Can I wire money from Bangkok Bank to my USA bank if I'm not in Thailand?

[wpcoe]

I'm expecting to close a condo sale in Pattaya next month and have given a Thai paralegal Power of Attorney to represent me at the Land Office.  The proceeds will go into my Bangkok Bank savings account, but I live permanently in Mexico.  Can I then transfer the money out of Thailand from either the Bangkok Bank web site or their smart phone app?

 

I have a DeeMoney account that I've had a long time and never used, and they have a maximum of B800k per transfer, but I guess that could work as a Plan B?  Anybody see any reason why I couldn't keep making B800k transfers until it's all overseas by using their smart phone app from overseas?  (I would need to make four transfers, and I would be transferring to a USA bank.)

 

As Plan C, the paralegal says she can do it for another THB10,000 fee, but of course, if I don't need to pay that, I won't.

 

[Mike Lister]

As a general rule you can only push money, you can't pull it. That means you can issue an instruction to send funds but you can't request the funds be sent to you, I hope the distinction is clear. For example, you couldn't call the bank and ask the funds be sent to you but you can go into the bank and send them yourself. So that means either your presence in the bank or the app. If you use the app overseas you will be limited to daily transfer limits which vary from bank to bank. The bank will also want to know more about the funds and will need to see the blue sales/tax paid receipt issued by the Land Office. If you keep issuing 800k transfer instructions, it's likely the bank will stop you and ask questions, that's my best guess, what they might require afterwards is unclear. A POA using a lawyer would work but you need to pick carefully and have lots of confidence in the lawyer.

 

[john donson]

does the paralegal want you to send the proceeds of the sale onto her account?

 

if you have the FET from incoming funds, would not be too much trouble for sending back out...

 

does Deemoney not have limits per year that you can send out ?

[wpcoe]

4 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

As a general rule you can only push money, you can't pull it. That means you can issue an instruction to send funds but you can't request the funds be sent to you, I hope the distinction is clear. For example, you couldn't call the bank and ask the funds be sent to you but you can go into the bank and send them yourself. So that means either your presence in the bank or the app. If you use the app overseas you will be limited to daily transfer limits which vary from bank to bank. The bank will also want to know more about the funds and will need to see the blue sales/tax paid receipt issued by the Land Office. If you keep issuing 800k transfer instructions, it's likely the bank will stop you and ask questions, that's my best guess, what they might require afterwards is unclear. A POA using a lawyer would work but you need to pick carefully and have lots of confidence in the lawyer.

 

 

4 hours ago, john donson said:

does the paralegal want you to send the proceeds of the sale onto her account?

 

if you have the FET from incoming funds, would not be too much trouble for sending back out...

 

does Deemoney not have limits per year that you can send out ?

 

Thanks.  I get the clear feeling that I wouldn't be able to get (all of) the money out of Thailand while I remain overseas, which means Plan C (the paralegal) seems the way to go.

 

The paralegal was recommended by the real estate agency, and I've done a purchase and a sale from them and I do have confidence in the agency.  The paralegal said:  "... if you want us to transfer money for you then for the final payment of this condominium unit, the buyer has to buy a cashier’s cheque and payable to our name in order that we can transfer on your behalf."

 

I'm going to email the owner of the agency and get his reassurances that this is a safe and reliable procedure and that he has confidence with this paralegal.  He is well regarded in the Pattaya area.

Edited January 23 by wpcoe

[paahlman]

Although Mike is probably correct. You can wire up to 2 million baht out every day with either Bangkok bank or KBank and possibly other via app. However.. It might require a Thai VPN connection to simulate your are inside Thailand. Not sure about the pull - push thing which is probably spot on.

[Skipalongcassidy]

On 1/23/2024 at 10:53 AM, wpcoe said:

I'm expecting to close a condo sale in Pattaya next month and have given a Thai paralegal Power of Attorney to represent me at the Land Office.  The proceeds will go into my Bangkok Bank savings account, but I live permanently in Mexico.  Can I then transfer the money out of Thailand from either the Bangkok Bank web site or their smart phone app?

 

I have a DeeMoney account that I've had a long time and never used, and they have a maximum of B800k per transfer, but I guess that could work as a Plan B?  Anybody see any reason why I couldn't keep making B800k transfers until it's all overseas by using their smart phone app from overseas?  (I would need to make four transfers, and I would be transferring to a USA bank.)

 

As Plan C, the paralegal says she can do it for another THB10,000 fee, but of course, if I don't need to pay that, I won't.

 

Check MONITO for the best way... probably recommend using a broker for large amounts.

[AAArdvark]

As a last resort, if you have a BBL debit card you can slowly withdraw money from your account to Mexico. It might take a long time though. 

[The Theory]

On 1/23/2024 at 3:39 PM, wpcoe said:

this is a safe and reliable procedure and that he has confidence with this paralegal.  He is well regarded in the Pattaya area.

When there is a big money in the middle I can't trust anyone. 
why don't you take a trip to Thailand ?!!! 🤔

[ianguygil]

You can contact our branch in New York and possibly they can help you. Please PM me and I can get somebody to get in touch with you

 

Ian

[wpcoe]

12 hours ago, ianguygil said:

You can contact our branch in New York and possibly they can help you. Please PM me and I can get somebody to get in touch with you

Thanks for that generous offer, but I'm already committed to a Thai paralegal to represent me at the Land Office and then to forward the money to me.

[ianguygil]

10 hours ago, wpcoe said:

Thanks for that generous offer, but I'm already committed to a Thai paralegal to represent me at the Land Office and then to forward the money to me.

Understood

 

For anybody in the UK you an contact London Branch, in the USA you can contact New York. Contact details are on our Website www.bangkokbank.com