Cambodia Bank account

You just went to the wrong banks. If you would have searched here on Expat.com you would have found that Canadia and ABA are the best banks to open an account.

From my post 2 years ago and nothing has changed:

I got a Canadia bank account which works very well.
ATM at their branches for free, at other banks $0.50 is charged. Except at ANZ!!! I took money from an ATM in PP and ANZ charged me $5 for that, really ridiculous.

To open an account:

Passport with long term visa more than 4 months valid
Copy of rental contract (or hotel reservation)
Deposit $10
Can use your account the same day, ATM card takes a week.

They have free internet banking, so you can check your account from home, make transfers, and so on.

The 4 month visa seems to be a major obstacle now.  I am new here and only get one month at a time Visas.  I have tried to get longer and they are now making it much harder as an EB business visa unless you work for a large company.  I am self employed and haven't had any luck getting a longer visa.  Any suggestions on how to improve that?  I went round and round over this at both Sathapana and FTB bank as they kept looking at my mere 30 day visa.

Hello.

Get a EG (general)  extension of stay for 6 months,  no documentation needed.

Then go to a Canadia bank branch and open your account.

Furthermore find another agent for visa work,  one month extensions are ridiculous and unnecessary.

Cheers.

Joe.

Phew - it's got more complicated obviously! When I first came here in 2004, I easily opened a CAB savings account  - and only had 30-day visas for years. I now have a retirement visa through Lucky. Recently added an ATM card to my account - 50c/month (but 2% interest paid) free from their ATMs
Never use ANZ!! most others as Joe said, 50c a time.
Sending money from the UK in the early days was VERY expensive; CAB only charged $10 in, but the other clearers (US?) added another $20 or so. This was using Caxton fx - no charges, and a decent rate, about -1.5%
But - best of all, I now bring out £notes each time, and OrRattanak (near Phsar Thmei) usually give me a better rate than the official interbank rate! Then pay the $$ in (free) for safety on Monivong branch.

Joe as  in the past u are wrong again. I have lived here as an expat for 7 years. I went to ABa  and 2 others. They want me to have a business to set up any account. I told them I wanted to transfer 10,000 US into this account. They said no without business account. ***

***

Try canadia bank. I forget what they wanted as it been awhile but they only wanted ten dollar deposit. Eight of that goes in fees. I deposited forty and had a balance of thirty two once they'd processed it. I was going to get my pension paid into it. I got paranoid and thought I'd be better off paying the 23 dollars my bank charges me. I have just worked it into my budget. I only go to the atm once a month.

Thanks I will try there.

Just one more idea - have you got a trusted Khmer partner? Open in his/her name, then get yours added. May work. My account is in our joint names, and I have the passbook (but after 15 years would trust her honesty, if not her business sense!) Will.

Richard your going to find if jo was wrong , it doesn't happen often he knows  more about cambodia than most of us including you, so I welcome his advice , I've found him to be spot on in 99% of the topics, that's why he writes for expats and you and I don't

Thanks twinsguy.

The problem is that several banks have different conditions to open an account.

Even worse is that some branches of the same banks have different guidelines.

Therefor the only way to open an account is to a) choose the easiest bank (Canadia) and b) find the branch that has the easiest conditions.

Cheers

Joe

i'm not sorry he was wrong this time. old info.

You seem to be a very stubborn guy who tried a few banks and thinks that's it.

As I said my story,  although 3 years old,  is still  valid at branches of Canadia bank.  Period.

Joe

OK Joe I have over 10 k to put in a Cambodian bank. If u are so smart find 1 and ask them to contact me. Very simple. I have everything but I am not putting in my girlfriends nme
Thanks.

You think they are interested in how much money you want to put in your account?
They don't care at all,  it's your savings account and what you do with it is totally up to you.

Just last week I asked at my Canadia bank (owned by the National Bank of Canada)  what the conditions are to open a savings account and they are still the same as 3 years ago when I opened my savings account.

Sorry that  disappoint you.

Cheers.

Joe

I have never had any bank kn the world refuse to open an account. That's now they make money by using yours. 3 banks in 1 day and they all said the same. Maybe just don't like me. Maybe I look like a bank robber.
Okay let's end this conversation.

Richard, what joe is saying, and you too will find this out, different banks , and even sometimes who you talk to do it differently, as in one year retirement visa, one place says you need some documentation, the next place takes it and brings you back you're passport stamped for a year, it's  cambodia richard , your not in  “Kansas anymore dorthy” , it's who you know , they will not be impressed with 10 grand, but don't get frustrated, look around alittle, certainly your not in a big hurry, as you would not be in cambodia if you were in a big hurry for anything, everything can be fast slow are anywhere in between , it's cambodia!

Yes, I do know that after 7 years of living here all I was looking for is accurate information. So what you are telling me is I'm on my own. Sorry for being negative. But why do I need to talk with you guys----  putting a positive light on it, thanks for telling me something I know already---- thanks for no help! Other people unfamiliar with Cambodia ask questions and would like accurate answers. if Joe and your staff don't know why don't you say "Sorry we don't have a good answer to your question."

Jo is 100% correct

Richard Crofts wrote:

Yes, I do know that after 7 years of living here all I was looking for is accurate information. So what you are telling me is I'm on my own. Sorry for being negative. But why do I need to talk with you guys----  putting a positive light on it, thanks for telling me something I know already---- thanks for no help! Other people unfamiliar with Cambodia ask questions and would like accurate answers. if Joe and your staff don't know why don't you say "Sorry we don't have a good answer to your question."

You GOT the right answer, which works for many people.

It might be your attitude that prevents you from opening a bank account.

For people like me and many others it's an easy thing to do, got it?

Cheers

Joe

All I am trying to convey is that it has nothing to do with me or my attitude. It has everything with giving accurate information and this site has lacked it. I have a car a motorbike a computer so I can look all this up or drive to every bank in Cambodia wasting my time and getting the same answers, but people asking on the net may not have all options. Keep on defending yourselves maybe someone else will waste gas and time going from bank to bank or whatever you have told them that is accurate but is not.

Ricard sorry about your attitude, but most if not all this information is accurate, and very helpful to many people who just arrive, sorry you feel this way because of your bad experience with one issue , keep a positive attitude, which is most of the problem I suspect? It's been well documented here that cambodia is a country where not everything goes your way always, don't get upset at the website over this , hey here's a idea , just don't follow expat , I do know this works every time , don't click on expat .com and your problem will disappear, that's 100% , not like cambodia, you've been here 7 years you don't need the advice good luck , I just opened a , ABA account, just walked in with the money going to get my card today best of luck in the future, sounds like your having a bad run of things , it too will pass and someone will take your money , I know it's  frustrating, but hang in there it will get better, good luck , positive attitude takes you many places in Southeast Asia as you already know being here 7 years , I personally rely on jo and the staff for good solid information, which I have found to be extremely accurate.