SCB as bank for recieving UK state pension?

[Lickey]

 Looks like BBK Bank will stop using some of its services starting next year,ive opened an acc at scb and very impressed with what you can do with the debit card i have. 

  They have a London branch but i cant find out quite what they do,perhaps buisness only? any ideas people? TIA..

[Jeffrey346]

Which bank are you talking about?  Siam Commercial Bank or Standard Chartered Bank?

[1337markus]

Looks like BBK Bank will stop using some of its services starting next year,

 

 

Be nice if you listed these?

[roquefort]

31 minutes ago, 1337markus said:

Looks like BBK Bank will stop using some of its services starting next year,

 

 

Be nice if you listed these?

I presume by BBK you mean Bangkok Bank? What services are they stopping that would affect us expats?

 

I have an account there and with SCB, which is indeed very good, especially its online banking. SCB only has a representative office in London, no retail banking services as far as I know.

[sysunwah]

is it confirmed that it is the Siam Commercial bank that is being talked about?

[martin26]

My UK state pension paid into SCB for some years now no probs. 

[sysunwah]

Martin. Can u please confirm that you bank with Siam commercial? and the Pension office sends directly to your bank account in Thailand?

[kidneyw]

Mine has been paid into Siam Commercial for the last three years without any problem.

[Daffy D]

1 hour ago, kidneyw said:

Mine has been paid into Siam Commercial for the last three years without any problem.

Me too but for a few more years than 3 

 

Never a problem. Normally arrives in my SCB account about 3-4 days after pay day.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Question for those currently receiving a UK pension into the SCB. Are you receiving the annual increases? Or is your pension frozen?

[martin26]

Yes it is payed by pension office to my SCB account changed from UK Bank to SCB by a phone call from Thailand. No increase in pension living here

[Bundooman]

15 hours ago, kidneyw said:

Mine has been paid into Siam Commercial for the last three years without any problem.

kidney, may I ask, are you a Brit? If so, can I please ask you some questions about the nature of how and what you do to have your pension paid from your bank into the SCB?

I have seriously considered the 800,000Baht option, but then the money is tied up here. I want to weigh it against the 65,000Baht option, but I have a number of reservations about it. I bank with Barclays - Perhaps you can help.

 

1.   The current Xchange rate is about 40. -something. How much sterling do you send across each month to compensate the ever moving Xchange rates? (I understand if you decline to say).

2.   How much does the UK bank charge you monthly for the service?

3.   Does SCB charge you for receiving the money?

4.   Did you have to visit UK to set it up? And if not, could you briefly explain how that works?

5.   Does the transfer take place each month without any interruptions, delay or other problems?

6.   I notice you state , " without any problem", but are there any aspects of the transactions or anything that you are unhappy with?

 

I look forward to any information you can provide. Thanks.

 

[Chongalulu]

18 hours ago, victorpeeke said:

Question for those currently receiving a UK pension into the SCB. Are you receiving the annual increases? Or is your pension frozen?

It’s nothing to do with choice of bank. If you live abroad (apart from certain designated countries of which thailand is NOT one) you will not receive annual increments from DWP.

[Daffy D]

We are talking about UK Government State Pension which is frozen from the day of application so the amount does not change. The only change is how much actually arrives in your Thai bank and that varies with the international exchange rate.

 

As far as I know there is no charge from SCB for this service. I used to regularly check the exchange rate but found it pretty well spot on so don't bother anymore.

 

I did not have to leave Thailand to set up the pension. Go to the UK Pension web site and make an application then follow through from there.

 

Yes the payments come through regularly each month usually 3-4 days after payday. This can vary by a day or two depending on UK or Thai holidays.

 

[wgdanson]

5 hours ago, nchuckle said:

It’s nothing to do with choice of bank. If you live abroad (apart from certain designated countries of which thailand is NOT one) you will not receive annual increments from DWP.

Annual increment is about 3 quid a week, Bht 120!. Yep, that's about 6000 a year. Not really worth worrying about, especially when it will probably be worth only 4000 pretty soon.

 

[wgdanson]

10 hours ago, Bundooman said:

kidney, may I ask, are you a Brit? If so, can I please ask you some questions about the nature of how and what you do to have your pension paid from your bank into the SCB?

I have seriously considered the 800,000Baht option, but then the money is tied up here. I want to weigh it against the 65,000Baht option, but I have a number of reservations about it. I bank with Barclays - Perhaps you can help.

 

1.   The current Xchange rate is about 40. -something. How much sterling do you send across each month to compensate the ever moving Xchange rates? (I understand if you decline to say).

2.   How much does the UK bank charge you monthly for the service?

3.   Does SCB charge you for receiving the money?

4.   Did you have to visit UK to set it up? And if not, could you briefly explain how that works?

5.   Does the transfer take place each month without any interruptions, delay or other problems?

6.   I notice you state , " without any problem", but are there any aspects of the transactions or anything that you are unhappy with?

 

I look forward to any information you can provide. Thanks.

 

Open a Foreign Currency Account with your Thai bank, transfer GBP to that account and exchange what you need as and when you need it. A FCA can also be used to store your 800,000. First Direct do not charge ANYTHING for doing a GBP transfer at either end, and arrives within 24 hours....well mine did several times.

[Daffy D]

13 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Open a Foreign Currency Account with your Thai bank

Why would you want to do that ????

The subject is about UK Government State Pension which is probably less than 30000Bt every 4 weeks, not even small change to the banking system.

 

If you have an account just tell your bank you are expecting some overseas payments and get their full address and SWIFT number which you'll need to give to the Pension Office.

 

The money is sent as GBP and converted to Baht into your account. Easy Peasy.

 

If you don't have an account tell them you need to open an account as a very rich uncle in the UK has died and you are expecting some monies coming to you. Doubt any bank manager worth his salt would pass up the possibility of missing hard currency coming into his branch.

 

If one bank doesn't want to open an account go to another, even a different branch of the same bank will do.

 

Don't forget to get a bank card so you can withdraw your pension from the ATM.

 

 

[wgdanson]

45 minutes ago, Daffy D said:

Why would you want to do that ????

The subject is about UK Government State Pension which is probably less than 30000Bt every 4 weeks, not even small change to the banking system.

 

If you have an account just tell your bank you are expecting some overseas payments and get their full address and SWIFT number which you'll need to give to the Pension Office.

 

The money is sent as GBP and converted to Baht into your account. Easy Peasy.

 

If you don't have an account tell them you need to open an account as a very rich uncle in the UK has died and you are expecting some monies coming to you. Doubt any bank manager worth his salt would pass up the possibility of missing hard currency coming into his branch.

 

If one bank doesn't want to open an account go to another, even a different branch of the same bank will do.

 

Don't forget to get a bank card so you can withdraw your pension from the ATM.

 

 

With a Foreign Currency Account you do not have to change GBP into THB on the day it is sent. You can keep your eye on the exchange rate and convert as and when you need/want to, into a regular savings account, for which you have an ATM card. At Bangkok Bank you do get a small interest on your GBPs.

[Daffy D]

48 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

With a Foreign Currency Account you do not have to change GBP into THB on the day it is sent. You can keep your eye on the exchange rate and convert as and when you need/want to, into a regular savings account, for which you have an ATM card. At Bangkok Bank you do get a small interest on your GBPs.

OK! Fair enough if you don't need the Pension to live on.

 

Though with the way tings are shaping up with Brexit probably get as much converted before the Pound collapses altogether

Edited December 6, 2018 by Daffy D

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, Daffy D said:

OK! Fair enough if you don't need the Pension to live on.

 

Though with the way tings are shaping up with Brexit probably get as much converted before the Pound collapses altogether

I said 'convert as and when you need'. This is your money to live on.

[trd]

Yes it is payed by pension office to my SCB account changed from UK Bank to SCB by a phone call from Thailand. No increase in pension living here

Does DWP make a charge for the swift transfer of your pension to SCB? I ask because if I transfer money from my Nationwide UK account to Thailand I get charged a £20 Swift transfer fee.

[lamyai3]

On 12/6/2018 at 9:51 AM, Daffy D said:

Though with the way tings are shaping up with Brexit probably get as much converted before the Pound collapses altogether 

Officially the lowest pound-baht rate today for 21 and a half years. 

[lamyai3]

On 12/6/2018 at 8:16 AM, Daffy D said:

Don't forget to get a bank card so you can withdraw your pension from the ATM.

If you have their up-to-date app on the phone, can use a one time password for cash withdrawals. Very useful, no need for a card. 

[lamyai3]

On 12/5/2018 at 6:27 PM, wgdanson said:

First Direct do not charge ANYTHING for doing a GBP transfer at either end, and arrives within 24 hours....well mine did several times.

Is this from the free FD current account or the paid ++ version? 

[Daffy D]

On ‎12‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 2:25 PM, trd said:

Does DWP make a charge for the swift transfer of your pension to SCB? I ask because if I transfer money from my Nationwide UK account to Thailand I get charged a £20 Swift transfer fee.

I would think that it is Nationwide that is charging you for the transfer.

 

I get my pension paid direct from the Pension Office into the Thai bank, no third party involved.

 

I have not noticed any fees on my bank statements so presume there is no charge involved in the transfer.

 

By checking the amount you get in Thai Baht in your bank against your Pension payment you can work out the exchange rate or if any fees are being charged.

 

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts when I used to check the rate it was on par with the rates listed. Keep in mind that the rate changes from day to day and even from hour to hour and as the transfer usually take about 4 days who's to say what the rate is on the day of the actual transfer. If the rate listed is within point something of what I get in the bank I'm not going to complain about it.

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