Money & Banking

You will be paid the settling in allowance upon your arrival, but it is highly recommended to come with about $1,000 in cash that you can change at the airport. This extra cash will supplement your allowance and help pay for the deposit (equivalent to two months' rent) of your apartment. You can bring credit cards, and these are accepted almost everywhere but will be charged 2% for overseas expenses. Very few transactions accept checks; even utility bills are best paid in cash. Traveler's checks tend to be inconvenient, too. There are international ATM machines everywhere and they will disperse Baht from your foreign account at an optimal rate!

TCIS will bring new overseas teachers to the Bank of Ayudhya to open an account. Salaries are paid out in baht monthly (on the last working day of each month) during the calendar year and may be directly deposited in the teacher's bank account. The exchange rate is based on what is published by the Bangkok Post every 15th day of the month.

You may choose between regular ATM card or a Visa Electron debit card. Debit cards take a month to process but they are rather useful for shopping and can also be used to withdraw money from ATMs in other countries when teachers go on holidays. For this reason some teachers open two accounts and mail the second ATM card to families in their home country, and use this method to send money home.

The school cashier goes to the bank thrice weekly and it is customary for teachers to make deposits, withdrawals, and pay their rent through her. You may also exchange your money for other currencies, e.g. dollar, baht, etc.