@Phil *****

I'll agree with you, if he absolutely can't get an account where he is, better to get one in another province than have no account at all. I was just saying it's not just about the interprovincial ATM fee, that there's a whole load of stuff you simply can't handle at a branch in another province and if you stay here a while you'll run into that sooner than later. So better have your account in the same province you live in.

@Phil *****

and did you do this without needing any documentation to move it, like a lease or residence cert? This may depend on the branch, like I said I needed all the stuff again just to open a second account *at the same branch*. So it's not a given that a branch that refuses to open a new account for him would happily move one from another province without whatever it is they want for a new account. Plenty of reports from people saying they wouldn't. That doesn't mean your branch didn't, it just means it worked for your branch.

@Phil *****

sure, but I never said anything about ATM withdrawals. I said there was a lot of other stuff you need to do in your home province. So this is why you might want it in same province. It's not the stuff every day but I have had to go to my home bank several times over the years for something they could only do there.

I've never tried to move an account but I have read plenty of reports from other people who said this was impossible for them, and they had to open a new account, meeting all the criteria for that. I mean I had that experience opening a new account with the same bank branch I already had an account with for years, I still had to go get all the stuff they needed for a new account even though I was already a customer at the same branch.

@Ba**

there's no fee from the Thai side with this method. You still pay your home bank fee, but some cards are zero for this if you have the right one. Plus visa/MC currency spread but that is under 1%.

@B**

plenty of people don't need to show immigration money in a Thai bank. It's useful otherwise if you live here though.

@Bart *************

it's a cash advance. It's a standard thing and it is possible.

@Graham ******

it's no different from using an ATM, it has nothing to do with taxes.

@Ph**

there are lots of things you can only do in the same province. I had to go personally to sign something to get reimbursed for fraud (that big hack that affected half of Thailand) and that needed to be done in my home branch too. Letters from the bank confirming balances or printed statements also. I know it's not impossible to use a card from a branch in another province and I know about the cardless ATM. Most of the time you don't need it but any time something like this comes up it becomes an issue and you'll wish you had a local bank.

@Ph**

some things like the card has to be in the same province, not necessarily the same branch.

@B**

QR is far more widely accepted, you can use it with most street vendors for a 20B purchase and there's no fees either side (which is why everyone accepts it).