ianguygil

Actually the rate is set by the network used to withdraw the funds, the network which links one bank to the other (as there are several). If it is the VISA network, VISA sets the rates for the day and all the banks use that rate. As you said the Bank which owns the ATM can set their fees, and your home bank can set their fees. So the effective exchange rate differs. But the actual FX rate for the transaction is set by the network in question. That is why you will see a long list of networks shown next to the ATMs so you can know if your card is accepted. VISA and MASTERCARD are the most common. Plus AMEX and lots of others.

As I said in my PM to you, please email me here at the Bank and I will get somebody to talk you through things and ensure you are ok.

We can't deal with specific customer cases on forums like ThaiVisa. Thanks

Ian

Hi myauq I sent you a PM. Please contact me as I noted in that message and I will see if I can help to get your problem sorted out. Thanks.

Ian

Please send me a PM and I will see if I can help

Please PM me and I will see if I can help.

Glad to hear that worked out nicely for you. We try to please but as I have said many times in this forum we also comply with the relevant regulations and laws which apply to account opening, as is the responsibility of all Thai banks. As you nicely illustrate, it is not that difficult to get the valid required letters of reference in order for a frequent visitor to open an account.

Thanks again for posting this. While we are always keen to help resolve problems, it it nice to hear from satisfied customers. I have forwarded your post on internal email to provide positive feedback.

Good luck.

Please just go to your nearest Bangkok Bank branch. They can arrange the transfer for you. If you are in Bangkok the HQ on Silom may be best.

Paypal will not be the cheapest. And you may have some problems with Oz customs taking that much with you. Also it may get pilfered. So a normal Wire will be best. It is cheap. Secure and timely (it should be there the next day and in AUD).

Good luck. Please PM me if you have any problems.

I explained how it works earlier in this thread. But clearly BBL cannot control how much other banks charge to send us the funds (via BACS or ACH) in deregulated markets like the US and UK. We can just state how much our charges are and those are clear on the website. I keep seeing different scenarios, with different amounts of money involved. Definitely an International transfer, especially if SWIFT, may not be the cheapest for a couple of hundred US. Using an ATM card is probably the cheapest way for that. But once you get into the thousands it is definitely cheaper. And as we use our internal network of branches for the UK/US to Thailand part we can offer a low cost, efficient and timely service.

I can not comment on other Thai banks as clearly I do not use them. But I do use some US banks and it always works fine for me.

If you need some specific help please PM me. Thank you.

Good luck.

Yes, you get the "Buying TT" rate (with TT standing for TELEX TRANSFER which was in place before SWIFT). Actually, only SWIFT formats are used for these internal transfers, not the actual SWIFT network.

If you look at our website (www.bangkokbank.com) and select EXCHANGE RATES from the dropdown list at the top, today you would see this rate (in blue) because you will be buying THB at a slightly higher rate (the THB is high) compared to selling for an outbound transfer. The difference between the Buy and Sell is the Spread.

CurrencyDescriptionBank NoteBuying RatesSelling Rates

Bill-DD-TTBuying RatesSelling RatesSight BillTTUSD1USD : 131.3132.69USD5USD : 5-2031.6232.69USD50USD : 50-10032.0932.7432.2432.3432.59GBPUnited Kingdom48.4450.0648.6875048.8150049.50500

Actually it is not. It is just like the transfer in the US using ACH. Except in this case it is BACS. So the overall cost is in most cases cheaper than a regular SWIFT transfer. I wrote about how this works a few months ago for the UK and I will try to find that post. But it is using the BBL International network to provide a lower cost option that a regular SWIFT transfer. But right now I need to go so I will do this tomorrow when have time.

Good luck.

I also forgot to mention.

When the funds are received at BBL HO in Bangkok, if you are a Bangkok Bank customer with an account on file, we will send an SMS to inform you of the incoming funds. This is a pretty popular feature for many people who otherwise keep checking Mobile iBanking, iBanking, ATM etc. for the information. So please all ensure you inform the Bank (BBL or any bank you use) if you change your cell phone number as many people do frequently.

Once number portability is avaialble for the mobile providers here you will be able to keep your cell number even when changing from one provider to another. But that has been talked about for years and has never happened

Good luck.

Ian

Hi Jim

I could not resist.....

I finally got some time to answer this in the following thread. If this still does not make sense please let me know via PM. Thank you.

Ian

http://www.thaivisa....-bank-new-york/

Most of the other information provided here is correct. Several of the members have successfully used this service. BBL-NY is a full branch (but the deposits are not insured by the FDIC). Not an "agency office" as the 2 other Thai banks with a US presence.

BBL-NY is on Fedwire (the Fed payments network) and the ACH network, in addition to the SWIFT network but BBL uses one SWIFT code for all branches. It is much more cost effective to direct your bank to use the ACH network for what are after all relatively small payments in banking terms unless same day value is required.

ACH gets the funds from your bank in the USA to BBL-BY (also in the USA obviously).

Then BBL-NY transfers the funds and the sends the payment instruction (who the funds are for, which account etc.) effectively using SWIFTmessage formats, to BBL in Bangkok.

Just to make this a little less confusing, what happens in BBL-NY credits USD funds to a USD account which is "Due To" BBL-BKK. Once the payment instruction arrives in Bangkok the USD are reflected in an account in BKK which is "Due From" BBL-NY (that is why you hear of Due To and Due From accounting, otherwise known as VOSTRO / NOSTRO).

Then BBL in Bangkok determines the FX rate (assuming the payment is not related to an FX-contract which would set the rate). In general, unless a very large amount is involved, this will be the TT rate shown on the BangkokBank.Com website. Then BBL will credit the THB funds to a local account (which is why you need an account) and notify the beneficiary (recipient of the funds).

There is another option which can be used without an account called PUPID (Pay Upon Proper ID) which names the person and provides details of identification credentials such as passport country and number. That is commonly for people traveling without an account.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or problems and I will see if I can help

Good luck.

Ian

Should any members have other questions on this thread they would like to direct to me, please send me a PM, as I will not be looking at this thread again. Thank you

Clearly somebody who likes to let out his frustrations on the Internet. And who does not read the actual posts they complain about.

The words I used were "Most other Thai banks do not have a US presence", and in that I am correct. Most. Not all. And I am also correct in that Bangkok Bank has unique capabilities because of the International Branch network in many countries. There is also a huge difference between an office, an agency office and a branch in terms of banking capabilities. No need to explain that to you as you are clearly an "expert".

As for my banking expertise, a few members of the forum have been helped directly, both with information and with problems they may have perceived or experienced. And I do not need to explain any more than that to somebody with this attitude.

The reason Bangkok Bank can offer this service is that we have a branch in New York, right downtown on Broadway. Most other Thai banks do not have a US presence, so it is unlikely you will find this. We also have presence in the following countries:

China

Hong Kong

Indonesia

Japan

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Singapore

Taiwan

Philippines

UK

Vietnam

Bangkok Bank will have a large amount of USD on hand at any tourist location. The head office on Silom road will be able to meet your needs without notice.

If that is not convenient, please call or visit your local Bangkok Bank branch. They can arrange to have the cash on hand very quickly.

Good luck.

This could be a pretty long answer, and as it is Friday night I don't have time for that.

It all depends on the domestic part of this in the UK or the USA. Which bank you are dealing with on the sending end. If they do have a correspondent relationship with the Thai bank in question or if they must go through a domestic correspondent who has that relationship. And how they clear the funds domestically.

So if you send funds from Bank A in the UK, and they do not have a direct Correspondent relationship with the Thai bank - BBL (for example) - they first need to clear the funds domestically with their Domestic correspondent who will do the DT/DF accounting with BBL. So the Domestic side may take 2-3 days if it is BACS (only 1 day for ACH in the US for most banks). Then the second bank will credit the funds to BBL.

I really need to run. So it depends from where, to where, and who is in the middle, and finally how the funds are cleared. And with some methods of transfer there is a period of recourse of a couple of days.

Good luck.

Another user had the problem in the UK where their bank chose CHAPS (like FEDWIRE in the USA) to send the money to our branch in London. As you said, CHAPS is designed for large value (normally corporate) payments in which the timeliness is essential.

So please make sure you bank defaults to BACS. This could be implied by the date for the availability of funds you specify. However, it is normally the defaul for retail (i.e. consumer) payments in the UK.

Good luck.

If you need some help and the funds do not arrive today, please PM me and I will see what I can do. Thank s

We send an SMS if requested for incoming funds, that is if you cell phone number is registered.

I am not quite sure what you are trying to avoid.

If you are concerned about the FX risk (i.e. you think the THB will drop relative to your home currency at some future time) you should transfer the funds to a Foreign Currency account at a large bank in Thailand like Bangkok Bank. the prior poster provided details of the wide range of currencies offered by BBL. That would remove your currency risk.

If you are concerned that the local authorities will know you have the money, I think your fears are misplaced. You are much more likely to be robbed or to have the funds confiscated in cash than to have a problem with a small amount (relative to the daily FX volumes) being transferred into Thailand. Also, we should all support the authorities in their efforts to try to fight money laundering, which is used to finance many illegal activities.

Finally, if you have no record of bring the money in and you ever want to bring the money out of Thailand again in the future, you will have problems if you do not use a formal transfer as you will have no records. So you will be setting yourself up for a huge headache.

Just transfer the funds, and decide if you want to receive it in THB or in your local currency.

Good luck.

Actually we have the same type of service in the United Kingdon. You can transfer funds via BACS then the Bangkok Bank London Branch will transfer the funds to Thailand. The details are at this URL:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20into%20Thailand/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK/Pages/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK.aspx

And the fess associated with it are here:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20into%20Thailand/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK/Pages/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK.aspx

FYI, in the UK they use BACS to transfer from your UK Branch to our London branch. This is a low cost domestic transfer like ACH in the US.

Good luck.

Actually we have the same type of service in the United Kingdon. You can transfer funds via BACS then the Bangkok Bank London Branch will transfer the funds to Thailand. The details are at this URL: http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20into%20Thailand/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK/Pages/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK.aspx And the fees associated with it are here: http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20into%20Thailand/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK/Pages/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK.aspx FYI, in the UK they use BACS to transfer from your UK Branch to our London branch. This is a low cost domestic transfer like ACH in the US. Good luck.

Transferring from your local UK bank to Bangkok Bank's branch in London via BACS, then BBL doing an internal transfer to your account in Bangkok would be the best approach. BACS transfers are very affordable. This is less expensive than a normal SWIFT transfer.

Details can be found at this URL on the BangkokBank.Com website:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/...0from%20UK.aspx

Associated fees are clearly stated at this URL

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/...conditions.aspx

Good luck.