Are there any good Credit Unions to join in Thailand? Would like to step away from banks where possible.

Does anyone here have a partner or know someone with a credit union. I.e Thai national and any they recommend?

Wise.

A warning to anyone using Wise or thinking of Wise. Their wonderful AI assistant just told me a flat out lie to get me to deposit money. My account was restricted about a week ago. They held my money and did not transmit in. Then they returned it. So today I go to wise to transfer about 85k baht. I see no notice of restriction. So to double check I open chat and ask is my account restricted. No says the AI assitant, I have checked and there is no restriction. So I do the transfer. Then it flashes up your account is restricted. They have taken the money out of the bank but not sending it. So I ask to speak to a human. Their response, hard luck. The AI assistant got it wrong we can not tell you how long we will hold your money or when we will send it on. In the space of a week thats nearly 200000 baht they have grabbed. Think how many others they are doing it to and earning interest on short term deposits. I suggest everybody switches to Remitly or something else. You simply cannot trust Wise anymore. Even a request to find out how long a restriction lasts is met with a shrug.....its another team, might be ten days, might be weeks.

Good news for expats and digital nomads in Thailand, especially for those who couldn’t open a Thai bank account.

Wise will officially launch its full services in Thailand starting May 19, 2026, and this will clearly make life much easier for many people.

You will be able to top up your Wise account from a Thai bank, pay via PromptPay QR codes like a local account, receive money using your own QR like a local account, and get a Wise card, both digital and physical, in local currency.

In practical terms, this brings Wise much closer to a real local bank account, without the administrative constraints of Thai banks.

For anyone struggling with banks here, this is clearly a major improvement.

Just want to know if any expats from the UK use Wise and if they do, do they have trouble with the money coming instantly or do they usually have to wait for a few hours or even the next day?

Hello my friends, I would like to ask if it's possible to open in Thailand one Bank account with tourist visa? I know it's not possible but would like to know if however, there is a way to do it.

Hi everyone, I have a DTV (Destination Thailand Visa) and I plan to stay in Thailand long-term, but will likely move between hotels/short-term accommodations frequently (no fixed address) to see different places.

My funds are mainly in Revolut and a European bank, and I’m trying to:

* minimize Thai ATM fees (I think is 220 THB per withdrawal)

* avoid a cash-heavy lifestyle, since cash spending gets out of control easily

I’d really appreciate real-world input from people who stay for months:

1. Is it actually feasible in practice to open a Thai bank account on a DTV visa, or is it very branch-dependent / hit-or-miss?

2. If you have a Thai bank account, how do you fund it in real life in order to avoid high fees?

– Revolut → Thai bank directly?

– Wise?

– another method?

3. What is the real monthly cost (fees + FX), not the theoretical one?

4. For those who change accommodations often, what address did you give when opening the account?

5. In your experience, is opening a local Thai bank account really worth it, or does it just replace ATM fees with transfer fees?

Thanks in advance 🙏

Looking for cheapest bank account agent – Bangkok (Asok/Sukhumvit)

Staying near Ruamchitt Hotel / Terminal 21.

I have passport, Non-O retirement visa, Thai phone number, and TM30.

Kasikorn branch asked for 1-year lease.

Please comment with price and availability today. DM OK after.

At the maturity of a term deposit, today I visited Krungsri Bank for the first time since switching from Non-B to DTV. I handed over my passport with DTV printout. No questions asked. In addition, they noticed that my debit card has expired long ago (I actually never used it) and they issued me a new card.

The bank didn’t make me feel like a ‘tourist’ the way some members here keep emphasising on.

Pick up on another site. Krunthai bank are actively closing accountshelp by DTV (tourist) visas, its a policy introduced 2025.

Bank limitations for DTV, response from Krungthai

My Krungthai account has stopped working today: card payments were declined, and the app is locked.

I opened this account while was on an ED visa (2024), and later (2025) switched to a DTV visa (workcation category for remote workers).

I visited a branch and spent about 2 hours resolving the issue.

The outcome was:

• The account itself works, and I can receive transfers

• My debit card was unlocked for online payments until its expiry date, so I can pay in Grab, online, and at stores.

However, the Krungthai NEXT (bank application) is still soft-locked: I cannot log in; the app shows: "Additional verification required, please visit a branch."

The branch teller informed me: "Since you are on a DTV visa, we cannot unlock your app unless you change your visa."

So, there is a lock: you can not login app because verification needed, you can not verify because of DTV is limited.

There is a response from krungthai support email:

Dear Mr. ***

Please be advised that Krungthai Bank has implemented updated conditions governing account opening for foreign nationals and authorization for the use of the Krungthai NEXT Application.

2. DTV Visa Restrictions: Please note that the bank currently does not accept new account openings for customers holding a DTV Visa, nor can this visa type be used for applying for other bank products or services.

These updated conditions are effective from April 3, 2025, and remain current.

The new policy entails the following key limitations, impacting both new and existing customers. New Account Opening is no longer permitted for foreign nationals holding student visas (specifically those attending language schools or special, non-degree courses).

Furthermore, for Existing Customers, this policy impacts service access in two main areas: if you encounter issues with the Krungthai NEXT Application and require identity re-verification to regain access, you will be unable to complete this process. Additionally, existing foreign customers are currently unable to issue a new or renew an expired Debit Card.

We again sincerely apologies that our branch staff were unable to provide the requested service. Please understand that our employees are strictly obligated to adhere to the rules and conditions established by the bank, ensuring consistent operational policy across all locations.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Krungthai Contact Center at 02-1111111 , 24 hours every day.

For more information and benefits, please kindly visit our Website or via application Line@Krungthai Connext

Sincerely yours,

Krungthai Contact Center

KrungThai Bank PCL.

I contacted to a few random agents, in hope that prob they have any workaround.

There are their responses:

#1:

Unfortunately, because the DTV is treated as a tourist-type visa, most Thai banks no longer allow DTV holders to open accounts, and some have recently begun deactivating tourist-visa accounts. This policy was updated recently, and based on what we have seen, it is unlikely to change soon.

#2:

That right for DTV visa it 's same tourist visa can't unlock. But you can used true money or if you have Thai friends can give they bank for you. I feel sad that I can't help you with this matter.🙏🙏🙏

So, it seems impossible to have a bank account on DTV at all, even existing ones will be limited. I had a hope that this won't occur to existing customers (like in my case: opened account on ED, then switched to DTV), but it did not work.

Quite sad that while being allowed to live and work remotely from a country for 5 years period you have no access the local banking.

Even re-issuing existing card is impossible (so if one day you will see fraudulent transactions, that may happen after any random data breach, like recent AirAsia one - you can either tolerate or block your card forever, e.g. lose ability to pay online).

According the Krungthai response, it seems that even ED visa holders will be affected (existing and new ones), just matter of time.

For Promptpay (QR payments) the workaround is to use TrueMoney app: after passing verification you will be able to pay by QR, receive money by QR, for both company and personal accounts. It may take A LOT of attempts to pass verification: attaching the same docs may lead to different outcomes: mine was verified from 1st attempt, my wife still can't pass it after >5 attempts.

Anyone here opened a Wise account in Thailand as business/freelancer to receive money and then get a virtual card to pay your payment since you can’t open a traditional bank?