I have seen that suggestion before to get the non o in my home country before coming to Thailand, and that's what I would like to do. But looking at the Thai embassy website it lists the bank account as a requirement. It that correct?
I do have a Schwab account. I use their ATM card a lot while travelling internationally. That's free but has a $1k daily limit. Looking through the website it looks like they do charge wire fees. Maybe I misread that?