Best USA bank for Wire xfer to Thailand

[Pib]

1 hour ago, jerry921 said:

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?

Answer One:  You must get a document from the "receiving Thai bank."   It's called a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form for amounts $50K and over equivalent.  For amounts less that $50K it call a Confirmation Letter of International Transfer.   See below partial quote from the Bangkok Bank webpage.

Quote

• Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FET): you will need this form when transferring foreign currency into Thailand or withdrawing funds from an FCD account valued at USD 50,000 and over (or equivalent in other currencies).
• A Confirmation Letter of International Funds Transfer: you will need this letter when transferring foreign currency into Thailand or withdrawing funds from an FCD account valued at less than USD 50,000 (or equivalent in other currencies) or transferring Thai baht into Thailand from abroad (any amount) 

 

Answer Two:  It wouldn't hurt to have an ACH transfer link setup....just gives you more flexibility/options for sending money.   You will need a Thai bank such as Bangkok Bank savings account to receiving the funds even from your Schwab brokerage account.  Plus even in doing the free Wire Transfer that transfer (which is only free on the sending end) will still incur the Thai bank 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) receiving fee on the Thai bank end...just like an incoming ACH transfer.  To the Thai bank the incoming international transfer is just an electronic funds transfer (EFT) whether it arrives via SWIFT, ACH, intergalactic transfer, etc.

[jerry921]

On 1/29/2018 at 4:09 AM, Pib said:

Answer One:  You must get a document from the "receiving Thai bank."   It's called a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form for amounts $50K and over equivalent.  For amounts less that $50K it call a Confirmation Letter of International Transfer.   See below partial quote from the Bangkok Bank webpage.

Answer Two:  It wouldn't hurt to have an ACH transfer link setup....just gives you more flexibility/options for sending money.   You will need a Thai bank such as Bangkok Bank savings account to receiving the funds even from your Schwab brokerage account.  Plus even in doing the free Wire Transfer that transfer (which is only free on the sending end) will still incur the Thai bank 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) receiving fee on the Thai bank end...just like an incoming ACH transfer.  To the Thai bank the incoming international transfer is just an electronic funds transfer (EFT) whether it arrives via SWIFT, ACH, intergalactic transfer, etc.

Thanks, is the 0.25% (200-500Bt) fee for receiving an ETF standard (the same) across all Thai banks or is that just Bangkok Bank's price?

Edited February 6, 2018 by jerry921
changed ACH to ETF

[Pib]

1 hour ago, jerry921 said:

Thanks, is the 0.25% (200-500Bt) fee for receiving an ETF standard (the same) across all Thai banks or is that just Bangkok Bank's price?

That's what the great majority of Thai banks charge such as Bangkok Bank, K-bank, Krungsri Bank, TMB, etc...etc...etc.  A few, smaller banks don't do the percentage part and just have flat rates between Bt200 and Bt500 like Bank of China is a flat Bt300.    But when the dust settles they are all charging between 200 to 500 baht.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 1/24/2018 at 10:29 AM, 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 (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.

 

Just to confirm on Schwab U.S.'s daily limit of two ACH transfers from their brokerage account.

 

I was moving around some money today, ordered two successful ACH transfers, and then went to try a third. Immediately got the message on my computer screen, you've exceeded the daily limit for number of transfers.

 

[iroc4life]

Easiest by far for me is USAA, Online ACH has a 5000USD per day limit but for wires, a phone call is all it takes and about 5 min its done.

[Langsuan Man]

9 hours ago, iroc4life said:

a phone call is all it takes and about 5 min its done.

If you are going to waste time on the phone , why not just request a one time increase in the $5,000 ACH daily limit, they are more than accommodating, and will increase the amount and do it right then and there 

 

I recently had to pay a contractor in the US $9,980 and they had no problem authorizing that amount  

[Pib]

You can get the $5000 daily transfer limit which USAA uses "permanently increased" by a written request via email or mail/fax to them. Or at least you use to be able to do that as I did it a couple years ago.   Now when I do an USAA ibanking transfer the transfer screen says my daily limit is $15K vs $5K.

 

Just provide some justification (I did like a short paragraph's worth of justification) as to why you need it and the amount requested.  I did my request via secure message on USAA ibanking a couple of years ago.  Approx  two business days later the request was approved and my daily transfer limit was permanently increased to to $15K.  In my request/justification I said $20K was preferred but $15K acceptable....I've forget the exact wording/justification I used.   In approving my request at $15K I guess they felt that three times the NACHA recommendation (see discussion below) and since I stated in my request that amount would work for me then that amount was acceptable to USAA and me.  

 

I've read posts of others who have got even higher permanent limits based on their requests/needs/transfer history/etc.   I only wanted the higher amount so I would need to only do a couple of transfers per year for Thailand living expenses versus doing more frequent transfers which incurs more frequent transfer fees.   A higher amount comes in handy also for an unexpected need to transfer over a large amount for a big buy, emergency, etc.

 

By the way, the probable reason USAA  "defaults" to the $5000 daily limit via ibanking as does many other other U.S. banks/credit unions is because that $5000 amount is a risk management recommendation in some National Automated Clearing House Association  operating/risk guidance which I read one time on the NACHA website.   That recommendation is risk management "guidance only;" not mandatory and many banks will have higher daily limits.  Banks can change the limit based on their own risk management policies/procedures in effect which vary from bank to bank....some banks offer high amounts...some offer not-so-high amounts....all depends on your bank.

 

From Wikipedia

Quote

NACHA (previously the National Automated Clearing House Association) manages the development, administration, and governance of the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States. It is funded by the financial institutions it governs. The ACH Network serves as a network for direct consumer, business, and government payments, and annually facilitates billions of payments such as direct deposit and direct payment. Used by all types of financial institutions, the ACH Network is governed by the NACHA Operating Rules, a set of rules that guide risk management and create certainty for all participants.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 hours ago, iroc4life said:

Easiest by far for me is USAA, Online ACH has a 5000USD per day limit but for wires, a phone call is all it takes and about 5 min its done.

 

Re Schwab's U.S. brokerage accounts, I don't know if they have any limit on their domestic ACHs (which would include the option of BKKB New York) or what it is...

 

If they do, it's relatively high, as I've sent $15K before without any problem. It's just the LIMIT of TWO ACH PER DAY that sometimes constrains.

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[utalkin2me]

I didn’t read every response but he was asking about the text message confirmation codes you get from Schwab. I am planning to set up a google voice/hangouts number for this purpose, and I was wondering if anyone knows if that’ll work? Ie will Schwab be able to text the google voice number the confirmation codes? This is concerning transfers while in Thailand of course. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by utalkin2me

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Not sure if you mean about Schwab ACH xfers or wire xfers.

 

For ACH transfers, there are no SMSs from Schwab.

 

I've never done a Schwab wire transfer, but one of their reps told me recently the initial confirmation the first time you do one can be done via telephone call.

 

As for Google Voice, it works fine for SMSs for my other banking needs, which these days usually seem to be more online banking log-in second factor authentication codes. But I know others here have reported problems with some U.S. banks and Google Voice numbers, specifically Wells Fargo if I recall.

 

[utalkin2me]

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Not sure if you mean about Schwab ACH xfers or wire xfers.

 

For ACH transfers, there are no SMSs from Schwab.

 

I've never done a Schwab wire transfer, but one of their reps told me recently the initial confirmation the first time you do one can be done via telephone call.

 

As for Google Voice, it works fine for SMSs for my other banking needs, which these days usually seem to be more online banking log-in second factor authentication codes. But I know others here have reported problems with some U.S. banks and Google Voice numbers, specifically Wells Fargo if I recall.

 

Thanks. They are weird with the Thai wire transfers here. They make me physically go into a branch each new account I wire to in Thailand. No other way to do it, at least that’s what they tell me. So yeah I’m hoping this google voice number works for the wiring , I think it will. Thanks. 

[utalkin2me]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Not sure if you mean about Schwab ACH xfers or wire xfers.

 

For ACH transfers, there are no SMSs from Schwab.

 

I've never done a Schwab wire transfer, but one of their reps told me recently the initial confirmation the first time you do one can be done via telephone call.

 

As for Google Voice, it works fine for SMSs for my other banking needs, which these days usually seem to be more online banking log-in second factor authentication codes. But I know others here have reported problems with some U.S. banks and Google Voice numbers, specifically Wells Fargo if I recall.

 

Should I be doing a ach transfers to Thailand? Or that’s not what you were saying. I am not real clear on the difference. I thought wiring from Schwab USA to Thai bank account international wire was the only way. Maybe that’s not correct. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by utalkin2me

[Rhys]

OK... so Western Union is out  65USD for 5K wires...What about SCB bank to bank is that an option?

 

[Langsuan Man]

6 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

Should I be doing a ach transfers to Thailand? Or that’s not what you were saying. I am not real clear on the difference. I thought wiring from Schwab USA to Thai bank account international wire was the only way. Maybe that’s not correct. 

It is not the only way, just one of the ways,  to transfer money into Thailand

 

If you have a Bangkok Bank Account you can do an ACH from Schwab via the NY branch with a minimum of fees or you can do a International Wire from Schwab to any Thai Bank and only pay the standard fee of 200 THB minimum-500 THB maximum fee

[jerry921]

3 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

It is not the only way, just one of the ways,  to transfer money into Thailand

 

If you have a Bangkok Bank Account you can do an ACH from Schwab via the NY branch with a minimum of fees or you can do a International Wire from Schwab to any Thai Bank and only pay the standard fee of 200 THB minimum-500 THB maximum fee

If you have a Schwab account, can't you just withdraw money at any ATM and get the fees refunded by Schwab at the end of the month? For smaller amounts, and when you want cash, that would avoid all fees, correct? Don't you get a pretty decent exchange rate that way too? (Like interbank rate minus 1%?)

 

And if the end goal is to have money in a Thai bank (for paying bills electronically or something), can you not combine Schwab ATM withdrawals with cash deposits at your Thai bank's ATMs to get the money into that account?

 

Would those two moves work well together?

[Pib]

11 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

Should I be doing a ach transfers to Thailand? Or that’s not what you were saying. I am not real clear on the difference. I thought wiring from Schwab USA to Thai bank account international wire was the only way. Maybe that’s not correct. 

An ACH transfer would probably be lot cheaper than a Wire transfer.   Wire transfers typically run around $20 or more where ACH transfers are usually free/only a few dollars on the Sending bank end.  Most of my U.S. banks do not charge any ACH sending fee.   But always keep in mind whether it's Wire or ACH transfer "and depending on your U.S. bank" a correspondent/intermediary bank fee might apply....that will predominately depend on banking relationships your U.S. bank has.   For Schwab you would not incur an such fee if doing an ACH transfer to Bangkok Bank....I know because I have a Schwab account and have done such ACH transfer before from Schwab to Bangkok Bank.

 

ACH transfers go through the ACH system which is predominately a batch transfer system done a couple times per day.   Wire transfers is a priority/more realtime transfer system normally using the FedWire and/or CHIPS transfer systems for domestic wire transfers and SWIFT for international wire transfers.    You can google about more info on the Fedwire, CHIPS, and SWIFT transfer systems...they are different from the ACH transfer system which is the predominate domestic transfer system used in the U.S....and which Bangkok Bank can also utilize to "receive" funds to your Bangkok Bank account....Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability in Thailand due to the ability to route such transfers through their New York branch.

 

Whether ACH, Wire, SWIFT, etc., when the funds arrive the Thai bank will will apply their "international receiving fee" which is generally 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) unless you instructed your Sending bank for you to pay "all" transfer costs which you really don't want to do as it will probably cost you more in fees when the dust settles due to extra admin work req'd by the banks.....just send the funds where you only pay the Sending cost and any other fees along the way such as correspondent bank or receiving fees is borne by the receiver which many times is yourself...your account in Thailand.   

 

If using some money transfer system like Transferwise which gets talked a lot mainly by Brits for sterling/Euro transfers that receiving fee will not apply because such transfers go from peer-to-peer (that is, some financial organization on the Thai end that Transferwise is contracted with to receive the funds, exchange the funds, and then do a domestic/within Thailand transfer over to your Thai bank).

Edited February 18, 2018 by Pib

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I think the answer to all of the above recent questions is generally YES!

 

--In order to do the Schwab account to BKK Bank New York and onward to Thailand ACH, you of course have to have a BKK Bank account in Thailand to receive the funds from the U.S. Sliding scale fee charged by the NY branch and then standard 0.25% fee, 200 min, 500 max, charged by BKK Bank in Thailand.

 

--Anyone with a Schwab account can do a regular wire transfer, which is NOT an ACH transfer, to any Thai bank. Three free per quarter if your Schwab balance is above 100K. $25 fee per wire if under that balance. Likely same 0.25% receiving fee on the Thai bank end, though some Thai banks vary on that fee a bit. Possible intermediary bank charges between Schwab and your Thai bank for a wire transfer.

 

Between the two, assuming you have $100K plus with Schwab, the free wire transfer probably would be the more economical of the two, because it wouldn't have the ACH handling fee charged by BKK Bank NY. But I don't think anyone's ever done a direct comparison between a free Schwab wire to Thailand vs. a Schwab to BKK Bank ACH via NY.

 

Lastly, as for the Schwab debit card, U.S. accounts usually have a daily $1,000 withdrawal limit, meaning that card would allow you to withdraw the highest amount currently available in a single pull from any Thai ATM, which generally is 30K baht from either Krungsri or TMB ATMs, and have the 220b Thai bank ATM fee reimbursed by Schwab.

 

Personally, just being extra extra cautious, I like to minimize any international activity with my Schwab account...  So, I rarely use my Schwab card for foreign withdrawals, I don't think I've ever done an Schwab ACH outside the U.S., and I've never done a Schwab international wire.

 

I have done ACHs to BKK Bank New York and onward to Thailand originating from OTHER U.S. regular bank accounts that don't, unlike my Schwab account, hold a sizable investment portfolio. I prefer to keep my U.S. investment accounts separate from any international activity. But I'm probably being overly cautious in that regard.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

19 minutes ago, Pib said:

An ACH transfer would probably be lot cheaper than a Wire transfer.   Wire transfers typically run around $20 or more where ACH transfers are usually free/only a few dollars on the Sending bank end. 

Pib, you're forgetting that Schwab, as I've recently posted, offers 3 free wires per quarter to customers who keep a balance of $100K or more. So that would negate the wire fee you're talking about for those folks, though not necessarily any intermediary bank charge, if there was one. (I don't believe anyone's done a Schwab international wire here to report on that.)

[Pib]

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Pib, you're forgetting that Schwab, as I've recently posted, offers 3 free wires per quarter to customers who keep a balance of $100K or more. So that would negate the wire fee you're talking about for those folks, though not necessarily any intermediary bank charge, if there was one. (I don't believe anyone's done a Schwab international wire here to report on that.)

Yea, agree in Schwab's case since they offer no sending fee for a Wire transfer if you have over $100K in your account which is about 10 times more than I keep with them.  For an ACH transfer they don't charge any sending even if you less that $100K...or less than $100...etc.   I was talking more in general terms for most U.S. banks since most U.S. banks charge kinda a healthy Wire sending fee of $20 or more but don't charge any sending fee (or very only a few bucks) for an ACH transfer.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Actually, even if someone has less than $100K with Schwab, their fee of $25 per wire for an international wire is one of the lowest international wire fees I've seen. Most U.S. banks charge close to or more than double that for their international wires.

 

There are a few exceptions where international wires from the U.S. may be free or low cost. If you have a VERY high balance with U.S. Citibank Gold, I think they'll do free international wires or Citi to Citi transfers. And Fidelity may also have some deal in some situations. But in general, I'd say $40 to $60 for an international wire from the U.S. is pretty common.

 

If someone had an under $100K Schwab balance, between a $25 Schwab wire and an ACH to BKK Bank New York, the ACH route is probably going to be more economical. But if it was a FREE Schwab wire vs an ACH to BKK Bank NY, I'm guessing the free wire would come out ahead. It would come down to whether or not the Schwab international wire to Thailand incurs any intermediary bank charges, and if so, how much.

 

The other potential advantage of a $25 Schwab international wire, even for someone with the under $100K balance, is it's available to ANYONE with ANY Thai bank account on the receiving end -- not just to those who have BKK Bank accounts who can use the NY ACH route.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[utalkin2me]

On 2/17/2018 at 9:21 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I think the answer to all of the above recent questions is generally YES!

 

--In order to do the Schwab account to BKK Bank New York and onward to Thailand ACH, you of course have to have a BKK Bank account in Thailand to receive the funds from the U.S. Sliding scale fee charged by the NY branch and then standard 0.25% fee, 200 min, 500 max, charged by BKK Bank in Thailand.

 

--Anyone with a Schwab account can do a regular wire transfer, which is NOT an ACH transfer, to any Thai bank. Three free per quarter if your Schwab balance is above 100K. $25 fee per wire if under that balance. Likely same 0.25% receiving fee on the Thai bank end, though some Thai banks vary on that fee a bit. Possible intermediary bank charges between Schwab and your Thai bank for a wire transfer.

 

Between the two, assuming you have $100K plus with Schwab, the free wire transfer probably would be the more economical of the two, because it wouldn't have the ACH handling fee charged by BKK Bank NY. But I don't think anyone's ever done a direct comparison between a free Schwab wire to Thailand vs. a Schwab to BKK Bank ACH via NY.

 

Lastly, as for the Schwab debit card, U.S. accounts usually have a daily $1,000 withdrawal limit, meaning that card would allow you to withdraw the highest amount currently available in a single pull from any Thai ATM, which generally is 30K baht from either Krungsri or TMB ATMs, and have the 220b Thai bank ATM fee reimbursed by Schwab.

 

Personally, just being extra extra cautious, I like to minimize any international activity with my Schwab account...  So, I rarely use my Schwab card for foreign withdrawals, I don't think I've ever done an Schwab ACH outside the U.S., and I've never done a Schwab international wire.

 

I have done ACHs to BKK Bank New York and onward to Thailand originating from OTHER U.S. regular bank accounts that don't, unlike my Schwab account, hold a sizable investment portfolio. I prefer to keep my U.S. investment accounts separate from any international activity. But I'm probably being overly cautious in that regard.

 

 

Thank you all for the info!

 

i did not know this... so you’d have to go specifically to a krungsri or tmb to pull the 30k baht? That is really good to know. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

51 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

Thank you all for the info!

 

i did not know this... so you’d have to go specifically to a krungsri or tmb to pull the 30k baht? That is really good to know. 

 

The per withdrawal limits are set by the individual Thai banks for their own ATM machines. The limits vary from one bank company to another.

 

The highest limit for any Thai bank I'm aware of is 30K per withdrawal by ATMs belonging to Krungsri (yellow), TMB (dark blue) or CIMB (red), although the latter has really cut back on their branches and doesn't have as many locations at the other two.

 

However, that's the limit imposed by those Thai banking companies for their own machines, which works out to about $950+ max U.S. per withdrawal. The other limit that comes into play is the DAILY ATM withdrawal limit set by your card issuing bank in the U.S., which often can be as low as $300 to $500 PER DAY.

 

So really, the only U.S. cards that can take advantage of the 30,000 baht ATM withdrawals are those with $1,000 daily ATM withdrawal limits, or those where you've asked the bank to raise your normal lower daily limit for some period of time. The latter is something some banks will do, and others will not, and just say their limits are their limits.

 

If you're relying on Thai bank ATMs for your funds, it really pays to a] find a U.S. bank that will allow you $1000 per day in ATM withdrawals on their card, and b] doesn't charge any foreign currency fee and reimburses other banks' ATM fees, including those charged internationally. Schwab fits that criteria.

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK