I've encountered an interesting Wise issue

[thonglorjimmy]

First of all my apologies for starting yet another Wise thread, but I'm not sure that my issue neatly falls into the other threads about Wise.

 

I've recently encountered an problem with the way my UK Bank, Santander International, transfers the cash to fund my transfer to Wise, and whilst I've got over it, it's time consuming for me, and I'm not sure that I want to jump through the hoops every month.

 

I've been using (Transfer)Wise for many years, and have always transferred the funds from the joint account my wife and I hold with Santander International.

 

Last month, after transferring the funds as usual, I received an email from Wise advising that there was a problem as they couldn't confirm it was me that transferred the funds, and they were pausing my transfer. They, or their system, asked if their was another account holder, despite the fact that during the transfer the system asked if I was sending from a stand alone or joint account, I was asked for the other account holders name, I sent my wifes name again.

 

A couple of hours later I checked the account again, and it now said that they still couldn't identify who had sent the funds, and requested a screenshot of the transaction from my bank, I did this, it was accepted fairly quickly and the transfer then went ahead.

 

As expected the issue arose again this month, save their was no email alert, same questions, and the same requests for my wifes name and later the same request for a screenshot of the transaction, though a far longer period between updates on the App, and no emails. 

 

I eventually called their call centre in Singapore, the lass there was pretty helpful, I was asked to upload the screenshot again, she acknowledge receipt and shortly afterwards the transaction resumed.

 

Later in the day I received this email from Wise:
"After checking with the team, the process is triggered because when Santander sends the funds, your name is not included.
Therefore, the process will always be triggered if you send from that account because we would need more supported documents to proceed the transfer.
We understand this might not be the best transfer flow for you, but it's because we are a regulated financial institution.
We need to follow both international and local rules - It helps us to protect customers' money and data."

 

Whilst I will make contact with Santander for a solution, I'm not sure that I really want to go through this every month, even if it does save me a a small amount of cash.

 

I have a couple of alternative options I could consider, I could get Santander to send the funds directly, though when I did this pre Transferwise they used an  intermediary bank which doubled the transfer fee, or I could use Bangkok Bank in London to transfer the funds, in both cases I would get less Baht for my Pounds, and would have to pay a receiving fee here, but it would be less stressfull. I could of course maintain the required funds in an account here, but there are reasons why isn't practical for us.

 

Has anybody else encountered this?

  

[poppysdad]

I use Santander UK and Wise and find the whole thing faultless and extremely quick and easy. I think your problem stems from having a joint account. I have a joint and my name accounts and simply transfer from joint to my name and then to Wise. Works perfect every time. 

[PPGuy]

Does that problem also apply to transfers into a multicurrency account with Wise, if you have one? That might fix the issue as Wise MC accounts accept transfers from other payers, you can then transfer to Thailand as and when needed.

 

 

[Jen65]

I encountered a delay in Wise forwarding on the online bank transfer the first time I used the site .  Only after realizing there was a second page " Details" of the transfer and completing the box and uploading a copy of the bank transfer , from then on, did it go without a hitch !!     Money received in minutes .  Great rates, fast transfers, good service .    

[Chivas]

Just use another bank account to fund Wise !

[Crossy]

Is there an "other information" or similar box on the outgoing Santander transfer page? Maybe putting your and your wife's names in there would satisfy Wise.

 

[thonglorjimmy]

2 hours ago, Chivas said:

Just use another bank account to fund Wise !

Not so easy to open another account in the UK from here in Thailand.

[thonglorjimmy]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

Is there an "other information" or similar box on the outgoing Santander transfer page? Maybe putting your and your wife's names in there would satisfy Wise.

 

When I am prompted to enter my bank details it asks if it’s from a joint account and when I confirm that, my wife’s name comes up automatically, the problem seems to be that Santander International no longer seem to name the account holder.

[thonglorjimmy]

2 hours ago, poppysdad said:

I use Santander UK and Wise and find the whole thing faultless and extremely quick and easy. I think your problem stems from having a joint account. I have a joint and my name accounts and simply transfer from joint to my name and then to Wise. Works perfect every time. 

I use Santander International in the Isle of Man, not Santander UK, I don’t know if there’s a difference.

As I said in my OP the issue seems to be that my bank no longer includes the name of the account holder when they transfer funds, it has worked from our joint account for years.

[thonglorjimmy]

2 hours ago, PPGuy said:

Does that problem also apply to transfers into a multicurrency account with Wise, if you have one? That might fix the issue as Wise MC accounts accept transfers from other payers, you can then transfer to Thailand as and when needed.

 

 

I don’t have a MC Account, maybe something to explore.

[scubascuba3]

Doesn't seem to be a simple fix, try and set up a sole account somehow

[billsmart]

No, I have not encountered this, but I have encountered a different, and now widely known, problem.

 

I too have used (Transfer)Wise to send fund from my bank in the USA to Thailand for many years. Recently, however, Wise has been prevented from sending funds over a certain amount to my bank, Krungsri. They do, however, to my understanding, still send them to three or four banks including Bangkok Bank. So, I have gone to using a regular wire transfer to send my funds to Thailand. It works fine, although unless I send more than about $5K, it is more expensive.

[Skeptic7]

2 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Not so easy to open another account in the UK from here in Thailand.

Seems it should be fairly simple to open an online bank account from anywhere. Especially if it is with the same bank. Not a UK bank, but just opened a new Capital One account from here in Thailand the other day. Did need a US phone number for verification codes/1-time passwords, which I have for exactly this reason. 

[rattlesnake]

One option is to pay by card if you have one associated with your Santander account. Obviously this is a lot more expensive (depending on the card it will set you back up to 1,000 baht per 1,000£ transferred) but if you need money quickly it can be handy.

 

Another option is to open a Wise account in GBP (a pretty straightforward process) and transfer money to it in (either by wire transfer or card) in advance. You can use the associated Wise Mastercard for withdrawals anywhere including Thailand (the Wise fees are low but of course there is the 220 THB fee), make payments such as on Lazada etc., and send money to your Thai bank account in a few seconds when needed.

[rattlesnake]

2 hours ago, billsmart said:

No, I have not encountered this, but I have encountered a different, and now widely known, problem.

 

I too have used (Transfer)Wise to send fund from my bank in the USA to Thailand for many years. Recently, however, Wise has been prevented from sending funds over a certain amount to my bank, Krungsri. They do, however, to my understanding, still send them to three or four banks including Bangkok Bank. So, I have gone to using a regular wire transfer to send my funds to Thailand. It works fine, although unless I send more than about $5K, it is more expensive.

Isn't it a limited amount per transfer? In theory you could make several transfers as long as they are not above the limit.

[Lacessit]

I have had a similar problem which has taken me a week to sort out. WISE insists the transaction must occur using my full name as shown in my passport. The bank I send it from uses my surname, plus initials. This causes the transaction to be rejected by WISE.

[digger70]

Yes I had the same about 2 months ago ,Had to send a screenshot from the bank transaction , that wasn't right. didn't have my name on it .Had to get an electronic statement from my bank in Aus from the transaction ,Within 24 hrs it was all cleared .

Lucky that i only transfer 1 or 2 times per year.

Next time I make sure that my name is on the bank transfer . ( I'll try anyway)

[SunsetT]

If you already have a joint bank account with Santander, I would think it would be straightforward to open another in your name only with them, and pay Wise from this account.

[jimn]

6 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Not so easy to open another account in the UK from here in Thailand.

Just open another account in your name only wirh Santander. It can easily be done online, I have opened many accounts like this whilst in Thailand. Make sure the new account is funded by doing an online transfer within Santander, easy

[Adumbration]

7 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Not so easy to open another account in the UK from here in Thailand.

You need to ensure you have alternative banking options back in your home country.  If you read my post history you will see that during covid lockdowns about this time last year I was quite literally on the brink of a nervous breakdown because I need to transfer funds from my bank accounts but I suddenly stopped receiving SMS messages.  My sim card providers denied the problem was caused by them and the banks said it was the phone company.  One of the most stressful periods in my entire life.

[DPKANKAN]

A possible option. A friend of mine here, in his early 80's last year, was given notice by his bank in the UK that they were closing his bank account as he did not reside in the Uk!!  Being unable to get back  to the Uk  because of ill health to open a new bank account, I managed to set up a bank account for him with Wise themselves and get his pensions paid into that. It is their London Branch where my transfers go through. Possibly may be of help.????????????????

[thonglorjimmy]

Thanks to everybody who has offered suggestions, very much appreciated.

 

Regarding the advice about opening an account in my name only, the fact that I use our joint account doesn't seem to be the issue, the problem seems to be that Santander don't include my name, or indeed either of our names, when they transfer the funds, maybe just an account number, the one we've had for years, and Wise have screenshots of.

 

I indicated that I would contact Santander, I've done so, lets see what they have to say.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[billsmart]

21 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

Isn't it a limited amount per transfer? In theory you could make several transfers as long as they are not above the limit.

Yes, you're correct, but each Wise transfer would be charged for. So, although I haven't priced it out, I'd guess that several Wise transfers would be more expensive than one wire transfer.

For example, I just sent US$4K to my account. The fee from my US bank was $45. US$4K is about THB150K. The Wise limit to my bank is THB50K, so I'd have to have made three transfers. 

Like I said, I haven't priced it out, but I'd expect those three WISE transfers would be more than $45.

Also, the wire transfers come the next day (if the bank's here are open), whereas the WISE transfers take two or three days (plus any bank holidays). Actually, that delay is really is not a big problem for me, but is it something to consider. 

[KannikaP]

If you have a wise Multi Currency account, you get a normal sort code and account number to which you can transfer instantly from any other UK bank or card, usually free of charge. Then you can do your GBP to THB transfer as normal or convert to THB within the MC account when you think the rate is good. You can even set up an automatic conversion to take place when the rate reaches one of your choice.