Transferring Money to Someone within Thailand Who Does Not Have a Bank Account

[allane]

This morning I was confronted with a request from someone elsewhere in Thailand for a loan to cover an emergency situation. The other party is on an extension of a tourist visa and does not have a bank account.  I went to a branch of Bangkok Bank to withdraw the money, and make a transfer by Western Union. The clerk attempting to do it looked as though she had never done it before, and it was taking her forever, including telephone calls to Bangkok, asking what button to push next.

While waiting for her, I got talking to the manager.  He said that I could do a transfer to any branch of Bangkok Bank for a fee of B 30, and that the recipient could claim the money, even if he does not have a Bangkok Bank account.  It sounded too good to be true. I was unable to reach the recipient by telephone, and since the W. U. transfer was already progressing (if slowly), I decided not to change horses in midstream.

Is this type of transfer really possible, in this incredibly bureaucratic country, where reams of paperwork are normally required because nobody trusts anybody ? I am sure that Bangkok Bank would be happy to take my money. But I have my doubts if the intended recipient ( a foreigner to boot) can simply walk in and claim the money.  If this service exists, what is it called in Thai please ? This situation this morning was truly an emergency, and I had no time to pause for an investigation of an alternative. 

[timendres]

Do you possibly know someone near them who does have a bank account? That would be the fastest method. 

[4675636b596f75]

Moneygram. Expensive, but you can use your credit card.  They still have to find a bank near them that can receive funds with MoneyGram.

[Just Weird]

22 minutes ago, allane said:

I got talking to the manager.  He said that I could do a transfer to any branch of Bangkok Bank for a fee of B 30, and that the recipient could claim the money, even if he does not have a Bangkok Bank account.  It sounded too good to be true. 

Is this type of transfer really possible,

Why would the manager offer the service to you while you were both there if it didn't exist?

[4675636b596f75]

25 minutes ago, allane said:

I got talking to the manager.  He said that I could do a transfer to any branch of Bangkok Bank for a fee of B 30, and that the recipient could claim the money, even if he does not have a Bangkok Bank account.

A better question, would be can that also be done with another currency?

[KhunBENQ]

8 minutes ago, 4675636b596f75 said:

Moneygram. Expensive, but you can use your credit card.  They still have to find a bank near them that can receive funds with MoneyGram.

SCB and TMB advertise moneygram service.

 

[poohy]

Bangkok bank and Western Union work

recipient has go into branch with ID Passport its same as using a normal western Union office

Mechanics is (if i remember correctly)i they give you a code you have to give to recipient he gives to bank and hey presto

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by poohy

[NCC1701A]

western union. you do it on line. easy.

 

[ubonjoe]

37 minutes ago, poohy said:

Bangkok bank and Western Union work

There are other banks and Thai Post where if can be picked up. See: https://www.westernunion.com/th/en/find-locations.html

They need the MTCN (money transfer control number) to pick up the money. Also the name of the sender.

 

[poohy]

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

There are other banks and Thai Post where if can be picked up. See: https://www.westernunion.com/th/en/find-locations.html

They need the MTCN (money transfer control number) to pick up the money. Also the name of the sender.

 

But hes already dealing with BKK bank why make life more difficult!? TIT dont confuse matters IMHO 

"I went to a branch of Bangkok Bank to withdraw the money, and make a transfer by Western Union." 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by poohy

[Laza 45]

My wife has sent money to family member using the post office.. it is quick and cheap.. The Thais use their identity cards to send and receive..  You could check if a passport would work the same.. 

[SteveK]

18 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Why would the manager offer the service to you while you were both there if it didn't exist?

Because this is Thailand.

[Moonlover]

Moneygram (see below), Western Union, or Post Office remittance service (recommended by my wife)

 

Why are expats here so suspicious about the banking service here?

 

http://moneygram.co.th/en/how-to-receive-money

 

 

 

 

[marquis22]

WorldRemit send to a Thai bank and can be collected in cash.

[kidneyw]

Western Unnion. You will get a receipt with ID information and code number. Scan that and send it to your friend.

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

Moneygram (see below), Western Union, or Post Office remittance service (recommended by my wife)

 

Why are expats here so suspicious about the banking service here?

 

http://moneygram.co.th/en/how-to-receive-money

 

 

 

 

You don't even know if they are expats. They complain about everything,even stuff they have no clue about. And they don't know how to use Google. 

[Max69xl]

"This morning I was confronted with a request from someone elsewhere in Thailand."

What does that mean? I wouldn't describe a friend like that. 

[Moonlover]

8 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

You don't even know if they are expats. They complain about everything,even stuff they have no clue about. And they don't know how to use Google. 

True we can't be sure of the status of the O/P, but the 'friend elsewhere' is on a tourist visa, so not an expat.

 

But regarding your second sentence, I completely agree with you,

[allane]

I'm the OP. All of the replies have told me nothing that I didn't already know. I did think of the Post Office, but concluded that even that might be difficult for a foreign recipient with very limited Thai. And I still think that walking into a bank, showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money" wouldn't have worked either.

To repeat: I would appreciate the exact name, in Thai, of any service which might be available inside Bangkok Bank, or any of the other Thai banks, where someone with no account at that bank can walk in and receive funds which have been previously sent to him. (The equivalent of Poste Restante (General Delivery) at the Post Office.)

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, SteveK said:

Because this is Thailand.

Good spot, there, but how does your sardonic perception of Thailand have anything to do with your doubting a service that the biggest bank in the country offered the OP face to face?  Do you doubt every other BBL service exists also just because it's in Thailand?

Edited October 1, 2019 by Just Weird

[Just Weird]

25 minutes ago, allane said:

I'm the OP. All of the replies have told me nothing that I didn't already know. I did think of the Post Office, but concluded that even that might be difficult for a foreign recipient with very limited Thai. And I still think that walking into a bank, showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money" wouldn't have worked either.

To repeat: I would appreciate the exact name, in Thai, of any service which might be available inside Bangkok Bank, or any of the other Thai banks, where someone with no account at that bank can walk in and receive funds which have been previously sent to him. (The equivalent of Poste Restante (General Delivery) at the Post Office.)

If you doubt the recommendation given to you by a Bangkok Bank manager, face to face, so much, why not call the English-speaking BBL call centre (1333) and ask them if the manager was making it all up (for some unfathomable reason)?  That way all your valuable time that was wasted by posters "telling you nothing that you didn't know already" [sic] could have been avoided.

 

"And I still think that walking into a bank, showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money" wouldn't have worked either".

It didn't it occur to you that the BBL branch where you deposit the money for transfer may give you a receipt/reference number that you send to the recipient so he wouldn't have been just "showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money"?  You were happy with the WU system that works in exactly the same way, weren't you, why doubt the Bank's own process?

 

By the way, of all the institutions in Thailand probably the two that would have the least problem for a Non-Thai speaker would be BBL and Thailand Post.

 

"The equivalent of Poste Restante (General Delivery) at the Post Office".

The fund transfer service that you're looking for is not the equivalent of Poste Restante which is just a mail-holding service.

[Just Weird]

22 hours ago, 4675636b596f75 said:

A better question, would be can that also be done with another currency?

Why?  He wanted baht.

[newatthis]

1 hour ago, allane said:

I'm the OP. All of the replies have told me nothing that I didn't already know. I did think of the Post Office, but concluded that even that might be difficult for a foreign recipient with very limited Thai. And I still think that walking into a bank, showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money" wouldn't have worked either.

To repeat: I would appreciate the exact name, in Thai, of any service which might be available inside Bangkok Bank, or any of the other Thai banks, where someone with no account at that bank can walk in and receive funds which have been previously sent to him. (The equivalent of Poste Restante (General Delivery) at the Post Office.)

Moneygram, cobber. Buy and collect at most Thai banks. Many years ago my brother sent birthday money to me by Moneygram and I collected it at SCB minutes later [No account; just passport and the Moneygram code]. When I went back to Oz for some business, the wife needed some urgent extra cash. OZ to the GSB Ayutthaya about 5 minutes. Easy as pie.

[Just Weird]

1 hour ago, allane said:

I'm the OP. All of the replies have told me nothing that I didn't already know.

So, did you manage to get the money to your friend?  How did you end up doing the transaction and was it as difficult as you seemed to think it would be with all the language difficulties and the doubtful information you suspected that you were being provided with?

Edited October 1, 2019 by Just Weird

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, allane said:

I did think of the Post Office, but concluded that even that might be difficult for a foreign recipient with very limited Thai. And I still think that walking into a bank, showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money" wouldn't have worked either.

Most British expats, who have been here for a few years will recall that using the post office was exactly how we used to pay the British embassy for our income letters. (no weeping please!)

 

We didn't allow a perceived (and usually unfounded) language difficulty stop from making that payment.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by Moonlover
Spelling

[KKr]

4 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Why are expats here so suspicious about the banking service here?

some prefer to hear music:
but seriously,
while some credit ratings are not AAA, which is hard to find anywhere,
it seems to work, hence there is too little to complain about. 
 

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, allane said:

I'm the OP. All of the replies have told me nothing that I didn't already know. I did think of the Post Office, but concluded that even that might be difficult for a foreign recipient with very limited Thai. And I still think that walking into a bank, showing his passport, and saying "Please give me my money" wouldn't have worked either.

To repeat: I would appreciate the exact name, in Thai, of any service which might be available inside Bangkok Bank, or any of the other Thai banks, where someone with no account at that bank can walk in and receive funds which have been previously sent to him. (The equivalent of Poste Restante (General Delivery) at the Post Office.)

I don't think there's such a service in any bank in Thailand, the recipient must have a bank account, unless we are talking about WU.

But you can always Google it. 

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by Max69xl

[allane]

As I said in my OP, I decided to finish yesterday's transfer by Western Union. I have looked at the English version of Bangkok Bank's website, and seen nothing there to indicate that someone who does not have an account there can receive a bank to bank cash transfer.

[Moonlover]

6 minutes ago, allane said:

As I said in my OP, I decided to finish yesterday's transfer by Western Union. I have looked at the English version of Bangkok Bank's website, and seen nothing there to indicate that someone who does not have an account there can receive a bank to bank cash transfer.

What a time waster! ???????? 

 

[Max69xl]

4 minutes ago, allane said:

As I said in my OP, I decided to finish yesterday's transfer by Western Union. I have looked at the English version of Bangkok Bank's website, and seen nothing there to indicate that someone who does not have an account there can receive a bank to bank cash transfer.

Every bank here has the same system. A person without an account can send money to a person with an account, but not the other way around. That's the reason they use for example WU.