Cannot send an international transfer? This can't be true

[dotx]

I have accounts in both Kasikorn and SCB. I went into Kasikorn today because I needed to send $850 to a friend in Europe. Kasikorn tells me I need a paper explaining what the money is being used for, such as a paper from a university showing I owe a payment, a letter from an insurance company, etc. I explain the money is being sent to a private person. They seem completely lost and keep telling me it can't be done.

I give up and walk over to SCB. They tell me the same thing PLUS that I need to show a work permit in order to send money. Excuse me? It's MY money. I'm here on an ED visa and I have money in the bank. Shouldn't that be enough?

It can't be true that I can't make an international transfer to somebody else. And if it's true (as stupid as that would be), how can I send the money? Will Western Union let me do it or will they ask me for a bunch of nonsense too?

I'm pretty annoyed at the moment.

[ubonjoe]

You can do it western union and they will ask no questions. Cost to send it will be about the same as bank. But they will not give as a good exchange rate as bank. I have found it much is easier and quicker for small amounts than through bank.

[dotx]

You can do it western union and they will ask no questions. Cost to send it will be about the same as bank. But they will not give as a good exchange rate as bank. I have found it much is easier and quicker for small amounts than through bank.

Ok, so Western Union might be the answer, then. I need to send the equivalent to U$850. I did a quick check and it looks like the exchange is so bad, I actually need to send $880 for them to get $850 in local money.

[Pib]

Thailand - Land of Smiles for Incoming Money; Land of Frowns for Outgoing Money.

[PattayaPhom]

And if the criteria wasnt in place would be Thailand...Land of money laundering.

[Pib]

When it comes down to transferring money out of Thailand, it pretty boils down to the following list due to Bank of Thailand regulations which all Thai banks must follow. Of course there are some other reasons to send money out like the sale of your residence and you have the documents showing you originally brought the money into Thailand to buy the home...and some bank branches will bend the rules and let funds flow out with apparent little reason...TIT.

For Thai nationals

• Educational expenses
• Family support
• Living expenses
• Payment for goods
• Payment for services
• Travel expenses
• Personal expenses
• Gift
• Donation

For foreigners

• Salary repatriation

[personchester]

You can do it western union and they will ask no questions. Cost to send it will be about the same as bank. But they will not give as a good exchange rate as bank. I have found it much is easier and quicker for small amounts than through bank.

So the western union will request the transfer from the bank, then the bank will release the sum to the western union, and the western union will then transfer the sum to the receiver outside Thailand, is this the way it is being done ... please advice.

[MRTHAIBRI]

Just withdraw the money from the bank, allow for West Union fee/commission, fill in the transfer form, send it off & take your receipt. Email your friend the transfer number. All done so simply. Don't stuff around with banks.

[dotx]

And if the criteria wasnt in place would be Thailand...Land of money laundering.

I would understand if they had monthly limits or maybe even an amount limit per transaction, but we're talking less than USD 1000.

When it comes down to transferring money out of Thailand, it pretty boils down to the following list due to Bank of Thailand regulations which all Thai banks must follow. Of course there are some other reasons to send money out like the sale of your residence and you have the documents showing you originally brought the money into Thailand to buy the home...and some bank branches will bend the rules and let funds flow out with apparent little reason...TIT.

For Thai nationals

• Educational expenses
• Family support
• Living expenses
• Payment for goods
• Payment for services
• Travel expenses
• Personal expenses
• Gift
• Donation

For foreigners

• Salary repatriation

This really seems like a very stupid setup to me. So if my sister needs emergency money back home and I want to send money to help her, I can't?

Just withdraw the money from the bank, allow for West Union fee/commission, fill in the transfer form, send it off & take your receipt. Email your friend the transfer number. All done so simply. Don't stuff around with banks.

Thanks, I'll try this today and hopefully there are no issues.

[taiping]

You can use MoneyGram at banks like SCB. I used SCB Ekamai Branch.

I have used them several times without major problems. No paperwork required except copy of passport.

Not sure how the fees compare to Western Union.

I am told that upcountry Bangkok Bank is more amenable to sending outward remittances.

You can also have a non-resident foreign currency account. I recently started a non-resident CHF deposit account with Bangkok Bank (Ekamai Branch) with initial funding by Thai baht cash deposit.

I also support Bitcoins - extremely cheap and quick to transfer funds.

[Ludacris]

I posted this in another thread last month, but I re-post it here:

From personal experience, for anything other than sending a small amount to yourself overseas Thai banks have always asked questions. Here's what I've found through trial and error:

1. Transferring amounts less than a few hundred thousand baht to my own account overseas requires no extra documentation. Sending money to yourself comes under the 'transfer of savings' reason and I believe it is the easiest.

2. Transfers to anyone but myself or to a company requires documentation from the receiving end (ie. bill from the company, etc)

3. Anything more than a few hundred thousand baht requires documented prove of where the money came from (ie. letter from employer).

As a result, to send money abroad for almost any purpose the easiest way I've found is to transfer to my own account overseas and then write a check on the account or do an internet transfer or bill payment from Thailand on my overseas account.

Because of all this hassle getting money out, I regularly transfer any excess cash out of the country. I could do it less frequently and in larger amounts, but regularly getting a letter from my employer is a pain. Also, you can always bring the money back with no problem, and I feel better with most of it abroad if anything should happen here which would make me leave the country quickly, such as the political situation turning ugly and the banks having to close, or even my visa not being renewed. I do have investments in Thailand, but those are for the long-term and locked in, and hopefully I could access those once the dust settled.

[jacko45k]

Excuse me? It's MY money.

Apparently not.. perhaps it stopped being yours when you changed it into Thai baht.

Many many countries will not permit you to export their currency, something to think about when bringing it in.

I was surprised to see the list above citing salary repatriation as the only permissible remittance for a foreigner... I thought if one sold a condo, and could show you brought the money into the country for the original purchase (Tor-tor-sam??), you were permitted to repatriate thee money.

[BORRISGOODENUF]

Try using pay-pal accounts. will take about 5 to 7 days for money to be available to your friend but cost is much less.

[yankee99]

This isnt to complicated is it. They need a paper saying what its for right? You have a computer just print a invoice..

i sent out $4800 with kbank yesterday no issues as long as you have a invoice or a bill.

[thrilled]

I've decided only bring the amount of money in Thailand that I will use in Thailand.

[Minnehaha]

Strangely, I have sent up to 750,000 Baht out with no problem using K Bank. Also, have had money sent in as well. never any questions.

[NangrongJ]

I've just sent £1,200 to my daughter for flights to come here, plus birthday, by Bangkok bank. No problems. I've sent quite a bit, although expensive I've not had any problems other than a long wait. I've also used PayPal, for smaller amounts and no problems. It is the worst country I've ever experienced for sending money out and holding a bank account and I've had accounts in Arabic countries, Papua New Guinea and third world countries, with no such problems.

[billywizz]

Hi, I had the same problem with Kasikorn.was adviced to use Bangkok Bank and even though I didn't have an account with them at the time they were happy to help

[Pib]

I was surprised to see the list above citing salary repatriation as the only permissible remittance for a foreigner... I thought if one sold a condo, and could show you brought the money into the country for the original purchase (Tor-tor-sam??), you were permitted to repatriate thee money.

Correct...but that is a special circumstance....the list shown above is for the most common reasons outbound money flow is allowed, not at all encompassing list. And like mentioned, This Is Thailand, so expect to see bank branches implement Bank of Thailand regulations differently from very loosely to stringently...kinda like how we see different immigration offices around Thailand implement immigration laws/rules differently...and let's not even get into how police seem to selectively enforce laws. TIT

[HUAHIN62]

If you need to send money to a family member on a regular basis easiest way is to open a bank account for this purpose, with a minimum amount. Send them the debit card and when they need funds you pay it into the account and they withdraw it with the card. You keep the bank book.

[canarysun]

The new world banking rules and laws and now " in force " and a lot of banks will now make things much more difficult to transfer funds. " Anti money laundering " rules & laws have been in force for years but now things are changing! Western Union will be " cashing in " on these new " tight rules "

This is only just the beginning!

[PMZ]

Its easier with some Banks and some branches than it is with others.

Some KBanks, Some Bangkok Banks will do it withe less adhesion to the rules.

HSBC used to do it with no questions when they existed here, and its somewhat easy with Krungsri (in case you know someone with an avcount at Krungsri).

Three options (two of which rightly mentioned above)

1. Use a friend with a account at one of the do-attitude banks

2. Simply print out an Invoice and use that as documentation.

3. Withdraw the cash and go via Western Union

[oxo1947]

Try using pay-pal accounts. will take about 5 to 7 days for money to be available to your friend but cost is much less.

This is how I do it for my Daughters in Oz---if you have a bank account in the country you are sending to, then its real easy, no exchange, if you are sending it as a gift--last time there was no charge also.

[whitewater]

Try using pay-pal accounts. will take about 5 to 7 days for money to be available to your friend but cost is much less.

CORRECT and if you use personial , it cost nothing ,family reason.

[Time Traveller]

Just tell them where the money came from. If you can't do that, then you've got a problem.

[poohy]

I can confirm I use Bangkok bank, never ever had a problem sending transfers out of the country using Bangkok Samsen or Langsuan branches (never been questioned re work permit or asked what money is for...... I think the fee for express international transfer was 400/450 baht

[ggt]

I banked with TMB...got the royal run around when trying to send money home...took money to Bangkok Bank...was able to send fairly large sums to my home bank...seems without any hassle...I could send 300,000 baht with no questions asked...

If you go to one Bangkok Bank and they do not want to cooperate...go to another...often the cooperation of the local bank manager is the key to success...

[Runamile]

Western Union.

Don't tangle with the banks on currency issues - can of worms.

If you have to make regular payments to a particular person in US, I've heard of people managing to get two ATM cards. One goes to the US to make direct ATM cash withdrawals. Being no expert in EVERY Thai bank, I also wonder if you can survive in a normal one-card situation on a particular account, sending that card to USA - meaning I don't know whether all Thai banks require your bank card to pay in. Of course, I'm assuming that you're not married, where two cards on a joint account is normal.

[snooky]

I have sent money out of the country with no problems at Western Union - just a bad exchange rate plus fees.

BTW, maybe a bit off topic, but has anyone here reversed their pension bsck to the US? I currently have my Social Security deposited directly to Bangkok Bank in NY, thence it is transferred here. But one of the catches, so to speak, is that you must appear in person to collect your funds, (that way, they know it is you and not someone else collecting for years after you pass on), and no atm cards come with this type account. Now I am planning a several month trip back to the US where I still maintain a bank account.and will need the funds whilst there. Any suggestions? Have tried to go on the Social Security site but it never seems to connect, and waiting on the phone can be a long, long wait.

[Estrada]

Just a case of the bank employee not bothering to read the Bank of Thailand (AMLO) rules. For a walk in customer they only need these details if the amount exceeds B50,000. If you have an account they only need the details if the amount exceeds B100,000. Above these amounts you have to provide details of the transactions, the recipient and what the money is to be used for. The same limits also apply also to Western Union. Which in the case of BBL is situated in some of their branches such as Seacon Square.

However the problem may be that you have to go to the Bank's International Branches in order to send money overseas. I had to send money to pay a medical bill in Australia and was told that I could not do it at my BBL branch in Seacon Square but must go to their International Branch near Central Bangna. This was actually easier as there were no queues.

Any cash transaction worth two million baht or more is required to be reported to AMLO.

• Transactions that are electronic fund transfers or electronic payments involving cash worth one hundred thousand baht or more are subject to AMLO’s reporting requirements.
  Note: Bill payments involving cash worth seven hundred thousand baht or more per one payment are subject to reporting requirements.
• Transactions involving an asset worth five million baht or more are subject to AMLO’s reporting requirements.
• Transactions that are money transfers or electronic payments involving a movable asset worth seven hundred thousand baht or more are required to be reported to AMLO.