Experience with Bangkok Bank in NYC?

[dblaisde]

This concerns my retirement visa application actually. One must deposit something like 750,000B in a Thai bank. I wonder if depositing it at the Bangkok Branch in New York City would qualify? And presumably I could transfer money deposited there to a branch in Thailand if the money had to reside in Thailand. The reason to deposit in the US would be that it's simpler to transfer money within the US than doing a wire or something else to get it to a Thai bank over here.

 

So has anyone every dealt with the New York branch?

 

thanks

[Jingthing]

It's a commercial bank. It's highly doubtful you can even open account there. Anyway, a deposit at Bangkok Bank NEW YORK would definitely NOT be considered a Thai bank account by Thai immigration. It's a U.S. bank account. If you want to take advantage of ACH (domestic) transfers to a THAILAND Bangkok Bank account, you need ANOTHER U.S. bank account and then you need to go through some steps to set up the LINK to Bangkok Bank NEW YORK. From your U.S. account POV that is seen as a domestic U.S. transfer but it will flow to your account in THAILAND. Again, all without ever directly dealing with Bangkok Bank New York as far as having an account there. 

 

About retirement visas.

For O-A visa applications in the U.S. the funds shown (when using a funds rather than income method) are usually in U.S. bank accounts. Money in Thai bank account definitely not required for that when using a bank method. 

You never need an O-A visa, but it's an option to get started.

For ANNUAL retirement extensions done in Thailand, using the bank account method, the funds must be shown (and seasoned) in a Thai bank account.

The amount needed is 800K baht. Not 750K baht.

Other options are by income (65K per month) or combination method which is a mix of income plus money in a Thai bank account of at least 800K. True 65K x 12 is less than 800K. But not relevant for bank account methods. 

Edited September 7, 2016 by Jingthing

[ubonjoe]

You cannot open an account at the branch in New York. See: http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/InternationalNetwork/InternationalBranches/USA/pages/index.aspx

You can open an account at a branch here and transfer your funds into it via the New Your branch. Info here: http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

[Jingthing]

Yes, but it's understandable that many people would be confused about this. It's well known there are advantages for U.S. (and U.K.) people to have Bangkok Bank accounts (in Thailand) because of BB New York and London domestic transfer option (no other Thai bank offers that), but you have to learn that there is never any direct interaction with BB New York or London. 

Edited September 7, 2016 by Jingthing

[dblaisde]

Thanks all for the very precise info. That gives me a plan.

[Suradit69]

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's a commercial bank. It's highly doubtful you can even open account there. Anyway, a deposit at Bangkok Bank NEW YORK would definitely NOT be considered a Thai bank account by Thai immigration. It's a U.S. bank account. If you want to take advantage of ACH (domestic) transfers to a THAILAND Bangkok Bank account, you need ANOTHER U.S. bank account and then you need to go through some steps to set up the LINK to Bangkok Bank NEW YORK. From your U.S. account POV that is seen as a domestic U.S. transfer but it will flow to your account in THAILAND. Again, all without ever directly dealing with Bangkok Bank New York as far as having an account there. 

 

About retirement visas.

For O-A visa applications in the U.S. the funds shown (when using a funds rather than income method) are usually in U.S. bank accounts. Money in Thai bank account definitely not required for that when using a bank method. 

You never need an O-A visa, but it's an option to get started.

For ANNUAL retirement extensions done in Thailand, using the bank account method, the funds must be shown (and seasoned) in a Thai bank account.

The amount needed is 800K baht. Not 750K baht.

Other options are by income (65K per month) or combination method which is a mix of income plus money in a Thai bank account of at least 800K. True 65K x 12 is less than 800K. But not relevant for bank account methods. 

" It's a commercial bank. "

 

Most banks in the US are retail "commercial banks."  Bangkok Bank in NY is a "wholesale bank."

 

Quote

A commercial bank is a financial institution that provides various financial service, such as accepting deposits and issuing loans. 

 

Quote

Wholesale banking refers to banking services between merchant banks and other financial institutions. This type of banking deals with larger clients, such as large corporations and other banks, whereas retail banking focuses more on the individual or small business.

 

[chilidog]

 I use Wellsfargo in the US, its a mid west bank. When I transfer money from my US bank to my Bangkok bank

I have it set up online where I can go right to my Bkk account through the NY branch. I make multiple transactions every month

for the last 4 years with no issues. The fees are very reasonable.

[morpho]

You can open an account in the NYC branch (unless there has been a change in rules and policies in the past 5 years). And then open Direct Deposit and Savings accounts in a local branch in Thailand. The funds deposited into the NYC account will be automatically transferred to your Direct Deposit account in Thai baht at the TT conversion rate at the time of the transfer. You can then move funds over to your Savings account and withdraw funds with an ATM card. ATM cards cannot be used for Direct Deposit accounts.

 

I have been using this sysyem/method for 5+ years for my monthly USA government pension without a glitch. I am charged either 400 or 500 baht ($12-15) for each monthly transfer from the NYC branch to my Direct Deposit account in Thailand.

 

I suggest calling the staff at the NYC branch to discuss setting everything up. They were extremely helpful for me before. Good luck.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, morpho said:

You can open an account in the NYC branch (unless there has been a change in rules and policies in the past 5 years). And then open Direct Deposit and Savings accounts in a local branch in Thailand. The funds deposited into the NYC account will be automatically transferred to your Direct Deposit account in Thai baht at the TT conversion rate at the time of the transfer. You can then move funds over to your Savings account and withdraw funds with an ATM card. ATM cards cannot be used for Direct Deposit accounts.

 

I have been using this sysyem/method for 5+ years for my monthly USA government pension without a glitch. I am charged either 400 or 500 baht ($12-15) for each monthly transfer from the NYC branch to my Direct Deposit account in Thailand.

 

I suggest calling the staff at the NYC branch to discuss setting everything up. They were extremely helpful for me before. Good luck.

 

If you can open a retail account with the NYC branch (although their website indicates otherwise) what advantages does it provide over any other U.S. bank account?

 

You don't need to have a bank account with the NYC branch to use their ACH/ABA routing number and your in Thailand Bangkok Bank branch account number to receive U.S. govt pension payments...the charge is the same as the charge you mentioned above which is probably for a payment in the $100.01 to $2,000 range based on their fee schedule.

 

[Michael8511]

1 hour ago, morpho said:

You can open an account in the NYC branch (unless there has been a change in rules and policies in the past 5 years). And then open Direct Deposit and Savings accounts in a local branch in Thailand. The funds deposited into the NYC account will be automatically transferred to your Direct Deposit account in Thai baht at the TT conversion rate at the time of the transfer. You can then move funds over to your Savings account and withdraw funds with an ATM card. ATM cards cannot be used for Direct Deposit accounts.

 

I have been using this sysyem/method for 5+ years for my monthly USA government pension without a glitch. I am charged either 400 or 500 baht ($12-15) for each monthly transfer from the NYC branch to my Direct Deposit account in Thailand.

 

I suggest calling the staff at the NYC branch to discuss setting everything up. They were extremely helpful for me before. Good luck.

You can not open an account at the NYC branch of Bangkok bank you could do deposit at their office to other banks in Thailand until 7 years ago now you can only transfer to Bangkok Bank accounts in Thailand with direct deposit thru the New York office it's very easy and take the same time as transferring from bank to bank in the us, have done this for the past 10 years.

[Fookhaht]

2 minutes ago, Michael8511 said:

You can not open an account at the NYC branch of Bangkok bank you could do deposit at their office to other banks in Thailand until 7 years ago now you can only transfer to Bangkok Bank accounts in Thailand with direct deposit thru the New York office it's very easy and take the same time as transferring from bank to bank in the us, have done this for the past 10 years.

Concur.  You CANNOT open an account at the NYC Bangkok Bank.  The direct deposit from the US government (pensions, Social Security) can be channeled through the NYC branch of Bangkok bank into a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.  However, the process does not involve opening an account in NYC.   To set this up, you only work through a Bangkok Bank branch in Thailand----easiest at their headquarters branch in Bangkok, but certainly doable at any  Bangkok Bank branch where the staff are familiar with the process.   If they are not, have them call the Direct Deposit Department of the head office:

 

Kuhn Suporn

or 

Kuhn Supatra

@ 02 230 1323

They'll walk your local branch staff person through the process.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, morpho said:

I suggest calling the staff at the NYC branch to discuss setting everything up. They were extremely helpful for me before. Good luck.

You sure you have an account with the NYC branch or just using their "routing" number to flow funds to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch account.  

 

To use the NYC branch routing number does not require an account with them.  Maybe they just told you to use their routing number and you assumed you have an account with them?   

[Michael8511]

1 minute ago, Fookhaht said:

Concur.  You CANNOT open an account at the NYC Bangkok Bank.  The direct deposit from the US government (pensions, Social Security) can be channeled through the NYC branch of Bangkok bank into a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.  However, the process does not involve opening an account in NYC.   To set this up, you only work through a Bangkok Bank branch in Thailand----easiest at their headquarters branch in Bangkok, but certainly doable at any  Bangkok Bank branch where the staff are familiar with the process.   If they are not, have them call the Direct Deposit Department of the head office:

 

Kuhn Suporn

or 

Kuhn Supatra

@ 02 230 1323

They'll walk your local branch staff person through the process.

That's exactly what I said, you already need to have an account in a Bangkok bank in Thailand then you can transfer thru the NYC branch. 

You can also do bank transfers thru western union to a reasonable fee, my partner do that to a Hong Kong bank.

[Fookhaht]

5 minutes ago, Michael8511 said:

That's exactly what I said, you already need to have an account in a Bangkok bank in Thailand then you can transfer thru the NYC branch. 

You can also do bank transfers thru western union to a reasonable fee, my partner do that to a Hong Kong bank.

It needs to be emphasized that doing this transfer does not involve opening any sort of account at the NYC branch of Bangkok Bank.  (As opposed to Morpho's post).  

[Michael8511]

5 minutes ago, Fookhaht said:

It needs to be emphasized that doing this transfer does not involve opening any sort of account at the NYC branch of Bangkok Bank.  (As opposed to Morpho's post).  

And where in my post do you see me saying this? You can not have an account in the NYC branch of BKK bank you can only transfer to your Thai account of BKK bank from any US bank using NYC branch routing number. You can set it up yourself on your us account and your bank send 2 test amounts that you have to verifie the amounts and when that's fine you can start send. The same way you do when you send bank to bank in the us.

[morpho]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

You sure you have an account with the NYC branch or just using their "routing" number to flow funds to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch account.  

 

To use the NYC branch routing number does not require an account with them.  Maybe they just told you to use their routing number and you assumed you have an account with them?   

 

I stand corrected and my apologies all around for the misinformation. I am not well-versed in financial semantics and it has been over 5 years since I set this up and my memory of it is not the best.

 

Yes. I set up the Direct Deposit account in Thailand first and then worked with the NYC branch to have my monthly pension sent to their branch which they automatically transferred to my Direct Deposit account in Thailand. All I can say is that it has worked very well for me and I have no complaints about setting it up that way.

Edited September 8, 2016 by morpho

[chilli42]

Suggestion ... use Citibank.  You can link your accounts in the US with those in Thailand.  Have been banking at both (USA and Thailand) for years and service is very good.  If deposit two million Bhat you can upgrade your account to Citi Gold with better service ... they calculate base on the combined balance between Thailand and US.  Thai banks leave a lot to be desired.

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

Suggestion ... use Citibank.  You can link your accounts in the US with those in Thailand.  Have been banking at both (USA and Thailand) for years and service is very good.  If deposit two million Bhat you can upgrade your account to Citi Gold with better service ... they calculate base on the combined balance between Thailand and US.  Thai banks leave a lot to be desired.

I recall they have an online SWIFT capability. That's not the same thing as do a DOMESTIC ACH transfer to Thailand via Bangkok Bank New York. ONLY Bangkok Bank offers this and you can use most any U.S. bank to set up this link. 

[Jingthing]

5 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

" It's a commercial bank. "

 

Most banks in the US are retail "commercial banks."  Bangkok Bank in NY is a "wholesale bank."

 

 

 

You're correct of course.

I only meant to convey that Bangkok Bank New York is not a bank that regular expats can OPEN accounts at. I used the wrong term to convey that meaning. 

 

It goes like this.

Have ANY U.S. bank account.

It will not be a Bangkok Bank New York account.

Have a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.

Set up an ACH link to Bangkok Bank New York online from any U.S. bank account (not Bangkok Bank New York).

You use your account number from your Thai Bangkok Bank account as if it's your account number at Bangkok Bank New York, but it's not, because you won't ever have an account at Bangkok Bank New York. 

Then you can transfer money DOMESTICALLY using ACH transfer from any U.S. bank account (not Bangkok Bank New York) to flow into your Thai Bangkok Bank account via Bangkok Bank New York (where you will never have an account and never need to contact Bangkok Bank New York directly). 

 

But wait -- there's more.

You can never request a transfer in the opposite direction, your Thai bank account to your U.S. bank account on the U.S. bank online site. That will not ever be allowed with this scheme. 

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by Jingthing

[how241]

Lots of good info here, Thanks

[FatVern]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 10:55 PM, chilli42 said:

Suggestion ... use Citibank.  You can link your accounts in the US with those in Thailand.  Have been banking at both (USA and Thailand) for years and service is very good.  If deposit two million Bhat you can upgrade your account to Citi Gold with better service ... they calculate base on the combined balance between Thailand and US.  Thai banks leave a lot to be desired.

Any requirements for US citizen to open a Citi account in Bangkok @chilli42 ? I have a Citi account in US.

[chilli42]

On September 14, 2016 at 1:19 PM, FatVern said:

Any requirements for US citizen to open a Citi account in Bangkok @chilli42 ? I have a Citi account in US.

 

None that I am aware of.  That said, I have a work permit and I am not sure if that is a requirement.  Also, if you have the cash a Citi Gold account is useful.  Full on VIP service.