Send Money To Mother In Law

[JohnIrish]

My Wife would like to send some money monthly to her mother in Thailand. We currently live in the US.

I have been doing some internet searching but I am still confused on the best process.

Some suggest using an ATM card for a US bank and sending the mother the card to use. The mother would then have my US ATM card. Or.. do I setup a Thai Bank Account (such as Bangkok Bank) and give her an ATM to that Bank?

I have looked into Bangkok Bank for transfers.. I do not have an account with them. Would it be possible to open a joint account with the mother and just do transfers? They only seem to accept transfers if it is into your own account.

I had another thought.. could I get an account at Bangkok bank and do an OnLine bill pay to the Mother?

Money gram and Western Union seem expensive.

Any ideas?

thanks

[KunMatt]

The ways I know;

Either she gets a bank account in Thailand and you send the money to her with an international transfer from your bank in the US (this is the easiest way for you and her but you will incur a charge from your bank, a poor exchange rate and a charge at her bank to receive the money). Or you use an online transfer company like www.moneybookers.com or www.hifx.com (both of these ways are cheaper for you but she will still be charged to receive the money). I used to use Moneybookers all the time, I think their rates are a bit worse now than before. Moneybookers is always a pain in the ass to start off with cuz you need to verify both accounts, yours and your MIL, to raise the limits and be able to transfer any larger sum of money each month. You verify by getting a letter sent to the account holders home address, and by a dummy amount being deposited in the account which the owner has to confirm on the website. It's a lot of messing about but once you are through it is plain sailing after that.

The second way is for you to use Western Union, but I would expect a lot of hassle of trying to get your MIL to understand what she needs to do and what paperwork/ID etc she needs to retrieve the money from them and a LOT of back and forthing. Also, she obviously has to live near a Western Union. I wouldn't bother myself.

Edited February 14, 2011 by UKMatt

[Naam]

Would it be possible to open a joint account with the mother and just do transfers? They only seem to accept transfers if it is into your own account.

says WHO?

[Mario2008]

Given the costs, it also depends on how much money you send each month. If only a few thousand baht a month, it will be a lot cheaper to send money once a year.

[CharlieH]

Get the mother in law to open an account in Bangkok Bank. You transfer money into Bangkok Bank NEW YORK they will pass it on to Bangkok Bank Thailand. minimal charges.

Hope this suggestion helps.:jap:

[pjclark1]

you open a Thai bank account with internet banking.

Then you transfer the money from your Thai account to her Thai account each month.

Do not pay once a year, most Thais have no money management skills and will spend it all in a short time.

[boogie]

Would it be possible to open a joint account with the mother and just do transfers? They only seem to accept transfers if it is into your own account.

says WHO?

Exactly. My wife has a Bangkok Bank account and she transfers money into her mothers Bangkok Bank account. We've used different methods over the years but find this the easiest, all done on-line.

Edited February 15, 2011 by boogie

[fletchsmile]

Given the costs, it also depends on how much money you send each month. If only a few thousand baht a month, it will be a lot cheaper to send money once a year.

you open a Thai bank account with internet banking.

Then you transfer the money from your Thai account to her Thai account each month.

Do not pay once a year, most Thais have no money management skills and will spend it all in a short time.

A combination of these 2 would work nicely. Open a Thai bank account in your name. Transfer a lump sum periodically (eg 6 months 1 year etc) depending on amounts. Then transfer monthly online via internet banking from your Thai account into your MIL's account.

Transferring once a year into her account will never happen. She'll spend it like most people will and then you'll be doing your second transfer.

BTW1 Transfer in foreign currency and have the Thai bank convert to THB at onshore rate

BTW2 Pick the right bank and your online transfers in Thailand will be free of charge.

Cheapest option in the long run would be to pay a moto cycle taxi driver to "take out" the MIL in a hit and run.

[JimGant]

Or you use an online transfer company like www.moneybookers.com or www.hifx.com (both of these ways are cheaper for you but she will still be charged to receive the money)

Maybe cheaper if you're a Brit; but using a middleman to transfer from the US will always be more expensive, as we have less expensive options than available in the UK.

Setting up a Bangkok Bank account, and tranfering via ACH thru BB NY, will normally be your best option (a few banks and brokerages give free SWIFT transfers -- your best option. But these seem to be very limited).

And many US financial institutions do not charge any ACH fee, so the only fees you'll pay are the BB NY fee ($10 for transfers above $2000); and the 200 - 500 bt fee on the Thai end.

And this from the Moneybookers site:

For transactions involving currency conversion Moneybookers adds 1.99% to our wholesale exchange rates for foreign currency. This charge serves as a protection against the volatility and risk associated with FX markets. The Moneybookers exchange rates are updated on a regular basis throughout the day.

So, assuming the Moneybooker's "wholesale exchange rate" approximates the Interbank Exchange Rate, which from the BOT site for 14 Feb was 30.75, sending $10,000 thru Moneybookers to Thailand would net you 301,158 baht [(30.75 x .981 x 10000) - 500]

ACHing $10,000 thru BB NY would -- using the BOT TT rate of 30.63 -- net you 305,494 baht [((10000-10) x 30.63) - 500]. Thus, realizing 4336 baht *more* than with Moneybookers. (Even a $35 SWIFT transfer would be worth more than 3500 baht over Moneybookers.)

But, I don't believe Moneybookers is even available for US transfers.

Which is a good thing.....

[cardholder]

Given the costs, it also depends on how much money you send each month. If only a few thousand baht a month, it will be a lot cheaper to send money once a year.

cheapest - yes.

Most suitable -no.

Ever met a MIL (or Wife) who could handle an annual payment. I don't think so !

[JimGant]

cheapest - yes.

Most suitable -no.

But, as several have said, ACH the money to your BB account; then by having Internet banking, and a 3rd party account for Maaaaaa, transfer on-line to her account whenever and whatever.

And cheapest, yes -- when it comes to fees. But transfering one big chunk of money annually can also be expensive -- if the baht decides to weaken during that year.

[clinique]

Cheapest option in the long run would be to pay a moto cycle taxi driver to "take out" the MIL in a hit and run.

:cheesy:

[NovaBlue05]

Get the mother in law to open an account in Bangkok Bank. You transfer money into Bangkok Bank NEW YORK they will pass it on to Bangkok Bank Thailand. minimal charges.

Hope this suggestion helps.:jap:

This is what I do as she has a BkkBnk acct and atm in the village. I send at least 3 months at a time though to cut down on fees. Never had a problem with the transfers. Set up i-Banking with her account so I know when it gets there.

[Pib]

Yes, just periodically transfer funds to the mother-in-law's account. Hopefully, you are with a bank which provides free or low cost ACH transfers. And even if the bank does the TriallDeposits route to setup a transfer link from your bank account to the mother-in-law's account, you can just have the mom check with the bank to get the subdollar amounts deposited, provide that info to you, and then finish your verification....then you have a permanent transfer link setup. Some banks just allow you to do a transfer to any bank account without any trial deposit, but you may have to pay more for the transfer. Varies by bank

Using the Bangkok Bank NY Branch routing number and the local/-in-Thailand Bangkok Bank accounts works fine. Bangkok Bank NY will slice off a $5 fee as the money flows through them (up to $2000...they slice off more when going over $2000) and the in-Thailand branch will charge 0.25% (200 minimum to 500 baht max)....you get the TT Buying rate which is pretty much the best a common man can get. DON'T let your sending bank convert to baht as their exchange rate will almost always be lower than the in-Thailand TT Buying Rate used for incoming funds transfers...your sending bank makes a nice little profit by providing a lower exchange rate and pocketing the difference...send in dollars. See this Bangkok Bank webpage on funds transfers for more details. http://www.bangkokba...unds%20New.aspx

[transam]

Cheapest option in the long run would be to pay a moto cycle taxi driver to "take out" the MIL in a hit and run.

:cheesy:

Sounds a possibility eh .

PM me for my bank account number.

[Pib]

In the marriage ceremony vows where the preacher says, "Until Death Do Us Part", well, the fine print in the marriage license specifies that includes the mother-in-law.

[WilliaminBKK]

Open a savings account in your name at a bank in the US, I wouldn't do the same bank that you currently work with as they will link your card. Seperate bank means new bank card. Send that card to Thailand, I know the ATM fees will eat into this, but may be easier to manage.

[JohnIrish]

Thanks for all the help. It seem that using Bangkok Bank still would be the best method.

I tried to use the Bangkok Bank but they denied the money transfer.

The Mother In Law has a valid Bangkok Bank Account.

I do not have a Bangkok Bank Account. I used a different on line bank to transfer money to Bangkok Bank using the New York routing number. I had an email back stating that the transfer did not work. They were trying to deposit two small sums to validate the account before the transfer would be approved.

I called Bangkok Bank and was told that they can only transfer into my own account and not someone else's! However, the person who normally handles this was gone so perhaps I got the wrong information. So now I am confused and will call them back up again to see what went wrong. Do I need to open up a Bangkok Bank Account as well and do an internal bank transfer?

JohnIrish

[JohnIrish]

I just called Bangkok Bank again...

They can only do ACH transfers to your OWN account! They cannot do ACH transfers to a different account.

They suggested a wire transfer Bank to Bank. And they said this was more expensive.

It seems there is a remittance form for Bangkok Bank and I can use that form and send a cashiers check. the limit is $2500 with a $20 fee. I guess the form and instructions are on their web site.

Now I am back to checking with my own bank about Wire Transfers and perhaps sending a cashiers check to Bangkok Bank. It seem Bangkok Bank is only good if you want to send money to yourself! This is only useful if you want to transfer money from a US bank to Thailand and you lived in Thailand.

John

[Gumballl]

I just called Bangkok Bank again...

You called the wrong bank; in fact, you shouldn't have to call any bank.

I live in the US, and I periodically (err, rarely/sometimes) transfer monies from my BofA acct (it's not a joint acct) to my wife's Bangkok Bank acct. From there, my in-laws can withdraw the monies using the ATM card my wife left with them.

With BofA and also with HSBC, I went through the respective on-line banking site to setup the BB acct. All that was required was the account holder's name, their acct number, and the routing (ACH) number (which is 026008691). Part of the process of setting up the external account is to go through the motion of having your bank perform two small deposits, of which in a few days, you must then confirm the amounts. Call BB (in Thailand at 011-662-645-5555) to inquire about the deposits, and then report back to your bank the amounts (in US currency). If all is well, then your account is setup, and ready for use.

It is very easy.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Gumballl

[JimGant]

I just called Bangkok Bank again...they can only do ACH transfers to your OWN account! They cannot do ACH transfers to a different account.

I don't believe that's correct.... I believe it's a function of whether your US bank can do ACH transfers to 3rd parties. Some -- like USAA -- will even ask whether or not the ACH transfer account you're setting-up is not your account, thus is a "push" only account. In such a case, they won't even do the two trial deposits. But the mechanics are in-place to do a "send only" to a 3rd party account.

From the Bangkok Bank website on doing ACH transfers: (LINK)

In case you want to transfer funds into a third party account, you must use the internet banking service of banks in the United States which allow the remitter to specify the beneficiary’s name. Otherwise, the payment instruction Bangkok Bank receives may not carry the correct beneficiary name and Bangkok Bank will have to return funds to the remitter.

Maybe Ian, our Bangkok Bank dude, will chime in...

[ProThaiExpat]

No question setting up a BKK Bank account in your name is the best approach. That way you can make larger deposits by transfers through BKK NY and worry not that "buffalo stories" will result in early depletion of the larger sums than the agreed monthly amount. It is almost unkind if you put large sums of money available to a mother in law who has all kinds of pressures from her family to "help out" in the multitude of money problems her family and their relatives have on an almost daily basis.

You can establish recurring transfers from your BKK account to mother in law's BKK account every month on the same day using the recurring transfer function and avoid all the pitfalls of larger sum transfers to her account. The foregoing scenario will be the least expensive and most reliable method available in my opinion.

[flying]

I just called Bangkok Bank again...

They can only do ACH transfers to your OWN account! They cannot do ACH transfers to a different account.

They suggested a wire transfer Bank to Bank. And they said this was more expensive.

If your using the ACH New York Bangkok Bank I believe that is correct

You can send to your account only but yes using wire/swift you can send to another account.

What you can do .....but you need to first set it up in Thailand is....In Bangkok Banks online transfer section you can set up other accounts like your mother etc...Then they need to SMS you & you need to confirm.

Once that is done you can ACH via NY to your account. Then go online & do the transfer to Mom or who ever else you have pre set in your transfer section of your account.

This works for transfers to not only Bangkok Bank but other banks as well......As long as you pre set it up.

This is what I do & perhaps Ian will chime in & set it all straight

edit: oops just saw Jim Gants post.....perhaps you can do it?

Not sure as I have it set up the way I described & it works well.

Edited February 16, 2011 by flying

[Pib]

I just called Bangkok Bank again...they can only do ACH transfers to your OWN account! They cannot do ACH transfers to a different account.

I don't believe that's correct.... I believe it's a function of whether your US bank can do ACH transfers to 3rd parties. Some -- like USAA -- will even ask whether or not the ACH transfer account you're setting-up is not your account, thus is a "push" only account. In such a case, they won't even do the two trial deposits. But the mechanics are in-place to do a "send only" to a 3rd party account.

From the Bangkok Bank website on doing ACH transfers: (LINK)

Ditto to above. Before moving to Thailand I used Bank of America (BofA) to do online transfers from my BofA account to an in-law in Thailand who had a Bangkok Bank account. I used the Bangkok Bank NY routing number and the in-law's Thailand Bangkok Bank branch savings account number. But I will admit that BofA a few times over the years dropped Bangkok Bank NY from their list of approved online funds transfer banks "via" ACH due to some supposedly suspected illegal activities by some BofA customers. But you could continue to send money to Bangkok Bank accounts using their SWIFT code vs their ACH routing number...but a few months later Bangkok Bank was back on BofA's approved list to do ACH transfers. Then BofA implemented SafePass which presented another huddle to clear for any transfer over $1000 to any bank or anywhere in the world, but that huddle was cleared also.

And as mentioned above using USAA Banking, a person can do a "push" only ACH transfer to an account you don't own. It really depends on your bank....some bank's make doing low cost/free ACH transfers hard to do or not even available....that because they can make more money by you doing a SWIFT/wire transfer with them....they may say it's some US law/regulation that prevents them from allowing an online transfer... but.that's BS as the bank's just want to make more profit, being overly cautious, or have a very basic online banking setup. Many US banks provide free/low cost online and at the bank teller transfers....and many don't. I guarantee you that if can't do an online transfer with your bank, but you walk into your bank and want to do a transfer to your mother-in-law they will either accept the Bangkok Bank NY routing number and the account number you give them and then do an ACH transfer (at a higher fee) or instead use the Bangkok Bank SWIFT transfer code with the account number and charge an associated high cost SWIFT/wire transfer fee. It all depends on your bank...how easy or hard it is to transfer funds varies from bank to bank...and many times it's all about fees and profit. This week I'm going to attempt to setup a ACH transfer link between my new Schwab accounts and my Bangkok Bank accounts...hopefully that will go easy and smooth as setting up of the Schwab push & pull links to my US banks....but a person never knows until he tries....it all depends on your bank and their policies. In a modified banking version of the immortal words of Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise, my bank charged a really high fee for a SWIFT transfer!"

Edited February 16, 2011 by Pib

[ianguygil]

I just called Bangkok Bank again...

They can only do ACH transfers to your OWN account! They cannot do ACH transfers to a different account.

They suggested a wire transfer Bank to Bank. And they said this was more expensive.

If your using the ACH New York Bangkok Bank I believe that is correct

You can send to your account only but yes using wire/swift you can send to another account.

What you can do .....but you need to first set it up in Thailand is....In Bangkok Banks online transfer section you can set up other accounts like your mother etc...Then they need to SMS you & you need to confirm.

Once that is done you can ACH via NY to your account. Then go online & do the transfer to Mom or who ever else you have pre set in your transfer section of your account.

This works for transfers to not only Bangkok Bank but other banks as well......As long as you pre set it up.

This is what I do & perhaps Ian will chime in & set it all straight

edit: oops just saw Jim Gants post.....perhaps you can do it?

Not sure as I have it set up the way I described & it works well.

Sorry, I kind of lost the plot on this as there were so many posts.

So to summarize from what I understand:

1. You can send money to a 3rd party - MIL - it will go straight into "the dragon's" account - oops, I mean your mother in law (at least my MIL was born in the year of the dragon though I never send her money as she has more than me - Japanese ). If your Bank has the ability to enter a payee name you can use the ACH route to the 3rd party account via our New York branch. if not this would be a SWIFT payment and more expensive
2. You can send money to yourself to an account you own in THB in Thailand using the ACH network. Then you can transfer money as <name removed> says using iBanking. In fact you can setup future transfers in iBanking so you can transfer say 1,000 USD to yourself from the US via ACH and transfer 80 USD per month for 12 months to your Dragon if that works. You plug in the numbers, but I am sure you get the idea
3. You can transfer all the money to me, all board members please, and I will spend most of it on wine, women and song. The rest I will squander.

Hope this makes sense. Please let me know if you need more details.

Here is a link to help explain.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkok%20bank/personal%20banking/transfering%20funds/transferring%20into%20thailand/receiving%20funds%20from%20usa/pages/advice_internet_banking.aspx

Ian

Edited February 16, 2011 by craigt3365
Personal Name Removed

[mystwoodcol]

Once the siphon starts, it doesn't stop until there is no more!

Think about that before you do anything.

[NovaBlue05]

Once the siphon starts, it doesn't stop until there is no more!

Think about that before you do anything.

lol....Mil is 84. Husbands been dead for 25 years. She has neither expensive tastes nor a lot of time.

I am happy to help her out.