Indochina region personal bank account, possibly Cambodia or nearby

[hc99]

I'm looking to open an account in the Indochina region. Will keep small balance, probably equivalent USD 1-10k, transfers won't exceed 2-5k per month.

Cambodia seems nice, many big shiny bank buildings everywhere. I met a contact offering Acleda bank opening for a reasonable fee. Originally I was considering ABA Bank but they seem to have higher requirements. I'm on a T visa now. Per my pre-covid research, I should have gotten E visa and upgraded to EB. Can always amend status if that would help.

What's my goal? I just want to send some legit sourced money from EU into Asia. Maybe from USA as well but only if it doesn't cause problems.

Requirements are at least USD or EUR with international debit card and low fees (I could maintain a minimum balance of 5-10k). Nice to have would be multi-currency option MYR, KHR, VND but I can always use Wise for that. May send money to outside of the banking country, so I don't want the funds permanently stuck there.

I have read some other threads on here, seems like Indonesia/Bali has some possibilities of opening accounts in person even on tourist visa. But I expect my future business will be in the Vietnam/Cambodia area.

Malaysia seems too restrictive with the type of visa required. Is the hassle worth it just for having an account that can store local currency USD and EUR?

I know Philippines might have an option too. But Thailand and Vietnam seem to just get more strict.

I'm not tied to a particular location as I'm not doing major investment on the ground yet but I'd like a local banking presence in that region for some convenience. Though I suppose additional local bureaucracy might negate any imaginary convenience that I am imagining. For example, I have issues using some local apps like Grab using my international cards. Besides paying at terminals is usually no problem, aside from foreign transaction fees.

 

[Sols]

It's possible in all the countries you've mentioned. But you don't make a convincing case for opening a bank account and I think that's something banks will detect as well.

If you want to send money from EU to Asia, why the need to have a bank account in Asia? You have to move the money via SWIFT from EU to Asia anyway. By adding a bank account in the region, you're doubling your SWIFT fees: once from EU to Asia and then again from Asia to elsewhere in Asia (unless it's domestic). You could get around this if you bank with a multinational bank and they move currencies internally within the bank, but banks have a tendency to do that but still charge retail customers SWIFT fees.

How about something like Wise (which you're already using), Currenxie, or AirWallex? You get access to local currencies through them and in some cases domestic bank account details in different countries.

Non-resident personal banking in this part of the world is quite rare outside of Singapore, Hong Kong, and to a much lesser degree Malaysia/Labuan and Brunei. And it's usually wealth management or private banking (1+ million USD minimum deposit usually).

Small/retail non-resident customers are usually expected to deposit money for long-term savings. Interest rates are usually better than banking in EU or US. But it might not be suitable for the type of transactional banking you envision.

 

[CambodiaPro]

Opening a bank account in Cambodia is not difficult at all of you know how to go about it.

I live there for a decade if want to talk

 

[TheCryptoAnt]

This post is turbo old but heres some alpha

Vietnam is easy just go there and enter a branch, no visa, no papers required only passport.
You get a VND and a USD acc opened right there, if you want VISA cards you have to wait a few days.

 

[wringat]

Opening a bank account in Cambodia is not difficult at all of you know how to go about it.

Is there any way to open there bank account without 6month visa + work permit?

 

[TheCryptoAnt]

Is there any way to open there bank account without 6month visa + work permit?

Just find someone willing to open it. Money talks

This being said a biz visa is very cheap and very legal. You can get an acc open with a biz visa

 

[CambodiaPro]

Is there any way to open there bank account without 6month visa + work permit?

Yes depending on the bank. A couple of banks even allow remote opening if you have enough money to fix deposit