CaptHaddock

Is there some reason that the OP needs to be physically in the same room with his tax consultant?  If not, then why not look for a US tax specialist where they are plentiful and cheap, i.e. the US?  I assume most consultants would be familiar with both Skype and email.

3 hours ago, tgeezer said:

Since I was corrected once on saying ประ following the tone rules, I always make a point of saying ประ low tone. Since that entry doesn't show low tone for ประ I wonder if should have listened.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

ประ is indeed low tone while ทาน is mid tone just as we would expect.  I am not familiar with the tonal markers above, but that's what they should be saying.

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Seems like this new system will really reduce fees (profits) for banks/credit unions, as many charge a fee for even ACH transfers that many banks do for free.   Small credit unions are usually the worst when it comes to charging fees for transfers.  And with banksters being fee-oriented I'm somewhat surprised any bank/credit union offering a transfer system that reduces the amount of transfer fees (profits) they collect.   Maybe this is really just a Trump campaign promise which won't come true/will end up being radically different from promised.   

Apparently, the banks developed Zelle in response to the challenge from Venmo.  They will lose money on Zelle, but presumably that's preferable to whatever further preemption Venmo and others might have up theirs sleeves.  Maybe banks will go the way of newspapers and travel agents eventually.

On 6/29/2017 at 1:39 PM, Oxx said:

Incidentally, what you are describing as "Sanskrit" words are more often Pali, Pali being the Buddhist liturgical language here, so having been well understood by the elite.  In that vein, กรุณา is actually from Pali, not Sanskrit.  The etymology of รับประทาน is unknown, but there's nothing in the spelling to make me think it's anything other than a native Thai word.

There is even a term for a Thai compound word made up of both a Sanskrit and a Pali word, such as วัฒนธรรม.  Educated Thais are attuned to the differences between Thai words of Sanskrit and Pali origin.

Almost every meaning has two words ie. one is formal and one informal.

It seems that the formal words are actually Sanskrit words. The informal words are original Tai words.

This makes it hard to learn Thai language because we are actually learning two sets of words one from each language.

It's true that Thai uses Sanskrit and Pali words for upper-class, abstract, refined connotations in contrast to Thai words.  This relationship recalls the relationship mentioned above between English words of Anglo-Saxon origin and the French/Latinate versions.  However, both English and Thai have many more than two levels of formality/abstraction such as formal, informal, slang, rude, poetic, literatry, semiformal and various professional jargons.  As learners of Thai, we have to learn all of these in order to become fully competent in the language.  Unfortunately, the Thai-English dictionaries available mainly do no include this information.  There is no OED or Petit Robert for Thai.

In my experience, Thais are much more sensitive to the appropriate level of formality in speech than Americans.  They seem more inclined to correct me for errors of level of formality than, say, grammar.  But that figures because Thais are acutely sensitive to the never-ending negotiation of relative status carried out mainly through language.  One of my teachers related to me how a rupture in a friendship became permanent when his companion used a slightly more formal pronoun referring to himself than formerly.

The assumption underlying this article, that the Pope is sincerely trying to address the sexual abuse rampant among the clergy, is unwarranted.

On 6/27/2017 at 5:56 PM, Blue bruce said:

Another option that no one has discussed is U.S. direct express. This service is provided by the U,S. government. You just need to open an account with USdirectexpress.com and instruct them to have S.S. deposit your S.S. check directly into your USdirect account. From there you can transfer money to any other bank with a U.S. branch such as as Bangkok bank. You can also use a USdirect debit card anywhere in the world. This will save you the trouble of having to  go to the Bangkok bank branch to personally make a transfer.

INfo sent to me by Jeffrey346 thanks Jeff works great  

This is the first I have heard about being able to transfer funds from usdirectexpress.com to other banks.  I don't see any mention of that service on the website.  What is your source for this information?

The credit unions will be participating in Zelle transfers through a pre-existing network for credit unions.  So, once Zelle rolls out to the credit union network it could be implemented rapidly by the CUs themselves.

2 hours ago, JimGant said:

I did this several years ago with a phone call. I'm not sure if I asked definitively for $30,000 -- or that is what they offered. Also, I've been a member since 1967, and that maybe had something to do with it. Another member on this forum who requested a raise was only allowed $15,000. He'd been a member of USAA for much less time than me, 'tho I'm not sure if that was why only $15k (which still isn't a terrible cap).

I once tried to raise the limit in a phone call to USAA and was rudely refused. 

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

I have mine directed deposited.

It is the least costly way to get your money here unless your bank in the states does free ACH transfers.

Fees and other info can be found here. http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

I have it setup to get a SMS that tells me amount sent in dollars minus the fee for New York, the exchange rate used and the amount in baht minus the fee for here.

The only con is that you have to go to the bank here to get the money or transfer it to another account. Not a big deal to it once a month. I use a small branch and most of the time I can just walk in and go straight to the desk to get it done. About 5 minutes or less most of the time. I transfer it to another Bangkok Bank account I have .

Probably isn't much of a bother, if you are both in town and ambulatory.

16 hours ago, JimGant said:

Probably "real time" between the US and Thailand isn't in the cards for awhile. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that an ACH transfer request, at 4:00PM Thai time on Tues, 27 June, arrived in my Bangkok Bank account at 9:09AM Wed, 28 June. Almost as fast (or, now, maybe the same) as a SWIFT wire transfer. And, of course, a lot cheaper. This was with USAA -- recognized as a faster ACH operation than, say, Bank of America -- so your mileage might vary. Nevertheless, with USAA,  having a one-day money transfer option, via ACH, to my Bangkok Bank account is nice. And, USAA allows you to raise the daily sending limit well above the canned $5000 amount (I sent $30k Tues, with no problem).

 

 

How do you raise the daily limit?

40 minutes ago, tonray said:

hmmm...sounds a lot like Paypal

I trust the banks a lot more than I trust Paypal.

This month a consortium of 30 large US banks has launched Zelle, a free, real-time money transfer system.  So, in terms of timeliness the US banking system is now catching up with the Thai banks.  USAA Federal Savings Bank is one of the participating banks.  The option to do a transfer via Zelle has now appeared in the USAA mobile app under "Transfer."   I haven't done a Zelle transfer yet myself.  Apparently, you only have to enter the email address or phone number of the recipient.  Perhaps at the initial stage only those with accounts at a participating bank can receive transfers, but I don't know. 

Anyway, a useful development for us expats even if we won't necessarily use it frequently.  Would be nice if Bangkok Bank were to become a Zelle participant.

11 hours ago, bannork said:

Yes, he speaks clearly. Only criticism could be too many ums and ahs but when you're thinking  carefully about your answer as you're speaking, as he is, it must be very difficult to keep out hesitation traits from your first language.

I love listening  to or watching Nata, the main presenter of the news that night. Intelligent, enthusiastic and humorous she can make paint drying seem fascinating.

I like Natta a lot, too, mainly because she speaks clearly.  She speaks English well, too.  It's a pity that so much of the news she has to read is propagandistic drivel.

52 minutes ago, Pib said:

I seriously doubt Bangkok Bank does ACH pulls....seriously, seriously doubt they do any kind of retail banking pulls.  Do I have a reference for them not doing the pulls whether via your ibanking or physically at a branch....no I don't.....but definitely never-ever seen any ThaiVisa poster saying they had did it.  Nor does my Bangkok Bank ibanking have any pull capability.    

 

Although using the NY branch to accomplish an ACH "send" that's really a special setup where the funds are routed to the NY branch....they get it...see the in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account number and then transfer it to Thailand.  Are they using ACH to transmit the funds between their NY branch and the in-Thailand branch---highly probably no.  Instead  they are just doing some intra-Bangkok Bank system funds transfer....maybe even using SWIFT but not charging themselves (or you) the pricer SWIFT fee....just their $5 or $10 fee for most ACH send transfers routed via the NY branch.

 

Since I usually find your posts, Pib, to be a source of reliable information, I am surprised that in this case your response to my question is instead made up out of whole cloth.  I don't know myself how these transactions are carried out, which is why I posted the question, but your conjecture doesn't seem particularly likely.  As far as I can see, Bangkok Bank participates in the ACH network like any other American bank, which BB surely is.   Like other American banks ACH transfers use a two-level addressing scheme, first via the ABA number, of which each bank has just one no matter how many branches it may have anywhere, and then by the account number.  A transfer payment is routed to the bank which then routes it internally to the account via its own internal (and possibly global) network, not via an expensive public network like SWIFT. 

The only difference that I can see between BB and other American banks in the ACH network, is that the Bank of Thailand regulates outflows of Thai currency strictly, which is why we cannot initiate an ACH send from BB.  There's no obvious reason that that policy should have any effect on inflows, which, as far as we know, are not otherwise restricted.

If I had to guess I would suppose that initiating an ACH pull at BB may indeed be unlikely, but I don't have to guess, do I?  Because what value would my guess have?

In yesterday's broadcast of ที่นี้ไทยพีบีเอส there is an interview in Thai wth Phil Robertson, Deputy Director, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch, about the latest US report on the condition of human rights in Thailand and elsewhere.  Mr. Robertson speaks Thai quite well.  His rhythm in particular is very natural as well as his pronunciation.  Apparently he is fluent in Lao as well.  Very impressive.

The interview begins at about the 13 minute mark.

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

It sounds like you're trying to get your ACH link to BB frozen by your US bank.

1.  Not at all.  US banks that initiate an ACH transfer have more liability for the transaction than the responding bank.  That's why they have limits on initiation only.  The credit union in question here, State Department Federal Credit Union, has a limit on the amount of an ACH push of $2000/day, but plainly states that they have no limit on the amount pulled by another US bank, which in this case would be Bangkok Bank.

2.  Since you provide no source for your earlier "information" I can only conclude that it is unsubstantiated opinion.  Thanks for your help.

I will eventually get a definitive answer which I will post here.

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The answer is still no.

The bank I use for ACH to BB also has per transaction limits. 

Weirdly, they go up a little sometimes, but generally only 2,000. 

 

But how do you know that?  Have you ever asked Bangkok Bank to do an ACH pull from a US bank?

10 hours ago, Pib said:

You can not do an ACH pull from Bangkok Bank...it will be rejected by Bangkok Bank.   That rejection flows back to the U.S. bank you initiated the ACH pull at, and when the U.S. bank gets that rejection they may think a fraudulent transaction was attempted and may suspend your transfer link.  But at a minimum, Bangkok Bank simply reject the attempted ACH pull.   Basicially, Bangkok Bank uses ACH for "receive" transactions only.  

 

Sorry, Thailand ain't going to allow you  to get money out of Thailand using an ACH pull transaction.  Thailand: Land of Smiles for incoming money; Land of Frowns for outgoing money.

 

 

Partial quote from Bangkok Bank webpage talking use of ACH via their NY Branch.

 

I am not trying to get money out of Thailand, but into Thailand.  By an ACH pull I mean a transfer from a US bank to Bangkok Bank initiated at Bangkok Bank rather than at the the US bank. 

I have ACH access set up from a couple of my US banks to my account at Bangkok Bank and it works fine.  To transfer funds to BB I initiate a "push" transaction as the US bank.  However, these banks have daily and monthly limits on the amounts that can be pushed out via ACH.

Does anyone know if there is any way to initiate a "pull" ACH transfer from Bangkok Bank?  If that were possible there would be no applicable limit on the US bank side, although BB may have its own limits.

She's too old to start a modeling career.  She'll have a brief run as a novelty and be finished.

Are we including among "terrorists" USAF pilots of B-52 bombers in Iraq, US military personnel responsible for torturing Iraqi prisoners in contravention of the Geneva Convention, US military drone operators responsible for extensive civilian deaths, and CIA assassins among others?

Never too late.  I am sure there are videos on youtube demonstrating how to season a frying pan.

19 minutes ago, DUS said:

Thanks for your feedback even though you are mistaken to believe that I have been only self-teaching and/or that I don't speak other languages fluently. 

 

Will certainly try working with bannork's tip and see if that helps.

Good luck with that.  Mr. Bannork's no doubt well-meaning comments are gibberish. 

To the OP,

Since you don't mention a teacher, I gather that you have been teaching yourself Thai.  If so, why did you believe that you could learn Thai by yourself?  Had you ever taught yourself a foreign language successfully?  Do you speak any language other than English fluently?  Had you met other foreigners in Thailand who became fluent in Thai on their own?  I am guessing the answer to all of these questions is a resounding "no."

So, the "tip" you are asking for is this: your method of self-study was always bound to fail.  I myself can speak all the Thai tones correctly, although I still make mistakes.  Thais frequently tell me that I speak ชัด.  One Uber driver even went so far as to remark that I spoke Thai more clearly than the Thais, but he was being excessively generous.  Thais have very low expectations of us.

I worked at it for a long time with qualified Thai teachers one-on-one. They corrected me every time I misspoke, not just for the tones, but for long vowels, grammar, usage, and all the rest.  In those days I was studying 15 hours a week.  It took me more than a year before I "got" it and could produce the tones correctly even if I continue to make mistakes.  So, figure at least 1000 hours, maybe more, of correction.  The Thai tones, by the way, are a great pleasure.

If you were to go about it in the right way, you could learn Thai and its tones, too.  Otherwise, you should probably take up billiards or something.