Bank Of America

[KRS1]

Anyone have a Bank of America checking or savings account in Thailand which was opened in the US?

Can you make deposits at the Thai branch ?

[craigt3365]

How about we move this over to the banking forum?

[REM]

I have both a BofA savings and checking account, and I used to use my card here in Bangkok regularly, but since then I have cut back the use of it here. I had to call every three months to remind them I am here in Bangkok, and it just got to be a little annoyance. I occasionally still use it, but not too often. The good thing is they have a number you can call collect, and they foot the bill for the international charges so you can remind them where you are.

I did not know that was a branch here in Bangkok though. Where is it located?

[jazzbo]

I do not think the BoA Bangkok branch provides any services for individual accounts:

An established history has also enabled the bank to maintain a mature

and diversified portfolio of clients which includes local, American,

European and multinational corporations as well as local institutions

and government agencies.

http://www.bankofamerica.com/th/about_us.cfm

[KRS1]

I have both a BofA savings and checking account, and I used to use my card here in Bangkok regularly, but since then I have cut back the use of it here. I had to call every three months to remind them I am here in Bangkok, and it just got to be a little annoyance. I occasionally still use it, but not too often. The good thing is they have a number you can call collect, and they foot the bill for the international charges so you can remind them where you are.

I did not know that was a branch here in Bangkok though. Where is it located?

It use to be around the Wireless Road and Petburi road intersection, or around Chidlom or something. It's been 15 years since I've been to it.

I was working as an interpretor for cobra gold military exercises and that's where the payroll was deposited.

[grumpyoldman]

I have both a BofA savings and checking account, and I used to use my card here in Bangkok regularly, but since then I have cut back the use of it here. I had to call every three months to remind them I am here in Bangkok, and it just got to be a little annoyance. I occasionally still use it, but not too often. The good thing is they have a number you can call collect, and they foot the bill for the international charges so you can remind them where you are.

I did not know that was a branch here in Bangkok though. Where is it located?

It use to be around the Wireless Road and Petburi road intersection, or around Chidlom or something. It's been 15 years since I've been to it.

I was working as an interpretor for cobra gold military exercises and that's where the payroll was deposited.

This is interesting for me as recently I opened a BofA account in the U.S. and have been transferring money from my SCB account which draws a 1% fee, then a 12$ U.S. charge from BofA for the wire.

If there is this BofA branch in Bangkok, can I walk in there and directly deposit into my U.S. established account and avoid the fees?

[grumpyoldman]

I have both a BofA savings and checking account, and I used to use my card here in Bangkok regularly, but since then I have cut back the use of it here. I had to call every three months to remind them I am here in Bangkok, and it just got to be a little annoyance. I occasionally still use it, but not too often. The good thing is they have a number you can call collect, and they foot the bill for the international charges so you can remind them where you are.

I did not know that was a branch here in Bangkok though. Where is it located?

It use to be around the Wireless Road and Petburi road intersection, or around Chidlom or something. It's been 15 years since I've been to it.

I was working as an interpretor for cobra gold military exercises and that's where the payroll was deposited.

Just back from their site, here is the location info (couldn't find the info from my previous post though, so still looking if anyone knows):

The bank is currently located at All Seasons Place, CRC Tower, 33rd Floor, 87/2 Wireless Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330.

[KRS1]

Good work grumps! Let us know what you find out regarding the direct deposit into a US account.

I know someone that says its possible to direct deposit, but this is coming from a friend of a friend.

[dddave]

I've used my US based BofA account in Thailand for the last 7 years.

As far as I know, there is not an active banking branch here.

They can drive you crazy with arbitrary security shut-off's for ATM cards but if you go to their online banking website, you can set up email notification so at least you know and can resolve it before you get surprised at an ATM.

My big problem is when my ATM card expires and I have to activate the new one. The BofA system requires entering a six+ digit password and the system here only transmits four. I tried doing it online and by phone to customer service but no go. I ended up both times having to mail the card back to a friend in the US and have him do the activation at a US based ATM.

If anybody has found a workaround for this, please post it.

[Langsuan Man]

33rd Floor

Is not a retail bank, but is an office for commercial accounts only

[elshaheen]

If I am correct, though it’s been a long time since I used BOA.

This is their address:

Head Office

Bank of America N.A.

Address: 87/2 All Seasons Place, CRC Tower, 33 rd Fl,. Wireless Road Bangkok 10330

City: Bangkok

Post Code: 10330

Country: Thailand

Phone Number: +66 (0) 2305-2800

Fax Number: +66 (0) 2305-2999

Website: http://www.bankofamerica.com/th

Business Activity: Banking & Financial Services

You can transfer from your U.S. account to most any Thailand bank account you have here. Simple.

[KRS1]

I'll be needing to go the other way and transfer from a Thai account into the BOA account.

Thanks for the help,'m still stuck in the US or else I'd make the calls to the Thai branch myself.

[thrilled]

I don't use BOA anymore,to many fees.Bangkok works for me,also Kasikorn.And when I use schwab for atm,they reimburse me.

[KRS1]

I just need to keep the BOA account to pay credit card bills, unless I can use a Thai bank to make payments on US issued credit cards.

anyone know?

[puyaidon]

I have two BOA credit cards, MC and Visa. Activation is done online with Net2phone and costs nothing if you are a member of the web site. It costs money for the membership but pays when making phone calls.

At one time, BOA here in BKK did have individual accounts but long ago. Getting the cards here can be a process which I have overcome but at one time, I did get my cards from the BOA here in Bangkok but no more. They were mailed to the branch here and I was notified by post in-country. Again, no more.

One good thing about BOA cards is if I use a credit card, by the time I get home, I know how much the US dollar figure is when I go online and also receive an email with the same information. The foreign exchange fee is not included and added later. That is the only drawback to using the BOA cards but at least you can see it up front and not included in the total amount.

[AZBill]

I do not think the BoA Bangkok branch provides any services for individual accounts:

An established history has also enabled the bank to maintain a mature

and diversified portfolio of clients which includes local, American,

European and multinational corporations as well as local institutions

and government agencies.

http://www.bankofame...th/about_us.cfm

There is no B of A branch in Bangkok. They have one business branch but no retail.

[jfchandler]

There is a BofA office on Wireless Road in Bangkok as mentioned above... But they provide no consumer banking services there, and don't have any BofA ATMs there or host consumer accounts there or do anything to assist with funds transfers.

Using BofA debit cards and credit cards in Thailand is a big mistake, as they both carry high foreign currency related fees. 3% on most of their credit card products...and $5 flat fee plus 1% on debit card ATM withdrawals, not including the 150 baht ATM withdrawal fee that the Thai banks will add on.

[Lost in LOS]

I tried years ago, they wont do what you want. I have BoA online and pay all my US bills everywhere. I use BB for my thai stuff, also online. they have offices in NY too

[KRS1]

I'm not going to use BOA debit cards or credit cards.

I just need to be able to pay my other US credit card bills by transferring payments through my online US BOA account... But need to get the funds into the US BOA account first.

[jfchandler]

KRS, FWIW, usually you can pay credit card bills online from two sides, either from the credit card web site pulling funds from any domestic account that can be linked, or from any domestic bank account with its own bill pay service.

BofA has no accepting deposits facility in Thailand, nor do they, as yet, offer the remote scan and deposit checks feature that quite a few smaller banks and credit unions are now offering, including USAA and Pentagon FCU, among others.

BKK Bank has a method that makes it relatively easy to ACH funds from U.S. bank accounts to a BKK Bank Thailand account. But that same process doesn't work in reverse, Thailand to U.S.A.

None of the Thai banks that I know of offer an easy, ad hoc way to online transfer funds from Thailand to the USA.

HSBC does provide international online funds transfers, but I believe they require a $100,000 Premier account to enable that.

As alternatives, I'm thinking you could move funds from Thailand to the USA by using PayPal accounts and linked bank accounts in each country, though you'll pay a commission to do so.

I've never tried it, but I'm assuming you also could send a wire transfer from Thai banks to a U.S. bank account, or use a service like

Western Union.

Based on your post, I'm assuming you don't have any other U.S. bank accounts that you could use to transfer funds into the BofA account. BofA allows free online ACH transfers to pull funds into your BofA account from other linked domestic bank accounts.

[hawthorne]

What about all of the expats working in Thailand, do they not wire money to their home countries? I have been wriing money to Thailand for the last two years (only a small amount) without much concern of ever taking it out of country. Now you have me concerned. I feel strongly that people must wire out of country though and expats on here have that solution if someone would just let us know. Curious to here the answer.

[jfchandler]

BKK Bank has a several established procedures for remitting funds back to the U.S.

-- one is paying for a traditional SWIFT wire transfer in a BKK Bank branch

--another is an international funds remittance via online banking, if the foreigner has done the paperwork in advance, and supported their application with an employer letter or salary slip. (This appears to apply only if the person is actually working and earning salary in Thailand).

--another is to send funds via Western Union via BKK Bank, which is likely to produce a lousy exchange rate after both entities take their cut of fees and cuts.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20out%20of%20Thailand/Pages/Transferring%20out%20of%20Thailand.aspx

[KRS1]

I'm pretty sure that you can't fund a paypal account through a thai bank transfer.

I think I'll have to go with a swift transfer on this one, thanks for everyone's help.

[thaihome]

What about all of the expats working in Thailand, do they not wire money to their home countries? I have been wriing money to Thailand for the last two years (only a small amount) without much concern of ever taking it out of country. Now you have me concerned. I feel strongly that people must wire out of country though and expats on here have that solution if someone would just let us know. Curious to here the answer.

I think that you will find that most expats that are working in Thailand are paid in their home country currency into their home country bank accounts (or wherever they want it), even though they may declare [some of] the income in Thailand and pay Thai income tax on it. The exception of course are those that are employed locally at local salaries and it is doubtfully they have much need for money in their home country.

TH

[pathsunknown]

BKK Bank has a method that makes it relatively easy to ACH funds from U.S. bank accounts to a BKK Bank Thailand account. But that same process doesn't work in reverse, Thailand to U.S.A.

I will likely need to talk to the banks about this, but do you have any idea if I would set up my BKK Bank account on the BofA website as an international account or domestic account? When I attempt to set up an external account on the BofA website, they want to know if the default currency at the receiving international bank is USD or THB. I'm not sure of the consequence (financial, fees, etc) of either choice. If BKK Bank has a location in NYC, could it be considered Domestic in terms of setting up the ACH transfer?

[aurelius]

Transfer in USD for a better exchange rate. Here's the info from BKK Bk website about how to do it.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20into%20Thailand/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20USA/Pages/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20USA.aspx

[Pib]

BKK Bank has a method that makes it relatively easy to ACH funds from U.S. bank accounts to a BKK Bank Thailand account. But that same process doesn't work in reverse, Thailand to U.S.A.

I will likely need to talk to the banks about this, but do you have any idea if I would set up my BKK Bank account on the BofA website as an international account or domestic account? When I attempt to set up an external account on the BofA website, they want to know if the default currency at the receiving international bank is USD or THB. I'm not sure of the consequence (financial, fees, etc) of either choice. If BKK Bank has a location in NYC, could it be considered Domestic in terms of setting up the ACH transfer?

Just follow the instructions in Aurelius' post #26. You are basically setting up a domestic transfer by uisng the Bangkok Bank New York Branch ACH "routing number. " For the account number use your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account number.

Up until a couple years ago I would frequently transfer living expenses money this way to my in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account from my BofA account. Although I still have my BoA account I don't use it anymore for ACH transfers to Thailand only because I opened accounts with some other U.S. banks and now use those banks for my occassional ACH transfers to Thailand. Setting up the external transfer links at these other banks occurs exactly the same way as I mentioned in my first paragraph above, with the link identified in Aurelius' post #26 above containing the basic "how to." Works like a charm.

But what don't work as a charm is trying to pull money from your Bangkok Bank account to your BofA....flowing money "into" Thailand is a piece of cake, but Bank of Thailand rules/regulations which Thai banks must follow make flowing money out a lot harder.