Expat Advice: Financial Issues in Bangkok, Thailand

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Bangkok

Which banks do you use? If you have a local account, which bank do you use? How do you like it? Do you also have an account in your home country? Which bank? Do they charge for ATM withdrawals? Do they charge a lot for international wire transfers? How has it been working with them from abroad? Do you use a special international wire transfer service? Do you use an online bank? If so, tell us about them.

At first I used Bank of America for checking, but then they shifted out of the retail banking business in Thailand, so I use local banks for everything, except credit cards, where I use banks in the USA

Traveling Mailbox
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Traveling Mailbox

Traveling Mailbox serves thousands of travelers, expats, digital nomads, businesses, individuals and others in over 47 Countries by scanning their postal mail so they can view it online anywhere in the world. They provide customer service 7 days a week so if you need assistance, it is just a phone call away. Traveling Mailbox works with Evernote, Bill.com and Dropbox. And, there are Traveling Mailbox apps available for iOS and Android devices.
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Click connect to have our partner contact you via e-mail and/or phone.

What advice would you offer others about banking as an expat in your country? What do you wish you had known about banking when you first arrived?

Bring a few credit cards from home country. If you have part of your salary here paid offshore, use a credit card from the bank where the money is paid rather than doing bank transfers, as they can take a long time. Avoid having any more money than necessary transferred from home country to Thailand, because even if there is a tax treaty, you might get taxed on it anyway. Make sure to declare the money you bring into the country when you travel here by ai, sea or land from your home country. If you do not and you have to leave suddenly, you may be taxed on everything you take out.

What sort of challenges or frustrations have you encountered as an investor living overseas? Please describe.

Be very wary of the stock market here. It is manipulated by the brokers and major local players. Some of the brokers play against their customers. Never believe any brokers. If you must invest in the stock market, plan on long term, and not short term, but be prepared to sell on short noticxe to minimize losses. Read up on the 1997 economic crisis - it will not be the last one.

What advice was particularly helpful to you in managing your finances? What advice would you give? Any other thoughts?

See above notes.

Do you do your own taxes, use a local firm, an expat-oriented firm or does your employer handle this for you (i.e. via an corporate tax firm)?

I do my own taxes now, but when I first came here i had my wife do them, because trhe forms were in Thai.

What advice could you offer others about doing your taxes as an expat?

Since the local tax forms are in Thai, it might be a bit difficult to do your own taxes. Some companies do it for you, but entrepreneurs may need a tax accountant