Best banks for foreigners?

[bart]

Coming over Saturday and want to open a Thai bank account for myself. I already have a joint account at Siam Commercial with the missus for savings (0.00 balance ;-) but want my own for obvious reasons.

I noticed online that the buying rates for £ notes seems to be different at each bank. Will be depositing around £3000 in cash so want a good rate. Also, is it true that some ATMs charge for withdrawls like in the UK. Here, if the machine has a 'LINK' logo there is no fee. Is it the same sort of thing in LOS?

interest rates for farangs are crap ,in thai banks
keep you money in nationwide buiding society[at] 4.5 interest .
hsbc ,,,,, not impressed ....
i also use K.. e banking .

[splitpin100]

K-Bank gets my vote been with them for a number of years

[billg]

Hi, Im with the Siam City back and veryno problems in Udon Thani

[Bettyboo]

K-bank, SCB and Bangkok Bank are all good banks for ex-pats.

If possible open an account with the head office or a very big branch - I use SCB in Siam Sq, they're great and very helpful. BB in Silom have very good staff too.

[cdnski12]

Most Thai Banks charge 150 ThB / $5 USD for each cash withdrawal. So you take out big slugs of money to avoid the 150 ThB Charges. Not all ATMs's will give you 20,000 - 30,000 Thb. Kasikorn is very good. I bank with them. ANZ is also good and has branches in most large Thai Citities, Laos, Cambodia & vietnam. Not sure about Burma. ANZ will also give 30,000 Thb / 1000 USD per w/d. Canadian banks charge you nothing to take cash up to $2000.

[robuzo]

Most Thai Banks charge 150 ThB / $5 USD for each cash withdrawal. So you take out big slugs of money to avoid the 150 ThB Charges. Not all ATMs's will give you 20,000 - 30,000 Thb. Kasikorn is very good. I bank with them. ANZ is also good and has branches in most large Thai Citities, Laos, Cambodia & vietnam. Not sure about Burma. ANZ will also give 30,000 Thb / 1000 USD per w/d. Canadian banks charge you nothing to take cash up to $2000.

Citibank ATMs don't charge the 150 baht fee for using a foreign ATM card, but there aren't many of them around, as in there is one, corner of Sukh and Asok. Some US banks will refund the 150 baht fee.

[kmart]

The banking system in Thailand is a Chinese dominated cartel, and foreign competition is kept out or severely limited- HSBC has a local operation, but as they admit to your face it is a joke. That means that there is no real competition, and whichever bank you deal with you will not receive anything approaching a competitive interest rate, or an account with anywhere near the scope and flexibility of, say, a HSBC Premier account or the Citi equivalent.

SCB has the advantage of being owned by the Crown, so you don't really have any credit risk issues there. Kasikorn is probably the easiest bank to deal with though- at least according to Mrs sab.

Like many other expats, I would happily keep a lot more moolah here if the banking system was not such a crock of shite.

Very true, unfortunately.

The interest on any savings here is a joke. Some banks are also descriminatory against non-Thais. If you shop around though, there are some halfway-decent promotions and offers from banks like UOB and Kasikorn.

[fridgemagnet]

Most Thai Banks charge 150 ThB / $5 USD for each cash withdrawal. So you take out big slugs of money to avoid the 150 ThB Charges. Not all ATMs's will give you 20,000 - 30,000 Thb. Kasikorn is very good. I bank with them. ANZ is also good and has branches in most large Thai Citities, Laos, Cambodia & vietnam. Not sure about Burma. ANZ will also give 30,000 Thb / 1000 USD per w/d. Canadian banks charge you nothing to take cash up to $2000.

Citibank ATMs don't charge the 150 baht fee for using a foreign ATM card, but there aren't many of them around, as in there is one, corner of Sukh and Asok. Some US banks will refund the 150 baht fee.

really true? I'll try them then.
Aeon bank (Japanese bank) don't charge the 150 baht (at the moment, anyway) - in Chiang Mai there's several branches - one at Tesco Lotas, superhighway. In Pattaya there's one at Carrefour, centre road.

[thrilled]

I have an account with Kasikorn.Only needed to show them my passport.
As far as charging 150 baht thru foreign nanks.I use schwab card.The thai banks charge 150 baht,schwab reimburses me back the money.

[eyeluvthai]

Hi all...I'm a new comer today....but I have had a Kasikorn Acc for about two years...seem great to deal with..in BKK and Roi Et...internet banking and transfers all ok...forgot my internet banking login details last year and was locked out, while I was in Australia....they communicated well by phone and problem sorted out easy...

[DJ Pat]

Still have my Kasikorn & Bangkok Bank accounts.

[mrben]

20 baht fee with Krung Thai.

[bangkokpi]

Thai banking system cannot be nearly as bad as the AUS ones.

Aus Westpac bank (I can't speak for others) now charge you 3.3 % on any overseas withdrawal. So a withdrawal of BHT 20,000 costs me BHT150 from Thai bank (minor fee), about A$21 charge by aus bank and another flat fee of A$5 from AUS bank again!!! Can this be avoided? AUS banks are rediculous.

[fridgemagnet]

How about a paypal account in Aus, and a paypal account in Thailand (You need a Thai credit card from a Thai bank to do this).
Would this avoid such large fees?

[bangkokpi]

How about a paypal account in Aus, and a paypal account in Thailand (You need a Thai credit card from a Thai bank to do this).
Would this avoid such large fees?

I could do that but that means I have to get a Thai bank account. Can I do it without a work permit? May be in my wife's name?

B

[fridgemagnet]

How about a paypal account in Aus, and a paypal account in Thailand (You need a Thai credit card from a Thai bank to do this).
Would this avoid such large fees?

I could do that but that means I have to get a Thai bank account. Can I do it without a work permit? May be in my wife's name?

B

You can get a bank account with a tourist visa - the 'get before you go' variety, but best check things out, as I'm unsure about getting a credit card on a tourist visa.
Worth investigating AEON bank, they are new(ish) and hungry for business. They do not charge the 150 baht foreign card ATM fee.
Kasikorn are the easiest to deal with, I believe. But what are the hidden costs? I've got to do something similar myself, and will no doubt find out eventually.

[BigBaBoo]

Coming over Saturday and want to open a Thai bank account for myself. I already have a joint account at Siam Commercial with the missus for savings (0.00 balance ;-) but want my own for obvious reasons.

I noticed online that the buying rates for £ notes seems to be different at each bank. Will be depositing around £3000 in cash so want a good rate. Also, is it true that some ATMs charge for withdrawls like in the UK. Here, if the machine has a 'LINK' logo there is no fee. Is it the same sort of thing in LOS?

My experience....I have two accounts at this time with Bangkok Bank. I opened one...a joint account with my Thai girlfriend....many years ago. I opened an account in my name in November 2010...in conjuntion with my start of the process to retire in Thailand. Both accounts are in Bangkok.
It is possible to open a Thai bank account...but as the saying goes..."results may vary". I first attempted to pen my latest account at the Bangkok Bank branch nearest to my home in Bangkok. "Sorry, not possible for a foriegner without a work permit", I was told. (Not true). So I went to another branch of Bangkok Bank, where I already had a joint account with my Thai girlfriend for many years. It was like I had walked into a different universe. Where one branch of Bangkok Bank didn't want to take my money for deposit, the second branch was quite willing to open an account in my name. They helped me fill out the forms, I signed the forms, and they issued me an ATM card. With that done, I was sent to the foriegn remittances desk, where I deposited a cashiers check on a U.S. bank for collection...that took about 30 days to ckear, and to be credited to my new account in Bangkok.
So all I can say is....Yes, it is possible to open a bank account in Thailand as a foriegner. You may need to try several banks and different branches of that bank. Some branches apparently either don't know how to open, or don't want the hassle of doing the extra work to open, a bank account for a foriegner. Another branch of that same bank, or another bank, may be happy to have your business. As I said before, "results may vary".
Let me put in a good word for those of you in Bangkok. I have found that the Bangkok Bank branch on Soi 43, Sukhumvit Road has always given me good, attentive, and concientious service. I recommend that branch highly. When I was refused by the Bangkok Bank at Phyholatin (sp?) Road...nearest my house in Bangkok...I drove across Bangkok to that Sukhumvit road Soi 43 branch...where I opened my account in about 15 minutes and deposited my monry with no problem. So if you are in Bangkok...and that Soi 43 Sukhumvit road branch of Bangkok Bank is near...I highly recommend them for good, friendly service.