I was replying to the person that posted. It seems that opening a bank account on a tourist visa is virtually impossible now without using an agent. It took a lot of persistence a couple of years ago when I did it, but it's even more challenging now.
I do agree with you that people seem to use agents for things that are very simple though.
With both the situations you described, I presume you pay the agent on the day (certainly opening a bank account), so asking online for recommendations seems the obvious method as there's little risk. I did it on my own, but that's what I would do now. If they asked for money in advance I would walk away.
i think that is a good method, I do something similar with a Starling bank card and use it to pay for things anywhere that will accept a card. I am retired here, so I need a Thai bank account to deposit money (for the visa) and use that for cash.
you were told incorrectly. There's a lot of wrong information given by people. I used Wise for my bank transfers to Bkk bank and my non o retirement visa and subsequent yearly extensions were approved with no problems.