Using "Transferwise" money service to move money from foreign bank to Thai Bank for new Visa requirements

[roryshaughn]

The new visa requirements say that foreigners have to maintain a balance of either 400,000 or 800,000 Baht in a Thai Bank (depending of visa type).

There is a money transfer service called TransferWise that charges much less and is faster than traditional wire transfers. They maintain bank accounts in many countries (including Thailand). If I want to move $1,000 from my bank in America to Thailand, money is sent from my American bank to their partner bank in America. Then, using their own computer network, they order their partner bank in Thailand to wire Baht to my bank account in Thailand.

So, as they say in their video, no money actually moves between the two countries.

My questions are, how would the immigration office know that the money originated from outside of Thailand? Has anyone ever successfully used TransferWise to transfer money from a foreign bank into a Thai bank account for the purpose of the new visa requirements?

https://transferwise.com/help/article/1779442/basic-information/how-does-it-work-a-video-guide
https://transferwise.com

Edited February 28, 2019 by roryshaughn

[Old Croc]

This subject has been discussed at length in several other threads.

I suggest you use the search function box at the top of the page using the key word - TransferWise.

[jacko45k]

First of all it does not charge 'much less'. In my case SWIFT transfers are free. Transferwise charge on a percentage basis and for larger transfers may even cost more. Their advantage is a better exchange rate and avoiding the charges at the Thai end. You will get more baht for your money.

I recently did a TW transfer to my Bangkok Bank Account and it was reflected as an International transfer at the Thai end. So far 2/3 have shown up this way, so it isn't 100%.

Much discussion of this in other threads. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by jacko45k

[Henryford]

I doubt if anyone will test this for visa renewal purposes for at least 6-9 months. We are ALL awaiting the answer.

[LucysDad]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

I doubt if anyone will test this for visa renewal purposes for at least 6-9 months. We are ALL awaiting the answer.

 

 

I will test it in May.

 

Anyone using the income method (previously using embassy letters) after 1st March will test it as well.

Edited March 1, 2019 by LucysDad

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, LucysDad said:

 

Anyone using the income method (previously using embassy letters) after 1st March will test it as well.

No they will not unless they do not a have proof of income from their embassy that are valid for 6 months from the date they are issued.

The new rules that went into effect today have nothing to do with income option. That rule went into effect in December.

[LucysDad]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

No they will not unless they do not a have proof of income from their embassy that are valid for 6 months from the date they are issued.

The new rules that went into effect today have nothing to do with income option. That rule went into effect in December.

 

 

Buriram Immigration will not accept embassy letters after 1st March.

[OJAS]

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I recently did a TW transfer to my Bangkok Bank Account and it was reflected as an International transfer at the Thai end. So far 2/3 have shown up this way, so it isn't 100%.

It will be coded FTT in a Bangkok Bank account passbook if Bangkok Bank also happen to be the agency bank which TW use at the Thai end in a particular case. However TW also use TMB and Kasikorn as their agency banks - in which cases transfers will be assigned a non-international coding (most likely SMT) in Bangkok Bank passbooks. Since it is entirely in the lap of the gods as to which of these 3 banks TW choose to use at the Thai end in individual cases, it is, I think, a case of taking the rough with the smooth in using them for monthly 40k/65k transfer purposes.

Edited March 1, 2019 by OJAS

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, LucysDad said:

Buriram Immigration will not accept embassy letters after 1st March.

So will they be prepared to accept from as few as 2 x 40k/65k monthly transfers (for the period since the income changes were announced by the Immigration Bureau in January) instead? Or will the 800k/400k bank balance method now be the strict order of the day at that particular office for retirement and marriage extensions applied for by Americans, Aussies & Brits until at least next July?

Edited March 1, 2019 by OJAS

[LucysDad]

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

So will they be prepared to accept from as few as 2 x 40k/65k monthly transfers (for the period since the income changes were announced by the Immigration Bureau in January) instead? Or will the 800k/400k bank balance method now be the strict order of the day at that particular office for retirement and marriage extensions applied for by Americans, Aussies & Brits until at least next July?

 

 

It was indicated that my incoming transfers from Transferwise would be sufficient evidence to satisfy the income method. I just showed 3 months’ examples of cross referenced receipts (although I can evidence 12) and the IO said “Yes, you are OK, no problem....”

 

 

 

I will believe it if I get the same reaction in May......

[Genericnic]

Hi all. For what it's worth, I sent a message to Transferwise (quoted below) in an effort to find out more about their method of routing transfers to Thailand. @OJAS Thanks for your post #9. That helped frame the question. The website stated that I would hear back within 2 working days so most likely Monday or Tuesday. I'll update with what I find out.

 

David

 

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I am an American currently living in Thailand on a retirement visa (though my question would apply to any retiree using your services to transfer funds to Thailand). My income is in the US in the form of Social Security and pension benefits. Recent changes in Thai Immigration visa rules require that we be able to show at least 65,000 Thai baht being deposited in a Thai bank account each month from outside of Thailand. To be acceptable to Thai Immigration, the deposit code for the Thai bank must be something similar to FTT which shows that the deposit originated outside of Thailand. In a discussion about Transferwise, someone pointed out:

"[the Transferwise deposit] will be coded FTT in a Bangkok Bank account passbook if Bangkok Bank also happen to be the agency bank which TW uses at the Thai end in a particular case. However TW also use TMB and Kasikorn as their agency banks - in which cases transfers will be assigned a non-international coding (most likely SMT) in Bangkok Bank passbooks. Since it is entirely in the lap of the gods [Transferwise] as to which of these 3 banks TW choose to use at the Thai end in individual cases, it is, I think, a case of taking the rough with the smooth in using them for monthly 40k/65k transfer purposes."

As you can see, for those of us that need the FTT coding, using Bangkok Bank as the agency bank seems to be the only acceptable option. 

Is there a way to insure the use of Bangkok Bank as the agency bank so that transfers are properly coded to keep Thai Immigration happy? If so, can you inform me of what is necessary? There are many folks that would love to find out.

Thank you

David

 

[Genericnic]

On 3/1/2019 at 6:56 PM, Genericnic said:

Hi all. For what it's worth, I sent a message to Transferwise (quoted below) in an effort to find out more about their method of routing transfers to Thailand. @OJAS Thanks for your post #9. That helped frame the question. The website stated that I would hear back within 2 working days so most likely Monday or Tuesday. I'll update with what I find out.

 

David

 

------------

 

I am an American currently living in Thailand on a retirement visa (though my question would apply to any retiree using your services to transfer funds to Thailand). My income is in the US in the form of Social Security and pension benefits. Recent changes in Thai Immigration visa rules require that we be able to show at least 65,000 Thai baht being deposited in a Thai bank account each month from outside of Thailand. To be acceptable to Thai Immigration, the deposit code for the Thai bank must be something similar to FTT which shows that the deposit originated outside of Thailand. In a discussion about Transferwise, someone pointed out:

"[the Transferwise deposit] will be coded FTT in a Bangkok Bank account passbook if Bangkok Bank also happen to be the agency bank which TW uses at the Thai end in a particular case. However TW also use TMB and Kasikorn as their agency banks - in which cases transfers will be assigned a non-international coding (most likely SMT) in Bangkok Bank passbooks. Since it is entirely in the lap of the gods [Transferwise] as to which of these 3 banks TW choose to use at the Thai end in individual cases, it is, I think, a case of taking the rough with the smooth in using them for monthly 40k/65k transfer purposes."

As you can see, for those of us that need the FTT coding, using Bangkok Bank as the agency bank seems to be the only acceptable option. 

Is there a way to insure the use of Bangkok Bank as the agency bank so that transfers are properly coded to keep Thai Immigration happy? If so, can you inform me of what is necessary? There are many folks that would love to find out.

Thank you

David

 

Morning all.

 

I have received a response from my email to Transferwise. It appears that they are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it. In the interim, they have provided a workaround. Here is the response in it's entirety.

 

David

 

----------------

 

Hello David,

Thank you for your email and I hope you’re doing well.

Sorry for the delayed response due to high email volumes at this time.

You’re right, we have been receiving an increasing amount of contacts with regards to getting proof of an international transfer.

It is possible for us to route a transfer to be sent out via Bangkok Bank. However, this will need to be manually done at this time.

Once the transfer has been created, you’ll need to reach out to TransferWise and share the transfer number with us. We’ll then tag the transfer and notify our payment team to ensure that it gets sent out via Bangkok Bank.

To prevent the transfer from progressing before we are able to identify and tag it, it is best that you do not send us the deposit until we confirm that the transfer has been tagged.

I understand that this is tedious and are working on making things more automated.

We also recently received an update from Bangkok Bank that they can issue a Confirmation Letter of International Funds Transfer from Bangkok Bank for the purpose of purchasing a condominium or getting a retirement Visa.

Once the funds have been delivered successfully, you’ll need to reach out to Bangkok Bank branch where your account is maintained and provide the following documents:

• Bangkok Bank savings passbook or statement showing fund transferred transactions
• Passport of the recipient
• Sales Purchase Agreement of the Condominium (only for purchasing condominium purpose)

*For non- Bangkok Bank recipients, you’ll will need to, contact Bangkok Bank head office to issue A Confirmation Letter of International Funds Transfer. (Instead of a Bangkok Bank savings passbook / statement you’ll need to provide the credit receipt of your bank)

Please note that there is an administration fee of 100 THB to produce the document.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reach out to us again should you require further assistance.

Have a great day ahead!

Best wishes,
Diana

 

[Genericnic]

1 hour ago, Genericnic said:

Morning all.

 

I have received a response from my email to Transferwise. It appears that they are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it. In the interim, they have provided a workaround. Here is the response in it's entirety.

 

David

 

----------------

 

Hello David,

Thank you for your email and I hope you’re doing well.

Sorry for the delayed response due to high email volumes at this time.

You’re right, we have been receiving an increasing amount of contacts with regards to getting proof of an international transfer.

It is possible for us to route a transfer to be sent out via Bangkok Bank. However, this will need to be manually done at this time.

Once the transfer has been created, you’ll need to reach out to TransferWise and share the transfer number with us. We’ll then tag the transfer and notify our payment team to ensure that it gets sent out via Bangkok Bank.

To prevent the transfer from progressing before we are able to identify and tag it, it is best that you do not send us the deposit until we confirm that the transfer has been tagged.

I understand that this is tedious and are working on making things more automated.

We also recently received an update from Bangkok Bank that they can issue a Confirmation Letter of International Funds Transfer from Bangkok Bank for the purpose of purchasing a condominium or getting a retirement Visa.

Once the funds have been delivered successfully, you’ll need to reach out to Bangkok Bank branch where your account is maintained and provide the following documents:

• Bangkok Bank savings passbook or statement showing fund transferred transactions
• Passport of the recipient
• Sales Purchase Agreement of the Condominium (only for purchasing condominium purpose)

*For non- Bangkok Bank recipients, you’ll will need to, contact Bangkok Bank head office to issue A Confirmation Letter of International Funds Transfer. (Instead of a Bangkok Bank savings passbook / statement you’ll need to provide the credit receipt of your bank)

Please note that there is an administration fee of 100 THB to produce the document.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reach out to us again should you require further assistance.

Have a great day ahead!

Best wishes,
Diana

 

I did a follow-up question about how and who to provide the transfer number to so that it could be tagged to go through Bangkok Bank. Here is the reply.

 

David

 

--------

 

There isnt a specific contact person or email you should reach out to. You can simply send us an email with the transfer number to [email protected]with the request to route via Bangkok Bank. Any customer support representative will be able to highlight the transfer to our payment team.

[sumrit]

That's really good news Genericnic, thank you very much for all your effort.

As some of us are still waiting for a response from them, just out of interest, which branch (country) of TW did you contact?

[Genericnic]

4 minutes ago, sumrit said:

That's really good news Genericnic, thank you very much for all your effort.

As some of us are still waiting for a response from them, just out of interest, which branch (country) of TW did you contact?

I just submitted the request through the contact form on their webpage.

 

David

 

[steve73]

Thanks David... some useful feedback there.

 

If they can ensure that all of my payments are routed through Kasikornbank it would be a great help... or is this likely to confuse them..?

[Genericnic]

15 minutes ago, steve73 said:

Thanks David... some useful feedback there.

 

If they can ensure that all of my payments are routed through Kasikornbank it would be a great help... or is this likely to confuse them..?

Based on the response from Transferwise, I would think that sending the support email with the transfer number and asking it to be tagged for KBank instead of Bangkok Bank would probably work though you might want to check with them first to confirm it.

 

David

 

[streetlite]

great information....thanks

[mikebell]

I am concerned about Buriram not accepting Embassy letters after March 1st.  My extension needs renewing in May so I got my letter in December and intend going next month.  Will Pattaya still accept this?

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

I am concerned about Buriram not accepting Embassy letters after March 1st.  My extension needs renewing in May so I got my letter in December and intend going next month.  Will Pattaya still accept this?

According to a sheet given to my friend yes, it is still accepted. 

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

I am concerned about Buriram not accepting Embassy letters after March 1st.  My extension needs renewing in May so I got my letter in December and intend going next month.  Will Pattaya still accept this?

March 1st had nothing to do with the income option.

It was only when the new rules for the 800k baht in the bank or the combination options went into effect,

[mikebell]

23 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

March 1st had nothing to do with the income option.

It was only when the new rules for the 800k baht in the bank or the combination options went into effect,

Thank you Joe/Jacko - I feel much better.

[Genericnic]

So, here is an update on my use of Transferwise to get funds to my Bangkok Bank account. See my prior posts in this topic for the preliminary information.

 

Last week, I contacted Transferwise support, gave them the transaction number, and asked them to tag my upcoming transfer to go through Bangkok Bank. Received a message back that they had done that and they indicated that it was permanently tagged to go that way unless I requested otherwise. At least for the next transfer, I will still drop them an email to confirmed it is tagged.

 

Last Thursday I initiated the transfer from my bank (Schwab). I received both an email notification of the initiation and also notification by way of their app (definitely get the app). Every time something moved ahead in the process, I got a new email and the app updated. Very impressed with the communications from them.

 

On Friday, I received an email from them advising me that due to a technical bug - which they had already corrected - the transfer would be delayed by two days. They also said they would waive the transfer fee on my next transfer of up to £500 or the equivalent due to the delay. Very nice.

 

An email and the app showed that they received the funds from my bank on Monday and they were in my Bangkok Bank account by early afternoon today (Tuesday). I checked my account through the Bangkok Bank app and it showed the exact amount was deposited and credited to my account as was stated in Transferwise's app. It appears that Bangkok Bank did not charge any fees for receiving the funds, probably because the conversion was done prior to the deposit (just guessing about that). The deposit showed up as an international transaction. I have not updated my passbook yet - will do that tomorrow - and will update this post if the deposit is listed as something other than an international transfer. 

 

The only fee for the whole transaction was the USD$19.10 that Transferwise charged. 

 

When I initiated the transfer, I got a decent conversion rate (31.79) which was good for about 35 or 37 hours if I remember correctly. When I got the note about the delay, I was curious to see if the rate would hold past the time. It did. I received that rate at the conversion. 

 

The money flow appears to be as follows:

 

Funds transfer from my bank to Transferwise account.

Transferwise deducts the transfer fee.

Balance is converted.

Balance is deposited in my account.

 

Overall, I am pleased with the company and the transaction. 

 

David

 

[Genericnic]

Just a final update on Transferwise.

 

I have used them for the past 3 months to do the transfers from my US bank to Bangkok Bank. As noted previously, the first transfer was a bit more complicated since I had to contact them to have them tag the transfer to route through Bangkok Bank rather than TMB or KBank. They hard tagged the transfers and now they all come through Bangkok Bank with no further need for me to contact them. The 2 subsequent transfers went smoothly and the money was deposited in my Bangkok Bank account within 48 hours. Each deposit has been listed as an FTT (international) transfer which should satisfy Immigration. Their phone app - mine is on Android - works very smoothly as well.

 

Each transfer got the mid-market rate that was listed on XE.com and the total cost averaged about US$18.00 on transfers of US2,150.00. 

 

While I would prefer to just use my ATM card to withdraw funds as needed from my US bank, Transferwise has made this process relatively painless for complying with the immigration rules. 

 

Overall, I would recommend them if you have to transfer money into Thailand.

 

David