Transferwise international transfers heads up

[soalbundy]

6 hours ago, SooKee said:

Jeez. Always something isn't there!! My transfers to BKK Bank from the UK have always shown as FTT. I even managed to get them to do whatever they do to ensure that funds will always be sent via Bangkok Bank. No idea if that will still work or not.

My last transfer to Bangkok Bank was 27 June and that showed as FTT. I've just initiated another small transfer to see what happens. What I did notice is that unlike where it normally tells me it will pay out tomorrow the app now tells me they've paid out THB already and it will reach my account within 6 hours. Doubtless the new system.

If this payment doesn't show as FTT that'll be TW off the list of options. That'll leave just 2 for me. OFX, which I have yet to use but which I'm told always shows as international, and Bangkok Bank's own fund sending service which thankfully I took the time to register for when I opened the Bangkok Bank account here in January.

OFX used to be quite a bit more expensive than TW to send money here but having checked today (I haven't compared rates in a while) there's barely anything in it, maybe as a result of TW upping their fees (funny that didn't get quite the same fanfare as when they reduced them around 2 months earlier).

So at least there's two other options, the difference between each I'll work out later if I need to. Then it'll be a case of sit back and wait for the next spanner in the works. It's getting tiresome for sure.

Of course there is the SWIFT option too but that's a no no for me. I use HSBC in the UK and they used to be brilliant a couple of years ago with a flat £4 transfer fee for SWIFT. Then suddenly they changed their banking arrangements and started using an intermediary to transfer to Thailand so your transfers started getting mugged en route. This was made worse by the fact you never knew how much was going to get taken. Send £1,000, pay £4 tx fee, only to find that only £958 had hit your account and got converted. A test I did earlier this year also showed a £100 transfer costing the same £4 and then getting hit by intermediary charges of £12! So even SWIFT can be pricey.

Could you please explain what a BKK fund sending service is ?

What we really need is a fund receiving service.

[wgdanson]

On 7/1/2019 at 12:25 PM, mosan said:

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think TransferWise is doing SWIFT transactions with their correspondent banks.  After talking with them, I was under the impression they have large account sums on deposit with their Thai correspondent banks here which is funded with their transfer fees.  When you fund your transfer overseas, they notify their account managers here in Thailand which then deposits the funds into your account here.  Hence, the lower fees and (sometimes) very short time necessary to complete the transfer.  Also, this is why if you're not using a TW correspondent bank, you will sometime get a transfer that's documented as a "domestic" transfer--as it essentially is one.  All that said, Bangkok Bank still has the best track record for showing your transfer as originating from overseas: e.g.; the FTT coding showing in the bank book...

My last 18 transfers, once a month, have shown FTT in my Bangkok Bank. Did 65k yesterday. Arrived as INTERBANK TRANSFER, and on the Transferwise receipt it shows that it went through Kasikorn Bank. Now off to Bangkok Bank to get paper to show it came from Kasikorn, and to Kasikorn to show it came from Transferwise. Pain in the bum!

[JAS21]

Yesterday I ordered 65.100thb ...this afternoon it shows on my BB App as an International Transfer ... exactly the same wording as last month ... tomorrow I'll go and update my book and see if it says FTT as per usual .... As far as I understand my account with TW is set up to always go direct to my BB account

[racyrick]

1 hour ago, wgdanson said:

My last 18 transfers, once a month, have shown FTT in my Bangkok Bank. Did 65k yesterday. Arrived as INTERBANK TRANSFER, and on the Transferwise receipt it shows that it went through Kasikorn Bank. Now off to Bangkok Bank to get paper to show it came from Kasikorn, and to Kasikorn to show it came from Transferwise. Pain in the bum!

What are the names of the papers you ask from both Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn to get the information.

Thanks!

[CharlieH]

Just now, racyrick said:

What are the names of the papers you ask from both Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn to get the information.

Thanks!

I believe it is "Credit advice" 

[Maestro]

9 hours ago, pontious said:

Not me. I sent 100,000 baht 2 days ago that arrived domestic. Useless for immigration. Sent 70,000 yesterday by swift using my uk bank. I will stick to the uk bank until TW offer a solution. They have no obligation to do so but they will lose a lot of customers.

Seeing that you sent Baht, not foreign currency, isn't it correct that it shows up as a domestic transfer?

[Maestro]

8 hours ago, SooKee said:

…Of course there is the SWIFT option too but that's a no no for me. I use HSBC in the UK and they used to be brilliant a couple of years ago with a flat £4 transfer fee for SWIFT. Then suddenly they changed their banking arrangements and started using an intermediary to transfer to Thailand so your transfers started getting mugged en route. This was made worse by the fact you never knew how much was going to get taken. Send £1,000, pay £4 tx fee, only to find that only £958 had hit your account and got converted. A test I did earlier this year also showed a £100 transfer costing the same £4 and then getting hit by intermediary charges of £12! So even SWIFT can be pricey.

Suggestion: Send an email to HSBC with the question "What are your correspondent banks in Thailand for GBP?"

 

After you get the answer, use one of these Thai banks to transfer your money to. This will avoid routing through an intermediary bank with the associated additional fee.

[Maestro]

1 hour ago, racyrick said:

What are the names of the papers you ask from both Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn to get the information.

Thanks!

 

The last time I had an inward foreign remittance to my Kasikorn account, in 2013, the printout I was given upon request was titled "CREDIT ADVICE / RECEIPT"

 

I don't know what Bangkok Bank calls this document.

 

 

[SooKee]

Suggestion: Send an email to HSBC with the question "What are your correspondent banks in Thailand for GBP?"
 
After you get the answer, use one of these Thai banks to transfer your money to. This will avoid routing through an intermediary bank with the associated additional fee.

It's the not the bank in Thailandv that's the problem. HSBC lost their arrangements in Thailand so use other intermediaries in the UK who do have arrangements. HSBC are very evasive about giving any details at all and a transaction track will cost you.

[SooKee]

Great to hear!!
 
Can you please tell me what was the amount you had transferred? This will help a lot.
 
Thanks!

This time just £200 as a test transfer.

[pontious]

3 hours ago, Maestro said:

Seeing that you sent Baht, not foreign currency, isn't it correct that it shows up as a domestic transfer?

I sent UK pounds.

[treetops]

9 hours ago, cassde said:

If I continue with TW, I get 3 transfers each month, i.e. 300 baht x 12 months = 3600 baht for the 12 months of letters.

Ask for a letter once every three months showing the past three months transfers.

 

You could ask one every 6 or even 12 months but I believe that may be more problematic.

[cassde]

Hi Maestro, this was what I received from HSBC in reply to the question you raised - Hello Derek. Thank you for your enquiry. I'm afraid we do not hold any information about correspondent or intermediary banks.

 

Very helpful don't think!

[Maestro]

3 hours ago, cassde said:

Hi Maestro, this was what I received from HSBC in reply to the question you raised - Hello Derek. Thank you for your enquiry. I'm afraid we do not hold any information about correspondent or intermediary banks.

 

Very helpful don't think!

In this case, I would change my UK bank. I would ask my Thai bank for its correspondent banks in the UK for GBP and change to one of these banks.

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, wgdanson said:

My last 18 transfers, once a month, have shown FTT in my Bangkok Bank. Did 65k yesterday. Arrived as INTERBANK TRANSFER, and on the Transferwise receipt it shows that it went through Kasikorn Bank. Now off to Bangkok Bank to get paper to show it came from Kasikorn, and to Kasikorn to show it came from Transferwise. Pain in the bum!

It is this randomness that makes it problematic. I have just been discussing with another poster how he will continue using TW to Bangkok Bank as so far all have gone directly. One fails and you either have to do it quickly again, or do as you plan. I was I guess fortunate that in my early association with Transferwise the first one went via TMB, and I decided TW is fine for transferring money I need, but not as a qualifier for the retirement extension. 

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

It is this randomness that makes it problematic. I have just been discussing with another poster how he will continue using TW to Bangkok Bank as so far all have gone directly. One fails and you either have to do it quickly again, or do as you plan. I was I guess fortunate that in my early association with Transferwise the first one went via TMB, and I decided TW is fine for transferring money I need, but not as a qualifier for the retirement extension. 

Here is the reply I got from Transferwise.

 

Thanks for getting in touch.

As spoken, for future transfers, please call in after you have created the transfer on your profile, but before you make your payment, to request for a specific payment route. We'll do our best to accommodate the request but do have to add that we aren't able to confirm it will succeed 100% of the time.

Meanwhile, please see the two attachments in this email. The deposit shows the instructions to make a payment from your UK account to us before we send it out on your behalf as shown in the transfer receipt. Hopefully, this would suffice for the authorities.

If that doesn't work, please try asking the bank to reject the funds back to us so that we can try to send it out again through our other partner, Bangkok Bank.

Hope that helps - if you have further questions, please feel free to ask!

Best regards,

 

[pontious]

28 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Here is the reply I got from Transferwise.

 

Thanks for getting in touch.

As spoken, for future transfers, please call in after you have created the transfer on your profile, but before you make your payment, to request for a specific payment route. We'll do our best to accommodate the request but do have to add that we aren't able to confirm it will succeed 100% of the time.

Meanwhile, please see the two attachments in this email. The deposit shows the instructions to make a payment from your UK account to us before we send it out on your behalf as shown in the transfer receipt. Hopefully, this would suffice for the authorities.

If that doesn't work, please try asking the bank to reject the funds back to us so that we can try to send it out again through our other partner, Bangkok Bank.

Hope that helps - if you have further questions, please feel free to ask!

Best regards,

 

Thanks for the update - if it is not 100 percent I will stick with SWIFT from my UK Bank. I do not want to but the risk is still there.

[dbrenn]

On 6/29/2019 at 7:48 PM, possum1931 said:

Transferwise will make problems for you rather than solve them. It took them 7 days and several phone calls before I got my money transfered into my Thai bank from the UK. I'm very wary of using them now.

I used Transferwise to send money to Thailand, and got a "This transfer is taking longer than expected" message. I Googled it, and there are indeed lots of horror stories about money getting held up for extended periods, accounts being closed with no explanation during transfers, knee-jerk avoidance of blame and poor customer service. 

 

In my case, the problem resolved itself in a couple of days, and the money arrived, but I'm not sure I'd use them again - they seem a bit risky and unreliable.

 

Edited July 5, 2019 by dbrenn

[Kadilo]

On 6/29/2019 at 5:52 PM, possum1931 said:

I had two transfers before and were completed very quickly, I was very impressed, the third one was a disaster. the fault was all on their side, I transferred my money the same way each time.

 

Have to agree. Have had similar problems and despite numerous email had no reply. I used them countless times for transfers prior to the new requirements and  the service was excellent but since the change in my opinion they are unreliable for transfers other that to BKK Bank. 

Personally I would rather the guarantee and peace of mind of paying the extra each month and use my U.K. Bank for Swift although I appreciate that for many they are still no. 1 choice. 

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Kadilo said:

Have to agree. Have had similar problems and despite numerous email had no reply. I used them countless times for transfers prior to the new requirements and  the service was excellent but since the change in my opinion they are unreliable for transfers other that to BKK Bank. 

Personally I would rather the guarantee and peace of mind of paying the extra each month and use my U.K. Bank for Swift although I appreciate that for many they are still no. 1 choice. 

My funds transfer was to Bangkok Bank, and Transferwise even told me my money was there 24 hours later. and it was not. It took 7 days before BB got it.

[racyrick]

2 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Here is the reply I got from Transferwise.

 

Thanks for getting in touch.

As spoken, for future transfers, please call in after you have created the transfer on your profile, but before you make your payment, to request for a specific payment route. We'll do our best to accommodate the request but do have to add that we aren't able to confirm it will succeed 100% of the time.

Meanwhile, please see the two attachments in this email. The deposit shows the instructions to make a payment from your UK account to us before we send it out on your behalf as shown in the transfer receipt. Hopefully, this would suffice for the authorities.

If that doesn't work, please try asking the bank to reject the funds back to us so that we can try to send it out again through our other partner, Bangkok Bank.

Hope that helps - if you have further questions, please feel free to ask!

Best regards,

 

Just a little confused on his reply.

Do you create the transfer and confirm to get a transaction number and then call TW or do you just set it up, call TW and then complete and give them the transaction number?

What confuses me is TW saying before you make payment.

[cassde]

Armed with the TW Transfer Confirmation document showing the routing from the UK, via Kasikorn Bank and Bangkok bank into my account, I visited both banks, but neither were able or willing to provide any document in support of the transfer in question. I pressed Kasikorn bank with there reference number, but still they were unwilling to assist. 

I have taken up the matter with TW and asked them to mark my account for transfers to be made direct to Bangkok Bank, like someone suggested in this forum. I await a reply.

 

[SimpleMan555]

FYI: Transferwise USA to Thailand 6/2/2019:

I initiated a transfer in USD from BOA to bangkok Bank via ACH to Transferwise on Tuesday morning July 2nd. Funds were received by Bangkok Bank on Thursday July 4th.  My online Bangkok Bank shows the proper 'International Transfer' notation.

 

Sorry for those have issues but maybe the following will help...

 

About 4 months ago, I read a thread here on TV about coding TW accounts to only use a specific receiving bank, thus hopefully insuring the proper FTT code.
I contacted Transferwise via email and request they 'Tag' my account to only use Bangkok Bank for my transfers. It took them 3-4 days to complete the process and reply back to me when finished. To date there have been no issues with my transfers being recorded as an 'International Transfer' (FTT).

 

Send emails to [email protected], and include your account information and the recipient account (your bank in Thailand) you wish to 'tag'.

 

Hopefully this is of some assistance to others, Cheers!

 

 

[pontious]

20 minutes ago, SimpleMan555 said:

FYI: Transferwise USA to Thailand 6/2/2019:

I initiated a transfer in USD from BOA to bangkok Bank via ACH to Transferwise on Tuesday morning July 2nd. Funds were received by Bangkok Bank on Thursday July 4th.  My online Bangkok Bank shows the proper 'International Transfer' notation.

 

Sorry for those have issues but maybe the following will help...

 

About 4 months ago, I read a thread here on TV about coding TW accounts to only use a specific receiving bank, thus hopefully insuring the proper FTT code.
I contacted Transferwise via email and request they 'Tag' my account to only use Bangkok Bank for my transfers. It took them 3-4 days to complete the process and reply back to me when finished. To date there have been no issues with my transfers being recorded as an 'International Transfer' (FTT).

 

Send emails to [email protected], and include your account information and the recipient account (your bank in Thailand) you wish to 'tag'.

 

Hopefully this is of some assistance to others, Cheers!

 

 

That is the same procedure as the email from TW in post #201- they will do there best BUT cannot guarantee it will come as FTT. They emailed me to say they had tagged my bank. 100,000 baht arrived 2 days ago as a SMT Domestic transfer.

Edited July 5, 2019 by pontious

[JAS21]

22 hours ago, JAS21 said:

Yesterday I ordered 65.100thb ...this afternoon it shows on my BB App as an International Transfer ... exactly the same wording as last month ... tomorrow I'll go and update my book and see if it says FTT as per usual .... As far as I understand my account with TW is set up to always go direct to my BB account

 

[MeePeeMai]

Well so much for my plan using the 65k per month route to get my next extension of stay.  I have used TransferWise for the past 13 months and all previous transfers have been coded as FTT (until yesterday).  My latest foreign transfer via TW to my Bangkok Bank account was coded SMART (as others have mentioned).  My embassy is one that gave its citizens the middle finger and stopped the income affidavits in Dec. of 2018.

 

Since it seems that getting assistance from BKK Bank regarding the credit advice slips is not possible and being that my Branch is on Silom Rd in Bangkok (I live in Isaan), my plans for getting my next retirement extension in Feb of 2020 have now changed.

 

I now plan to switch to "plan B" which is an extension based on marriage and 400k in my account.  This was not my first option though and I was hoping to avoid the added marriage extension hassles (kor ror 2, pics, witnesses and home visits etc.).  I do not wish to leave 800k in a bank here so an extension based on retirement seems to be dead for me now.

 

My home bank is a credit union, they do not have a SWIFT code (and don't do SWIFT transfers) so that is not an option for me either and being that this months transfer has been coded as SMART, there goes my history of 12 month continuous foreign transfers anyway.

 

I am thankful though that I have the ability to switch to an extension based on marriage... but I feel for those who are confronting this latest setback and do not have a Thai spouse.  It just seems like one challenge after another here lately and with the deteriorating USD to Thai Baht conversion rate, things are not getting any better.  

 

Every rose has its thorns (as they say), but this rose grows more and more thorns everyday.

 

 

[wgdanson]

My July Transferwise went via Kasikorn, to my Bkk Bank so shows as SMT in my book and on statements. Previously all previous transfers were FTT.

Went to Phitsanulok Immigration and showed them the T'wise paper showing 65k left UK on 3rd July and 65k arrived in my Bkk Bank on 4th.

All OK, accepted by them.

[cassde]

Hi WGdanson, did the IO accept your TW paperwork because they are allowed to be lenient in 2019, but for me using the same paperwork in 2020 may be more of a problem because my IO told me that they will be extremely strict next year in looking at the evidence of income each month. For July, I am therefore doing SWIFT transfers from my HSBC account to ascertain the charges in Bangkok Bank, as a plan 'B'. Ultimately, for August transfers I am applying for a Bangkok Bank London office transfer arrangement.

[graeme72]

On 6/30/2019 at 5:05 PM, racyrick said:

What bank was it sent to?

Transferwise to Kasikorn.

[cassde]

Yes, the intermediary bank in Thailand was Kasikorn, they then did a local bank transfer to Bangkok Bank, shown as a SMART transfer in my bkk savings book