Thai Banks like to say NO

I went to TMB Jomtien today to make three arrangements.

1) To make a standing order to a Thai friend with a Bank account at the same branch. Not possible, Standing Orders do not exist. Direct Debits are only possible to an individual and a company.

2) I wanted to transfer my time deposit account money from the account at the Pattaya branch to the one in Jomtien. Not possible - only 200,000 baht a day can be transferred. I have to go to the Pattaya branch.

3) I wanted to send some money to a friend in New Zealand. Not possible. It was suggested that I can go and buy some dollars or Pounds and give them to the bank and then they can transfer? During this enquiry the teller asked how much I wanted to transfer. Not wishing my companion to know, I discreetly passed he the amount written on a slip of paper. She then read it aloud.

I moved my branch from Pattaya to Jomtien as it is more convenient to my condo.

Also I was also severely angry with that branch's incompetence. For no reason, the ATM machine at the bank ate my card one night and they wanted to charge me 300 baht for a new one.

I opened a Time deposit account to get a massive 2.75% interest rate. They set it up wrongly so that I got no interest. Trying to sort out the last two things entailed over an hour and three quarters at the bank. I left with the matters unresolved. They gave me a new ATM card for free and paid the interest into the account but I still suffered reduced benefits but too small to worry about.

I always seem to get angry when I go to the bank so I avoid it. I tried to get Internet banking with TMB but I got a load of mis-information. The I went tot get the forms from their website. There were 15 A4 pages of conditions and one could do very little indeed via the internet.

Is anyone happy with their bank or knows how I can achieve the above services? I'll not be holding my breath. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[ned kelly-old]

I empathize completely with your sentiments.....I also have a TMB account and avoid the branch where ever possible. For all intents and purposes TMB is a government bank and most government employees have their salaries credited there. It has hundreds of thousands of small accounts and operates just like the government so change will happen at snails pace.

I would recommend that you open an account with Kasikorn Bank (Thai Farmers, but a mis-nomer) who have opened a branch in Jomtien on beach road, again quite convenient to your condo. They seem to have progressive management at least by Thai standards and in the past couple of years have commissioned a large number of new branches, an extraordinary number of new atm outlets and I am led to understand a decent internet banking system. They are also one of the few Thai banks that have adequate capitalization....TMB does not, but is considered safe due to the majority Government share-holding.

I am not commenting as a result of first-hand experience unfortunately, but as a consequence of some research, and I will be opening an account at the same branch shortly. I have only delayed so as to satisfy the 800K baht requirement for retirement visa renewal as I didn't want to have to show two bank books from different banks,etc.etc I don't expect anywhere near the same service as a Western bank, but one can live in hope.

I moved my branch from Pattaya to Jomtien as it is more convenient to my condo.


How many Tawan muscle guys did it take you to accomplish that?

It's my bank balance that Tawan guys effect not the branch and worth every satang.

[ikarus]

Wowpow,
the truth is that there are no good Thai banks. I see all over Pattaya ATM machines of UOB-leading bank in Singapore. You may try to open an account with them.
In Singapore this bank is quite efficient

..TMB does not, but is considered safe due to the majority Government share-holding.

Considered safe by whom? Not according to many financial reports, which consider that having lost 12 billion baht in 2006 and a similar amount last year it is distinctly un-safe and bordering on collapse, which could lead to a re-run of 1997. Here's hoping!!!

[billyhouston]

I would second the suggestion that Kasikorn is the least bad option. I have an account at one of their Bangkok branches which provides an ATM card (Bht200 per annum) and, most importantly, internet banking. All I have is my 30 days 'on arrival' stamp in my passport and both TMB and Bangkok Bank refused an account. I regularly transfer money to an account at the other end of the country (TMB oddly) but setting that up took rather more time than if I did the same with my Nationwide or NatWest accounts!

[Bob]

Wowpow, I don't think you can find any bank in Thailand to easily do all the things your'e asking about.

I've had an account with Siam Commericial Bank for a few years and everything has been okay with them. Free ATM card (no charge if you use it in the same province as your local branch and a charge of 50 baht if you use it elsewhere in Thailand). You can link another account at SCB so you can transfer sums to the other account without any cost for doing so with a flick of your mouse over the internet (which is how I transfer funds to the bf when the need arises). Other than checking your account and doing that one type of transfer, I don't think you can do much else over the internet.

And, as far as I know, the interest rate sucks in every Thai bank. Use the account for convenience but, if you're interested in earning reasonable interest on investment amounts, keep that money back in your home country.