Transfer Money From Bank Of America

[jfchandler]

Here's an update on the situation with BofA...

As best as I can tell, the original method of linking your BofA account to the Bangkok Bank New York branch via its ABA # still works, and involves very small fees at the different points - BofA, BKKB New York, and BKK Bank in Thailand.

However, today for the first time I found a new feature on the BofA web site -- the ability to use BofA online banking to initiate international wire transfers to pretty much any country and bank, including in Thailand. In the past, you couldn't do that online, and instead had to initiate from a branch visit in the U.S.

For smaller amounts, the BKK Bank New York route is still the best, because it is ACH and has pretty low fees.

But for larger amounts, the online BofA international wire transfers route is OK. Their web site listed fees of $35 per if you let BofA do the currency conversion (which you should NOT do), and $45 per if you send in U.S. dollars, which you should do so the Thai banks do the conversion at a better onshore rate. Interestingly, the BofA wire transfer limit amounts posted were $5 MILLION U.S. per wire maximum on weekdays, and $50,000 U.S. on weekends.

When you to go the transfers tab on the BofA online banking site, and choose Outside the Bank, it now asks you to choose whether you want to add a domestic or international account. I tried using the listed ABA #s for Kasikorn and Krung Thai banks on the domestic tab, and they were not recognized. So then I tried Siam Commercial on the international accounts tab, and it was quickly accepted and verified online without even needing to do trial deposits.

Once you choose the country to be Thailand, the BofA web site gives you a pull down box that lists pretty much every Thai and other bank with a presence in Thailand. Once you select the bank, you're then prompted to choose the city where your Thai bank account is located and then the individual branch, also from a pull down box. Once you do that and add your Thai bank account number, you're pretty much done.

After completing that process in less than 5 minutes, the newly linked SCB account showed up in a separate section under accounts I could send to via BofA, with all the domestic U.S. linked accounts for ACH first in a pull down list, and then international accounts for international wires below the domestics in a separate section.

I haven't actually used the BofA online international wire transfers method to send any money, because I haven't the need for sending any large amounts. But the setup process went very easy and quickly. And the site was pretty clear about the details and the fees involved and such.

It's nice to see BofA has finally joined the ranks of other U.S. banks that have allowed online-initiated international wire transfers for some time. So BofA customers no longer have to make branch visits or do a complicated process of pre-filling out paperwork at your home branch in the U.S. to gain advance authorizations.

However, at $45 a pop, BofA's online method of wire transfers really only makes sense if:

you've got a single, large amount to send (making fee-free ATM withdrawals in Thailand impractical), and

--you don't have a BKK Bank account in LOS that allows you to use their NY branch as an ACH destination from any U.S. bank's online banking, and

--you don't have another U.S. bank that gives you a better deal/lower fee on online-initiated international wire transfers.