Western Union Chiang Mai Question

[pgrahmm]

Does anyone know what they charge the recipient?

My bank admits they made mistakes but basically my family is <deleted> because they blocked our ATM cards in error. New cards arrived but the pin codes are in snail mail rendering the cards useless. They have offered to send funds Western Union on an emergency basis.

I have only used Western Union once when a family member needed money and seem to remember they were charged 10-12-15%? On their end.

Before I agree to receive money this way I'd like to have an idea. Funds would be US to CM.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

Edited March 31, 2015 by pgrahmm

[CMKiwi]

Western Union certainly make their profit from those that use them. I believe there is an option as to whom pays their exorbitant fees. Either the sender or receiver can pay. And its never cheap. I use to get funds sent over from New Zealand from say 25,000 baht Id recieve just 20,000 baht in another words WU got 20 percent of my money.

I have since given up on Western Union. Highway Robbery would be a better name for them.

Bank transfers are a better and cheaper option IMO

Good luck

[Dante99]

WU fees can be paid by the sender with no charges/deductions at the receiving end but you best find out if your bank plans to charge you for the WU fees or they are going to pay them. As CMK stated, they are big so a wire transfer would probably be better.

It is always good to have more than one way to get cash, relying on only one card is risky because so many things can go wrong.

[pgrahmm]

WU fees can be paid by the sender with no charges/deductions at the receiving end but you best find out if your bank plans to charge you for the WU fees or they are going to pay them. As CMK stated, they are big so a wire transfer would probably be better.

It is always good to have more than one way to get cash, relying on only one card is risky because so many things can go wrong.

That's why I set up 2 cards with 2 accounts...the 1st one got skimmed and they never or sent card to wrong place after being promised 3 days....3 months and many calls

later I sent a secure email about the skimmed cars....they misread and permanently blocked the only working card I had in the middle of a road trip celebrating the wife's bday - thankfully I brought 50k stashed along..they said oooops so sorry but cannot reopen - sent new card in 3 days but issued new pin they sent snail mail.....Now - yesterday received the card due from 3 months ago = pin changed....how the card even got here surprises me as they had the address incomplete even though they had it right for the 1st card received.....that's the condensed version.....it's been 30 days now since their ooops....

Edited March 31, 2015 by pgrahmm

[bangmai]

An ACH transfer to BKKBANK NY with the account number of your Thai BKKBANK account # would be the easiest and cheapest, but then again, this is Thai Visa.

[pgrahmm]

BofA has an option to transfer to international bank accounts I'm going to call tonight to see if I can link up my SCB account....

[kinkcbijli]

I would love to know if BofA will transfer to a Thai bank account and how much they charge. Thanks

[Dante99]

WU fees can be paid by the sender with no charges/deductions at the receiving end but you best find out if your bank plans to charge you for the WU fees or they are going to pay them. As CMK stated, they are big so a wire transfer would probably be better.

It is always good to have more than one way to get cash, relying on only one card is risky because so many things can go wrong.

That's why I set up 2 cards with 2 accounts...the 1st one got skimmed and they never or sent card to wrong place after being promised 3 days....3 months and many calls

later I sent a secure email about the skimmed cars....they misread and permanently blocked the only working card I had in the middle of a road trip celebrating the wife's bday - thankfully I brought 50k stashed along..they said oooops so sorry but cannot reopen - sent new card in 3 days but issued new pin they sent snail mail.....Now - yesterday received the card due from 3 months ago = pin changed....how the card even got here surprises me as they had the address incomplete even though they had it right for the 1st card received.....that's the condensed version.....it's been 30 days now since their ooops....

Try different banks on different continents,.... soon since your current bank is a mess. Waiting 3 months is beyond acceptable.

[Dante99]

BofA has an option to transfer to international bank accounts I'm going to call tonight to see if I can link up my SCB account....

B of A = Bank of America? Time for a change unless you want continuing problems.

[slipperylobster]

Western Union certainly make their profit from those that use them. I believe there is an option as to whom pays their exorbitant fees. Either the sender or receiver can pay. And its never cheap. I use to get funds sent over from New Zealand from say 25,000 baht Id recieve just 20,000 baht in another words WU got 20 percent of my money.

I have since given up on Western Union. Highway Robbery would be a better name for them.

Bank transfers are a better and cheaper option IMO

Good luck

You get fairly good rates if done online, with an account...sent from your country and wait 3 days to pickup or have it sent to a bank account.

I used to pay 7 dollars to send 400. That is from the USA . They have a website.

Also..bad exchange rates, either way.

They stick it to you bad if you go to an agent and fill out the form and need the money the same day...however.

I have been using xe....i send 4000 usd for 21 usd. You can lock in a rate immediately (it may even work to your advantage, if the rate slips downwards before your receive the money.) It averages out anyways...in the long run. ATM's will suck you dry.

XE is about a ten day wait...so it may be of no use in an emergency. But it has worked flawlessly for me for several years.

Edited March 31, 2015 by slipperylobster

[pgrahmm]

Just added the Thai bank to my BofA and transferred a small amount as a test $600....all seemed to go through OK and the fee was $35 from BofA.....not sure what it might be from this end but if good is a good back up plan.....will go check tomorrow at the ATM.....Might be a time difference thing there too....Will report back and follow up.....Cannot be initiated/started on the phone app when set up....But it can be used for the transfers later...It showed the exchange rate but I was do busy making sure it was working correctly I didn't note it....

Edited March 31, 2015 by pgrahmm

[kinkcbijli]

Good to know. What Thai bank do you use? Thank you!

[pgrahmm]

SCB ... but as long as there is a swift number/letters (ID) it would be on the list....

[northernjohn]

BofA has an option to transfer to international bank accounts I'm going to call tonight to see if I can link up my SCB account....

B of A = Bank of America? Time for a change unless you want continuing problems.

Wells Fargo got me my replacement card here in Thailand in three months.

I had the send it to my sister in the States and she sent it registered mail.

Costly but I got it in reasonable time. I had already canceled the first one.

I have an account in Canada with CIBC at both banks I have a debit and a Visa credit card so if one goes missing I still have the other.

[pgrahmm]

Update - received notice via email from BofA yesterday AM of successful transfer.....took 2 working days to show here via SCB ATM....

[bangmai]

that's a real success story. It cost me 26 usd to transfer 20,000 USD from US to BKKBANK....exchange rate was at TT rate.

[kinkcbijli]

But BofA fee was $35.

[pgrahmm]

$35 fee - good to $1000....not sure for amounts above that....

[NancyL]

The easiest way for Americans to get money here is to open a Bangkok Bank account and then use ACH transfers from your U.S. bank via on-line banking from your U.S. bank. My U.S. credit union calls it "interbank transfers" and it's as if I'm paying a car note or something with Bangkok Bank. I believe the fee is something along the lines of 500 baht when I do this. The max my credit union will let me transfer is $2500 at one time, which is what I do every few months or so.

The reason you can do this so cheaply is that Bangkok Bank has a branch in NYC, so you use the routing number for the NYC branch and your account number for your account here. The money is converted into Thai baht at a very good rate and shows up within a day. This has all been covered very extensively in the Thai Visa banking forum.

There are instructions on the Bangkok Bank website. If you're a long-term resident, it makes no sense at all to be paying fees like $25 or more to be transferring money into Thailand.

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

There is a similar easy way to transfer money from the U.K. to Thailand via Bangkok Bank because they have a branch in London.

Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank to have overseas branches and offer this cheap way to transfer funds.

[Dante99]

I believe the fee is something along the lines of 500 baht when I do this. The max my credit union will let me transfer is $2500 at one time, which is what I do every few months or so.

If you're a long-term resident, it makes no sense at all to be paying fees like $25 or more to be transferring money into Thailand.

Suppose I want to transfer 25,000 USD. Using your method that would be 10 transfers at 500 Baht each or a total of 5,000 Baht. If I use a normal bank wire transfer via SWIFT, the cost is $25 to $35 depending on which US bank I use.

So your method is only cost effective for small amounts and not a universal cure all. Therefore in many cases paying $25 to transfer money to Thailand does make sense in many cases contrary to what you say.

If you need more than $5,000 your method costs more than $25.

[narkeddiver]

I believe the fee is something along the lines of 500 baht when I do this. The max my credit union will let me transfer is $2500 at one time, which is what I do every few months or so.

If you're a long-term resident, it makes no sense at all to be paying fees like $25 or more to be transferring money into Thailand.

Suppose I want to transfer 25,000 USD. Using your method that would be 10 transfers at 500 Baht each or a total of 5,000 Baht. If I use a normal bank wire transfer via SWIFT, the cost is $25 to $35 depending on which US bank I use.

So your method is only cost effective for small amounts and not a universal cure all. Therefore in many cases paying $25 to transfer money to Thailand does make sense in many cases contrary to what you say.

If you need more than $5,000 your method costs more than $25.

It sounds like the limit is set by the Credit Union and not BKB therefore if you have an American bank with a higher transfer limit it then using BKB for 500 THB is still good

[Dante99]

IF you can get all you want in one transfer, maybe two.

[pgrahmm]

Remember - there is mandatory reporting to the USg when any transfer is 10k or above per day....you might find them grabbing it wanting reasons to release if you exceed that amount......

[Cheesekraft]

if the amount of money is serious enough that you are willing to put some effort into saving, you can have the senders purchase bitcoin for the desired value from a reputable exchange, and send the bits to an exchange (free to 6 cents cost) which will send you thai baht to an account, or you can pick up cash at a 7/11. This would cost about 3% vig in total in comparison with 12-25% for western union for cash pickup, but it requires a couple of hours of learning how to use p2p currency. coins.co.th will let you pick up the cash at 7/11.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Cheesekraft

[Dante99]

Remember - there is mandatory reporting to the USg when any transfer is 10k or above per day....you might find them grabbing it wanting reasons to release if you exceed that amount......

Seems very unlikely,do you know of any situations where it got grabbed?

That law has been in effect for a long time and I have never heard of one getting "grabbed" nor have I ever had any difficulty doing it.

[justmaybe]

In my own experience, WU transfers from the US to Thailand have been roughly 14.00 per. WU does place a monthly cap on how much can be transferred. (USD 3000. comes to mind; it's on their web site). Bank of America can be $7-25 depending on the time of transfer. By U.S. laws, there's no limit on what you transfer, but your bank will report anything over USD 10,000. Everything these days has a paper trail. Even this post ?.

Edited April 3, 2015 by justmaybe

[NancyL]

I believe the fee is something along the lines of 500 baht when I do this. The max my credit union will let me transfer is $2500 at one time, which is what I do every few months or so.

If you're a long-term resident, it makes no sense at all to be paying fees like $25 or more to be transferring money into Thailand.

Suppose I want to transfer 25,000 USD. Using your method that would be 10 transfers at 500 Baht each or a total of 5,000 Baht. If I use a normal bank wire transfer via SWIFT, the cost is $25 to $35 depending on which US bank I use.

So your method is only cost effective for small amounts and not a universal cure all. Therefore in many cases paying $25 to transfer money to Thailand does make sense in many cases contrary to what you say.

If you need more than $5,000 your method costs more than $25.

It sounds like the limit is set by the Credit Union and not BKB therefore if you have an American bank with a higher transfer limit it then using BKB for 500 THB is still good

That's right -- this $2500 limit has been set by my credit union and it's my understanding that it can be changed. I'm not real certain of the 500 baht charge -- I think it's substantially lower. All I know is that three or four years ago I did a big study of what's the best way for us to bring money over here and this is what I came up with as being best for our needs. With regular monthly pension income going directly into Bangkok Bank, we don't have the need to bring $25,000 over here at a time -- just the occasional need to top-off the account with a smaller cash infusion.

Edited April 4, 2015 by NancyL

[justmaybe]

In my own experience, WU transfers from the US to Thailand have been roughly 14.00 per. WU does place a monthly cap on how much can be transferred. (USD comes to mind; it's on their web site). Bank of America can be $7-25 depending on the time of transfer. By U.S. laws, there's no limit on what you transfer, but your bank will report anything over USD 10,000. Everything these days has a paper trail. Even this post ?.