21 minutes ago, keithsimmonds said:

I do Wise transfers but not for immigration purposes,so i do not state that as a reason for the transfer...which may or may not result in the proper coding.

Yes the coding is dependent on the purpose. If you don't check the box that it is for long term living expenses in Thailand it comes through as a domestic transfer.  

 

1 hour ago, Longwood50 said:

That is true if you are doing the 800,000 baht method.  It is not true if you are doing monthly 65,000 baht transfers.  That requires a 1 year statement and Bangkok Bank apparently is still using hand posting in ledger cards.  The branch has to request a statement from Bangkok and it takes about one week.  The statement is printed on an old dot matrix printer like you see in Makro.  The statement comes in paper that has to be burst and decolated. That means the sheets run continuously and have to be manually ripped apart and the perforated holes on the side of the paper stripped away. 

I have not seen equipment like that in over 30 years.  I find it amazing that I can go into a store open my phone and pay a bill based on a QR code but then go into a branch that can not look up my account history.  I started working for a bank in 1972 and we had better technolgoy than that 50 years ago. 

What you say sounds accurate.

 

I do not know anything about 800,000 baht methods (perhaps for retirement?) or 65,000 baht transfers - I normally have 400,000 in my bank account for 3 months and it is enough for immigration - now that I think about it I did need to order a 1 year statement once for my corporate account - I don't remember why - maybe for my annual audit? Anyway it did take time and i did have a problem for a moment with a commerce department statement that was required during COVID - why I needed the certificate - I don't know... But I told the bank manger taht i was not going to wait in line during COVID and she quickly understood and got the form for me online. All this happened in English - in a foreign country which was a good thing...

4 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Do you do Wise transfers into your SCB account and are they coded as FTT ( foreign transfers)  One post said that no they come as domestic transfers.

They don't come as international transfers but there is a process to get the proof via the intermediary bank.  It's detailed here:

https://wise.com/help/articles/2932335/guide-to-thb-transfers

 

4 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

Now that is just plain false.  Each may be its own profit center reporting its income and expenses but they are all owned by their respective organization whether that be Bangkok Bank, SCB, Krungthai or any other.  Othewise they would all have to be separate bank charters each with its own board of directors, and capital.

They are franchises rather than independently owned, but their MO is similar.  You just have to lose the mindset of your home country banking structure and accept what it is here.

8 hours ago, treetops said:

They are franchises rather than independently owned, but their MO is similar.  You just have to lose the mindset of your home country banking structure and accept what it is here.

I seriously doubt that.  What is your source for that.  

54 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

I seriously doubt that.  What is your source for that.  

Branch setup and running is well discussed on here and you can see their stand at the annual Thai Franchise and Business Opportunities Exhibition at BITEC, Bangkok.

 

As before, forget about how banks are set up and run in your home country.  You're now dealing with a different beast.

4 minutes ago, treetops said:

annual Thai Franchise and Business Opportunities Exhibition at BITEC, Bangkok.

I think you are talking about overseas organizations starting a "branch" here in Thailand.  Not a branch bank. 

All of the branch banks in Thailand have reporting structures that lead to the parent bank.  That would not be true if it was a franchise.  Also, any of the income from the branch would go to the franchisee who would only pay a franchise fee.  Those results would not show up in the financial reporting of the parent corporation. 

Each of the franchisees would be required to establish a separate corporate identify with capital.  They are their own company and they operate independently.  If I have a McDonalds franchise, I pay McDonalds but I have my own company that owns the location.  That would mean each branch bank in Thailand if not owned by the parent would have to file a separate business with the DBD.  Each office would have to have its own corporate board, and file annual reports. 

Nope, I think you have an apples to oranges comparison.  You saw the name branch and assumed it was a branch bank.  I can have a company in the USA that sells farm implements and offer franchises to others to start a branch in Thailand that sells them.  Totally different animal. 

 

As with banks, franchises may not be setup the same in Thailand as they are in your home country. ????

 

Whatever you want to call it, bank branches are set up/ran semi-independently from the bank itself.  You have discovered this in being dealt with differently at different branches.

 

Of course there are (lots of) areas where they must conform to the parents' rules but they have a lot of self autonomy too.

16 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

It shouldn't be but I believe it is this way because each branch is independently owned. Many years ago, after living in Bkk and moving upcountry, I was told that I would be charged a fee to deposit money into my own account - at another branch... 

 

Branches are NOT independently owned, that's silly. The paperwork used to open an account, remains with the opening branch, branches hold files on each customer who opened an account at that branch. I've seen my wife's file when we were trying to resolve a problem, the branch actually pulled it out to see what she wrote when she opened the account. I've also seen mine at a different bank, under similar  circumstances.

 

As for being charged to deposit cash.....Thailand's banking system operates on a provincial basis, all transactions from outside the province are chargeable, even depositing cash into your own account.

 

10 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

that's silly.

Silly was the teller who when I withdrew 300,000 baht from my account asked me what I was going to do with the money...

 

i think someone overheard her and she got in trouble for it... 

Just now, 1FinickyOne said:

Silly was the teller who when I withdrew 300,000 baht from my account asked me what I was going to do with the money...

 

i think someone overheard her and she got in trouble for it... 

Was she dropping hints then?

1 minute ago, nigelforbes said:

Was she dropping hints then?

She was kind of cute - I wasn't sure - my bank book is one of my better features... 

16 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

As for being charged to deposit cash.....Thailand's banking system operates on a provincial basis, all transactions from outside the province are chargeable, even depositing cash into your own account.

Apart from TTB, no transaction charges in any ATM, in any area of the country.

2 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

She was kind of cute - I wasn't sure - my bank book is one of my better features... 

555.....where's bloo dy laughing emoji when you needs it...bring it back this instant.

Just now, BritManToo said:

Apart from TTB, no transaction charges in any ATM, in any area of the country.

Agreed, not by ATM, only by branch.

2 hours ago, treetops said:

As with banks, franchises may not be setup the same in Thailand as they are in your home country. ????

 

Whatever you want to call it, bank branches are set up/ran semi-independently from the bank itself.  You have discovered this in being dealt with differently at different branches.

 

Of course there are (lots of) areas where they must conform to the parents' rules but they have a lot of self autonomy too.

Again that is due in part to different levels of expertise and different managers not different ownership. You can go to multiple immigration offices and likewise the rules are different. That does not establish that each is an independent entity and not part of the Thai government.  I have Googled Thai Bank branches and franchises. Nothing suggests they are independent entities

 

1 hour ago, 1FinickyOne said:

She was kind of cute - I wasn't sure - my bank book is one of my better features... 

Yes I went to the gym and was working out when I spotted a sexy young girl and asked my instructor what machine I should go on to impress her.  He said he suggested the ATM downstairs 

2 hours ago, treetops said:

As with banks, franchises may not be setup the same in Thailand as they are in your home country.

Yeah!! Vindication!!

 

 

21 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

Yes I went to the gym and was working out when I spotted a sexy young girl and asked my instructor what machine I should go on to impress her.  He said he suggested the ATM downstairs 

Very funny - laugh emoji dong [dong means double]

 

When Thai people say they don't have any money, they are talking just enough for bus fare home.. when farang say they don't have any money, they ask where the nearest ATM is... 

47 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

Yeah!! Vindication!!

 

 

Barncrock bank, partners with dairy queen, take out a fixed deposit and get a free slurpy cone, gawd.

1 hour ago, Longwood50 said:

I have Googled Thai Bank branches and franchises. Nothing suggests they are independent entities

Don't rely on Google and don't suggest independent entities as that's not accurate either.  They are certainly left to their own devices on a wide range of activities, as you've found out and as has been reported on here many times.

 

Franchises (as we know them) might not be the right word either but there is a great deal of self containment which is a different business model to western banks.