is pushing their TPN-UnionPay card over their Visa card.  

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, elgordo38 said:

No queues at the TMB. A long tale for another time. 

Could you explain, I simply don't get what you mean/refer too?

[NoshowJones]

 

Easiest bank to deal with???

None of them, I have just come out of a bank for what should have been a straight forward thing, changing from one debit card for another, I must have had to sign on about twenty different places, not an exaggeration, twenty.

[elgordo38]

4 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Could you explain, I simply don't get what you mean/refer too?

 

4 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Could you explain, I simply don't get what you mean/refer too?

Its a long story as I have an account there and your a moderator soooo enough said. 

[balo]

I think we can agree that all banks are ok to deal with if the staff likes you  .  Just walk around until you find someone that actually wants to help you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nevh]

Gentlemen (I assume you all are.......) 

Again thankyou for your comments - the vast majority weere very useful. Just to update you, I now have a Kasikorn savings account (Nangrong Branch) - within one hour (just) with the help of my wife.. Showing them my driving licence, passport and marriage certificate sufficed. Yes they pushed their savings plan but not compulsory. ATM Card - one for me and one for my wife. I did not push the Internet Service as I have no Need of it at present bit I noted that they do have mobile apps also for paying the usual Service bills.

Thanks again