If you want to live in Thailand, you will inevitably need to use a Thai bank card, as nowadays people rarely carry cash when going out, and using a bank card for consumption is more convenient. Moreover, utility bills in Thailand are automatically deducted from the bank card, so it is necessary to get a Thai bank card. Today, PASA will share some information about Thai bank cards.
Which Thai bank is the best?
Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Ayudhya Bank... There are a variety of banks in Thailand, big and small, how should you choose? Weican here recommends prioritizing Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank, as these are the only two local banks in Thailand that have branches set up domestically.
01. Bangkok Bank (Bangkon Bank)
Bangkok Bank is currently the largest bank in Thailand with the most branches. Thailand is a cash society, and ATMs are very important. Bangkok Bank has many ATM machines, and its range of services is broad, so its foreign exchange services are relatively mature.
02. Kasikorn Bank (Kasikany)
Kasikorn Bank is founded by overseas Chinese. It supports cardless ATM withdrawals, has a customer service hotline with Chinese service, which is more convenient for Chinese people to communicate. The mobile APP interface is simple and powerful, reputed to be the best mobile banking APP in Thailand.
How can foreigners open a bank account in Thailand?
As a foreigner, if you want to open a bank account in Thailand, there are certain requirements and restrictions, mainly divided into the following three situations:
1. Owning property in Thailand
If you have bought a house in Thailand and have a purchase contract or title deed, you can directly take one of these documents to the bank branch to handle it yourself.
2. Having a long-term visa in Thailand
If you have a long-term visa in Thailand for more than one year, such as an elite visa, work visa, retirement visa, student visa, etc., you can bring your passport, long-term residence visa, and proof of address to the bank to apply for an account.
3. Using an agency to help
If you do not meet the above two conditions, only have a short-term visa or tourist visa, you cannot apply by yourself, as you must have a company or employee to act as a guarantor. The only solution is to find an agency to help, which costs about 10,000 Thai Baht, and it's relatively more expensive with a landing visa than with a tourist visa.
How to use a Thai bank account after opening it
01. Thai bank's mobile APP and online banking
First, let's talk about Bangkok Bank, which has both a mobile APP and online banking, both of which can be logged in to use.
If you use Bangkok Bank's online banking or mobile app to transfer money to a stranger's account, a mobile verification code is required for the first transfer, but not for the second time. This is similar to when we use Alipay in China for high-amount transfers that require name verification.
Of course, there is another situation. When you open online banking, the bank staff will suggest you add family members, friends, and customers who often have financial transactions as common contacts. A verification code is needed when adding contacts for the first time, but not needed for later transfers or remittances.
Kasikorn Bank only has a mobile APP, compared to Bangkok Bank, its transfer and remittance process is relatively simple, completely without the need for a mobile verification code.
Those who have used overseas bank accounts should be somewhat familiar with this system.
02. Transfer limits of Thai banks
Bangkok Bank's mobile APP has a daily transfer limit of 200,000 Thai Baht (equivalent to 40,000 RMB), and online banking has a transfer limit of 2 million Thai Baht (equivalent to 400,000 RMB).
Kasikorn Bank's mobile APP has a daily transfer limit of 5 million Thai Baht (equivalent to 1.03 million RMB), which is also the highest online banking transfer limit in Thailand. Moreover, its mobile APP operation is relatively simple, you can set the transfer limit yourself, and no mobile verification code is needed, you can transfer directly, which is why so many people use Kasikorn Bank. When it comes to high-amount remittances, you don't have to transfer multiple times like other banks, which is very convenient.
If you exceed the above limits, you can also go to the bank counter to handle remittances, as there is no limit on the amount at the bank counter.
04. Problems that may arise after binding a phone card with a bank card
We know that in China, bank cards need to be bound with your phone card, and it's the same in Thailand. However, the difference is that in China, as long as you remember the bank card number and login password, you can log in to its APP on any phone.
But it's not that simple with Thai bank cards, so this is why we've been mentioning that if you opened a bank account while still in Thailand, make sure to turn on international roaming for your Thai phone card and ensure that the Thai phone card is within its validity period. For details, you can check: (The most detailed guide to handling Thai phone cards, including common questions and solutions, usable even after returning to the country!) to understand, otherwise, it will be more troublesome if you return to your home country and encounter problems. Here we divide it into two situations.
Situation one:
You are in your home country, but the phone with the Thai bank APP is lost (broken)
In this case, if your Thai phone card is still available, there is still a chance to salvage the situation.
Operation steps: Install the phone card with international roaming activated in the new phone — Purchase Thai data — Reinstall the APP — Log in to the account
Here it should be noted that the Thai bank APP needs a mobile verification code when reinstalling, and you must have a phone card with international roaming activated to receive the message.
Purchasing Thai data is because the Thai mobile banking requires Thai data for the first login (whether in Thailand or abroad), domestic data, wifi, or even using a VPN won't work. After the first login, even if you have returned to your home country, domestic data and wifi can still be used normally for mobile banking.
Note: If your phone card is lost or expired, then it's going to be difficult, which is the second situation we're going to talk about.
Situation two:
You are in your home country, but the Thai phone card is lost (broken)
If your mobile banking APP has already used Thai data for login, and later you return to your home country, and the phone card is lost, you can still use domestic data or wifi to connect to the internet and it will not affect your bank account transfer or receipt of payments. In this case, if it's Kasikorn Bank, it's okay, but Bangkok Bank is relatively more troublesome.
Although Bangkok Bank does not require a mobile verification code for logging into the APP with a bound phone card, as mentioned earlier, Bangkok Bank requires a verification code for the first transfer to a stranger's account.
While Kasikorn Bank does not require a mobile verification code for transfers, it only needs it for the first login. As long as either the phone or the phone card is not lost, and the APP is always installed on the phone, it does not affect its use.
So if your bank card is from Bangkok Bank, and after returning to your home country the Thai phone card is lost or expired, then it's directly barbecued. But Kasikorn Bank can still be used, which is why everyone prefers to use Kasikorn Bank.
Situation three:
What to do if you can't log in to the bank APP under normal network conditions?
After returning to your home country, if you are logging into online banking under normal network conditions, but the login page keeps spinning and you can't log in, you can try switching networks at different times. There's always a time when you can log in, because it's possible that the backend detects your network as an unsafe environment.
Remember: Do not uninstall, do not uninstall, do not uninstall, it's important to say it three times! Because reinstalling the bank APP is really troublesome, so if you encounter this problem when logging into online banking, you can try switching networks at different times.
Another point to note is that after returning to your home country, your bank account should not always have no transaction records, because if your account has no bank flow for a long time, the bank will protect and freeze your account to prevent it from being misused by others. So you can recharge your Thai phone card with ten to twenty yuan each month through the bank APP to avoid your bank account being frozen.
Actually, the matter of online banking and phone cards is quite complicated. If you don't understand, feel free to consult Weican at any time!
05. The difference between a Thai bank's passbook and ATM card
After opening an account in a Thai bank, the staff will give you a passbook and an ATM card (also known as a bank card). The Thai passbook has an account number, and the ATM card also has a card number, these two numbers are different. Here you should note that the account number on the bank passbook is your bank account, not the one on the ATM card. This is also a difference between Thai banks and our domestic banks. If you need to transfer money to someone, it should be transferred to the account number on the passbook, not the one on the ATM card.
However, the Thai passbook and ATM card are shared, and the bank account is mainly based on the account on the passbook. If you want to go to a Thai bank counter to handle various services, you must bring the passbook. The ATM card is not useful at the counter, but it can be used for card consumption in shopping malls and restaurants, or for withdrawing money at ATM machines.
