Banking in Hua Hin

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bram
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Banking in Hua Hin

Post by bram »

When I arrive, I will need to open a bank account for my retirement visa. Which is the best bank to use, can I get a debit card instead of a passbook account, and which has the best services? Last time I used Bangkok bank, but wasnt wildly impressed.

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buksida
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by buksida »

Quite a common question this one and everyone will have their own preferences, here are some in previous recent topics:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35982
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32422
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by RCer »

If you need to do business back in your home country using a debit card, make sure it is either a Visa or Mastercard. That knocks BKK out of the running. They switched to a Union Pay card.
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by HHTel »

RCer wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 5:14 pm If you need to do business back in your home country using a debit card, make sure it is either a Visa or Mastercard. That knocks BKK out of the running. They switched to a Union Pay card.
Funny how that just came up. I was going to do a search. I read that current debit cards (visa) from BKK bank had to be changed before next year. I was in the bank today and queried it. My debit card with a visa sign expires in 2026. The bank told me I can use it up until that date. When I pointed out the switch to Unionpay they told me that it wont affect me until mine expires!
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by bram »

Thanks for the thread Buksida. Kasicorn looks the best, as I want a proper debit card, not the useless BKB atm card. Their exchange rates don't look too bad either. I will shop around when I hit town!

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Re: Banking in HH

Post by HHTel »

not the useless BKB atm card.
Not sure I understand that. My Bkk bank debit card works pretty much anywhere. Uk, Malaysia, Cambodia......

I may have jumped in without thinking there. Of course unless you've already got a Bkk bank debit card, the new ones issued are the unionpay cards which I agree are next to useless as a debit card.
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Re: RE: Re: Banking in HH

Post by bram »

HHTel wrote:
not the useless BKB atm card.
Not sure I understand that. My Bkk bank debit card works pretty much anywhere. Uk, Malaysia, Cambodia......

I may have jumped in without thinking there. Of course unless you've already got a Bkk bank debit card, the new ones issued are the unionpay cards which I agree are next to useless as a debit card.
Last time I was in LOS, they gave me a passbook account and an atm card, which wasnt a debit card at all. If they are giving out real debit cards, thats a plus tho. HSBC here in Hong Kong gives u a Unionpay card, which is useless anywhere outside HK, in fact u cant use it overseas at all.

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Re: RE: Banking in HH

Post by hhinner »

bram wrote:When I arrive, I will need to open a bank account for my retirement visa. Which is the best bank to use, can I get a debit card instead of a passbook account, and which has the best services? Last time I used Bangkok bank, but wasnt wildly impressed.

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Open a savings account (you'll get a passbook) and ask for a Visa ATM card (debit card). They won't give you a Visa credit card, so you may need to make the distinction between debit and credit clear. Kasikorn isn't a bad choice. Remember to ask for online access when you open the account otherwise you'll probably have to go back to do this with paper forms. Also request mobile banking if you want to use their phone app. Kasikorn also offer virtual Visa "credit cards" called K-Web shopping card, which can be used for online shopping only. You can apply for this through online banking.
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Re: RE: Banking in HH

Post by caller »

hhinner wrote: Tue May 08, 2018 11:29 amKasikorn also offer virtual Visa "credit cards" called K-Web shopping card, which can be used for online shopping only. You can apply for this through online banking.
What's the difference between this and just using your debit card?
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Re: RE: Re: Banking in HH

Post by HHTel »

bram wrote: Tue May 08, 2018 8:28 am
HHTel wrote:
not the useless BKB atm card.
Not sure I understand that. My Bkk bank debit card works pretty much anywhere. Uk, Malaysia, Cambodia......

I may have jumped in without thinking there. Of course unless you've already got a Bkk bank debit card, the new ones issued are the unionpay cards which I agree are next to useless as a debit card.
Last time I was in LOS, they gave me a passbook account and an atm card, which wasnt a debit card at all. If they are giving out real debit cards, thats a plus tho. HSBC here in Hong Kong gives u a Unionpay card, which is useless anywhere outside HK, in fact u cant use it overseas at all.

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Re: Banking in HH

Post by hhinner »

@caller - Not sure. Maybe it can be used for sites that accept credit card payments but not debit card payments. Also refunds can be paid to it, not sure if that can be done with a debit card. But mainly, it's safer. You can specify the credit limit between 0 and whatever is in the associated account. So if the card number is hacked somehow it will be no good unless funds have been made available. So, for me, I allow enough funds for a given purchase, and the rest of the time set the available funds to zero. Can't use it for airline tickets where they insist on seeing the card at check in though. Or car hire reservations.
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by caller »

Many thanks HH! :)

I'll look into it a bit more. I have had a couple of issues where a DC wasn't accepted.
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by J.J.B. »

caller wrote: Wed May 09, 2018 2:15 pm Many thanks HH! :)

I'll look into it a bit more. I have had a couple of issues where a DC wasn't accepted.
The Visa Debit card I have with Kasikorn Bank (just had to get a new one issued today) is different from the standard Visa debit card I have with other, non-Thai banks. The main difference is that it doesn’t have my name on it, but rather ‘Privileged Member’ and none of the letters or numbers are embossed, they are just printed.

While I can use it in ATMs and shops, I can’t use it online as a key piece of information requested is the cardholder’s name. I have been able to set-up a K-web shopping thingy ‘virtual’ card and also used it in conjunction with verified by Visa, since that cropped-up elsewhere in the past few days.
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by caller »

J.J.B. wrote: Wed May 09, 2018 8:48 pm The main difference is that it doesn’t have my name on it, but rather ‘Privileged Member’ and none of the letters or numbers are embossed, they are just printed.

While I can use it in ATMs and shops, I can’t use it online as a key piece of information requested is the cardholder’s name.
That's interesting as I have the same x2 and use them online without any problems whatsoever. I just put my first name and surname when the name is requested. It's never been rejected.
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Re: Banking in HH

Post by J.J.B. »

Interesting indeed! I’ll have to try that and see if it works for me too.
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