what type of bank account?

[samsensam]

 

i accept i have to put 800,00 baht in a bank account, i have the money and it can sit there all year. while i would like some interest it's not an issue.

 

is any bank account; current, savings, long term deposit... more convenient in terms of dealing with immigration? i'll be using chaengwattana.

 

thanks

[DrJack54]

I'm going to do exact same thing as you. Looking at a fixed term account. I asked my bank (light blue one, lousy bank) They mentioned 1.35%. Apparently you need make sure that the funds readily available and no deductions are taken by bank for withdrawal. 

Interested in the replies to your OP. For me personally I don't want to making sure the new requirements are met without making a careless calendar error

[KhunBENQ]

I am using "Fixed Deposit" account(s) for immigration purposes in Khon Kaen since years.

Interest are so low now that it does not make a big difference from a normal savings account.

 

I can't remember that there are immigration offices that would not accept a fixed deposit account. This type of account allows full availability of the deposit at any time (just loosing interest) and that is what immigration requires.

 

Which is your office?

[Sheryl]

He  said Chaenwattana.

 

I too am looking at doing this and have shopped around a bit. Best rate seems to be Krung Sri 48 month FD, 2.15% interest and the deposit can if necessary be used as collateral for a bank loan, useful for those worried about  losing their extension if suddenly faced with an unexpected emergency expense.

 

There have been past reports of a few IOs not accepting FD under the prior rules, I don't remember which ones. I'm trying to get clear guidance from my IO (Prachinburi) before taking the plunge and putting 800K into Krung Sri FD.  So far got only a "don't know", will be there again in a few days and this time try to ask one of the more experienced staff.

 

The rules do not in any way preclude a FD, just a question of IO interpretation.

[Vacuum]

5 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Interest are so low now that it does not make a big difference from a normal savings account.

Almost double, if I'm not mistaken.

[KhunBENQ]

Just now, Vacuum said:

Almost double, if I'm not mistaken.

I have let the one year expiry run out and get a whopping 1.00% at Bangkok Bank for 3 months interval.

SCB, 6 months, 1.15%.

 

15% tax on interest (can be reimbursed if it's worth the effort).

 

Maybe it's double but still miserable

[Felt 35]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Krung Sri

I have also looked at a fixed account for the same purpose with Krung Sri but it seems for me they are based on a monthly deposit and not a lump sum placed in an account and sitting there, and that's it ? Do you have a link to the 48month FD?

Felt.

[jacko45k]

Just now, KhunBENQ said:

I have let the one year expiry run out and get a whopping 1.00% at Bangkok Bank for 3 months interval.

1.5 for 12 month, whoop-de-doo!

[KhunBENQ]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

1.5 for 12 month, whoop-de-doo! 

Have you made plans how to spend the riches?

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Have you made plans how to spend the riches?

The Thai tax system have! 

For me, one night out a year, all I can afford!

[gamb00ler]

3 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Have you made plans how to spend the riches?

Are you scoffing at a "free" bowl of noodles almost every day?  ????

[Sheryl]

58 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

I have also looked at a fixed account for the same purpose with Krung Sri but it seems for me they are based on a monthly deposit and not a lump sum placed in an account and sitting there, and that's it ? Do you have a link to the 48month FD?

Felt.

All of the Tiem Deposits  are all lump sum deposits,  but the durations vary from as little as 3 months to several years.

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/TimeDeposits/GeneralTimeDeposit.html

 

Although not made explicit here I assume that the prinicipal can be removed before maturity date, forfeiting the interest, because that is how time deposits normally work. . If it can't then this may nto meet TI requirements. Needs to be confirmed.

 

Link to the interest rates (download the first pdf file)  https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/Other/Interestratesfees/Depositinterestrate.html

 

Actually looking again I see that the first link does nto mention more than 36 months whereas the interest rate lists a 48 month option.

[skatewash]

A non-fixed-deposit option available at Krungsri Bank is the Mee Tae Dai savings account which is currently paying 1.3% interest.  As a non-fixed-deposit account, it doesn't trigger 15% automatic interest withholding all fixed-deposit accounts do.  As long as your annual interest earned at Krungsri Bank remains under 20,000 there is no interest withholding, therefore no reason to file a Thai Personal Income Tax return just to get back that withheld interest.  Also, as a savings account no need to worry about fixed-term accounts maturing.  It can be as simple as setting up and leaving alone if that is your preference.

 

Mee Tai Dai savings account at Krungsri Bank:

 

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/SavingsDeposit/MeeTaeDaiSavings.html

 

The interest rate is given on the bottom of the second page (Item 5):

 

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/getmedia/18e0cf3a-3024-429a-a7ad-6705802f3b9d/Deposit-Rates-22012019.aspx

 

Quote

 

5. Savings Mee Tae Dai Deposit

less than Baht 100,000: 0.60% 

from Baht 100,000 to Baht 50 million: 1.30% 

more than Baht 50 million upward: 0.60%

 

 

It's been accepted at Phuket Immigration, one of the fussier or at least idiosyncratic immigration offices, for a retirement extension for me these last four years.

Edited February 13, 2019 by skatewash
Added last paragraph.

[Kerryd]

1.5% may not seem like a lot - but go ahead and check what a normal savings/term deposit gives you in a main stream bank "back home". I have and guess what ? They aren't offering any better and the "boutique" banks (smaller banks, fewer branches, desperate for customers) that may offer higher rates usually have a catch (of course) and if you don't meet the conditions, you end up with the same, lower rate that the "big" banks offer.
(I'm not talking RRSPs and "locked in" investments or other BS that gives higher returns but you CAN'T access the money to live on if need be.)

 

1.5% on a Fixed Term deposit at Bangkok Bank gives you 12,000 baht interest per year (on a deposit of 800k), less 2,000(+/-) in taxes.

That leaves about 10,000 baht which is more than enough to pay for your yearly extension and a new multi re-entry permit (if needed). 
No hassles, no transfer fees, no exchange rate worries. (Bangkok Bank has finally created a Fixed term account that "auto-renews" every year - at the same rate (1.5%) so there's even less hassle than before.)

The Krungsri info that Sheryl provided shows that they offer a lower rate on terms under 36 months, but a higher rate for a 48 month term. At 2.15% per annum (on a 800k deposit), that would work out to just over 17,000 in interest per year. That's about 5,000 in interest more than the Bangkok Bank 1 year account.

Minus taxes (15 or 20 % I think ? I get dinged 20% it seems) leaves you about 13,500 baht. Take off the 1,900 baht for your extension and you'd still have over 11,000 baht left over. Bonus of not having to renew the term every few months or every year.

 

Jomtien accepts Fixed Term Deposits (as long as the money has been there the correct amount of time) and doesn't require any transactions on the account (other than the passbook update the day before applying for the extension).
I'm guessing they know that if you needed the money, you could get it easily (but would lose the interest or get a reduced amount). 

However, as always, every Immigration office has it's own rules so you need to verify with your local office. 

Also note - some banks (like Bangkok Bank) may have "promotional" rates for Fixed Term deposits. For example, the staff at my local branch would keep getting me to open "promotional rate" Fixed Term accounts that ran for 7 or 11 months (no idea why they used those lengths).

The interest rates were better (about 1.75% I think ?) than the normal rate (of 1.00%) - but only for the period of the promotion. When the period ended, you got your interest and then the rate dropped to the regular 1%. Then you'd have to open a new account to get a new "promotional" rate for another 7 (or 11) months.

Also - you have to read the fine print. The "promotional" rate is (usually) 1.75% "per annum" - not "per promotional period". So you are not getting 1.75% on your 7 (or 11) month deposit, you are getting 7 (or 11) months worth of what you'd get if the money was on deposit - at that rate - for a whole year. (At 1.00%, you'd earn 8,000 in interest over a year (less taxes). At 1.75% on the same amount, you'd earn 14,000 (before taxes).
But as the promotional term is (7 or 11) months, you'd only get (8,166 or 12,833) before taxes. Better than leaving the money in a normal savings account obviously, as long as you are willing to go through the hassles of opening/closing accounts every few months. 

(Not sure why they can't just use the same account and change the terms. I have a binder full of old passbooks from every time I had to open a new one, transfer the money from the old one, then close the old one. And it's a stack of paperwork everytime - in addition to the requisite passport photocopies of course.)

 

So you'd get more interest, but with the extra hassle of having to open a new account (or accounts) every few months and closing the old one and making sure you had one that would be at least 3 months old before your next extension. For some people, the few thousand baht extra may be worth the hassle.

Now I have to trundle off to my bank to see if they have 4 year terms that offer better interest than Krungsri apparently does ! 5,000 more per year over 4 years = an extra 20,000. (For doing nothing at all.) 

Nothing wrong with that !

 

[samsensam]

 

thanks for the advice

 

it's a pity it got sidetracked into a discussion about interest rates on various accounts...

[skatewash]

I recall reading that current (checking) accounts are not accepted as they do not have an associated passbook.  

 

If I were an immigration officer I would greatly prefer accounts that had very little activity because it would make my task of determining whether the balance ever went below the threshold easier.  I would prefer to look at fixed-deposit accounts for that reason.  There is very little activity in my retirement savings account as I have another bank account that I use for day-to-day living expenses. I would not like to look at foreign currency deposit accounts because I would have to apply an exchange rate, which is more work.  Obviously, a single account is preferable to multiple accounts.

[TigerandDog]

I used to have a FD with Kasikorn Bank when I was living in BKK and Chaeng Wattana had no problem with that. What I disliked was the fact that as a farang, 15% tax was automatically deducted from the interest. On the bright side I was able to lodge a tax return and get a full refund. When I move to CM I changed to TMB bank, also a FD a/c. Again no issues with CM Imm. Again had to do the tax return to get the tax back. The bank manager suggested to me that I change the FD a/c to a Non- Fixed a/c that paid the same interest rate, and NO tax deducted. So I moved my 800k to that a/c and have had no issues with Imm with regards to the type of a/c I'm using. In fact last year the IO commented that they were pleased to see that the money was there year round.

[Pib]

Keep in mind if going with a "fixed" savings account at any Thai bank a 15% withholding tax "on any amount of interest earned will be applied."  To get that withheld interest back you must fill a refund request/tax return with your local revenue office in the Jan-Mar time frame of each year. 

 

Examples: say your fixed account upon maturity earns you Bt10,000 interest...the bank will deposit Bt8,500 to your account and send the remaining Bt1,500 to the govt as the 15% tax withholding....this tax withholding transaction also appears on your passbook.  Bt1,000 interest earned results in you getting Bt850 and the govt getting the other Bt150 until you file for refund.  

 

Filing for a refund with the govt is not hard, but it does require you to do this with your local revenue office.  Some people don't want to be bothered with this process so they effectively reduce the interest rate they earned on a fixed account

 

I did the fixed account thing for around 4 years "when" interest rates were much higher....and I also filed for the refund each year....and got the refund...took about 4 weeks.    But after the interest came down a lot a few years ago and since I really didn't like filing for the interest withholding refund each year, I switched to a "hybrid" type saving account called the Mee Tai Dai (MTD)saving account with Krungsri Bank. it currently pays 1.3% for a Bt800K amount and interest is paid monthly. 

 

With a MTD account you earn almost the same as a fixed savings account, no tax withholding until you exceed Bt20,000 interest earned per year, you have full access to your money at any time with no interest loss/penalty when withdrawing funds, you get ibanking, and you get a debit card with the account.  You can make as many withdrawals as desired per month, however, only the first two withdrawals per money are free....the 3d and subsequent withdrawals per month incur a Bt50 fee.   But hey, for a Bt800K amount you will be getting paid almost Bt900 per month in interest so incurring a few Bt50 fees shouldn't bother anyone.   The account is really meant for someone who does not need to access the funds a lot during the month but still wants full access to their funds "at any time" and wants to earn almost the same interest rate as a shorter term fixed savings account.  You can add/withdraw/access/transfer the funds from any Krungsri branch, ATM, ibanking, debit card, etc.   For all practical purposes it's a regular savings account that pays approx 3 times the interest rate.  Or maybe said another way it's a fixed savings account paying a little less interest than a fixed account but without the typical restrictions/penalties of fixed savings account.

 

I opened a MTD account with the Krungsri branch in the immigration building at Chaengwattana (Bangkok Immigration) about 4 years ago...rarely add or deduct money as it's more of a fund in case of an emergency and for extension of stay income purposes. Get my bank letter for extension of stay purposes from the branch the morning I got apply for my extension....takes about 15 minutes to get and costs Bt100. Up to immigration I go to renew my retirement extension of stay....has worked no problem for 4 years....extension approved....I go back home for another year.   

 

 

Krungsir Mee Tae Dai Saving Account

 

 

[zib]

A year ago when I talked to a german volunteer at Phuket Immigration he said fixed accounts for retirement are not accepted.

 

I have trouble every year using fixed for my marriage extension. Always arguing but in the end they accept it. But switching to Krungsri Mee Tai Dai now to avoid more problems.

[JimGant]

One other consideration......

The only asset I have that *could* be subject to Will probation is my Bangkok Bank savings account, containing 800k+, that will sit there untouched (for annual extension renewals) until I pass. Although it's a single account, not joint -- and thus acceptable by Immigration -- my wife's name is on it as a power of attorney (or equivalent), allowing her to access the account if she wished. Now, a POA is not valid after my death -- but no one in the bank would know, or care, if the wife emptied the account before my smoke evaporated. In fact, the bank manager advised the wife to empty the account after my death (with a wink and a nod), either in person or using an online transfer. The manager said this is the norm, at least in the small town we live in.

 

However, if the account was a fixed deposit account, my wife's name could not be on that account, so she could not access those funds, either in person or online (you can deposit online to a FD account, but cannot withdraw). What's left? Probably probate -- and although all the Will threads on this forum aren't conclusive about probate, it looks like you might be looking at 50,000 baht and several months to go through the process.

 

Yeah, you could fund this probate fee after 5 years of saving all that interest from the FD account. And, if that money is just eternally sitting there just to do annual extensions, then no big deal with the wife not receiving the funds soonest. But, as I said, my bank account would be the only asset subject to probate (golf clubs and underwear excluded) -- so do I want the wife to hire a lawyer just for one bank account?

 

Naaaa.

[AAArdvark]

20 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Are you scoffing at a "free" bowl of noodles almost every day?  ????

Or 80 beers in a bar!

[skatewash]

5 minutes ago, zib said:

A year ago when I talked to a german volunteer at Phuket Immigration he said fixed accounts for retirement are not accepted.

 

I have trouble every year using fixed for my marriage extension. Always arguing but in the end they accept it. But switching to Krungsri Mee Tai Dai now to avoid more problems.

Hard to know what the specific objection to fixed-term accounts were in that case.  I would think they would be welcomed, maybe even preferred, as they are easier to check whether the minimum balance was maintained (fewer transactions to look at).  I used to use fixed-term deposits at Bangkok Bank in Phuket and they were always accepted without a problem.  Now I use the Krungsri Mee Tae Dai savings account in Phuket without any problem.

 

Maybe a misunderstanding of the designation "fixed accounts."  Given the context when I hear that term I think of the fixed-term deposit accounts that earn a little higher interest (1-2%), but the money can be withdrawn at any time with only a possible loss of interest.  The only fixed part about that sort of account is the term for which a specific interest rate is guaranteed.  Maybe fixed account meant to him that the money was unavailable to be withdrawn for a certain term.  Who knows?  Based on my past experience at Phuket Immigration I would say it's not true, but not sure why he said that.  I have heard of some immigration offices wanting to see what you lived on during the year and my understanding is that they were satisfied to see another bank account that showed day-to-day expenses.

 

With the current changes making it harder and harder to use the money in the retirement account you would think that the fact that it's a fixed-term account rather than a savings account would be something in its favor rather than a detriment.

[Aforek]

21 hours ago, Sheryl said:

There have been past reports of a few IOs not accepting FD under the prior rules, I don't remember which ones. I'm trying to get clear guidance from my IO (Prachinburi) before taking the plunge and putting 800K into Krung Sri FD.  So far got only a "don't know", will be there again in a few days and this time try to ask one of the more experienced staff.

 

These two last years ( last time of my extension with a fixed deposit of 800000 bahts : october 2018 ), Prachinburi IO accepted my FD , no problem

next month, I'll go and ask them if for the future and the new rules, they will still accept it 

[Jim7777]

The police orders just say “in a Thai bank account”.  They don’t tell you what kind of Thai bank account it has to be just a Thai bank account.  Although I understand people want to be smart with their larger investments though.  

[samsensam]

 

quick post script;

 

went to bangkok bank, efficient looking, good english speaker on the staff but they needed a letter from my embassy. so went to Kbank, no english speaking staff but after checking my passport with HO everything was ok.

 

i spoke to an english speaking staff member on the phone who said i couldn't access funds in a fixed deposit account so i went for a savings account with passbook - i can only withdraw funds inside a branch which i like.

 

oh yea, they tried to sell me an 'accident protect plus for foreigner' medical insurance policy at 2,700 baht/year. the sums insured were very low so i declined.

 

just need to move some money now and everything should be ok. fingers crossed.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Aforek said:

These two last years ( last time of my extension with a fixed deposit of 800000 bahts : october 2018 ), Prachinburi IO accepted my FD , no problem

next month, I'll go and ask them if for the future and the new rules, they will still accept it 

Wonderful!!! Thanks for that info, just what I needed to know. If you get an update let me know, I also will ask then m again but looks like my plan to put 800k in a FD is a go.

[Sheryl]

29 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

quick post script;

 

went to bangkok bank, efficient looking, good english speaker on the staff but they needed a letter from my embassy. so went to Kbank, no english speaking staff but after checking my passport with HO everything was ok.

 

i spoke to an english speaking staff member on the phone who said i couldn't access funds in a fixed deposit account so i went for a savings account with passbook - i can only withdraw funds inside a branch which i like.

 

oh yea, they tried to sell me an 'accident protect plus for foreigner' medical insurance policy at 2,700 baht/year. the sums insured were very low so i declined.

 

just need to move some money now and everything should be ok. fingers crossed.

In every bank I know of (including Kasikorn, where I once had a FD account) you CAN access the funds at any time. but you forfeit interest.  So I think a miscommunication and what she meant was "can't without losing interest".  Always best for this type of thing to go by the written rules for the account which spell it out clearly as shown below.

 

I received this from Krung Sri, I had emailed them to confirm the 48 month account is available as it shows on their list of interest rates (2.15%) but not mentioned on their website. As you can see they confirm they do have it, They then go on to give rules which from what I have seen are pretty much the same for FD at any bank:

 

"Refer to your inquiry for Time Deposit. First of all, we do apologize for any inconvenience caused to you. Please be informed that we have time deposit from 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 to 48 months for General Time Deposit. Please find the details as following;   
 
1 The minimum initial deposit for account opening is THB 1,000.

2 Upon the maturity of the deposit period, the interest after withholding tax shall be credited to the accounts.

3 The Bank shall consider the deposit contract is terminated at the maturity of the tenor is completed. If the account holders do not withdraw the money or notify the Bank otherwise, it shall be considered that the deposit has been renewed in form of previous deposit and the interest rate and conditions of the new deposit shall be as part the Bank’s announcement at the time.

4 In order to withdraw the deposit before maturity.
4.1 Deposits for a period of less than 3 months will not be paid any interest. The interest (inclusive of withholding taxes) which has already been paid will be deducted from the principal that account holders will be paid back. The account holders may ask for a refund of such withholding taxes from The Revenue Department.
4.2 Deposits for a period of 3 months or more will be paid interest according to the Savings Deposit as per the Bank’s announcement effective on the deposit day of such amount and the number of actual deposit days. The principal and accrued interest of the deposit will be paid to account holders after the deduction of interest which has already been paid (inclusive of withholding taxes). The account holders may ask for a refund of the withholding taxes from The Revenue Department.
4.3 For non-resident customers, making the withdrawal before maturity date, will not receive any interest for the deposit amount if a period of deposit is less than 6 months."

 

[Felt 35]

21 hours ago, Sheryl said:

All of the Tiem Deposits  are all lump sum deposits,  but the durations vary from as little as 3 months to several years.

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/TimeDeposits/GeneralTimeDeposit.html

 

Although not made explicit here I assume that the prinicipal can be removed before maturity date, forfeiting the interest, because that is how time deposits normally work. . If it can't then this may nto meet TI requirements. Needs to be confirmed.

 

Link to the interest rates (download the first pdf file)  https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/Other/Interestratesfees/Depositinterestrate.html

 

Actually looking again I see that the first link does nto mention more than 36 months whereas the interest rate lists a 48 month option.

Thanks Sheryl.

[Felt 35]

25 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

In every bank I know of (including Kasikorn, where I once had a FD account) you CAN access the funds at any time. but you forfeit interest.  So I think a miscommunication and what she meant was "can't without losing interest".  Always best for this type of thing to go by the written rules for the account which spell it out clearly as shown below.

 

I received this from Krung Sri, I had emailed them to confirm the 48 month account is available as it shows on their list of interest rates (2.15%) but not mentioned on their website. As you can see they confirm they do have it, They then go on to give rules which from what I have seen are pretty much the same for FD at any bank:

 

"Refer to your inquiry for Time Deposit. First of all, we do apologize for any inconvenience caused to you. Please be informed that we have time deposit from 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 to 48 months for General Time Deposit. Please find the details as following;   
 
1 The minimum initial deposit for account opening is THB 1,000.

2 Upon the maturity of the deposit period, the interest after withholding tax shall be credited to the accounts.

3 The Bank shall consider the deposit contract is terminated at the maturity of the tenor is completed. If the account holders do not withdraw the money or notify the Bank otherwise, it shall be considered that the deposit has been renewed in form of previous deposit and the interest rate and conditions of the new deposit shall be as part the Bank’s announcement at the time.

4 In order to withdraw the deposit before maturity.
4.1 Deposits for a period of less than 3 months will not be paid any interest. The interest (inclusive of withholding taxes) which has already been paid will be deducted from the principal that account holders will be paid back. The account holders may ask for a refund of such withholding taxes from The Revenue Department.
4.2 Deposits for a period of 3 months or more will be paid interest according to the Savings Deposit as per the Bank’s announcement effective on the deposit day of such amount and the number of actual deposit days. The principal and accrued interest of the deposit will be paid to account holders after the deduction of interest which has already been paid (inclusive of withholding taxes). The account holders may ask for a refund of the withholding taxes from The Revenue Department.
4.3 For non-resident customers, making the withdrawal before maturity date, will not receive any interest for the deposit amount if a period of deposit is less than 6 months."

 

Did you get in written what documentation the bank want to let you open an account?

Thanks

Felt.

[Aforek]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

...I switched to a "hybrid" type saving account called the Mee Tai Dai (MTD)saving account with Krungsri Bank. it currently pays 1.3% for a Bt800K amount and interest is paid monthly. 

 

I suppose that before you were not at Krungsri Bank ; how did you transfer the 800000 bahts to the new bank ? may be I could be interested, but I want to keep  my saving account with SCB; there is a Krungsri bank a few hundred meters from my bank  and what you describe is better than the SCB fixed account