Thai gov. to tax (remitted) income from abroad for tax residents starting 2024 - Part II

[Nisa]

Does anybody know if Citibank (or any other bank with branches in the US) doesn't charge a percentage for withdrawing money from a US account with the same bank (Citibank)?

I have regular money that gets and needs to be direct deposited into a US Bank. I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to get access to that money in Thailand. I'm not sure if there are other large banks beyond Citibank located in both the US and Thailand and if that makes a difference.

Beyond using the ATM, if I have a Citbank account in the US, could I withdraw money at the counter in Thailand from my US account without fees or set up a Citbank Thailand account too and transfer funds between the two accounts without fees?

Edited November 20, 2011 by Nisa

[jb5music]

If you had a Citibank account in the USA and you walk into a Citibank in Thailand they'll instruct you to wire transfer the money to them as if it were any other foreign bank. The 2 corporate entities are completely exclusive. They only share the Citibank name. If you use your card at the ATM it doesn't matter what the name on it is - it matters who and where issued. Master Card, Visa debit cards are foreign cards in Thailand. They get a 150 baht fee whether they say Citibank or anything on them.

[lopburi3]

For inexpensive transfer using US domestic ACH seems to be the best fit for most people. But only Bangkok Bank offers that option AFAIK. Do not know if Citibank charges for ACH but some banks make no charge so only a $10 (or so depending on transfer amount) taken in New York Bangkok Bank and the normal 200-500 baht (.25%) fee for conversion to Baht in Bangkok.

[Langsuan Man]

I tried that by opening a CitiBank here in Thailand and one in the US and found that it was like a McDonalds franchise; no relation to each other other than they both serve hamburgers

The only thing I could do was use the CitiBank ATM to withdraw cash from their ATM machine on the ground floor of the Sathorn Office and walk upstairs and deposit it into my CitiBank Thailand account

When I purchased a Condo I needed to raise the deposit amount quickly so I was using all my US bank ATM cards to get cash for the seller. Found CitiBank to consistently give the lowest exchange rate when used with a Thai bank ATM

The final straw was when I was transiting Germany and went to a CitiBank branch in Frankfurt to get Euros out of a CitiBank ATM and was charged an extra fee for using a non-CitiBank ATM in addition to a lousy exchange rate

Closed the account when I returned to the US

So unless you live in Bangkok and can physically go to a CitiBank branch I would advise against it

[SurfRider]

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"I have regular money that gets and needs to be direct deposited into a US Bank. I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to get access to that money in Thailand"

There have been extensive threads on this subject on ThaiVisa. To make a long story short - here's the best solution that I and others have found.

1) Open a Schwab Checking Account in the U.S. You can do it on-line - you'll need a U.S. Address and phone number and driver's license. If you don't have all of these, you can probably fake the phone, but you'll need to set up a mail-drop in the U.S., which is easy to do.

2) Schwab will give you a brokerage account along with your checking account, but it does not need to be funded. (obviously, they're hoping you will fund it)

3) Request a Debit Card with your Checking Account.

4) Transfer funds as needed on-line from your U.S. bank account to Schwab Checking. (you'll need to set up linkage between the accounts)

5) Use the Debit card to withdraw funds from a Thai ATM or over-the-counter at banks that allow withdrawals from U.S. banks.

6) AEON ATMs are the best because they don't charge the 150 Baht Thai Bankers Assn. fee and they allow the highest amount to be withdrawn of all Thai ATMs-- 30,000 Baht in one day.

If you need further info, post the details or PM me.

.

[Nisa]

.

"I have regular money that gets and needs to be direct deposited into a US Bank. I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to get access to that money in Thailand"

There have been extensive threads on this subject on ThaiVisa. To make a long story short - here's the best solution that I and others have found.

1) Open a Schwab Checking Account in the U.S. You can do it on-line - you'll need a U.S. Address and phone number and driver's license. If you don't have all of these, you can probably fake the phone, but you'll need to set up a mail-drop in the U.S., which is easy to do.

2) Schwab will give you a brokerage account along with your checking account, but it does not need to be funded. (obviously, they're hoping you will fund it)

3) Request a Debit Card with your Checking Account.

4) Transfer funds as needed on-line from your U.S. bank account to Schwab Checking. (you'll need to set up linkage between the accounts)

5) Use the Debit card to withdraw funds from a Thai ATM or over-the-counter at banks that allow withdrawals from U.S. banks.

6) AEON ATMs are the best because they don't charge the 150 Baht Thai Bankers Assn. fee and they allow the highest amount to be withdrawn of all Thai ATMs-- 30,000 Baht in one day.

If you need further info, post the details or PM me.

.

I appreciate the response but you left out what are the benefits of withdrawing funds using an ATM Card from a Schwab checking account in Thailand as opposed to a normal checking account. What are the savings?

[Nisa]

I tried that by opening a CitiBank here in Thailand and one in the US and found that it was like a McDonalds franchise; no relation to each other other than they both serve hamburgers

The only thing I could do was use the CitiBank ATM to withdraw cash from their ATM machine on the ground floor of the Sathorn Office and walk upstairs and deposit it into my CitiBank Thailand account

When I purchased a Condo I needed to raise the deposit amount quickly so I was using all my US bank ATM cards to get cash for the seller. Found CitiBank to consistently give the lowest exchange rate when used with a Thai bank ATM

The final straw was when I was transiting Germany and went to a CitiBank branch in Frankfurt to get Euros out of a CitiBank ATM and was charged an extra fee for using a non-CitiBank ATM in addition to a lousy exchange rate

Closed the account when I returned to the US

So unless you live in Bangkok and can physically go to a CitiBank branch I would advise against it

I live in Bangkok and going to Citibank would not be a problem but not sure what would be the advantage given your other comments.

[negreanu]

why not just open a Thailand Citibank account and do a online instant transfer from any citibank in the world to the Thailand Citibank account - takes 2 seconds until the funds are available in your thai account.

[Nisa]

why not just open a Thailand Citibank account and do a online instant transfer from any citibank in the world to the Thailand Citibank account - takes 2 seconds until the funds are available in your thai account.

What are the fees involved? I am trying to avoid the 2 or 3% check card fees, bad exchange rate and ATM fees.

[Langsuan Man]

why not just open a Thailand Citibank account and do a online instant transfer from any citibank in the world to the Thailand Citibank account - takes 2 seconds until the funds are available in your thai account.

Sorry but Thai Banking regulations will not allow that. You MUST do it via International SWIFT wire transfer

The ONLY exception to that rule is via Bangkok Bank's London or New York branch to an existing Thai Bangkok Bank account, using the New York branch routing number or whatever number system is used by banks in England

The only other exception is via HSBC Premier Account (minimum balance $100,000 ) which will allow you to transfer between a foreign HSBC account and a Thai HSBC account

[negreanu]

Do it every month from my US$ Citibank account in Singapore to my Thai THB Citibank account. So not sure why u say its not available. It MOST certainly is with citibank. So your information in this case is not correct.

Funds available straight away in my Thai citibank account.

Once you have added the Thai account citibank account to your current citibank country online access it works flawlessly. (can only speak for Citibank Singapore - Citibank Thailand Tho)

Edited November 22, 2011 by negreanu

[SurfRider]

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"you left out what are the benefits of withdrawing funds using an ATM Card from a Schwab checking account in Thailand as opposed to a normal checking account"

The important aspect is the type of Debit Card, not the type of account. Schwab is the only card that will not charge the 1% processing fee that the VISA network charges - they absorb this charge - others pass it along to you. They also have no additional processing or transfer fees, where many other cards have additional charges. They also give you the lowest of several currency exchange rates that are available.

Schwab also reimburses the 150 Baht Thai usury fee (at the end of every month), where most others do not. However, as I mentioned, it's best to use AEON ATMs if possible because they don't charge the 150 Baht fee. Schwab has in their contract that they reserve the right to discontinue reimbursing fees and Thailand has some of the highest ATM fees in the world, so it only makes sense to not press the issue by using AEON ATMs if possible.

If you want to see all the pros and cons of the other options, you could look up the ThaiVisa thread that ran for about a year after the 150 Baht ATM fee started. E-Trade had a similar deal to Schwab, but has since started charging the 1% processing fee.

Hope this helps.

.

Edited November 22, 2011 by SurfRider

[thaihome]

... They get a 150 baht fee whether they say Citibank or anything on them.

Citibank ATM's in Bangkok (Interchange Tower) does not charge the 150 baht fee.

TH

[Nisa]

.

"you left out what are the benefits of withdrawing funds using an ATM Card from a Schwab checking account in Thailand as opposed to a normal checking account"

The important aspect is the type of Debit Card, not the type of account. Schwab is the only card that will not charge the 1% processing fee that the VISA network charges - they absorb this charge - others pass it along to you. They also have no additional processing or transfer fees, where many other cards have additional charges. They also give you the lowest of several currency exchange rates that are available.

Schwab also reimburses the 150 Baht Thai usury fee (at the end of every month), where most others do not. However, as I mentioned, it's best to use AEON ATMs if possible because they don't charge the 150 Baht fee. Schwab has in their contract that they reserve the right to discontinue reimbursing fees and Thailand has some of the highest ATM fees in the world, so it only makes sense to not press the issue by using AEON ATMs if possible.

If you want to see all the pros and cons of the other options, you could look up the ThaiVisa thread that ran for about a year after the 150 Baht ATM fee started. E-Trade had a similar deal to Schwab, but has since started charging the 1% processing fee.

Hope this helps.

.

VERY helpful!!! Thank you.

My bank switched over to Mastercard from Visa for their ATM / Check Cards and it is near 3% the hit me up now when using the ATM. They swear it is MC and not them. It just really started eating at me that this was basically equivalent to taking a 3% reduction in income. Not to mention all the other fees . I've been using AEON for a while to avoid the 150 baht fee but my bank also charges $5 international ATM fee.

[Langsuan Man]

(can only speak for Citibank Singapore - Citibank Thailand Tho)

I specifically cited from a US CitiBank Account to a Thai CitiBank account

Guess that is the answer then since it is a regional thing

Edited November 23, 2011 by Langsuan Man