Problem With Using Bangkok Bank For Incoming Transfers In Usd.

[JimGant]

Can you send me more info on using BKK bank in NY?

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

Fee structure:

On New York end:

Not more than USD 50.00 Free

USD 50.01 - 100.00 3.00

USD 100.01 - 2,000.00 5.00

USD 2,000.01 - 50,000.00 10.00

USD 50,000.01 or more 20.00

On Thai end:

.25% -- minimum, 200 baht, maximum, 500 baht

Recommend all direct deposits be filtered through a US financial institution, then ACHed per the above. Direct deposits to Thailand of US pensions and annuities are inconvenient if you have a stroke -- or are out of town.

[Pib]

A couple of things to note. When the baht is moving fairly rapidly, you'll see several time hacks throughout the day for FX on this website. When you ACH money to Bangkok Bank, you'll invariably (in my experience) get the first rate of the day (8:30 AM). (LOP experienced the 8:30 rate on 4 April.) And, this money is in your account and ready to go also around this time (I brought up the account on-line at 9:00 AM, 5 Apr, and it was there).

Yeap, that been my experience also in transfers to Bangkok Bank...the exchange rate I get is the opening Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate listed for the day.

Preaching to choir I know, if folks are also signed up for SMS notification of funds arrival the SMS also provides the exchange rate received. Eliminates the guessing in what exchange rate was received considering banks fee(s) such as the Bangkok Bank NY branch flow-thru fee and the local/in-Thailand funds receipt/conversion fee which can complicate a person's math in trying to reverse-engineer/figure out what exchange rate they really got considering fees. Knowing the exact exchange rate received compared with the amount they sent and what was posted to their account can greatly help to figure out exactly the amount of fee(s) applied along the trek after it left the home country Sending bank.

In late Feb I setup some new ibanking transfer links to a new Bangkok Bank account from several U.S. banks. The trial deposits all arrived on the same day and I got SMS notifications throughout the day from early morning to late afternoon as the trial deposits arrived...the first SMS notifications were at 9:17am and the last SMS notifications were at 4:14pm. Each trial deposit got the Bangkok Bank 8:30am TT Buying Rate which was a little higher/better than their second rate at 2:15pm, with several of the SMS notifications occurring well after 2:15pm...like the 4:14pm notifications. Getting the opening TT Buying Rate was also what I got over the years in funds transfers whether it was a trial deposit or a normal funds transfer. Note: for small trial deposits (I.e., less than $1) no fees are applied by the NY or local Bangkok Bank branches or any banks as far as I know. As FYI, some of these trial deposits were from USAA and they setup/were approved by USAA for To/From transfers vs To transfers only after I completed the deposit verification, although I will never attempt to pull money from my Bangkok Bank accounts via inbanking ACH pulls since I know they will be rejected by Bangkok Bank (or any Thai bank). Heck, even the trial deposits were not pulled back which what normally occurs when setting up ibanking links via trial deposits. Thailand is the Land of Smiles for incoming money; but the Land of Frowns for outgoing money.

[jcnbkk]

Great to see this topic move to such a constructive tone and people providing accurate information from our Website. We strive to keep the content fresh and relevant. Lots of good input from posters.

As the only Thai bank with a full US Branch (which means we are on the ACH network) we are confident that we can offer a highly competitive service.

If anybody is still having a problem transferring from the USA to a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand please feel free to contact me and I will get the right people involved to contact you.

As usual I will ignore the ranters, but geniune customers looking for assistance are welcome to contact me. Thanks

Have been using this happily with BB for several years. Thanks for your post and offer. Another reason to appreciate the services provided by BB.

[BobTH]

Great to see this topic move to such a constructive tone and people providing accurate information from our Website. We strive to keep the content fresh and relevant. Lots of good input from posters.

As the only Thai bank with a full US Branch (which means we are on the ACH network) we are confident that we can offer a highly competitive service.

If anybody is still having a problem transferring from the USA to a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand please feel free to contact me and I will get the right people involved to contact you.

As usual I will ignore the ranters, but geniune customers looking for assistance are welcome to contact me. Thanks

Since this topic was posted I have acquired a bank account at Bangkok Bank. I can use my USA bank bill pay function to send a check to the New York branch of Bangkok Bank which will include my Thai Bangkok Bank account number free of charge. There are charges involved if I wire the money and they are not set up yet to do a ACH. They said they are working on it but it is not availiable as of yet. My question is if sending a check would work the same as a wire transfer and be deposited in my Thai account in US dollars at the days rate of the transfer. Thank you in advance ianguygil if you can answer this question for me, I would assume it would be the same but not sure.

[Pib]

Normally a check will take several weeks at least to clear and post (funds become available to withdraw) to your account. From other posts I've read it seems to be in the 2-4 week time frame. My guess is the exchange rate you get will be the exchange rate on the day the check "clears and the funds are posted to your account." Just because it's an online check you cut to yourself it's still just another paper check to the bank you go cash it at...like Bangkok Bank. I also think there is a 200 baht charge to cash a foreign check. Cheaper than doing a ACH transfer but you got that time waiting for the check to clear/post/funds to become available. And another guess is since there are various exchange rates depending on the funds instrument (I.e, notes, checks, wire transfer, etc), you will get the Sight Bill Buying Rate which is usually around 0.1 baht lower than the TT Buying Rate you get for ACH/SWIFT transfers. When the dust settles the cost between doing an ACH transfer (where the Sending bank does not charge a fee also) and cashing a check are probably real, real close, except with the check you got the wait for it to clear/post.

[4evermaat]

Great to see this topic move to such a constructive tone and people providing accurate information from our Website. We strive to keep the content fresh and relevant. Lots of good input from posters.

As the only Thai bank with a full US Branch (which means we are on the ACH network) we are confident that we can offer a highly competitive service.

If anybody is still having a problem transferring from the USA to a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand please feel free to contact me and I will get the right people involved to contact you.

As usual I will ignore the ranters, but geniune customers looking for assistance are welcome to contact me. Thanks

Since this topic was posted I have acquired a bank account at Bangkok Bank. I can use my USA bank bill pay function to send a check to the New York branch of Bangkok Bank which will include my Thai Bangkok Bank account number free of charge. There are charges involved if I wire the money and they are not set up yet to do a ACH. They said they are working on it but it is not availiable as of yet. My question is if sending a check would work the same as a wire transfer and be deposited in my Thai account in US dollars at the days rate of the transfer. Thank you in advance ianguygil if you can answer this question for me, I would assume it would be the same but not sure.

Normally a check will take several weeks at least to clear and post (funds become available to withdraw) to your account. From other posts I've read it seems to be in the 2-4 week time frame. My guess is the exchange rate you get will be the exchange rate on the day the check "clears and the funds are posted to your account." Just because it's an online check you cut to yourself it's still just another paper check to the bank you go cash it at...like Bangkok Bank. I also think there is a 200 baht charge to cash a foreign check. Cheaper than doing a ACH transfer but you got that time waiting for the check to clear/post/funds to become available. And another guess is since there are various exchange rates depending on the funds instrument (I.e, notes, checks, wire transfer, etc), you will get the Sight Bill Buying Rate which is usually around 0.1 baht lower than the TT Buying Rate you get for ACH/SWIFT transfers. When the dust settles the cost between doing an ACH transfer (where the Sending bank does not charge a fee also) and cashing a check are probably real, real close, except with the check you got the wait for it to clear/post.

I would wait for a definitive answer. I would actually PM him and see if he can answer the question, and hopefully copy it here. My billpay is similar in that there is no automatic ACH option like with some banks, so a physical check would be sent. You would have to check with ian or some staff at the new york branch and confirm that they can receive funds via wire or check. It looks like the answer would be no, and if so perhaps their webpages and documentation can be updated to reflect this (e.g. do not send checks wires, or other methods of payment to new york branch).

[BobTH]

Great to see this topic move to such a constructive tone and people providing accurate information from our Website. We strive to keep the content fresh and relevant. Lots of good input from posters.

As the only Thai bank with a full US Branch (which means we are on the ACH network) we are confident that we can offer a highly competitive service.

If anybody is still having a problem transferring from the USA to a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand please feel free to contact me and I will get the right people involved to contact you.

As usual I will ignore the ranters, but geniune customers looking for assistance are welcome to contact me. Thanks

Since this topic was posted I have acquired a bank account at Bangkok Bank. I can use my USA bank bill pay function to send a check to the New York branch of Bangkok Bank which will include my Thai Bangkok Bank account number free of charge. There are charges involved if I wire the money and they are not set up yet to do a ACH. They said they are working on it but it is not availiable as of yet. My question is if sending a check would work the same as a wire transfer and be deposited in my Thai account in US dollars at the days rate of the transfer. Thank you in advance ianguygil if you can answer this question for me, I would assume it would be the same but not sure.

>>Normally a check will take several weeks at least to clear and post (funds become available to withdraw) to your account. From other posts I've read it seems to be in the 2-4 week time frame. My guess is the exchange rate you get will be the exchange rate on the day the check "clears and the funds are posted to your account." Just because it's an online check you cut to yourself it's still just another paper check to the bank you go cash it at...like Bangkok Bank. I also think there is a 200 baht charge to cash a foreign check. Cheaper than doing a ACH transfer but you got that time waiting for the check to clear/post/funds to become available. And another guess is since there are various exchange rates depending on the funds instrument (I.e, notes, checks, wire transfer, etc), you will get the Sight Bill Buying Rate which is usually around 0.1 baht lower than the TT Buying Rate you get for ACH/SWIFT transfers. When the dust settles the cost between doing an ACH transfer (where the Sending bank does not charge a fee also) and cashing a check are probably real, real close, except with the check you got the wait for it to clear/post.

I would wait for a definitive answer. I would actually PM him and see if he can answer the question, and hopefully copy it here. My billpay is similar in that there is no automatic ACH option like with some banks, so a physical check would be sent. You would have to check with ian or some staff at the new york branch and confirm that they can receive funds via wire or check. It looks like the answer would be no, and if so perhaps their webpages and documentation can be updated to reflect this (e.g. do not send checks wires, or other methods of payment to new york branch).

Thanks Pib for your input and 4evermaat I did private message ianguygil with the message exactly as posted here at the time I posted my question; telling him to feel free to answer at the topic post and not my private message if desired. Like I said the bill pay check would be free but the domestic wire from my US bank to Bangok Bank New York is only $10 so it is not a big deal. I just try to save a little where I can, maybe that is why I was able to retire and enjoy my life here in Bangkok. If I transfer a fairly large amount instead of a bunch of small ones it is still a lot less than I was paying in the past. Thanks again.

Edited April 15, 2013 by BobTH

[lopburi3]

Another option is to open an account which has no ACH fee (as I did with USAA) and then have them draw from your normal bank via ACH when you want to make a transfer and then send from them to Bangkok Bank. That is how I do - just just the USAA on-line account to draw and then send and no fees involved until it hits New York Bangkok Bank.

[MobileContent]

Bangkok Bank and Mr. Hyde

Sorry to the op for continued hijacking of this thread, but I also have a Bangkok Bank bizarro-world story.

I did ACH transfers from my U.S. bank account to the Bangkok Bank NY branch with my Thailand account number in 2010-2011 without any problems. In fact, during that time I bought a condo in Bangkok, so I transferred a large amount and all was good.

Then, in 2012, I transferred again exactly the same way. This time, however, the money never reached my Thailand BB account, so, I went to the branch to inquire about the delay. Well, it turns out that Bangkok Bank refused the transfer because name on the ACH transfer was not identical to my BB account name.

I called my bank in the U.S. and asked if there had been some change to their procedures, but there had not. However, they did disclose that on ACH transfers they only have a limited number of characters for the account name - so my first name had been truncated.

I went back to the Bangkok Bank's main branch on Silom and spoke with them about the transfer, and they indicated that because my name on the ACH transfer was shortened, they could not accept. I explained that I had done this for 2 years previously without incident, but they simply dismissed that without explanation.

Luckily, after a week of discussion, a woman at the transfer desk agreed that if I signed a letter of indemnity that the ACH transfer was indeed my account and I did intend for the money to be delivered to my Thailand account, they would accept this. However, she advised the letter was only good for one year.

As a result, I transferred monies three times in 2012 after signing the letter and all was good.

Now, in 2013 I wanted to transfer money, so I contacted the same woman who arranged the indemnity letter to advise her that the year was up and how we should proceed. I understand that she did not remember me since it had been 11 months since we communicated. However, after I explained to her about the shortened name and that it was not an exact match, her reply was "if it is close, that will be ok."

It was like living in a twilight zone with Bangkok Bank. At first, the shortened name is not a problem for 2 years, then for one year it is a problem, but now it is no longer a problem.

With some hesitation, I did the ACH transfer this year and it went through without a problem.

How can a bank be so inconsistent?

You could have asked your bank in the US to send another SWIFT message (fees involved) to confirm that the shortened name is identical with the name of your Bangkok Bank a/c here in Thailand. I too had that problem before and was willing to pay the extra fee for another swift message from the overseas bank.

[55Jay]

Another option is to open an account which has no ACH fee (as I did with USAA) and then have them draw from your normal bank via ACH when you want to make a transfer and then send from them to Bangkok Bank. That is how I do - just just the USAA on-line account to draw and then send and no fees involved until it hits New York Bangkok Bank.

Lopburi,

Does USAA have a daily/weekly ACH limit? I have USAA chking acct but have never used them.

I have Navy Federal, limits 2,500/day and 7,500 weekly aggregate for free ACH service. I've tried to get them to change or give me a higher limit, no go.

TX,

J

[4evermaat]

Another option is to open an account which has no ACH fee (as I did with USAA) and then have them draw from your normal bank via ACH when you want to make a transfer and then send from them to Bangkok Bank. That is how I do - just just the USAA on-line account to draw and then send and no fees involved until it hits New York Bangkok Bank.

Lopburi,

Does USAA have a daily/weekly ACH limit? I have USAA chking acct but have never used them.

I have Navy Federal, limits 2,500/day and 7,500 weekly aggregate for free ACH service. I've tried to get them to change or give me a higher limit, no go.

TX,

J

USAA I remember has a 5k daily limit. Not sure about weekly. You can fax in a letter and possibly get this increased. Same thing with ATM limits, both temporary (day) and permanent. I don't know why banks are so inflexible.

They may have reduced this now; it's been a while since I've used them. But their service is second to none from what I remember. USAA is one bank where it doesn't hurt to ask

Edited April 17, 2013 by 4evermaat

[55Jay]

Another option is to open an account which has no ACH fee (as I did with USAA) and then have them draw from your normal bank via ACH when you want to make a transfer and then send from them to Bangkok Bank. That is how I do - just just the USAA on-line account to draw and then send and no fees involved until it hits New York Bangkok Bank.

Lopburi,

Does USAA have a daily/weekly ACH limit? I have USAA chking acct but have never used them.

I have Navy Federal, limits 2,500/day and 7,500 weekly aggregate for free ACH service. I've tried to get them to change or give me a higher limit, no go.

TX,

J

USAA I remember has a 5k daily limit. Not sure about weekly. You can fax in a letter and possibly get this increased. Same thing with ATM limits, both temporary (day) and permanent. I don't know why banks are so inflexible.

They may have reduced this now; it's been a while since I've used them. But their service is second to none from what I remember. USAA is one bank where it doesn't hurt to ask

Thanks! I've gotten the impression reading here some banks/CU don't have a limit, folks can ACH large sums (like $100k+) to BKKB New York.

Edited April 17, 2013 by 55Jay

[JimGant]

Does USAA have a daily/weekly ACH limit? I have USAA chking acct but have never used them.

I raised my daily ACH limit to $30,000 -- permanently on-file. Can't remember if this was by phone call or fax...

30k was completely arbitrary, and not a ceiling, at least to my knowledge. Have sent amounts of $20k several times, but have never needed to send higher.

Also, have been a member of USAA for 45 years -- not sure if that greased any skids, or not. Probably not.

[55Jay]

Does USAA have a daily/weekly ACH limit? I have USAA chking acct but have never used them.

I raised my daily ACH limit to $30,000 -- permanently on-file. Can't remember if this was by phone call or fax...

30k was completely arbitrary, and not a ceiling, at least to my knowledge. Have sent amounts of $20k several times, but have never needed to send higher.

Also, have been a member of USAA for 45 years -- not sure if that greased any skids, or not. Probably not.

Thank you, Jim.

[billaaa777]

Hi, great thread, I have learned quite a bit.

KASIKORN BANK now has an LA branch.

http://www.kasikornbank.com/en/serviceschannel/searchservicechannel/overseasbranches/pages/overseasbranches2.aspx

Has anybody tried using the Bangkok Bank method with KASIKORN?

The reason I am asking is that I already have an account with them.

Thanks in advance.

[Dario]

Make sure you sign up for SMS alerts so that you can get the stats quickly. Confirm that you have SMS alerts. Otherwise, you have to send a request via online banking or email to get the stats of the transfer.

Thanks for all your replies. Most helpful.

I am using Maybank in Malaysia to send USD, I was buying baht here and sending it but the exchange rate is hideous. USD looked the better option but with these charges its hard to take. Malaysia won't transfer Ringgit out of Malaysia, this is the problem.

On the form, I tick local charges paid by me and local charges in Thai by beneficiary.

Will try to get the BB staff to actually do something today and look into what actually came into the bank (currency and amount), but they are really unhelpful and have a dont car less attiude. I think its worth changing banks just because of the attitude.

The bank sending fee is about 20 Ringgit when done at the counter, but when done on line there isn't one. This maybe the problem, will find out (hopefully) what was actually received in Thailand today.

Thanks again.

So for malaysian transfers, do you have to convert MYR to USD or other foreign currency FIRST? Normally the exchange rate for the border countries and western countries are pretty good, but I'm only used to the counter exchanges done with the money exchanges and the occassional bank. Maybe when sending outside the country it is a worst exchange rate?

To 4evermaat: How does one sign up for SMS alerts? Are you talking about Bangkok Bank Bualung iBanking? I just checked my online account and nowhere this SMS alert service is mentioned. I would be happy if you could tell me more about it. Thanks.

[4evermaat]

To 4evermaat: How does one sign up for SMS alerts? Are you talking about Bangkok Bank Bualung iBanking? I just checked my online account and nowhere this SMS alert service is mentioned. I would be happy if you could tell me more about it. Thanks.

For Bangkok bank and most Thai banks I have dealt with, the primary method is to use your ATM card and sign up for the service at the atm. You may have to do an One Time Password with your phone to confirm the service.

Other options may include: Phone banking (requires debit card #) or in-branch signup by filling out the form and requesting the service.

[Pib]

How to sign up for Bangkok Bank SMS Alerts: Link

[Arkady]

One thing to avoid is sending US$ from and to a country that is not the US as the transfer will have to go through a US correspondent bank which will hack another chunk off your money and delay the deal. I discovered this problem making remittances from a US dollar account in Hong Kong to Thailand which I thought would be no problem. After that I converted the US$ to HK$ in HK which is a low cost fx trade there and then remitted the HK$ to Thailand. There was still something hacked off at each end but not in the middle anymore.

[fotog]

I've been using Bangkok Bank for a few years now. I transfer via bill pay from my bank in the USA using Bangkok Bank NY. Using their routing number in NY and my account number in Thailand it works, without any fees. Now Bangkok bank may not give you the same rate as For-ex but if you check their exchange rate it is spot on to what they are giving you. The transfer usually takes about 5 days. My bill pay service is free, the transfer is free as well. Just plan a week out and avoid unwanted fees.

That is an interesting way to do your transfers with BBK Bank. So you just setup BKK Bank NY as the payee and put your BKK Bank account number on the transaction? That is the best and easiest way I have heard of so far.

When I started with them 10 years ago I was told to setup a 'recurring transfer service' from my USA bank to BBK Bank and that is what I did. The fee is $12.00 per transfer and no issues with that part.

However I agree with every negative comment posted here about BKK Bank, and if at all possible I bring cash from the U.S and convert it at a much better rate than BKK Bank will give on a wire transfer. If I started to tell all of the things I don't like about dealing with BKK Bank; I would be here for a very long time. If I ever had a good experience dealing with them; then I sure can't remember it. I can just imagine the greif I will get when I sell my condo and want to transfer the money back to the U.S.

[larrybikes]

I have a Bangkok Bank account and a Schwab Bank account in the USA. Schwab Bank reimburses me at the end of the month the 150 baht ATM fee for each cash withdrawal I make.

Given that I have no effective cost for using the ATM, am I correct in assuming I am better off using the ATM for my cash needs while in Thailand instead of transferring funds to BB using ACH and it's modest associated fees?

For the record, the 25,000 baht ATM daily limit meets my needs. I spend 4-5 months in Chiang Mai each year and I have a savings account for cash needs and an 800,000 baht fixed account for my visa extension needs.

[JimGant]

Given that I have no effective cost for using the ATM, am I correct in assuming I am better off using the ATM for my cash needs while in Thailand instead of transferring funds to BB using ACH and it's modest associated fees?

From a purely mathematical standpoint -- and using the same TT buying rate for both -- yes.

Using 30-to-1 TT FX rate -- realized by both the ACH and ATM transaction -- you'll be $12/$22/$27 better off using your Schwab ATM card over ACH transfers of $2000, $5000, and $10000, respectively. And, actually, if you factored in that Visa realizes 4 to 8 satang *better* than the same day's buying TT rate -- this differential would be 14/30/40 dollars.

Of course, the moving exchange rate will either enhance -- or wipe out -- such differentials. So, convenience can then be a factor. I actually ACH periodic chunks of money, as I have a direct debit account for my utilities -- and don't want to feed it with a series of ATM pulls with the Schwab card (again, convenience). And, the wife, for some reason, prefers to use our Be1st ATM card for cash needs.

The ACH chunk I sent in early Dec gave me an FX advantage for the next few months. Not so the chunk sent in April. Oh well. If it's going to go back and forth like this, I guess it'll even out. But, in the mean time, maybe I'll get the wife to use her Schwab card as well.

[farang000999]

just read OP but as others have pointed out i am sure, transfer from us bank to bangkok bank new york via your online banking.