Hello from Thailand!

Don't hold my country of residence against me, please as I am a frequent traveler to and lover of Cambodia

So I'm American and live/work in Thailand. I'm on a diplomatic visa currently, but starting a new job which will require me to have a business visa/work permit. However, it will take some time to get everything process, so in the meantime... I need to work on my current diplomatic visa. The working itself isn't a problem, but getting paid is. My new employer won't be able to pay me into my Thai bank account until they complete the paperwork. So, if I need to be paid into a foreign account, Cambodia seems like the natural option as I don't need to travel far.

While I know it's relatively easy for foreigners to open up bank accounts in Thailand on tourist visas, I have no idea what the banking landscape is like in Cambodia.

Here are my questions:

1) Can Americans open up bank accounts on tourist visas? I hate that I have to specify Americans, with FBAR and FATCA, many banks don't want to deal with Americans, much less Americans on tourist visas.

2) Would I need any additional documents? Obviously I won't have a lease, but I was thinking of asking a Cambodian friend to 'borrow' their address so I have something to write down. And if so, does that address need to be in Phnom Penh if I open an account in Phnom Penh? My girlfriend is from Banteay Meanchey and we've been together for about 2 years, so I would like to just put her family address down, but I will be in Phnom Penh to open the account. On the flip side, we tried to open an account for her at Siam Commercial Bank in Thonglo (where I live in Bangkok) and they wouldn't let her because her foreign laborer permit card (she's a maid) said she didn't live in that area (bullshit discrimination if you ask me).

3) Which banks (that would likely accept me) have the best 'online' account access and best foreign ATM withdrawal (since I would be taking money out of Thai ATMs)?

4) Are there any banks that allow online international transfers to Thailand? That would be a plus. Otherwise, which banks would allow me to withdraw large amounts?

5) I will have about 250,000 Thai baht per month that my office would transfer into the account. Will this be a problem? I mean, accepting an international transfer and depositing Thai baht? And would it be converted?

6) Are there minimums? I'd like to open an account with around 200 USD to start and then have the first deposit of 7,500 USD transferred from my office about a week after that. I think I would probably normally want to keep around 500 USD in the account, withdrawing the rest.

I know these are a lot of specific questions, so I really appreciate anybody who can help me answer these ahead of my trip next week.

Thanks in advance!

From this thread ask-the-expats-questions-answers/advice ... 69-10.html

Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:11 pm

Wadells wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2018 12:07 pm
2. Bank account - I will continue to read through the forum, but can anyone give me an idiot's guide to setting up a bank account in Siem Reap in a day? One that has internet banking so that I can check it? What docs would I need? Would I need to get in touch in advance? Any banks to recommend? Is it even possible for a foreigner with no work pass?

to open a bank account you need an E Visa with a 6+ Month Extension + Proof of Residency/Address of your Apartment,

you wont be able to do that if youre just here for 5 days on a tourist visa mate

ABA is good, but looks like you would need a address in Cambodia.

https://www.ababank.com/en/

hmm they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days

(┛◉Д◉)┛ wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2018 1:04 pm hmm they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days

in what sense? i think i have a very reasonable objective and don't think there's anything unsavory about my intentions.

Kuroneko wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:16 pm From this thread ask-the-expats-questions-answers/advice ... 69-10.html

Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:11 pm

Wadells wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2018 12:07 pm
2. Bank account - I will continue to read through the forum, but can anyone give me an idiot's guide to setting up a bank account in Siem Reap in a day? One that has internet banking so that I can check it? What docs would I need? Would I need to get in touch in advance? Any banks to recommend? Is it even possible for a foreigner with no work pass?

to open a bank account you need an E Visa with a 6+ Month Extension + Proof of Residency/Address of your Apartment,

you wont be able to do that if youre just here for 5 days on a tourist visa mate

Thanks, I did see this but I've also seen other opinions and had some more specific questions (hence the post). From my experience, Cambodia is usually at least as loose as Thailand on regulations for these sorts of things, so I was hoping this would be one of those areas.

AndyKK wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:26 pm ABA is good, but looks like you would need a address in Cambodia.

https://www.ababank.com/en/

I have a Cambodian colleague who I've known for many years who lives in Phnom Penh and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind if I wrote down her address. The question is whether or not I need a lease.

On the ABA website it says "Must have Cambodian residential address" but doesn't say anything about a visa or how the proof of address needs to be shown, if any. Anyway, thanks for the link to the site. Will definitely try with them!

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:41 pm Definitely ABA, online banking, international transfers via online banking, Visa debit card which can be used abroad for withdrawals and online payments.

It's hit n miss, technically you require at least a valid 6 mth visa EOS, but often they will allow people to open an acct with just a Tourist visa. An address or local phone number is usually enough. Minimum opening balance is minimal, check their website for details.

I remember there was some issue with Americans opening bank acct here, hopefully one of your fellow countrymen can expand on that.

I guess I expect the hit and miss, as that's how it tends to be in Thailand with foreigners who are on tourist visas, so that's reassuring that some would be flexible without the 6 month visa. I will get a local phone number for sure and will have an address to use. Getting some form of lease might be more difficult. ABA looks good though. Thanks much for the recommendation.

The issue with Americans are usually these requirements for FBAR and FATCA which require reporting of American citizen accounts so we can't escape the IRS. It's just a pain in the ass for the bank and takes like an hour instead of 10 minutes to set up an account. Hopefully they'll think I am worthy of the time investment!

Anyway, thanks again for your reply