Major Change Eff 1 Apr 19 in Bangkok Bank ACH Transfers

[Date Masamune]

Oh dear now this. Use up the ACH transfers years ago, but have not been using it for a while

I guess I have to look into this Transferwise product.

[Rimmer]

A post and a reply has been removed

2) You will not use ThaiVisa.com to post any material which is knowingly or can be reasonably construed as false, inaccurate, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law.

[Pib]

IDD for Thailand signup form now available, but still no details/signup instructions from Manila.

 

[jimmyyy]

Thank you for your email.

 

Please be rest assured that we are in close coordination with Bangkok Bank and there will be no disruption in your benefits.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Ivee Dianne P. Gomez

Claims Examiner | Social Security Administration
Address: Embassy of the United States of America, 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, 0930 Manila, Philippines

Tel: +63 2 301 2000 extension 9 / +63 2 301 2669 || Fax: +63 2 708 9723 / +63 2 708 9714

General Email:  [email protected] 

Websites: www.ssa.gov / manila.usembassy.gov 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, jimmyyy said:

Thank you for your email.

 

Please be rest assured that we are in close coordination with Bangkok Bank and there will be no disruption in your benefits.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Ivee Dianne P. Gomez

Claims Examiner | Social Security Administration
Address: Embassy of the United States of America, 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, 0930 Manila, Philippines

Tel: +63 2 301 2000 extension 9 / +63 2 301 2669 || Fax: +63 2 708 9723 / +63 2 708 9714

General Email:  [email protected] 

Websites: www.ssa.gov / manila.usembassy.gov 

 

A similar thing was told to me this morning/21 Feb by another Manila SS rep when I called asking about the IDD program.    The rep just said many people are contacting them about this issue.   When I called around 9:30am the rep said mine was the 4th call that morning talking the same issue....that is, the ACH IAT  and IDD issues.   The rep knew there was thousands of SSA payments going to Thailand which could be rejected starting 1 Apr.   

 

I expect SSA is talking to Bangkok Bank about is there anyway you (Bangkok Bank) can extend the 1 Apr 19 cutoff date since we (SSA) still hasn't got our act straight yet in fixing our IAT issue and getting IDD for Thailand going. 

 

I say this because this afternoon I was at HQ Bangkok Bank/the main Silom Road branch getting a IDD for Thailand form completed and we talked the IAT and IDD issues a little....the Bangkok Bank rep said that Bangkok Bank "New York" is requesting the U.S. Treasury OCC (Office of Controller and Currency) "extend" the 1 Apr 19 deadline which requires Bangkok Bank reject all "non-IAT" govt payments destined for banks outside the U.S. 

 

The US Treasury OCC is key here as to what Bangkok Bank New York will be allowed to do regarding govt payments still not in IAT format come 1 Apr 19.   I'm sure Bangkok Bank New York will continue to let non-IAT govt benefit payments to flow come 1 Apr 19 "if, repeat, if the US Treasury OCC extends the deadline given Bangkok Bank and probably other banks in similar situations like Philippines banks in LA and Guam who do a similar thing in relaying govt payments to retirees in the Philippines with bank accounts in the  Philippines. 

 

 

[JimGant]

Quote

I expect SSA is talking to Bangkok Bank about is there anyway you (Bangkok Bank) can extend the 1 Apr 19 cutoff date since we (SSA) still hasn't got our act straight yet in fixing our IAT issue and getting IDD for Thailand going

Best talk to the money laundering police. Their concern is that a domestic ACH doesn't have the recipient's physical address *AND* purpose for the money sent -- those added data elements on an IAT transfer. But, hey, the uniqueness of the Social Security ACH -- with having the vetted Social Security recipient having to show up in person to collect (so, just wait for him to show up at the bank to cuff him -- no need to go to his house -- but of course the bank certainly has his address). And, of course, that all-valuable "purpose of money" question (lemme see -- most Social Security funds are used to buy things, or pay rent. Doubtful, if you use it to buy yaba, you'll mention such).

 

So, Treasury goons, give the current system a pass. It ain't broken when it comes to ACH Social Security payments. Geez.

[Pib]

21 hours ago, jimmyyy said:

Thank you for your email.

 

Please be rest assured that we are in close coordination with Bangkok Bank and there will be no disruption in your benefits.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Ivee Dianne P. Gomez

Claims Examiner | Social Security Administration
Address: Embassy of the United States of America, 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, 0930 Manila, Philippines

Tel: +63 2 301 2000 extension 9 / +63 2 301 2669 || Fax: +63 2 708 9723 / +63 2 708 9714

General Email:  [email protected] 

Websites: www.ssa.gov / manila.usembassy.gov 

 

 

And my family member whose SSA payment is "not" being received in IAT format got a similar reply from a different Manila rep today...whose name I excluded from the partial quote below.   Seems Manila has a scripted response as the responses are very similar. Hopefully the SSA is truly working with Bangkok Bank "and the US Treasury OCC driving the ACH IAT format requirement" to ensure no disruption in SSA payments.   

Quote

 

Greetings from SSA Manila!

 

We are close coordination with Bangkok bank and most important is that there will be no interruption in your benefits.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[Pib]

My family member emailed a completed "International Direct Deposit (IDD)" for Thailand form to the Manila SS office this morning.  Email included words regarding all the attempts/contacts with SSA since Oct 18 to get things corrected to ACH IAT format (even submitting a new ACH signup form 3 months ago with Thailand addresses even the family member's Thailand address has been on-file with SSA since day one of apply for benefits). 

Got a response this afternoon from a human at Manila (not an automated reply) acknowledging receipt of the IDD form and saying the member's bank information will be updated.  Before opening the email I figured it was going to say something along the lines of, Sorry Charlie, we still can't do IDD signup yet.  But it didn't say that...but maybe that response will come next week with my luck on this issue.  ????

 

And once again the Manila response assured SSA is in close coordination with Bangkok bank and most important is that there will be no interruption in payments due to this ACH IAT issue.    

 

So, wait and see if the payment method changes to IDD which uses SWIFT and the exchange rate is a US Treasury wholesale rate.  Still don't know if there will be a middleman fee like the current NY branch flow-thru fee for ACH. But I expect there will still be the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) receiving fee....but maybe not...all depends on what kind of IDD arrangement SSA has setup. 

 

Assuming the Manila rep updated the info today (unlikely I figure) I seriously doubt it would meet the cutoff date to affect the upcoming early March payment....I figure the early April payment.   If the payment does indeed change to IDD SWIFT then we'll talk to Bangkok Bank regarding can the account be reclassified to a regular account that comes with debit account, no restrictions, etc., as they have "implied" during my discussions with them that might be the case once they get more guidance.  Heck, even Bangkok Bank here in Thailand is still trying to figure out what's going on...waiting for further guidance....since Bangkok Bank "New York" is the primary focal point for working this issue with the SSA.   

 

 

[Caldera]

What's the most efficient way to check with Bangkok Bank if a particular ACH transaction was coded in the correct format? Call or email their New York office? Or check with the HQ in Bangkok instead?

 

If anyone has up to date contact details of the right person to ask and is willing to share them, that would be great.

 

[Pib]

3 hours ago, Caldera said:

What's the most efficient way to check with Bangkok Bank if a particular ACH transaction was coded in the correct format? Call or email their New York office? Or check with the HQ in Bangkok instead?

 

If anyone has up to date contact details of the right person to ask and is willing to share them, that would be great.

 

 

Just call the one of the numbers at the bottom of below Bangkok Bank letter.  English speaking Thais at the numbers.  They can look it up fast.   Be sure you are clear that you want to know if the deposit arrived in ACH "IAT", repeat, IAT format.   You will need to provided your account number, name on the account, approx amount of the deposit, and date of deposit.   

 

[LRimmler]

I'm from the USA and was using Bangkok Bank NY to top up my account to 800,000 every year.

I just did a excel compare or Bangkok Bank NY, TransferWise, OFX and Vasu Money exchange (cash only there).

I simulated a transfer of $2075 since this would endup transferring about 65,000 THB.

 

Bangkok Bank NY took $10 for their fees and Bangkok Bank in Thailand charged 200 THB (200 MIN 500 MAX) to convert to baht.  The TT rate was 31.60.  My account in Thailand would get 65,054 THB.  Total fees $16.33. 

 

TranferWise took $18.54 for their fees. The rate was 31.80.  My account in Thailand would get 65,395.43 THB. Total fees $18.54.

 

OFX took $0 for their fees (it's in the transfer rate).  The rate was 31.7485.  My account in Thailand would get 65,878.14 THB. Total fees $0.

 

Vasu Currency Exchange exchange rate was 31.74.  The baht received would be 65,860.50.  This in for $100 dollar bills.

 

The results:

OFX 65,878.14

Vasu Currency Exchange 65,860.50

TransferWise 65,395.43

Bangkok Bank NY 65,054.00

 

I have never made an actual transfer using TransferWise or OFX but they both get good reviews.  OFX seems to have better customer support.  I've noticed a different order on different days and different times of day.  Vasu often comes out number one but they require cash.  Also you may not get the exact rate OFX or TransferWise specify if our bank takes a while to transfer the money to them. 

 

[Pib]

Was the OFX rate the rate from their public webpage which is an "indicative" rate only....or was it a "customer" rate (i.e, their real world rate) which requires an account with OFX?  I have an OFX account but never used it....but I will say their rates have improved over the last 6 months....probably to better compete with Transferwise.

 

For example at this millisecond in time on OFX's public webpage rate is 31.7455 but their customer rate is 31.6175.

 

From Public Webpage...Exchange Rate is Indicative

 

 

Customer Exchange Rate...from Account

[Pib]

But the cheapest and fastest way to get money if you don't need it coded as an international transfer on the Thai bank account you deposit it to is to do a counter withdrawal using a no foreign transaction fee debit card...and of course the card would need to allow more than the typical $1000 limit per day/transaction if you need more than that....like around Bt65K.  The Cap1 debit card is one such card....allows $5K per day/transaction in a bank plus another $1K at an ATM.  So, if you have went to a Thai bank today and did counter withdrawal for $2075 you would have gotten Bt66,033.75...beating all transfer methods such as TW, OFX, Bangkok Bank ACH, etc.   Now some branches will charge an approx Bt200 counter withdrawal fee....like from personal experience Krungsri Bank does for a Visa card but not for a Mastercard (the Cap1 card is a Mastercard)...and as far as i know from personal experience about a year ago Bangkok Bank does not charge any counter withdrawal fee.  And as always, it will vary from branch to branch as to if they will even do a counter withdrawal versus just pointing you to their ATM.  TIT.

 

[Thailand J]

2 hours ago, LRimmler said:

The results:

OFX 65,878.14

Vasu Currency Exchange 65,860.50

TransferWise 65,395.43

Bangkok Bank NY 65,054.00 

I could get :

65,307 SWIFT transfer into Bangkok Bank BK (free SWIFT , JP Morgan $2 as intermediary, Bangkok Bank 200B). Always showed as FTT.

65,825 Schwab VISA ATM , 1 THB=0.031523 USD, multiple transactions but free after reimbursement.

 

I did not always get the best deal, but close.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by Thailand J

[Pib]

Some of you may remember some comparisons I need in the later part of 2018 comparing Transferwise, OFX,  Bangkok Bank ACH (via their NY branch), and International Wire (SWIFT).  But since Transferwise and OFX have adjusted their fees and/or exchange rates over the last few months probably due to competition, I thought it was time to do another cost comparison.   

 

Keep in mind the Bangkok Bank ACH via the NY branch method effectively goes away 1 Apr 19 due to the ACH "IAT" requirement.  No known US bank/credit union uses ACH IAT format to "send" money; they can receive in ACH IAT format no problem...it's just for a typical "retail common-man" account US banks don't use ACH IAT....they instead use International Wire (SWIFT).  ACH IAT is available at some large banks for "corporate/business" accounts.

 

Also, for the SWIFT costs I used a $25 sending fee (that Schwab's SWIFT sending fee) in below comparison since SWIFT sending fees seem to range from around $20 to $60 depending on your bank unless you have a premier/high net worth account where you might get free SWIFT transfers.  

 

The comparison below is for the "USD-THB" currency pair and based on exchange rates as of 15 Mar 19 (a Friday/yesterday).  Associated/typical sending and receiving fees are also included because in any transfer the best deal is the one that puts the most baht into your Thai bank account at the least cost to you when fully evaluating both exchange rates and fees. 

 

In one of the columns I used a $2,100 sending amount to simulate the transfer of Bt65K per month if a person was using the new immigration monthly income rule for a retirement extension.  At current exchange rates, $2,100 gets at least Bt65K posted to your account....but just barely.  A person should send maybe at least $2,200 per month to have more of a safety margin for currency exchange variations if you can't lock-in the exchange rate when sending.

 

One final note, since the final leg of a Transferwise transfer is a local/domestic transfer there is no receiving fee applied by the Thai bank.  But for OFX they use SWIFT which means the typical 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) Thai bank receiving fee is applied and reflected in the comparison below.    

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by Pib

[srowndedbyh2o]

Thanks for taking the time to post that Pib.

I’ve used Transferwise a few times, and all of my transfers have shown up in my Bangkok Bank as International transfers, although I have read some reports of TW transfers arriving as domestic transfers. If relying on the income method for extensions, that could be a role of the dice(?).

I’ve never used OFX. Do those transfers show up as international?

Of course, if you can manage/don’t mind letting 800,000 sit in the bank, that’s irrelevant and you can transfer over living expenses using whatever is least expensive or more convenient for you.

[Caldera]

On 2/27/2019 at 4:03 PM, Pib said:

 

Just call the one of the numbers at the bottom of below Bangkok Bank letter.  English speaking Thais at the numbers.  They can look it up fast.   Be sure you are clear that you want to know if the deposit arrived in ACH "IAT", repeat, IAT format.   You will need to provided your account number, name on the account, approx amount of the deposit, and date of deposit.   

 

Thanks a lot for this, that was very helpful! I called them just after my most recent transfer had been credited and they confirmed that it's already in the required IAT format.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 2/21/2019 at 3:49 PM, Pib said:

I say this because this afternoon I was at HQ Bangkok Bank/the main Silom Road branch getting a IDD for Thailand form completed and we talked the IAT and IDD issues a little....the Bangkok Bank rep said that Bangkok Bank "New York" is requesting the U.S. Treasury OCC (Office of Controller and Currency) "extend" the 1 Apr 19 deadline which requires Bangkok Bank reject all "non-IAT" govt payments destined for banks outside the U.S. 

 

I got an email response from the BKKB NY Branch help desk last night advising that they still had no news/development with the branch's request for an extension of the looming April 1 cutoff date for sending domestic ACH transfers from U.S. financial institutions to the BKKB NY branch and onward to BKKB Thailand.

 

Of course, there's still about 12 days remaining before the scheduled cutoff date arrives. So anything could happen between now and then. But another factor is, I haven't heard any detail of whether the extension the NY branch is seeking would only apply to government senders or also would apply to private party/individual senders such as those of us here.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The April 1 announced cutoff date for traditional (non-IAT) ACH transfers by U.S. account holders through Bangkok Bank's New York branch and onward to BKKB Thailand is coming this Monday.

 

There had been talk by the NY Branch staff about them potentially getting an extension/delay from federal regulators, and last time I spoke with them, they said any delay in the April 1 cutoff would be announced on the BKKB TH website.  Well, today/Friday passed with the close of business and the April 1 cutoff date remains unchanged on the BKKB website.

 

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-US-to-Thailand-via-Bangkok-Bank-NewYork-branch

 

Quote

With effective from April 1, 2019, New York branch only process ACH with appropriate IAT format and all non-IAT transactions will be returned. 

 

The problem here, of course, is that despite BKKB's website sounding like all this is no problem, the reality is that no one here has found a single U.S. bank or credit union that enables its retail/consumer accountholders to initiate and send IAT-compatible transfers.  Instead, it's either the traditional domestic ACH (which BKKB NY will soon reject), or the pricey traditional wire transfers.

 

I suppose BKKB could pop up with some announcement of a last-minute extension sometime between now and Monday. But with the close of business BKK time today, it's looking rather unlikely.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well well.... just got off the phone with my contact at BKKB New York.   And, despite what the BKKB Thailand website still says re the April 1 cutoff, my New York branch contact says the original U.S. ACH method transfers through the NY branch will NOT be blocked starting this coming Monday!!!!

 

My contact said: "You can consider it delayed. We're not going to return those payments."

 

Now, a couple of details about that:

 

1. I asked, but my contact either wouldn't say or didn't know how long the original ACH transfer method via the New York branch is going to be continuing. Was unwilling to give any time notion re that.

 

2. My contact also advised, however, that the existing block the NY branch has had for some time on new ACH transfer links between U.S. banks and the NY Branch via the trial deposits method are continuing to be blocked. So if you don't already have an existing ACH link set up, you still won't be able to use any trial deposits method to create any new ACH links to the New York Branch.

 

Perhaps there will be something more official coming from BKKB HQ here in the coming days...

 

PS -- As of this writing (1:45 am Sat.), the BKKB TH website still lists and mentions the planned April 1 ACH cutoff date.

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Date Masamune]

Scheduled a transfer for Apr 1 from Charles Schwab to BKK Bank NYC as normal to see if it still works

[Langsuan Man]

2 hours ago, Date Masamune said:

Scheduled a transfer for Apr 1 from Charles Schwab to BKK Bank NYC as normal to see if it still works

I was not willing to attempt that is since the drop dead date is April 1st so I requested an EFTS transfer on Thursday last and received the funds in my BB account on Friday

 

Will be interested in seeing what your results are on Monday since they were never clear on whether of not they would stop processing EFTS on the first or stop accepting them on the first ! 

[Date Masamune]

I don’t understand this IAT thing and if a transfer from Charles Schwab is compliant or not, or how to proceed in the future. The “sneaker net”

Method is easy for me but no proof funds come fr m Abroad!

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

31 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

I was not willing to attempt that is since the drop dead date is April 1st so I requested an EFTS transfer on Thursday last and received the funds in my BB account on Friday

 

Will be interested in seeing what your results are on Monday since they were never clear on whether of not they would stop processing EFTS on the first or stop accepting them on the first ! 

 

Did you see my post above with BKKB's New York branch indicating that the planned April 1 cutoff has been POSTPONED???

 

Regular ACH transfers via the BKKB NY branch should continue to be processed normally, and be sent onward to Thailand as usual, for some still as-yet unspecified time into the future.

 

[Pib]

TG,

  Good info.   Bangkok Bank must have got a short term, last minute reprieve from the US Treasury/NACHA which supposedly Bangkok Bank requested for at least US govt payments based on info I got from a HQ Bangkok Bank rep and implied by the Manila Social Security Office.  But who knows what Bangkok Bank really requested, what may have been approved,  for how long....or what they must do to continue processing non-IAT payments past 1 Apr 19.

 

    OR, maybe they have found another way to satisfy US Treasury tracking/identification requirements for funds leaving the US....maybe not a desired way in terms of workload for Bangkok Bank and/or the customer....one of those break-the-glass-to-get-the fire-hose type methods you didn't want to use until running out of all other options.  Guess we'll have to wait and see how it shakes out over coming weeks. 

 

    I'm sure Bangkok Bank wants to avoid as much fee-loss as possible because I'm sure the tens of thousands of US persons who have used the Bangkok Bank NY ACH routing method for decades for US govt benefit direct deposit, ad-hoc transfers from their bank accounts, etc., nets Bangkok Bank a nice chunk of fee money each month although probably a drop in the bucket in terms of over business revenue.   And US businesses used the NY branch routing method also.

 

   And with less fee money coming that way now due to money transfer services such as Transferwise taking away business I expect Bangkok Bank is still trying hard to retain current money transfer customers.  And even though money transfer services like Transferwise might be equal to or a hair better in pricing/putting the most baht into your Bangkok Bank account at the least cost to the person, I know a lot of folks are simply uncomfortable in having a third party controlling the transfer vs just being able to transfer from your US bank thru Bangkok Bank NY to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account.  Plus, as mentioned you could have your US govt benefit payment paid directly to Bangkok Bank...simple...no monthly involvement required by the beneficiary/pensioner....the money just simply arrived each month to your Bangkok Bank account....simple, easy, cheap.  And the coding is always FTT/International Transfer which has become important with the new immigration monthly income extension rule. 

    

    For me I would gladly continue to send money via ACH to my in-Thailand Bangkok Bank vs using a money transfer service like Transferwise or OFX since the Bangkok Bank ACH method was simple, cheap, easy, safe, could setup automatic monthly transfers from my US bank, the money arrived next or 2nd business day, etc.  

 

    And I think another important factor (in my opinion) is this "ACH receiving capability" which no other Thai bank had was an important factor in Bangkok Bank becoming probably the most used bank by Americans living in Thailand....which in-turn spreads the word to other farangs of all nationalities who end-up opening Bangkok Bank accounts also.  It's just good press/advertising. Now although other nationalities probably could care less or could use the Bangkok Bank NY ACH routing, it still generated customer growth for Bangkok Bank in the farang market.  

 

   Yeap, will be interesting as to what shakes out the week of 1 April, especially with the thousands of US govt benefit payments made the first week of every month such as social security, military retirement, Veterans Administration, etc., where many of which are not in IAT format  And of course just regular transfers a people do from their US banks via ACH.

 

   Fingers crossed for more info...like info directly from Bangkok Bank.

    

 

 

[JimGant]

26 minutes ago, Pib said:

But who knows what Bangkok Bank really requested, what may have been approved,  for how long....or what they must do to continue processing non-IAT payments past 1 Apr 19.

Mechanically, Bangkok Bank can continue to process non-IAT payments. The Feds have no switch to turn this off -- it's just their direction to comply -- or face some penalty. Bangkok Bank is obviously aware of all of this.

 

Which brings me to an alternative several of us here have discussed, namely, sending a domestic wire to Bangkok Bank NY, with the destination account conveniently in Thailand. And several of us have done this -- and it works -- wire sent to BB NY ABA number, same as an ACH, and the fees, front end and back end, are the same as an ACH. And in my case, my bank charges me zip for a domestic wire -- same as for an ACH. Neat!

 

And one of our members queried BB NY as to whether or not domestic wires would be affected by the Fed's directive re ACH transfers. He was advised, nope, domestic wires will continue to be allowed.

 

But, this quote from a BB NY officer, in a letter to Pib, kinda leads me to question the future of domestic wires to Thai based bank accounts:

 

Quote

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your payment is considered a cross border transaction because the funds are ultimately deposited into your account with Bangkok Bank in Thailand. In accordance with the US rules for such international payments, we are required to obtain certain additional types of information from you before processing the payments to your account in Thailand.

This was in reference to ACH transfers -- but what's the difference for a domestic wire transfer to Thailand? Anyway, the TV poster was advised that domestic transfers would NOT be affected by the new ACH directives. Doesn't quite pass the sniff test with me, but if Bangkok Bank says they can do an end run around the intent of international transfer monitoring, hey, that's their call. Meanwhile, I've just updated my international wire template (pre filled in info, just add the amount) with USAA, as I suspect that's my future. Anyway, for the usually large, infrequent sums I send, the larger fixed fee is easily absorbed.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

   Yeap, will be interesting as to what shakes out the week of 1 April, especially with the thousands of US govt benefit payments made the first week of every month such as social security, military retirement, Veterans Administration, etc., where many of which are not in IAT format  And of course just regular transfers a people do from their US banks via ACH.

 

 

Pib, FWIW, just some speculation....

 

1. I got ZERO sense from my contact at the NY branch that this was a reversal or cancellation of the coming IAT policy change. Rather, just some kind of implementation delay, for who knows how long....  In other words, we've gotten a postponement of our sentencing, not a pardon or reversal.

 

2. If I were a guessing man, I'd guess that you and me and others here as individual senders are irrelevant in the behind the scene stuff going on with this, and what's instead probably the driving factor is what I gather is the continuing inability of various federal paying entities to get all their payroll systems -- for ALL their Thailand payees -- into the IAT format. Maybe also related to the who knows when coming implementation of federal International Direct Deposit approval and activation for Thailand, including perhaps with other Thai banks.  That's my guess...

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

47 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Which brings me to an alternative several of us here have discussed, namely, sending a domestic wire to Bangkok Bank NY, with the destination account conveniently in Thailand. And several of us have done this -- and it works -- wire sent to BB NY ABA number, same as an ACH, and the fees, front end and back end, are the same as an ACH. And in my case, my bank charges me zip for a domestic wire -- same as for an ACH. Neat!

 

And one of our members queried BB NY as to whether or not domestic wires would be affected by the Fed's directive re ACH transfers. He was advised, nope, domestic wires will continue to be allowed.

 

But, this quote from a BB NY officer, in a letter to Pib, kinda leads me to question the future of domestic wires to Thai based bank accounts:

 

Quote

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your payment is considered a cross border transaction because the funds are ultimately deposited into your account with Bangkok Bank in Thailand. In accordance with the US rules for such international payments, we are required to obtain certain additional types of information from you before processing the payments to your account in Thailand.

This was in reference to ACH transfers -- but what's the difference for a domestic wire transfer to Thailand? Anyway, the TV poster was advised that domestic transfers would NOT be affected by the new ACH directives. Doesn't quite pass the sniff test with me, but if Bangkok Bank says they can do an end run around the intent of international transfer monitoring, hey, that's their call. Meanwhile, I've just updated my international wire template (pre filled in info, just add the amount) with USAA, as I suspect that's my future. Anyway, for the usually large, infrequent sums I send, the larger fixed fee is easily absorbed.

 

Jim, of course, you're referring above to me and my conversations with BKKB NY, as well as your and my both having used the NY Branch as a mid-point recipient for DOMESTIC U.S. wire transfers using their nine-digit ABA routing number. And indeed, my contact at the NY Branch again confirmed early today that they'll continue to process incoming domestic wires and send them onward to Thailand, just as they've always done -- totally unaffected by whenever the IAT changes take effect for ACH transfers.

 

There's no mystery about that for me. When I sent my most recent domestic wire to the NY branch and onward to Thailand, my sending entity's web interface wanted me to include not only the U.S. recipient bank (being BKKB NY and their ABA number), but also the recipient's country including the specific address, for which I entered my Thailand particulars. And that caused no problem. And just like the future IATs will require the end recipient's address, so do the domestic wires. Unless someone wanted to list a U.S. recipient address for funds ending up in a Thai bank account, which certainly could be a plausible scenario, but not one applicable in my case.

 

For the casual reader here, of course, the ADVANTAGE of sending a domestic wire transfer to the NY Branch and onward to Thailand -- vs. sending a traditional international wire transfer directly to BKKB TH using their own Swift code -- is that U.S. banks and other institutions generally have lower sending fees for domestic wires vs. international wires. And for some institutions, like yours and mine, a few actually offer domestic wire transfers for FREE, which makes the NY Branch wire transfer route very appealing.

 

And hopefully a permanently available transfer route for U.S. funds coming to Thailand that won't be impacted whenever BKKB and the feds get around to shutting off the flow of traditional domestic ACH transfers by transitioning to an IAT system that absolutely no individual sender that any of us knows has any ability send funds using.

 

So I'll continue to use the BKKB NY traditional ACH transfers as long as that window remains open. But when the day comes that the ACH window closes and is replaced by an IAT system that none of us can use, I'll be ready with the domestic wire transfers route through BKKB NY and into Thailand!

 

PS - BTW, the specific advice I got from the NY Branch staff regarding U.S. domestic wires being sent to the NY Branch and then onward to Thailand was for the senders, like you and me, to list our Thailand address and country for the recipient information. And if the sending entity's wire transfer setup doesn't specifically require that kind of info, my contact encouraged us to include the Thailand address information in some other area, such as in under "Remarks" or "Directions" etc etc.

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, @Pib, on the subject of the federal government's progress (or lack thereof) in getting all their various expat payroll systems into the IAT format to make the federal bank regulators happy, I noticed you did a good/helpful summary yesterday in another thread on military stuff:

 

Quote

 I do know late last year when I was at HQ Bangkok Bank talking to one of their primary points of contact on this IAT goatrope she said the DFAS payments were not arriving in IAT format based on some initial analysis they had done.  "Most" SSA payments were (70% at that time...now they say 80%), some OPM payments, some VA payments, etc.  It was basically a case of some US govt payments were arriving in IAT format and some were not.     

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1091093-direct-deposit-of-ssfedmilitary-pensions-into-bangkok-bank-iat-format/page/3/?tab=comments#comment-13990831

 

That above suggests the various paying entities in the federal government still have a ways to go in getting their IAT compatibility in order, which perhaps is the reason the rest of us senders have gotten a temporary ACH reprieve.

 

[Pib]

 

From another thread....Bangkok Bank NY says 1 Apr 19 military retirement payments not in IAT format will not be rejected as Bangkok Bank is still working the issue...hopefully this applies to other US govt payments also....see chuck6660's post below for full details.