TransferWise is taking a long time to reach KBank

[jakow]

Some money was sent to me via TransferWise from America last Thursday (in America). Monday was a USA federal holiday so obviously that delayed it a bit. I finally received the TransferWise notification email Tuesday morning and it said it should be in my bank on the 6th (yesterday). It never came, so this morning my girlfriend called Kasikorn Bank. They looked at the account and said they don't see any money sent. Last time I received money it came soon after the TransferWise email was received. 

 

Does it sound like there's a problem with this transfer? Or is this normal? If it's normal, when can I except the money to reach KBank?

[Pungdo]

This has nothing to do with TransferWise or USA banks, but I have been transferring cash every month for the last 10 years from Australia by direct bank to bank internet transfers, for a very long time the cash would be in my account in under 10 mins, the longest it ever took was a few hours and only because the amount was over $10,000 which made it a reportable transaction, BUT, over the last 3 months it has blown out to 24 hours or more.

The first time it happened I went down to the bank (SCB) and asked why it hadn't gone in, the lady there rang Bangkok and was told that it had never arrived, by the time I got home, around 5-10 mins it had suddenly appeared in my account, so someone was telling porky pies.

What is possibly happening is the Thai banks are now doing what happens with transfers between Australian banks which takes 3 days, each of the banks involved uses your cash to invest in the overnight money markets, my ex worked for the Commonwealth Bank in Oz and she told me years ago that there were cheques in the millions passing through her department every day heading off to the money markets and it would return the next morning.

[DiDiChok]

Hmm, well I did a transfer of £1,000 to my Kasikorn account last Tuesday week (29th August) at 12:24 BST from my TransferWise account.  They said it would arrive on the Thursday (31st) but it actually got there on the Wednesday (30th).  The ฿ rate was brilliant too, better than I would have got for exchanging cash.  Mind you, I made sure that TransferWise had got my money before requesting the transfer to take place.  I do that because I've found that the UK Banks sometimes delay the so called "Instant payment" so that it's not instant.

 

Every time I've had trouble with money not appearing it's never the Thai end, it's always the UK end that caused the problem.  I always try to avoid 'Buddha' days and buy a Thai calendar every year to find out when they are. besides looking on http://www.boomboomme.com/resources/holidays/thailand/ for Bar closures and the like.  Overall, I've found that the best day to send is on a Tuesday as everyone seems to be up to speed by then.  A Thursday is too late as your money simply gets 'parked' in a backlog and forgotten about because 'so and so' will be back on Monday.

[1FinickyOne]

I use Kasikorn for any transfers.. I call my USA bank our nighttime, their day in USA - it always arrives the next day here. I include a phone number and usually get a phone call about 11 am from a Bangkok office and sometimes it might take an hour or more to post it to my account... but always been great service... have your branch manager call to Bkk and if they have no record of it, then you can call your bank in USA and make sure there were no mistakes... and if not, trace it... 

 

good luck but kasikorn has been terrific for transfers for me... 

Edited September 7, 2017 by kenk24

[3421abc]

Hello,

I need to send money to the US. If anyone needs to receive money from there please contact me. We can exchange, save money on exchange rates and no fees.

I give you thai baht cash on the spot and u can transfer to my account in the US.

Not looking to make profit, official exchange rate on Google.

Send me a private message

Edited September 7, 2017 by 3421abc

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

22 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

I use Kasikorn for any transfers.. I call my USA bank our nighttime, their day in USA - it always arrives the next day here. I include a phone number and usually get a phone call about 11 am from a Bangkok office and sometimes it might take an hour or more to post it to my account... but always been great service... have your branch manager call to Bkk and if they have no record of it, then you can call your bank in USA and make sure there were no mistakes... and if not, trace it... 

 

good luck but kasikorn has been terrific for transfers for me... 

 

Are you really doing, and paying for, regular international wire transfers from a U.S. bank to Kasikorn Bank?

 

How much of an international xfer fee is your U.S. bank charging you each time, along with any corresponding bank fees?

 

Any particular reason you're using Kasikorn instead of doing a free ACH to Bangkok Bank's New York branch and then having them route the money for modest fees to a BKK Bank account here in Thailand?

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Dibbler]

I use Kasikorn for any transfers.. I call my USA bank our nighttime, their day in USA - it always arrives the next day here. I include a phone number and usually get a phone call about 11 am from a Bangkok office and sometimes it might take an hour or more to post it to my account... but always been great service... have your branch manager call to Bkk and if they have no record of it, then you can call your bank in USA and make sure there were no mistakes... and if not, trace it... 
 
good luck but kasikorn has been terrific for transfers for me... 

Your bank may be quick but don't forget you're losing 6-7% of the amount you send to fees and currency exchange. KBanks exchange rate for TT (31thb) is a full 2thb less than the market rate. PayPal will cost you 3-4% but Transferwise will cost you less than 2%. Yr getting creamed using banks to send your hard earned cash.

[philipwooduk]

I have had no problem with transferwise for months with monies sent from the UK, last two months recieved within two days. I found it better to start the transfer on a monday and I get no later than thursday.

 

Cheers

[3421abc]

Exchange with me will cost 0 and the exchange rate is the actual spot rate.

I give you cash on the spot, real time transfer.

[DiDiChok]

I agree with Dibbler that it's a lot cheaper.  When TransferWise money arrives I am always surprised that I actually get what they say I will get and that Kasikorn does not take a cut (that I can see anyway) like they do on other incoming currency transfers.

 

[1FinickyOne]

44 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Are you really doing, and paying for, regular international wire transfers from a U.S. bank to Kasikorn Bank?

 

How much of an international xfer fee is your U.S. bank charging you each time, along with any corresponding bank fees?

 

Any particular reason you're using Kasikorn instead of doing a free ACH to Bangkok Bank's New York branch and then having them route the money for modest fees to a BKK Bank account here in Thailand?

 

Never said anything about regularity... if I were to do this regularly, I would look for other avenues... when I have needed a transfer, Kasikorn has been easy and great service... 

[1FinickyOne]

35 minutes ago, Dibbler said:

Your bank may be quick but don't forget you're losing 6-7% of the amount you send to fees and currency exchange. KBanks exchange rate for TT (31thb) is a full 2thb less than the market rate. PayPal will cost you 3-4% but Transferwise will cost you less than 2%. Yr getting creamed using banks to send your hard earned cash.

I do not do this regularly and actually the exchange rate has been pretty good the times I have done it... definitely not losing 6-7%.. though I imagine one could on small transfers. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I notice, you're specifically not answering the question of how much your U.S. bank is charging you, along with any corresponding bank fees, each time you do a traditional international wire transfer with them...

 

In general for Americans, the most cost effective way to transfer money from the U.S. to Thailand is going to be to do a normally free ACH transfer from your U.S. Bank to Bangkok Bank's New York branch using their ABA/routing number and your BKK Bank Thailand account number, and then they will route it onward to your BKK Bank account in Thailand. You have to set up the links the first time, then after that, it works quickly and easily. Very modest fees involved.

 

For Americans, it's going to be more cost efficient that anything that Transferwise offers, and certainly more cost efficient that almost any traditional wire transfer. I keep looking for a U.S. bank that will do no-fee international funds transfers, but have yet to find any. The normal fees charged by U.S. banks for international transfers typically are in the range of $30 to $60 per transfer--which is pretty expensive.

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[misterphil]

Sent from UK to Kasikorn with Transferwise on Tuesday and arrived today. 

[bleble]

Hello, is this service the best and cheapest to transfer from Europe to Thailand ? Thank you.

[hargri]

25 minutes ago, bleble said:

Hello, is this service the best and cheapest to transfer from Europe to Thailand ? Thank you.

Hi bleble. First I don't consider myself an expert, but have used TransferWise for about 18 months. They reduced their charges not long ago for Thai Baht transfers. It is now .6% plus £1.50. So on £1000 it would be £7.50. They take this off the top so you get £992.50 converted at the current market rate which you can check on various apps. I have had no problems in all the time I've used them and the money has frequently arrived a day earlier than stated.

[misterphil]

33 minutes ago, bleble said:

Hello, is this service the best and cheapest to transfer from Europe to Thailand ? Thank you.

Yes. About 1% fee. 

[Elkski]

I used TW for first time Sunday.  I forget which k band I sent it to in Thailand.   It arrived in Thailand Thurs.   I guess nothing happened sun and labor day.  So it was like sending Tues and arrived in 48 hours.    Fee was low. Under 6$. Exchange rate.  33.19 

 

And for the guy looking to exchange cash for baht.  This is what TW does.  No money is sent across borders so fees can be low. 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Elkski

[scubascuba3]

Hello,
I need to send money to the US. If anyone needs to receive money from there please contact me. We can exchange, save money on exchange rates and no fees.
I give you thai baht cash on the spot and u can transfer to my account in the US.
Not looking to make profit, official exchange rate on Google.
Send me a private message

Why can't you do it yourself? Go on tell us the story

[flipper2222222]

transferwise for me from Aus to K-Bank takes only 24-48 hours. 

[Ooladolla]

Just started using transferwise which is brilliant. Ok a little slow but it is saving me a lot of $$ compared to other forms of transfers. Only wish I had cottoned on to it earlier. Save money at both ends 

[keithcresswell]

I have used Transferwise 20 times this year to transfer money from the UK to Kasikorn bank here. Earlier this week it took just under 24 hours to arrive. On average it takes 48 hours (if Mon-Fri) but has taken as long as a week. I do find their estimate of arrival time is usually 24 hours out. It can be earlier or later than expected. the strange thing is that the Android app and the IOS app can give different ETAs for the same transfer.

 

 

[Dibbler]

I notice, you're specifically not answering the question of how much your U.S. bank is charging you, along with any corresponding bank fees, each time you do a traditional international wire transfer with them...
 
In general for Americans, the most cost effective way to transfer money from the U.S. to Thailand is going to be to do a normally free ACH transfer from your U.S. Bank to Bangkok Bank's New York branch using their ABA/routing number and your BKK Bank Thailand account number, and then they will route it onward to your BKK Bank account in Thailand. You have to set up the links the first time, then after that, it works quickly and easily. Very modest fees involved.
 
For Americans, it's going to be more cost efficient that anything that Transferwise offers, and certainly more cost efficient that almost any traditional wire transfer. I keep looking for a U.S. bank that will do no-fee international funds transfers, but have yet to find any. The normal fees charged by U.S. banks for international transfers typically are in the range of $30 to $60 per transfer--which is pretty expensive.
 

I am not American but I have a US credit union account and Transferwise is still cheaper than the method you describe when I use it to move money from there to my Thai Kbank account. PayPal is next best but Elon Musk is a billionaire partly because of the slice of your money he takes with every transfer

[happydays]

My UK bank doesn't charge for overseas transfers & is quick, usually within 24 hours. The downside is I don't know what the exchange rate will be, my Thai bank charges around B200 & the request has to be made by phone.

Transfers via TransferWise are very easy using their app & you know exactly how much you're going to receive but it is slower, usually 2 to 3 days. Their transfers are from their Thai bank to yours & I asked them why it takes so long since bank to bank transfers within Thailand are almost instant. Their explanation was that their Thai bank account is some kind of business account & therefore doesn't work like normal customer accounts. My suspicion is that their business model includes holding on to customers money for 1 or 2 days as explained in a previous post.

Having said that, for non urgent transfers I will continue to use TransferWise.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, Dibbler said:

I am not American but I have a US credit union account and Transferwise is still cheaper than the method you describe when I use it to move money from there to my Thai Kbank account. PayPal is next best but Elon Musk is a billionaire partly because of the slice of your money he takes with every transfer

Seriously doubt that. Paypal has transfer fees and a seriously lousy exchange rate to boot. Nowhere close to using Bangkok Bank's U.S. international transfer method. And last time I checked, Transferwise had a $10 flat fee and then a worse exchange rate than you'd otherwise get for U.S. to Thai transfers.

 

[Dibbler]

Seriously doubt that. Paypal has transfer fees and a seriously lousy exchange rate to boot. Nowhere close to using Bangkok Bank's U.S. international transfer method. And last time I checked, Transferwise had a $10 flat fee and then a worse exchange rate than you'd otherwise get for U.S. to Thai transfers.
 

Your information on Transferwise and PayPal is out of date and your information on BKK Bank doesn't take into account the terrible exchange rate you are slugged with. There is a useful article here that's worth a read https://www.thethailandlife.com/how-to-send-money-to-thailand-no-bank-fees

[ellathai]

On 9/8/2017 at 1:44 AM, bleble said:

Hello, is this service the best and cheapest to transfer from Europe to Thailand ? Thank you.

I sent monday from Australia via transferwise was in kbank next afternoon

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Dibbler said:

Your information on Transferwise and PayPal is out of date and your information on BKK Bank doesn't take into account the terrible exchange rate you are slugged with. There is a useful article here that's worth a read https://www.thethailandlife.com/how-to-send-money-to-thailand-no-bank-fees

Is this below the endorsement of PayPal from the article you linked above that you're thinking of???

 

Quote

Western Union is just silly expensive, and PayPal steals 3.5% on a transfer and charges up to 4% currency conversion fees. Yes, I said up to 4%! It's 3% for the UK.

 

The clips below are from PayPal's U.S. website re their international transfer fees as of today if you fund the transfer with a debit card, credit card or PayPal Credit:

 

 

 

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees

 

As for exchange rates, here's BKK Bank's most recent rate for US$ to Thai baht: (the applicable rate for incoming international transfers is their buying TT rate, which currently is 32.94 baht to the $.

 

 

And here's PayPal's current rate for US$ to Thai baht, 32.19 baht to the $:

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As for Transferwise, I just did a mockup of sending $2000 from the U.S. to Thailand -- one way using BKK Bank's New York ACH method, and the other using Transferwise.

 

The results were almost identical, depending on whether or not the Thai banks charge their standard 0.25% commission on incoming international funds to the Transferwise transfers. And since I've never used the service, I can't speak to that.

 

But here's Transferwise's accounting of a $2000 USD transfer into Thailand today -- netting 65,518.65 baht:

 

With Bangkok Bank's ACH method via New York, my calculations produce a net funds received amount of 65,515.30 baht, a bit over 3 baht less than Transferwise (again, assuming there's no added Thai bank fee on the Transferwise transfer).

 

$2000 U.S. to start, minus $5 transfer fee for that amount by BKK Bank's New York Branch. $1995 remaining at BKK Bank's current buying TT transfer rate of 32.94 = 65,715.30 baht. Minus the bank's 0.25% fee (200 minimum, 500 maximum) on incoming international transfers = 65,515.30 baht.

 

 

 

[Dibbler]

As for Transferwise, I just did a mockup of sending $2000 from the U.S. to Thailand -- one way using BKK Bank's New York ACH method, and the other using Transferwise.
 
The results were almost identical, depending on whether or not the Thai banks charge their standard 0.25% commission on incoming international funds to the Transferwise transfers. And since I've never used the service, I can't speak to that.
 
But here's Transferwise's accounting of a $2000 USD transfer into Thailand today -- netting 65,518.65 baht:

 
With Bangkok Bank's ACH method via New York, my calculations produce a net funds received amount of 65,515.30 baht, a bit over 3 baht less than Transferwise (again, assuming there's no added Thai bank fee on the Transferwise transfer).
 
$2000 U.S. to start, minus $5 transfer fee for that amount by BKK Bank's New York Branch. $1995 remaining at BKK Bank's current buying TT transfer rate of 32.94 = 65,715.30 baht. Minus the bank's 0.25% fee (200 minimum, 500 maximum) on incoming international transfers = 65,515.30 baht.
 
 
 

Thanks for your calculations. So the result is that Transferwise is cheaper, it's also faster than a bank transfer as others have confirmed. And the transfer takes a few key strokes on the app. In the end TW does seem a better alternative than a regular bank transfer.