US Bank Debit Card to transfer money to BKK Bank, Thailand?

[djeetyet]

I'd like to start a new thread about transferring money to BKK Bank from the US. In thread "New problems sending funds from the US to cover visa extension". kensisaket posted, "Get a debit card for your U.S. bank account. Then go to BKK bank accounts desk (you need to go to a bank, not an auxiliary). They have a debit card machine that you can use to transfer large amounts of money.  My U.S. credit union allows me to transfer $4000 USD per day with no fee on either end.  ...... It's an instantaneous transfer takes less than 2-3 minutes." 

 

Are others doing this? How is it working? Has anyone used this method with a CitiBank debit card? 

 

Thanks.

[ubonjoe]

Many people have been doing it for some time now but it calling a transfer is not correct.

You get the funds in cash or you can have it deposit in you bank account.

It will not work to use it as proof your funds were transferred into the country for proof of income when applying for an extension at immigration.

[Pib]

Its a combo type transaction really consisting of two transactions done one right after the other....can make a person think it only one transaction but it's really two.  You go into the branch and request a counter withdrawal (a.k.a., cash advance although it's not really a cash advance when using a debit card) and say you want it deposited into your bank account.   While it may appear as "one" transaction it's really two. 

 

First the bank rep completes the cash advance transaction and puts the funds in a bank holding account for a few minutes while completely finishing the first transaction.  Then the bank rep does the 2nd transaction that transfers the funds from the holding account to your account...the rep will probably have you sign a deposit slip.   You are now done....the deposit is coded as any other "local" deposit/transfer; not as an international transfer.  I've been doing it for years.

 

Now keep in mind you need to know how much withdrawal your "card-issuing" bank allow per day/transaction.  For many US debit cards it's a $1000 per day/withdrawal at the counter or ATM.  Other debit cards may allow a larger withdrawal at the counter.   If you ask for more than your limit your card-issuing bank will reject the transaction; don't blame that on the Thai bank.   The Thai bank may also have a limit...like the Krungsri branch I use has a Bt150K limit (a little under $5K USD).

 

The Thai bank may or may not charge a foreign card counter withdrawal fee of around Bt200.  And of course any fee your card-issuing bank may apply like a foreign transaction fee will be charged by your card-issuing bank.   

 

Additionally, some branches may only want to do the counter withdrawal if you accept their Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) rate versus the card network (Visa/Mastercard) rate...the bank DCC rate will probably be around 3% lower than the card-network rate.  DCC bad for the customer; good for the processing bank.

 

 

[JohnnyBD]

55 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Many people have been doing it for some time now but it calling a transfer is not correct.

You get the funds in cash or you can have it deposit in you bank account.

It will not work to use it as proof your funds were transferred into the country for proof of income when applying for an extension at immigration.

Unbonjoe,

Does the 40,000 THB for extension based on marriage need to be money transferred from overseas or can it be from any source? If it can be from any source, then doing debit card withdrawals and deposits could be a cheaper option than doing international transfers for some, correct?

Edited March 12, 2019 by JohnnyBD

[Henryford]

Can you use your debit card to transfer money from the US via Transferwise? If it goes into a Bangkok Bank account it (might) show as an international transfer. Plus you get a good rate.

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, JohnnyBD said:

Unbonjoe,

Does the 40,000 THB for extension based on marriage need to be money transferred from overseas or can it be from any source? If can be from any source, then someone could use the debit card withdrawal and deposit the cash into their Thai bank without making an international transfer, correct? Just asking, because it could be cheaper doing the debit card for some rather than doing international transfers.

Unless you are legally working here proof the money came from abroad is required.

From the amendment to clause 2.18 of police order 138/2557.

 

[JohnnyBD]

Thanks Ubonjoe.

Edited March 12, 2019 by JohnnyBD

[Nong Khai Man]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Many people have been doing it for some time now but it calling a transfer is not correct.

You get the funds in cash or you can have it deposit in you bank account.

It will not work to use it as proof your funds were transferred into the country for proof of income when applying for an extension at immigration.

Many people have been doing it for some time now but it calling a transfer is not correct.

You get the funds in cash or you can have it deposit in you bank account.....

 

Joe, Do you reckon this can be done with a U.K Debit Card ?? And would the charge be " Much the same " as drawing cash from the ATM ??

Edited March 12, 2019 by Nong Khai Man

[Pib]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

Can you use your debit card to transfer money from the US via Transferwise? If it goes into a Bangkok Bank account it (might) show as an international transfer. Plus you get a good rate.

Since debit card pulls money directly from your bank account you are really doing nothing but using your US bank account "BUT" also having to pay a higher Transferwise fee because you are using a debit card to fund the transfer vs having it pulled directly from your bank account.   Ex: see how Transferwise adds on an additional "healthy" fee when using a debit or credit card....for a $2,000 transfer another $14.89 debit card use fee on top of their standard fee.

 

 

 

[djeetyet]

Hey guys - thanks for all the great responses. I'm still not 100% clear on how this method differs from doing a normal ATM withdrawal in regard to the fee from the US bank (in my case Citibank). So, my bank merely registers it as a normal debit card transaction and I would only be paying a normal debit card transaction fee?

 

Also, no one at my BKK Bank speaks much English. What key words can I use (maybe put into Thai via Google Translate), to explain this. Is there a BKK Bank web page that explains this process? I couldn't find it. ;-(

 

Thanks

[thailand49]

20 hours ago, Henryford said:

Can you use your debit card to transfer money from the US via Transferwise? If it goes into a Bangkok Bank account it (might) show as an international transfer. Plus you get a good rate.

Yes, you can I did it last year, but if the amount is too large and you are here in Thailand got to get authorization from your institution which is what happens with my Credit Union.  I needed $30,000 I had to break it down to two 15,000 transfers which were done ACH, which has an added cost on top of what is being charged.  After doing the math it all came out in the wash since Transferwise provides a good rate.

[koratkarlos]

On 3/12/2019 at 11:03 AM, Henryford said:

Can you use your debit card to transfer money from the US via Transferwise? If it goes into a Bangkok Bank account it (might) show as an international transfer. Plus you get a good rate.

Yes.  It is one of the four payment options for the transfer of funds.  It shows as an international transfer. I have used it the last 6 months, however, I am having a problem with my Wells Fargo account in that anything over $ 500 initiates the Visa Verification menu, which requires an SMS keycode.  I also made a borderless account with Transferwise and they did acknowledge the two trial deposits.  So now I have Wells Fargo ACH transfer to my Transferwise borderless account, however, I am still failing the SMS keycode verification initiated by Wells Fargo.  So maybe I have to get a US phone the next time I am home.  My efforts with Google Voice are not working with Wells Fargo.