Us Military Active Duty & Retired In Thailand

[richard10365]

In November, while in my home, I used DODs MyPay website and set up Direct Deposit to Bangkok Bank.

When I set up the account it said my retirement paycheck would be sent to my Bangkok Bank account via Bangkok Bank NY on Jan 2nd.

It arrived in my account here in Thailand on Jan 4th.

I checked my account in Chang Kham (north Thailand) with my Be First ATM card issued from Bangkok Bank in Bangkok to confirm the deposit.

[lopburi3]

And I suspect some large sighs of relief.

Hope that your luck holds.

[richard10365]

And I suspect some large sighs of relief.

Hope that your luck holds.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lopburi3....it's a huge sign of relief. I was not sure if it would work or not. I had an e-mail from another retired military who was also interested in the results.

My biggest surpise was that it arrived in my account the same day as the banks opened for the new year.

I am hoping my luck holds out. Not having to deal with Bank of America anymore is great.

I plan to send my income tax refund check here the same way.

[lopburi3]

Actually the banks were open on the 3rd - they are only allowed to be closed for 3 days at a time by law.

I believe you are presently using a loophole that may close as there is a provision for sending money from US government accounts to Bangkok Bank but it requires a special no ATM access account to prevent death fraud. As I suspect that same fraud could be done with military retirement pay believe it may not last for the long term - but with luck another option will be in place by then.

[richard10365]

Lopburi3, lets say the bank decided to close the loophole and cancelled my ATM card or worse, closed my account.

Let's say they informed me I had to open a "proper" account for direct deposit.

If I opened an account in Chang Kham and had the money sent to that account, would I be able to withdrawl it from Chang Kham or do US government checks have to be withdrawn from Bangkok Bank in Bangkok?

[lopburi3]

If the information on the US Embassy website is correct you can do at any branch.

I would like to Direct Deposit to a Thailand-Based Bank. What do I need to do?

Only the Bangkok Bank of Thailand provides Direct Deposit service for persons who receive benefits from the following agencies: Social Security Administration (SSA), Veterans Administration (VA), and Civil Service.

1. Open “Direct Deposit” Account at the Bangkok Bank branch nearest your home.

The Bank will assist you in opening a “Direct Deposit Account. We suggest you to clearly tell staff that this account is for receiving pension from SSA, or VA.

2. Sign up Form 1199: Please bring 3 completed forms sf1199 to a Head Quarter of Bangkok Bank. Bank will forward your completed Direct Deposit form (Form 1199 A) to SSA in US. You will be able to access your benefits from the Bangkok Bank branch near your house after your request has been completely processed. This often takes a few months. For more information please contact:

Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited

Foreign Exchange Service Section

Retail Payment Services Department

333 Silom Road, Bkk. 10500

Tel: (02) 230-1322-3

[Kringle]

It would be interesting to know how much you lose int the transfer as I can't believe that it's FREE. I don't want to do this as I think I have a better control of my money staying in the U.S. and don't pay too much to use my own ATM card from there.

[richard10365]

I wouldnt say its totally free. Bangkok Bank NY charges about $5 as well as Bangkok Bank in Bangkok. Total cost is about $10.

[JimGant]

As I recall from previous posts from Richard, what's happening is nothing more than a SWIFT transfer from BB NY to BB Thailand. But since it's automatic, with a wire fee considerably less ($10?) than most of us pay, it's kinda neat. He still pays the 200-500bt charged by the receiving BB Thailand, just as we manually initiated wirers do. And there's still the 1 to 2 day transfer time involved. But, hey, if you want your full month's paycheck delivered to Thailand monthly, this seems as good as anything I've seen.

Personally, I send two "chunk" SWIFT wires per year, so the $35 wire fee gets amortized to around $6/mo, and the BB Thailand fees are less than half of what Richard will pay (I'll pay a max of 1000bt/yr -- he'll pay a minimum of 2400bt/yr). And a simple FAX initiates my transfer. But Richard's way seems to work fine for him.

Interesting that SS and VA allow direct deposit to Thailand -- but DFAS doesn't for military retired checks. Yes, a lot of military widows in foreign lands "forgetting" to inform Uncle Sam of their husband's death. But so too SS and VA widows........... I can't figure out how these agencies could have a better safeguard on such fraud than does the military(?) Must be something more to this than is apparent.......... Plus, it would seem just as easy to commit widow's fraud with direct deposit to a Stateside bank, complete with ATM card.

[Thaigreg]

As I recall from previous posts from Richard, what's happening is nothing more than a SWIFT transfer from BB NY to BB Thailand. But since it's automatic, with a wire fee considerably less ($10?) than most of us pay, it's kinda neat. He still pays the 200-500bt charged by the receiving BB Thailand, just as we manually initiated wirers do. And there's still the 1 to 2 day transfer time involved. But, hey, if you want your full month's paycheck delivered to Thailand monthly, this seems as good as anything I've seen.

Personally, I send two "chunk" SWIFT wires per year, so the $35 wire fee gets amortized to around $6/mo, and the BB Thailand fees are less than half of what Richard will pay (I'll pay a max of 1000bt/yr -- he'll pay a minimum of 2400bt/yr). And a simple FAX initiates my transfer. But Richard's way seems to work fine for him.

Interesting that SS and VA allow direct deposit to Thailand -- but DFAS doesn't for military retired checks. Yes, a lot of military widows in foreign lands "forgetting" to inform Uncle Sam of their husband's death. But so too SS and VA widows........... I can't figure out how these agencies could have a better safeguard on such fraud than does the military(?) Must be something more to this than is apparent.......... Plus, it would seem just as easy to commit widow's fraud with direct deposit to a Stateside bank, complete with ATM card.

Last month sent email to Credit Union to wire one large chunk to use for this year. They charged me $17 for the wire transfer, BBNY charged me $5 and BB in Thailand charged me 500B($12) for a total $34. Monies were in my account in 2 days time. No more 1%(International Exchange Fees) for using VISA/MASTERCHARGE ATM cards. Previously this came to between $110 and $120 per year.

Edited January 6, 2006 by Thaigreg

[Storekeeper]

Richard,

In a previous discussion we talked about 1% service charge using ATMs by NFCU in Thailand. I recently discovered that's both true and false. You can actually go to their website and they have a search feature to look for worldwide ATMs in the various particpiating systems they are a member of. If those ATMs are used then it's a flat $1.00 fee.

SK

Add on:

In regards to the comments about widows forgetting to notify Uncle Sam when the US citizen passes away, how many people know that foreign born spouses of US citizens aren't eligble for their departed's SS if the spouse didn't live in the US at some point for 5 consecutive years ?

[mouse]

My fellow Military Retirees, I have a Retiree account for Miltary members where the following extra benefits are included:

Free checking without a minimum balance

Monies can be withdrawn up two days before the actual payday without additional charge

No annual VISA Card fee

Free Traveller checks, Money orders and Cashiers checks

No annual fee Debit Card

No withdrawal fee on each ATM transaction other than the $2.00 by the local Bank that owns the ATM

Free access to STARS -24 hours hotline

Internet Access

to confirm my benefits go to http://www.globalcu.org/ and sign up.

[richard10365]

The 2 day withdrawl before payday is a nice feature.

The free checking account is probably due to direct deposit. I used MyPay and sent my retirement paycheck to my account number with Bangkok Bank.

I have the No Annual Fee debit card from Bangkok Bank. I did have to pay for it one time (I think about 300 baht).

I can't remember the last time I used a traveller check, money order, or cashiers check.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say, "No withdrawal fee on each ATM transaction other than the $2.00 by the local Bank that owns the ATM". Is that a state side feature or here in Thailand. The 20 baht for withdrawls here in Thailand is still cheaper than $2.

About the social security comment by SK, I was aware the requirement for the wife to be in the usa for 5 years for her to get SS. I wouldn't want to torture her for that long.

I'm not due to get Social Security for another 22 years at the earliest.

Edited January 28, 2006 by richard10365

[Storekeeper]

About the social security comment by SK, I was aware the requirement for the wife to be in the usa for 5 years for her to get SS. I wouldn't want to torture her for that long.

Other people's business obviously isn't my business. I just hope there aren't people out there who know this but haven't told their wife who may be thinking this will be the source of support for her after the loved one had passed on.

[richard10365]

I'm hoping to make mine and my wifes family totally self sufficent by the time I pass on without having to depend on my current income.

SS is a bonus which my wife knows about but she also knows I get only if I don't die.

[Storekeeper]

I'm hoping to make mine and my wifes family totally self sufficent by the time I pass on without having to depend on my current income.

SS is a bonus which my wife knows about but she also knows I get only if I don't die.

I'm not going to meet the TIS requirement either for stateside residence but I'm going with a reduced amount of SBP. I know it's expensive but it's the least I can do. One thing I've always wondered but have yet to find the answer is if the 5 year rule can be met if one is officially employed as a civil servant in a foreign country.

I still have to check it out to make sure her checking account with NFCU will suffice for the deposit.