How the Heck Do I Send My Own Money 'Home' I Bought Here ?

[MaiChai]

A Thai businessman I know says the easiest way to send money out is to draw the money from your Thai account and then present this as an amount you want to transfer abroad. You are limited here to about USD50,000. Thus you would need to do the transfer several times.

Otherwise if you want to do it all in one go, you will need to prove where it came from as mentioned by others.

While I am here, I need to repatriate Thai baht from a court case back to the UK. I will follow my business man friends advice. Can I use European IBAN numbers (Kasikorn) or do I have to specify the SWIFT code and account details? Sorry if this has been answered before, but trying to find this info on the site is like looking for a needle in a hay stack!

[littleboylost]

It seems amazing to me that you did not check the rules before you sent the money to Thailand, All money that comes into Thailand first of all goes through Bangkok Bank, before it is redistributed to other banks. A large amount of money that is, you then need to take the transfer slip to Bangkok Banks main office, who will issue you with a certificate of proof that this is foreign money and tax has already been paid on this money. When you want to leave the = amount of money can be moved free from tax. If you have more than you arrived with then you will be required to pay tax.

If you have no certificate, it will be looked upon that this money has been earned in Thailand and will be liable to tax

You say all money that comes to Thailand first goes to Bangkok Bank, just one of the major commercial/retail banks in Thailand? So, all the other banks like K-Bank, SCB, and the list goes on which have their own SWIFT codes, correspondent banks in other countries, etc., must have incoming money routed through Bangkok Bank first? I don't think so. But I'm sure you have a source for your statement.

Sounded very far-fetched to me too frankly. Why on earth would all money coming into a country be directed through one particular commercial bank?

There's no tax on your own savings brought into Thailand (unless they can deduce it was earned in the year you bring it in), in any case, so how could any bank give you a certificate that tax has been paid on it?

Furthermore money from abroad that goes into your account is always tagged with a code that shows it came from abroad, so there's no way it would be looked upon as being earned in Thailand.

So this post makes no sense on many levels.

[chiang mai]

It seems amazing to me that you did not check the rules before you sent the money to Thailand, All money that comes into Thailand first of all goes through Bangkok Bank, before it is redistributed to other banks. A large amount of money that is, you then need to take the transfer slip to Bangkok Banks main office, who will issue you with a certificate of proof that this is foreign money and tax has already been paid on this money. When you want to leave the = amount of money can be moved free from tax. If you have more than you arrived with then you will be required to pay tax.

If you have no certificate, it will be looked upon that this money has been earned in Thailand and will be liable to tax

Absolute nonsense, Bangkok Bank does not act as the central clearer and an FET can be obtained from any receiving branch bank, I have FET's from BAY, CIMB Thailand, UOB Thailand and Kasikorn. As for paying tax on funds that are returned overseas, nonsense again, although I can't speak for those holding work permits.

Edited November 25, 2013 by chiang mai

[littleboylost]

Funds transferred from a foreign bank go directly to the designated Thai bank not through Bangkok Bank. Each bank has its own SWIFT code and your own bank can supply the neccessary paperwork to prove the funds originated from outside of Thailand.

I have been transferring funds from my US bank to Kasikorn Bank in Phuket for over 10 years and they have always provided the Credit Advice/Receipt upon request free of charge.

[AbeSurd]

When I decided that I did not want to be a retiree in TL I just walked into a branch of my bank and asked them to TT the balance back to my Oz account.

In my ignorance I did not know there might be a problem. The bank certainly deducted their fees, but they did it with no problem.

Yes, this sounds correct.

I bank with Siam Commercial and Bangkok Bank. Both of them have told me I can wire the money I sent from the UK back to the UK with no problem - just so long as I haven't moved the money out of the bank in the meantime. Even if you move the money out of your Thai bank only for a short time and then return it to the same Thai bank - you may have problems trying to repatriate it.

I tested this a while ago at Siam Commercial. I sent a test amount of 5000 baht back to my UK bank. Costs were high for such a small amount but the transfer went through no problem.

Just to explain a little further to the OP.

I don't work - I'm on a retirement visa. And I don't own any property in Thailand. The money I wire from my UK bank (sterling) to my Thai bank account in Pattaya (Thai baht) is solely for living expenses. So it just sits in the Thai bank (SCB or Bangkok Bank) until I spend it on rent, food, clothes, entertainment, health care etc.

So a quick check of their records by SCB or Bangkok Bank will quickly confirm to them that they know where my money originated - ie it came from my UK bank account. On that basis, they assure me I can send back as much as I want in one transaction.

For example, my understanding is that if I send over sterling worth 10 million baht to, say, my Thai baht account at Bangkok Bank account here in Thailand, and I don't move the money out of Bangkok Bank, and all I do is spend 1 million baht of it - then I can instruct Bangkok Bank to send back the remaining 9 million baht to my UK bank account. In one transaction.

HOWEVER it seems they will only send it back as sterling.

That's the theory! Yet to be tested in full.

As I said, I tested it with 5000 baht - and there was no problem.

[chiang mai]

When I decided that I did not want to be a retiree in TL I just walked into a branch of my bank and asked them to TT the balance back to my Oz account.

In my ignorance I did not know there might be a problem. The bank certainly deducted their fees, but they did it with no problem.

Yes, this sounds correct.

I bank with Siam Commercial and Bangkok Bank. Both of them have told me I can wire the money I sent from the UK back to the UK with no problem - just so long as I haven't moved the money out of the bank in the meantime. Even if you move the money out of your Thai bank only for a short time and then return it to the same Thai bank - you may have problems trying to repatriate it.

I tested this a while ago at Siam Commercial. I sent a test amount of 5000 baht back to my UK bank. Costs were high for such a small amount but the transfer went through no problem.

Just to explain a little further to the OP.

I don't work - I'm on a retirement visa. And I don't own any property in Thailand. The money I wire from my UK bank (sterling) to my Thai bank account in Pattaya (Thai baht) is solely for living expenses. So it just sits in the Thai bank (SCB or Bangkok Bank) until I spend it on rent, food, clothes, entertainment, health care etc.

So a quick check of their records by SCB or Bangkok Bank will quickly confirm to them that they know where my money originated - ie it came from my UK bank account. On that basis, they assure me I can send back as much as I want in one transaction.

For example, my understanding is that if I send over sterling worth 10 million baht to, say, my Thai baht account at Bangkok Bank account here in Thailand, and I don't move the money out of Bangkok Bank, and all I do is spend 1 million baht of it - then I can instruct Bangkok Bank to send back the remaining 9 million baht to my UK bank account. In one transaction.

HOWEVER it seems they will only send it back as sterling.

That's the theory! Yet to be tested in full.

As I said, I tested it with 5000 baht - and there was no problem.

You're saying that your bank acts as an agent of BOT when it comes to funds transfer and that is correct, however, unless you have a very special type of account combined with some "above and beyond" service, you will be unlikely to be able to transfer those funds without an FET, the issue of who holds that FET at any point in time is at the heart of the issue. In a perfect world things would work as you suggest, your bank would flag all trabsfers in thus transfers out should be a piece of cake.

The trouble is, from experience, banks here put the repsonsibility for proving that funds originated overseas on the customer hence the need for the customer to request the FET and to hang on to it, the systems of all the major banks that I have dealt with don't do that - over time I've made transfers using Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn, BAY, UOB and CIMB and I'm a preferred customer at the last two, none of them have systems in place that allows branch staff to see the source of funds and make transfers out, without the customer supplying the FET, it's the FET that contains the date and the deal number that allows Treasury records (not branch) to identify the transfer in.

The second problem with what you've written is that when a resident expat transfers money in and doesn't hold a work permit, there's an expectation on the part of BOT that at least some of that money has been spent on living expenses, otherwise, how has that person existed here. That being the case they will not allow all past transfers in to be transferred out, I tried to use that line years ago with HSBC Bangkok where the foregoing was set out to me very clearly.

[AbeSurd]

chiang mai, my thanks to you and other posters here for the heads-up. Only recently have I started requesting these 'advice for customer' documents from my bank. Will now try and order more from them to cover transfers I made in earlier years.

The BOT requirement that, as a retiree, I actually spend - or appear to spend - some of the money I send over on living expenses is, on the face of it, reasonable. In my example I allowed for this: a hypothetical one million baht spent out of the hypothetical ten million originally sent over.

[partington]

You're saying that your bank acts as an agent of BOT when it comes to funds transfer and that is correct, however, unless you have a very special type of account combined with some "above and beyond" service, you will be unlikely to be able to transfer those funds without an FET, the issue of who holds that FET at any point in time is at the heart of the issue. In a perfect world things would work as you suggest, your bank would flag all trabsfers in thus transfers out should be a piece of cake.

The trouble is, from experience, banks here put the repsonsibility for proving that funds originated overseas on the customer hence the need for the customer to request the FET and to hang on to it, the systems of all the major banks that I have dealt with don't do that - over time I've made transfers using Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn, BAY, UOB and CIMB and I'm a preferred customer at the last two, none of them have systems in place that allows branch staff to see the source of funds and make transfers out, without the customer supplying the FET, it's the FET that contains the date and the deal number that allows Treasury records (not branch) to identify the transfer in.

The second problem with what you've written is that when a resident expat transfers money in and doesn't hold a work permit, there's an expectation on the part of BOT that at least some of that money has been spent on living expenses, otherwise, how has that person existed here. That being the case they will not allow all past transfers in to be transferred out, I tried to use that line years ago with HSBC Bangkok where the foregoing was set out to me very clearly.

Just to clarify : it true that if one day in the future I try to transfer money back to the UK that has clearly come in to Kasikorn from abroad because it's in my passbook as "foreign transaction", and it has stayed in this account all the time, just diminishing slowly as I spend it, and I go into my branch and try to transfer the remainder back to the UK, my branch will just ask me to interact with the head office on my own to provide them with the credit advice note they need rather than them just phoning for me and getting it?

That seems a bit strange , but no stranger than many banking practices here...

If that's the case and it sounds like it is, think I'll start requesting the FETs now just in case.

Is it true that the name FET refers only to sums above $50 000, and there is a different name for the note referring to sums under $50,000? (all my transfers are under $7500 -my UK bank's daily limit)

Do you know the Thai name for these credit advice notes? I am a bit baffled as to who to contact to get them and how to describe what I want, in a clear enough way not to evoke the instant response "cannot do!"?

Thanks!

[chiang mai]

You're saying that your bank acts as an agent of BOT when it comes to funds transfer and that is correct, however, unless you have a very special type of account combined with some "above and beyond" service, you will be unlikely to be able to transfer those funds without an FET, the issue of who holds that FET at any point in time is at the heart of the issue. In a perfect world things would work as you suggest, your bank would flag all trabsfers in thus transfers out should be a piece of cake.

The trouble is, from experience, banks here put the repsonsibility for proving that funds originated overseas on the customer hence the need for the customer to request the FET and to hang on to it, the systems of all the major banks that I have dealt with don't do that - over time I've made transfers using Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn, BAY, UOB and CIMB and I'm a preferred customer at the last two, none of them have systems in place that allows branch staff to see the source of funds and make transfers out, without the customer supplying the FET, it's the FET that contains the date and the deal number that allows Treasury records (not branch) to identify the transfer in.

The second problem with what you've written is that when a resident expat transfers money in and doesn't hold a work permit, there's an expectation on the part of BOT that at least some of that money has been spent on living expenses, otherwise, how has that person existed here. That being the case they will not allow all past transfers in to be transferred out, I tried to use that line years ago with HSBC Bangkok where the foregoing was set out to me very clearly.

Just to clarify : it true that if one day in the future I try to transfer money back to the UK that has clearly come in to Kasikorn from abroad because it's in my passbook as "foreign transaction", and it has stayed in this account all the time, just diminishing slowly as I spend it, and I go into my branch and try to transfer the remainder back to the UK, my branch will just ask me to interact with the head office on my own to provide them with the credit advice note they need rather than them just phoning for me and getting it?

That seems a bit strange , but no stranger than many banking practices here...

If that's the case and it sounds like it is, think I'll start requesting the FETs now just in case.

Is it true that the name FET refers only to sums above $50 000, and there is a different name for the note referring to sums under $50,000? (all my transfers are under $7500 -my UK bank's daily limit)

Do you know the Thai name for these credit advice notes? I am a bit baffled as to who to contact to get them and how to describe what I want, in a clear enough way not to evoke the instant response "cannot do!"?

Thanks!

The abbreviated term "FET" (Foreign Exchange Transaction) applies to a number of different documents produced by various banks that describes the foreign currency exchange transaction relating to inbound funds. As long as that document shows the source of the funds, the name of the sender and the senders bank, the date of transfer, the amount of foreign currency transmitted and the amount received, AND, CRUCIALLY, the Treasury Dept. deal number of the transaction, all other documents required by BOT can be manufactured by the bank after the fact - again, the banks act as the BOT agent in this respect - I have known FET equivalents to be produced many many months after the deal and only when the customer wanted to export those funds.

The above refers to the currency exchange documentation of any size of deal - the figure of 50k relates to a foreign currency equivalent that can be transferred out of Thailand without BOT approval, BUT rules surrounding the above are enforced in different ways by different employees at different branches, to be certain, obtain the FET equivalent.

Finally, foreign currency exchange is a bank Treasury (Head Office) function, not a branch bank function, don't beat up the teller if she doesn't know about these things.

EDIT:

As far as transfers in/living expenses/transfers out is concerned: I do not know how this is managed by the banks today because I always use an FET equivalent, it used to be that the purpose of the inbound funds was always declared at the time of transfer and if that purpose was stated as living expenses (the lazy mans answer) then those funds were considered to have been spent for the purpose stated. If however the purpose was investment, purchase of a home etc then that provided a route for outbound transfer because they are items that could have been sold (tax paid and receipt provided of course)..

Edited November 26, 2013 by chiang mai

[partington]

Finally, foreign currency exchange is a bank Treasury (Head Office) function, not a branch bank function, don't beat up the teller if she doesn't know about these things.

Thanks! I am not beating up on tellers, really, I am honestly just trying to get clear in my own mind how I would go about getting this inward credit information, that I hadn't previously realised would be necessary if I ever wanted to return any money to the UK.

I don't speak Thai and I still to be honest don't have a very clear idea of how I would go about it. One earlier poster said this:

Call the bangkok HO FX Dept directly (your local branch can't do it). Give them the date and details of the transfer and ask them to email a copy to you.

Is this correct - would they really do this over the phone with no passport ID? It strikes me it might be difficult to identify by phone a transfer from six months ago and request a thing that you don't know the name of..but maybe they all speak english well and I am overthinking the difficulty?

Could it be done in person at the Head Office FX department? I simply have no idea about this stuff.

[chiang mai]

Thanks! I am not beating up on tellers, really, I am honestly just trying to get clear in my own mind how I would go about getting this inward credit information, that I hadn't previously realised would be necessary if I ever wanted to return any money to the UK.

I don't speak Thai and I still to be honest don't have a very clear idea of how I would go about it. One earlier poster said this:

Is this correct - would they really do this over the phone with no passport ID? It strikes me it might be difficult to identify by phone a transfer from six months ago and request a thing that you don't know the name of..but maybe they all speak english well and I am overthinking the difficulty?

Could it be done in person at the Head Office FX department? I simply have no idea about this stuff.

Sure, just call any banks Treasury Dept and tell them to email you the form! hmmm, unlikely, seriously!!

And, News Flash: Thai business telephone systems now upgraded to latest telephone technology, other locations can now be contacted easily! Amazing Thailand!

[partington]

Thanks! I am not beating up on tellers, really, I am honestly just trying to get clear in my own mind how I would go about getting this inward credit information, that I hadn't previously realised would be necessary if I ever wanted to return any money to the UK.

I don't speak Thai and I still to be honest don't have a very clear idea of how I would go about it. One earlier poster said this:

Is this correct - would they really do this over the phone with no passport ID? It strikes me it might be difficult to identify by phone a transfer from six months ago and request a thing that you don't know the name of..but maybe they all speak english well and I am overthinking the difficulty?

Could it be done in person at the Head Office FX department? I simply have no idea about this stuff.

Sure, just call any banks Treasury Dept and tell them to email you the form! hmmm, unlikely, seriously!!

And, News Flash: Thai business telephone systems now upgraded to latest telephone technology, other locations can now be contacted easily! Amazing Thailand!

OK now I seriously don't get it.

Why the sarcasm and the snotty attitude? I was being genuine and asking serious questions, and being what I considered entirely polite and reasonable?

We'd better stop here I think.

[chiang mai]

Thanks! I am not beating up on tellers, really, I am honestly just trying to get clear in my own mind how I would go about getting this inward credit information, that I hadn't previously realised would be necessary if I ever wanted to return any money to the UK.

I don't speak Thai and I still to be honest don't have a very clear idea of how I would go about it. One earlier poster said this:

Is this correct - would they really do this over the phone with no passport ID? It strikes me it might be difficult to identify by phone a transfer from six months ago and request a thing that you don't know the name of..but maybe they all speak english well and I am overthinking the difficulty?

Could it be done in person at the Head Office FX department? I simply have no idea about this stuff.

Sure, just call any banks Treasury Dept and tell them to email you the form! hmmm, unlikely, seriously!!

And, News Flash: Thai business telephone systems now upgraded to latest telephone technology, other locations can now be contacted easily! Amazing Thailand!

OK now I seriously don't get it.

Why the sarcasm and the snotty attitude? I was being genuine and asking serious questions, and being what I considered entirely polite and reasonable?

We'd better stop here I think.

Partington, if you would just read the post you would see that I am not being sarcastic towards you but towards the poster that you quoted who gave you the advice that branches can't call their Treasury Dept and that anyone can call HO and request FET's to be emailed to them! Come on Partington, you're an intelligent person and even you queried whether that advice was right!

[partington]

Well <deleted> just tell me how to get the dam_n thing then! Don't be sarcastic or comment on others posts or give me information that I am supposed to deduce is satire.

If the answer is go into your branch and ask them to get it for you then say so.

I'm telling you I have no idea! What's the problem with you just simply telling me, as you seem to be knowledgeable in this area??

Edited November 26, 2013 by partington

[chiang mai]

Well <deleted> just tell me how to get the dam_n thing then! Don't be sarcastic or comment on others posts or give me information that I am supposed to deduce is satire.

If the answer is go into your branch and ask them to get it for you then say so.

I'm telling you I have no idea! What's the problem with you just simply telling me, as you seem to be knowledgeable in this area??

Over and out!

[NeverSure]

quote name="DiamondKing" post="7074961" timestamp="1385272483"]

All these issues will be obsolete in the next few years as digital currency gains ground specifically Bitcoin.

No longer will you be held hostage by banks an not being able to transfer YOUR OWN MONEY freely and without hinderance and with tiny fees or even fee free.

The digital currency BITCOIN is growing in popularity and this past week US senate hearings on regulation were heard and it was all positive in addition to that you can now buy subway sandwiches. coffee, airline tickets, book hotels, buy a condo in the Trump Tower in NY and even a ticket to space with Richard Bransons spaceship.

There are also new bitcoin ATM's that are just being distributed and TOS terminals to make it easier for merchants to accept bitcoin, all you will need s your smart phone and you willbe able to do the hell what you want and transfer it anywhere in the world without any government telling you you cannot transfer your OWN MONEY.

Some of the worlds most susccessful business men are believers and the price of a bitcoin has gone from just $13 in january 2013 to $783.00 which is todays price.

Many Millionaires made just from the speculation of Bitcoin since its very volatile until it becomes more popular adn mainstream but all indications are that it will do just that.

There are many UNEDUCATED people that post complete BS on bitcoin in threads and they know absolutely nothing about it but still post complete crap so I suggest you do yor own research on Bitcoin and if you are smart you will see the potential of this and where it is going, which is to the moon. (1 bitcoin is expected to go to $1000 a coin, $3500 a coin to $30,000 a coin and then up from there to expected $700,000 to 1 Million a coin as it becomes mainstream.

Its already started

From 13 usd to 783 usd, no wonder there are many believers as they are the ones making the serious money from it.

I could be wrong and this could be the way ahead, but it sounds like a bubble that's going to burst. I doubt there are many people that have more than a small fraction of their assets in bitcoin.

Well no smart person would have all their eggs in one basket

As for the future there is a very slight chance it could turn to shit but NOTHING INDICATES THAT RIGHT NOW, in fact it is the opposite and estimates are that that $753 today will be worth $3000 then $30,000 then $700,000 then A Million PER COIN as the mainstream catches on.

Do your research and you will see why the early gamblers will clean up with this just like domains names way back when. I personally know guys that were not wealthy at all just a few months ago and today they are Millionaires because of Bitcoin and there will be many more Millionaires to come.

BILLIONAIRE Richard Branson is an investor and he gave Bitcoin his nod of approval yesterday and another BILLIONAIRE Donald Trump will allow you to buy a condo in his Trump Towers in NY with Bitcoin.

Should make you start thinking about it when you consider these are very smart businessmen and investors.

Yeah, I knew a guy who blew a wad in the 80's trying to corner domain names. He thought he had it all figured out what the big players would want. Did he guess YouTube, Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Amazon, Wikipedia, Bing, Twitter, eBay, LinkedIn... ??

Naw, auctions.com which he spent a fortune buying and maintaining isn't even in use today as far as I know !!!!! eBay?

What's to stop me from starting another version of Bitcoin? Are they backed by gold or a major government?

I'll call it Buttcoin, and be a butt about it.

[thailiketoo]

It seems amazing to me that you did not check the rules before you sent the money to Thailand, All money that comes into Thailand first of all goes through Bangkok Bank, before it is redistributed to other banks. A large amount of money that is, you then need to take the transfer slip to Bangkok Banks main office, who will issue you with a certificate of proof that this is foreign money and tax has already been paid on this money. When you want to leave the = amount of money can be moved free from tax. If you have more than you arrived with then you will be required to pay tax.

If you have no certificate, it will be looked upon that this money has been earned in Thailand and will be liable to tax

You say all money that comes to Thailand first goes to Bangkok Bank, just one of the major commercial/retail banks in Thailand? So, all the other banks like K-Bank, SCB, and the list goes on which have their own SWIFT codes, correspondent banks in other countries, etc., must have incoming money routed through Bangkok Bank first? I don't think so. But I'm sure you have a source for your statement.

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an office in the USA. I think they are the only bank that will accept Social Security direct deposits in Thailand.

When I opened my Social Security account from Thailand the Social Security office asked me for my Bangkok Bank direct deposit account number as that was the only bank that can be used for that purpose.

The lady at the bank told me that all the transfers with the USA go through the Bangkok Bank.

It would be easy to find out. Call Bangkok Bank main office they speak English.

[chiang mai]

That is correct, when discussing US SSc payments, only. Bangkok Bank is the only bank in Thailand for that purpose. Other banks however receive funds directly from any number of other sources without them going via Bangkok Bank.

EDIT: BTW the above is only true of American recipients of SSc,, overseas resident green card holders who are not US citizens have the option of choosing a Thai bank other than Bangkok Bank. I'm a Brit and a US green card holder who is in receipt of SSc payments each month, when I set up my accounts a year ago I considered using CIMB in Thailand and this was acceptable to the SSc office in the PI. I therefore believe that the SSc folks require that Bangkok Bank is used by US citizens for reasons other than just process and probably has some taxation aspect, dunno.

Edited November 27, 2013 by chiang mai

[thailiketoo]

Bitcoin is a crypto currency that's been exploding in value since the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke said that it "may hold long-term promise" at last week's U.S. Senate hearing on the Potential Risks, Threats, and Promises of Virtual Currencies (which aired on C-SPAN). Other U.S. regulatory power houses (including the Treasury and Department of Justice) agreed.

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg)-- The Department of Justice said Bitcoins can be “legal means of exchange” at a U.S. Senate committee hearing, boosting prospects for wider acceptance of the virtual currency.

Virgin Galactic Accepts Bitcoin for Space Travel, says Billionaire Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson

Michael Novogratz, a manager of the £34 billion Fortress Investment Group has confessed he has sunk his own cash into Bitcoin over the past three months.

the German government will exchange Bitcoin for euros and an investment fund has announced taking a position on the currency despite an investigation underway by the New York banking regulator. - See more at: http://www.iexpats.com/bitcoin-risky-worth-says-fund-manager/#sthash.TVtl5P2o.dpuf

The German government will exchange Bitcoin for euros and an investment fund has announced taking a position on the currency.

http://www.iexpats.com/bitcoin-risky-worth-says-fund-manager/

If the above is correct and I think it is, it will make all the rules and regulations meaningless.

Michael Novogratz, a manager of the £34 billion Fortress Investment Group has confessed he has sunk his own cash into Bitcoin over the past three months. -

If the above is correct and I think it is, it will make all the rules and regulations meaningless. You will be able to transfer anything anywhere.

See more at: http://www.iexpats.com/bitcoin-risky-worth-says-fund-manager/#sthash.TVtl5P2o.dpuf

Edited November 27, 2013 by thailiketoo

[thailiketoo]

That is correct, when discussing US SSc payments, only. Bangkok Bank is the only bank in Thailand for that purpose. Other banks however receive funds directly from any number of other sources without them going via Bangkok Bank.

EDIT: BTW the above is only true of American recipients of SSc,, overseas resident green card holders who are not US citizens have the option of choosing a Thai bank other than Bangkok Bank. I'm a Brit and a US green card holder who is in receipt of SSc payments each month, when I set up my accounts a year ago I considered using CIMB in Thailand and this was acceptable to the SSc office in the PI. I therefore believe that the SSc folks require that Bangkok Bank is used by US citizens for reasons other than just process and probably has some taxation aspect, dunno.

LIke I said, easy to find out call up the bank.

[Pib]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an office in the USA. I think they are the only bank that will accept Social Security direct deposits in Thailand.

When I opened my Social Security account from Thailand the Social Security office asked me for my Bangkok Bank direct deposit account number as that was the only bank that can be used for that purpose.

The lady at the bank told me that all the transfers with the USA go through the Bangkok Bank.

It would be easy to find out. Call Bangkok Bank main office they speak English.

As far as I know Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with a U.S. presence via their New York operation/branch. Since they are a recognized bank in the U.S. they also have a Federal Reserve Automated Clearing House (ACH) "routing number" just like any other U.S. bank/credit union. When the SSA transmits a person's monthly pension you must have an ACH routing number and account number. As far as I know Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an ACH number....never-ever seen anything anywhere else talking another Thai bank with an ACH number....instead a person must use the pricey SWIFT/wire/international transfer method using SWIFT codes. Bangkok Bank web site provides plenty of info on their international transfer capabilities, to inlcude ACH capability

However, there is a U.S. govt program for U.S govt pensions called the International Direct Deposit (IDD) program where the U.S. has direct deposit agreements with certain countries. Thailand is not on the IDD list/no agreement with the U.S. Take a look at this SSA Link and this DFAS Link for more info...the DFAS (for U.S. military pensions) probably gives a better description of the program to include a Sign Up form if you happen to live in one of the countries with a direct deposit agreement with the U.S. Below is a cut & paste from the DFAS link summarizing the IDD program.

Nations chosen for IDD eligibility have met the requirements of the Federal Reserve Bank. Simply put, the banks and other financial institutions in those countries provide secure and trustworthy services and have systems compatible with transferring funds from the U. S. to your account.

The bank lady who said all transfers with the USA go through Bankgok Bank probably meant Bangkok Bank was the only Thai bank with an ACH routing number...or she was just uninformed...another one of those bank customer service reps you sometimes talk to that say something completely different from the bank rep you talk to earlier...which was possibly different from what another bank rep told you. Funds transfer out of and into the U.S. can go by many different means like use of SWIFT transfers between bank X in the U.S. to bank Y in Thailand. Mention IDD program to the bank rep and their eyes would probably glaze over or they would just mumble Bangkok Bank for lack of anything else to say.

Now even though Thailand is not part of the U.S. IDD progam, Bangkok Bank does do their best to comply with the U.S. laws to prevent U.S. govt pension fraud which of course also allows Bangkok Bank to make money/fees from deposits and ACH transfers of U.S. pensioners. By helping to prevent U.S. govt pension fraud I mean like the pensioner dying, no one notifying the govt of the death so the pension would stop, the pension continues to flow and "if" it was flowing to a joint account the other owner of that account (like a Thai spouse) could continue to withdraw/spend the funds they are not authorized to receive.

But with the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit program they have it set up to be a single account only (the pensioner) with no ATM/ibanking withdrawal capability...you must show up in person to withdraw money...if you can't show up then you just may be dead....and once the U.S. govt finds out about your death later on all the money is there in the account to be easily pulled back since you signed forms saying such when setting up the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit account for U.S. govt pensions.

Yes, yes, a person can send a U.S. govt pension to a joint account in the U.S. bank, but in the U.S. when a person dies there are so many ways a person's death is automatically reported (i.e., hospital, police, etc.) which eventually/fairly fast reach the govt agency sending out the pension even if the next of kin didn't promptly report the death to the govt agency sending the pension. In Thailand, when a U.S. citizen croaks unless the next of kin reports it or the U.S. Embassy finds out in some way, it could be a while before the govt pension agency finds out. And unfortunately it has apparently happened to many times in the next of kin deciding to play dumb, not report the pensioners death so the pension payment continue to flow in "if" it was a joint account....but with the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit Account for U.S. Pensions its not a joint account but a single person (the pensioner) account. Plus, when trying to recover U.S. govt pension funds from a foreigner's bank account in another country, well that can get downright hard if the joint account owner didn't want to fully cooperate; in a U.S. bank account (even if a joint account) on U.S. soil it's easy for the govt to pull the funds under U.S. laws. It's also apparently easy to pull such funds from those countries the U.S. has an IDD agreement with. Would be nice if Thailand with joint the other countries which are part of the IDD program then I expect all/most Thai banks could start getting U.S. govt pensions direct deposited.

Lots of U.S. people in Thailand which do not have a Bangkok Bank account...they are with one of the numerous other Thai banks such as K-bank, SCB, etc. They are transferring money directly from their U.S. banks via SWIFT/wire to their Thai banks....no Bangkok Bank involvement at all.

[SPIKECM]

I used to transfer funds from the UK into my Bangkok Bank account. I found out that the funds were always delayed as they had to go through KBank. The money was exchanged at the KBank and simply transferred in Baht to my Bangkok Bank account. Thus I opened a Kbank account... with far superior service to Bkk Bank I have to say.

It maybe that your US account has an agreement with Bangkok Bank and that is why it went direct, but that is not universally the case.

Funds transferred from a foreign bank go directly to the designated Thai bank not through Bangkok Bank. Each bank has its own SWIFT code and your own bank can supply the neccessary paperwork to prove the funds originated from outside of Thailand.

I have been transferring funds from my US bank to Kasikorn Bank in Phuket for over 10 years and they have always provided the Credit Advice/Receipt upon request free of charge.

[AbeSurd]

Finally, foreign currency exchange is a bank Treasury (Head Office) function, not a branch bank function, don't beat up the teller if she doesn't know about these things.

Thanks! I am not beating up on tellers, really, I am honestly just trying to get clear in my own mind how I would go about getting this inward credit information, that I hadn't previously realised would be necessary if I ever wanted to return any money to the UK.

I don't speak Thai and I still to be honest don't have a very clear idea of how I would go about it. One earlier poster said this:

Call the bangkok HO FX Dept directly (your local branch can't do it). Give them the date and details of the transfer and ask them to email a copy to you.

Is this correct - would they really do this over the phone with no passport ID? It strikes me it might be difficult to identify by phone a transfer from six months ago and request a thing that you don't know the name of..but maybe they all speak english well and I am overthinking the difficulty?

Could it be done in person at the Head Office FX department? I simply have no idea about this stuff.

Partington, to get the letter of confirmation from Siam Commercial for my transfer from the UK I went into my branch with my passbook and passport, pointed to the entry in the passbook for the transfer and asked for the letter/receipt/document for it. I can't remember exactly what word I used but they knew instantly what I wanted and it took 5-10 minutes for them to print it off.

What I'm talking about here is a single sheet of paper, in English, giving all kinds of details about the transfer, including various reference numbers and the charges levied. It's headed 'Advice for customer - inward transfer'. I imagine this is what chiang mai is talking about when he refers to an "FET".

My branch is a main Siam Commercial branch here in Pattaya. The staff speak reasonable English - and I speak a little Thai. So, as I say, it was easy. If you're out in the sticks or your branch is a small one or the bank staff speak little or no English I guess it might not be so easy.

Good luck.

[partington]

Finally, foreign currency exchange is a bank Treasury (Head Office) function, not a branch bank function, don't beat up the teller if she doesn't know about these things.

Thanks! I am not beating up on tellers, really, I am honestly just trying to get clear in my own mind how I would go about getting this inward credit information, that I hadn't previously realised would be necessary if I ever wanted to return any money to the UK.

I don't speak Thai and I still to be honest don't have a very clear idea of how I would go about it. One earlier poster said this:

Call the bangkok HO FX Dept directly (your local branch can't do it). Give them the date and details of the transfer and ask them to email a copy to you.

Is this correct - would they really do this over the phone with no passport ID? It strikes me it might be difficult to identify by phone a transfer from six months ago and request a thing that you don't know the name of..but maybe they all speak english well and I am overthinking the difficulty?

Could it be done in person at the Head Office FX department? I simply have no idea about this stuff.

Partington, to get the letter of confirmation from Siam Commercial for my transfer from the UK I went into my branch with my passbook and passport, pointed to the entry in the passbook for the transfer and asked for the letter/receipt/document for it. I can't remember exactly what word I used but they knew instantly what I wanted and it took 5-10 minutes for them to print it off.

What I'm talking about here is a single sheet of paper, in English, giving all kinds of details about the transfer, including various reference numbers and the charges levied. It's headed 'Advice for customer - inward transfer'. I imagine this is what chiang mai is talking about when he refers to an "FET".

My branch is a main Siam Commercial branch here in Pattaya. The staff speak reasonable English - and I speak a little Thai. So, as I say, it was easy. If you're out in the sticks or your branch is a small one or the bank staff speak little or no English I guess it might not be so easy.

Good luck.

Thank you! A simple answer to a simple request.

I took a few days off TV as it was getting on my nerves, so hadn't read your post until just now.

In fact just today I went in to my branch of Kasikorn in BKK, and found that the procedure was exactly as you describe for Siam Commercial.

I brought my passport, my old and current passbooks with the transactions I wanted credit notes for underlined, and I had printed off the bit of the Kasikorn web page that talks about requiring the inward credit note for overseas transfers.

I showed the printout to the assistant hovering at the door. She didn't know what it meant but found a customer service representative who did.

They directed me upstairs to the SME and business section, where two extremely nice women were able to look up these transactions online, print out all four credit notes that I needed (some a year old), and also signed me up for an overseas transfer alert service where they will give you a better rate, apparently, and email you the details of inward and outward transfers, including the credit advice notes without having to go into the bank.

All free, too, so I was happy.

[chicowoodduck]

I'm in the same money boat as you...just back from Siam Commercal Bank here in Pattaya....filled out a wire transfer form and paid out 500 baht for processing fees to get 10,000 USD put in my Bank of America account. Doing a little at a time so no big deal. Just had to show I did a transfer of the money from the US (via my ATM card amongst other ways over the past nine or so years) Will keep spme in the kittly, kitty to love off of, but not keeping any size alrge amounts here. I don't trust the political situation or the banks....just saying...:-)

[chicowoodduck]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an office in the USA. I think they are the only bank that will accept Social Security direct deposits in Thailand.

When I opened my Social Security account from Thailand the Social Security office asked me for my Bangkok Bank direct deposit account number as that was the only bank that can be used for that purpose.

The lady at the bank told me that all the transfers with the USA go through the Bangkok Bank.

It would be easy to find out. Call Bangkok Bank main office they speak English.

As far as I know Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with a U.S. presence via their New York operation/branch. Since they are a recognized bank in the U.S. they also have a Federal Reserve Automated Clearing House (ACH) "routing number" just like any other U.S. bank/credit union. When the SSA transmits a person's monthly pension you must have an ACH routing number and account number. As far as I know Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an ACH number....never-ever seen anything anywhere else talking another Thai bank with an ACH number....instead a person must use the pricey SWIFT/wire/international transfer method using SWIFT codes. Bangkok Bank web site provides plenty of info on their international transfer capabilities, to inlcude ACH capability

However, there is a U.S. govt program for U.S govt pensions called the International Direct Deposit (IDD) program where the U.S. has direct deposit agreements with certain countries. Thailand is not on the IDD list/no agreement with the U.S. Take a look at this SSA Link and this DFAS Link for more info...the DFAS (for U.S. military pensions) probably gives a better description of the program to include a Sign Up form if you happen to live in one of the countries with a direct deposit agreement with the U.S. Below is a cut & paste from the DFAS link summarizing the IDD program.

Nations chosen for IDD eligibility have met the requirements of the Federal Reserve Bank. Simply put, the banks and other financial institutions in those countries provide secure and trustworthy services and have systems compatible with transferring funds from the U. S. to your account.

The bank lady who said all transfers with the USA go through Bankgok Bank probably meant Bangkok Bank was the only Thai bank with an ACH routing number...or she was just uninformed...another one of those bank customer service reps you sometimes talk to that say something completely different from the bank rep you talk to earlier...which was possibly different from what another bank rep told you. Funds transfer out of and into the U.S. can go by many different means like use of SWIFT transfers between bank X in the U.S. to bank Y in Thailand. Mention IDD program to the bank rep and their eyes would probably glaze over or they would just mumble Bangkok Bank for lack of anything else to say.

Now even though Thailand is not part of the U.S. IDD progam, Bangkok Bank does do their best to comply with the U.S. laws to prevent U.S. govt pension fraud which of course also allows Bangkok Bank to make money/fees from deposits and ACH transfers of U.S. pensioners. By helping to prevent U.S. govt pension fraud I mean like the pensioner dying, no one notifying the govt of the death so the pension would stop, the pension continues to flow and "if" it was flowing to a joint account the other owner of that account (like a Thai spouse) could continue to withdraw/spend the funds they are not authorized to receive.

But with the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit program they have it set up to be a single account only (the pensioner) with no ATM/ibanking withdrawal capability...you must show up in person to withdraw money...if you can't show up then you just may be dead....and once the U.S. govt finds out about your death later on all the money is there in the account to be easily pulled back since you signed forms saying such when setting up the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit account for U.S. govt pensions.

Yes, yes, a person can send a U.S. govt pension to a joint account in the U.S. bank, but in the U.S. when a person dies there are so many ways a person's death is automatically reported (i.e., hospital, police, etc.) which eventually/fairly fast reach the govt agency sending out the pension even if the next of kin didn't promptly report the death to the govt agency sending the pension. In Thailand, when a U.S. citizen croaks unless the next of kin reports it or the U.S. Embassy finds out in some way, it could be a while before the govt pension agency finds out. And unfortunately it has apparently happened to many times in the next of kin deciding to play dumb, not report the pensioners death so the pension payment continue to flow in "if" it was a joint account....but with the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit Account for U.S. Pensions its not a joint account but a single person (the pensioner) account. Plus, when trying to recover U.S. govt pension funds from a foreigner's bank account in another country, well that can get downright hard if the joint account owner didn't want to fully cooperate; in a U.S. bank account (even if a joint account) on U.S. soil it's easy for the govt to pull the funds under U.S. laws. It's also apparently easy to pull such funds from those countries the U.S. has an IDD agreement with. Would be nice if Thailand with joint the other countries which are part of the IDD program then I expect all/most Thai banks could start getting U.S. govt pensions direct deposited.

Lots of U.S. people in Thailand which do not have a Bangkok Bank account...they are with one of the numerous other Thai banks such as K-bank, SCB, etc. They are transferring money directly from their U.S. banks via SWIFT/wire to their Thai banks....no Bangkok Bank involvement at all.

I've got my Bank of Amercia linked to my SCB account here in Pattaya....just takes a few seconds to do a wire and in a few days AI have my money....either in USD or Thai baht. :-) Simple....:-)

[paddypower]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an office in the USA. I think they are the only bank that will accept Social Security direct deposits in Thailand.

When I opened my Social Security account from Thailand the Social Security office asked me for my Bangkok Bank direct deposit account number as that was the only bank that can be used for that purpose.

The lady at the bank told me that all the transfers with the USA go through the Bangkok Bank.

It would be easy to find out. Call Bangkok Bank main office they speak English.

As far as I know Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with a U.S. presence via their New York operation/branch. Since they are a recognized bank in the U.S. they also have a Federal Reserve Automated Clearing House (ACH) "routing number" just like any other U.S. bank/credit union. When the SSA transmits a person's monthly pension you must have an ACH routing number and account number. As far as I know Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with an ACH number....never-ever seen anything anywhere else talking another Thai bank with an ACH number....instead a person must use the pricey SWIFT/wire/international transfer method using SWIFT codes. Bangkok Bank web site provides plenty of info on their international transfer capabilities, to inlcude ACH capability

However, there is a U.S. govt program for U.S govt pensions called the International Direct Deposit (IDD) program where the U.S. has direct deposit agreements with certain countries. Thailand is not on the IDD list/no agreement with the U.S. Take a look at this SSA Link and this DFAS Link for more info...the DFAS (for U.S. military pensions) probably gives a better description of the program to include a Sign Up form if you happen to live in one of the countries with a direct deposit agreement with the U.S. Below is a cut & paste from the DFAS link summarizing the IDD program.

Nations chosen for IDD eligibility have met the requirements of the Federal Reserve Bank. Simply put, the banks and other financial institutions in those countries provide secure and trustworthy services and have systems compatible with transferring funds from the U. S. to your account.

The bank lady who said all transfers with the USA go through Bankgok Bank probably meant Bangkok Bank was the only Thai bank with an ACH routing number...or she was just uninformed...another one of those bank customer service reps you sometimes talk to that say something completely different from the bank rep you talk to earlier...which was possibly different from what another bank rep told you. Funds transfer out of and into the U.S. can go by many different means like use of SWIFT transfers between bank X in the U.S. to bank Y in Thailand. Mention IDD program to the bank rep and their eyes would probably glaze over or they would just mumble Bangkok Bank for lack of anything else to say.

Now even though Thailand is not part of the U.S. IDD progam, Bangkok Bank does do their best to comply with the U.S. laws to prevent U.S. govt pension fraud which of course also allows Bangkok Bank to make money/fees from deposits and ACH transfers of U.S. pensioners. By helping to prevent U.S. govt pension fraud I mean like the pensioner dying, no one notifying the govt of the death so the pension would stop, the pension continues to flow and "if" it was flowing to a joint account the other owner of that account (like a Thai spouse) could continue to withdraw/spend the funds they are not authorized to receive.

But with the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit program they have it set up to be a single account only (the pensioner) with no ATM/ibanking withdrawal capability...you must show up in person to withdraw money...if you can't show up then you just may be dead....and once the U.S. govt finds out about your death later on all the money is there in the account to be easily pulled back since you signed forms saying such when setting up the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit account for U.S. govt pensions.

Yes, yes, a person can send a U.S. govt pension to a joint account in the U.S. bank, but in the U.S. when a person dies there are so many ways a person's death is automatically reported (i.e., hospital, police, etc.) which eventually/fairly fast reach the govt agency sending out the pension even if the next of kin didn't promptly report the death to the govt agency sending the pension. In Thailand, when a U.S. citizen croaks unless the next of kin reports it or the U.S. Embassy finds out in some way, it could be a while before the govt pension agency finds out. And unfortunately it has apparently happened to many times in the next of kin deciding to play dumb, not report the pensioners death so the pension payment continue to flow in "if" it was a joint account....but with the Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit Account for U.S. Pensions its not a joint account but a single person (the pensioner) account. Plus, when trying to recover U.S. govt pension funds from a foreigner's bank account in another country, well that can get downright hard if the joint account owner didn't want to fully cooperate; in a U.S. bank account (even if a joint account) on U.S. soil it's easy for the govt to pull the funds under U.S. laws. It's also apparently easy to pull such funds from those countries the U.S. has an IDD agreement with. Would be nice if Thailand with joint the other countries which are part of the IDD program then I expect all/most Thai banks could start getting U.S. govt pensions direct deposited.

Lots of U.S. people in Thailand which do not have a Bangkok Bank account...they are with one of the numerous other Thai banks such as K-bank, SCB, etc. They are transferring money directly from their U.S. banks via SWIFT/wire to their Thai banks....no Bangkok Bank involvement at all.

I've got my Bank of Amercia linked to my SCB account here in Pattaya....just takes a few seconds to do a wire and in a few days AI have my money....either in USD or Thai baht. :-) Simple....:-)

I have a 15 year history of funds coming in from several countries. I want to apply to purchase a certain amount of FX. Easiest will be if I work backwards, (datewise) requesting FET's for each one, until I reach the cumulative total of what I want to transfer. My questions are (a) will the bank give me an FET where the payor is a 3rd party, or must it show that the funds came from a transferring bank account in my name ? and ( I have moved money to different bank branches (all with the SCB). Will that create a problem? Thanks in advance and I hope the Bitcoin saga is over - it's off topic, imho. I'd sooner buy small gold bars and take a holiday abroad

Edited November 21, 2014 by paddypower

[chicowoodduck]

I'm in the same money boat as you...just back from Siam Commercal Bank here in Pattaya....filled out a wire transfer form and paid out 500 baht for processing fees to get 10,000 USD put in my Bank of America account. Doing a little at a time so no big deal. Just had to show I did a transfer of the money from the US (via my ATM card amongst other ways over the past nine or so years) Will keep spme in the kittly, kitty to love off of, but not keeping any size alrge amounts here. I don't trust the political situation or the banks....just saying...:-)

Justan FYI...I did my paperwork in the afternoon and the money was in my B of A account the next morning..?