Social Security Direct Deposit, change from Bangkok Bank to another bank

[KhunLA]

13 minutes ago, pookiki said:

What I don't understand is why anyone would want to have their Social Security check direct deposited to any bank in Thailand when the exchange rates are so crappy.  It makes much more sense to have the money deposited to your bank account in the US and transfer funds as necessary. Bank laws in Thailand are beyond the pall and not consumer oriented - especially for expatriates.

Makes things very easy for long term visa extension.   Agree, would be nice to bring over when exchange rate is more advantageous, but saved for how long till that happens, and inflation defeats that purpose.

 

All fund are more valuable spent today, than saved at crap interest rates, that can't keep up with inflation.

 

Much more fun spending it now, than losing value everyday against inflation, waiting for a better rate.  Better by what ... 1-2-3-5% ... inflation running 10% or more every year.   The THB don't fluctuate that much.

 

NO THANKS .. I'm spending & smiling.

[Guavaman]

39 minutes ago, pookiki said:

What I don't understand is why anyone would want to have their Social Security check direct deposited to any bank in Thailand when the exchange rates are so crappy.  It makes much more sense to have the money deposited to your bank account in the US and transfer funds as necessary. Bank laws in Thailand are beyond the pall and not consumer oriented - especially for expatriates.

Good luck with trying to prove to the Revenue Department that your remittance to Thailand came from social security, and if you have any other funds co-mingled in that U.S. account -- it will be impossible. 

 

One can obtain credit advice from the Thai bank showing direct deposit by SSA, which can be used if required by the RD as evidence of that income, which is exempt from Thai taxation.

 

Welcome to Thai taxation on remittances starting Jan. 1, 2024; it is time to start planning for the upcoming changes, which likely will require filing of tax returns in the future.

[mania]

9 hours ago, Guavaman said:

Good luck with trying to prove to the Revenue Department that your remittance to Thailand came from social security, and if you have any other funds co-mingled in that U.S. account -- it will be impossible. 

Well first off we will see what we see come Jan 2024 & if we are caught up in the new tax laws at all but...

 

Fortunately Social Security does provide an Official benefit verification letter to all SS recipients & can be downloaded from your SS account. If worse came to worse that would be proof of what your SS is per month

[flexomike]

11 hours ago, pookiki said:

What I don't understand is why anyone would want to have their Social Security check direct deposited to any bank in Thailand when the exchange rates are so crappy.  It makes much more sense to have the money deposited to your bank account in the US and transfer funds as necessary. Bank laws in Thailand are beyond the pall and not consumer oriented - especially for expatriates.

You just won the daily reward for the stupidest comment of the day 

[OJAS]

12 hours ago, pookiki said:

Bank laws in Thailand are beyond the pall and not consumer oriented - especially for expatriates.

Just as is the case back in our home countries if you haven't already noticed, with many instances of expats here having their bank accounts back home, usually of many years' standing, summarily closed with minimal notice, solely on IMHO totally irrelevant non-residential grounds.

 

A particularly sore point for us Brits at the present time, but equally true of the USA and other Western countries, I strongly suspect.

Edited October 8, 2023 by OJAS

[Mike Lister]

My US SSc is deposited directly into Bangkok Bank and I do have an ATM card for the account, why your circumstances are different is unclear. 

[Alotoftravel]

I am a new recipient of SS which I deposit in a usa bank account .

I have a Bangkok bank  savings account which I use in for Thailand spending . 
Presently when I needed funds in Thailand , I transfer from my USA bank account via domestic wire to the Bangkok bank in NY. This is then transfered to my Thailand BKk savings account which I do not have an atm nor I have to be present at the bank branch for withdrawals.

 

does it make sense to deposit my SS to the Bangkok NY directly or 

is it more beneficial or leave it as is. As I read this forum , there is much to know . Thanks 

 

 

[racyrick]

On 10/7/2023 at 12:10 PM, EVENKEEL said:

I changed banks using the on line account with SS. I started my SS in the US if that matters.

 

Did you change your bank from a US Bank to your bank here in Thailand online with your mySSAaccount?

 

They had the swift codes for Thailand Banks?

 

Do you have a Thai or US address on your SSA account?

 

Thanks for your help.

[racyrick]

6 hours ago, Alotoftravel said:

I am a new recipient of SS which I deposit in a usa bank account .

I have a Bangkok bank  savings account which I use in for Thailand spending . 
Presently when I needed funds in Thailand , I transfer from my USA bank account via domestic wire to the Bangkok bank in NY. This is then transfered to my Thailand BKk savings account which I do not have an atm nor I have to be present at the bank branch for withdrawals.

 

does it make sense to deposit my SS to the Bangkok NY directly or 

is it more beneficial or leave it as is. As I read this forum , there is much to know . Thanks 

 

 

When you transfer funds from your US bank by domestic wire to Bangkok Bank in NY, do you insert your Thai address in the transfer? The form accepts other countries and zip codes?

 

Because it's a domestic transfer, most banks only allow for a US address. Thanks for your help.

[Mike Lister]

When you fill out the US SSc change of bank form, your address must be in the same country as the bank. The SSC payments system checks those two things and rejects any transaction where the two things are in different countries. I know this because Manilla failed to change my home address from the UK to Thailand when it changed my bank details and it took nearly three months before payments resumed....it was a nightmare and Manilla was not helpful, it took many letters to the US to get it sorted.

[lopburi3]

There are two ways to transfer SS to a Bangkok Bank account - the new international method as used for other Thai banks which does not require a special in person access account.  Believe this would be the preferred method for most people (if not want to us US account for deposit and send what/when needed to Thailand).

 

The second method is the old relay through Bangkok Bank New York office via ACH transfer to that office and forwarding to account in Thailand that Bangkok Bank required to be in person access only (to protect themselves as they would be responsible for repayment to SS any money paid after death).  A change to the new system seems to remove this issue.

 

[EVENKEEL]

4 hours ago, racyrick said:

Did you change your bank from a US Bank to your bank here in Thailand online with your mySSAaccount?

 

They had the swift codes for Thailand Banks?

 

Do you have a Thai or US address on your SSA account?

 

Thanks for your help.

It's been a couple years but I believe I looked up swift code for New York. My SSA account has US address. Yes, I switched my deposit from US Bank to Thai Bank, the same with my government pension.

[scorecard]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:33 AM, scorecard said:

Strange rules.

Australian OAP and DVA recipients can have a direct transfer to any Thai bank, and both agencies encourage the recipient to use a joint savings account so that if there's sickness etc., the family can still access some funds. 

 

Mine has an ATM card, and the account is embedded into my internet banking so electronic transfers are easy for both domestic and international funds transfers.

 

And I can access the funds using an app on my smartphone. 

And I get an SMS message with a loud 'ding' from my Thai bank the instant the funds are deposited.

 

And I get a full detail e.mail from my Thai bank sent immediately the funds are deposited.

[morning glory]

On 10/8/2023 at 8:14 AM, Mike Lister said:

My US SSc is deposited directly into Bangkok Bank and I do have an ATM card for the account, why your circumstances are different is unclear. 

When I retired ten years ago, Bangkok Bank was the only option for receiving SS, and it was their policy to only offer a restricted account for receiving SS funds (no ATM, no app/online transfers, must go in Bank in person to withdraw/transfer money). I was glad to hear that SS changed their rules several years ago.

[racyrick]

20 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's been a couple years but I believe I looked up swift code for New York. My SSA account has US address. Yes, I switched my deposit from US Bank to Thai Bank, the same with my government pension.

Thanks for your reply. The Bangkok Bank in NY uses a routing number and only foreign banks uses SWIFT.

Bangkok Bank's NY office is considered a US bank and when you deposit there, it is then transferred to your bank account in Thailand. I am almost positive that if you have a Thai address registered with SS, you can't change your banking information with your online account as well. If anyone with a Thai address has changed the banking info online to a bank here in Thailand, please let me know. There is only two ways to change if you live in Thailand with a Thai address, go the Manila route or call the 800 number in the US. Thanks again.

[scorecard]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:33 AM, scorecard said:

Strange rules.

Australian OAP and DVA recipients can have a direct transfer to any Thai bank, and both agencies encourage the recipient to use a joint savings account so that if there's sickness etc., the family can still access some funds. 

 

Mine has an ATM card, and the account is embedded into my internet banking so electronic transfers are easy for both domestic and international funds transfers.

 

And I can access the funds using an app on my smartphone. 

And the funds are in the Thai bank and available the same day it's sent from Australia.

[Mike Lister]

2 hours ago, racyrick said:

Thanks for your reply. The Bangkok Bank in NY uses a routing number and only foreign banks uses SWIFT.

Bangkok Bank's NY office is considered a US bank and when you deposit there, it is then transferred to your bank account in Thailand. I am almost positive that if you have a Thai address registered with SS, you can't change your banking information with your online account as well. If anyone with a Thai address has changed the banking info online to a bank here in Thailand, please let me know. There is only two ways to change if you live in Thailand with a Thai address, go the Manila route or call the 800 number in the US. Thanks again.

That's completely wrong, I'm amazed anyone actually wrote that. American banks do use SWIFT, here's a list of their SWIFT codes, from SWIFT.

 

https://www.theswiftcodes.com/united-states/

[BKKKevin]

For those contemplating direct deposit of their SS check have your Thai bank open two accounts… One account use as your deposit account and the second account for your debit card, online banking and QR payments… This creates a firewall so if the second account is compromised and needs to be closed your SS deposit account is left intact… Money can be easily moved from on one account via app or online and you can control the balance of the debit card account… It also keeps the SS deposit account clean of transactions to make the bank book/statement easier to read for immigration extension purposes…

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

That's completely wrong, I'm amazed anyone actually wrote that. American banks do use SWIFT, here's a list of their SWIFT codes, from SWIFT.

 

https://www.theswiftcodes.com/united-states/

The way I understood his post (and this conforms with my experience of years ago) a transfer from a US bank to Bangkok Bank New York does not use SWIFT (though it possibly could). Similarly, it is possible to request them to credit your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand without doing a SWIFT transfer. Actually, in the past, I used to transfer to Bangkok Bank's account in Chase Manhattan with instructions for further credit to my account in Thailand.. This took less than 24 hours.

[timendres]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

The way I understood his post (and this conforms with my experience of years ago) a transfer from a US bank to Bangkok Bank New York does not use SWIFT (though it possibly could). Similarly, it is possible to request them to credit your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand without doing a SWIFT transfer. Actually, in the past, I used to transfer to Bangkok Bank's account in Chase Manhattan with instructions for further credit to my account in Thailand.. This took less than 24 hours.

Years ago I was able to receive payments to my company's Bangkok Bank account from US clients using ACH transfers to the NY Bangkok Bank branch. However, at some point BBL required those ACH transfers be made using the newer ACH format, which most US banks still do not support. After that, I was never able to get the ACH transfers to work again.

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

The way I understood his post (and this conforms with my experience of years ago) a transfer from a US bank to Bangkok Bank New York does not use SWIFT (though it possibly could). Similarly, it is possible to request them to credit your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand without doing a SWIFT transfer. Actually, in the past, I used to transfer to Bangkok Bank's account in Chase Manhattan with instructions for further credit to my account in Thailand.. This took less than 24 hours.

All the discussion of whether it's swift or routing is meaningless. I did my bank transfer from US Bank to Bangkok Bank for SS online at SS account. For direct deposit of SS check.

[Mike Lister]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

The way I understood his post (and this conforms with my experience of years ago) a transfer from a US bank to Bangkok Bank New York does not use SWIFT (though it possibly could). Similarly, it is possible to request them to credit your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand without doing a SWIFT transfer. Actually, in the past, I used to transfer to Bangkok Bank's account in Chase Manhattan with instructions for further credit to my account in Thailand.. This took less than 24 hours.

Internal bank transfers in the US use the ACHA system (Automated Clearing House Association), each state has their own network, all of which are interconnected.  The Michigan ACHA system is known as MACHA, in Delaware it's DACHA, in Nevada it's NACHA, and so on. The Federal Reserve or US Central Bank is linked to the ACHA system which it uses to clear checks between financial institutions within the US. 

 

Global ACH is the US alternative to SWFT, the system is used by many US banks to transfer and settle internationally, because it is linked to the Federal Reserve Bank. 

 

SWIFT is the Society for World Wide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. It is a membership based system where typically, the head office or main branch of each bank has a SWIFT address which will be used to send and receive. SWIFT is a secure messaging system, it doesn't actually transfer funds, it merely confirms that transfers will be made which are then actioned and settled using the country's Central Bank as a separate step. 

 

Any bank anywhere may use SWIFT, all they need is membership and a SWIFT address. SWIFT is faster, is typically used for larger amounts and has a large network with very high security.

 

ACH is mainly US based, Global ACH is much slower and covers a smaller footprint of global banks and is mainly a USD based system. Transactions are typically high volume, low value. 

 

So, US banks can send or receive funds from overseas, via the SWIFT system, as long as the bank is a SWIFT member. This will vary from bank to bank based on its size and profile but many are, all the bigger banks most typically are members of SWIFT. Which system those banks use will depend on the volume, value and currency of the transactions involved but it is completely incorrect to say that US banks don't use SWIFT.

[earlinclaifornia]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:17 PM, pookiki said:

What I don't understand is why anyone would want to have their Social Security check direct deposited to any bank in Thailand when the exchange rates are so crappy.  It makes much more sense to have the money deposited to your bank account in the US and transfer funds as necessary. Bank laws in Thailand are beyond the pall and not consumer oriented - especially for expatriates.

I think not. I see the rate at XE. I see the rate of BBK and the differences are .021. The US bank takes 500B and the Thia side takes 200B

[lopburi3]

14 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

I think not. I see the rate at XE. I see the rate of BBK and the differences are .021. The US bank takes 500B and the Thia side takes 200B

Actually most people use Wise for such transfers so no fee from home bank and no fee from Thai bank.  Only fee is Wise (based on amount transferred) and exchange rate used is always higher that bank rates.  Worth checking if you are not aware of it.

Edited October 10, 2023 by lopburi3

[earlinclaifornia]

49 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually most people use Wise for such transfers so no fee from home bank and no fee from Thai bank.  Only fee is Wise (based on amount transferred) and exchange rate used is always higher that bank rates.  Worth checking if you are not aware of it.

You are corret. In my case it amounts to additional 10 dollarsn plus bank charge savings.

[racyrick]

Didn't mean to spark a debate on Swift codes. What I meant to say and should have said is that if you are direct depositing your SS to a US bank or a foreign bank located in the US, the SSA only uses routing numbers. 

If you're using the IDD method to send directly to your bank located in a foreign country, then the SSA uses Swift codes.

[Mike Lister]

11 minutes ago, racyrick said:

Didn't mean to spark a debate on Swift codes. What I meant to say and should have said is that if you are direct depositing your SS to a US bank or a foreign bank located in the US, the SSA only uses routing numbers. 

If you're using the IDD method to send directly to your bank located in a foreign country, then the SSA uses Swift codes.

Agreed, ACH for domestic, SWIFT for international.

[tydoorman]

what about using the account to verify your income for immigration