thegrogmonster Posted May 23 Posted May 23 I have a Kasikorn account and so far I have been happy with this bank. Years ago the first bank I had an account with was TMB (Thai Military Bank) and not sure if this account is still open. Not sure if in retirement will I need a Bangkok Bank account for bringing in my monthly retirement pension if I do decide to spend more time in Thailand. 1
KWA Posted May 23 Posted May 23 Bangkok Bank for me. Opened it many years ago on Visa Exemption stamp using a business card for a ladyfriend's apartment as proof of address. Don't think I could do that now. Really need to get a backup and SCB were recommended for ease of opening, but just to lazy to get it done. 1 1
Lemondropkid Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank for me. K Bank as my day to day account, BBL as a back up + an account for retirement funds. 1 2
Stillearly Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Bangkok Bank ,whilst over on a 30 day exemption stamp , I used an agent to facilitate the process .. 1 2
forcebwithu Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Bangkok Bank as my main bank. Kasikorn as a backup. SCB I still have, but was ready to close that account when they discontinued their website online banking. I ended up keeping the account open as it's tied to Lazada Wallet and I couldn't be arsed to change the Wallet connection to a different bank. 1 1
Pumpuynarak Posted May 24 Posted May 24 8 hours ago, thegrogmonster said: Not sure if in retirement will I need a Bangkok Bank account for bringing in my monthly retirement pension if I do decide to spend more time in Thailand. BINGO, when Thai immigration rewrote the monthly income requirements it became obvious that to meet their requirements BB was the bank account to have so i opened an account and i've never had a problem to date meeting Immigration requirements. Wise tagged my account to ALWAYS show that my monthly transfers were from abroad and BB have been brilliant with me obtaining the necessary statements to support my retirement extension. I believe Wise are a major partner bank with BB and that helps imo. With regard to SCB the moment they decided in their wisdom to stop the use of PC Internet banking and enforce the use of mobile banking they can just FO, i closed my two accounts with them and wifey her one account and it was off to BB who were delighted to open new accounts for wifey and i and we have a great relationship with our local BB. 2 3
Toy Boy Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Siam Commerical, the branch on Beach Road by Walking Street. I've been with them now for almost exactly 20 years and am mostly happy with their service. They have odd quirks, like last year when my ATM card expired but they didn't send me a message to come and get a new one, just waited until the card stopped working and I was forced to go and see them. They gave me a new card for the usual fee and off I went, but quickly found that it didn't work properly and I could only withdraw 10K Baht at a time. I reset the limits in the SCB app on my phone but nothing happened, so I went back to the bank. Apparently, you have to delete the old card which is still tied to your account in the app and activate the new one, then it all works. How was a tech dinosaur like me who hates apps on phones supposed to know this? Why didn't they do it when they gave sold me the new card? Apart from a few weird things like that over the years they've been very helpful and efficient. I'm also astounded by how quiet that branch has got over the decades. I used to go there several times a week when I had the bar and it was always packed. They were busy on two floors back then, while now it's just the ground floor and that's often got more tumbleweed blowing across it than customers. I've also got a couple of accounts with the big SCB branch of Jomtien Beach Road by Soi Wat Bun, but just keep a few hundred thousand Baht on deposit there, I haven't used the branch in years. Both these SCB branches have their own car parking which is essential for me. I had a Bangkok Bank account (the branch on Jomtien Second Road near Soi 5) for around 5 or 6 years but never used it so I closed it. 1 2
Painter Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Kasikorn account set up at Avenue branch (by a cutie named Mui) whilst on a 30 day stamp using a business card from Pattaya Bay Resort as my address, so that dates it! Use this as my every day account. Also have a Bkk bank account for visa purposes. 2 1
boydeste Posted May 24 Posted May 24 I too have accounts with K bank which I opened 15 years ago on a 30 day exemption using a card from Secrets as my address and my current phone number! I have been very happy with them so far. 1 1 1
Nightcrawler Posted May 24 Posted May 24 I would like a Thai bank account and have thought about it for a while but I don't have a permanent address in Thailand nor do I own property and I'm not sure how I would go about opening an account. Simply not sure how to go about it and what if I die in the next 5 years? Would my daughter be able to access my money from a Thai bank whilst in UK. Sorry if this is slightly off topic but if I were to be able to open an account with a Thai bank, the replies are very useful.
Krapow Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Kasikorn, the big one at Pattaya Tai by Tuk.com, opened about 20 years ago with the help of a Thai sales rep when i bought my wee Condo. I had no preference, she took me there, got it sorted, i assume easiest to do. Have had no bother with them, apart from when as i dual national i brought the wrong passport to what they had on record, which in hindsight, was my own fault. Apart from in Northern Ireland, i reckon i'd have difficulty at any Bank explaining the Good Friday Agreement, and why i can have both an Irish, and UK Passport. I log on quite regular now, to make sure everything looks okay, what with the 'registered to you phone number' business. But all looks fine. They usually talk to me about the App for mobile banking if i'm in branch doing something, but i just tell them i am a tourist, can come once a year, or 3 times a year, just depends, and i'd rather just use online banking, which they are fine with. I get rent paid in every month for my Condo, which sometimes has me wary of them querying it for tax reasons, but i have already told the wife if that was to happen, we will say it was a loan given, and being repaid. The rent money just gets deposited by a Thai at a Kasikorn ATM, not a letting Agency or anything. Plus, if it got messy, the wife's Aunt is an Accountant, i'd speak with her to advise best way forward. That said, i always have 2 UK Cards as well, which i use if paying for a hotel, week's diving, or whatever. 4 1
Stillearly Posted May 24 Posted May 24 (edited) 3 hours ago, Nightcrawler said: I would like a Thai bank account and have thought about it for a while but I don't have a permanent address in Thailand and I'm not sure howcI would go about opening an account. Simply not sure how to go about it and what if I die in the next 5 years? Would my daughter be able to access my money from a Thai bank whilst in UK. Sorry if this is slightly off topic but if I were to be able to open an account with a Thai bank, the replies are very useful. I think it's currently difficult to do if you're not a resident ( recent rule changes ) but I used Tik Tok Services https://www.facebook.com/Tiktokservices? - the charge was 3,500 Baht in 2019 , plus 1000 Baht to the bank for online banking and card Once open you can top up your account whenever it suits , just leave a small balance if you want when you're not in Thailand ...or give your daughter your PIN number , that way she could visit Thailand and spend your cash after your gone .. 😜 Edited May 24 by Stillearly 2 1
ChiFlyer Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Another Bangkok Bank guy here. I use the branch near Immigration. I am relatively happy with Bangkok Bank and also have a credit card with them. Their internet services are decent, which is important for me. A few negative comments: The account rules are different between the laptop (iBanking) and phone (mBanking) apps. As an example, I can top up the Mrs phone via iBanking, but not via mBanking. Also daily transfer limits are defined separately as are 3rd Party transfer accounts. The credit card is nothing like a US credit card. You open the card at a certain limit and once a month have to replenish the card account to said limit. I use AMEX as my main credit card and some companies in Thailand do not accept that or any other non-Thai credit card for that matter. Bangkok Bank does not have as many ATMs as say Krungsri, but this does not matter to me as I use my Schwab card for any ATM activities (all charges are reimbursed by Schwab). I opened my Bangkok Bank Account about 8 years ago, but I was already on an OA Non-IM retirement visa at that time. (btw - the retirement visa rules have changed since then and no one should get an OA. O is much preferable. @Nightcrawler - Inheritance rules are a little weird in Thailand. After we were already married we went to the bank branch so that I could declare my wife as the beneficiary to my Thai bank accounts. They said I could not do that. Without a Will, the money would go to my US family. The best I could do is give her signature authority on my account. My understanding is that signature authority expires upon my death. At least she can manage my money, if I zombie stroke out. We got a will (not cheap @ about 20,000). My understanding is that all Thai Wills must go through probate which is about a 3 month process that requires that the beneficiary is in Thailand for some of the proceedings. Also legal representation for probate processes is expensive (about 50,000) I have been told. This stuff changes from time to time and some of my experiences have become dated. I opened a small account (10,000) initially and then progressively enlarged it as I saw fit. I live full time in Thailand now and keep a minimum of 800,000 in my account and usually have a balance of about 1.3 M. That way I do not have to mess with retirement income transfers. All of those go to my US Schwab account and I periodically transfer money to my Bangkok Bank account. 3 2
forcebwithu Posted May 25 Posted May 25 ^^^ The number of ATMs a bank has is less of a problem now as you can use another bank's ATM to withdraw money with no transaction fee. There is a limit of four free withdrawals per month. 1 2
Phantom51red Posted May 25 Posted May 25 K bank,,was very easy to open when living in condo pratumnak pattaya,only thing is when I make a withdrawal outside its 30bht,I've only got the plastic card now tho lost all paperwork ect ,can't log online now so always a bit wary when sending large amounts through wise,guess I should think about opening another account in hua hin with bb. 1 1
boydeste Posted May 25 Posted May 25 4 hours ago, Phantom51red said: K bank,,was very easy to open when living in condo pratumnak pattaya,only thing is when I make a withdrawal outside its 30bht,I've only got the plastic card now tho lost all paperwork ect ,can't log online now so always a bit wary when sending large amounts through wise,guess I should think about opening another account in hua hin with bb. Do you get text notifications to your phone when the money lands etc? Without at least that, I would have to get the on line access sorted or maybe get the app.
Phantom51red Posted May 25 Posted May 25 2 hours ago, boydeste said: Do you get text notifications to your phone when the money lands etc? Without at least that, I would have to get the on line access sorted or maybe get the app. No ,i used to when i had a different number,but never updated it,I'll need to get it sorted me thinks. 2
boydeste Posted May 25 Posted May 25 14 minutes ago, Phantom51red said: No ,i used to when i had a different number,but never updated it,I'll need to get it sorted me thinks. I would, especially in the current climate. It's not like you don't spend enough time over there. LOL
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