Banking for extended stays abroad?

[brett25]

hello, I recently found out about this wonderful community forum.

Im looking to travel in Thailand (and possible thesurrounding region) for several months, with the possibility of teaching. I wanted to go there and see how things develop. The trouble Im having is that, aparantly, most banks inthe US dont like you to be traveling for more than 6 months before they flag you through their security systems. Of course if you dont use the account and maintain a residential address in the US there is nothing to worry about. The issue develops when you begin to use your ATM card to obtain money, they will log these transactions and maintain a record of how long your abroad, where etc.

So I guess my question is how is how is it possible to travel for say 8 month to a year, or even take a teaching contract thats say a year, and still be able to access my funds back home? Do i need to bring a suitcase of cash, lol......Are there work arounds to this apparent catch 22? Aletrnate ways of obtaining funds while abroad? Any insight would be most apprecied....thanks and happy travels! brett

Edited February 17, 2014 by brett25

[Langsuan Man]

I am here for 8 months of the year and I call my credit card co. and bank and inform them of my travel plans and so far I have never had a problem using my cards here

Of course you would have to have Internet banking so that you could transfer money and pay bills but that is a given

Call your bank and the credit card company and see what their policy is. If they won't honor your request then get a new bank or credit card.

We have many long time expats here that never go back and so long as they maintain a residence address in their home country no one has a problem

[Pib]

Shouldn't be a problem...just talk to your bank account and credit card companies.

[FiftyTwo]

Use a money broking firm to move your money from your US account to a Thai account.

You can pay the broker using a US credit or debit card.

I'm from the UK and use HiFx.com. My UK bank never sees where the money is going, just another UK bank as far as anyone without multiple court orders can see.

Find a similar US company.

XE Trade might work for you.

Edited February 18, 2014 by FiftyTwo

[brett25]

Hi and thanks for the replies

yeah it seems it can be a bit arbitrary as far as how different banks behave to your being aways from your residence (USA) for extended periods. I have head of some closing or blocking accounts after some time of overseas usage, others not caring. So its a bit daunting because I dont want access to my funds shut off when I need them most.

8 months seems to be within the timeframe when things shouldnt be too problematic, especially if you going back home and showing activity there.

Schwab official policy, for example is that after 6months or so, you would have to switch to an international account with them, so at least there is that option. But they have been known to block accounts requiring you to speak with them and verify things. If anyone has some experience with Schwab and the international account, I would be happy to hear about that.

The money broker route sounds good too. I have loooked into using paypal that way, but of course the fees will be high. How are the fees with HiFx for example?

So far this is my only big hitch keeping me from going, but it does seeem doable according to you guys..

Edited February 18, 2014 by brett25

[Satcommlee]

You are not doing anything illegal surely???? Has the US become that bad, really?

[brett25]

no of course not, lol, i have been with my banks for 15 plus years and this is still the case for US citizens.

[riclag]

Yes most deffinatly yes The USA is, jing jing

You are not doing anything illegal surely???? Has the US become that bad, really?

[riclag]

Op I have been coming for 8 months at a time.I have Bank of America Signature Credit Card the credit card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.They told me to call them with the the countries I would be traveling in, then confirm I'm still out of the country every 3 months.I suggest you sit down with a Bank rep. and discuss the details. This link is very helpful it seems that Schwab is the best bet ,check the link for tips http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/avoid-paying-bank-fees-traveling/. If you knew someone well enough in Thailand you could transfer money to them via your USA bank to the BKK Bank of New York. Fortunately for me this is the means I've taken. If you come you can set up a savings account with a bank here and transfer the money by ACH Bank Transfer from your USA account. Your allowed to take out of the country up to $10,000 cash with out claiming it.You could also have half Travelers Checks and cash. You mentioned C.Schwab you could always use them for the first 6 months and if you trust family members you can get a second card and having them use it for a small transaction at home to avoid the International Schwab policy .You can also tell Schwab that your job requires you to travel back in forth out of the country Also check out these links below.

https://www.bluebird.com/ Bluebird American Express Debit Card has low fees

http://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/prepaid/american-express-prepaid-card/cardmember-agreement.html

[el jefe]

I have a "regular" Schwab a/c in the US and have only used their ATM card overseas. I use Skype to call Schwab to tell them my travel plans. I haven't used my Schwab card in the US since 1999 so as far as I know, Schwab thinks I've been out of the country for almost 15 years. However, I do maintain a US mailing address.

[FiftyTwo]

The money broker route sounds good too. I have loooked into using paypal that way, but of course the fees will be high. How are the fees with HiFx for example?

Hifx, if mid rate on XE.com is 54.5/GBP they will give you 53.5 on small trades (300kbht), 54 on big trades (500kbht)

[camble]

I have an account with Bangkok Bank and can initiate ACH transfers from my Wells Fargo account via my PC. Money arrives in my Bangkok Bank account in 3 business days at a favorable exchange rate and very low fees (like 800 baht for a transfer of a million baht) I also still have one of my US credit cards and I've been in Thailand 10 years.

[brett25]

hi riclag, thanks for that info...i will look into the amex card as a backup....and thanks el jefe for the info on schwab...im really hoping schwab will work the same way for me...can you tell me if you have a large account with them...i have decent size portfolio with them and a long relationship and im hoping they may treat their more valued customers differently than say, those customers that have a very small balance and just use the card for the fee benefits ( perfectly fine to use schwab this way so no offense to those folks) im just trying to acertain schwabs what schwabs behavior would be.

so far, thanks to all your information....(thanks camble) it seems the best plan would be to get a local bank account...and do tranfers from my bank through a broker as fifty two sugested.... and second to have a few debit cards as back ups to use in case i have problems with any of the others..

can anyone suggest good local banks to try in Chiang Mai, if i dont have work permit at the beginning? I will have an address and bills, an Ed Visa, but not a work permit at first, but hope to have that in time with a teaching gig

thanks again for the help

Edited February 19, 2014 by brett25

[Pib]

You don't even have to fund and/or use your Schwab Brokerage account to uses the Schwab no foreign transaction fee Visa debit card that comes with the Schwab Bank checking account.

Now days when opening a Schwab account the brokerage and checking account opening form is one combo-form...or at least that is how it worked form my around 3 years ago. If you want to open a Savings account also then that is another simple/short form. I've been using my Schwab debit card in Thailand for years....no problems...and I've always maintained either $0 or about $100 in the brokerage account (never done a trade), but a healthy amount in my Schawb Bank Savings account and a couple of thousand dollars in the checking account which the debit card is linked to.

To avoid Schwab having to reimburse me for pricey ATM withdrawals in Thailand (I didn't want to help possibly kill the Reimbursement Golden Goose) since Thai banks have been charging a Bt150 (approx $5) foreign card use fee for years, I (and many other farangs in Thailand) would use AEON ATMs (a Japanese company operating in Thailand) which didn't charge any local ATM fee up to about 10 days ago....now AEON ATMs also charge the Bt150 fee.

Basically free ATM withdrawals with a foreign debit/credit cards are now history in Thailand except for maybe for a few unique cards issued from certain banks/countries as there have been a few reports over the last few weeks as many are now going through Bt150 ATM pains and seeing if "all" Thai banks charge the Bt150 fee. So folks have reported some Citibank ATMs in Bangkok still don't charge the fee, but some of those reports may not be true because some people counter those posts in saying it wasn't free for them.

But basically now since AEON now charges a fee, chances are at least 99% you will pay a local ATM fee of Bt150 when using a foreign debit/credit card in any ATM in Thailand. Schwab would reimburse that fee and as you already know Schwab does not charge a foreign transaction fee. All I can say is I don't know if I would overdue Schwab debit card withdrawals in Thailand to avoid them from spending too much money on you as a customer...say you used your card 4 times a month in Thailand which would mean approx $20 in reimbursements Schwab would be spending on you....does you current investments with Schwab where they are making money/fees/commissions from you offset that $20? If not, some have said on ThaiVisa, like me, that this may cause Schwab to focus on you to see if they can some how legally offload you as a customer like using the angle of saying your are apparently no longer a resident of the U.S. so we need to close your U.S. Schwab accounts....sorry, but you can open a Schwab International account but that account has a $10,000 initial opening requirement and higher follow-on balance requirements like at least $1,000 I think...I also think the Schwab International account must be linked to your Brokerage account versus a checking account but I'm not sure.

Summary: the Schwab debit card works good in Thailand...but I just wouldn't overdue the number of monthly withdrawals...don't help kill the Golden Reimbursement Goose or possibly make Schwab look too close at you...but you did say you would only be visiting Thailand for part of the year. Cheers.

[54321]

You appear to be over analysing and worrying too much.

If you are so worried take USD ($10,000 USD is only 100 individual bills, so not to bulky) and on arrival take a taxi to super rich and then deposit the baht in a Thai Bank. Your US bank need never know where you are

hi riclag, thanks for that info...i will look into the amex card as a backup....and thanks el jefe for the info on schwab...im really hoping schwab will work the same way for me...can you tell me if you have a large account with them...i have decent size portfolio with them and a long relationship and im hoping they may treat their more valued customers differently than say, those customers that have a very small balance and just use the card for the fee benefits ( perfectly fine to use schwab this way so no offense to those folks) im just trying to acertain schwabs what schwabs behavior would be.

so far, thanks to all your information....(thanks camble) it seems the best plan would be to get a local bank account...and do tranfers from my bank through a broker as fifty two sugested.... and second to have a few debit cards as back ups to use in case i have problems with any of the others..

can anyone suggest good local banks to try in Chiang Mai, if i dont have work permit at the beginning? I will have an address and bills, an Ed Visa, but not a work permit at first, but hope to have that in time with a teaching gig

thanks again for the help

[brett25]

pib, that is an excellent summary of the situation and its simply the case not to over do it and it will be fine. Once a month draws for expenses should do it

54321....yes i do agree and think im cool now, however in my defense I would say, it is an established fact that people have had their accounts closed, other wise i would not bring this topic up on the forums

im going to get on the ground and learn from experience as well. But with a few back up plans and hopefully a local bank account, im not too worried anymore....thanks again. Its always great to hear ideas and suggestions from experienced expats......

Edited February 21, 2014 by brett25

[Pib]

One additional piece of info regarding ATM withdrawals like only doing one withdrawal per month to minimize the total amount of reimbursements your bank would spend on you each month. Thai ATMs generally limit the amount dispensed per transaction from Bt20K to Bt30K even if your card allows more..and they appear to be trending towards a Bt20K limit. If you need more you will need to stick your card back into the machine right after the first transaction and do another transaction which incurs another Bt150 foreign card fee.

But if you have some money in a Thai bank account and use that account's debit card there won't be an ATM fee if using that bank's ATM... and if using another bank's ATM using that Thai debit card there might be a Bt20 fee depending on if the bank is part of the National ATM pool program. Summary: use of a Thai debit card in a ATM will generally be free or maybe cost you Bt20 but of course you need to have a funded Thai bank account.

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