Financial matters in Thailand can have a steep learning curve, as things may not be as straightforward as they were back home.
For example, when you open a bank account in Thailand, you will find that there’s no specific central requirement on what needs to be done. Instead, you will only have a rough idea of the documents you need based on what is listed on the bank’s website. Note that each bank branch has its own specific set of documents required to open an account.
This article is a reference guide for Thailand-based expats who need help navigating the processes involved in exchanging, sending, receiving, saving, and investing money. We also provide links to our other resources to help you further explore specific topics.
Please note that we are not financial advisors or tax professionals, so if you need expert advice for your situation, it’s best to consult a finance professional.
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Contents
- Currency Exchange: How to Get the Best Rates for Thai Baht
- Transfers: Sending Money to (and from) Thailand
- Banks: Opening a Thai Bank Account
- Credit Cards: Loyalty Points and Applying as an Expat
- Checks: How to Cash Domestic and International Checks
- Stocks: How to Open a Brokerage Account
- Taxes
Currency Exchange: How to Get the Best Rates for Thai Baht
There are several ways to exchange your local currencies to Thai Baht, with pptions ranging from cash exchange offices to Bitcoin operators.
Normally, the best way to get the best rate for Thai Baht is to bring your local currency and exchange it in Thailand. There are numerous money exchangers available throughout the country. But don’t exchange them at banks, especially at banks’ branches at the airport, because their fees are astronomical.
Instead, visit a money exchanger in the city proper and exchange your money there, so you can get a much better rate.
The most popular money exchangers in Thailand are called SuperRich, and you can find them throughout Bangkok.
You can find out more in our article about how to get the best currency exchange rates in Thailand.
Transfers: Sending Money to (and from) Thailand
Transferring money into Thailand is a whole topic of its own.
While most people think of bank transfers first, in many cases it’s not the cheapest option.
Currently, online money exchange services such as Wise have proven to offer a better way to send money to Thailand compared to other options.
We’ve put together a separate guide to sending money to Thailand to showcase the cheapest and fastest way of doing it.
Transferring money out of Thailand works similarly, so check out the guide above for some more details on that. There is however one thing to be aware of – transfer restrictions when remitting funds from Thailand abroad: Banks usually only permit people to transfer the equivalent of one year’s salary out of the country.
You have to apply for permission to make a transfer abroad and state the reason (e.g. savings, paying for studies abroad, supporting your family), though I’ve never seen anyone ask for proof.
Keep this in mind if you consider bringing large amounts of cash into (and out of) the country. The rules will also differ depending on the bank.
Banks: Opening a Thai Bank Account
Banks in Thailand work tend to operate a bit different from what you’re used to back home. Different branches (even of the same bank) tend to enforce their own approval procedures and document requirements. You might need a long list of documents in order to pick up a credit card at one branch, while another may just hand it over after seeing your Thai driver license.
I remember opening my first bank account in Thailand. A kind, middle-aged bank teller handled the application. My secretary was along to help translate. Halfway through the process, the teller turned to my secretary and asked, “Does he have a girlfriend?”
Maybe I was lucky that I didn’t, because that account setup seemed to go a lot smoother than anticipated; however, not all my dealings with Thai banks went that well.
To help you easily open a bank in Thailand, we’ve put together a guide on opening a bank account in Thailand that’ll help in navigating things when it comes to financial matters. It also covers other banking basics in Thailand including debit cards.
Credit Cards: Loyalty Points and Applying as an Expat
You can get by in Thailand without a credit or a debit card.
You might end up having to pay bills and tickets at the 7/11 or through online banking, but very few things require a credit card. That being said, cards are widely accepted – from supermarkets to restaurants – and using a local card can save you the foreign currency surcharge.
In addition, cash back rewards can even give you on the spot discounts of up to 20%. Since those offers are usually dependent on having a card from a specific local bank, a lot of Thais carry a whole stack of cards with them in order to make sure they have one that qualifies for the best discount.
We wrote a separate article purely focusing on Thai credit cards for foreigners. It covers the whole application process, required documents, best loyalty program, as well as potential alternatives.
Checks: How to Cash Domestic and International Checks
Checks are no longer common in Thailand since online bank transfers are slowly replacing them.
One of the more beneficial uses of checks is to make international transfers: in the past I’ve cashed THB checks into bank accounts in Germany. The advantage of that method is that the German bank converts THB to EUR rather than the Thai bank (as is the case with a wire transfer). This results in a slightly better exchange rate in my experience.
However, it can take several weeks for the checks to clear and unlike a wire transfer, you won’t know which exchange rate it’s going to be.
Foreign currency checks are a different animal. The first time I tried to cash a USD check with Bangkok Bank, they told me that this option is not available for accounts that were opened less than 6 months ago. I ended up cashing it at a Kasikorn Bank branch (‘Rachadaphisek-Huay Khwang‘). Like everywhere else, it still takes six weeks to get a foreign currency check credited, but at least you can do so immediately after opening an account.
One of the big pros of using checks is that the fees can be lower than for SWIFT transfers. In many cases, you can cash a check for as little as THB 300, making it significantly cheaper than wire transfers if you don’t mind the wait.
Stocks: How to Open a Brokerage Account
If you want to invest money in Thailand, there are some good reasons to go with a brokerage account: there is no capital gains tax on profits from buying and selling shares listed on the SET and dividends can be taxed at a flat rate of 10%.
Brokerage fees tend to be very low; Siam Commercial Bank, for example, only charges a transaction fee of 0.25% (with a minimum of THB 100).
You can open a brokerage account without being a resident, but you’ll have to do it in person. In terms of paperwork, it’s one of the most arduous procedures in this article: the ‘standard’ contract by SCB to open an online brokerage account is thirteen pages long.
The user interface is a bit clunky but it gets the job done.
After you open a brokerage account, you can choose to download a mobile application such as Streaming where you can buy Thai stocks.
For a more detailed guide to dealing with brokers and investment in Thailand, check out our guide on how to invest in Thailand as an expat.
Taxes
The current VAT rate in Thailand is 7%. If you work in Thailand, you are subject to Thailand’s personal income tax, which follows a progressive rate structure with a maximum of 35%.
On the other hand, if you bring money to Thailand within the same calendar year after you’ve earned it, you are also required to pay income tax in Thailand.
Read our guide to Thailand income tax for foreigners to get more information about this.
It’s worth noting that the Thai government offers several tax incentives for savings and investments, which can be particularly beneficial for those who are working in Thailand.
Two of the most common investments that receive preferential tax treatment are SSFs and RMFs.
At this point, we really want to repeat that I’m not an accountant or a tax professional. If you decide to get serious about investments, please do your own research or contact a professional for advice.
While We’ve done our best to ensure the accuracy (including running it past our own accountant), we can’t guarantee that it’s accurate and you’ll have to use the information at your discretion and without any guarantees. There are some serious tax risks associated with this, so please research things with caution and if in doubt, consult a tax professional.
Super Saving Funds (SSFs)
SSFs are the most popular tax incentivised savings option for the working population of Thailand. In essence, you can put up to 30% (up to a maximum of THB 200,000) of your yearly income into one of these funds and exclude that amount from your income when calculating taxes. The higher your marginal tax rate is, the more interesting this becomes.
There are a number of downsides to this though. You’ll need to keep it invested for at least ten years before you can withdraw it without a penalty. If you withdraw before then, you can face severe tax penalties that consist of the originally owed amount plus 1.5% interest per month (that’s a yearly rate of 19.6%!) since the time you originally would have owed the taxes.
More importantly, the super saving funds that are eligible for tax savings tend to have a slightly higher management fee, which will eat up part of your tax savings.
As a rule of thumb, you can only buy a SSF if the management fee is below 1% and your marginal tax rate in that year is at least 20%. Anything worse than that and the tax savings go to the bank. In addition, you should make sure to sell it after ten years and invest in something with a lower management fee instead.
Retirement Mutual Funds (RMFs)
There are some similarities between RMFs and LTFs: each allows you to invest up to 15% (not more than THB 500,000) of your yearly income while still receiving tax incentives.
The main difference is that with an RMF, you’ll have to keep paying in until you are at least 55 years old in order to keep the tax benefits. That makes it immensely inconvenient, especially for younger expats who might only be in the country for a limited number of years.
In addition to that, the management costs are going to eat up not only your tax savings, but also your gains beyond that. Then there’s also a significant tax risk associated with it, due to the likelihood of making a mistake over the course of its duration.
If you are in the top tax bracket and either certain you’ll stay in Thailand permanently or are older than 45 years old, RMFs get really interesting: the potential tax savings are much more significant and keeping up payments in the future will be less of a hassle and risk.
The Stock Market
One of the biggest Thai tax incentives for private individuals is the lack of a capital gains tax on profits made from buying and selling shares listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. This only applies to the difference between the purchasing and selling price.
Dividends still get taxed at a rate of 10% or whatever your personal taxation rate is (talk to an accountant about what works out better for you).
As to how to go about opening a trading account, please see the brokerage account section above.
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