Amazing Wire Transfer!

[ProThaiExpat]

Can you beat this scenario?

I faxed a wire transfer order to Charles Schwab on Monday Night, 12/17 at 11:00pm in Chiang Mai (11am EST Monday) and the money was put in my account at SCB in Chiang Mai at 11:51 am Tues 12/18.(11:51pm EST Monday).

Schwab does say if your fax reaches them by 12:30 EST they will wire out the money the same day. This is the first time I didn't get a confirmation call, as I have done this three times this year, same amount, same bank. I put on my wire transfer form "Ignore timezones if confirmation call needed, call ASAP" so they don't delay the transfer by waiting for waking hours here to call.

Their wire transfer office is in the south west, so may be on MST or CST, so probably reached them in midmorning, giving them the ful day to get it out. It was their Monday, the busiest day for them, I suspect.

The conversion rate +any fees, and I don't think there are any, was 33.48 on a day the BKK Post reported 33.62 at 6pm closing Monday.

Truly amazing when you hear all the horror stories that abound. Also many banks wait a day to deposit it to improve their "float" but not SCB evidently.

Free wire transfer from Schwab as well.

With a 15 minute process time to get a retirement extension last month, I am in a real positive zone!!! Happy Holidays!!!

[JonnieB]

Can you beat this scenario?

I faxed a wire transfer order to Charles Schwab on Monday Night, 12/17 at 11:00pm in Chiang Mai (11am EST Monday) and the money was put in my account at SCB in Chiang Mai at 11:51 am Tues 12/18.(11:51pm EST Monday).

I have had similar experiences...online wire transfer in Thailand in the morning and it's in my BB account the next morning. Depends on exact time of day and the holiday/weekend reschedule in each country

[traveldog]

Pro Thai,

That is amazingly fast for wire t-fer. Are you also saying that there was no wire transfer fee from Schwab as well???? Hard to believe and if true I should switch...Etrade charges me $25 each time...Good for you!

[ProThaiExpat]

traveldog: Nothing is for free as they say. They charge $25 per wire transfer, however, if your a signature member of the international division, they reverse the fee upon request.

To have an account in the International Division, there is quarterly account maintenance fee depending on your total investment dollar with them. Over 75K invested with Schwab, in any manner, entitles you to free account maintenance. Most of my money is in CDs and they have a good stable of bank CDs with the highest return available and they buy them without any charge to you. Evidently, the banks pay Schwab for selling the CD to you. I locked in some 5.4% CDs before the rates were cut earlier this year.

Thus to me, it is a free service, but I would say with the conditions aforementioned. By the way, they have a free money link service with any bank in the U.S., so I regularly transfer money between my bank in Hawaii and Schwab.

Since it is the international division, they don't require a U.S. address which is often a requirement with banks. However, they do not allow you to buy U.S. mutual funds through them. ETFs yes. All other stocks, yes.

[traveldog]

ProThai,

Thanks for the reply. I think Schwab sounds better and better. I will check out their website. I meet the minimum acct. numbers for maintenance waivers....unless there are some hidden fees somewhere like excessive charges for buying/selling stocks etc I think etrade lost a loyal...but increasingly frustrated customer. I mean compared to Thai Banks my etrade ain't bad...but well being here, in Thailand, has been problematic and the wire fees alone are worth the move. Thanks again, I believe other members may be interested in this too.

[ProThaiExpat]

Most of my trades in the past have been billed at 29.95 on the buy side and never over 120 on the sell side even when your proceeds are in the 50k range. Schwab does bill itself as a discount trader and if you have a high volume of trades they have even cheaper rates. Also they have e-trade rates as well. The Service the International Division provides is better than that you receive in general at Schwab and they receive and act on email promptly on almost any subject.

Edited December 20, 2007 by ProThaiExpat

[traveldog]

cool, and thanks again

[backflip]

I've used Schwab to SWIFT money, and have never been charged a fee. Unlike a previous poster, I didn't have to request a charge reversal. The transfers were completed in less than 24 hours - in two cases, the transfers took only a couple hours. Too, their ATM card is free of any charges for either domestic or international withdrawals.

[ProThaiExpat]

backflip: Could your account be a standard U.S. account based on a U.S. address? Mine is with the international division that has its own rules.

[backflip]

Although my account is based in the US, the 3 brokers on my account know that I lived abroad, and they've called me numerous times. Before I opened the account, I inquired about having it based outside of the US, probably in HK. No problem, I was told, except that I would be subject to the laws, regulations, and taxation of HK SAR and PR China. That made my decision a lot easier.

[pkrv]

I was a bit stunned when I initiated a SWIFT transfer from Nationwide on Friday the 14th December at about 9:30 am and the funds arrived in the Developers account (Krung Thai) first thing (Thai time) on Monday the 17th December (before 6am UK time). Transfers are improving!

[mauiguy90]

Can you beat this scenario?

I faxed a wire transfer order to Charles Schwab on Monday Night, 12/17 at 11:00pm in Chiang Mai (11am EST Monday) and the money was put in my account at SCB in Chiang Mai at 11:51 am Tues 12/18.(11:51pm EST Monday).

Schwab does say if your fax reaches them by 12:30 EST they will wire out the money the same day. This is the first time I didn't get a confirmation call, as I have done this three times this year, same amount, same bank. I put on my wire transfer form "Ignore timezones if confirmation call needed, call ASAP" so they don't delay the transfer by waiting for waking hours here to call.

Their wire transfer office is in the south west, so may be on MST or CST, so probably reached them in midmorning, giving them the ful day to get it out. It was their Monday, the busiest day for them, I suspect.

The conversion rate +any fees, and I don't think there are any, was 33.48 on a day the BKK Post reported 33.62 at 6pm closing Monday.

Truly amazing when you hear all the horror stories that abound. Also many banks wait a day to deposit it to improve their "float" but not SCB evidently.

Free wire transfer from Schwab as well.

With a 15 minute process time to get a retirement extension last month, I am in a real positive zone!!! Happy Holidays!!!

Yep, Schwab just provides excellent and efficient service. I tried a wire transfer with TD Waterhouse and they took two weeks. Schwab took two days!

[Pib]

Can you beat this scenario?

I faxed a wire transfer order to Charles Schwab on Monday Night, 12/17 at 11:00pm in Chiang Mai (11am EST Monday) and the money was put in my account at SCB in Chiang Mai at 11:51 am Tues 12/18.(11:51pm EST Monday).

Schwab does say if your fax reaches them by 12:30 EST they will wire out the money the same day. This is the first time I didn't get a confirmation call, as I have done this three times this year, same amount, same bank. I put on my wire transfer form "Ignore timezones if confirmation call needed, call ASAP" so they don't delay the transfer by waiting for waking hours here to call.

Their wire transfer office is in the south west, so may be on MST or CST, so probably reached them in midmorning, giving them the ful day to get it out. It was their Monday, the busiest day for them, I suspect.

The conversion rate +any fees, and I don't think there are any, was 33.48 on a day the BKK Post reported 33.62 at 6pm closing Monday.

Truly amazing when you hear all the horror stories that abound. Also many banks wait a day to deposit it to improve their "float" but not SCB evidently.

Free wire transfer from Schwab as well.

With a 15 minute process time to get a retirement extension last month, I am in a real positive zone!!! Happy Holidays!!!

Yep, Schwab just provides excellent and efficient service. I tried a wire transfer with TD Waterhouse and they took two weeks. Schwab took two days!

I use the Bank of America Military online wire transfer function every few months to send money and depending on the cutoff time I submitted the online transfer, the money is in my Bangkok Bank account within 24 business hours. And it doesn't make a difference whether I use the Bangkok Bank SWIFT code or Bangkok Bank NY ACH routing number. So far, pretty good service with BOA Military.