I transfered money from aroad, money in thailand in an hour

[vento]

Hello All,

A few times recently i have been transfering fundt from MEA to Thailand. Sometimes the transfer seems more or less instantly, at least i have noticed the money in my account a few hours later. other times it have been a few days.

Im not doing anything speciel, using same system (template based) everytime from source bank. i get same rate and fee´s does not seem like unsurprisingly high.

From other countries ive seen it can take several days.

Anyone else seen this? Is this just a matter of the source bank is handling my transfer order quickly or?

Cheers

[JesseFrank]

A swift transfer always arrives in Thailand within minutes. The thing is that the banks hold back your money for a few days.

I discovered this several years ago when I had an issue with my home bank about the double transfer cost. They send me a complete transfer log with all the places and times the money travelled, which involved 2 different overseas banks, and the money arrived in Bangkok less than an hour after it was sent from Europe.

Strange enough my Thai bank was only aware of the arrival 2 days after it was in their account.

[MrWorldwide]

A swift transfer always arrives in Thailand within minutes. The thing is that the banks hold back your money for a few days.

I discovered this several years ago when I had an issue with my home bank about the double transfer cost. They send me a complete transfer log with all the places and times the money travelled, which involved 2 different overseas banks, and the money arrived in Bangkok less than an hour after it was sent from Europe.

Strange enough my Thai bank was only aware of the arrival 2 days after it was in their account.

Can I ask how much your home bank charges you for a SWIFT transfer ? CBA here in Australia charges 22AUD and my Thai bank passes on a small charge from the intermediary bank.

[JesseFrank]

A swift transfer always arrives in Thailand within minutes. The thing is that the banks hold back your money for a few days.

I discovered this several years ago when I had an issue with my home bank about the double transfer cost. They send me a complete transfer log with all the places and times the money travelled, which involved 2 different overseas banks, and the money arrived in Bangkok less than an hour after it was sent from Europe.

Strange enough my Thai bank was only aware of the arrival 2 days after it was in their account.

Can I ask how much your home bank charges you for a SWIFT transfer ? CBA here in Australia charges 22AUD and my Thai bank passes on a small charge from the intermediary bank.

15 Euro + 0.10% on the transferred amount, but I think with a limit of 40 Euro. Thai charges are something like 500 Baht

[dinger]

Mine coming from the U S takes about a day usually, unless it's a weekend or bank holiday which seems to be every other day. Cost of transfer is $35 U S and a small charge here

[Pib]

A swift transfer always arrives in Thailand within minutes. The thing is that the banks hold back your money for a few days.

I discovered this several years ago when I had an issue with my home bank about the double transfer cost. They send me a complete transfer log with all the places and times the money travelled, which involved 2 different overseas banks, and the money arrived in Bangkok less than an hour after it was sent from Europe.

Strange enough my Thai bank was only aware of the arrival 2 days after it was in their account.

Can I ask how much your home bank charges you for a SWIFT transfer ? CBA here in Australia charges 22AUD and my Thai bank passes on a small charge from the intermediary bank.

While the Sending bank may charge a fee along with any Intermediary bank fee the Sending bank may have to use, the Receiving Thai bank also applied a currency receipt/conversion fee of 0.25% (Bt200-300 min, Bt500 max)...this fee applies whether the funds arrive in foreign currency or already converted to baht.

So, it's not uncommon for three fees to apply: one from the Sending bank, one from the Intermediary/Correspondent Bank, and one from the Receiving Thai bank. The Thai bank fee is applied "prior" to posting of the money to your account just as any other upstream fees, so the fee won't appear on your Thai bank account statement/passbook...sometimes this fools people into thinking no fee was applied, but it was indeed applied. Now some Sending banks have in-house international funds transfer capability and do not need to use an Intermediary bank which prevents that additional middleman fee.

[Pib]

Mine coming from the U S takes about a day usually, unless it's a weekend or bank holiday which seems to be every other day. Cost of transfer is $35 U S and a small charge here

Preaching to the choir that if your U.S. bank offers free/low cost ACH transfer capability and if you have a Bangkok Bank account, you could cut that $35 fee by one-half to two-thirds. But the funds will take 1 to 3 days to arrive. The fee on the Thai end would still apply.

[MMarlow]

When instructing the remitting bank, the sender can specify a "value date" (the date the funds can be withdrawn) although the bank will never tell you that. If no value date is indicated the funds may, or may not, hit your account and be available the same day. Some banks sit on the funds, some don't. If a value date was specified the funds will be available on that date.

The time of the banking day that the transfer request was made to the remitting bank also has an effect on the date of availability of the funds, all banks have a cut-off time for international transfers.

[dinger]

The $35 is what my bank charges for an international wire transfer. I am not aware of any free or low cost ACH transfer rates. How does one find out about such rates.

I don't have a Bangkok Bank account, mine is with Citi. I have a monthly government pension check direct deposited into it and then I make a transfer here. I am a little hesitant to switch banks from here and try to get my check deposited into another bank, who knows where it will wind up

[Pib]

The $35 is what my bank charges for an international wire transfer. I am not aware of any free or low cost ACH transfer rates. How does one find out about such rates.

I don't have a Bangkok Bank account, mine is with Citi. I have a monthly government pension check direct deposited into it and then I make a transfer here. I am a little hesitant to switch banks from here and try to get my check deposited into another bank, who knows where it will wind up

I'm have several U.S. bank accounts (too many really) and each with the exception of one credit union, offers free/low cost ACH transfer capability. This one small credit union which I still have a few dollars in don't offer it because I figure they would lose a lot of fee-money if offering the capability...but all my other banks offer the free or low cost ACH capability. The credit union just offers the pricey wire/SWIFT transfer capability as that is a real cash cow for them. I'm including the "low cost" phrase because one of my banks charges a $3 ACH Sending fee, where all my other banks don't charge anything. All none of my banks use/need an intermediary/correspondent bank...that is a middle man just to apply another fee.

You would need to check with your current U.S. bank to see if they have ACH transfer capability...usually that is clearly shown in their online/ibanking Funds Transfer module. If they don't have ACH capability they are simply using their customers as funds transfer cash cows....may be one of the more fee-hungry banks.

But let say you did have an "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank savings account and your bank offered free ACH transfer capability (which is very common at many banks) then you could use the Bangkok Bank "New York" routing number and your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank savings account number to cheaply transfer funds....it's just like doing an ACH transfer from one U.S. bank to another U.S. bank....it's that simple and cheap. And no, you do not need/open an account with the New York branch...you are just using their routing number to route the money.

Let's say you want to transfer $2,000 monthly to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account. Below would be your cost assuming your U.S. bank had no ACH Sending fee (like I mentioned above, many don't)

U.S. bank ACH Sending Fee: $0

Bkk Bk "New York" branch Fee: $5

Bkk Bk "in-Thailand" branch fee: 0.25% (Bt200/$6.25 min, Bt500/$15.63 max)

Total in Fees: $11.25 to send that $2,000. That $11.25 is sure a lot lower than the $35 + $6.25 = $41.25 you would pay by using your wire transfer method.

And let's say you want that govt agency, such as Social Security or Military/Civil Service Retirement, to send your pension directly to Thailand. Well, all you have to do is give them the Bangkok Bank NY routing number and your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank savings account number and it flows to your account just like any U.S. bank account. But of course you need a Bangkok Bank savings account in Thailand to allow this to happen...and if having the govt pension sent directly to Bangkok Bank it would need to be a Bangkok Bank "Direct Deposit" account versus regular Savings account. If you first have the govt pension sent to your U.S. bank account and they you manually/automatically do an ACH transfer monthly then if would be better to send the money to your regular savings account since a Direct Deposit account does now allow an ATM/Debit card and withdrawals/transfers must be done in person.

Complete info at this Bangkok Bank webpage on Transferring Money from the USA. Many, many, many U.S. expats in the Thailand...like me...are using or have used this method for years...it's nothing new....simple, easy, low cost. And you get the Thai bank TT Buying Rate which is about the best exchange rate the common man can get.

In closing, if your current bank does not offer free/low cost ACH capability then they are using you as a cash cow...does it feel good being milked...they are possibly an overly fee-hungry bank. Keep them as one of your banks if desired...but change to another bank which offers free ACH transfer capability...changing banks is really not hard with a little planning...lord knows as I've done it enough times. A person should treat a bank product/service like any other product/service...if you can find a better/cheaper product/service at another bank then maybe you should change.

When it comes to transferring funds from the U.S. to Thailand using ACH is much, much cheaper than wire/SWIFT. But Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability so you will need an in-Thailand account with them.

[dinger]

PIB

Let me send you a PM, don't want to try and have a personal conversation on the forum

Thanks Ding

[Thailand J]

I have an investment account with Vanguard. I am lucky to have them sending SWIFT free of fees . THe intermediary bank HSBC used to charge $25 but I dont know since when it is also free... so it worked out about the same as Bangkok Bank ACH.

I have to pay KBank 500B to receive the money, which i think is fair, but I can never get over the "KBank to KBank in Thailand " transfer fee, it's a rip off.

Fedelity will also initiate SWIFT for free but I have not tried them yet.

[pitrevie]

Inter bank transfers in the UK used to take a couple of days but in other European countries it was taking a matter of hours and of course the UK banks explained to the then Finance Minister George Brown how difficult it was for them to do transfers so quickly when everyone knew the real reason. Brown threatened the banks with legislation unless they improved and since then the transfer from my UK bank to the Thai bank takes a matter of hours. It is credited to my Thai bank account on the same day it was debited from my UK bank account. So good old Mr Brown did do some thing right.

[mogoso]

Mine coming from the U S takes about a day usually, unless it's a weekend or bank holiday which seems to be every other day. Cost of transfer is $35 U S and a small charge here

Preaching to the choir that if your U.S. bank offers free/low cost ACH transfer capability and if you have a Bangkok Bank account, you could cut that $35 fee by one-half to two-thirds. But the funds will take 1 to 3 days to arrive. The fee on the Thai end would still apply.

I transfer to the Bangkok Bank in New York from my US bank, no charge there. The rate Bangkok Bank charges me on their end is small and I believe I get a better exchange rate than I could get walking into my Doi Saket branch with cash

[Chao Lao Beach]

SWIFT always heresame day.

[MrWorldwide]

PiB, I dont believe I get charged a currency conversion fee by anyone - my money leaves as AUD and arrives in my FCD account as AUD. If I want to transfer it to my KT savings account (THB) the bank will charge me .05% to do so : if I elect to withdraw Australian dollars (for whatever reason) they will charge me 1% of the transaction value. You can check Krung Thais conversion rates here:

http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/

One way or another, if I elect to convert that money to baht the bank will take it's cut - given that I'm using it purely for my visa deposit, that isnt a concern at the moment. I believe the charge currently being levied by KT on each transfer is the intermediary bank's charge - my Australian bank claims they have no way of knowing what those charges will be on any given transfer. Note that the free ACH facility you refer to earlier seems to be restricted to US banks and it seems to vary from one bank to another.

As I said earlier, SWIFT transfers make more sense for larger amounts - at least for those of us who dont have access to your free ACH banks - but at this point I'm not clenching my teeth over the fees I've paid, Compared to the amount CBA would like to gouge me for each time I use their cards in an ATM here, this is a much cheaper way of getting my money to Thailand.

[marcusd]

A swift transfer always arrives in Thailand within minutes. The thing is that the banks hold back your money for a few days.

I discovered this several years ago when I had an issue with my home bank about the double transfer cost. They send me a complete transfer log with all the places and times the money travelled, which involved 2 different overseas banks, and the money arrived in Bangkok less than an hour after it was sent from Europe.

Strange enough my Thai bank was only aware of the arrival 2 days after it was in their account.

Can I ask how much your home bank charges you for a SWIFT transfer ? CBA here in Australia charges 22AUD and my Thai bank passes on a small charge from the intermediary bank.

I use Westpac in Australia and they charge $20 AUD. I transfer to Bangko bank and if before 12pm i get the money SAME DAY. transfers happen at 10am and 2pm then next day.

If you transfer from OZ be CAREFUL the Ozzie bans do not use an Intermdiatry bank as they may use CITBANK Hong Kong and the rate will be terrible. Ask your CBA in oz if they send DIRECT transfer to your Thai bank. It can save you a LOT

[MrWorldwide]

A swift transfer always arrives in Thailand within minutes. The thing is that the banks hold back your money for a few days.

I discovered this several years ago when I had an issue with my home bank about the double transfer cost. They send me a complete transfer log with all the places and times the money travelled, which involved 2 different overseas banks, and the money arrived in Bangkok less than an hour after it was sent from Europe.

Strange enough my Thai bank was only aware of the arrival 2 days after it was in their account.

Can I ask how much your home bank charges you for a SWIFT transfer ? CBA here in Australia charges 22AUD and my Thai bank passes on a small charge from the intermediary bank.

I use Westpac in Australia and they charge $20 AUD. I transfer to Bangko bank and if before 12pm i get the money SAME DAY. transfers happen at 10am and 2pm then next day.

If you transfer from OZ be CAREFUL the Ozzie bans do not use an Intermdiatry bank as they may use CITBANK Hong Kong and the rate will be terrible. Ask your CBA in oz if they send DIRECT transfer to your Thai bank. It can save you a LOT

I only know what I pay - 22AUD at the CBA end and 6.56 at the KT end - regardless of the size of the transfer. It leaves as AUD and it lands in my FCD account as AUD - simple. If CITI HK are getting a cut it's a fee I can live with for the few transfers I need to do. Compared to the Import duties I've just paid to import a cable from the US I think I'm doing OK transferring money from Oz.

[stament]

Mine coming from the U S takes about a day usually, unless it's a weekend or bank holiday which seems to be every other day. Cost of transfer is $35 U S and a small charge here

Preaching to the choir that if your U.S. bank offers free/low cost ACH transfer capability and if you have a Bangkok Bank account, you could cut that $35 fee by one-half to two-thirds. But the funds will take 1 to 3 days to arrive. The fee on the Thai end would still apply.

I transfer to the Bangkok Bank in New York from my US bank, no charge there. The rate Bangkok Bank charges me on their end is small and I believe I get a better exchange rate than I could get walking into my Doi Saket branch with cash

How do the rates compare to going to Super rich? I have a HSBC dollar account would I be able to get cheap transfers to BKK Bank? Could I also have a USD account BKK Bank account in Thailand and transfer dollars?

[joealx]

"U.S. bank ACH Sending Fee: $0

Bkk Bk "New York" branch Fee: $5

Bkk Bk "in-Thailand" branch fee: 0.25% (Bt200/$6.25 min, Bt500/$15.63 max)

Total in Fees: $11.25 to send that $2,000. That $11.25 is sure a lot lower than the $35 + $6.25 = $41.25 you would pay by using your wire transfer method." (post #10)

It depends on the exchange rate you receive and fees. I used my no-fee debit card to make a purchase, I received a 32.35 rate (1% less from the $50 note rate) which was better than the TT rate (July 1st). I transferred $2000 to Bangkok bank on the same day, I received 64118.80 Baht, which comes out to a 32.0594 rate (582 Baht more than the purchase or around $18.)

Edited July 7, 2014 by joealx