I'm looking for a bank that is somewhat expat friendly that will do SWIFT transfers to Thailand.  This would be as a backup to using services such as Wise or brokerage accounts like Schwab and Interactive Brokers. 

 

I know some people love Capital One but their website says, and everything I can find, that they do transfers within the US and I think to the US but not out.  So I'm not sure what the upside to Capital One is over the brokerage accounts.

 

I think I'll need to keep a mailing address in the States if that helps.

 

Thanks

 

 

Im not from the states but im pretty sure swift is international network for bank transfers so most banks will do swift to any other swift bank. I dont see why any US bank wouldn't do swift transfers to Thailand

 

 

I was able to open an account at Chase several years ago using my Thai address and phone number. I can transfer funds from my Chase account in the US to my Thai bank account online. I believe these transfers use the SWIFT system.

3 minutes ago, dj230 said:

Im not from the states but im pretty sure swift is international network for bank transfers so most banks will do swift to any other swift bank. I dont see why any US bank wouldn't do swift transfers to Thailand

 

 

My bank Wells Fargo will not do transfers to Thailand 

32 minutes ago, dj230 said:

Im not from the states but im pretty sure swift is international network for bank transfers so most banks will do swift to any other swift bank. I dont see why any US bank wouldn't do swift transfers to Thailand

 

 

Actually I'm going to have to look into that a little more.  When I called about this before I was told they didn't send to Thailand but looking at their website now it appears they send to over 200 counties so I'd have to assume they would send to Thailand.  They do say they will not send if you are residing outside the US so maintaining a US address and phone appears to be key

State Department Federal Credit Union.

You can open an account from Thailand with a Thai address and passport.

SWIFT wires are 30 dollars.

Their ATM card unfortunately carries a one percent FX fee.

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

State Department Federal Credit Union.

You can open an account from Thailand with a Thai address and passport.

SWIFT wires are 30 dollars.

Their ATM card unfortunately carries a one percent FX fee.

I looked into them yesterday but I thought they had restrictions like needing to be a relative of someone who worked in the State Department and such.  They had a list of criteria and I didn't meet any.  

5 minutes ago, Slosheroni said:

I looked into them yesterday but I thought they had restrictions like needing to be a relative of someone who worked in the State Department and such.  They had a list of criteria and I didn't meet any.  

You can get around that by paying 5 dollars to a U.S. consumers organization one time. That's what I did. Anyone can do that! Look into it more closely. It's very popular with expats that have ZILCH to do with the State Department.

 

It may seem Mickey Mouse to even have to play that game but it's totally legit and because they are a Credit Union, not a bank, I think they are required to require something like that. 

Just now, Jingthing said:

You can get around that by paying 5 dollars to a U.S. consumers organization one time. That's what I did. Anyone can do that! Look into it more closely. It's very popular with expats that have ZILCH to do with the State Department.

Awesome thanks.  I think that was the last selection on the menu but I didn't go any further.  I'll take a closer look.

1 hour ago, Slosheroni said:

My bank Wells Fargo will not do transfers to Thailand 

yes it will, I wire my monthly amount .   Im office accepts it every year that I renew my retirement. cost 45 us

1 hour ago, john thom said:

yes it will, I wire my monthly amount .   Im office accepts it every year that I renew my retirement. cost 45 us

Good to hear.  I may keep them then as another option.  How have they been to deal with as far as maintaining a physical address in the States?  

I've used both Chase and Bank of America to send funds and both of those have offices in BKK.

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

State Department Federal Credit Union.

You can open an account from Thailand with a Thai address and passport.

SWIFT wires are 30 dollars.

Their ATM card unfortunately carries a one percent FX fee.

Do they send the ATM card to thai address? 

I Use Bank of America. There is no fee to send money to Thailand using their banking. But you will need an encryption USB to use their online banking to send money to another country. They do however provide a choice to send thai baht or USD equivalent. The rate of exchange they use is about 1 baht less than the current exchange rate. 

Any bank can do what you want.  If you have a good relationship wire transfers are free.  It's no big deal.

9 hours ago, Slosheroni said:

Good to hear.  I may keep them then as another option.  How have they been to deal with as far as maintaining a physical address in the States?  

I use my friends address

1 hour ago, Artben said:

Any bank can do what you want.  If you have a good relationship wire transfers are free.  It's no big deal.

Like to hear more about free Swift as u state.

i use wells fargo.  they do SWIFT transfers to thailand.  i can't remember the fee, $35 or $45.  i send in USD and have the thai bank convert it to THB.  that seems to be the better option on the FX rate.

 

but not great if you are doing monthly transfers.  i generally do one large transfer per year so the fee isn't a big deal.  but i wouldn't want to pay that 12 times/year.

Not all banks in the USA do SWIFT transfers from what I know. A friend tried two banks but they claimed they could not do. I forget the details, but the friend used Western Union which had decent rates.

SWIFT is a global bank messaging system that requires membership. If a bank doesn't join SWIFT and critically, establish SWIFT messaging facilities between their bank and other SPECIFIC overseas banks, they wont be able to make SWIFT transfers.

 

Banks join SWIFT to enable them to use SWIFT to  transfer between specific banks, not between all banks in a certain country. It may appear that a a certain bank wont transfer to any bank in Thailand but in fact what that usually means is that they wont transfer to a certain bank in Thailand, either that or they don't have a banking relationship with them.

 

Banks that don't have a SWIFT relationship with other banks can use correspondent or intermediary banks to facilitate transfers.

 

Some banks Thai banks will  not transfer by any means, to the US, UOB is one such bank.

 

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Slosheroni said:

My bank Wells Fargo will not do transfers to Thailand 

I also heard that starting this week you can no longer do any online banking from outside the US and you can no longer log in to your online account from outside the US-True??

4 hours ago, john thom said:

I use my friends address

I heard though, even if you have a US address on file that starting this week, you can no longer access your online account from outside the US. Is that true?

2 hours ago, buick said:

i use wells fargo.  they do SWIFT transfers to thailand.  i can't remember the fee, $35 or $45.  i send in USD and have the thai bank convert it to THB.  that seems to be the better option on the FX rate.

 

but not great if you are doing monthly transfers.  i generally do one large transfer per year so the fee isn't a big deal.  but i wouldn't want to pay that 12 times/year.

Can you log into your account from Thailand?

I heard that starting this week, you can no longer access your online account from outside the US.

14 hours ago, kokopelli said:

Not all banks in the USA do SWIFT transfers from what I know. A friend tried two banks but they claimed they could not do. I forget the details, but the friend used Western Union which had decent rates.

Western Union has a 2 to 3 baht lower exchange rate resulting in a 6 to 9 % loss when transferring funds.

17 hours ago, Slosheroni said:

My bank Wells Fargo will not do transfers to Thailand 

Ditto Bank of America, U S Bank, and a small ass local bank in armpit central Illinois.

2 hours ago, SmokeandIce said:

Western Union has a 2 to 3 baht lower exchange rate resulting in a 6 to 9 % loss when transferring funds.

That is true but the whole story  is as follows:

 

An older farang man was in the hospital, after surgery, and was looked after by a Thai man 24 hours/day for over one month, until the farang died.  Out of gratitude, the Executor, in the USA wished to give partial compensation to the Thai man but her USA banks said they could not do SWIFT transfers (long story). The Executor then sent $1000 or $2000 to the Thai man via Western Union. 

The Thai man was grateful for the money and wasn't concerned about the lower exchange rate.

 

4 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

SWIFT is a global bank messaging system that requires membership. If a bank doesn't join SWIFT and critically, establish SWIFT messaging facilities between their bank and other SPECIFIC overseas banks, they wont be able to make SWIFT transfers.

 

Banks join SWIFT to enable them to use SWIFT to  transfer between specific banks, not between all banks in a certain country. It may appear that a a certain bank wont transfer to any bank in Thailand but in fact what that usually means is that they wont transfer to a certain bank in Thailand, either that or they don't have a banking relationship with them.

 

Banks that don't have a SWIFT relationship with other banks can use correspondent or intermediary banks to facilitate transfers.

 

Some banks Thai banks will  not transfer by any means, to the US, UOB is one such bank.

 

 

 

 

 

It would make sense to ask the Thai destination bank which are their US correspondent banks. If your account is in such a correspondent bank, the SWIFT transfer is quick and easy to resolve if there is a snafu.

4 minutes ago, placnx said:

It would make sense to ask the Thai destination bank which are their US correspondent banks. If your account is in such a correspondent bank, the SWIFT transfer is quick and easy to resolve if there is a snafu.

It is the sending bank, not the receiving bank, that must use their correspondent, if one is necessary. The sending bank is the one that has to find a partner bank that can deal directly with the receiver.

Citibank NA. Used them for years, never a problem.

6 hours ago, racyrick said:

I heard though, even if you have a US address on file that starting this week, you can no longer access your online account from outside the US. Is that true?

not sure, I always wire my funds to my Thai bank account on the 3rd of the month, as that's when my ss gets deposited. Have my daughters phone number for code, then she texts me with code-