Best USA bank for Wire xfer to Thailand

[CornerPreparation]

I am in USA and want to wire 1 MB to Thailand (recipient with Krung Thai Bank). I actually have several different bank accounts in USA (BofA, Schwab, Chase, Ally) but it seems none of them makes it easy to to wire money to Thailand especially that kind of amount.  Ideally I want to the transfer when I am actually in Thailand which makes it a little bit harder because some of the banks send verification SMS codes, block web site from accessing in Thailand, etc..   Some of them want to form filled out and FAXed. I know about Bangkok Bank but it doesn't do me any good since I don't have an account in Thailand.   Ideally I would request the xfer from the website and not have to mess with Phone calls and FAXes. Is any particular bank in USA well suited for this?  

[Langsuan Man]

I don't understand what problem you are having wiring funds to Thailand

 

There are no restrictions on the amount you can bring into Thailand and your only US requirement is to file a FBAR report annually if you  have more that $10,000 in a foreign bank account 

 

So tell us specifically what is your problem is with International Wires !

 

I transferred several million baht into Thailand when I built my company owned house from E'trade Bank without a blip.  Schwab only charges $25 for an International wire which is pretty standard and they have no cap on amounts 

[Pib]

Ditto to what LSM said. 

 

US banks should give you little to no problems in transferring 1M baht (about $31K).  I've transferred a 7M baht baht one time with no issues....and another time for around 2M baht--But I did that from going to the bank branch simply because I wanted to do it that way....sent the money via SWIFT...this money was for some BIG baht buys like a home, car, etc. .  However, I have frequently done online transfers in the $2K to $8K range numerous times via online banking because that's all I needed for some living expenses.

 

If you are talking doing "online" transfer of such an amount then yea you may have some issues because many banks usually limit an online transfer to around $5K unless you have that amount raised which requires you getting approval from the bank.  But many have higher limits right out of the gate....all depends on the bank.  

 

I use to be with BoA and they had much higher limits per online transfer....I think it was $100K (3.2M baht)...if you couldn't get a SMS from them to do the transfer you could get their SafePass card that is like a little credit/debit card which generates a security code for transfers...replaces the need for an SMS.  

 

And Schwab is $100K up to three times during the day.   Just finished an online chat session moments ago to confirm...see below for partial quote.

 

Quote

 

10:03:11 AM : Just updating some of my records. What is the max amount for an online transfer like an ACH transfer from a Schwab Bank account to an external bank account?

 

10:03:52 AM : Michael C.: Its $100K but you can do three per day.

 

10:04:01 AM : Michael C.: Was there anything else I could help you with today?

 

 

 

As mentioned, you will usually need to get an authorization on file with the bank...usually a one time thing...then you are good to go for many years until the bank wants to update their records on you.  Usually  they just need a signature form and whatever other form they may require to confirm it's really you.   It varies from bank to bank.   It's not nearly as hard as you a making it out to be.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Pib, not sure about the advise above from the Schwab rep...

 

I do Schwab ACH transfers all the time to and from U.S. banks (pushes and pulls, but mostly pushes outbound), and any time I try to do more than 2 in a day cycle, it tells me I've exceeded their limit and wait till the next day.

Edited January 24, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Pib, not sure about the advise above from the Schwab rep...

 

I do Schwab ACH transfers all the time to and from U.S. banks, and any time I try to do more than 2 in a day cycle, it tells me I've exceeded their limit and wait till the next day.

 

What the rep said pretty matches up with their EFT Terms and Conditions...except the three times a day thing. See below. 

 

https://client.schwab.com/secure/file/SERVICE-EMONEYLINK-BANKPDF/Bank_EFT.pdf

Quote

5. Minimum and Maximum Transfer Amounts The minimum transfer amount for the Service is $1. The maximum amount per transfer allowed by Schwab Bank is $100,000. The daily transfer limit is $100,000 into and $100,000 out of your account. Regardless of the amount of the transfer limit, you may not transfer more than the amount of your Available Funds.

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by Pib

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I wasn't commenting on the dollar values that can be transferred -- only on the number of transfers Schwab's own ACH system allows per day. At least for my account, it's ONLY two... not three, as the Schwab rep told you.

 

I will say, lately, in dealing with Schwab, I've been getting a lot of bad / incorrect advice from their reps. And have ended up having to talk to managers about the problems that wrong advice created. Was told by managers there that they've been hiring a lot of new staff and apparently they're not fully up to speed on what admittedly can be a field with a lot of details and nuances.

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[iroc4life]

Fastest way is ACH to BKK Bank in NYC using the acc# of your Thai bank account if it is with Bkk Bank.No wire transfer fees and most banks don't charge for ACH as it is a local transfer

Edited January 24, 2018 by iroc4life

[Langsuan Man]

1 hour ago, iroc4life said:

Fastest way is ACH to BKK Bank in NYC using the acc# of your Thai bank account if it is with Bkk Bank.No wire transfer fees and most banks don't charge for ACH as it is a local transfer

Yes, but let's not forget the Bangkok Bank fees:

 

[DrDave]

I have a little experience with outgoing wires from BofA, E*Trade, Fidelity and Wells Fargo.

 

It's been many years since I used Wells Fargo, but as the OP mentioned, there were faxed forms for setup and a phone call required to initiate the transfers. Hopefully they've improved the process since then.

 

E*Trade was relatively painless, but I think they have a restriction that the receiving account must have the same title (owner) as the sending account. This can cause problems if the name on the Thai account is slightly different than the name on the E*Trade account. Thai banks have a habit of adding the "Mr." prefix, and including a middle name on the account name, whereas US banks don't do this, which can cause a mis-match. E*Trade has a nice security feature in that you can use a security app called "VIP Access" on your cellphone to generate your one-time login password extension. This app replaces the RSA security tokens they used to provide.

 

BofA is what I usually use when I'm in the US. Their SecurePass program will send a OTP to your cell phone (probably not workable if you're in Thailand), or as user Pib mentioned, you can use a credit-card sized token that generates the OTP. I've had bad experiences with the BofA tokens - they've all either arrived in the mail damaged, quicky become unusable (LCD display not working correctly), or just stopped being accepted without explanation. BofA charges $45 for outgoing international wires in USD, and $35 for destination currencies. I've done it both ways recently, and was surprised that the exchange rate when sending as destination currency wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

 

It's been a while since I used Fidelity to send a wire (usually do an ACH transfer to Bangkok Bank), but if I recall correctly, there was no wire transfer fee. I remember having to setup the destination account with Fidelity while I was in the US.  Might be worth checking into.

[tweedledee2]

With the changes in US banking laws over the last few years, it has become more difficult to transfer money to individuals or to other financial institutions internationally, be it by limiting the dollar amount or frequency of transfers, especially electronic transfers done online. Bank services and fees vary in what they offer and charge.  A lot of personal banking can be done electronically, some can only be done in person. If he is currently in the US, he should go to his banks, explain his situation and inquire what can be done. It may be as simple as signing some paperwork. If none of his financial institutions can comply, he will have to explore other options. My first bank account in Thailand is with Krung Thai Bank, but to do avoid paying higher "Swift" transfer fees and for the convenience of doing online transfers, I opted to open a 2nd account with Bangkok Bank and transfer through their NY branch. If the OP can't resolve the issue with his US banks this might be his only option.

[RocketDog]

For the first time I will reply directly to an OP without reading all the sage advice of other forum members. I did scan it quickly, but I've been down this road, even being so foolish as to use western union once and getting skinned alive.

 

The easy answer that I use every month for the last year to several recipients in Thailand.

 

Google "TransferWise"   Open an account, give them your K Bank Account number and it's all done by ACH in a matter of days. First time takes a bit longer.

 

Look at their business model and how they got started. You will find they charge far less than Any other method with far less trouble.

 

Wiring money is totally old school BS and you are dealing directly with the central bank system as an individual: a recipe for disaster.

 

At the very least look at Transfer Wise first and then look at other methods.

I've been using them for a year and had amazing results. If you call or email you get immediate and careful support.

 

This is, IMO, the ONLY  way to transfer money internationally.

 

[Pib]

Ouch!!!!  Transferwise''s fee for transfer of "U.S. dollars" to Thai baht is kinda expensive.  It's 1% of converted amount plus $2.   That 1% part is a killer for large amounts like the amount the OP wants to send.

 

To send 32K dollars (1 million baht) which the OP needs to do, Transferwise would charge a fee of  $381.81 cents to send/convert $32K which converts to Bt1,000,492 with Transferwise exchange rate of today/now.   Just used their website to get this specific cost. 

 

If he would use the Bangkok Bank NY branch ACH method using Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate of today used for incoming international transfers to get Bt1,000,492 to hit his account to match the amount Transferwise sent and including Bangkok Bank fees of approx $25.87 for the transfer he would only need to send $31,787.  

 

Transferwise is fine for smaller amounts when sending US dollars but due to to their 1% fee on USD to baht transfers its a killer for large transfers.   Even their slightly higher exchange rate can't offset their 1%:fee on large transfers

 

Transferwise is fine for smaller dollar transfers; but not for large dollar amount transfers.   For other currencies like pounds and Euros the Transferwse fee is lower...like 0.55% for pounds....sending large amounts is not as much of a killer.

 

 

 

 

 

[UncleTouchyFingers]

11 hours ago, CornerPreparation said:

I am in USA and want to wire 1 MB to Thailand (recipient with Krung Thai Bank). I actually have several different bank accounts in USA (BofA, Schwab, Chase, Ally) but it seems none of them makes it easy to to wire money to Thailand especially that kind of amount.  Ideally I want to the transfer when I am actually in Thailand which makes it a little bit harder because some of the banks send verification SMS codes, block web site from accessing in Thailand, etc..   Some of them want to form filled out and FAXed. I know about Bangkok Bank but it doesn't do me any good since I don't have an account in Thailand.   Ideally I would request the xfer from the website and not have to mess with Phone calls and FAXes. Is any particular bank in USA well suited for this?  

I use Citibank out of Houston TX. Free Checking currently but I bounce between free and Gold depending. You can open an account remotely, just call them and they will mail you a package. Fill out the forms and mail back. Get in return a debit card and your account. Free checking is free as long as you have one direct deposit and one auto bill pay (if I remember correctly)

 

Setup online banking. 

 

I can wire transfer (the difference matters) to any external account I want up to $50k USD per day online for $35. All I need is SWIFT, Routing, and Account numbers, plus the name of the recipient. I do this from all over the planet, from all kinds of messed up satellite internet connections. No issues, as long as I use my personal laptop. (The mobile site does not have this functionality and neither does the app). 

 

Ive tried loads of US banks but Citibank is the only one that reliably allows me to literally log in to the desktop site from my laptop, fill out the SWIFT, Routing, and Account info, and in 1-3 days its there. I do this transfer to my personal BKK Bank savings account all the time and it takes usually a day. No OTOP, no calls, no branches. 

 

Its a bit pricey but its consistent. Its a big deal for me as I may be traveling somewhere where I dont have a cell phone or in an airport and need to wire funds. I can not have the bank asking for an SMS or whatever when Im in a location with no SIM. 

 

As long as I call Citibank and give them a travel advisory on where im going, its all good. 

 

Only had 1 issue using a satellite internet connection out of Singapore that got flagged. Once in 7 years. It was a PITA but all it took was a 10 minute phone call. 

 

Look into it. 

[Langsuan Man]

15 hours ago, DrDave said:

E*Trade was relatively painless, but I think they have a restriction that the receiving account must have the same title (owner) as the sending account. This can cause problems if the name on the Thai account is slightly different than the name on the E*Trade account.

Actually it can be a nightmare even in the US if you want to Wire someone money in an emergency

 

My best friend had an accident and needed a short term loan for a replacement vehicle but E"trade would not allow me to Wire him money  

 

So I changed banks, doesn't do one a whole lot of good to have emergency savings if you can't use them in an emergency

 

USAA will send any amount to anyone so long as I provide a routing and account number 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 hours ago, Pib said:

Transferwise is fine for smaller dollar transfers; but not for large dollar amount transfers.   For other currencies like pounds and Euros the Transferwse fee is lower...like 0.55% for pounds....sending large amounts is not as much of a killer.

 

Pib is correct above, and the prior poster who was effusive about Transferwise was not.

 

We've done the math here in the past for U.S. dollar to THB transfers comparing the BKK Bank NY method vs. Transferwise.  And if I recall our calculations correctly, Transferwise was comparable to or just slightly better than BKK Bank New York for amounts under say $5K-$7K U.S.

 

But once you got to any amounts larger than that, Transferwise rapidly starts becoming far less economical than BKK Bank NY because of TFW's flat commission rate on the entire amount of the transfer -- something that Bangkok Bank's New York method doesn't do.

 

So TFW has it's purpose for U.S. folks, but clearly NOT for transfers of large/larger amounts.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Langsuan Man said:

My best friend had an accident and needed a short term loan for a replacement vehicle but E"trade would not allow me to Wire him money  

 

 

LSM, why was that with E*Trade?  Because they didn't want to wire funds unless the receiving account also was in your same name?

 

I think the brokerages tend to be somewhat more restrictive about that than the regular banks do.  But these days, most of my U.S. banks, in addition to wires or ACH transfer capability, also have some form of online bill pay that pretty much allows you to send money to anyone.

 

Although, I will offer an added caution: a lot of the mega U.S. banks for some reason lately have started forcing their customers to use a funds transfer service called Zelle by making it their default method in their online banking. And if you read the banking forums and get into the details with Zelle, there are A LOT of very unhappy former users of that service. I would steer clear of it by a mile.

 

[UncleTouchyFingers]

1 hour ago, Langsuan Man said:

Actually it can be a nightmare even in the US if you want to Wire someone money in an emergency

 

My best friend had an accident and needed a short term loan for a replacement vehicle but E"trade would not allow me to Wire him money  

 

So I changed banks, doesn't do one a whole lot of good to have emergency savings if you can't use them in an emergency

 

USAA will send any amount to anyone so long as I provide a routing and account number 

 

It doesnt have to be. Once a person starts going overseas they need to bank-shop. 

 

Like I said Citibank Houston TX will do everything needed for an American that travels overseas alot. Dont have to go into a branch, dont have to make a big fuss. 

 

I just sent the equilivent of 700k thai baht from my Citibank US account to my buddies UK Bank account online from my living room in Thailand for a house purchase. Cost me $35. In the grand scheme of things its peanuts for the simplicity and freedom it gives. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 1/24/2018 at 8:57 AM, CornerPreparation said:

I actually have several different bank accounts in USA (BofA, Schwab, Chase, Ally) but it seems none of them makes it easy to to wire money to Thailand especially that kind of amount.

 

OP, why wouldn't Schwab work for your desired purpose?

 

And, are you trying to send the funds from the U.S. to a Thai account also held by you in your name, or to someone else's Thai account?

 

It also might be worth you opening an account with Bangkok Bank specifically for the purpose of receiving funds via their NY ACH transfer method, which is pretty painless to manage.

 

BTW, using a normal VPN service in Thailand with a connection to the U.S. is a good/smart way to handle all one's U.S. online banking needs and avoiding triggering any security alerts or blocks.

 

Likewise, there are solutions for the receiving U.S. SMS messages issue, including a U.S. Google Voice number or similar numbers from folks like MagicJack, TextNow, and FreedomPop, all of which are very low cost and can receive U.S. SMS messages via their Android apps.

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Langsuan Man]

29 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

LSM, why was that with E*Trade?  Because they didn't want to wire funds unless the receiving account also was in your same name?

Yes, and this was E*trade Bank's policy.  I did not have an investment account with them.  It floored me when it happened and no amount of complaining made any difference so I voted with my feet  

 

Wired literally hundreds of thousands of dollars from them but they balked at a lousy $1,000 to an account that did not have my name on it.  When you think about it,  it is insane that a bank will only allow you to send money to yourself  (there is an abbreviation that starts with W and ends with F but the mods don't like us to use it)   

[Pib]

Did some quick USD to THB pricing just now using the Transferwise website/calculator telling you the exchange rate/fee/amount arriving your Thai bank account and then did some calculations using the current Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate using for incoming international transfers and their two fees (the Bangkok Bank NY sliding scale fee which is usually either $5 or $10 based on amount and the in-Thailand Bangkok Bank 0.25% Bt200 min, Bt500 max fee).   We are using the ACH transfer method to Bangkok Bank and assuming your U.S. Sending bank does not charge any sending fee which most, less fee-evil banks do not charge.

 

Bottom line to see the total fees and most importantly the amount of baht arriving your Thai bank accounts after all fees have been applied.    Note: Keep in mind this is dealing in the transfer of US Dollars to Thai baht and not pounds or Euros to baht which have different/lower Transferwise pricing.

 

The point where using the Bangkok Bank ACH method over the Transferwise method becomes a better deal is in  in the $1700 to $1800 ballpark.   I priced out various amounts between $1000 to $3000 below which is probably the typical transfer range for many people sending living money over once every month or two.  

 

And if a person was transferring a BIG amount like the OP wants to do the ACH method is definitely the better deal due the Transferwise 1% fee which then really takes a big chunk of your money fee-wise which even their higher exchange rate can not over come. 

 

But Transferwise is definitely a good deal if you only need to transfer small amounts like a couple hundred dollars to the girlfriend, her family, etc....definitely go the Transferwise route in those cases.

 

Sending $1000

Method       Total Fees    Amount Rec'd Afer All Fees

TW                $11.88          Bt30,977

BB                 $11.40          Bt30,874

Note:  Using Transferwise is the best deal

 

Sending $1700

TW                $18.81           Bt52,739

BB                 $11.40           Bt,52,734

Note: Transferwise the better deal

 

Sending $1800

TW                $19.80            Bt55,845

BB                 $11.40            Bt,55,857

Note: Bangkok Bank becomes the better deal

 

Sending $2000

TW               $21.78            Bt62,007

BB                $11.40            Bt62,104

Note: Bangkok Bank still the better deal.

 

Sending $3000

TW             $31.68             Bt93,042

BB              $17.47             Bt93,144

Note: Bangkok Bank still the better deal

 

As already mentioned, as the sending amount increases using ACH via Bangkok Bank become a better and better deal over Transferwise due to Transferwise's USD exchange fee structure that takes a big bite when transferring large amounts.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

51 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

Yes, and this was E*trade Bank's policy.  I did not have an investment account with them.  It floored me when it happened and no amount of complaining made any difference so I voted with my feet 

Ahh... so the failure with E*Trade occurred with one of their regular bank accounts, not with a brokerage account. I wonder if it would have been any different had you been trying to originate the wire transfer out of one of their brokerage accounts.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've never done an intl wire xfer to Thailand, so this thread sparked some curiosity on my part. So since the OP mentioned Schwab, I figured I'd start with them.

 

Chatted online with Schwab U.S. today, and was given the following info for Schwab U.S. brokerage accountholders:

 

--You can initiate either a domestic or intl wire xfer simply by logging into your Schwab online account and going to the Transfers section. Supposedly, no advance enrollment or registration for xfers is required.

 

--Rep said you can send the wire either to your own external account or to a 3rd party account. Only limit on the amount of the wire is the available funds in your account.

 

--Re fees, the rep said if your brokerage account has a balance over $100K, then you get 3 free wires per quarter, either domestic or international. If under $100K account balance, then a $25 fee per outbound wire either domestic or intl. (I assume the free part means no fee from Schwab. Not sure about charges by any intermediary or receiving banks...those may have some fees.)

 

Re security and confirmation, the rep said the first time you send a wire with them, Schwab will want to call you on a number you give them to verbally confirm the wire details. On subsequent wires, he said there should be a different, easier confirmation process like online or via message (he didn't seem sure...)

 

Now, is all the above info 100% reliable and correct? I'm not sure. As with Pib's Schwab chat the other day, his rep apparently gave out some slightly incorrect info. And in my chat today, I also asked the rep about Schwab's bill pay system, which they have for both brokerage and checking accounts.

 

And, the rep assured me I could use Schwab bill pay on either my checking or brokerage accounts. But when I went online and tried to access their bill pay system for my brokerage account, it gave me a message saying my brokerage account wasn't eligible for Schwab bill pay, without providing any clear explanation of why, other than advising me to call them.

 

So, I assume the above info re Schwab wire transfers ought to be generally correct. But it's also possible that some of the details may not turn out exactly as described.

 

But after the chat, I went online and started the process of sending a wire transfer from my brokerage account, and got to the screen for entering the recipient's name, account number, SWIFT code, etc etc... So it was all good at least up to that point.

 

 

 

[Pib]

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

But after the chat, I went online and started the process of sending a wire transfer from my brokerage account, and got to the screen for entering the recipient's name, account number, SWIFT code, etc etc... So it was all good at least up to that point.

 

 

 

Just to be clear when you say "wire" transfer are you talking the method where most banks charge you a fee which can be healthy because a "wire" is a much faster method and handled differently than the free/low cost "ACH" transfer method which is done in daily batch transfers.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, Pib said:

Just to be clear when you say "wire" transfer are you talking the method where most banks charge you a fee which can be healthy because a "wire" is a much faster method and handled differently than the free/low cost "ACH" transfer method which is done in daily batch transfers.

 

Yes, Schwab has an entirely separate tab in their online banking setup for actual wire transfers, as opposed to ACH transfers, as opposed to their bill pay -- each having their own separate section under a main Transfers tab. Under their wire transfers tab, one of the first things they ask for is the SWIFT code number for the recipient's bank. And there's likewise a pull-down box listing all the many potential recipient countries, including Thailand.

 

And, as you well know, you cannot do a regular ACH transfer direct from a U.S. bank or brokerage account to a bank account in Thailand, because the recipient Thai banks don't generally seem to have or make publicly available or activate their ABA routing codes that the U.S. ACH system requires. Bangkok Bank and their New York branch being the only known exception to that.

 

BTW, assuming the info the Schwab rep gave me via chat is correct, I was pretty surprised to hear that they'll do outbound INTERNATIONAL wire transfers for free for those with $100,000+ account balances, and only $25 per outbound transfer, regardless of domestic or international, for those with lesser balances. $25 for an international wire transfer from the U.S. is one of the best rates I've seen. (Though of course free is even better!) 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

 

Quote

 

Can you either tell me, or point me to the basic rules, for making a wire transfer out of a Schwab One account?

 

There is no limit on the dollar amount of your wire

 

You receive 3 wires per quarter free of charge as long as your balance is over $100k

 

Is that domestic OR international... either kind?

 

That is correct, either kind

 

Can the recipient account be in another person's name, or I can only wire to an account held in my own name?

 

The wire can be sent to a third party

 

Is there any second stage authorization that has to occur?

 

Our wire team may contact you tomorrow morning to confirm the final details before sending out the funds

 

If my account balance was BELOW $100K, then what would the rules/fees be?

 

Great question! There would be a $25 fee for an outgoing wire

 

Domestic or intl?

 

Both

 

Really...you sure.. same fee for outbound domestic or international xfer?

 

That is correct. Just one single $25 fee

 

 

[Pib]

TG,

 

Good info.  I had never looked at the "Wire Transfer" selection on Schwab until just a few minutes ago after reading your posts above.  I had always just done ACH transfers which Schwab does not charge a few for.  I noticed I can only do an online Wire Transfer from my "Brokerage Account" which has a very low amount in it......and yea, whether I selected a domestic or international transfer it said the fee was $25.   Once again this is wire from the brokerage account. 

 

Now what about a wire from my checking/savings account?  I could "not" initiate an "online" Wire Transfer from my "checking or savings" account.  Instead it said checking/savings accounts are not currently available for online wire transfers.   Instead, I needed to download a form and mail/fax the form in. 

 

 When downloading/opening the form the top of it says Schwab does "not" wire funds outside the U.S., but this is apparently is in  reference to sending an international wire from your "checking or savings" account and not your brokerage account.   Once again, the rules for sending money from their brokerage account are looser/more favorable than from their checking/savings account.  Partial quote from top of the form.

Quote

Schwab Bank Wire Transfer Request and Authorization

• We do not process any wire transfers sent from or to financial institutions located outside the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., even if the currency is in U.S. dollars.

• We may need to confirm your instructions prior to processing your request. To avoid delay, please complete all required fields and provide your telephone number requested in Section 2.

• To give us time to process your request for a transfer, we must receive this completed form prior to 11:00 a.m. PT (2:00 p.m. ET) on the date that you would like your transfer to be processed. Fax to 1-877-300-6933.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by Pib

[Langsuan Man]

Just a word of warning about all US banks and Wire transfers

 

Many times what they state on their web site is not what it is in reality

 

As an example,  I have a savings account with Sallie Mae who state that in order to use their Wire facility you can only send to one of your verified transfer accounts (EFTS) and not to a third party account 

 

I purchased a house so I needed to pay a Wire fee from Sallie Mae to a verified bank (USAA) and another fee from USAA to the sellers escrow account.   When I complained to Sallie Mae about this "double" wire situation they admitted that there is an unwritten exception to their policy when it comes to home purchases and escrow accounts 

 

So my advice is to check with the financial institution and not depend upon what appears on their web site 

[Peterw42]

Something thats not being mentioned, Tranferwise and similar ends up being a local transfer into your thai account and therefore you cannot generate an FET needed for condo purchase etc, most likely why the OP is bringing in 1mb.

[sstuff3]

I've recently started using Discover Bank for this and have been able to transfer funds to Thailand quite easily and quickly.  All activity is done online but you are required to make a phone call to verify the transfer after uploading the form to their website. Pretty painless and very helpful staff. 

[jerry921]

Two questions.

 

One: Suppose you need to bring in dollars to set up the 800k Baht account for a retirement visa. Will a Schwab wire initiated online generate the document you need to keep so that someday, if you leave Thailand, you can get that money back out of the country?

 

Two: If I already have a schwab account with more than 100k in the brokerage part, so I would get the 3 free wires/quarter, would it still be worthwhile to set up a Bangkok Bank savings account for moving money in via ACH for regular monthly expenses? It sounds like that's going to cost, whereas I could wire from US Schwab account to any Thai bank for free (apart from exchange rate spreads).

 

Using one free wire each month to bring in the regular spending budget to a Thai bank, then withdrawing/spending that using an ATM card issued by that Thai bank looks like a fee-less way to manage money. Am I missing something?