Wire Transfer -- Usa To Thailand -- Not Possible

[navien]

i just got off the phone with key bank in the us and was told that it wasn't possible to transfer money to thailand from my account....blocked due to risks associated with money laundering etc.

anyone know if all banks in the usa are like this?

[be0]

I had no problems with Bank of America.

[Jingthing]

Are you in the US or here? If in the US and they won't do a wire, CHANGE BANKS. If not in the US, do you have a WIRING AGREEMENT with Key Bank? Most US banks won't effect a wire from abroad for any customer from anywhere outside the US without a previously arranged wiring agreement (done in person at a branch in the US). Of course I don't know the policies of Key Bank; it is a regional bank so I doubt many people here use it.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Jingthing

[dandun]

i use citibank in usa and scb in thailand, never had a problem but i know that certain amounts "$1 mil+" you need to get authorization from your receiving bank in thailand.

[Jingthing]

If you are in Thailand and that bank is your only option now, my best suggestion is to transfer money to a friend or relative in the US that uses another bank, and then they can wire the money in person from the US to your Thai bank.

[nakachalet]

you did not say

what the key bank officer gave you as reasons not able to grant your request?

[Jingthing]

you did not say

what the key bank officer gave you as reasons not able to grant your request?

I think he did say and that is the first time I have heard that excuse. Frankly, I suspect this is more about lack of a wiring agreement. Also, some US banks don't do SWIFT wires at all unless you walk into the branch!

[Svenn]

Another impossibly useless bank.

Bank of America does it for $45 (ridiculous), and apparently HSBC will do it free if you open another account in Thailand to transfer it to (easier said than done). I have such a profound hatred of banks that I actually just sued Bank of America for an unrelated fee I got (I'm told it's cheaper for them to just refund it than send a lawyer)... you beat the cattle to much and they'll start to fight back

[IMA_FARANG]

No it's not true.

It's just your bank that either doesn't know how or doesn't want to do the wire transfer.

I have a written agreement I signed some years ago. I do a monthly transfer by SWIFT wire transfer to BKK bank in Bangkok to my Thai family.

The maximum amount I can transfer without agreement from my U.S. bank is pre-determined. If I try to go over that amount in any month, the bank will require a verbal confirmation from me.

I have the equivalent of a PIN number...with which I can do a wire transfer each month to my Bangkok Bank account as long as it is under the maximum allowed just by using the PIN number.

If I try to go over the maximum allowed, or I try to do more than 1 transfer a month, the bank requires verification from me to allow that transfer.

Otherwise, I just notify my U.S. bank by email, and the money is transferred. The fee for each wire transfer is currently $30 per wire transfer.

I usually make 1 transfer each month, which my Thai family uses to pay the bills and buy food for the month.

Some banks in the U.S. are either lazy or don't know what to do to start such a monthly transfer. So the simply say they can't do it, according to the law. They are just lazy or feel they can't be bothered to go to that "trouble".

Now, there are regulations that limit the amount you can transfer...if you go over $5000 currently, the U.S. bank may have to report that to the authorities for puposes of stopping "money laundering". For example, when I sent much more than that $5000 to my family to purchase a house I had to get it verified by a bank officer before it could be approved.

Other than something like that, it is just the U.S. bank being lazy or not knowing what to do (lousy customer service).

[craigt3365]

Before I could wire money here I also had to sign a wire transfer agreement. I was emailed to me and I faxed it back and then also mailed it. I can now just call and they will transfer $$$$'s here for about $35. I don't like this option as I have to call during their working hours...which is not always convenient for me.

Another option, which I like, is to use Bangkok Bank and do an EFT via their New York Bank. It is a little cheaper...but what I like is the ability to do it all via the internet. I don't have to call to make the transfer happen....unless it is a large amount, and then I do need to call to get a one time approval. For amounts of 10k or so, I can do it all via the internet.

I can then logon to BKK Bank and see when the funds have arrived. I have done this 3 or 4 times in the past 2 months. You can get all the details from BKK Bank's website...

[longball53098]

If the OP is referring to the Key Bank in the USA, it is one of the oldest and largest banking companies in the USA and has branches all over the country. Hard to believe they would not allow a wire transfer based on the reasons the OP states. Theres more to this

To answer the OP's question? No, not all USA banks are like this and I would say most will do wire transfers if as said a wire transfer agreement has been set up previously.

[navien]

thanks everyone. i'm still in north america and talked to the bank manager on the telephone. i'll switch banks and wire through them.

anyone know the difference in rates between exchanging travellers cheques vs. wiring? i know wiring will have a slightly better rate if converted within thailand but not sure how much.

thanks again,

[flying]

thanks everyone. i'm still in north america and talked to the bank manager on the telephone. i'll switch banks and wire through them.

anyone know the difference in rates between exchanging travellers cheques vs. wiring? i know wiring will have a slightly better rate if converted within thailand but not sure how much.

thanks again,

Most US banks & credit unions are $40 per wire to Thailand.

Unless you already have a Bangkok Bank account...In which case you can use Bangkok Bank New York as the one to wire to from your US account then it is $20

As for travelers checks my credit union is free my banks charge but I forget what since I take the free ones from my credit union.

Also the credit union has the $5000 books which are nice & small.

[Langsuan Man]

thanks everyone. i'm still in north america and talked to the bank manager on the telephone. i'll switch banks and wire through them.

thanks again,

Since you are going to have to get a new bank anyway I would suggest E*trade Bank who will charge you $25 for a SWIFT transfer to Thailand and only requires that you use their fax form

Additionally, once you are here you can use your E*trade Visa branded ATM card to withdraw from Thai ATM's and E*trade Bank will reimburse you the 150 THB foreign ATM charge, levied by Thai Banks, thereby eliminating your need to deal with Travelers Checks

[sonofsiam]

I use Wachovia (actually Wells Fargo now) and have been making regularly scheduled transfers to a Bangkok Bank account for many years. Never had a problem with it.

[InterestedObserver]

Bangkok Bank, New York branch has a US routing number which can be used to send money to Thailand. Such transfers are not considered foreign transfers as they go through the internal US money clearing system. No SWIFT number is required.

Edited April 9, 2010 by InterestedObserver

[Rama]

some small banks in the Us only do transfers to banks in the US. Many smaller banks and Savings and loans and Credit unions do not have SWIFT numbers and as a result do not do international transfers anywhere.All large banks do international transfers no problem.The bank guy gave you a load of BS to hide that they don't have a SWIFT number.

[Jingthing]

Etrade bank -- they used to appear to offer ONLINE SWIFT from their website, but when I tried it, they said they don't actually allow the service even after I put it in without an error message. That pissed me off big time. Etrade customer, have you tried the SWIFT FAX service yourself recently, and did it work?

Wachovia is now Wells Fargo, isn't it? Anyway my experience with Wachovia is bad. They give you a phone in repeat access code but it is only good for a few years. I was in the US and went in to get another, and they never sent it so I have service with them. To BEGIN the phone code access service you first must effect an actual wire from an actual branch in the US. This was before they became Wells Fargo.

Key bank, sorry didn't realize it was a major bank. Had never heard of it.

[Langsuan Man]

Etrade bank -- they used to appear to offer ONLINE SWIFT from their website, but when I tried it, they said they don't actually allow the service even after I put it in without an error message. That pissed me off big time. Etrade customer, have you tried the SWIFT FAX service yourself recently, and did it work?

Yes, two weeks ago for $106,000 to SCB. $25 to E*trade for the wire and someone skimmed off $15 during the transaction. Took one day and SCB called me when it arrived, emailed me the Foreign Currency Transaction form as an attachment, I signed it and returned it to them and the money was converted and in my account within 48 hours of the fax to E*trade

[longball53098]

If you wired money to SCB in USD and the SCB wire department made the conversion to baht they will take a service fee up to a max of 500 baht I believe. Go to the branch where you hold the account with you're passbook and ID and they can print out a detail report of the wire transaction and it will show the fee taken out.

[Langsuan Man]

Why ?

My wire request was for $106,025 USD, Etrade Debited my account for $106,025 USD, SCB reported the wire was for $105,985 USD which they converted to Thai Baht at the exchange rate of 32.22 THB per USD (after asking me if I wanted it converted on the day they called) and credited my account with 3, 414,836.70 THB

Even a mathematically challenged person like myself can tell that there was $15 missing which must have been the SCB Service fee you are talking about

[longball53098]

Why ? and someone skimmed off $15 during the transaction.

My wire request was for $106,025 USD, Etrade Debited my account for $106,025 USD, SCB reported the wire was for $105,985 USD which they converted to Thai Baht at the exchange rate of 32.22 THB per USD (after asking me if I wanted it converted on the day they called) and credited my account with 3, 414,836.70 THB

Even a mathematically challenged person like myself can tell that there was $15 missing which must have been the SCB Service fee you are talking about

Ok sorry but the way I read the post I thought you were suggesting someone "skimmed" off $15 and it was not accounted for. Hence my post to say must be a service fee.

[lopburi3]

Actually the $15 was likely taken out by the correspondent bank in the US that was used for the transaction to Thailand. That is why SCB never received it. After they receive they convert into Baht at the current rate and deduct 500 baht before putting into your account here.

[delmersomsri]

I agree with Jingthing. Wire transfers must be set up and authorised before you leave the States. It's for your own protection. I sucessfully use Chase but I applied for this capability and authorised it before I left the States. You cannot verify your identity over the phone. Thankfully, for your own good.

[praglen]

I have an account with Chase Bank in the States and one with Bangkok Bank in Thailand. Since Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank(to my knowledge) with a branch in New York, anytime I want to move dollars into Thai baht, I merely go on-line and effect an Account Transfer from my Chase account to my Bangkok Bank account. Chase charges me $3 and Bangkok bank charges .25% or a minimum of 200 baht to a maximum of 500 baht. But the best news is it takes 3 business days and the money is available. Simple, ain't it?

[Langsuan Man]

I agree with Jingthing. Wire transfers must be set up and authorised before you leave the States. It's for your own protection. I sucessfully use Chase but I applied for this capability and authorised it before I left the States. You cannot verify your identity over the phone. Thankfully, for your own good.

I can't believe some of the posts here on TV

Of course your bank can verify your identity over the phone, they do it via an extended verification procedure where you have to correctly answer several questions about information on your CREDIT REPORT. Such as the amount of your mortgage, a telephone area code you may have had in the past, your last payment on a credit card, or other type questions that only the account holder would know.

I have had wires sent from E*trade Bank using the fax form twice, once when I purchased a Condo three years ago and recently as reported above. At no time did I ever have to "authorize" them prior to coming to Thailand. Only had to do the extended verification procedure this last time due to the large amount and wisely included a local telephone number with the wire request form

Edited April 11, 2010 by Langsuan Man

[jfchandler]

I don't have an account with Key Bank in the U.S., but I don't believe that they won't do an international wire transfer for their customer there.... Probably can't order it online. Might have to go into branch. But I'd be shocked if they don't do ANY international wires.

The OP might consider calling their 1-800 customer service number, and getting a better explanation. They are a big bank with many locations in different states. The OP may have just gotten a bank manager who was clueless.

As mentioned above, if the OP happens to have a BKK Bank account already, then he can have Key or any other U.S. bank do a DOMESTIC wire to the BKK Bank branch in New York using their ABA/routing number, and his Thailand BKK Bank account number, and the funds will arrive quickly here in Thailand.

[TokyoT]

thanks everyone. i'm still in north america and talked to the bank manager on the telephone. i'll switch banks and wire through them.

anyone know the difference in rates between exchanging travellers cheques vs. wiring? i know wiring will have a slightly better rate if converted within thailand but not sure how much.

thanks again,

I use Key Bank in the US, and one of the main reasons that I switch to them (years ago) was the ease at which they allowed me to wire funds to Thailand. I have funds wired to Thailand three or four times a year. I call, and confirm my request via e-mail. The bank then calls me back to confirm, and many times the funds are in my Bangkok Bank account the next day.

They actually did not charge me a fee for the funds I had wired in Dec.

Not sure if it matter much buy I do have a Key Privilege account.

[longball53098]

No fee? From a major US bank? I find that hard to believe unless you have a special account with all kinds of freebies

[JimGant]

I merely go on-line and effect an Account Transfer from my Chase account to my Bangkok Bank account. Chase charges me $3 and Bangkok bank charges .25% or a minimum of 200 baht to a maximum of 500 baht. But the best news is it takes 3 business days and the money is available. Simple, ain't it?

Chase, like Bank of America, charges for ACH transfers ($3 in the above example), as they use a middleman -- which also slows down the transfer somewhat. Banks that do their own ACH transfers, like USAA Federal Savings Bank, don't charge anything -- and it only takes 2 business days. And, yes, just as with a SWIFT transfer, you pay between 200 and 500 baht on the Thai end for an ACH transfer.

You also pay Bangkok Bank NY for their services, which is $5 for transfers from $100 to $2000; and $10 for transfers above $2000 to $50,000. This is taken off the top, so the amount actually sent to Thailand is light by this amount.

Considerably cheaper, by about $25-$35, than SWIFT transfers. And easily implemented on-line with a few key strokes. Also, most banks will raise their daily ceiling for ACH transfers, commonly $5000. So, by sending a larger amount, your unit costs are reduced (I send much more than $5000 per event, so this is not a problem using the ACH/BB NY routing system.)