Pay USA credit card bills on internet from Thai bank?

[AndyDo]

   Is it possible to pay credit card bills from account in Kasikorn bank?   I plan to have Social Security benefits direct deposited in Kasikorn as required for proof of income by Thai Immigration, along with a little extra from grown children to meet the required minimum of 65,000 bahts per month.  Then I must pay a few credit card bills in U.S., using internet.

   I presently direct deposit SS benefit in credit union in USA and schedule payment bills every month on internet.  I have been in Thailand four years on retirement visa and have provided Thai Immigration proof of income every year with affidavit from American Consulate in Chiang Mai. 

     I am wheelchair bound and have difficulty going to bank, so I need to do as much as possible on internet.  I give an ATM card to my landlady to withdraw money from credit union on ATM to pay her for salary, room and board for me.  She has an account at Kasikorn, so, in the future, I can transfer money I pay her every month directly to her account. 

      Can anyone tell me if this is possible -- to schedule payment of bills in USA on internet from Thai bank?  Landlady not good with English and I'm not good with Thai.  Can't get info I need from Kasikorn website. Cost of direct deposit? Cost of each transfer to credit card site?  I could make one transfer back to credit union and pay bills from there, if need be.

    I have letter from Thai Immigration giving permission to open account in Thai bank.  

    I would be grateful for any information and/or advice.

[timendres]

I have never been able to find a way to directly pay my US CC bills from a Thai bank. I use PayPal to push money to a US account, then pay them from there. This is an expensive way to go. Otherwise, with some effort, you can setup your Thai bank account to transfer money directly to your US bank account, but many banks will not do this unless you have a work permit. I suspect there are other circumstances in which it can be setup without a WP, but I am not aware of them.

[Pib]

You will not be able to pay USA bills from your Thai account like are hoping for.  That's the same thing as transferring money out of Thailand and you know how Thai banks tightly control the outflow of funds.   You will need to pay from a US bank....figure out a way to keep X-amount of funds in your US bank acct to pay US bills.  SWIFTing funds from your Thai bank to your US bank can be done but it will cost you approx Bt400 to Bt1200 per transfer plus about a 1% loss on exchange rate.

 

 

[AndyDo]

1 hour ago, timendres said:

I have never been able to find a way to directly pay my US CC bills from a Thai bank. I use PayPal to push money to a US account, then pay them from there. This is an expensive way to go. Otherwise, with some effort, you can setup your Thai bank account to transfer money directly to your US bank account, but many banks will not do this unless you have a work permit. I suspect there are other circumstances in which it can be setup without a WP, but I am not aware of them.

Thanks!  I am selecting Kasikorn because it has a U.S. branch and landlady has an account there.  But I must pay credit card bills.  I can charge to them here in Thailand for health services.  Can transfer money easily to U.S. branch of Thai bank from U.S. bank, seems reverse would be same. Is it possible to do all transactions in Thai bank through internet?  That is very important to me!

Edited August 31, 2019 by AndyDo
Correct typos.

[AndyDo]

18 minutes ago, Pib said:

You will not be able to pay USA bills from your Thai account like are hoping for.  That's the same thing as transferring money out of Thailand and you know how Thai banks tightly control the outflow of funds.   You will need to pay from a US bank....figure out a way to keep X-amount of funds in your US bank acct to pay US bills.  SWIFTing funds from your Thai bank to your US bank can be done but it will cost you approx Bt400 to Bt1200 per transfer plus about a 1% loss on exchange rate.

 

        Thank you for response.  Can I do SWIFT through intrrnet? Just log into Kasikorn account, transfer maybe $700 to credit union and then pay credit card bills as I have for years?  What is rate for charging fee?  

    Losing Consulate affidavit really hurts.  Banks must have lobbied for getting rid of it.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2019 by AndyDo
Correct response.

[Pib]

Don't know about Kaiskorn having a US branch.   But if they do it's operating as a licensed US bank; not as a Thai bank.   Just because some Thai banks have branches in other countries does not mean they directly interface with each other.

 

And usually Thai branches in other countries are operating as a corporate/wholesale bank and not as a retail bank...does not open accts for Joe off the street...only has business accts.

 

You can pay bills using Thai ibanking,...but it "Thai" bills you can pay; not bills in other countries.   Just like you can not pay Thai bills from your US credit union. 

 

Regarding doing a SWIFT via K-bank ibanking I expect you would have to get approval from K-bank first which usually requires a "work permit" and the max you can send back monthly is usually limited to your monthly pay---pay you earn in Thailand from working....they refer to it as repatriation of pay.  But you are not working in Thailand...do not have a work permit.    You would physically need to go to a branch to do a transfer where a work permit would many times not be required....the fee range is as I mentioned earlier.

 

Probably best to try to keep X-amount in your US credit union acct by periodic transfers....say maybe transfer several times per year vs monthly....keep the credit union acct topped enough to pay your monthly bills although you only top-up the credit union acct say 4 times a year to reduce the number of SWIFT transfers needed and associated fees.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2019 by Pib

[AndyDo]

Pib---  Thanks, very much!  Very helpful!  One more thing:  Deposit in Thai bank is to satisfy requirement for proof of income for retirement visa. Do you think Thai Immigration might object to using some of my income outside Thailand , back in USA?  It is what I have been doing all the four years I've been  in Thailand.  I hate to ask Thai Immigration questions I don't want to hear the answer to.  I have no work permit and don't want one.  My landlady likes working at home, earns more from me than previous jobs clerking at mall kiosks and cleaning businesses.  

    Five Thai banks have branches in USA.  U.S. Social Security requires foreign bank to have U.S. branch to make direct deposits.  Kasikorn and Bangkok are two; I forget the other three, but info is on SS public website.

     I'm now prepared to visit Kasikorn in Chiang Mai. Thanks, again!

Edited August 31, 2019 by AndyDo

[timendres]

2 hours ago, AndyDo said:

Thanks!  I am selecting Kasikorn because it has a U.S. branch and landlady has an account there.  But I must pay credit card bills.  I can charge to them here in Thailand for health services.  Can transfer money easily to U.S. branch of Thai bank from U.S. bank, seems reverse would be same. Is it possible to do all transactions in Thai bank through internet?  That is very important to me!

I was not aware that KBank has a US branch. Are you sure you are not talking about Bangkok Bank, which has a branch in New York? The BBK NY branch is a special type of bank branch that cannot perform commercial services - i.e., you cannot walk into the branch to conduct business. It is essentially a clearing station only. Furthermore, BBK NY can only receive deposits electronically, it cannot send money out. In other words, it is setup only to receive USD that one wishes to place into their BBK account as THB. Money can come in, but it cannot go out.

 

I like KBank, and I believe their Internet and Mobile banking is the best in the industry. I solved my problem by getting a KBank "virtual credit card" (or what they sometimes refer to as a "web credit card") that I am able to use for essentially every transaction I do over the Internet - including subscription payments for my hosting services. Likewise, I can use my KBank Debit Card for all purchases (including health services) here in Thailand - with no fees or exchange rate issues! With this combination, I have not used any of my US CC's in more than 3 years.

[dimitriv]

I think you can use Transferwise for this.  Maybe you can use the Thai credit card to pay Transferwise, so they can transfer that money to a US bank account.

It did similar things often, only never tried this with a Thai credit card. Transferwise fees are usually very reasonable.

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2019 by dimitriv

[Thomas J]

It would be foolish to do so.  You would be paying the exchange from dollars to baht then paying again converting from baht to dollars.  It would be better if you left some of the pension dollars you have in the USA and paid your credit cards by electronic payment from a U.S. bank.  An even smarter solution would be to get a credit card here in Thailand.  They really are "secured" credit cards.  They open a second savings account with lets say 100,000 baht and it is used to grant you a credit card with a limit of 100,000 baht.  If you don't pay your bill, they use the savings to pay it off.  You can use your credit card either a Master Card of Visa issued from Thai Bank just exactly as if it was a U.S. based credit card.  If you are charging things in Thailand it is even better since you avoid any exchange or foreign transaction fees. 

 

[Pib]

14 hours ago, AndyDo said:

Pib---  Thanks, very much!  Very helpful!  One more thing:  Deposit in Thai bank is to satisfy requirement for proof of income for retirement visa. Do you think Thai Immigration might object to using some of my income outside Thailand , back in USA?  It is what I have been doing all the four years I've been  in Thailand.  I hate to ask Thai Immigration questions I don't want to hear the answer to.  I have no work permit and don't want one.  My landlady likes working at home, earns more from me than previous jobs clerking at mall kiosks and cleaning businesses.  

    Five Thai banks have branches in USA.  U.S. Social Security requires foreign bank to have U.S. branch to make direct deposits.  Kasikorn and Bangkok are two; I forget the other three, but info is on SS public website.

     I'm now prepared to visit Kasikorn in Chiang Mai. Thanks, again!

Immigration don't care how you spend you money....all they want to ensure you meet the minimum income requirements for the extension of stay.

 

Thai bank branches in the US are commercial/cooperate/specialized branches focusing on big business; not retail customers like you or me...you can not open an acct with them as retail customer.    

 

The only Thai bank branch in the US that might be of use to you is the Bangkok Bank New York which govt benefit payments such as social security can be routed through onto your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account.   You don't need an account at their NY branch to do this as you are only using their routing number to relay the funds to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank acct....been in used for decades...but this only works if you have a Bangkok Bank acct...does not work with other Thai banks like K-bank.  But this does not help you in paying your US bills like you are asking about.

 

Additionally no other Thai bank other than Bangkok Bank can receive US govt payment via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system which govt agencies such as the SSA use to make benefit payment to US banks. The govt is using ACH to make you SS payment to your credit union.  Repeat, no other bank other than Bangkok Bank.   Now you can also sign up for the International Direct Deposit (IDD) which is completely different than the ACH method and have you SS payment direct deposit into any Thai bank...the money is sent via SWIFT vs ACH.  Once again, just FYI....does not help you in getting your US bills paid from a US bank.

 

 

 

[Pib]

14 hours ago, dimitriv said:

I think you can use Transferwise for this.  Maybe you can use the Thai credit card to pay Transferwise, so they can transfer that money to a US bank account.

It did similar things often, only never tried this with a Thai credit card. Transferwise fees are usually very reasonable.

You can not transfer funds out of Thailand using Transferwise....you can not do a THB to USD transfer regardless of the funding method.   

[ThaiBunny]

You can pay an American Express card anywhere in the world, including from a Thai bank account - I've done it many times. Visa and Mastercard - no. I doubt you can pay a foreign supplier from a Thai bank account. If your suppliers in the US accept Amex then that's a possibility

Edited September 1, 2019 by ThaiBunny

[Pib]

15 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

You can pay an American Express card anywhere in the world, including from a Thai bank account - I've done it many times. Visa and Mastercard - no. I doubt you can pay a foreign supplier from a Thai bank account. If your suppliers in the US accept Amex then that's a possibility

Can you provide more specifics on how you linked your Thai bank acct to pay AmEx...how you are paying the AmEx from your Thai bank acct?

 

I just logged onto my U.S. AmEx acct where I have two US bank accts loaded to pay the bill, and when I clicked to add another bank acct it only allows US banks to be added as a payment source....that is, you needed to enter the ACH routing number of the bank which only a US bank would have.  Not allowed to add a bank acct from another country.

 

Maybe your AmEx card is not a US-issued card.

[ThaiBunny]

7 minutes ago, Pib said:

Can you provide more specifics on how you linked your Thai bank acct to pay AmEx...how you are paying the AmEx from your Thai bank acct?

 

I just logged onto my U.S. AmEx acct where I have two US bank accts loaded to pay the bill, and when I clicked to add another bank acct it only allows US banks to be added as a payment source....that is, you needed to enter the ACH routing number of the bank which only a US bank would have.  Not allowed to add a bank acct from another country.

 

Maybe your AmEx card is not a US-issued card.

You appear to think the only way to pay your Amex card is by initiating a demand from Amex to your bank. If you log on to your Thai bank and find the list of entities you can pay, you will find Amex. You then just type in your Amex card number as the reference. It's a push, not a pull (as the bishop said to the ... )

[Pib]

10 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

You appear to think the only way to pay your Amex card is by initiating a demand from Amex to your bank. If you log on to your Thai bank and find the list of entities you can pay, you will find Amex. You then just type in your Amex card number as the reference. It's a push, not a pull (as the bishop said to the ... )

Just checked my Bankgok Bank bill payment....they only allow payment to a "Thailand-issued" American Express card (or at least it implies that); not foreign.  And that payment would be in Thai baht vs US dollars needed for a US-issued AmEx card.

 

What country is your AmEx card issued from...Thailand, U.S., etc?

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by Pib

[rwill]

would it be possible to use deemoney for this?  At least you could send your money back to a US bank account to pay.  It's going to cost you more though.

 

Edit:  Just looking at their website it looks like they don't transfer to USA.

Edited September 1, 2019 by rwill