OFX.com Wire Transfer - Any Reviews?

[Sheryl]

If I decide to do another transfer with them I will do so. Who knows, I might have gotten a better response had I raised the issue before (stupidly) initiating the transfer.

 

For the moment I'm set in terms of cash in country.

[Old Croc]

On ‎4‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 11:04 AM, steve73 said:

I'm quite happy to stick with TW, especially now that I can "tag" my transfers so they arrive via TW's local Kasikorn partner, and then end up in my account as International,

 

On ‎4‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 11:41 AM, SooKee said:

I've heard back from Transferwise who have now tagged my two payee accounts to be paid to only by their respective partners, Bangkok and Kasikorn.

I apologize for my ignorance, and reluctance to read through hundreds of previous posts to find an answer, but what is a tagged account, and how do you arrange it?

I recently asked K-Bank about my TW transfers being coded as "local" (MLCxxxx) and I just received the following from them:

 

 

"According to your enquiry regarding your matter we would like to inform you that normally if you have receive the international fund transfer normally, the Teller ID that show on your statement will be TFNxxx and BNTxxx and in this case you will be able to request for the Credit Advice as a transaction evidence. 

 

Moreover, if your Teller ID on the statement is MCLxxx in this case Kasikorn bank will unable to issues the credit advice due to the system will define the transaction as a local transaction, consequently, you are require to contact the sender bank to request for MT 103 as a transaction evidence. We truly apologize for the inconvenience caused."

 

How do you get it changed to record as an international transfer? Is the MT 103 (whatever it is) part of the answer?

My extension is due in the next couple of weeks and I will use the 800k method as normal, but for next year it occurs to me that that money may be better utilized as a new car, rather than lying fallow in the bank.

As I'm bringing the money in anyway, it seems to make sense to use the 65k pm method. If the rules remain static!

 

 

[Sheryl]

Here is the credit advice for my OFX trabsfer,. Different in format from bank to bank SWIFT transfers, I guess because of going through BOT first. 2 pages.

 

As you can see it clearly shows the funds as coming form OFX in Australia. So no problem with paper trail of it being an international transfer.

 

 

[Pib]

And the BAHTNET fee is correct as there is a Bt100 recipient fee plus provincial/upcoming transfer fee of 10 baht per 10,000 baht and 1 baht increment for each 1000 baht...and then fraction of 1 baht for amounts less than 1,000 baht.   All of that works out to your Bt202.42 fee

 

For me, since my receiving banks are in the Bangkok there is no provincial/upcountry fee so I just get hit with the Bt100 recipient fee.   

 

So, the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) does not come into play the way OFX routes the money to an intermediary bank in Thailand, like the Bank of Thailand and/or Deutsche Bank AG in Bangkok based on on Credit Advice/MT103, and then that intermediary bank uses BAHTNET to get it to your Thai bank.  For my credit advice it only showed the Bank of Thailand SWIFT code but yours shows Bank of Thailand and Deutsche Bank.

 

Now, just to get bumped-up to some better exchange rates....maybe ask again like discussed earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by Pib

[sfokevin]

I have a US address account set up USD to Bangkok Bank... this was my credit advice... Sheryl... When you set up your account what address did you use a US address or your Thai address?... This may affect you rate as your money seems to bounce around the globe a bit...

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by sfokevin

[Pib]

She used her Thai address if I remember right.  I did also....well, I actually started off with my US address but changed it to my Thai address a few months ago.   And as mentioned earlier, when I first opened my OFX account last summer my rates were pretty much like Sheryl's (not very good...not good enough to where I wanted to use them).  Then around Dec or Jan my rates improved for some unknown reason to where they are now...maybe they figured out since the rates were not that good maybe that's why Pib was not doing any transfers.  I had the improved rates "before" I switched to my Thai address and I guess they then transferred my account to the OzForex division of OFX since I switched to a Thai address from the USForex division of OFX where I had my US address.  

[Sheryl]

I used my Thai address. And was sending money from the US.

[Thailand]

I have received funds from two different sources and countries both arriving and coded as BahtNet (BTN).

Bangkok Bank  tell me I have to get confirmation from the intermediary banks,respectively Siam Commercial Bank and Citibank that the funds came from abroad as Bangkok Bank cannot do that which does not seem correct?

The Bangkok Bank person I spoke to did print out 2 "credit notes" at my request which show initiating overseas bank and amount, intermediary bank and receiving account less intermediate charges. He did however say that this is not acceptable to immigration?

 

Not via OFX by the way.

 

Both funds remitted in Thai Baht.

 

What experiences so far? 

 

Thanks

Edited April 15, 2019 by Thailand

[Pib]

31 minutes ago, Thailand said:

I have received funds from two different sources and countries both arriving and coded as BahtNet (BTN).

Bangkok Bank  tell me I have to get confirmation from the intermediary banks,respectively Siam Commercial Bank and Citibank that the funds came from abroad as Bangkok Bank cannot do that which does not seem correct?

The Bangkok Bank person I spoke to did print out 2 "credit notes" at my request which show initiating overseas bank and amount, intermediary bank and receiving account less intermediate charges. He did however say that this is not acceptable to immigration?

 

Not via OFX by the way.

 

Both funds remitted in Thai Baht.

 

What experiences so far? 

 

Thanks

What the Bangkok Bank rep told you is wrong.  When an international transfer is routed thru BahtNet the Bangkok Bank Credit Advice will show a foreign origin of the funds....and the SMS you get from Bangkok stated "......from abroad...." in the SMS.   I know this for a fact as I have got the Credit Advices and SMSs from Bangkok Bank for international transfers coded a BahtNet.  And Sheryl's K-bank credit advice for the BahtNet transfer show foreign origin of the funds.  And your credit advices showed foreign origin of the funds.  

 

Now the thing about BahtNet transfer is they could also be purely domestic....your or me could walk into a Thai bank and say we want to transfer via Bahtnet funds to mia noi somewhere in the country...and the Thai bank would do it that way....not the cheapest way to transfer funds but it is used a lot where people/companies transfer BIG amounts of money within country and they need to clear immediately. 

 

I expect just a English-Thai miscommunication happened with your bank rep...like the rep maybe thinking you wanted to see the "entire" money trail. 

 

Edited April 15, 2019 by Pib

[Thailand]

14 minutes ago, Pib said:

What the Bangkok Bank rep told you is wrong.  When an international transfer is routed thru BahtNet the Bangkok Bank Credit Advice will show a foreign origin of the funds....and the SMS you get from Bangkok stated "......from abroad...." in the SMS.   I know this for a fact as I have got the Credit Advices and SMSs from Bangkok Bank for international transfers coded a BahtNet.  And Sheryl's K-bank credit advice for the BahtNet transfer show foreign origin of the funds.

 

Now the thing about BahtNet transfer is they could also be purely domestic....your or me could walk into a Thai bank and say we want to transfer via Bahtnet funds to mia noi somewhere in the country...and the Thai bank would do it that way....not the cheapest way to transfer funds but it is used a lot where people/companies transfer BIG amounts of money within country and they need to clear immediately. 

As I said I guessed he was wrong, he was also new, the usual person I see was on holiday,it was the reason I asked for the credit note printouts.

 

Now,I will have some 18 deposits,12 from one source and 6 from another newer source over the year when I go for renewal of extension of stay,they will not total 800K until a further 6 transfers from the newer source so seeking the leniency route.

In addition would I have to provide 18 credit notes showing various differing amounts and a letter from Bangkok Bank confirming deposits from overseas (Which the person at Bangkok Bank said they will not provide)?

 

BTW, no notification of credits,SMS or otherwise from Bangkok Bank, I have to check the account for receipt of funds

 

Sorry, may be the wrong thread for this?

Edited April 15, 2019 by Thailand

[Pib]

With all the various money transfer ways & systems, possible intermediary banks which can complicate things, and bank coding varying from bank to bank the monthly income method is going to present challenges until the immigration offices realize the "one or two page doc from your Thai bank cleanly showing and validating "all" international transfers" is just not going to be available in many cases.  Heck, even the Thai banks are being caught off guard with the sudden increase of farangs asking for transfer docs/proof they they never asked for before.   

 

Yeap, the money income method is going to present documentation challenges/problems which will vary from individual to individual depending on the transfer method use (i.e., SWIFT, ACH, BACS, Transferwise, OFX, etc) used and Thai bank used to receive the money.

[DavRav]

I've been reading all of the posts regarding OFX and TransferWise. I set up accounts with both services last week. I just got my first TransferWise deposit into TMB Bank of $100 and TMB Bank said it shows up as a domestic transfer. This was expected based on the reviews.

 

Today I was about to send a test $100 deposit using OFX but they were going to charge me $15 on the receiving end so I called an cancelled. I asked the OFX agent if the transfer would show up as coming from outside of Thailand. He put me on hold and talked to a supervisor. They said they are using a system similar to TransferWise and that the deposit will show up as coming from inside of Thailand.

 

So, as far as I know right now, Thursday night April 18th in Bangkok, neither service will satisfy the requirement of the funds coming from outside of Thailand. Can anyone verify this and does anyone know of another option? I can wire from my USA bank but that would be $65 per month which is really expensive!

 

Thanks,

 

David 

[steve73]

10 hours ago, DavRav said:

I've been reading all of the posts regarding OFX and TransferWise. I set up accounts with both services last week. I just got my first TransferWise deposit into TMB Bank of $100 and TMB Bank said it shows up as a domestic transfer. This was expected based on the reviews.

 

Today I was about to send a test $100 deposit using OFX but they were going to charge me $15 on the receiving end so I called an cancelled. I asked the OFX agent if the transfer would show up as coming from outside of Thailand. He put me on hold and talked to a supervisor. They said they are using a system similar to TransferWise and that the deposit will show up as coming from inside of Thailand.

 

So, as far as I know right now, Thursday night April 18th in Bangkok, neither service will satisfy the requirement of the funds coming from outside of Thailand. Can anyone verify this and does anyone know of another option? I can wire from my USA bank but that would be $65 per month which is really expensive!

 

Thanks,

 

David 

Hi David,

 

TMB is one of the local partner banks that TW uses, and if your cash is routed through them it SHOULD arrive coded as international, but unless you tell TW you want to route it via TMB, they will use whichever partner is most convenient for them, and if it's BBank or Kasikorn it'll be shown as "domestic".  If you look at the detailed receipt available from your TW account you'll see how they routed it.

 

My last TW transfer was set up on the 11th April, and I immediately e-mailed them (quoting the transfer reference #) asking for it to be routed via Kasikorn... I didn't hear back from them, but sent the funds the following day (since the rate had dropped and I wanted to remain "locked-in" to the previous days quote).  I replied to their e-mail confirming arrival of funds, again asking that the "tag" the transfer to be routed via Kasikorn.

They answered that they would do this but it may take a few days extra (since it was a Thai holiday)... Anyway, it eventually arrived into my Kasikorn account yesterday (took just over 7 days since set-up) correctly coded as International.   They also e-mailed me suggesting that's it's better to telephone them asking for the transfer to be "tagged", rather than sending an e-m which could get lost.

 

So this could be your answer... Set-up your TW transfer then call them asking that they manually route it via their TMB local partner bank, and it should arrive at your TMB account correctly coded as International.  Be aware that it may take a day or two extra to arrive, but you'll still get the "locked-in" rate when you set it up. 

 

Let us know how you get on, since there are many reports that this method works for BBank & Kasikorn account holders, but I've not seen one from a TMB holder...yet.

 

Good luck. 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2019 by steve73
added more detail...

[Pib]

11 hours ago, DavRav said:

 

Today I was about to send a test $100 deposit using OFX but they were going to charge me $15 on the receiving end so I called an cancelled. I asked the OFX agent if the transfer would show up as coming from outside of Thailand. He put me on hold and talked to a supervisor. They said they are using a system similar to TransferWise and that the deposit will show up as coming from inside of Thailand.

 

Where you say $15 on the Thai bank receiving end I going to guess you based that on them saying the receiving bank "might" charge up to Bt500 which is approx $15.   That up to Bt500 part would be based on the typical Thai bank 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500max) receiving fee "if" the transfer is routed directly to them from OFX via SWIFT.   

 

So, up to approx $2525 you would possibly be charged the Bt200 min fee (approx $6).  Above approx $2525 you would get into the 0.25% charge up to a Bt500 max charge.

 

However, if OFX routes the funds through BAHTNET which directly interfaces to SWIFT then your total receiving fee could be as low as Bt100 for any amount sent....small or large.  Based on my two OFX transfers I was charged a Bt100 receiving fee---not Bt500---because BAHTNET was used for the final leg of the transfer thru Bank of Thailand.

 

 

[DavRav]

Steve,

 

Thanks for the reply and for the details and suggestions. I was about to call TW but before I did, I looked at the receipt for the transfer and it looks like they did indeed use TMB Bank. Here's a copy and paste of the transfer details:

 

Transfer overview Amount paid by David Gilbert Toma 100.00 USD Fee 3.62 

USD Amount converted 96.38 USD Exchange rate 1 USD = 31.77 THB 

 

Converted and sent to David Gilbert Toma 3,061.99 THB Sent to Name David Gilbert Toma R  

 

Paid out from Name TransferWise Ltd on behalf of David Gilbert Toma 

 

Delivered via Local bank transfer Banking partner TMB (THB)  

 

So that last line says "delivered via local banking partner TMB (THB). And, it shows up in my passbook as a local transfer. The lady at TMB Bank showed me the codes. All of my international wires for the past 9 years have a code 98860010. This TransferWise code is 98890018. 

 

Apparently since I have a TMB Bank account, the transfer is coming from TW to their own TMB Bank account, and when it's transferred to me, it's the same as one TMB account to another, hence, it's an internal domestic transfer. That's how I see it at least. Foiled again!

 

I'm curious about your transfer showing up as international. What's the wording on your delivery receipt, please?  So you have a K-Bank account? I also can transfer to K-Bank, if for some reason that's showing up as international. But it seems it would be coded like this TMB Bank deposit.

 

Again, thanks for the help,

 

David

 

 

  

[DavRav]

Pib, 

 

I see what you're saying, and yes, I thought the charge was a fixed 500 baht. On my e-mail confirmation it did not say the charge may be less than 500 baht. So, hopefully it would only be 100-200 baht.

I cancelled that transaction but I'm going to request it again on Monday. I want to see if the deposit is coded differently than the TransferWise deposit to TMB Bank.

Are your OFX deposits coded as "international"?

 

I met with the Chaeng Wattana supervisor of Immigration (in the retirement visa department) for 30 minutes last month. I had just made a 500,000 baht deposit to TMB Bank and I wanted to know if they would give me credit for at least 6 months of income. She said No. I then suggested I would have to send it back to America and send it back to Thailand, and she said that is what I should do. Not the answer I was hoping for.

I also asked if I could deposit a personal check drawn on my USA bank and have that qualify as a transfer of 65,000 baht each month. I've done this several times and it takes 4 to 6 weeks. So I could do it every month, for a cost of about $6-8. The answer- No, that would not work.

 

So, here we are....

 

Thanks for your reply,

 

David

[steve73]

David,

It seems you were lucky that they sent it via their TMB partner without you specifically requesting it as such, but that TMB handles their own local movement somewhat different to BBK and Kbank...  Over the past 2 years that I've been using TW I've had routings via all 3 local partners, and those using K-bank have always been coded on my statement as "International Trade and Factoring".... whereas those using the other two were recorded as "Dummy Branch". 

 

For my last 2 transfers I've requested that they "tag" the transfer to ensure it goes via Kbank, both successfully..... the receipts show as follows: (not all previous receipts have shown a banking partner reference number) 

 

Paid out from

Name                                                           Delivered via

TransferWise Ltd on behalf of "my name"       Local Bank Transfer

Banking Partner                                            Banking Partner Reference

KASIKORNBANK                                            xxxxxxx

 

If you try again sending it to your Kasikorn bank, and requesting that they route it accordingly you should be OK..

[DavRav]

Steve,

 

Your confirmation from TW reads the same as mine, "local bank transfer". Do you have a K-bank passbook and inside the passbook it's coded as "International Trade...", or do you read that when you're looking at your statement on-line?

 

By the way, have you successfully renewed your Retirement Visa using these confirmations, or statements, or whatever else you can get from the bank?

 

Thanks,

 

David

[steve73]

David, that's what's on my internet statement.  I don't keep my passbook updated, and I won't know if Imm will accept it until next year.

 

My last extension (2 months ago) was using the 800k savings, but I'm hoping to move to a combo method next year (providing I manage 12 "international" transfers), although it's not really critical for me, as I'll still have the 800k fallback method.

 

I'm really just trying to help find a method that works for others who may absolutely need it.

[sfokevin]

Just as a follow up... 

I setup OFX.com to make transfers from US to here... 

Was assured by them (via email months ago) that all my transfers would be Swift transfers to my BK Bank and take 4-5 days to complete...

 

Yesterday a transfer completed and BK Bank shows it as a BAHTNET transfer instead of Swift.... :-(...

 

[Pib]

7 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Just as a follow up... 

I setup OFX.com to make transfers from US to here... 

Was assured by them (via email months ago) that all my transfers would be Swift transfers to my BK Bank and take 4-5 days to complete...

 

Yesterday a transfer completed and BK Bank shows it as a BAHTNET transfer instead of Swift.... :-(...

 

And it was sent via SWIFT but OFX used an intermediary bank BAHTNET SWIFT code.  BAHTNET directly interfaces with SWIFT....BAHTNET is not only a domestic transfer system.

 

Get a credit advice from Bangkok Bank and I bet it will show a Bank of Thailand Bahtnet System intermediary SWIFT code of BOTHTHBP.   Mine did.   Or said another way, OFX used the BOT Bahtnet intermediary SWIFT code of BOTHTHBP for the final leg of the transfer to get the money to Bangkok Bank. 

 

The credit advice will also show it was a foreign transfer....coming from OFX in the US, AU, or UK.  Mine shows coming from Sydney AU.   Also the Bangkok Bank SMS of the funds arrival said the funds were "from abroad."   Unfortunately, I expect your Bangkok Bank passbook code will be BTN for Bahtnet instead of FTT.....and your ibanking description will be Bahtnet instead of International Transfer.   However, Bangkok Bank would give you a letter for immigration showing the OFX transfer as an international transfer. 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by Pib