bank accounts

[martin911]

Hi everyone,i will be in Thailand in Jan/feb,
can you open a bank acc in Thailand using the 30 day visa(mabye i will get 60day before i go)
i dont want too keep a months cash in my room ,hope to meet some of u guys on my trip

Hi Martin,

Unless you come from Iceland, you should investigate the on-line banking offered by one of the banks in your home country. Then you can move cash from savings into the account from which you have an ATM card.

For security, make sure that their log-on systems defeat a key logger i.e. at least one pin/identifier is pointed to rather than keyed. If you go for biometric someone in Thailand will hack off or gouge out those bits of your body it is based on - avoid it at all costs.

Always use an ATM inside a bank branch a few days before you leave any given city (in case your card gets swallowed) and even then shield your PIN input with your free hand.

Check how your accounts charge for transactions abroad. In the UK, Nationwide, a mutual, is fairest to the customer in my experience.

This one comes up time and time again, as one of the poster said best get a debit card. If you are in the UK, you should open a Flexaccount with Nationwide, its the best deal, no overseas charges whatsoever when you withdraw money using your Flexcard. And the exchange rates are around the same as you would get in Thailand. Don't know about Europe or the US, I suspect they must have something similar. Whatever you do, doing it "online" is also best, that way, you can keep an eye on your outgoings.

Don't get any currency from your own country i.e. the UK, I noticed today they were offering 46 odd bht to the UK pound - what a lousy exchange rate, I suspect to those who don't know, some of them exchange their UK pounds before going to Thailand. I don't know your country of residence though.

I have always been led to understand that it is not possible to open a Thai bank account unless you hold at least a 1 year residence visa. However, as with a lot of other things I may be wrong and no doubt someone will quickly point out that fact!!
If you don't want to carry a month's worth of cash why not get travellers cheques if ATMs are not the answer for you?

[gumblebee]

As I've been visiting Thailand quite regularly of late, I was interested in opening a Thai bank account (I also hate the monstrous fees Western Union et al. tend to charge). Beginning of this month I went to the head office of several Thai banks (UOB, SCB (Siam Commercial Bank), Kasikorn Bank, Tisco,...) to try and open a bank account, but they all required a work permit or intention to stay on a retirement visa. Also their mastery of English was often quite poor. The only exception was HSBC, but their minimum deposit and/or monthly charges are quite steep. Thailand definitely doesn't seem very interested in becoming a financial hub ; nor does foreign investment (at least by retail investors) seem very welcome.

[francois]

Hi everyone,i will be in Thailand in Jan/feb,
can you open a bank acc in Thailand using the 30 day visa(mabye i will get 60day before i go)
i dont want too keep a months cash in my room ,hope to meet some of u guys on my trip

Yes, but I opened with tourist visa. I suggest Bank of Ayudha or Bangkok Bank. I have accounts in both, no problem to open. If one branch declines, try another branch.

[martin911]

Thanks guys,guess that awnsers my questions,i had alsways thought i best to use the local exchange rate,which was why i did noy want to use a debit card
as thought i would get screwed(excuse the pun)

[Impulse]

I only had a 30 day visa,but I was buying a studio.So I opened an acount with thai military branvh in Pattaya,no problem. But as gumblebee points out there English is poor,as I had my account closed on me when I went for a withdrawel. As a plus,the thai military will protect me if somthing happens to the bank.

[mahjongguy]

As a plus,the thai military will protect me if somthing happens to the bank.

What a curious idea.

In fact, TMB is by far the weakest bank in Thailand.

[firecat69]

I had no problem opening an account at Kasikorn with Tourist Visa.

Went to their branch next to Tumkom and opened 2 accounts within 15 minutes. Requires a passport and an address which can be anything( they dont check)

English was adequate for the task and service is great at all branches including online phone help.

If you want to use online banking that requires a separate piece of paper which takes 5 minutes and their online banking allows you to move money between your account and any other account once you have the info on the other persons account. Naturally only one way.

I found the Jomtien branch near Soi 5 also to be very efficient also.

Easily the best customer service I have experienced in Thailand.

Thailand definitely doesn't seem very interested in becoming a financial hub ; nor does foreign investment (at least by retail investors) seem very welcome.

Hahaha..."foreign investment" and "financial hub" are not two terms that come to mind when considering whether or not banks will open small, temporary accounts for sex tourists.

Why not use travelers checks? They can be replaced if stolen or lost and also get a good exchange rate when using the 100 or 500 denominations.

Why not use travelers checks? They can be replaced if stolen or lost and also get a good exchange rate when using the 100 or 500 denominations.

Travelers checks? Do you still use a slide rule, too?

[francois]

I had no problem opening an account at Kasikorn with Tourist Visa.
.

Same as firecat69 I had a tourist visa when opening an account, but, the bank only looks at passport info and not visa info. I don't think they care what visa you have.

[vnman]

Why not use travelers checks? They can be replaced if stolen or lost and also get a good exchange rate when using the 100 or 500 denominations.

I'm with you on this. the exchange rate will make up for some of the commission you have to pay. I always bring a thousand or so in travelers checks, just in case the ATM doesn't work or whatever other emergency. Has saved me a couple of times.

only one time a check got stolen, took an hour to get the cash from American express via western union.

Me

Why not use travelers checks? They can be replaced if stolen or lost and also get a good exchange rate when using the 100 or 500 denominations.
Travelers checks? Do you still use a slide rule, too?
What a totally unnecessary and offensive put-down!
Travelers cheques are still the most secure way of getting access to largish amounts of cash whilst traveling abroad, especially if your trip includes 2 or more countries.

There's no hassle of trying to open one or more foreign bank accounts nor of an ATM refusing a debit (or credit) card, or worse still swallowing it up completely, for some reason known only to itself when you need to access your funds. Ever tried to get a replacement for lost plastic whilst abroad? - from past experience not easy I can assure you and it can take several days to resolve. Most providers of travelers cheques will guarantee replacement for lost or stolen ones within 24 hours.

The only draw back to using travelers cheques is that they normally have to be exchanged at a bank during working hours - but if you can't plan ahead and get over that little inconvenience you shouldn't be allowed out of your own house never mind permitted to travel abroad!

[joe552]

I always bring the bulk of my spending money in Traveller's Cheques, and never had a problem, changing them at currency exchanges or banks all over Thailand and Cambodia. Good to know I'll get my money back if they're lost or stolen (thankfully, hasn't happened yet).

I don't use a slide rule (was never taught how) but my trusty abacus is always reliable.

[martin911]

I had no problem opening an account at Kasikorn with Tourist Visa.
.

Same as firecat69 I had a tourist visa when opening an account, but, the bank only looks at passport info and not visa info. I don't think they care what visa you have.


So it is possible to open an account if you enter Thailand with the normal 30 day visa(the one you get on arrival at the airport)???
Thanks for all the replys