Alternative to Transferwise for Monthly transfers-new visa regs

[Tanoshi]

11 minutes ago, skatewash said:

 

 

Of course, it's not guaranteed to be coded as an FTT transaction, that's why there's a problem.  My what a long journey through "it's not an international transfer"-land we've been on only to get back to the starting line.  ???? 
 

 

Transferwise have 3 accounts in Thailand with BKK, Kasikorn and TMB.

If you have an account at a bank other than those 3, then they will always be coded as a 'domestic' transfer.

If you have an account with one of those 3 banks, unless it's credited to your account from the same bank's TW account, then it could be coded as domestic.

Only if it's paid from TW account in BKK to your BKK account is it guaranteed to be coded as FTT.

 

Transferwise are aware of this issue and Immigrations requirements for Thailand and are working on the issue.

Meanwhile if you bank with BKK, TMB or Kasikorn and want to guarantee it's coded as FTT, a temporary solution to this problem has already been announced by TW and posted on this forum.

[trd]

Transferwise have 3 accounts in Thailand with BKK, Kasikorn and TMB.
If you have an account at a bank other than those 3, then they will always be coded as a 'domestic' transfer.
If you have an account with one of those 3 banks, unless it's credited to your account from the same bank's TW account, then it could be coded as domestic.
Only if it's paid from TW account in BKK to your BKK account is it guaranteed to be coded as FTT.
 
Transferwise are aware of this issue and Immigrations requirements for Thailand and are working on the issue.
Meanwhile if you bank with BKK, TMB or Kasikorn and want to guarantee it's coded as FTT, a temporary solution to this problem has already been announced by TW and posted on this forum.

Now that is a useful piece of information.

[scubascuba3]

So we are back to the original post that Transferwise are technically all local transfers, lets move on

[skatewash]

5 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Transferwise have 3 accounts in Thailand with BKK, Kasikorn and TMB.

If you have an account at a bank other than those 3, then they will always be coded as a 'domestic' transfer.

If you have an account with one of those 3 banks, unless it's credited to your account from the same bank's TW account, then it could be coded as domestic.

Only if it's paid from TW account in BKK to your BKK account is it guaranteed to be coded as FTT.

 

Transferwise are aware of this issue and Immigrations requirements for Thailand and are working on the issue.

Meanwhile if you bank with BKK, TMB or Kasikorn and want to guarantee it's coded as FTT, a temporary solution to this problem has already been announced by TW and posted on this forum.

The workaround is explained here:

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1088490-alternative-to-transferwise-for-monthly-transfers-new-visa-regs/?do=findComment&comment=13920783

 

[Tanoshi]

30 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

To assume that you "own" the money while it is being transferred between your account in one country to your account in a different country defies the practices of modern commerce.  At best the money is in their name, held in trust for you

So what's the difference when you do a SWIFT transfer from bank to bank.

It can go through a intermediary clearing bank, in their name, held in trust for you.

 

Why do you think these types of transaction take up to 3-5 days to hit your account.

[thetefldon]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

So we are back to the original post that Transferwise are technically all local transfers, lets move on

My original post was asking about alternatives to TW and particularly First Direct bank in the UK........seems the thread has lost it's way somewhat

[scubascuba3]

My original post was asking about alternatives to TW and particularly First Direct bank in the UK........seems the thread has lost it's way somewhat

It's evolved, your op has been answered already? you'll be stung by an undisclosed £20 HSBC charge

[thetefldon]

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

10 minutes ago, thetefldon said:

My original post was asking about alternatives to TW and particularly First Direct bank in the UK........seems the thread has lost it's way somewhat

It's evolved, your op has been answered already? you'll be stung by an undisclosed £20 HSBC charge

Yes it has. The other alternative suggested is the Bangkok Bank London branch.....another 20GBP touch and a right rigmarole to register

[Tanoshi]

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

So we are back to the original post that Transferwise are technically all local transfers, lets move on

It's not that simple.

Bank to bank SWIFT transfers are also paid into your account 'locally'.

Individual banks in Thailand don't have SWIFT codes, that is limited to the Head office.

The HQ then make a local transfer to your account.

 

Individuals need to start updating their passbooks and looking at the coded transfer.

BKK inform the branch of the source, KK and TMB do not.

Passbook codes are not reliable, a 'TFR' or 'domestic' coded transfer in your passbook can be coded as 'International Transfer' on a bank statement, one reason many Immigration offices are advising expats to get 'bank statements'.

[SheungWan]

23 hours ago, Henryford said:

Maybe you didn't pay a fee but was the charge built into the lower exchange rate you got from BB.

There is no connection between any charges made by First Direct and the exchange rate provided by BB.

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, thetefldon said:

Yes it has. The other alternative suggested is the Bangkok Bank London branch.....another 20GBP touch and a right rigmarole to register

But you can continue to use TW for your transactions and guarantee it's recorded as FTT.

 

I'm with BKK and perhaps been fortunate that some 15 transactions have all been paid locally from TW's BKK account and therefore all coded as FTT in my passbook.

On my online bank statements, these are recorded as 'International transfers'.

[thetefldon]

4 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

But you can continue to use TW for your transactions and guarantee it's recorded as FTT.

 

I'm with BKK and perhaps been fortunate that some 15 transactions have all been paid locally from TW's BKK account and therefore all coded as FTT in my passbook.

On my online bank statements, these are recorded as 'International transfers'.

True. But I do not want to risk one transfer going wrong. I also dislike the workaround and cost wise on what I transfer each month the saving is not so great. The real positive with TW for me(prior to visa changes) was lack of hassle, two minutes on the computer and the money in my account in Thailand the next day.

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, trd said:

A swift transfer is different. That money is electronically transferred from one country to another and exchanged to the local currency.

Not always true. 

For certain types of transactions you can choose if your currency is converted before or after the transaction.

In other types of transfers, you have no choice, the currency is converted before making the transfer.

[trd]

Not always true. 

For certain types of transactions you can choose if your currency is converted before or after the transaction.

In other types of transfers, you have no choice, the currency is converted before making the transfer.

I would never choose to have Thai baht sent from my UK bank, only sterling because exchange rate is better.

 

[Tanoshi]

10 minutes ago, thetefldon said:

True. But I do not want to risk one transfer going wrong.

Why would it go wrong if you can 'tag' the transfer. It's one e-mail, no cost incurred.

TW will provide a permanent solution to this problem shortly.

 

12 minutes ago, thetefldon said:

I also dislike the workaround and cost wise on what I transfer each month the saving is not so great.

Respect your personal opinion, but you posted a difference of £6 per transaction previously.

£6 x 12 = £66 a year.

My personal philosophy is better in my pocket than theirs. ????

 

[Tanoshi]

6 minutes ago, trd said:

I would never choose to have Thai baht sent from my UK bank, only sterling because exchange rate is better.

 

You could arrange direct payments to your Thai bank from Pension providers.

You then wouldn't have a choice and the exchange rate is better than the Thai banks TT rate.

[trd]

You could arrange direct payments to your Thai bank from Pension providers.
You then wouldn't have a choice and the exchange rate is better than the Thai banks TT rate.

Can you explain why that is. Isn't the pension provider doing the same swift transfer from their Bank as I would be doing from my own bank therefore incurring the same TT rate.

[scubascuba3]

There is no connection between any charges made by First Direct and the exchange rate provided by BB.

Quite, but there are hidden charges on the Thai side which is why you need to see a credit advice

[jimn]

21 hours ago, glegolo said:

Yes Sir, I am 100% sure and also have back up check up done since a couple of years now. Sending thaibaht is much better then sending SEK.... The difference is about 5 satang between thaibanks and swedish banks doing the conversation..

 

glegolo

Ok thanks. It must be some difference in the way Swedish banks do the conversion. The UK method is usually 1 or 2 baht difference when sending baht.

[OJAS]

5 hours ago, thetefldon said:

Thanks, yes have used them in the past. I looked again recently, NOW there seems to be a new registration form to complete, that needs to be registered in London, if I am reading it correctly? Requires proof of address etc. I don't have a UK address anymore so is there a workaround?

The following thread, dating back to when Bangkok Bank's London branch introduced their current procedures 18 months ago, should include the necessary information on registering for this service from Thailand:-

 

 

EDIT: If, however, you have, indeed, used this service in the past as you have stated, you might not, in the event, need to go through this rigmarole (see @007 RED's posting at #109 on the final page of the aforementioned thread). I most certainly didn't need to do so before reverting to this service after 18 months of using TransferWise instead. I would therefore strongly advise you to initiate a token transfer like I did to (hopefully) confirm this.

Edited March 10, 2019 by OJAS

[Chongalulu]

On 3/9/2019 at 11:06 AM, wgdanson said:

I have recently made my 65k transfers to my Bkk Bank from First Direct, and was very pleased when the last one on 1st March arrived within 24 hours, in GBP, and was FREE OF CHARGE.

Just spoken with them and was assured that there are no fees when sending GBP to Thailand.

They say no fees which compared to other banks charging £20-25 sounds good,but when I went to transfer equivalent of 65k baht the exchange rate it offered was worse compared to my usual fx company by equivalent of £23 - so they’d just disguised the fee! 

[teetersb]

I am looking at Transferwise and they have what they call the New "Borderless" account they are promoting. Watched the videos and looked at the FAQ's and it looks like this would not show the FTT if I sign up, but there is nothing I can find to verify this. Do any of you with Transferwise know about this? Also, I found a Xoom transfer site. Still trying to find out more about it, but if anybody has used this service could you pleas advise?

[scubascuba3]

They say no fees which compared to other banks charging £20-25 sounds good,but when I went to transfer equivalent of 65k baht the exchange rate it offered was worse compared to my usual fx company by equivalent of £23 - so they’d just disguised the fee! 

You're meant to transfer £ rather than baht, but by the sound of it the HSBC charge will be £20 if you do that

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, nchuckle said:

They say no fees which compared to other banks charging £20-25 sounds good,but when I went to transfer equivalent of 65k baht the exchange rate it offered was worse compared to my usual fx company by equivalent of £23 - so they’d just disguised the fee! 

FD are correct that they do not charge a fee.

There transfer is to a clearing bank (HSCB) so it's a local transfer.

HSCB however do have a service charge, which will be later debited from your FD account.

 

A charge for transfers outside the EEA is transparent on FD's website.

 

Quote

Payments to outside the EEA

You have different options to; you pay all the charges, share the charges or for the beneficiary to pay all charges.

The charge(s) applied to the payment will depend on the charging option selected.

• If you opt to pay all the fees: The charges in the table above will apply together with any intermediary, agency and beneficiary bank charges.
• If you opt to share the fees: The charge in the table above will apply together with any intermediary and agency bank charges.
• If you opt the beneficiary to pay all fees: No charges will be applied.

https://www1.firstdirect.com/travel-and-international/international-payments/#in-more-detail

 

[Tanoshi]

4 hours ago, trd said:

4 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

You could arrange direct payments to your Thai bank from Pension providers.
You then wouldn't have a choice and the exchange rate is better than the Thai banks TT rate.

Can you explain why that is. Isn't the pension provider doing the same swift transfer from their Bank as I would be doing from my own bank therefore incurring the same TT rate.

The UK government and many other financial institutions worldwide use the BAHTNET system of transfers to Thailand through the Bank of Thailand.

If you elect to pay your UK state pension for example direct to your Thai bank account, the DWP use Citibank who are responsible to make the 4 weekly payments. Citibank exchange to the currency of the Country their sending to, before they then transfer through BOT into your Thai account.

Your passbook will record a BNT payment, whilst your bank statement will record a BAHTNET payment.

These are foreign transactions. The cost I believe is around £2.50.

 

On 12/2/19 the BKK TT rate was 39.95 - £1.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/View-Rates/Foreign-Exchange-Rates

A UK pension deposited in your BKK account that same day through BOT achieved a rate of 40.37 - £1.

That would be equivalent to, if not better than TW.

 

[trd]

The UK government and many other financial institutions worldwide use the BAHTNET system of transfers to Thailand through the Bank of Thailand.
If you elect to pay your UK state pension for example direct to your Thai bank account, the DWP use Citibank who are responsible to make the 4 weekly payments. Citibank exchange to the currency of the Country their sending to, before they then transfer through BOT into your Thai account.
Your passbook will record a BNT payment, whilst your bank statement will record a BAHTNET payment.
These are foreign transactions. The cost I believe is around £2.50.
 
On 12/2/19 the BKK TT rate was 39.95 - £1.
https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/View-Rates/Foreign-Exchange-Rates
A UK pension deposited in your BKK account that same day through BOT achieved a rate of 40.37 - £1.
That would be equivalent to, if not better than TW.
 

And will the BNT code satisfy immigration for pension income purposes?

[Tanoshi]

4 minutes ago, trd said:

And will the BNT code satisfy immigration for pension income purposes?

It has at mine, but they had to phone BKK to confirm it was a foreign transaction.

It was the first instance they'd seen a 'BAHTNET' coded deposit.

FTT they were already familiar with.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Tanoshi

[jacko45k]

6 hours ago, trd said:

It's not an international transfer if the Thai baht is coming from transferwise local Thai office is it?

Then why is Bangkok Bank quite clearly labeling it as an International Transfer?

[trd]

Then why is Bangkok Bank quite clearly labeling it as an International Transfer?

It was established a few posts back that there are three Banks transferwise uses as correspondence Banks. If you have an account there it would show up as international. BKK, Kasikorn and TMB. When I use Krungsri it's a domestic transfer.

 

[trd]

But some people have pointed out that even though that is the case there is no absolute guarantee it will always show an FTT code. Sometimes it doesn't.