Opening a bank account

[Bomber]

We will be retiring in Hua Hin in August for which we are really looking forward to and can hardly wait .

Regarding opening a bank account I have heard mixed stories as to how difficult this is. We will be arriving on an OA visa and any advice on the best way to go about this or which banks are preferred would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot

[buksida]

Banks vary from branch to branch, and town to town. Have a read of these:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22825
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21530

[Takiap]

Hi

I can only say I've never had a problem opening an account here although one Bangkok Bank branch in Bangkok insisted that I go to a specific branch. That was a few years back. My most recent experience was with Kasikorn bank at Market Village, and I was in and out in a few minutes. The only thing they wanted to see was my passport as proof of ID. I've since also opened accounts with them for my daughters, and again, they only asked for my passport since the kids have to be 15 (I think) before the accounts can be 100% in their own names.


If one bank or branch gives you a hard time, simply go into the bank next door.

[lomuamart]

I recently opened an account with Kasikorn as well. The branch on Petkasem Road. It was painless. Had to put a minimum of 500 THB into the account to open it and 800 THB for the ATM card.
As above, I only had my passport for ID.

[Bomber]

Thanks for the replies. After reading the specific topics on this subject there seems to be a great deal of uncertainty when opening an account, especially since last August when the rules appear to have changed. I guess I will have to wait and see what happens when I try after we arrive- hopefully we will be lucky.

[Big Boy]

there seems to be a great deal of uncertainty when opening an account

Do as Takiap says, go to Market Village where you will find a row of quite a few banks on the top floor. Choose 1, if they refuse go next door etc etc. You'll strike lucky with one of them.

My experience has been with Kasikorn, who on the whole have been fine (all banks have their little quirks, but just learn to live with that).

[Bomber]

You are right about banks having there little quirks and this seems to apply no matter where you live! I will certainly try Market Village and see how we go. Thanks a lot for your assistance everyone it's been most helpful. Really looking forward to when we arrive in August. cheers

[caller]

I'm not in Hua Hin and only have a 60 day visa and had no difficulty in opening an account with Kasikorn in Korat. My previous account, opened when here on a visa exemption (30 days), had been closed as I hadn't used it for 3 years!

[Ralfredo]

My previous account, opened when here on a visa exemption (30 days), had been closed as I hadn't used it for 3 years!

Did you have any money in that account? In that case, where did they go?

[caller]

Did you have any money in that account? In that case, where did they go?

At the most, 100/200 baht!

[Paul3456]

We will be retiring in Hua Hin in August for which we are really looking forward to and can hardly wait .

Regarding opening a bank account I have heard mixed stories as to how difficult this is. We will be arriving on an OA visa and any advice on the best way to go about this or which banks are preferred would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot

I arrived on an O-A Visa a couple of months ago. I opened a bank account at Bangkok Bank with no problems at the branch next to Market Village. All I needed was my passport and cash to open the account.

If you are coming from the USA or UK, Bangkok Bank is good because they have branches in New York and London and you can make transfers through those branches to your account in Thailand at much cheaper transfer rates/charges.

[caller]

How much do Bkk bank charge for transfers?

[Big Boy]

...... and what exchange rate do you get?

[Ratsima]

In my experience, Kasikorn is the easiest. With only a passport I opened a bank account and got online banking in one brief visit (Korat at The Mall.)

Bangkok Bank (Korat - Asadaeng) wanted to see the visa and extensions plus a residence letter and, I believe, my girlfriend's ID and tabien baan. It took me nearly six years to get online banking from them. Every time I thought I had everything they wanted, they had a new requirement. The only reason I keep a Bangkok Bank account is because of direct deposit via their New York branch.

[Paul3456]

From the USA, you do a transfer as follows:

Transfer funds from your bank in the USA via the ACH transfer system to the Bangkok Bank New York branch, no charge. The Bangkok Bank NY branch takes a fee of: Not more than USD 50.00 Free, USD 50.01-100.00 $3.00, USD 100.01-2,000.00 $5.00, USD 2,000.01-50,000.00 $10.00, USD 50,000.01 or more $20.00.

The money then arrives at your Thailand account and is converted to baht at Bangkok Bank's Telegraphic Transfer Buying Rate. They also charge a fee of 0.25% of the amount with a minimum charge of 200 baht and maximum charge of 500 baht.

You can read the details here:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/ ... Qs.aspx#10

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/ ... omUSA.aspx