Bank Accounts Foreign visitors can open savings accounts without any problem. Checking accounts are only available to residents. However, checks drawn on Thai banks and issued to a certain person can be deposited in that person s savings account without any problem. They are generally cleared within a day. Checks drawn on foreign banks can take up to three months for clearing.
Foreigners can open a foreign currency account with any commercial bank in Thailand.
No restrictions are imposed by the government on the maintenance of and withdrawal from the account as long as the funds originate from abroad. Though not yet widespread as in Hong Kong, Automatic Teller Machines are also gaining ground in Bangkok. As foreign tourists cannot open checking accounts, access to the Automatic Teller Machines system is limited to Thais and foreign residents . ATM s are convenient as bank transactions at the counters can be time consuming because of long lines. There are two main networks, Siam Net and Bank Net .