Originally Posted by
Aricius Merlinus
I work and live here in Bangkok full-time. I have a valid work visa and work permit. I don't make tons of money - slightly more than a TEFL hack, but a lot less than an oil rig guy. My office does direct deposit of my salary, but only has such an arrangement with TMB, so I opened an account there when I first started working, and honestly, I have been relatively satisfied. I can do internet banking, I have an ATM card. I have also had a fair amount of money (in the millions of baht) in this TMB account for over a year as a result of transferring some savings to it.
When I opened the TMB account, the clerk told me that, after having the account for a few months, I could apply for a credit card. I never bothered to do so, since I had a credit card from my bank abroad. However, I would now like to close my account abroad and get a credit card here in Thailand. Today, I went to the exact same branch where I opened my account, pulled out my passport, and asked to apply for a credit card. The clerk's response, without even glancing at my passport or account information, was, "Our bank doesn't issue credit cards to foreigners." I asked, "Even though I was told I could apply for a credit card when I opened my account here? Even though I have a few million baht in your bank? So I can have my money in your bank, but you can't provide me with a standard banking service?" "Yes, that's right", was the reply!
So I would like to open an account in another bank here in Bangkok:
- to which I can transfer everything that is currently in the TMB account;
- to which I can arrange for TMB to transfer my salary as soon as my company deposits it each month;
- that provides internet banking;
- that will give me a debit/ATM card (I assume all of the above will be no problem, but the one below might be); and
- that offers a real unsecured credit card with a modestly decent credit limit for booking flights and such - say USD 5,000 to USD 10,000.
Any suggestions?