Foreigners - STOP Bringing Money Into Thailand

Even though I've lived in Thailand for almost six years, even I can't believe the stupidity of Thai banks sometimes.  Case in point, the Thai Banking Association has decided, in all its wisdom, that by the end of the month every Thai bank will charge a 150 baht fee every time an ATM card is used in a Thai ATM machine to withdraw money from an overseas bank account.

This in a country where the tourism industry is down 60%, where NOBODY is booking holidays in Thailand and where expats are leaving every day and taking their money with them.  Are Thailand's banks really this stupid?  It honestly seems like they are.

For me, I've been withdrawing money from my US bank account for the last couple of months so that I can increase my savings account in Thailand.  As of last Friday, I will not bring ANY MORE MONEY into Thailand.  Instead, I'm going to empty out my Bangkok Bank account and use that to live on every month, because, if Bangkok Bank thinks I'm going to spend 150 baht ($4.22) every time I withdrew money from the US, they really must be smoking some kind of drug?

Tomorrow, I will be going to Bangkok Bank and withdrawing everything in my account, leaving a 200 baht balance to keep the account open. When I get paid on Friday, I'll be going again to withdraw that money too.  Because if Bangkok Bank thinks I'm going to give them any of my business after they have instituted this outrageous fee, they really ARE doing drugs!

I also suggest every other expat and farang refuse to bring money into Thailand as much as is feasibly possible.  This new 150 baht fee is outrageous and I, for one, will not pay it.

Comments

[Jeff]

I don't understand, if you are taking most of your Thai Baht out of your account, where are you going to keep it...under your mattress?

Secondly, can you tell me why so many expats are leaving? I can understand tourism being down because of the political stuff going on, but I wouldn't think this would affect the expat community as much. Can you expand on this topic.

Thanks a lot and keep writing. Your blog is very informative and is a good read.

[britinbangkok]

Jeff, I plan on taking out all my money when I get paid, paying bills early and then keeping the rest (I have a very secure living arrangement with a safe in my room :-) I absolutely REFUSE to give any of my business to Thai banks if this is what they are doing. They already do NOT pay much interest to farang customers (Thais get higher interest rates) and now they're trying to rip us off with this outrageous fee?

As for expats leaving, a lot started leaving when the visa rules changed so much. Now with 30 day visa runs having been eliminated and farangs now having to go to the border every 15 days, I know a fair few farangs that left to go to Cambodia, Korea and Japan (and took their Thailand-earned money with them!). On top of that, the political situation has spooked some expats, and jobs are getting a bit more difficult to find as some govt. schools can't afford to hire farangs anymore.

I predict Thailand going thru a devastating crisis in the next year, but that seems to be what it takes before the Thai govt. gets a clue and starts to be more farang-friendly. Happens every few years :-)

[Jeff]

Hi again,

Thanks for the information. I suppose the expats that are having to go to the border every 15 days are not employed in Thailand and can not qualify for any of the visas offered. Is this right?

Despite the negatives and your prediction of a crisis, do you still plan on staying there? In other words, do you think the quality of life there overshadows all the nonsense?

[Britinbangkok]

Jeff, no a lot of those having to do 15 day visa runs work here. Either they don't have university degrees which means, in most cases, they can't get a work permit, or their school won't get one for them. A lot of these people left rather than do a visa run every 2 weeks.

As it stands right now, yes, I love Thailand and plan on staying permanently. I think the decisions the govt constantly makes are stupid and I do wish they would start to act like your average Thai, who doesn't understand why the govt does what they do either :-)

If things do get very bad though, I'd move to Europe. Probably Spain.

[Jeff]

Wow, saying that you want to stay permanently says a lot, especially since you're a woman. I mean I can understand a guy saying this for various reasons.

So here's the deal, my wife and I have been thinking seriously about moving there but we now also have a child to consider. We have taught English for three years in Korea and both of us have degrees. We both don't necessarily have to work, but upon researching the various visa options I think it is the only way to stay there permanently. That is, if we find an employer willing to handle this for us.

I know you said that going there first and finding a job would be better than finding one off the internet, but having never been there we have no clue where to stay and what areas to look for work. Can you give us any insight into this?

Also, we were considering Chiang Mai as a possible destination. I know that you have visited there and seemed to like it, but what are your thoughts on living and working there? Do you think Bangkok offers so much more as far as entertainment goes? Is Chiang Mai more polluted?

Thanks again for any more information you can provide. Let me know when you put together your first e-book, I'll be the first to buy.

[Smorg]

Ya... that's a rather senseless move on the banks' part, I must say. One'd think they'd be doing the opposite (to encourage farangs to put money in Thai account from oversea rather than to discourage moving money into Thailand). Have you tried writing a complaint letter to the bank managers? Maybe they can be persuaded to reconsider (or maybe to give you a better deal).

Living in Thailand sure sounds eventful! ;o)

[Jon]

You're right, this plan is ridiculous and will have foreigners up in arms.

However it really shouldn't affect any expats. If I want to use my UK funds I'll transfer (via internet) cash to my Thai account. Alternatively I can move funds from my UK current account to my UK credit and use that - Visa incurs no cost on payment, making it convenient to use in Thailand.

I do agree that holiday makers will be affected, just another example of Thai cashing in on its tourists when the (economic) chips are down.

[Andrew Hicks]

Yes, as I've said on my blog, there is a remarkable capacity for them to shoot tourism in the foot. If you want more tourists for example you reduce the visa waiver from 30 days to 15 days! I know so many young travellers who have therefore gone elsewhere.

Another tendency for Thai hotels etc... when the going gets really tough instead of discounting they put up their price. Then more money comes in!

Andrew Hicks

[Talen]

You might want to check into Kasikorn Bank. They tend to do things much better than the other banks and they are aligned with ING which is good for overseas money.

[expatudon08]

Kasikorn Bank is much better my brother in law works for them as for the rest Thailand is still head and shoulders above Cambodia Vietnam Laos Burma OK Japan very nice if you have a big budget
the visa rules are a pain but it as sorted some of the riff raff out and that.s a good thing if you ask me http://www.udonthani.co.uk/