Bangkok Bank statement saying where funds are from?

[bamboozled]

Just to flog the dead horse...another email and response between myself and Wise.

 

Me:

 

"Hello Laura,

 

Thank you for your reply. I’m sure you’re aware of the following info by now as it’s an issue for many expats living in Thailand. For obtaining a visa to stay in the country, we need to show immigration that we have a certain amount of money coming into our account every month. And it is necessary that it shows as a foreign transfer; that the money came from outside of Thailand. This is to show immigration that we have money to support our lifestyle here. In the past, I have tried to use a credit advise/FET but immigration would not accept that as proof, even showing the paper trail from the money coming out of my US bank, being sent to Wise, showing up in Kasikorn as a foreign transfer (or Bangkok Bank or Deemoney) and then being sent to another bank account I was using at the time here in Thailand (not Bangkok Bank but SCB). I opened the Bangkok Bank account specifically so I could receive the transfers as international.

 

I can use SWIFT but that is much more expensive not to mention slow.

 

If there is some notation that can be made that my transfers to my Bangkok Bank account need to show as international, yes, please, I confirm that I would like to set this up. I realize that this can delay the transfer somewhat and so it may not arrive in seconds but can be days. That’s not a big issue for me as the correct international transfer proof for immigration/visa is MORE important.

 

Also, if transfers to my other bank account on file, SCB, can continue in the normal way, that transfers are often only seconds in the making, that would also be valuable to me.

 

If we can set this up for today, May 31st, I can make a transfer (international) that will suffice for my visa obligation. As it stands, the transfers I made this month so far won’t qualify and this puts me in a big bind as I need to show this money coming in every month for twelve months continually. If one misses a month, one must start over. And visas are for a one year to missing a month of transfers can, in effect, result in having to leave the country. Not ideal when one’s life and family are here.

 

Please advise on what we can do/what I need to do.

 

Thank you very much."

 

 

 

Wise:

"Thank you for reaching out to us. If you want to send international transfers, these need to go through the SWIFT international payment network.

USD is sent to bank accounts outside the US only via the SWIFT payment network. This is different from a regular Wise transfer and could take a day or 2 longer. It also costs a bit more because it goes through intermediary banks, but is still cheaper than more traditional methods of sending money overseas.

If you have any other questions, let us know

Kind regards 

 

Claudia, Wise"

[bamboozled]

So....I have no idea why some people are getting international transfers and some not.

[norbra]

6 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

And here is another email I sent to Wise and then following it their response.

 

Me:

"

Hello, my recent transfers have arrived as local transfers and not international, including the one today. In fact, everyone this month whereas the ones last month were international. For visa purposes, I need the transfer to be international. Is there a way to change there to international or is there a way to know if future transfers will be local or international? Immigration, in my past experience, will not accept a bank advise or FET. This caused me a huge headache years ago and I thought I had solved this by opening up a Bangkok Bank account and sending the money there and not my SCB account. Last month was fine but as stated, this month they have all appeared as local transfers. Please advise. (and yes, I labeled them as "funds for long term stay" and even tried one as "funds for buying property" but without positive results.)"   Wise response: " Thank you for getting in touch. When you send a transfer with the local currency (THB) the transfer is a local transfer. This is because of how Wise works: with us when you send a cross-currency transfer (USD to THB), you pay to our USD account in the US and we send out the equivalent from our THB account located in Thailand. Like this money never actually cross the borders so the transfer arrives earlier than traditional bank transfers. International transfers are the ones when you receive a global currency (like USD, GBP or EUR) to your account, when the currency you receive is not the local currency. If you want to send international transfers, these need to go through the SWIFT international payment network. Here you can read more about sending USD to countries outside the US. However Bangkok Bank (BBL) & Kasikorn Bank (Kbank) are capable of showing transfers as international transfers if we are sending through these banking partners. We can help you to route your payments via your desired payout partners, however we can't promise that the payments are definitely going to be paid out with the partner you chose. It can happen that there is an unforeseen scenario where a certain partner might be facing a technical issue. In this case the system will route the payment via another available partner to ensure same day delivery.  Please, confirm if you'd like us to set this up for you and which partner you want to choose. Looking forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Laura"

Last time I checked with SCB an FET form is only for sums in excess of USD50,000.

[bamboozled]

5 minutes ago, norbra said:

Last time I checked with SCB an FET form is only for sums in excess of USD50,000.

That's possible. But one won't ever get it using Wise to SCB as they don't transfer directly to SCB but via Kasikorn or Bangkok Bank.

But for SWIFT perhaps possible over 50k.

[norbra]

2 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

That's possible. But one won't ever get it using Wise to SCB as they don't transfer directly to SCB but via Kasikorn or Bangkok Bank.

But for SWIFT perhaps possible over 50k.

As I posted earlier Wise/Kasikorn transfers no problems.

[bamboozled]

Just now, norbra said:

As I posted earlier Wise/Kasikorn transfers no problems.

Getting the monthly credit advice, right? I guess I'll try that. I'm two months behind on getting those now but I guess I need to stop at the bank. It's all a bit annoying. I hope they like it at Chaing Mai Immi. By the way, is it true that it has to be at least 65k in one transfer (and not two transfers equaling at least 65k) and on the same day each month? One friend, who uses Wise via Bangkok Bank Funds for Long Term Stay with nary an issue....comes up international every time, told me this.

[norbra]

8 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

Getting the monthly credit advice, right? I guess I'll try that. I'm two months behind on getting those now but I guess I need to stop at the bank. It's all a bit annoying. I hope they like it at Chaing Mai Immi. By the way, is it true that it has to be at least 65k in one transfer (and not two transfers equaling at least 65k) and on the same day each month? One friend, who uses Wise via Bangkok Bank Funds for Long Term Stay with nary an issue....comes up international every time, told me this.

Multiple transfers to Kasikorn bank is not an issue as long as your total is 65k.Immigration will accept them.

You can call the bank on 028888888 menu 2-1-0 request credit advice for your international deposits they will email these to you, have your account details handy you will need them for ID

Edited July 25, 2023 by norbra

[norbra]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:49 PM, bamboozled said:

I have the same problems. I had SCB bank but that's not one of Wise's transfer banks so was always a local transfer. So I opened a BKK Bank account as that IS one of the banks they use for international transfers. First transfer with Wise was international and after that local via Kasikorn. Wise said they can't guarantee who they will use. So I opened a Kasikorn account. Now it says local transfer and the partner is listed as Kasikorn. Can't win. I don't get it. My buddy uses Bkk Bank and has no issues with it showing as international transfer. Wise has been no help. I tried a year or so ago showing the bank "advice" which shows the paper trail and which Wise claims will help with Immi. Immi wouldn't accept it.

 

One can transfer with Wise via bank transfer and I'm not sure the fees from Wise but you will incur a wire fee from your UK bank. But they do say it will show as international. Good luck.

If you need to verify your transfer to BKK via Kasikorn for Immigration you take both bank books and Wise pdf to a Kasikorn bank to get a credit advice receipt for these international transactions

Edited July 25, 2023 by norbra

[lopburi3]

9 minutes ago, norbra said:

both bank books

He would likely only have an account at one bank and one bank book.  Did you mean "both bank book and Wise PDF"?

[bamboozled]

49 minutes ago, norbra said:

Multiple transfers to Kasikorn bank is not an issue as long as your total is 65k.Immigration will accept them.

You can call the bank on 028888888 menu 2-1-0 request credit advice for your international deposits they will email these to you, have your account details handy you will need them for ID

This is great info, thanks so much. For the credit advice Bangkok Bank via Kasikon/Wise, that did not work for me 2 or 3 years ago. They wouldn't even look at my documents. They just didn't care to take the time to look. I had all that info and all the documents. I had to get a 30 or 60 day extension to visit wife and then go to Savannakhet for a new visa. Luckily, that was possible.

Edited July 25, 2023 by bamboozled

[norbra]

5 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

This is great info, thanks so much. For the credit advice Bangkok Bank via Kasikon/Wise, that did not work for me 2 or 3 years ago. They wouldn't even look at my documents. They just didn't care to take the time to look. I had all that info and all the documents. I had to get a 30 or 60 day extension to visit wife and then go to Savannakhet for a new visa. Luckily, that was possible.

But now you are a Kbank account holder,they will process for you

[bamboozled]

2 minutes ago, norbra said:

But now you are a Kbank account holder,they will process for you

I'm on it! Thanks again.

[norbra]

10 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

He would likely only have an account at one bank and one bank book.  Did you mean "both bank book and Wise PDF"?

He has 2 accounts,Kasikorn book for ID BKK for ID ,Wise pdf for transaction details.

[lopburi3]

58 minutes ago, norbra said:

He has 2 accounts,Kasikorn book for ID BKK for ID ,Wise pdf for transaction details.

If destination account is BBL there will not be any deposit to his Kasikorn account - Wise would use their Kasikorn account to forward to Bangkok Bank and a credit advise would have to be obtained from Kasikorn (if we are talking about Bangkok Bank being immigration account).

[Bangkok Barry]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:49 PM, bamboozled said:

I tried a year or so ago showing the bank "advice" which shows the paper trail and which Wise claims will help with Immi. Immi wouldn't accept it.

I haven't had to use them - yet - but I keep the transfer receipt from Wise (I assume that is what you mean by paper trail) relating to my monthly transfers from the UK into my Bangkok Bank account. That shows the date, original currency (although not the originating bank) and the exchange rate and the amount in Thai Baht. Also the partner bank, Kasikorn, that is used.

If Immigration won't accept that then ask why. On what grounds, when it shows where it has come from and when, who from and to who, and how much? What else do they need to assess its validity? Seems to me they're just being a pain in the ar*e which they believe their uniform entitles them to be. Same with too many in Thailand who wear one, believing it's a license to bully.

 

The problem, of course, is that you can't argue with a closed mind or expect any logic, and they hold all the cards and can do and say whatever they want. Challenge them at your peril.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Bangkok Barry

[norbra]

39 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

If destination account is BBL there will not be any deposit to his Kasikorn account - Wise would use their Kasikorn account to forward to Bangkok Bank and a credit advise would have to be obtained from Kasikorn (if we are talking about Bangkok Bank being immigration account).

Many BKK customers have had difficulties at Kbank when they are not account holders. Demonstrating he has a Kbank account will be beneficial

[lopburi3]

18 minutes ago, norbra said:

Many BKK customers have had difficulties at Kbank when they are not account holders. Demonstrating he has a Kbank account will be beneficial

OK now understand your logic.

[bamboozled]

I have accounts now at SCB, Bangkok Bank, and Kasikorn. Yup, I'm very cool. I will use any account that works for Immi. My latest choice is Kasikorn as more often than not the transfer seems to arrive via Kasikorn.

[Sheryl]

8 hours ago, norbra said:

I call Kasikorn every month,although this is not necessary as Kasikorn will provide credit advice for multiple transactions,but when I was given this information 5 years ago it came with a  condition that 3 months in arrears were free ,transactions older than this would require payment for each transaction.

I have since read other posts where this charge was not applied..

So for my peace of mind I do the monthly routine.

You can arrange to routinely receive these by  email  with each transfer. No callkng needed once it is set up. 

[Unify]

I had one Wise transfer to Bangkok bank show up as local, through Kasikorn. I went across the street to Kasikorn, took a number, and waited 45 minutes.

 

I had some difficulty explaining what I needed, but they finally gave me the paperwork, showing it was an international transfer.

 

However, the IO didn't ask for it, and approved my extension. 

[TimF]

My recent experience is last 3 wise transfers have worked to my bangkok bank account but prior I had 2 failures not showing FTT - so maybe it works better now

 

With regard SWIFT I had 2 out of 2 failures because my home country bank UK used an intermediary bank so showed as a local transfer. I asked if they could do the transfer direct and they said no 

[Andycoops]

In my experience, even though I always tick the 'funds for long-term stay in Thailand' 

It sometimes goes through as local and sometimes as FTT which is the code for overseas transfers with Bangkok Bank.

 

Wise told me before that knew there was a glitch and were working on it but it still is happening.

 

On my last marriage extension no mention was made of the 2 different codes.

I also supplied the PDF receipt from Wise for each transfer which shows a GBP to Baht conversion.

[norbra]

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

You can arrange to routinely receive these by  email  with each transfer. No callkng needed once it is set up. 

Thanks for that Sheryl,I was under the impression that they only advise the transaction has been completed,no credit advice provided.

My nearest Kbank is not easy to get to so I will continue until I can get more info on their current offerings.

[Sheryl]

1 minute ago, norbra said:

Thanks for that Sheryl,I was under the impression that they only advise the transaction has been completed,no credit advice provided.

My nearest Kbank is not easy to get to so I will continue until I can get more info on their current offerings.

I get full credit advice sent automatically. Set it up with head office by phone. 

[Drumbuie]

I have a Bangkok Bank account and always transfer funds to it from my Wise account, citing "long term stay in Thailand". Sometimes this gets tagged as IFT, sometimes as from another bank. ( I suspect they're still manually keying in the info at some stage and it depends on who does the keying.)

Before applying for my visa extension due to retirement, I printed out my bank statement, highlighted the mismarked transfers, went into my branch and explained the problem.

The cashier went away for a while (as they do)....and came back with a standard printed letter of confirmation of foreign funds transfer for each mismarked transfer, stamped and signed by the branch manager. And I got my extension. 

 

[1FinickyOne]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:49 PM, bamboozled said:

Can't win. I don't get it.

change our name from Bamboozled - maybe your luck will get better?

[jerrymahoney]

20 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Then there is the lower exchange rate (much much lower if you send Baht).

Then there is any intermediate bank deduction.

Then there is the .25% (200 to 500 baht deduction) at Thailand bank end.

 

From Wise today:

1,500 USD (exchange rate 34.46)

$12.60 Wise fee (ACH bank transfer)

51,255.80 Baht into Thai account (no deduction).

My SWIFT transfer in USD on 3 JULY 2023 including fees on both ends yielded a rate of 34.81 baht per USD

[lopburi3]

6 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

My SWIFT transfer in USD on 3 JULY 2023 including fees on both ends yielded a rate of 34.81 baht per USD

But baht was worth less on the 3rd than yesterday - so after all charges:

July 03 1st report 35.05 TT rate - you got 34.81 using Swift - less .24

July 23 1st report  34.31 TT rate - I got  34.17 using Wise - less .16

 

Not saying your Swift is not a viable option - especially with your low cost - but for many it would be much more of a loss and just doing transfer can be an issue from overseas with some banks.

[jerrymahoney]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Not saying your Swift is not a viable option - especially with your low cost - but for many it would be much more of a loss and just doing transfer can be an issue from overseas with some banks.

It is a viable option.

 

And I never want to see " (I) went into my branch and explained the problem."

[lopburi3]

9 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

It is a viable option.

 

And I never want to see " (I) went into my branch and explained the problem."

The issue is that for some Swift does not solve that as some use local bank transfer for final payment so listed as domestic transfer on bank account.  Most world banks do not have direct transfer ability via Swift.