Paypal And Thai Bank Accounts

[MRaina]

How can money be received in Thailand via PayPal?

There is a PayPal debit card, but can this be opened with a Thai bank account?

Or, is there any way to transfer funds from PayPal directly to a Thai bank account?

[ktamp]

As far as I know you can only tranfer paypal account to paypal account. You should be able to open a second paypal account using a thai bank account. Then you can transfer from your original paypal account and from there deposit into your thai bank account.

[Maejo Man]

If you have a Thai Paypal account all funds from that account can be paid direct to your Thai bank account. Very simple really

[Norrad]

If you have a Thai Paypal account all funds from that account can be paid direct to your Thai bank account. Very simple really

It takes about a week for the funds to become available though. Simply add a bank account (Most Thai banks are supported) in your PayPal account settings and request the money. Very easy to do.

[iCumKitteh]

Someone can send a PayPal notification of payment to your email address, if you have no PayPal account you will be invited to open one, or receive the payment via your creditcard.

In Thailand you can register a Paypal account connected to a debitcard that carries the VISA logo and has 3 digit security code on the backside (if your card does not have this apply for a newer version) When this is a Be1st Debit Card from Bangkok Bank account you must verify the card via phone number 1333 or (+66)2645-5555. (after this process you can also use the card for online payments like booking an airticket)

From their side PayPal will verify your Thai bankaccount by sending two small amounts to you, eg. 0.12 and 0.08 cents, this numbers (eg.1208) is to confirm you are the holder of the card.

Never accept payments from someone you don't know, this is a much used trick by scammers to get access to your account. Regarding the PayPal website, always check in the addressbar if it's the real website (paypal.com) as scammy ones look exactly the same !

[MRaina]

Thanks to all who posted.

Is it possible to get a PayPal debit card, that is available with accounts connected to US bank accounts?

Or is this currently only available in the US, and not international countries? It seem this can be done from the US based PayPal account, but there doesn't seem to be an option for Thai based PayPal accounts right now.

If a transfer is done directly to the Thai bank account, this is not yet immediate, but takes several days, correct? Has anyone had experience with this, connected to Bangkok Bank account? Is there any way to set up an immediate transfer, or have it directly connected to the PayPal account, as with the PayPal debit card, in Thailand?

[Norrad]

The PayPal debit card is not available in Thailand. Only the US and Canada as far as I know.

Transferring money from your PayPal account to any Thai bank takes 5-7 working days, there is no way to speed up the transfer. I tried once as I needed the funds for a large purchase or I would lose my deposit.

[okkoolio]

I have a question regarding getting money from a usa bank to a thaibank via paypal. I have a usa bank and a usa paypal account. once i am in thailand I'll set up a thai bank account and thai paypal account. can i pay myself in paypal to avoid bank fees? The steps would be transfer money from usa bank account to my usa paypal account. Fund my thai paypal account email from my usa paypal account. once the monies in my thai paypal account transfer it to my thai bank account. any body try this? fees? problems with logging in to usa paypal account and paying your own thai paypal email address? (basically paying urself) problems loggin in to a USA paypal account to pay ur self because of IP address in thailand? Conversion fees within paypal from a usd usa paypal account to paying a thai baht account?

Edited November 14, 2009 by okkoolio

[stevenl]

Take into account that Paypal charges an arm and a leg for currency conversions. Extremely expensive.

[MRaina]

It doesn't seem that PayPal has currency conversion fees. Why would this be the case?

It is also easy to transfer funds between PayPal accounts with NO FEE.

Simply choose 'personal payments' option when you select what type of payment it is (eg goods, services, etc), and there is no fee or percentage charged at all.

Edited November 21, 2009 by MRaina

[OriginalPoster]

It doesn't seem that PayPal has currency conversion fees. Why would this be the case?

There may not be a currency conversion fee that they itemize as such but they make up for it by docking the internet exchange rate by 2.5%.

Edited November 22, 2009 by OriginalPoster

[threelegcowboy]

Some time ago I asked about paypal at Thai Banks and they said customers did not have electronic access. Has anybody been able to sign up to a Thai bank with paypal?

[ianguygil]

Yes, with Bangkok Bank using a Credit Card. This provides more security. It was no problem at all. I use it relatively often.

[jelluk]

ight i saw this in a news paper a while back i did it and now send money to thailand for free . hope it works for u no reason why not . i even used my hotels address to open account :-

Step 1: Open Thai bank account. I chose Kasikorn bank after reading many favorable reviews online. Went with my teerak to the bank, took a number, and was seen in minutes. Explained, through teerak, that I wanted to open an account. The bank clerk asked if I lived or worked in Thailand, and my teerak explained that I did not, but visited 3 or 4 times per year. The clerk then asked if I had a Thai address, and i used the hotels address

Signed a couple of forms (all in Thai) and deposited 500 Baht. I also had to pay 300 baht for the ATM card. There were actually 2 fees, one for 100 Baht and the other for 200 Baht. My guess is one to create the card and one for the annual fee. I got the card on the spot along with a sealed document that included my PIN number. I can keep this number or change it at any ATM.

Passport was required (and copied) to verify who I was. So it boils down to an in-country address and a passport, along with a few baht to open an account.

Step 2: Try to add the Thai bank to my US PayPal account. No joy. I can only add US banks to my US PayPal account. I email PayPal and ask them what to do. In less than 24 hours, they say that I can open a 2nd PayPal account and designate Thailand as the country. I do this with no problem.

I then try to add my Kasikorn bank account to my Thai PayPal account. Still no joy. I try different variations – with the dashes, without the dashes– all to no avail.

I then call the Kasikorn Bangkok help desk, on a Saturday, and confirm what I read on the Kasikorn web site. I need to have online access (K-cyber account) and then I will be able to add the account (almost).

Step 3: Back to Kasikorn bank. I get the same clerk and explain that I want to get the K-cyber access. I sign another form in Thai that lists my name, account number, and my email address. I am told that I will get the log in info via email.

Step 4: Receive email within 24 hours for Kasikorn telling me that my K-cyber account is set up and they provide log in and password. On initial log in, both password and user name have to be changed. They also require a 2nd password for any transactions. This can either be done via SMS or I can create a second password. I choose a second password in case I am not in-country when I want to make a transaction.

Kasikorn web site - http://www.kasikornbank.com/portal/site/KBank/ - from the drop down select "K-Cyber Banking. A new window will open. Choose ENG for your language.

Step 5: In order to make online purchases or transactions there is another step. I have to create a K-web shopping virtual credit card. It is a simple application, requiring the 2nd password, and within 24 hours I have a virtual credit card. What this means is, I was emailed a 16-digit number (same as a Visa card), expiration date, and a CCV (the 3 digits on the back of the card). All of this is virtual. This is an additional security step that the bank uses.

Step 6: Back to the Thai PayPal account. I log in to my Thai account, add the virtual account info (which is linked to my Kasikorn account), and the card is accepted. WOO HOO! PayPal requires verification. They will deduct $1.95 from the account and the transaction will be listed as PAYPAL1234 or 1234PAPAL. The four digits will then have to be posted at the PayPal account to verify. In the US, they deposited a few cents and then you had to enter that info in your account to verify. Once verified, PayPal will reimburse the $1.95.

Step 7: Receive email confirmation that PayPal has deducted money from my account and the email has the 4 digits I need to confirm my account. Back to Thai PayPal and enter the 4 digits and all is good. Now I have an online account and can go shopping online, transfer money, etc.

Step 8: Time to test the transferring of funds from US PayPal to Thai PayPal. I send $100 (send money email to email) and receive immediate confirmation via email that the transaction has completed. I log in to my Thai PayPal online account and can see that the funds are available and I now have to accept or deny. I accept.

Step 9: I now want to transfer the $100 from PayPal to my Kasikorn bank. Problem. I don't have a bank account associated with the Thai PayPal account. The virtual info is already there, but not a real bank account. So, I click on "add a bank account". All is well until I select the drop down that lists all of the banks, and everything is in the Thai language.

I open a second window and go to the Kasikorn web site and compare the Thai script and find my bank in the drop down window (2nd bank listed). I select it and next is a confirmation page and Kasikorn Bank is now in English so I feel a little better that I have chosen the correct bank. I confirm the transfer and next window informs me that it will take 5-7 days for the transfer (a little longer than US PayPal which is 3 to 4 days).

Bank account must be entered without the dashes.

i hope this works for u .. in uk we can send money from paypal account to paypal accounts as a personal payment for free there is a tab when u click the send money tab under personal ... i sent some money last week i got 51 to the pound . so the rate is ok it was 51 on the exchange site at the time .. plus with the k cyberbanking u get online access where u can transfer money in to any major bank in Thailand for a 20 bt fee

[FlatOut]

Fantastic work ^^

That will help a lot.

[MRaina]

Bangkok Bank is better/faster/easier to use. It is probably the most Farang friendly bank in Thailand right now.

They also can give the PayPal account access number over the phone, for activation, before internet banking is set up for an account at the bank.

And their signing papers are in English.

[robert10]

ight i saw this in a news paper a while back i did it and now send money to thailand for free . hope it works for u no reason why not . i even used my hotels address to open account :-

Thanks for your detailed write up! I also have a Kasikorn account. But I do not have paypal account just yet.

Am I correct to say that Steps 5 to 7 need only be done if you plan on using your Thai Paypal account for online purchases? For somebody like me who want to transfer money (without fees) from home country to LOS, I guess I can skip the virtual credit card thingy?

Also, did Kasikorn Bank charge you for step 9 when you deposit USD to your savings account?

It seems that you can hold foreign currency (USD) in your savings account? I checked with K Bank on wire transfer from my home country to K bank account, and they told me that they will automatically convert home currency to THB on receipt of wired funds, which means I cannot choose to convert to THB on a day that the FX rate is favorable to me I hope to get around this by using the PayPal route instead of regular banking wire transfers

Edited December 17, 2009 by robert10