Kasikorn refusing outside Thai cheques

[kingstonkid]

This caused a bit of a stir in the bank.  For the past 3 years I have been getting a cheque every 6 months form a government account in Canada.  Up until today it was the same thing.

 

Cheques i over 100 cad

Show PP give Bank book

yes I understand 21 days

pay 300 baht.

 

However, now they tell me that they do not cash out of Thailand cheques.  Seems there is a temporary problem.

 

Has anyone run into this before.

 

 

 

 

[Suradit69]

Quote

However, now they tell me that they do not cash out of Thailand cheques.

 

Presumably you mean you want the proceeds of the cheque deposited in an account you have. "Cashing" the cheque would imply you wanted them to hand over cash immediately in exchange for the cheque.

 

Quote

Cheques i over 100 cad

 

Probably a bank branch quirk or maybe they don't want to be bothered with such a small amount. 100 CAD after fees would be barely over Baht 2000. Couldn't you have the payments made to a Canadian bank and then transfer them to your Thai account along with other money that you transfer in from time to time for living expenses?

[jacko45k]

Heard it mentioned only Sunday actually.

The person said Bangkok bank would handle it but with a long delay.

Edited September 6, 2016 by jacko45k

[Broeno]

Too many idiots at Kasikorn.

[humqdpf]

I cannot speak for banks in Thailand specifically but it is always not a good idea to try to deposit cheques in your bank account in another country. The difficulty is even greater if the cheque is in a foreign currency.

 

The reason for this is the costs and inconvenience on the part of the bank in clearing such cheques. So far, you may have been getting away without enormous fees simply because the bank teller staff did not know or perhaps there was not protocol in place.

 

Best to have your cheques lodged to a bank in your home country and have the cash sent to you by bank transfer. 
 

One tip about sending cash by bank transfer - it can be the case that some really terrible exchange rates are  applied when a foreign currency arrives in your local bank account - always best to send the cash in the receiving bank's currency unless you have the appropriate foreign currency account at that bank.

[stevenl]

58 minutes ago, humqdpf said:

I cannot speak for banks in Thailand specifically but it is always not a good idea to try to deposit cheques in your bank account in another country. The difficulty is even greater if the cheque is in a foreign currency.

 

The reason for this is the costs and inconvenience on the part of the bank in clearing such cheques. So far, you may have been getting away without enormous fees simply because the bank teller staff did not know or perhaps there was not protocol in place.

 

Best to have your cheques lodged to a bank in your home country and have the cash sent to you by bank transfer. 
 

One tip about sending cash by bank transfer - it can be the case that some really terrible exchange rates are  applied when a foreign currency arrives in your local bank account - always best to send the cash in the receiving bank's currency unless you have the appropriate foreign currency account at that bank.

"always best to send the cash in the receiving bank's currency"

For common currencies like Euro, US$ etc. this is totally incorrect.

[JacChang]

4 hours ago, humqdpf said:

I cannot speak for banks in Thailand specifically but it is always not a good idea to try to deposit cheques in your bank account in another country. The difficulty is even greater if the cheque is in a foreign currency.

 

The reason for this is the costs and inconvenience on the part of the bank in clearing such cheques. So far, you may have been getting away without enormous fees simply because the bank teller staff did not know or perhaps there was not protocol in place.

 

Best to have your cheques lodged to a bank in your home country and have the cash sent to you by bank transfer. 
 

One tip about sending cash by bank transfer - it can be the case that some really terrible exchange rates are  applied when a foreign currency arrives in your local bank account - always best to send the cash in the receiving bank's currency unless you have the appropriate foreign currency account at that bank.

Actually totally the opposite.

Cheques are the lowest cost for people wanting to transfer money from abroad, the only downside is the time which takes about 1 month. I have explained this with actual numbers in a thread discussed earlier this year.

 

Next, you always transfer the money in USD if you are transferring from the state. You NEVER ever send the receiving bank's currency. You get the worst rates. Imagine buying THB in the states, you get lousy rates. The best is always to send USD, and let the thai local bank convert it to THB. Also, there has been some talk about foreign currency accounts in THB.

[unclueng]

For the past 19 years I have transferred money from my account in the USA by writing a check to myself in US Dollars and endorsing it for collection and deposit to my account in Thailand.  It takes 30 to 45 days.  In the past the Thai Bank charged a US$10.00 commission and there is a ฿3.00 duty stamp.  Recently this has changed.  Presently Kasikorn Bank is not accepting US Dollar checks unless you are a special customer and there are additional fees of US$40.00 charges by the corresponding bank in the USA and ฿600.00 for DHL service.  This past July I used Bangkok Bank Ltd.  They charged US$10.00 and the ฿3.00 duty when I presented the check.  However, 32 days later they deducted US$40.00 which is the fee they were charged by Bank of America in New York, their corresponding bank in the USA, from the amount credited to my account.  Since my account is with Bank of America in California I called my account representative to question this and the US$40.00 was credited to my BofA account.

 

Kasikorn Bank tells me they are in the process of making an agreement with Wells Fargo Bank which will also include the US$40.00 service charge but eliminate the DHL charge.

 

I hope this information is helpful.

[orientalist]

I have been depositing sterling cheques at Kasikorn for years, 30-40 days to clear and a US$10 fee. I sure hope this doesn't change.

[Suradit69]

11 hours ago, unclueng said:

For the past 19 years I have transferred money from my account in the USA by writing a check to myself in US Dollars and endorsing it for collection and deposit to my account in Thailand.  It takes 30 to 45 days.  In the past the Thai Bank charged a US$10.00 commission and there is a ฿3.00 duty stamp.  Recently this has changed.  Presently Kasikorn Bank is not accepting US Dollar checks unless you are a special customer and there are additional fees of US$40.00 charges by the corresponding bank in the USA and ฿600.00 for DHL service.  This past July I used Bangkok Bank Ltd.  They charged US$10.00 and the ฿3.00 duty when I presented the check.  However, 32 days later they deducted US$40.00 which is the fee they were charged by Bank of America in New York, their corresponding bank in the USA, from the amount credited to my account.  Since my account is with Bank of America in California I called my account representative to question this and the US$40.00 was credited to my BofA account.

 

Kasikorn Bank tells me they are in the process of making an agreement with Wells Fargo Bank which will also include the US$40.00 service charge but eliminate the DHL charge.

 

I hope this information is helpful.

" This past July I used Bangkok Bank Ltd.  They charged US$10.00 and the ฿3.00 duty when I presented the check "

 

If you have a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand you can do a domestic bank transfer from your US bank to the Bangkok Bank branch in New York using the account number you have here. Depending on the size of the transfer, Bangkok Bank charges about $10 in NY and Baht 200 in Thailand and you have the money available in Thailand in a couple of days depending on holidays, weekends, and your US bank's transfer method.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Suradit69

[unclueng]

28 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

" This past July I used Bangkok Bank Ltd.  They charged US$10.00 and the ฿3.00 duty when I presented the check "

 

If you have a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand you can do a domestic bank transfer from your US bank to the Bangkok Bank branch in New York using the account number you have here. Depending on the size of the transfer, Bangkok Bank charges about $10 in NY and Baht 200 in Thailand and you have the money available in Thailand in a couple of days depending on holidays, weekends, and your US bank's transfer method.

If you compare the dollar amount paid by your USA bank and the dollar amount received by Bangkok Bank in Thailand you will see a US$40.00 difference.  You are not charged and pay the US$40.00 fee, it is deducted from the transfer.

[sandyf]

14 hours ago, orientalist said:

I have been depositing sterling cheques at Kasikorn for years, 30-40 days to clear and a US$10 fee. I sure hope this doesn't change.

Many countries have phased out cheques and the UK was due to finish in Oct 2018 but I think the final decision on that was to be taken this year.

[Suradit69]

6 hours ago, unclueng said:

If you compare the dollar amount paid by your USA bank and the dollar amount received by Bangkok Bank in Thailand you will see a US$40.00 difference.  You are not charged and pay the US$40.00 fee, it is deducted from the transfer.

No. They used to deduct the dollar amount by $10 and recently it's been $5. I've been doing it for 15 years and it has never been over $10, up to $50,000 in a single transfer. I transfer directly to Bangkok Bank in New York.

 

When the deposit is received in Thailand I get an SMS showing the dollar amount I sent, the deduction in dollars done in NY and the local charge which has been around Baht 200 as well as the exchange rate. Last month I had $5 deducted in NY and Baht 200 deducted in Thailand.

 

If you're paying $40, it must be your US bank charging you for the transfer. I get free domestic transfers, so I never have had anything deducted for that.

 

There a difference in price if you do a SWIFT transfer to Bangkok Bank in Thailand compared to a bank to the NY branch. And there is usually a higher charge for requesting an immediate domestic wire transfer compared to a ACH the transfer in batches at the end of the day. But, as I said, I've been doing it for a long time and there has never been a dollar deduction greater than $10 . The amount charged is dependent on the amount sent. See below.

 

Fees

Transferred Amount	Fee (USD) for  Bangkok Bank’s New York Branch in US	Fee (THB) for  Bangkok Bank in Thailand
Not more than USD 50.00	Free	0.25% of the transfer     value (minimum 200Bt,         maximum 500Bt)
USD 50.01 – 100.00	3.00
USD 100.1 – 2,000.00	5.00
USD 2,000.01 – 50,000.00	10.00
USD 50,000.01 or more	20.00

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

Edited September 7, 2016 by Suradit69

[sgtsabai]

I once tried to deposit in my Kasikorn account a Veterans Affairs check for 5,000+ USD. They took the check, called a week later, said no can do and charged me about 10 USD for "no can do". I finally got the VA straightened out with direct deposit to my US credit union where my SS and pensions are direct deposit. I can go to the main Kasikorn branch and pull 20,000 baht (the max) out with each debit card. Sometimes a bit of a pain in the ass with downtown traffic, parking and finding somebody that speaks English or knows how to do. In fact I have to take the wife along with blue book copy, her ID, and my passport. Usually I just go to AEON ATM and pull the money using my debit card. A good exchange rate and 30 baht less than the other ATM's. Cheaper, quicker and easier than the money transfer from bank to bank.