Opening UK Bank Account?

Post by **Bread Man** » October 20, 2015, 7:01 am

I have lived in Thailand for over 10 years now and will soon be receiving
my old age pension. I would like to open a UK Bank Account for this to be
paid into every month as I don't want it transferred to a Thai Bank either a
Baht or sterling account. Does anyone know if I can open this without going
back to the UK? or can I open an off-shore account without the need to travel.

Thank you

Post by **mac1966** » October 20, 2015, 7:27 am

I opened an offshore account with nationwide international from Thailand. Via Internet all very easy

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Tapatalk

Post by **Bread Man** » October 20, 2015, 8:10 am

Thank you Mac1966, will try this. How long ago did you do this? as
the Banking regulations have been really tightened as of recent..

Post by **Hoopoe** » October 21, 2015, 12:20 am

I move money around all the time searching for bond rates etc ,, ,Uk , you will find it near impossible to open a Uk bank account , your best bet is off shore , most banks will require photo copy passport witnessed and signed by a notary figure , ie, policeman ,bank manager etc ,proof of address, have a look online at the banks you want ,and all the info is there on how to open accounts , be it post or online,i found RBS the cheapest for transferring lump sums upto 10000 , in sterling ,to Thailand as you get a better rate of exchange

Post by **bignote1** » October 21, 2015, 1:03 am

I'm not sure if this is helpful or not. Either way good luck!

http://www.i-finance.co.uk/uk-bank-acco ... residents/

Post by **Bread Man** » October 21, 2015, 7:57 am

Thank you all for your replies, I was unable to open Udon Map website for most
of day yesterday and have only just seen the replies. I will try everything that you
have suggested - many thanks

Post by **mancman** » October 21, 2015, 8:11 am

don't know if you mean government or company pension, I have my company pension paid direct into Thai bank account, if I have any problem can stop the payment with email to company,

Post by **Bread Man** » October 21, 2015, 8:26 am

I will have Government and Private Pension payable soon, I have a Thai Bank account but was told that transferring money in and out of this account is expensive, takes time and exchange rates not good....thanks for your input.

Post by **arjay** » October 22, 2015, 7:45 am

Bread Man, if you are referring to the UK state pension, be aware that if you are (known to be) living in Thailand, you won't get the annual increases in the UK state pension.

Post by **Bread Man** » October 22, 2015, 10:09 am

Yes I understand that, they already know that I live here permanently now, unfortunate as it is, lucky I have a private pension too..

Post by **wazza** » October 22, 2015, 6:07 pm

Breadman

I was with HSBC years ago, and dumped them, due to monthly fees, minimum balances and expensive transfer fees.

It was with Isle of Man and also 1 in Jersey

Also from memory, needed about 15,000 GBP or equivalent to open it.

They wanted a letter from my Australian bank, passport, evidence of residency in Thailand, utility bills etc, difficult as there generally are in Thai names, but can use other bank accounts that are addressed there.

No Post Boxes allowed for residency proof.

https://www.expat.hsbc.com/1/2/hsbc-exp ... hould-know

Hope your sitting down, when u open the link and read their charges .

Post by **Bread Man** » October 22, 2015, 7:26 pm

Wow! Thank you very much for the info Wazza ...Wow is right

Post by **waanjai** » October 22, 2015, 9:37 pm

Bread Man wrote: I have a Thai Bank account but was told that transferring money in and out of this account is expensive, takes time and exchange rates not good.

Hmm
I have an account with Bangkok Bank.
Each time I transfer a lumpsum of 10.000 Euro to Udon, the bank will charge me 500 Baht as fees. = 0.05 Baht per Euro.
Each time I transfer money from the EU, the money will be in Udon at about 11:00 the next day
The exchange rate You get from Bangkok Bank is nearly always one of the best rates normal banks offer, and they give the best as You transfer via TT (the old abbreviation for Telex, Telefax) without any manual work using SWIFT system.

Post by **Bread Man** » October 23, 2015, 6:58 am

Thank you, that's better than I've been told from another Bank. I will open an account as soon as possible if this is the case, will let you know what the outcome is. Thanks again Waanjai.......

Post by **BobHelm** » October 23, 2015, 7:16 am

I understand the the British Government have no issue with paying the Old Age Pension directly into a Thai Bank Account.
I further understand that the rate of exchange that they use is as good as you are likely to get by any other means & better than most as they do not charge you fees for the process.

However, due to my personal financial set of circumstances, it was not something I pursued when they started to pay my pension earlier this year.

Post by **Zidane** » October 23, 2015, 7:44 am

I have had my company pension transferred from the UK into the Bangkok Bank for a number of years now without a problem.
You are charged 0.25% of the total amount up to a maximum of 500 baht.
This from the Bangkok Banks website....

"What fees are payable to receive funds from abroad?
The fee is 0.25% of the total amount (minimum fee of 200Bt and a maximum fee of 500Bt).

An intermediary bank (between the sending bank and Bangkok Bank) may also deduct an additional handling fee before sending funds to us."

Note that my company uses an agent to transfer the funds from the UK and it does charge a handling fee,but its only something daft like 1.50 GBP equivalent to around 80 baht.

Post by **Bread Man** » October 23, 2015, 10:41 am

Very helpful thank you for your input, seems that the Bangkok Bank may be the answer, to much hassle otherwise..
Thank you every-one..

Post by **wazza** » October 23, 2015, 1:55 pm

BM

BKK Bank offer sms alerts also for incoming deposits etc.

Mine shows the amount being credited to the account. The FX rate and also their fee charged.

Im sure the other banks offer this also.

BKK bank main branch is 154 Prajak Road ..Amphur Muang.Udon.

Internet banking. Debit Card also avaialble on the account you open etc....

Post by **Bread Man** » October 25, 2015, 7:33 am

Thanks Wazza looks like I'll be heading off to BBank this week, a good deal, better than I have been offered..

Post by **Zidane** » October 25, 2015, 9:49 am

Also,Bread Man,if you take out a fixed account with the Bangkok Bank (minimum 1 year, minimum 30,000 baht,I think ? ) you can get a credit card which is good for booking flights and hotels on the internet and/or for your wifes shopping needs when she goes in the cosmetics department in Robinsons and you are a bit stuck for cash !