5.5 per cent fee Bangkok Bank ibank transfer

[Wallander4]

Wife just try to transfer first time from Thailand to Vietnam - kept it at 500 USD just to try and paid sender fee 300B.

Surprise surprise ... Bangkok Bank send THB to JPMorgan in NY, they send USD to Vietnam ... Fee 27.50 USD = 5.5 per cent ... Anyone higher ... ?

Earlier we have transfered from Bangkok Bank counter to Vietnam paying about 1,150B in fee and got it on Vietnam account without any "Scam-fees" on the way ...

Any experiences with Bangkok Bank ibualuang and their fees are appreciated.

[fletchsmile]

US banks are particularly bad for this. If you send USD it generally needs to be routed through an intermediary in the US. So the US banks then hit you for it, knowing they have a captive market.

It's not a fault of the Thai banks. They are not authorised clearers in the US, so need to use a US bank if you send USD.

On large amounts, it's easily lost and not a big amount. On smaller amounts like USD 500 it will eat into your money.

Sounds like you've learnt from trial and error that the way you did it last time was cheaper. I assume that was a THB tfr, not USD?

FWIW, I had a similar issue a couple of years back sending USD from Vietnam to Thailand in the opposite direction. Got hit for USD 50 or so from the US bank. Not a big amount on what I sent, but still an annoying surprise.

As a priority banking customer at Stan Chart Thailand, international transfer fees get waived. However, this excludes the intermediary US bank, and that was chosen by the local Vietnam bank I sent from. What I did for future transfers is to ask the local Vietnamese bank to use StanChart NY as the intermediary instead of JPM/Wells Fargo or whoever it was as the US bank. StanChart NY then didn't charge me as they're part of the same group, so covered by priority banking status.

Cheers

Fletch

Edited February 23, 2016 by fletchsmile

[ubonjoe]

Did you send the funds by SWIFT using the bank in Vietnam SWIFT code. It should not of gone through another bank if you did.

[fletchsmile]

Did you send the funds by SWIFT using the bank in Vietnam SWIFT code. It should not of gone through another bank if you did.

If he sends via SWIFT from a Thai bank to a Vietnamese bank in USD then it will usually go thru an intermediary, not direct.

[ubonjoe]

Did you send the funds by SWIFT using the bank in Vietnam SWIFT code. It should not of gone through another bank if you did.

If he sends via SWIFT from a Thai bank to a Vietnamese bank in USD then it will usually go thru an intermediary, not direct.

Why?

It is no different than sending money from here to any country or from one to here.

[jonw8uk]

why did you send USD from a thai bank, and not the THB equivalent?

[Naam]

Did you send the funds by SWIFT using the bank in Vietnam SWIFT code. It should not of gone through another bank if you did.

If he sends via SWIFT from a Thai bank to a Vietnamese bank in USD then it will usually go thru an intermediary, not direct.

Why?

It is no different than sending money from here to any country or from one to here.

Fletch is right Joe, not only SWIFT but all USD transfers are routed via the U.S. and that also applies if you transfer USD from one Singapore bank to another Singapore bank even if both banks are situated in the same building.

[lkv]

Who can provide me with a list of US banks correspondent fees please?

[Langsuan Man]

Who can provide me with a list of US banks correspondent fees please?

Impossible request, all are different, you have to ask the sending bank for their particular correspondent bank and what the fees are

[Pib]

Who can provide me with a list of US banks correspondent fees please?

Impossible request, all are different, you have to ask the sending bank for their particular correspondent bank and what the fees are

Agree. And when asking your Sending bank for the info don't be surprised if they tell you they don't know or the fee must have come from the receiving bank. I've lost count of the number of TV posters who have run that rabbit trail in trying to find out correspondent bank fees when their transfer got unexpectedly hit with such a fee.

[Crocbait]

I regularly send funds in USD from Vietnam to Thailand using HSBC. Don't send THB as exchange rate is better in Thailand.

HSBC charge $9.98, intermediary bank in US charge $25. So $35 USD every time I transfer.

Instead of sending monthly I only send every 3 months to save on fees.

[lkv]

I regularly send funds in USD from Vietnam to Thailand using HSBC. Don't send THB as exchange rate is better in Thailand.

HSBC charge $9.98, intermediary bank in US charge $25. So $35 USD every time I transfer.

Instead of sending monthly I only send every 3 months to save on fees.

I know i always send USD it's just this year this correspondent thing has become more expensive. K Bank apparently uses JP Morgan Chase and USD 33 vanishes per transfer only in JP Morgan Chase. The sending bank also uses JP Morgan Chase but I do have the option to route through other correspondent bank of my choice, if say it's cheaper.

I know Bangkok Bank New York charges USD 10, but I'm not sure what would happen if I sent through Bangkok Bank NY to Kasikorn TH (would it be USD 10 or more because it's not going to Bangkok Bank TH).

This is what I'm trying to work out.

Edited February 24, 2016 by lkv

[Pib]

I know Bangkok Bank New York charges USD 10, but I'm not sure what would happen if I sent through Bangkok Bank NY to Kasikorn TH (would it be USD 10 or more because it's not going to Bangkok Bank TH).

You can only use the Bangkok Bank NY Branch ABA/ACH routing number to send money to an in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account...not another Thai bank account.

[lkv]

I know Bangkok Bank New York charges USD 10, but I'm not sure what would happen if I sent through Bangkok Bank NY to Kasikorn TH (would it be USD 10 or more because it's not going to Bangkok Bank TH).

You can only use the Bangkok Bank NY Branch ABA/ACH routing number to send money to an in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account...not another Thai bank account.

So what would happen if i routed it through Bangkok Bank New York? They would send it to JP Morgan Chase US and those would send it further to Kasikorn, therefore incurring higher correspondent fees and further delay?

[Pib]

I know Bangkok Bank New York charges USD 10, but I'm not sure what would happen if I sent through Bangkok Bank NY to Kasikorn TH (would it be USD 10 or more because it's not going to Bangkok Bank TH).

You can only use the Bangkok Bank NY Branch ABA/ACH routing number to send money to an in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account...not another Thai bank account.

So what would happen if i routed it through Bangkok Bank New York? They would send it to JP Morgan Chase US and those would send it further to Kasikorn, therefore incurring higher correspondent fees and further delay?

Bangkok Bank NY would reject it back to the sending bank since it was not going to a Bangkok Bank account number. To repeat, you can only use the Bangkok Bank NY branch routing number to send money to a Bangkok Bank account; not to another Thai bank.

[lkv]

Interesting they would only send to their own bank, I was under the impression correspondent banks will take anything that goes through them as long as they charge a transit fee and make money.

But yea, I'm not going to complicate myself, I was just trying to understand the logic behind it.

[Langsuan Man]

Interesting they would only send to their own bank, I was under the impression correspondent banks will take anything that goes through them as long as they charge a transit fee and make money.

But yea, I'm not going to complicate myself, I was just trying to understand the logic behind it.

By having a branch in New York BB doesn't need a correspondence bank. Only foreign banks without a US presence need one

[lkv]

Interesting they would only send to their own bank, I was under the impression correspondent banks will take anything that goes through them as long as they charge a transit fee and make money.

But yea, I'm not going to complicate myself, I was just trying to understand the logic behind it.

By having a branch in New York BB doesn't need a correspondence bank. Only foreign banks without a US presence need one

Of course, i totally agree. They can make extra money as well, 10 USD if it goes through them and on to Bkk Bank Thailand, i just thought they would route to other Thai Banks or any other bank for that matter for a higher fee like say USD 20 - USD 25, making it cheaper than JP Morgan Chase at USD 33 let's say.

But yup ok, would not have tried to route through them anyway unless it went to BKK Bank Thailand, I was just curious.

Edited February 25, 2016 by lkv

[KittenKong]

Looks like those trumpeting ASEAN have plenty of work left to do.