Bangkok Bank London

[elfpattaya]

For the last 2 years I have transferred my pension From my Santander UK account using the Bangkok Bank London Arrangement, whereby I only get charged 20 pounds.

My money gets transferred into the Bangkok Bank London, thus getting no charges from my Santander bank, and from there transferred to Thailand.

This month there is a problem, they have told me I now need a registration document??

I need to get money to Thailand can anybody advise me as to whether it would be cheaper to transfer the money, incurring charges of 25 pound from my bank and 35 pound from *Bangkok Bank London.

Or would it be cheaper to use my visa debit card and get cash.

 

*All UK foreign currency transactions go through Bangkok Bank and their normal charge is 35 pounds.

[stouricks]

Transferwise. Easy & fast.

[elfpattaya]

I only want to do it once, I have decided to get my pension paid direct to Thailand.

[stouricks]

3 minutes ago, elfpattaya said:

I only want to do it once, I have decided to get my pension paid direct to Thailand.

Transferwise will do it once if you want.

 

If you use Santander or Pension people to transfer you will get a lousy exchange rate and big charges.

[Kildonan]

14 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Transferwise. Easy & fast.

Used them for the first time. Better exchange rate than HSBC, who I have been using,,, (but no charge) and small charge. Good fast transfer. 

[elfpattaya]

Just had a look thanks for that wish I'd found out about them before.

 

[elfpattaya]

I just did a transfer using Transferwise, took 7 hours from start to finish, very cheap too. Thanks Stouricks for your advice.

I have unfortunately already sent a letter to my pension company, I shall have a look at next months pension and if no good will change back.

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

you sound like old school.

the way to transfer money now is transeferwise.

waaay much cheaper and no bank hastling.

[theoldgit]

@elfpattaya - Did they say what a "Registration Doument" actually is?

[OJAS]

2 hours ago, theoldgit said:

@elfpattaya - Did they say what a "Registration Doument" actually is?

Well, as far as I am concerned Bangkok Bank's London branch can stick their "Registration Document" up their derriere if that's what we now need in order to continue using their service! But that would at least appear to explain why my monthly UK bank standing order which has hitherto been activated on the first working day of the month mysteriously bounced yesterday (thankfully in its entirety).

 

I therefore instigated a transfer via TransferWise this morning at around 09:40. However, I'm not sure that I personally would go overboard with effusive joy about their turn of speed. Although I was intially informed that the transfer should hit my Bangkok Bank account today, I am now being presented with a message that my "money is taking longer to pay out" for some mysterious reason. Hardly reassuring or confidence-inspiring, is it?

 

But, on the plus side, I do at least appear to be getting more bang for my GBP with TransferWise. 

 

Incidentally, this whole issue has already been raised in a recent previous thread:-

 

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by OJAS

[elfpattaya]

2 hours ago, theoldgit said:

@elfpattaya - Did they say what a "Registration Doument" actually is?

I have no idea, I just noticed that on the 31st July, payday, that my money was returned to my UK bank.

I telephoned them in London and they said I needed to register ???

I asked them why they did not give notice and they said they do not have any of our details, as Bangkok Bank(Thailand) will not give them.

It is as if they are 2 different Companies. While I was on the phone, the lady who I was talking to said she would pass me through to the person dealing with it.

She must have passed her desk, because I overheard her say I have an Irate customer who wants to talk to you, I heard a bit of mumbling, and was then told she was too busy.

At that point I decided to call it a day.

[elfpattaya]

27 minutes ago, OJAS said:

I therefore instigated a transfer via TransferWise this morning at around 09:40. However, I'm not sure that I personally would go overboard with effusive joy about their turn of speed. Although I was intially informed that the transfer should hit my Bangkok Bank account today, I am now being presented with a message that my "money is taking longer to pay out" for some mysterious reason. Hardly reassuring or confidence-inspiring, is it?

I got a message on their transaction page, after they informed me my money had been sent, that some banks were slow and could take up to 4 hours.

But my money was in my bank, Bangkok Bank, right on the time they forecast.

[OJAS]

3 hours ago, theoldgit said:

@elfpattaya - Did they say what a "Registration Doument" actually is?

I wonder whether the answer to your question is that everyone using this facility is now obliged to go through the cumbersomely bureaucratic registration process described on the Bangkok Bank website at https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-UK-to-Thailand-via-London-Branch (under "How to transfer funds from UK to Thailand, using your UK’s bank Online Banking or Counter Services"), even those who, like myself (and @elfpattaya??), had been using it before this requirement was introduced.

 

EDIT: just seen @elfpattaya's response at post #11, which would appear to confirm that he had been using this facility before the cumbersomely bureaucratic registration process was introduced. Looks to me like Bangkok Bank's London branch are determined to kill it off with the same zeal and gusto applied by the British Embassy in Bangkok in killing off their income confirmation service!

Edited August 4, 2020 by OJAS

[OJAS]

On 8/3/2020 at 5:03 PM, stouricks said:

If you use Santander or Pension people to transfer you will get a lousy exchange rate and big charges.

@elfpattaya Assuming that your pension payments are intended to demonstrate compliance with the minimum 65k monthly income requirement for retirement extensions, a further point which you should bear in mind in connection with your pension provider is that, unless their receiving bank in Thailand is also BKKB, the transfers could end up with an interbank (SMT) - rather than foreign (FTT) - coding in your passbook. And, if your immigration office is of the fussily pernickity variety requiring concrete evidence of the foreign origin of these transfers, this could necessitate you attempting to obtain a suitable letter or statement for this purpose from your pension provider's agency bank, which, in practice, could prove easier said than done! 

Edited August 5, 2020 by OJAS

[stouricks]

31 minutes ago, OJAS said:

@elfpattaya Assuming that your pension payments are intended to demonstrate compliance with the minimum 65k monthly income requirement for retirement extensions, a further point which you should bear in mind in connection with your pension provider is that, unless their receiving bank in Thailand is also BKKB, the transfers could end up with an interbank (SMT) - rather than foreign (FTT) - coding in your passbook. And, if your immigration office is of the fussily pernickity variety requiring concrete evidence of the foreign origin of these transfers, this could necessitate you attempting to obtain a suitable letter or statement for this purpose from your pension provider's agency bank, which, in practice, could prove easier said than done! 

Another good reason to use Transferwise directly into a Bangkok bank account, and tell them that it is for long term stay in Thailand = FTT.

[OJAS]

7 hours ago, stouricks said:

tell them that it is for long term stay in Thailand = FTT.

Would just checking the reason to this effect when creating a fresh transfer be sufficient for ensuring that both agency and beneficiary banks are BKKB in my case? Or do I also need to alert TW separately of this specific requirement for each new transfer?

[stouricks]

49 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Would just checking the reason to this effect when creating a fresh transfer be sufficient for ensuring that both agency and beneficiary banks are BKKB in my case? Or do I also need to alert TW separately of this specific requirement for each new transfer?

It works OK for me just checking the box.