Importing money and buying things

[turgid]

I have a stock trading account with eTrade US that has to be liquidated by the end of March. It contained various tax paid share allocations which i've received from several US companies i've worked for over the years, pretty much all of which lost money . I am currently a resident of Singapore. eTrade have decided they no longer want to trade with residents of Singapore presumably because the transaction reporting requirements have got onerous with the mandatory reporting changes in 2016. So with almost perfect market timing I've dumped all the stock at the bottom but still have a decent sum of about US$90K (3M Baht). I now have to wire this somewhere.

I get one free wire transfer, but its not the wire cost so much (US$25) as the tortuous process of setting one up (the Father and either of Son or Holy ghost must countersign) and the significant hits on currency if i split it up.

I'm never fully committed to anything but generally see my future in Thailand if I dont get offered the manager job at Man U or Chelsea.

I am currently procrastinating about buying an SUV this month and procrastinating in the longer term about buying an apartment in Thailand.

I've asked my bank manager here but his eyes glazed over when he heard 3M Baht deposit and all he said after that was no problem.

So to the actual question:-

If I bring 3M Baht into Thailand as a lump sum am i going to have issues accessing it, or using it to buy a car, or partial funding of a future property?

I seem to remember that house funds must be ring fenced in some way so bringing the whole sum in might be a bad for me.

Any guidance or experience appreciated. But no I dont want to invest in any Gold mines, UK green belt land or Thai plantation schemes

[watcharacters]

It is not such a large amount of money but my understanding is Thailand does not allow any importation of money.

I stand ready for correction..

[Langsuan Man]

I don't know why your are making up so many obstacles on wiring the money out of your E*trade investment account, especially to Singapore where dollar accounts are not all that unusual

They have their own form that only requires the receiving banks SWIFT number and possibly their correspondence bank's SWIFT or ABA number

Maybe the brokerage account is really different but I had an E*trade bank account and had no problems bringing in money for a car, condo, and later a house into Thailand. . All it took was their form sent via email and a couple of days for processing. Once the money was received by SCB in Bangkok they would call and ask if I wanted the funds immediately or wait a couple of days, and what the reason for the inbound transfer. Usually gave them the reason; living expenses

Now if this tortuous process of setting one up has to do with US taxes, then that is a whole separate issue

watcharacters you have been corrected

[fredob43]

I don't know why your are making up so many obstacles on wiring the money out of your E*trade investment account, especially to Singapore where dollar accounts are not all that unusual

They have their own form that only requires the receiving banks SWIFT number and possibly their correspondence bank's SWIFT or ABA number

Maybe the brokerage account is really different but I had an E*trade bank account and had no problems bringing in money for a car, condo, and later a house into Thailand. . All it took was their form sent via email and a couple of days for processing. Once the money was received by SCB in Bangkok they would call and ask if I wanted the funds immediately or wait a couple of days, and what the reason for the inbound transfer. Usually gave them the reason; living expenses

Now if this tortuous process of setting one up has to do with US taxes, then that is a whole separate issue

watcharacters you have been corrected

At present you cannot import more than $50th in one hit unless you have details of what your going to spend it on. By details I mean corect paperwork confirming what you intend to buy. That goes for any currency, it's just a figure the new Thai government have come up with. Edited March 4, 2016 by fredob43

[Langsuan Man]

Reference please.

There was a 20,000 USD restriction to prevent speculating on the Thai Baht during the last coup d'etat but I have not read of any restrictions from our current overlords

I never had to provide any proof of what I was doing with the money other than putting "purchase of a condo" or "living expenses" on the international wire request. Once the money got to Thailand all that was required was a phone call to the foreign remittance office at SCB.

In the transfer for the condo, since I wanted a Currency Conversion Certificate, I did have to sign and return a faxed form to SCB but even that only had the amount and exchange rate, nothing regarding the address, cost, or description of the condo

[Naam]

It is not such a large amount of money but my understanding is Thailand does not allow any importation of money.

I stand ready for correction..

you understood wrong

[Naam]

I don't know why your are making up so many obstacles on wiring the money out of your E*trade investment account, especially to Singapore where dollar accounts are not all that unusual

They have their own form that only requires the receiving banks SWIFT number and possibly their correspondence bank's SWIFT or ABA number

Maybe the brokerage account is really different but I had an E*trade bank account and had no problems bringing in money for a car, condo, and later a house into Thailand. . All it took was their form sent via email and a couple of days for processing. Once the money was received by SCB in Bangkok they would call and ask if I wanted the funds immediately or wait a couple of days, and what the reason for the inbound transfer. Usually gave them the reason; living expenses

Now if this tortuous process of setting one up has to do with US taxes, then that is a whole separate issue

watcharacters you have been corrected

At present you cannot import more than $50th in one hit unless you have details of what your going to spend it on. By details I mean corect paperwork confirming what you intend to buy. That goes for any currency, it's just a figure the new Thai government have come up with.

paperwork = rubbish! over the last 12 years i have never transferred less than $ 100k, required is only a simple remark in the SWIFT order such as "living expenses" or "buying property". on top of that most banks give you a call to verify the purpose and to give you the option to negotiate the offered spot exchange rate or keep the forex amount till further notice (Siam Commercial up to 6 months) without converting it to Thai Baht.

p.s. once i joked when i got the verification call and said "purpose mia noi" and then we both laughed out loudly.

[gk10002000]

I use Etrade here in the USA. I have wire transferred money once. Etrade required a form be "faxed" to them at the time, but it was just one form that only required the basic account info and name and stuff. I haven't bothered to check now what else Etrade might need or what they might need for a transfer to Singapore. I have more recently sent money via Western Union online to Thailand and also the Philippines. The basic western union I think has a $3000 transfer limit. But their website says you can register and setup an account to transfer more than 3000. You can look at other money transfer sites such as moneygram, etc. Any of these may be easier than what you say Etrade is requiring.

[gk10002000]

i just checked western union. From the USA western union website, it looks like you can transfer 10,000 USD for 22 USD with few to no hassles. I suspect that 10k may trigger a requirement for you to report to Etrade some sort of transaction form (USA patriot act stuff), but I don't know. Obviously you don't want to do this 10 times and pay 22 each time, but I am just throwing out an idea. Also, I suspect you would not be able to transfer more than 10k per day, but that is just my guess.

[worgeordie]

Check out Newcastle United ,they should be on the look out for

new manager too,please

regards Worgeordie

[fredob43]

I don't know why your are making up so many obstacles on wiring the money out of your E*trade investment account, especially to Singapore where dollar accounts are not all that unusual

They have their own form that only requires the receiving banks SWIFT number and possibly their correspondence bank's SWIFT or ABA number

Maybe the brokerage account is really different but I had an E*trade bank account and had no problems bringing in money for a car, condo, and later a house into Thailand. . All it took was their form sent via email and a couple of days for processing. Once the money was received by SCB in Bangkok they would call and ask if I wanted the funds immediately or wait a couple of days, and what the reason for the inbound transfer. Usually gave them the reason; living expenses

Now if this tortuous process of setting one up has to do with US taxes, then that is a whole separate issue

watcharacters you have been corrected

At present you cannot import more than $50th in one hit unless you have details of what your going to spend it on. By details I mean corect paperwork confirming what you intend to buy. That goes for any currency, it's just a figure the new Thai government have come up with.

paperwork = rubbish! over the last 12 years i have never transferred less than $ 100k, required is only a simple remark in the SWIFT order such as "living expenses" or "buying property". on top of that most banks give you a call to verify the purpose and to give you the option to negotiate the offered spot exchange rate or keep the forex amount till further notice (Siam Commercial up to 6 months) without converting it to Thai Baht.

p.s. once i joked when i got the verification call and said "purpose mia noi" and then we both laughed out loudly.

Please, if you don't know don't rubbish peeps posts.

My 'Thai' friend just (Two weeks ago) tried to bring into Thailand well over $100,000 for purchase of land. It duly arrived in BKK at her Thai bank without a problem. But they couldn't release it due to the $50th limit that is NOW in force.

She had to get the Thai person that owned the land to sign forms and show up in person to guarantee that he was selling the land to her. They both had to then get papers from the land office as a double guarantee.

Don't you just love some of the peeps on TV that put in posts that are out of date without checking first.

Next time you send over any more than $50th you will have problems unless the new rule is changed. And a joke won't work you have now been updated on the new rule.

Suggest you check with the BKK head office of your bank.

[Naam]

Please, if you don't know don't rubbish peeps posts.

My 'Thai' friend just (Two weeks ago) tried to bring into Thailand well over $100,000 for purchase of land. It duly arrived in BKK at her Thai bank without a problem. But they couldn't release it due to the $50th limit that is NOW in force.

She had to get the Thai person that owned the land to sign forms and show up in person to guarantee that he was selling the land to her. They both had to then get papers from the land office as a double guarantee.

Don't you just love some of the peeps on TV that put in posts that are out of date without checking first.

Next time you send over any more than $50th you will have problems unless the new rule is changed. And a joke won't work you have now been updated on the new rule.

Suggest you check with the BKK head office of your bank.

case closed!

Edited March 5, 2016 by Naam

[fredob43]

Please, if you don't know don't rubbish peeps posts.

My 'Thai' friend just (Two weeks ago) tried to bring into Thailand well over $100,000 for purchase of land. It duly arrived in BKK at her Thai bank without a problem. But they couldn't release it due to the $50th limit that is NOW in force.

She had to get the Thai person that owned the land to sign forms and show up in person to guarantee that he was selling the land to her. They both had to then get papers from the land office as a double guarantee.

Don't you just love some of the peeps on TV that put in posts that are out of date without checking first.

Next time you send over any more than $50th you will have problems unless the new rule is changed. And a joke won't work you have now been updated on the new rule.

Suggest you check with the BKK head office of your bank.

case closed!

untitled.JPG

Case open that was January not end of Feb: when my friend sent her monies.

When the new rules started I don't know but they are in affect NOW.

N/B you can still send but they Thai Banks wont release. It's all to do with money laundering I have been told.

To quote you case now closed.

[Langsuan Man]

Sorry but anecdotal experience of one Thai does not trump actual evidence from a board member

How do we know that there was not some other reason your Thai lady friend had a problem

[fredob43]

Sorry but anecdotal experience of one Thai does not trump actual evidence from a board member

How do we know that there was not some other reason your Thai lady friend had a problem

Looks like you'll all need facts.

My Thai friend has sent large amounts of cash over on several occasions.

This time it was over 13.5 Mil: Bt that was sent via her Singapore bank.

It arrived her bank BKK the next day. But they wouldn't release into to her account unless she complied with what they wanted. See above post. Their excuse was there is now a new law regarding amounts over $50th.

All was sorted in the end. Land now obtained everyone happy??? but it did cause a lot of problems at the time.

I don't put in anecdotal post. Only the first hand facts. I happened to be with her (Free Taxi service) in her bank when it all kicked off.

[Naam]

Sorry but anecdotal experience of one Thai does not trump actual evidence from a board member

How do we know that there was not some other reason your Thai lady friend had a problem

a logical explanation could be that a Thai citizen is treated differently. that a foreigner transfers money from abroad is normal but that does not necessarily apply to a Thai.

[fredob43]

Sorry but anecdotal experience of one Thai does not trump actual evidence from a board member

How do we know that there was not some other reason your Thai lady friend had a problem

a logical explanation could be that a Thai citizen is treated differently. that a foreigner transfers money from abroad is normal but that does not necessarily apply to a Thai.

You could be right.

It was the Banks statement that there is a new law just come in regarding anyone sending monies over the $50. No mention of Thai or Western just new Law.

But TIT so who knows. Everything changes daily here at the moment.

[turgid]

I've kicked off the wire. I may have exaggerated the reporting requirements. I had to fax ID and swift details in. However they have told me it will take 17 days to process a swift transaction which seems a lot of time to type in 4 lines and hit enter. I assume there will be at least one waterboarding from some agency in the next 3 weeks. Etrade also refuse to confirm the loaded details "for compliance reasons" until the wire is complete. I have visions of it failing with a typing error as the money is accidentally wired to the non extradition country of a etrade employee, and then having to restart a 17 day window.

I will however update if I have any problems on the Thai end.

[turgid]

Check out Newcastle United ,they should be on the look out for

new manager too,please

regards Worgeordie

They should give the job to Pearson. A big part of what Leicester are now is due to him and he'll see it as more than just a pay cheque. And he's a miserable sod so he'll fit in perfectly

[Langsuan Man]

I've kicked off the wire. I may have exaggerated the reporting requirements. I had to fax ID and swift details in. However they have told me it will take 17 days to process a swift transaction which seems a lot of time to type in 4 lines and hit enter. I assume there will be at least one waterboarding from some agency in the next 3 weeks. Etrade also refuse to confirm the loaded details "for compliance reasons" until the wire is complete. I have visions of it failing with a typing error as the money is accidentally wired to the non extradition country of a etrade employee, and then having to restart a 17 day window.

I will however update if I have any problems on the Thai end.

Is the delay just for the SWIFT or because certain assets have to be liquidated in order to have cash to SWIFT and that is what takes 17 days to process ?

[Gary A]

I had the same problem with Scottrade. When I moved to Thailand and tried to change my address with them, I was notified that I would have to close my account. I of course took a beating on the stock sale and then to add more misery, they of course notified the IRS of the sale. That was OK but they didn't bother to include the prices that I had paid for the stock. The IRS promptly sent me a HUGE tax bill. Fortunately I had kept the records and my accountant was able to eventually straighten it out.

To answer your question, I had no trouble making a wire transfer to my Thai bank. I had to give a reason for the transfer and told the Thai bank it was funds to be used to buy a condo. Scottrade deposited the funds into my US bank and the wire transfer was made from that bank.

[turgid]

Just to update.

As mentioned by several posters I was required to file a Bank Of Thailand report for over US$50,000

There was an administrative problem on the sending end which meant the payment got split into two and they managed to close my account before sending the second payment so there were problems clearing it

The whole transaction took 5 business days in the end from my initial fax send to receipt of funds in Thai Baht.

I transferred in dollars missing out on the wonderful etrade offer to only charge me 2.5% to convert to Thai baht and took the zero % conversion offered by KBank who were delighted to have the money and gave me a decent rate.

KBank notified me by phone of funds receipt

It took about an hour of processing in the Bank branch.

I had to sign some forms which were scanned and sent to head office.

Once those were approved I had to authorise the exchange rate and it took about 30 minutes to deposit the funds.

Very straightforward on the Thai end.