3 Things that will make your relationship successful in Thailand

[NancyL]

2 minutes ago, bhatmasterson said:

Okay, so I was about to give up on this and thought I'd read every page of Broadway Bankl's website to see if there was any way around this such as bill pay or something. I found out the bank let's you  pay people electronically.  So I paid myself a small amount. After 3 days, there it was in my BK Bank account. Problem solved!

Woo-hoo!  Problem solved.

[Pib]

39 minutes ago, bhatmasterson said:

Okay, so I was about to give up on this and thought I'd read every page of Broadway Bankl's website to see if there was any way around this such as bill pay or something. I found out the bank let's you  pay people electronically.  So I paid myself a small amount. After 3 days, there it was in my BK Bank account. Problem solved!

And that payment flowed by ACH....just like the ACH funds transfer link you were trying to setup but Bangkok Bank "NY" kept rejecting the ACH trial deposits.   

 

Looking forward to NancyL's ACH funds transfer results assuming she did initiate the transfer.

 

 

 

 

 

[bhatmasterson]

Spoke too soon. Bank only allows $100 per transfer. The fee is $0.50. It seems Bangkok Bank NY doesn't know their own rules.

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, bhatmasterson said:

Spoke too soon. Bank only allows $100 per transfer. The fee is $0.50. It seems Bangkok Bank NY doesn't know their own rules.

Just to confirm you mean that payment limitation and associated fee is your sending bank limitation/fee for a payment like you did....the payment that did arrive Bangkok Bank 3 days later per your earlier post. 

 

It's not a Bangkok Bank limitation/fee like the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500) Bangkok Bank "receiving" fee they charge for an incoming international funds transfer.

 

Payments limits/fees (like paying a bill or paying someone using the payment process) are commonly quite often different than funds transfer limits/fees charged by banks.   Like one US bank I have allows funds transfers to external accounts like Bangkok Bank up to $15K per day; but for a payment like to pay a credit card bill it's up to $5K per day.   While both funds transfers and payments are flowing via the ACH system and essentially the movement of funds from one place to another the underlying coding/formatting is different....the two are just distinctly different within the ACH system.

 

 

[Pib]

I have just initiated an ACH funds transfer for several thousand dollars from one of my US banks to one of my Bangkok Bank accounts.  Just to need to confirm ACH transfers still flow OK for me....or find out they don't due to some recent change.  The last time I did an ACH transfer to Bangkok Bank for X-thousand dollars  was approx 6 months ago...and that transfer went fine.   ACH transfers from my US sending bank usually take 1 to 3 business days to post to Bangkok Bank account based on past transfers...will report back on how it goes.

[NancyL]

I initiated a $500 transfer from my U.S. credit union on Thursday and it just hit by Bangkok Bank account today.  Normal timing.  Nothing unusual.  Normally, I transfer $2500 at a time, the limit imposed by my U.S. credit union, but we have more than enough money in Thailand right now, so I figured $500 was a good test.  Appears that is was.

 

 

[Pib]

On 5/22/2018 at 10:15 AM, Pib said:

I have just initiated an ACH funds transfer for several thousand dollars from one of my US banks to one of my Bangkok Bank accounts.  Just to need to confirm ACH transfers still flow OK for me....or find out they don't due to some recent change.  The last time I did an ACH transfer to Bangkok Bank for X-thousand dollars  was approx 6 months ago...and that transfer went fine.   ACH transfers from my US sending bank usually take 1 to 3 business days to post to Bangkok Bank account based on past transfers...will report back on how it goes.

Update: The transfer has posted to my Bangkok Bank account....took 24 hours to arrive.

 

@bhatmasterson: I know firmly feel your transfer rejects core problem lies with "your sending bank." 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by Pib

[bhatmasterson]

On 5/22/2018 at 10:00 AM, Pib said:

Just to confirm you mean that payment limitation and associated fee is your sending bank limitation/fee for a payment like you did....the payment that did arrive Bangkok Bank 3 days later per your earlier post. 

 

It's not a Bangkok Bank limitation/fee like the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500) Bangkok Bank "receiving" fee they charge for an incoming international funds transfer.

 

Payments limits/fees (like paying a bill or paying someone using the payment process) are commonly quite often different than funds transfer limits/fees charged by banks.   Like one US bank I have allows funds transfers to external accounts like Bangkok Bank up to $15K per day; but for a payment like to pay a credit card bill it's up to $5K per day.   While both funds transfers and payments are flowing via the ACH system and essentially the movement of funds from one place to another the underlying coding/formatting is different....the two are just distinctly different within the ACH system.

 

 

The $0.50 charge was the fee charged by my bank in the US.

[bhatmasterson]

On 5/23/2018 at 10:58 AM, Pib said:

Update: The transfer has posted to my Bangkok Bank account....took 24 hours to arrive.

 

@bhatmasterson: I know firmly feel your transfer rejects core problem lies with "your sending bank." 

 

 

That may be the case. However, that doesn't explain why BK Bank NY would tell me that there has been a policy change at BK Bank and that is the reason I'm having this problem.

[bhatmasterson]

1 hour ago, bhatmasterson said:

That may be the case. However, that doesn't explain why BK Bank NY would tell me that there has been a policy change at BK Bank and that is the reason I'm having this problem.

I've checked Bangkok Bank's website thoroughly and there is no mention of any new procedure or anything about IACH. I think this needs to be kicked upstairs at BK Bank NY. 

[bhatmasterson]

1 hour ago, bhatmasterson said:

That may be the case. However, that doesn't explain why BK Bank NY would tell me that there has been a policy change at BK Bank and that is the reason I'm having this problem.

 

[Pib]

The new transfer link I initiated late last week with one of my U.S. banks to Bangkok Bank using the "Deposit Only (i.e., Send To Only)" setup successfully.   This is the method which does "not" use trial deposits.   

 

And since you can not successfully accomplished an ACH transfer to "pull" money from Bangkok Bank (it will be rejected by Bangkok Bank) this Deposit Only method is fine. 

 

Took 3 business days to setup which is really nothing more than a waiting period so the U.S. bank can send some emails to the account holder(s) saying a new transfer link has been initiated which will go active in 3 business days...it it wasn't you that setup it up then contact us ASAP.  Kinda like how you can get a SMS/text for banking transactions, credit card transactions, etc.  

 

Some banks only use the trial deposit method for Send & Receive transfers while other banks also offer another method which I described above.

[bhatmasterson]

14 hours ago, Pib said:

The new transfer link I initiated late last week with one of my U.S. banks to Bangkok Bank using the "Deposit Only (i.e., Send To Only)" setup successfully.   This is the method which does "not" use trial deposits.   

 

And since you can not successfully accomplished an ACH transfer to "pull" money from Bangkok Bank (it will be rejected by Bangkok Bank) this Deposit Only method is fine. 

 

Took 3 business days to setup which is really nothing more than a waiting period so the U.S. bank can send some emails to the account holder(s) saying a new transfer link has been initiated which will go active in 3 business days...it it wasn't you that setup it up then contact us ASAP.  Kinda like how you can get a SMS/text for banking transactions, credit card transactions, etc.  

 

Some banks only use the trial deposit method for Send & Receive transfers while other banks also offer another method which I described above.

The deposit only account is with Bangkok Bank NY, correct? This account can be set up online?

Can you post a link to the page where you setup the account?

[skatewash]

45 minutes ago, bhatmasterson said:

The deposit only account is with Bangkok Bank NY, correct? This account can be set up online?

Can you post a link to the page where you setup the account?

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

 

Quote

Funds Transfer services will be available soon as there has been some changes to our terms and conditions. If you wish to enquire more information, please contact us via email [email protected]

There used to be detailed instructions but as quoted above at the moment you need to contact BKK directly via email.

 

You need to have an existing Bangkok Bank Account at a branch in Thailand. You do not need (nor can you) open a Bangkok Bank account at the New York Branch.  Many people (including me) have been using this service for years successfully.  I highly recommend it.  Once it is setup (as said this is in a state of flux at the moment) you can also sign up for SMS notification and BKK will notify you by text whenever a fund transfer from the US hits your Bangkok Bank Branch account in Thailand (includes the actual amount that has been converted into Baht from which you can determine the exchange rate).

Edited June 13, 2018 by skatewash

[Pib]

2 hours ago, bhatmasterson said:

The deposit only account is with Bangkok Bank NY, correct? This account can be set up online?

Can you post a link to the page where you setup the account?

It just a normal savings account at Bangkok Bank in Thailand.   You can not open a retail account at the NY branch....the NY branch is for corporate/wholesale accounts only....not retail accounts for common folks such as us.

 

Where I'm talking Deposit Only, Send To Only, Deposit and Withdraw, Send or Receive, or some wording along those lines., "that's the terminology your U.S. bank will call it in their ibanking setup....where you add a new transfer link."   Each bank will use different wording.

 

Like below in how my US bank described it....where they ask do I have Signature Authority on the account and I must answer Yes or No.   Now I do have Signature authority on the account to do deposits "and" withdrawals, but if I was to select "Yes" the bank would use the trial deposit method since I'm saying I can also accomplish withdrawals.  And we now know such trial deposits are apparently being rejected by Bangkok Bank.   And remember, you can not use ACH to withdrawal funds from Bangkok Bank as Bangkok Bank will reject it....it was always like that even before they started rejecting trial deposit funds transfer link setup.   But if I was setting up a transfer link to one of my other U.S. bank accounts I would select Yes, and the trial deposit method would be used since would allow me to Send and Pull funds from that account.

 

OK back to my U.S. bank.  Select No below and they treat it as another person's account even though it is your account or it could be someone else's (your spouse, friend, etc)....and you can enter you own name if asked who the account belongs to.   When doing this way the trial deposit method is not used.....the method I described earlier is used....just the 3 business day waiting period before the transfer link goes active.

 

Remember, "if", repeat, if your U.S. bank offers two transfer link setup methods the terminology they use in the account transfer setup will vary.

 

[NancyL]

The way my U.S. credit union explained it to me when I called their customer service center to set up the ACH transfer route to Bangkok Bank was to use an online system they had in place that permits their customers to do things like make loan payments to other financial institutions.  It could either be done with regular recurring transfers (i.e. like a monthly payment on a car loan or mortgage) or on "push" basis with me, the customer, initiating the transfer via their online banking system.  This is what I do since the our need for funds from the U.S. is irregular.

 

With this type of system, the flow of funds is one-way only -- from my U.S. credit union account to the receiving account.  There never were any trial deposits.  

[Langsuan Man]

8 hours ago, NancyL said:

With this type of system, the flow of funds is one-way only -- from my U.S. credit union account to the receiving account.  There never were any trial deposits.

My US bank even allows me to transfer funds INTO my Thai girlfriends Bangkok Bank Account since it is only one way and account ownership is verified by name.   It only takes three business days to establish

 

Essential because Thais cannot get the breakdown for the trial deposits via Bangkok Bank's SMS alert system.   They can only get the gross amount transferred.  Have no idea why Thais have this restriction but they do  ( I guess BB knows because Thai accounts are linked to ID #) 

 

My alerts give me a full breakdown:  date and time,  exchange rate used, US funds amount after US fee and Thai fees deducted 

 

 

[Pib]

@bhatmasterson

 

You might want to give Transferwise a try if you can't get an ACH transfer link setup with your bank.  See below post for more info.

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

Regards using your US ibanking for transfers to Bangkok Bank.

 

[Pib]

As FYI....I signed up for a Transferwise account and completed a transfer although I haven't been impacted by ACH Payment issue (at least not yet) talked about in this thread.   Figure having a backup method/Plan B in hand is a good thing.  More info below regarding my Transferwise signup and first transfer.

 

 

[Pib]

And using Transferwise I completed my second transfer to a different Thai bank than my first transfer....second transfer took 2 business days.  See below for more info.

 

 

[khlongtoey]

On 6/14/2018 at 1:19 PM, Pib said:

@bhatmasterson

 

You might want to give Transferwise a try if you can't get an ACH transfer link setup with your bank.  See below post for more info.

 

 

 

 

 

Whats the deal with TWise? I signed up, read their help section, watched their little youtube video, with them pledging they are so great and new blah blah, but still can't sort out the mechanics of what they are and do without actually starting a transfer, other than "we have bank accounts" in many countries.  So, a bit hesitant to give them my Bank or CC details, if this is their approach "just trust us".

 

Is it US bank to Thai bank  or  is it  US CC to Thai Bank  or  ?   sigh

[Pib]

13 hours ago, khlongtoey said:

 

Whats the deal with TWise? I signed up, read their help section, watched their little youtube video, with them pledging they are so great and new blah blah, but still can't sort out the mechanics of what they are and do without actually starting a transfer, other than "we have bank accounts" in many countries.  So, a bit hesitant to give them my Bank or CC details, if this is their approach "just trust us".

 

Is it US bank to Thai bank  or  is it  US CC to Thai Bank  or  ?   sigh

I found their website to be very comprehensive and super easy to transfer funds.   

 

And if not already done during the signup, I would complete the ID Verification process before doing the 1st transfer as it will speed-up the first transfer vs them needing to take time to verify your ID before continuing with the transfer. 

 

Under your Profile on Transferwise look under Verification and just follow the instructions which is basically just upload of a picture of your ID such as Passport, Drivers License, or other acceptable ID.  Pretty much just like how opening a new account at a U.S. bank in how you may have to provide a copy of ID to help validate who you say you are is really you.

 

Transferwise is a "peer-to-peer" transfer system; not a "bank-to-bank" transfer system.  Now money to fund the transfers are sourced from your bank acct, debit/credit card, or you can wire the funds (however you decide to fund the transfer)....and then Transferwise credits your bank acct in Thailand (or whatever bank acct you identify).  This may sound like a bank-to-bank transfer but it's not totally. 

 

Instead, your dollars never actually leave the U.S. like in a bank-to-bank transfer such as transferring funds from your U.S. bank to a Thai bank. Instead,  the financial organization(s) Transferwise has a contract with on the Thai/receiving end agree to transfer money from their Thai bank acct to your Thai bank acct---this ends up be a domestic transfer although it still may endup being coded as an international transfer on your Thai bank acct.  In exchange, that Thai financial organization gets your dollars deposited in their U.S. bank acct.  Call it a trade of currencies.  

 

When I did my two transfers to two different Thai banks I have accounts at, one Thai bank coded/described the incoming transfer as an "international transfer" where the other Thai bank just coded/described it as a 10 digit transfer number.   Banks have wide latitude in how they describe a transaction that posts to your account....some use more layman's terms while others don't/use hard to understand coding.

 

Transferwise is registered with various government financial agencies in various countries.  Like in the U.S. they are 

registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) which is a department within the U.S.Treasury Department....and registered in individual states of the U.S.  See more info at below Transferwise  webpage....I've included a partial quote from the webpage which identifies the two U.S. banks that Transferwise uses for it transfers on the U.S. end.  These two banks would really be the ones moving funds on the U.S. end.....that is, debiting the bank acct/card you identify to fund your transfer.

 

Regarding who Transferwise's partners in Thailand I couldn't say....haven't found that info on the webpage if it's there.  But I fully expect it's a major Thai financial company....probably even a Thai bank or two.    I expect a person could find out by going to their Thai bank after a Transferwise transfer has posted to their account and ask for a detailed printout of the transfer as I expect it would identify who within Thailand transferred the money into your account.  By who I don't mean Somchai or Pib, I mean what financial company/bank that Transferwise uses to move the money within Thailand.

 

To send money to someone in Thailand (i.e., you or some one else) or any other country it must be sent to a bank acct.   You can't do a Western Union type thing were you can just send it to a person by name who can then swing by a Western Union office with the proper ID and control code to pickup the money.

 

https://transferwise.com/help/article/1870573/security/security-and-regulatory-information 

Quote

United States

TransferWise Inc. is registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) with money service business registration number 31000065314305. It is licensed as a money transmitter in the states listed here and supervised by regulatory authorities in each of those states.

In other U.S. states and/or territories, money transmission services are offered by our partner financial institution Community Federal Savings Bank, which is supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency.

In the United States, we bank with Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB), Cross River Bank (CRB) and Wells Fargo. All of these banks are insured under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). You can find more information about the FDIC here.

You can see more information about security and our communication with you on our dedicated page here.

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

Transferwise is pretty easy.

The only hurdle is, that you have to upload proof of identity and address for identification.

It was not that easy for me to get my Thai address approved (finally on a letter from a German bank to my Thai address). Not your problem if you live in the US e.g.

 

If you are registered you can select between different choices how to pay them in your currency (credit/debit card, debit authorization, bank transfer...).

Credit card is quickest but more expensive.

My last transfer was done by debiting my German bank account.

The transfer was shown on the Thai bank account as:

"Interbank Transfer via SMART"

No indication of a foreign transfer.

 

For each transfer you can get a "Transfer Confirmation" in PDF form.

For the last transfer it shows "Delivered via local bank transfer", "Account Number TMB(THB)".

No number shown actually.

So it looks like a local transfer from a TMB account to my Bangkok Bank account.

Edited July 10, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's an update with the latest on the status of U.S. ACH xfers via BKK Bank New York: