In this article, I will tell you about the way to open a bank in thailand. In the past, it was quite easy to open a bank in Thailand, even with a tourist visa. Today, it has become more complicated, so you should preferably have a residence visa, or a work visa, or any justification to prove that you are staying in Thailand for a while. Which is logical, because there is little point in opening an account if you stay just a few weeks.

I took an Elite visa, and thanks to this process, I can be resident in Thailand for several years. From there, it’s easy to open an account, and it takes a lot less time than in countries where you can be native. To open an account, I simply asked an intermediary to open an account. He therefore offered me two banks, Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank. For other types of visa, all you have to do is contact one of the main banks in the country and then open an account. For the rest, little paperwork to do, just a form to fill out, indicating some basics on your activity, to finish with a bank card. There is no subscription for the bank card, just 500 baths to buy the card and it can then be used without a subscription, which is very interesting.

Bangkok Bank

Bangkok Bank is Thailand’s largest bank and is traditionally known as being the friendliest bank to non residents. It has great exchange rates for international wire transfers and Bangkok Bank has many branches across the country. Bangkok Bank also has branches in New York and London which means you can link Paypal account to a western branch and link the accounts for transfer, making the process simple and just waiting a few days for your money abroad to turn up in Thailand.

Kasikorn Bank

Kasikorn Bank is also great for foreigners. They issue cheque books to non residents although cashing foreign currency checks can be a bit tedious with the bank. Different branches of Kasikorn Bank may treat foreigners differently, thus you may need to hunt around for some time.

Citibank

Citibank a worthwhile option for foreigners, especially when you want to do cross border banking frequently. Nonresident depositors who may deposit more than 3 million THB with Citibank get their account upgraded to a gold status. Their credit cards can earn you points to redeem with Thai air.

CIMB

CIMB Malaysian bank group that also has branches across Thailand. You can open a bank account with them using a tourist visa alone and they also allow foreigners to use their internet banking services. You will be required to place an initial deposit of 1000 THB and pay a debit card fee.