can I open a bank account just as a tourist? (without visa, just the 30 days visa free).

I had heard that this was possible at Bangkok bank. or am I wrong ?

There is a number of threads on same subject and appears it (almost) impossible

Edited December 11, 20196 yr by Kandinski

Some times it is possible, most times it is not.... I managed to open one at Kasekorn bank, with a letter from immigration confirming my address along with my passport.... but rules change more often then a Pattaya bargirl pulls up her panties... I doubt the rules are the same now

46 minutes ago, Suiker said:

can I open a bank account just as a tourist? (without visa, just the 30 days visa free).

I had heard that this was possible at Bangkok bank. or am I wrong ?

I did it earlier on in the year with Bangkok Bank , used Tik Tok services ( cost THB 3.5k iirc ) https://tiktokservicesthailand.com 

https://www.facebook.com/Tiktokservices/ 

- now can easily transfer funds whenever I want using TransferWise app on my phone 

Edited December 11, 20196 yr by Stillearly

3500 baht for the service of tiktok services to open an account ?   and you dont have a visa for Thailand ?

1 minute ago, Suiker said:

3500 baht for the service of tiktok services to open an account ?   and you dont have a visa for Thailand ?

I just had a 30 day stamp , already saved the fee on my last holiday 

ok thanks !  i will contact the tik tok services.  will i meet some people of them of do i have to go to the office of tiktok ?

they are situated in Pattaya center ?

Just now, Suiker said:

ok thanks !  i will contact the tik tok services.  will i meet some people of them of do i have to go to the office of tiktok ?

they are situated in Pattaya center ?

I dealt with them via messenger, they needed some details from me , Thai telephone number and a passport picture and pictures of my passport and stamp , then the next day they picked me up at my hotel took me to the Bank , I signed the paperwork , deposited some money , tried out the ATM , downloaded the Bangkok Bank app , then then took me back to the hotel .. took about an hour and was all included in the fee 

4 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

I dealt with them via messenger, they needed some details from me , Thai telephone number and a passport picture and pictures of my passport and stamp , then the next day they picked me up at my hotel took me to the Bank , I signed the paperwork , deposited some money , tried out the ATM , downloaded the Bangkok Bank app , then then took me back to the hotel .. took about an hour and was all included in the fee 

wauw... great !   i will send them a message on messenger too.  thanks a lot !

Owning a Thai bank account offers so many benefits! you no longer need to take cash with you, no longer withdraw money with your credit card, which is expensive ... and you simply deposit the money you need on your leave on your Thai account for your leave. super handy anyway

16 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

I just had a 30 day stamp , already saved the fee on my last holiday 

I have heard that your bank sometimes tries to sell insurance ... are you obliged to take it? did you pay extra for insurance and if so, what were these?

4 minutes ago, Suiker said:

I have heard that your bank sometimes tries to sell insurance ... are you obliged to take it? did you pay extra for insurance and if so, what were these?

There wasn't any insurance mentioned to me 

7 minutes ago, Suiker said:

Owning a Thai bank account offers so many benefits! you no longer need to take cash with you, no longer withdraw money with your credit card, which is expensive ... and you simply deposit the money you need on your leave on your Thai account for your leave. super handy anyway

Download the TransferWise app as well , you can transfer whenever you wish , takes 24 hours and costs £9.97 to send £1000 

THANKS A LOT STILLEARLY !!!    i will let you know if everything is OK after my holliday !  (18dec-8jan)

6 hours ago, Suiker said:

Owning a Thai bank account offers so many benefits! you no longer need to take cash with you, no longer withdraw money with your credit card, which is expensive ... and you simply deposit the money you need on your leave on your Thai account for your leave. super handy anyway

Who uses a credit card to "withdraw" money ?

10 hours ago, Stillearly said:

I dealt with them via messenger, they needed some details from me , Thai telephone number and a passport picture and pictures of my passport and stamp , then the next day they picked me up at my hotel took me to the Bank , I signed the paperwork , deposited some money , tried out the ATM , downloaded the Bangkok Bank app , then then took me back to the hotel .. took about an hour and was all included in the fee 

Tik Tok is telling me 3500 plus 1500 to the bank, 500 of which is a deposit.

I opened an account at Kasikorn Bank this trip but I did have a 12 month Retirement Visa. 

4 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

Tik Tok is telling me 3500 plus 1500 to the bank, 500 of which is a deposit.

Yes you are correct - was 1000 for Internet Banking and ATM card  - so total 4,500 Baht 

was happy to get the account open , I had tried three Banks before but all rejected me with the 30 day stamp 

The conversation I had 

1 hour ago, Stillearly said:

The conversation I had 

Thanks for clarifying.

Appreciate all threads/details on this and thinking that need to get this done next trip.  I am considering bringing initial deposit over in Cdn cash - Ie just under $10k USD equivalent.   Will bank accept/give reasonable exchange on this or does a person need to search other money-exchange options first?  Am sure somebody has figured this out, but how much money do you need to spend in Thailand to cover the initial costs of setting up Thai bank account - I would be going with service like described above for about 4500b.   Believe I had heard that exchange rate better relative to foreign ATM exchange rates, but would be good to put a figure on this.  

21 hours ago, Suiker said:

can I open a bank account just as a tourist? (without visa, just the 30 days visa free).

I had heard that this was possible at Bangkok bank. or am I wrong ?

Do a search, info. on this gets posted on a weekly basis.

24 minutes ago, rioman said:

Appreciate all threads/details on this and thinking that need to get this done next trip.  I am considering bringing initial deposit over in Cdn cash - Ie just under $10k USD equivalent.   Will bank accept/give reasonable exchange on this or does a person need to search other money-exchange options first?  Am sure somebody has figured this out, but how much money do you need to spend in Thailand to cover the initial costs of setting up Thai bank account - I would be going with service like described above for about 4500b.   Believe I had heard that exchange rate better relative to foreign ATM exchange rates, but would be good to put a figure on this.  

No need to bring that much cash over , just use something like TransferWise to send money over once you open your account ..... if you really want to bring cash then I would compare the Bank rates  with TT booths first , you can always convert with TT then deposit the Thai cash into your account 

Sorry, as maybe left out some important details.  I have non-US cash - ie cdn bank accounts - that would be transferring from .  Guess what I am after is if there is a cross-currency exchange type difference.  It seems like you may be able to get a better Cdn $-thai baht direct exchange from money exchange booths than using a service like Transfer-wise?  Maybe I do not understand transfer-wise well enough - seems to be sign in info required that would like to avoid if somebody here already knows.  Agree that would be much handier than baby-sitting cash through about 3days.

4 minutes ago, rioman said:

Sorry, as maybe left out some important details.  I have non-US cash - ie cdn bank accounts - that would be transferring from .  Guess what I am after is if there is a cross-currency exchange type difference.  It seems like you may be able to get a better Cdn $-thai baht direct exchange from money exchange booths than using a service like Transfer-wise?  Maybe I do not understand transfer-wise well enough - seems to be sign in info required that would like to avoid if somebody here already knows.  Agree that would be much handier than baby-sitting cash through about 3days.

Currently

You can switch from CAD to THB  22.88

https://transferwise.com/gb/currency-converter/cad-to-thb-rate

TT will be about 22.75

Bangkok Bank 22.41

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/View-Rates/Foreign-Exchange-Rates