65000 Baht Wire Transfer for Thai Retirement Visa (Failure and Scam)

[balo]

On 7/3/2019 at 12:37 PM, simple1 said:

Sounds as though your US bank are using Kasikorn as their corresponding bank who have charged the fee of 451 baht for the transaction. Not a rip-off / scam. If I were you I would send an email to Wells Fargo FX Department requesting a solution to your issue.

This. 

[tracy3eyes]

I just made transfers 5 June and 2 July and noticed that the transaction code in internet banking alongside the transactions is BAHTNET. I guess I am well and truly f.....

[Nowisee]

Perhaps a representative from the foreigner community or this forum could meet with head of immigration or head of local immigration offices and let them know about the transfer coding issue if they don't already know.  Ask them to be lenient and use discretion. 

 

[Pib]

11 hours ago, ThailandRick said:

Thanks... been reading into this one after reading a response earlier... I am awaiting to hear back from my bank if they are going to use or using the IAT format.  If it is like many government programs, they put the cart before the horse and many will be SOL.  However, they may give endless extensions til they figure it all out... I think they want to implement this structure throughout the states... wishful thinking... Will try to figure out an alternative just-n-case of a rainy day.  I started reading into Citibank, but it seems quite expensive for what you get.

 

Thanks...

Don't worry....your bank does "not" use ACH "IAT" format.  No known US bank/credit union uses ACH "IAT" format to "send", repeat, send ACH transfers; they just use the standard ACH "domestic" format.   When contacting your bank some rep may tell you they can process ACH IAT no problem (which is true)..but what they really mean is "receive" IAT format no problem....that does not mean they send using IAT format.  And don't be surprise if your bank rep might give a Deer in the Headlights response when talking ACH "IAT"....the IAT part is what may blind them whether they will admit it or not.

 

The domestic ACH format is a slimmer format and only meant for funds transfers staying within the U.S.   If your bank used ACH IAT format for sending you would know it when sending a transfer as you would need to enter the recipient name, address, and phone number along with a reason for transfer for each transfer.  Very similar when sending via International Wire (a.k.a., SWIFT).

 

ACH IAT is nothing new....as TallGuy said it's been around since 2009.  All US financial institutions can "receive" ACH IAT format transfers no problem; it's just for retail accounts they do not "send" in ACH IAT format.  Now, some large financial institutions/banks will offer ACH IAT sending capability for cooperate/business accounts which need to pay for foreign goods/payroll in a foreign country which may interface with the US ACH system.  But generally, banks use Int'l Wire/SWiFT for foreign transfers....and it definitely more profitable to them fee-wise compared to a free/low cost ACH transfer.  Banksters like fees. 

 

If you have been solely relying on using ACH via the Bangkok Bank New York routing number for your bank transfers you best get an alternative sending method lined up.   Bangkok Bank initially established a "line in the sand" cutoff for non-IAT transfers of 1 Apr 2019 but got an extension from the US Treasury to extend that to 30 June 2019 (new date announced by letter...I got one of those letters....but they left their website saying 1 Apr 2019).  Although not stated apparently the extension was due to many social security and other US govt pension recipients having their pension sent via ACH non-IAT format to Bangkok Bank....with the social security recipients apparently being of prime concern....don't want to impact the ol' folks.  This 30 Jun 2019 extension would give the Social Security Agency more time to fully implement its International Direct Deposit (IDD) to Thailand program which did go operational a month or so ago.  

 

And although ACH non-IAT transfers are still getting thru as of the first week of July 2019 that may be purely due to Bangkok Bank New York leaving the door open a little longer to allow any late June initiated non-IAT transfers to get thru since some US banks/credit unions might now actually transmit an ACH transfer until days after the customer initiated it.  Or, maybe Bangkok Bank NY got another short term extension which they have not announced on the website or via letter to customers in order to support some US govt pension payments which are still being paid in non-IAT format which is also allowing non-IAT transfers from banks/credit unions to also get through....go along for the ride.  When Bangkok Bank got their extension to 30 June they did not update their website to 30 June....they just announced it in letters to some customers....I was one of those customers who got the letter saying they would "try to continue thru 30 June 2019."

 

Yeap...you best have an alternate transfer method lined-up...have a Plan B....don't have all your eggs in one basket.  At some point the Bangkok Bank New York branch is actually going to enforce its line in the sand that it's drawn two times already (1 Apr and 30 Jun 2019)....and maybe has drawn an unannounced third line with an unknown date which they are keeping close-hold.

 

[dabhand]

37 minutes ago, Nowisee said:

Perhaps a representative from the foreigner community or this forum could meet with head of immigration or head of local immigration offices and let them know about the transfer coding issue if they don't already know.  Ask them to be lenient and use discretion. 

 

I understood that the embassies that have been the cause of this confusion made noises that they would liaise with Immigration in an attempt to iron out any such problems caused by their withdrawal of the income letters.

Of course, in reality, they are nowhere to be seen and have left their 'customers' (a term used by the BE) to their own devices in dealing with Immigration over this new system.

They will be well aware of the current issues but, as to be expected, are keeping well away even though there was a clear indication from the US and BE reps that contact was to be made with both Immigration and, I believe, some of the banks, to ensure a smooth transition.

I bet they are having a good laugh about all these moans and groans when they gather for a few drinkies of a Friday afternoon.

[Briggsy]

4 minutes ago, dabhand said:

I understood that the embassies that have been the cause of this confusion made noises that they would liaise with Immigration in an attempt to iron out any such problems caused by their withdrawal of the income letters.

Not sure you understand correctly. Immigration asked foreign Embassies to undertake work it does not and cannot do (income verification). Immigration have been vague and inconsistent about what qualifies. Immigration constantly passing the buck to others, first the Embassies, then the banks, then the applicants. This is an Immigration shambles from start to end. Many other countries manage residence and retirement schemes without this chaos. This is not the fault of the Embassies.

[luckyluke]

1 minute ago, Briggsy said:

This is not the fault of the Embassies

Absolutely,

 

only 3 embassies (Out of 70+) stopped issuing a Letter of Income/Affidavit. 

 

This is a fact. 

 

If those 3 had a good reason, or not, to do so is open to discussion/interpretation. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark1066]

On 7/3/2019 at 5:05 PM, usmike said:

think that Wells Fargo did transfer through Kasikorn Bank who used a rip-off exchange rate

Wells Fargo is the bank that used a “rip-off” exchange rate, not Kasikorn: you’re the one that decided to send the money in Thai baht so the conversion had nothing to do with any bank in Thailand. And nobody scammed you either. Your own bank should have made you aware they would have to use an intermediary. Stop trying to blame Thai banks for your own and your bank's incompetence.

[paulbrow]

Wells Fargo(WF) and Bangkok Bank(BBL) are my banks too. What I've found to be the best transfer method is to send US$ from WF to BBL. BBL's conversion to Baht is much cheaper than letting WF do the conversion!

[Nowisee]

2 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Not sure you understand correctly. Immigration asked foreign Embassies to undertake work it does not and cannot do (income verification). Immigration have been vague and inconsistent about what qualifies. Immigration constantly passing the buck to others, first the Embassies, then the banks, then the applicants. This is an Immigration shambles from start to end. Many other countries manage residence and retirement schemes without this chaos. This is not the fault of the Embassies.

 

Thai Immigration has the duty to verify,  just as the Thai Embassy/Consulates do in the USA to get the initial visa.  Not very difficult to do.  It's just verify the amount and the account holder.
It would have been helpful if the US Embassy/Consulate in Thailand could have facilitated or helped Thai Immigration by "verifying" names on pension or bank accounts.  Not much different from what they did already.  I believe that is within the scope of their abilities and I wonder if that would have satisfied Thai Immigration... who were clearly not willing to do their verification at all.
While we're on that.  Just what the hell do the other embassies verify that the US/UK/AUS/DNK did not?  
 

[ThailandRick]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

Don't worry....your bank does "not" use ACH "IAT" format.  No known US bank/credit union uses ACH "IAT" format to "send", repeat, send ACH transfers; they just use the standard ACH "domestic" format.   When contacting your bank some rep may tell you they can process ACH IAT no problem (which is true)..but what they really mean is "receive" IAT format no problem....that does not mean they send using IAT format.  And don't be surprise if your bank rep might give a Deer in the Headlights response when talking ACH "IAT"....the IAT part is what may blind them whether they will admit it or not.

 

The domestic ACH format is a slimmer format and only meant for funds transfers staying within the U.S.   If your bank used ACH IAT format for sending you would know it when sending a transfer as you would need to enter the recipient name, address, and phone number along with a reason for transfer for each transfer.  Very similar when sending via International Wire (a.k.a., SWIFT).

 

ACH IAT is nothing new....as TallGuy said it's been around since 2009.  All US financial institutions can "receive" ACH IAT format transfers no problem; it's just for retail accounts they do not "send" in ACH IAT format.  Now, some large financial institutions/banks will offer ACH IAT sending capability for cooperate/business accounts which need to pay for foreign goods/payroll in a foreign country which may interface with the US ACH system.  But generally, banks use Int'l Wire/SWiFT for foreign transfers....and it definitely more profitable to them fee-wise compared to a free/low cost ACH transfer.  Banksters like fees. 

 

If you have been solely relying on using ACH via the Bangkok Bank New York routing number for your bank transfers you best get an alternative sending method lined up.   Bangkok Bank initially established a "line in the sand" cutoff for non-IAT transfers of 1 Apr 2019 but got an extension from the US Treasury to extend that to 30 June 2019 (new date announced by letter...I got one of those letters....but they left their website saying 1 Apr 2019).  Although not stated apparently the extension was due to many social security and other US govt pension recipients having their pension sent via ACH non-IAT format to Bangkok Bank....with the social security recipients apparently being of prime concern....don't want to impact the ol' folks.  This 30 Jun 2019 extension would give the Social Security Agency more time to fully implement its International Direct Deposit (IDD) to Thailand program which did go operational a month or so ago.  

 

And although ACH non-IAT transfers are still getting thru as of the first week of July 2019 that may be purely due to Bangkok Bank New York leaving the door open a little longer to allow any late June initiated non-IAT transfers to get thru since some US banks/credit unions might now actually transmit an ACH transfer until days after the customer initiated it.  Or, maybe Bangkok Bank NY got another short term extension which they have not announced on the website or via letter to customers in order to support some US govt pension payments which are still being paid in non-IAT format which is also allowing non-IAT transfers from banks/credit unions to also get through....go along for the ride.  When Bangkok Bank got their extension to 30 June they did not update their website to 30 June....they just announced it in letters to some customers....I was one of those customers who got the letter saying they would "try to continue thru 30 June 2019."

 

Yeap...you best have an alternate transfer method lined-up...have a Plan B....don't have all your eggs in one basket.  At some point the Bangkok Bank New York branch is actually going to enforce its line in the sand that it's drawn two times already (1 Apr and 30 Jun 2019)....and maybe has drawn an unannounced third line with an unknown date which they are keeping close-hold.

 

Thanks for the detailed information... I may need to go back on ATM withdrawal worse case scenario.  I see some posts about transferwise but seem not very solid as of late.  Does anyone have an alternative method to get money into Thailand reasonably?  Seems to become very difficult like many things... 

[Pib]

10 minutes ago, ThailandRick said:

Thanks for the detailed information... I may need to go back on ATM withdrawal worse case scenario.  I see some posts about transferwise but seem not very solid as of late.  Does anyone have an alternative method to get money into Thailand reasonably?  Seems to become very difficult like many things... 

Transferwise is solid for getting money transferred to your Thai bank account.  I've used Transferwise for a half dozen or so Transferwise and they arrived quickly. 

 

However, if you are looking for specific coding/description on that Transferwise transfer that says it's an "international transfer" in your Thai bank passbook then that may not come true.   A lot will depend on which Thai partner bank Transferwise will use to complete the final leg of the transfer.

 

Transferwise  currently uses three Thai partner banks to accomplish the final leg of the transfer to any bank in Thailand....those partner banks are kinda like intermediary banks.  Those three partner banks are Bangkok Bank, Kaiskorn Bank, and Thai Military Bank (TMB).   If you happen to be transferring to an account you have at Bangkok Bank and Transferwise uses Bangkok Bank for the final transfer leg then chances are high (not 100%) the coding/description will reflect an international transfer. But if Transferwise say uses K-bank or TMB for the final leg over to your Bangkok Bank account then your transfer will not be coded as international.  Regardless of which bank in Thailand your account is with and which partner bank Transferwise decides to use for a transfer the coding/description might change from your last transfer....all depends on how Transferwise routes the money to you for that specific transfer.

 

And it appears that even if Bangkok Bank is used as the partner bank to a Bangkok Bank account  that some recent transfers have been showing up as SMT/SMART vs FTT/International Transfer.  Maybe that was a short term glitch (but the person still got their money).  But glitches can sure destroy an unbroken record of international transfer coding/description...like 12 months worth of international transfers for immigration extension of stay/visa purposes.

 

The coding/description received whether using Transferwise, SWIFT, ACH, etc., can change in the blink of an eye if the sending bank decides to uses a different routing to get the money to you....use a different routing that makes it cheaper for them and maybe you.   

 

You still get the money....the sending bank has done its job.  However, (and preaching to the choir I know) it's just the transfer coding/description may no longer satisfy some other requirement a person may have.  Like coding/description to satisfy immigration if using the monthly income/transfer method for extension of stay/visa purposes "and your immigration office gets anal about seeing such coding on the Thai bank document and not accepting other docs that reflect the international coding/description."   This can make it difficult and somewhat of a crap shoot depending on your immigration office.   

 

Hopefully over the coming months of numerous immigration offices being confronted with extension of stay applicants who have religiously done monthly international transfers but the Thai bank passbook coding/description may not reflect them as international transfers (but indeed they were) that the immigration offices will accept alternate docs that confirm it was an international transfer. 

 

Hopefully they will come to realize with all the different ways and methods to accomplish international transfers (ways/methods that will always be changing in this rapidly changing financial technology world) and only accepting Thai bank docs that clearly state a transfer was international is going to be very problematic/maybe impossible for many people.   People who are truly accomplishing international transfers but the durn Thai bank coding/description does to specifically say it's international...just shows it as any other transfer.  Time will tell.

 

 

 

 

[ThaiBunny]

6 minutes ago, Pib said:

I've used Transferwise for a half dozen or so Transferwise and they arrived quickly.

I've done 40+ transfers with Transferwise to multiple Thai bank accounts since late 2015 and the only problem I've ever encountered has been when IMHO they've over-promised and under-delivered in terms of the speed of the transfer

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

However, if you are looking for specific coding/description on that Transferwise transfer that says it's an "international transfer" in your Thai bank passbook then that may not come true.   A lot will depend on which Thai partner bank Transferwise will use to complete the final leg of the transfer.

 

I've mentioned the issue of Thai bank passbook coding here in other posts, in terms of its impact and acceptance by Thai Immigration.

 

One of the mods here has posted that he thinks Thai Immigration in general will be satisfied if the applicant can produce a bank letter showing the monthly international transfers confirmed as such, and a TH bank passbook showing those amounts incoming -- even if the passbook coding shows something other than FTT...

 

I don't know if that's true or not. I can't recall any/many posts here where Immigration's acceptance or rejection of applications with TH bank passbooks that had Bahtnet coding on international transfers has been addressed.

 

But I do know, I'd feel a whole lot more reassured if I started to see some posts here saying people had applied for extensions using the monthly foreign transfer method, their bankbook had Bahtnet coding for those transfers, and they were accepted by Immigration because the bank letter and matching amounts were enough for them.

 

[racyrick]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

Transferwise is solid for getting money transferred to your Thai bank account.  I've used Transferwise for a half dozen or so Transferwise and they arrived quickly. 

 

However, if you are looking for specific coding/description on that Transferwise transfer that says it's an "international transfer" in your Thai bank passbook then that may not come true.   A lot will depend on which Thai partner bank Transferwise will use to complete the final leg of the transfer.

 

Transferwise  currently uses three Thai partner banks to accomplish the final leg of the transfer to any bank in Thailand....those partner banks are kinda like intermediary banks.  Those three partner banks are Bangkok Bank, Kaiskorn Bank, and Thai Military Bank (TMB).   If you happen to be transferring to an account you have at Bangkok Bank and Transferwise uses Bangkok Bank for the final transfer leg then chances are high (not 100%) the coding/description will reflect an international transfer. But if Transferwise say uses K-bank or TMB for the final leg over to your Bangkok Bank account then your transfer will not be coded as international.  Regardless of which bank in Thailand your account is with and which partner bank Transferwise decides to use for a transfer the coding/description might change from your last transfer....all depends on how Transferwise routes the money to you for that specific transfer.

 

And it appears that even if Bangkok Bank is used as the partner bank to a Bangkok Bank account  that some recent transfers have been showing up as SMT/SMART vs FTT/International Transfer.  Maybe that was a short term glitch (but the person still got their money).  But glitches can sure destroy an unbroken record of international transfer coding/description...like 12 months worth of international transfers for immigration extension of stay/visa purposes.

 

The coding/description received whether using Transferwise, SWIFT, ACH, etc., can change in the blink of an eye if the sending bank decides to uses a different routing to get the money to you....use a different routing that makes it cheaper for them and maybe you.   

 

You still get the money....the sending bank has done its job.  However, (and preaching to the choir I know) it's just the transfer coding/description may no longer satisfy some other requirement a person may have.  Like coding/description to satisfy immigration if using the monthly income/transfer method for extension of stay/visa purposes "and your immigration office gets anal about seeing such coding on the Thai bank document and not accepting other docs that reflect the international coding/description."   This can make it difficult and somewhat of a crap shoot depending on your immigration office.   

 

Hopefully over the coming months of numerous immigration offices being confronted with extension of stay applicants who have religiously done monthly international transfers but the Thai bank passbook coding/description may not reflect them as international transfers (but indeed they were) that the immigration offices will accept alternate docs that confirm it was an international transfer. 

 

Hopefully they will come to realize with all the different ways and methods to accomplish international transfers (ways/methods that will always be changing in this rapidly changing financial technology world) and only accepting Thai bank docs that clearly state a transfer was international is going to be very problematic/maybe impossible for many people.   People who are truly accomplishing international transfers but the durn Thai bank coding/description does to specifically say it's international...just shows it as any other transfer.  Time will tell.

 

 

 

 

The biggest problem is that Immigration wants a letter from your bank confirming the overseas transfers and obviously the bank can't and won't do that if a transfer is coded SMT for Smart

[Pib]

TG,

  Yeap...I agree.   I hope immigration will be lenient & fair-minded in terms of the docs acceptable to them...Thai or foreign docs....that proves the transfer was an international transfer regardless of the coding/description on the Thai bank book.   

 

   There are going to be codes like BTN/Bahtnet and SMT/SMART for some international transfers simply because the last leg of that transfer was from an intermediary/partner Thai bank.

 

  I would think there are going to be many extension of stay applicants in the situation and immigration offices are simply (hopefully) going to realize international transfers can be handled and coded in numerous ways and different Thai banks have different polices in the type of documents they will provide.  

 

   And of course we will see reports both ways....some offices being fair-minded; others being anal. 

 

 

[Seligne2]

BBank has a branch in New York. Wells Fargo transfers to them (domestic transfer) and NY puts it in your Thai BB account (international transfer). Easy.

[Pib]

20 minutes ago, Seligne2 said:

BBank has a branch in New York. Wells Fargo transfers to them (domestic transfer) and NY puts it in your Thai BB account (international transfer). Easy.

You apparently missed the Bangkok Bank memo that been out for over a year and talked extensively on Thaivisa stating that service is going away very soon for a domestic ACH transfer; only ACH International ACH Transaction (IAT) transfers will be accepted.  And Wells Fargo, like other US banks/credit unions, do not "send" in ACH IAT format; only domestic ACH format.

 

Acceptance of domestic ACH transfers was supposed to stop 1 Apr 2019 per Bangkok Bank website....extended to 30 Jun 2019 in a separate memo....and now apparently they are keeping the door open a little longer due to US govt payment needs which in turn allowing all domestic ACH transfers to continue to work....but the door should be closing soon. 

 

In fact, if you didn't already have a Wells Fargo ACH transfer link setup if you tried to setup one now using the trial deposit verification method Bangkok Bank NY would reject the trial deposits and Wells Fargo in turn would disapprove the ACH transfer link setup.  All part of the steps Bangkok Bank is taking to only accepting ACH transfers in the IAT format required by the US Treasury.

Edited July 5, 2019 by Pib

[Maestro]

16 hours ago, Nowisee said:

Perhaps a representative from the foreigner community or this forum could meet with head of immigration or head of local immigration offices and let them know about the transfer coding issue if they don't already know.  Ask them to be lenient and use discretion. 

 

Give immigration the letter from your bank staying that the remittances came from abroad, then immigration does not have to bother with trying to decipher the codes in your bank book.

[pontious]

3 hours ago, Maestro said:

Give immigration the letter from your bank staying that the remittances came from abroad, then immigration does not have to bother with trying to decipher the codes in your bank book.

'Your' bank will only give a letter showing international transfers to them. If they arrived domestic they will not show on a letter. Someone on here or the other thread spent 5 hours between his and the intermediary bank and still failed to get anything.

[cassde]

On the 2nd July 2019 I obtained my Extension of stay based on retirement using the Income method at CW. I did not have the Letter listing International transfers but my bank statements supplied to Immigration did identify them, as did my savings passbook. As a condo joint owner, the IO dealing with the Extension required me to submit a TM30 form. I went to that Section (B), paid a 800 baht fine and received the necessary paperwork. Then back to the IO who granted my Extension. However, the IO stressed that in 2020 the Immigration department will strictly enforce the relative rules and regulations. In fact, the IO required me to write a letter in long-hand to 'Dear Immigration, in the year 2020 I will follow all Immigration rules and regulations associated with the 65000 baht income method', and sign it.

The IO stressed that Immigration will show leniency for 2019 Extensions, but that in 2020 the rules and regulations relative to the income method will be strictly applied. Therefore bank passbooks will need International transfers marked accordingly.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 hours ago, pontious said:

'Your' bank will only give a letter showing international transfers to them. If they arrived domestic they will not show on a letter. Someone on here or the other thread spent 5 hours between his and the intermediary bank and still failed to get anything.

 

That's the kind of thing I would be afraid of...if the transfer is arriving on its last leg via BTN or SMT... And that's before you even get to Immigration!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, cassde said:

Therefore bank passbooks will need International transfers marked accordingly.

 

But what exactly do you or they mean by that... marked accordingly?

 

How were the transfer entries in your bank passbook coded? And if the IO looked at that coding, what was their response to it?

 

Was there some particular reason you didn't get a TH bank letter summarizing the foreign transfers you were using for Immigration purposes?

 

In other words, was the leniency they show you this year giving you an extension without you having submitted the proper bank letter, and/or because of non-intl coding on your bank passbook entries?

 

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Martyp]

I was a 35 year Wells Fargo customer. After I moved to Thailand in 2017 I switched to Bank of America. I've been happy with BofA. Others have said the BofA wire transfer fee is $45 but I just checked my bank statement and I'm paying a $35 fee with each transfer. All of my transfers from BofA to Kasikorn are marked as domestic transfers. 

 

I talked to Kasikorn about this last fall and they confirmed that money was being routed to them from another Thai bank. I sort of assumed this. In addition they said that they could produce a report tracing the origin back to America. It would be a 100-200 baht fee and may take 1-2 weeks to produce the report. I've seen one post from someone who did this to submit to Immigration and I think they were successful. You would think that by now you would see more reports of success of this method but I think people who are successful are just happy to move on and not report their experience. 

 

I should mention that BofA has something called a SafePass card. It is the size of a credit card and generates a 6 digit code at the press of a button on the card. You enter the number from the card. This means you don't have to use an US phone to receive an SMS message with a code. They won't issue one until you have had your account for 1 month. You need a US address. They mailed the card to my US address (my sister's house) and she mailed it to me. I've been using it for almost 2 years and it works great.

 

I still keep a US phone number but it is the cheapest plan I could buy and has a feature called International Day pass. It charges me $10 when I turn on the US number for 24-hours. I don't use the monthly income method. I have had 800,000 baht in my Kasikorn account for several year now. I transfer money every other month which halves my fee expense and I seldom use my US phone number for anything.

 

I have to agree with others that sending exactly 65,000 baht was a bit foolish but live and learn. I've made a few mistakes when I first came here.

 

My problem with Wells Fargo was this - They have a pretty good fraud detection algorithm and would occasionally find problems with fraud and call me about it. In the US I loved this service. In Thailand it didn't work so well. I set up my wire transfer account from WF to Kasikorn. I then sent myself a $50 test transfer. The next day I found that they had frozen all of my accounts suspecting fraud. I gave them my verbal password which they acknowledged was correct but they wouldn't unfreeze my accounts unless I visited a branch in the US and showed them two forms of identification. I literally had to fly to San Francisco to unfreeze my accounts. Later, I used the US Consumer Financial Bureau to lodge a complaint and WF reimbursed me for the travel expenses. However, I had to leave WF if they had no means of identifying me remotely. It's two years later maybe they have improved procedures. Anyway, you've been warned.

 

There are a lot of people with their own reasons for using the monthly income method but all I can say is that the 800,000 banked money method is clear and hasn't presented itself with all the uncertainty that the monthly method has caused. I realize this is an individual decision and preference.

 

 

[pontious]

7 hours ago, cassde said:

Therefore bank passbooks will need International transfers marked accordingl

Jomtien for example want a letter from the bank { example posted on Pattayacity expats club {  Showing your monthly international transfers. They are not interested in your bank book.

They, I assume, will have no interest in looking at numerous pages of bank books and PDF files from TW that they will not understand.

Edited July 6, 2019 by pontious
add

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

But what exactly do you or they mean by that... marked accordingly?

 

How were the transfer entries in your bank passbook coded? And if the IO looked at that coding, what was their response to it?

 

Was there some particular reason you didn't get a TH bank letter summarizing the foreign transfers you were using for Immigration purposes?

 

In other words, was the leniency they show you this year giving you an extension without you having submitted the proper bank letter, and/or because of non-intl coding on your bank passbook entries?

 

 

As I said on another similar post, my July Transferwise 65k went via Kasikorn Bank to my Bkk Bank and shows as SMT. All previous ones were direct to Bkk as FTT.

Went to Phitsanulok Immigration, showed them the paperwork from T'wise and Bkk Bank showing that 65k left UK on 3rd and 65k arrived in Bkk Bank on 4th.

IO said he will accept it, no problem. I shall wait until December !

Edited July 6, 2019 by wgdanson

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

51 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

As I said on another similar post, my July Transferwise 65k went via Kasikorn Bank to my Bkk Bank and shows as SMT. All previous ones were direct to Bkk as FTT.

Went to Phitsanulok Immigration, showed them the paperwork from T'wise and Bkk Bank showing that 65k left UK on 3rd and 65k arrived in Bkk Bank on 4th.

IO said he will accept it, no problem. I shall wait until December !

 

So you didn't actually have them process your extension application now... just checking with them for the future?

 

How do you think your future monthly foreign transfers are going to be coded for the months ahead?

 

If you were to go back in the future with a year's full of SMT coded transfers, I wonder if they'd be so accommodating?

 

PS -- There have been other reports, I believe out of the north IOs, of applicants trying to show Immigration their Transferwise or other non-Thai entity paperwork, and the IOs didn't even want to look at it. Only wanted to see the letter from the Thai bank confirming foreign transfers and the matching Thai bankbook entries.

 

 

[Maestro]

4 hours ago, wgdanson said:

As I said on another similar post, my July Transferwise 65k went via Kasikorn Bank to my Bkk Bank and shows as SMT. All previous ones were direct to Bkk as FTT.

Went to Phitsanulok Immigration, showed them the paperwork from T'wise and Bkk Bank showing that 65k left UK on 3rd and 65k arrived in Bkk Bank on 4th.

IO said he will accept it, no problem. I shall wait until December !

What else, in addition to the application form and the bank book, do you plan to bring along to immigration in December?

[wgdanson]

1 minute ago, Maestro said:

What else, in addition to the application form and the bank book, do you plan to bring along to immigration in December?

Letters from Bangkok Bank showing foreign transfers, letter showing balance, and Transferwise recipts, which I showed him yesterday and he said OK.

[ThaiBob]

On 7/4/2019 at 8:23 AM, Henryford said:

The answer is to use Transferwise. They give a good, fixed rate when you initiate the transfer. The money is in your bank within 1 day. Their fees and rate are clearly set out. My transfers to Bangkok Bank have the FTT prefix.

Sorry, TW no longer an option, on July 1st my TW transfer was coded SMT, so I must send money a guaranteed FTT way. Beware of TW!