So.. Last year, when I tried to pay for my medical insurance, I got an error message in the bank app, saying i need to visit the bank.

I went to the local Krungthai and was told that new banking regulations forbid foreigners transfering more than 50,000 per transfer...

My daily transfer limit was 1,500,000 per day, so just did 2 transfers and haven't really thought about it since...

A few days ago, i mentioned this to an accountant and she spoke to me with disbelief, as tho I'm an idiot, because nobody else has ever heard of this... Saying I just need to go in and change the limit...

I went to the local Krungthai branch and was told that thai banking regulations forbid foreigners, transfering more than 50,000 per transfer and if I need to transfer more, i need to do more than one transfer, or withdraw the cash and transfer by hand.... So if i need to transfer 800,000, I can do 16 transfers or withdraw the cash...

I went to the provincial branch and they said pretty much the same... Thai Banking regulations forbid foreigners transfering more than 50,000 in the app... ( "in the app" is a significant change.) If I need to transfer more, I can do in the bank... Slightly different story, but better than the local branch.

I went to the provincial branch of Bangkok Bank, asked to change the transfer limit and it was done, instantly, no question asked...

Has anyone else experienced this nonsense, and which banks do or don't allow transfers of more than 50,000 baht?

Has anyone used an agent to open a bank account or has anybody been successful in obtaining a bank account? Having a Thai bank account would make life so much easier 😭

I was able to open a savings account using DTV at SCB Bank at CentralWorld.

Yesterday afternoon, I managed to open an account at SCB in the Airport Plaza in Chiang Mai.

It took three attempts, but in the end, it worked out.

First attempt: I asked what was required to open an account. They told me: passport, visa, certificate of residence, and a work permit.

When I pointed out that I didn’t have a work permit, they informed me that an account could be opened with the DTV (Digital Nomad Visa) for remote work and a translated employment contract for remote workers.

So, I got that done.

Second attempt: Of course, the information I received the first time wasn’t complete. On the second attempt, they told me I also needed a Thai tax ID.

So before my third attempt, I applied for one at the Revenue Department, explaining that I was on a DTV and intended to stay in Thailand for more than 183 days. They issued the tax ID for me.

Third attempt: With my certificate of residence, translated employment contract (which explicitly stated that I work remotely for my employer from Thailand and will stay for more than 183 days), visa, and tax ID, everything went smoothly and quickly.

Oh, and they didn’t try to sell me any unnecessary insurance!

Is it hard to open a 800,000 saving acct at SCB in Hua Hin branch for visa?

When providing bank statements for visa extension (e.g. annual extension based on Thai wife):

-if using the monthly deposit method rather than seasoned ฿400,000 method, is the statement up to date of application still required, or earlier in current month ok, as long as it shows the deposit in current month?

-can a bank account without a passbook be used? I've moved bank accounts to SCB, and they've given me an 'e-passbook', essentially it's passbook cover page with account number, but no pages for showing transactions /balance, but can generate statement to pdf. So if I used that account for immigration, I can't provide the updated passbook, as the account doesn't have one.

We are a married couple in our mid 50's and hoping to retire/move to Thailand in a few years. Would it be a good idea to open a SCB bank account now and start depositing money or just save in the UK banks until we are ready?

UPDATE: I went back with my old passport as well as my new one and was able to change the name and passport number on my account.

Thanks all for the advice!

Will turn off comments but leave the post in case anyone else finds themself in the same situation 😊

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I need to change my name on my SCB bank account, after taking my husbands surname when we married. I have been to 2 different SCB banks and both told me I need a document that shows/verifies my name change. The second bank told me that I can get this from the British Embassy. I’ve emailed the Embassy and they say they don’t provide that, but that they can provide a certified copy of my passport.

So has anybody done this successfully and can shed some light?

The documents I took to the bank were

-passport

-Thai marriage certificate

-Kor Ror

Which Thai banks allow opening multi currency accounts through their App?

Do money transfers from a US Bank using WISE show as a foreign transfer into a Thai bank account?