Bangkok Bank New York

[banagan]

Does anyone have a Bangkok Bank New York account?

 

I believe this is one of the best ways to send money from the US to Thailand, right?

[ubonjoe]

You cannot get or need an account in New York.

You use your Bangkok Bank account number here to do transfer to here using the New York branches routing number.

Info here

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

[Pib]

OP,

   I know it sounds somewhat strange in being able to use a U.S. bank routing number without having an account at that bank branch, but Bangkok Bank has a special setup for ACH transfers.  The NY branch is basically acting a correspondent/flow-thru point for the transfer.   They are they only Thai bank able to "receive" ACH transfers. Just follow the instructions the weblink ubonjoe gave above.

    

    What if boils down to is when during an ACH transfer using your U.S. bank ibanking is using the Bangkok Bank New York branch routing number and you "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank account number.   It's that simple.   

 

   Many U.S. persons have used this method (me included) many times and for many years for ad-hoc transfers from their U.S. banks, receipt of of benefit payment from the U.S. govt such as social security and military retirement pensions, etc. 

 

    But note if having a monthly U.S. govt payment going to Bangkok Bank you will need to open a special Direct Deposit account which the Bangkok Bank website has info on also.   I have one of those special account also in addition to some regular accounts.  However, for regular transfers from your U.S. bank account you can transfer to your regular Bangkok Bank account or even your special Direct Deposit account.

[Jeffrey346]

16 hours ago, Pib said:

 

   

    What if boils down to is when during an ACH transfer using your U.S. bank ibanking is using the Bangkok Bank New York branch routing number and you "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank account number.   It's that simple.   

 

   Many U.S. persons have used this method (me included) many times and for many years for ad-hoc transfers from their U.S. banks, receipt of of benefit payment from the U.S. govt such as social security and military retirement pensions, etc. 

 

    But note if having a monthly U.S. govt payment going to Bangkok Bank you will need to open a special Direct Deposit account which the Bangkok Bank website has info on also.   I have one of those special account also in addition to some regular accounts.  

Using this method requires you to withdraw funds in person.. No ATM or iBanking.

The better approach is to open an account with US Direct Express.  https://www.usdirectexpress.com/   You can have your Gov Pension direct deposited and ACH to Bangkok Bank NY for $1.50. Now these fund can be accessed via ATM or iBanking..

Edited September 17, 2017 by Jeffrey346

[a6patch]

41 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Using this method requires you to withdraw funds in person.. No ATM or iBanking.

The better approach is to open an account with US Direct Express.  https://www.usdirectexpress.com/   You can have your Gov Pension direct deposited and ACH to Bangkok Bank NY for $1.50. Now these fund can be accessed via ATM or iBanking..

 

This is absolutely not true and is likely a shameful plug for the us direct express service. I have an ordinary bangkokbank account (and a usd acct) with ATM and ibanking and I send money using the NY branch all the time. There is no requirement to withdraw funds in person. 

Edited September 17, 2017 by a6patch

[Wuvu2]

19 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You cannot get or need an account in New York.

You use your Bangkok Bank account number here to do transfer to here using the New York branches routing number.

Info here

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

Ubon dude:  I've been trying to learn this from my BKK Bank branch for more than a year! Your answer justifies all the membership fees I've paid to ThaiVisa over the years :-)    

 

Thanks!

W

[chingching]

2 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Using this method requires you to withdraw funds in person.. No ATM or iBanking.

The better approach is to open an account with US Direct Express. 

As said by someone else, this is blatant lie.  I used to use it all the time,  but now I buy ethereum in the u.s.a. and sell it here.

[fxe1200]

Try using transferwise.com to send money from the US. I use that transfer, as it is the cheapest all around and it does take a maximum of 4 workdays to reach my Thai account. Transferwise uses the xe.com middle rate and charges a very small fee.  I use this to transfer funds from Germany though.

 

Check their rates!!

 

If you want to do me a favour use this link. https://transferwise.com/u/walterb8

 

 

[murraynz]

i have a bkk bank account in thailand,recently transferred 7.6m by internet transfer from my bank in nz--did in several lots{trying to benefit from increasing x change rate}....there is a limit of $100,000 per day, sometimes it arrives in my bkk account in under 48hrs....what i do find though---thai bank fees are quite excessive but not crippling..

[how241]

The Bangkok bank direct deposit account does NOT allow any ATM  or electronic transactions,  ONLY in person  BUT  you can have a second regular Bangkok bank acct.  and use the ATM, etc.

[soisanuk]

5 hours ago, a6patch said:

 

This is absolutely not true and is likely a shameful plug for the us direct express service. I have an ordinary bangkokbank account (and a usd acct) with ATM and ibanking and I send money using the NY branch all the time. There is no requirement to withdraw funds in person. 

There is a difference - it depends on whether you are transferring funds from another US Bank (can go to your regular Bangkok Bank Account and you can use online banking or ATM for transactions).  BUT, if you have arranged for your Social Security or other pension to be direct deposited to your Bangkok Bank account, Bangkok bank requires it be put in a special account and you must withdraw funds in person (it is my understanding this is based on Bangkok Bank being allowed to accept such direct deposits) - the funds withdrawn can be deposited into a your regular Bangkok Bank account which then allows you to do online and ATM transactions).

 

Also, when using the NY Branch, they charge a fee depending on the amount being transferred to your Thai bank account (not sure if that applies to direct deposit of social security or government pension) - if I recall correctly, it is $50 or less, no fee.  If it is $50+ to $2,000, fee is $5. If it is $2,000 to $50,000, the fee is $10. Going to the Bangkok Bank links re how to make transfers, there is link or page that shows the NY Branch's fees for the amounts mentioned and fees when transfer is over $50,000.  The funds are transferred through the NY Branch in US dollars - Bangkok Bank here charges a fee of .25% of the amount with a minimum of 200 baht and maximum of 500 baht for converting the dollars to baht before depositing in your account.

 

Also, when setting up the transfer protocol, as explained on the Bangkok Bank website for setting up the transfer, the sending US bank will usually send two small deposits of less than US$1, which you must then confirm to the sending bank before they will link the two accounts for direct transfers (I have done this with two of my US banks for transfers from my account at the sending bank to my account at Bangkok Bank) - in those cases, no conversion fee was charged by Bangkok Bank.

 

It also possible if your bank permits, to set up transfers without the need for the two small deposits - i.e., the method that allows you to send money to another person/company's  account through the ACH system.

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by soisanuk

[Suradit69]

23 hours ago, Pib said:

I know it sounds somewhat strange in being able to use a U.S. bank routing number without having an account at that bank branch, but Bangkok Bank has a special setup for ACH transfers.  The NY branch is basically acting a correspondent/flow-thru point for the transfer.  

Not sure what's strange about it. I can make deposits or withdrawals at any Bangkok Bank branch without opening an account at each branch. The NY branch keeps the dollars and the amount, converted to baht, is credited to the account you have with the bank and available to you at any branch in Thailand. Really nothing more than an accounting entry.

 

You could do the same thing at the London branch of Bangkok Bank if you had a UK bank account or in several other countries especially for business matters. In this age of doing everything via the Internet, this is fairly "old school."

 

 

Quote

 

A pioneer in international banking...

Bangkok Bank was the first bank in Thailand to open an international branch which was located in Hong Kong in 1954. Since then, we have built up an extensive chain of 32 overseas branches and two wholly own subsidiary in 15 different countries.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by Suradit69

[free123]

Hi I am looking for a bankaccount in Thailand that has minimal fees run in euros and give an international ATM card... or any prepaid card if possible.. any idea...?  

[bangkoken]

6 hours ago, a6patch said:

 

This is absolutely not true and is likely a shameful plug for the us direct express service. I have an ordinary bangkokbank account (and a usd acct) with ATM and ibanking and I send money using the NY branch all the time. There is no requirement to withdraw funds in person. 

You have it 100% correct. I have been doing it the same way for years with zero problems. My bank charges a $3.00 transfer fee and money gets into  my account in Thailand in about 5-7 days. 

[jimn]

5 hours ago, fxe1200 said:

Try using transferwise.com to send money from the US. I use that transfer, as it is the cheapest all around and it does take a maximum of 4 workdays to reach my Thai account. Transferwise uses the xe.com middle rate and charges a very small fee.  I use this to transfer funds from Germany though.

 

Check their rates!!

 

If you want to do me a favour use this link. https://transferwise.com/u/walterb8

 

 

Take the advice of the poster above. No need to listen to any other ill advised comments. Travelwise is the cheapest and the best fx rates. Easy choice.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 minutes ago, jimn said:

Take the advice of the poster above. No need to listen to any other ill advised comments. Travelwise is the cheapest and the best fx rates. Easy choice.

 

No Transferwise is NOT always "cheapest all around" for sending money from the U.S. to Thailand, and anyone who believes that is "ill-advised."

 

There have been several threads here running lately on Transferwise vs Bangkok Bank NY for Americans, and several of us have done a variety of transfer comparisons using the two services for different transfer amounts.

 

Basically, Transferwise can be a bit more economical than BKK Bank's New York branch method if the amount you're sending is smaller, up to only a few thousand dollars U.S.  But if the transfer amount gets larger like into the $5000 to $7000 range or more, BKK Bank's NY route becomes more economical.

 

The reason for that is, Transferwise tends to offer a slightly better exchange rate than BKK Bank. But they also charge a per transfer fee based on a percentage of the amount transferred. So as the transfer amount with them gets larger, their fee gets larger as well. BKK Bank NY, in contrast, has a sliding scale fixed fee by the New York branch and then a maximum 500 baht fee on the Thai end, no matter how much you transfer. They don't take an un-capped percentage cut of your transfer amount as a fee.

 

[bazza73]

I make  large transfers in dollars about every six months from an Australian credit union account to Bangkok Bank.

It is a BIG mistake to send in baht converted in the country of origin. Dynamic Currency Conversion is a euphemism for outright theft.

I use an International Telegraphic Transfer, which costs me $30 in Australia irrespective of the amount transferred. Bangkok Bank does the conversion to baht. I've found their exchange rates to be quite reasonable. They do not charge any fee for conversion.

Don't know anything about the merits of Transferwise. Don't even know if they operate in Australia.

[Pib]

10 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Using this method requires you to withdraw funds in person.. No ATM or iBanking.

The better approach is to open an account with US Direct Express.  https://www.usdirectexpress.com/   You can have your Gov Pension direct deposited and ACH to Bangkok Bank NY for $1.50. Now these fund can be accessed via ATM or iBanking..

Yes, if you open a Bangkok Bank "Direct Deposit" savings account required for  U.S. govt payments such as Social Security/Military Retirement benefit payments no debit card or ibanking withdrawals/transfer-outs is allowed...a person must show-up in person at any Bangkok Bank branch to withdraw/transfer funds.   This is explained at the Bangkok Bank webpage.   However, you can transfer "into" the account via ibanking such as transferring funds from your Bangkok Bank acct, just any other Thai or foreign bank....and as discussed incoming payments directly from  the U.S. govt.

 

A person can also open a "regular" Bangkok Bank savings account which does come with a debit card, ibanking transfers out, etc.  However, you cannot send U.S. govt reoccurring benefit payments to a regular account as Bangkok Bank will spot the U.S. govt payment via the description and underlying coding in the transfer,  not post the funds/put them on hold, and send you a letter saying you need to come in and open a Direct Deposit account within approx 2 weeks or the funds will be sent back.

 

Using usdirectexpress to do an ACH transfer to your Bangkok Bank is basically them acting as a U.S. bank in this case.  Just as a person with a U.S. bank account can use ACH transfers  via their ibanking to transfer money to another bank which has an ACH/ABA routing number such as the Bangkok Bank NY branch.   All of my U.S. banks have that ACH transfer capability...and the primary ones I use do not charge any Sending fee like the $1.50 sending fee usdirectexpress charges.  But hey, $1.50 is still low compared to some of the more fee-evil U.S. banks.

 

Now, on-top of any Sending bank fee such as the usdirectexpress $1.50 fee, the transfers will also still incur the two Bangkok Bank transfer/receiving fees addressed at their website.  These fees are applied before posting to your Bangkok Bank account and will not appear on your bank account statement/ibanking which fools a lot of people into thinking no fees were applied...but the fees were indeed applied whether coming from a U.S. bank, usdirectexpress, or even the U.S. govt pension paying agency.  There is one way to see the two fees through by signing up for Bangkok Bank's free SMS Remittance Alert which will show the fees in the SMS they send to your when they post the funds to your account. 

 

Some folks do get around use of a Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit account for U.S. govt payments by first having it sent to their U.S. Bank (or it could be usdirectexpress) and then resending via manual or automatic transfer to their regular Bangkok Bank account.   In this transfer their is no description/underlying U.S. govt coding because now it a simple personal transfer from your U.S. bank....those funds can transfer into a regular, Direct Deposit, FCD, etc., account.   And those two Bangkok Bank fee discussed for incoming foreign transfers apply.

 

But for anyone out their using usdirectexpress using their card outside the U.S. will incur a $3 flat fee plus 3% of the amount withdrawal plus no reimbursement of the Thai ATM User fee for foreign cards which is Bt220 at most Thai banks.  That made the ATM withdrawal pretty pricey fee-wise.  The usdirectexpress card is fine and cheap to use "within" the U.S. but expensive to use (fee-wise) outside the U.S.    See their fees at the weblink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, bazza73 said:

I use an International Telegraphic Transfer, which costs me $30 in Australia irrespective of the amount transferred. Bangkok Bank does the conversion to baht. I've found their exchange rates to be quite reasonable. They do not charge any fee for conversion.

Actually, BKK Bank, and virtually all of the other Thai banks, do charge a relatively small fee for receiving incoming international wire transfers, which usually involves them converting the funds into baht.

 

The receiving fee that BKK Bank charges in Thailand is 0.25% of the amount sent, minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht. They deduct that amount behind the scenes, as it were, before they post the final transfer amount to your account.

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[HerbalEd]

I frequently transfer money from my USA Morgan Stanley account to my Bangkok Bank account in Bangkok at no cost (on either side) and I receive the funds in 8 to 16 hours. And I've transferred anywhere from $10K to $1M per transfer.

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, HerbalEd said:

I frequently transfer money from my USA Morgan Stanley account to my Bangkok Bank account in Bangkok at no cost (on either side) and I receive the funds in 8 to 16 hours. And I've transferred anywhere from $10K to $1M per transfer.

Yes,  I transfer from my US Standard chartered account and receive funds in 7 to 15 hours. And I've transferred anywhere from $11K to $1.1M per transfer.

[HerbalEd]

20 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Yes,  I transfer from my US Standard chartered account and receive funds in 7 to 15 hours. And I've transferred anywhere from $11K to $1.1M per transfer.

You win. 

[soisanuk]

16 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

The NY branch keeps the dollars and the amount, converted to baht, is credited to the account you have with the bank and available to you at any branch in Thailand. Really nothing more than an accounting entry.

I believe this is incorrect - the NY branch act as a conduit - they receive the funds electronically, deduct their fee in US dollars and then transfer the remainder in dollars to Bangkok Bank. Bangkok bank does the conversion to baht, deducts their conversion fee in baht, then deposits the remaining baht into your Bangkok Bank account. I receive a text message when funds are deposited which shows total received by NY branch, their fee deduction in dollars, the remaining dollars received by Bangkok Bank, their conversion fee, and the  amount deposited to my account.

Edited September 18, 2017 by soisanuk

[Pib]

Yeap, agree with soisanuk.   The NY branch does not convert the dollars to baht, they forward dollars "minus" their flow-thru fee.  ACH is a domestic/dollars transfer system.   Not like the U.K. London branch sending methods where you can select to either send pounds or let the London branch convert to baht at a crappy exchange rate completely different from the TT Buying Rate given in Thailand. 

 

When the dollars arrive from the NY branch they are converted to baht using the latest TT Buying Rate in Thailand.    And this is evident/shown if a person is signed up for the free Bangkok Bank SMS Remittance Alert which sends you an SMS when the funds post to your account.   

 

The SMS will first show how much funds "arrived" Thailand.  Like if you sent $2,000 from your U.S. bank or that happened to be the monthly amount your U.S. govt pension paying agency sends you, its will only show $1995 arriving because the NY branch sliced off their $5 fee before relaying to Thailand.    Then the TT Buying Rate in effect is applied and shown as to how many baht that $1995 gives you.  Then they show the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) being applied.  And finally the amount that posts to your account.

 

Another reason I believe it works this way...that is, the exchange rate is done in Thailand, is because when funds arrive from the U.S. and for some reason get hung-up in final processing/posting within Thailand like maybe arriving on a weekend, holiday, or there are questions about the transfer which have to be answered before posting which can hold up posting for days, when the funds do end up  posting to a person's account it's the rate in effect at the time.....like the funds arrived on a Fri/Sat/Sun, but when posting on Monday you get a Monday exchange rate.

 

 

[cmjc]

Excuse me butting in on this conversation, perhaps with your experience of Bkk Bk NY somebody could answer this question.

How much do they charge to send US$ to my Thai Bkk bank US$ account?

Since there'd be no Fx conversion, I'm guessing they take a percentage of the amount transferred as a fee, and that will be way over the 500 baht maximum for baht TT's.

[Pib]

3 hours ago, cmjc said:

Excuse me butting in on this conversation, perhaps with your experience of Bkk Bk NY somebody could answer this question.

How much do they charge to send US$ to my Thai Bkk bank US$ account?

Since there'd be no Fx conversion, I'm guessing they take a percentage of the amount transferred as a fee, and that will be way over the 500 baht maximum for baht TT's.

 

The receiving fee is 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) just like all their other types of accounts for incoming foreign transfers.   Please note this is a "receiving" fee, not an exchange/conversion fee.  Whether it's foreign currency or baht arriving via international transfer, the receiving fee is applied.      

 

Now if you send funds via some money transfer services like transferwise who have an in-country peer (i.e., some Thai bank/Thai financial company working with the money transfer service to accomplish the exchange) the receiving fee is not applied because when that in-Thailand peer forwards the money over to the person's bank it's a domestic transfer and does not incur the international receiving fee.

 

See this webpage for FCD fees....look under the Open An Account and the fee sublinks.  Below is snapshot from the fee info on the page regarding the receiving fee.

.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by Pib

[cmjc]

Thank you Pib, for that good news and comprehensive reply. I'm surprised Bkk bank is cheaper than Transferwise, but from your data it +would be+ for a 25,000$ fund movement (retained as US$).

I'll have to go to my Bkk Bank branch and set up the US$ account ready to receive the transfer.

Thank you.

[Pib]

Yea, using the ACH method via the Bangkok Bank NY branch method would result in more money arriving your in-Thailand bank account.  While transferwise might beat the ACH method by a few baht for transfers of only a couple thousand of dollars, but that transferwise 1% transfer fee takes a bite which makes it hard for their higher exchange rate to overcome for larger transfer amounts.   

 

Over in this other thread talking use of transferwise there are some cost comparisons against the ACH transfer method is discussed.   Be sure to scan the whole thread.

[khlongtoey]

9 hours ago, Pib said:

Yea, using the ACH method via the Bangkok Bank NY branch method would result in more money arriving your in-Thailand bank account.  While transferwise might beat the ACH method by a few baht for transfers of only a couple thousand of dollars, but that transferwise 1% transfer fee takes a bite which makes it hard for their higher exchange rate to overcome for larger transfer amounts.   

 

Over in this other thread talking use of transferwise there are some cost comparisons against the ACH transfer method is discussed.   Be sure to scan the whole thread.

Above what amount is it worthwhile to do BKK NY Ach  vs.  $1000 / day max cash advances ,  I'm thinking of trying for the 1st time an ACH for maybe $3000 max ??

[Pib]

6 hours ago, khlongtoey said:

Above what amount is it worthwhile to do BKK NY Ach  vs.  $1000 / day max cash advances ,  I'm thinking of trying for the 1st time an ACH for maybe $3000 max ??

Best you do that math yourself using your Sending bank and Bangkok Bank fee structures for ACH transfers and the fee structure for the card(s) you use to get cash advances.    Fees structures which can vary quite a bit amount Sending banks and cards.

 

But the Bangkok Bank fee for a $3,000 ACH transfer would be $10 as those funds flow the NY branch....$2,990 arrive your "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank branch where the their TT Buying Exchange Rate is applied....then they apply their 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500) fee which would be around Bt247 (about $7.50) at the current approx exchange rate of Bt33/USD...and then the funds are posted to your account.   

 

BE SURE to send dollars from your U.S. sending bank; DO NOT let them fool/confuse you into letting them to the dollar to baht exchange on their end as the exchange rate will be significantly lower (several percent) than the exchange rate given by a Thai bank for an incoming transfer.

 

So you would have a total of $17.50 in Bangkok Bank fees....be sure to add-on any ACH Sending fee your U.S. bank may apply....many banks don't charge any fee; many do....my primary banks do not.   And if you Sending bank must use a Correspondent bank (a middleman bank) to get the funds to Thailand you must ask your Sending bank if that Correspondent bank will slice off a fee...and expect your Sending bank to not have that answer....instead, you have to wait and see how much arrives and see if a fee might have been sliced off.

 

Now do your math on three $1000 cash advances using your card (s).  The great majority of debit/credit cards have a foreign transaction fee and the great majority of credit cards have a cash advance fee where 3% of amount withdrawn is common.  Just one $1000 cash advance withdrawal using a card with a 3% cash advance fee would result in a $30 fee...and if you did that cash advance using an ATM vs doing a counter withdrawal then add on another Bt220 (approx $6.67) you are already way over the Bangkok Bank fee for a $3000 transfer.  

 

But each debit/credit card and Sending bank has its own fee structure...you need to do the math.