UK State Pension Claim Form BIC & IBAN for Direct Deposit

[UniqueWord]

Hi, this is to request confirmation of what I now understand on this subject.

I want to make sure any UK State Pension to which I'm entitled gets paid correctly, quickly and at a decent Fx rate.  Naively I started a new topic on "UK Pension Payments in Thailand", which generated a good number of replies.  One of my questions was about the BIC and IBAN numbers that's requested on the Claim Form.  Both of these numbers are new to me.  My other question was about opening a bank account in UK as a non-resident and that was overwhelmingly answered as NOT possible.

Anyway I learned that BIC is the SWIFT code, with which I am familiar, and Google confirms this as being covered under ISO 9362, so that just leaves IBAN to worry about.  A link was given by Oxx on 16 Sep to Bangkok Bank's London operation with instructions for claimants to follow, but they appear to be cumbersome, and not surprisingly, to in part justify BBL London's existence.  After deciding this was not for me, I posted again about IBAN, but later found that the thread had been peremptorily closed to further replies, presumably due to a spirited debate taking place on the legality and morality of UK Gov't's exclusion of LoS from annual pension increases, and some member's opposing views on falsely claiming UK residence to circumvent this.

Thanks for answering both the BIC and UK Bank account questions.

I've now discovered that there is only one UK Pension topic on TVF, which runs to around 2,600 posts.   Kind of like 'One-Stop Shopping'.  At first I tried wading thru it, but at page 6 tried to find a better way.  TVF Help advised me to use 'search' within the topic, and I was able to make better progress in my quest for IBAN.

I now know that Bangkok Bank (which has been my bank since 2004) does not use IBAN, but have learned more stories, the majority supporting my initial decision on BBL London.  However one member's story is alarming because it appears through no fault of his own that DWP just could not get it right.  This is the type of FUBAR I would like to avoid.

 

From Google on Bangkok Bank and IBAN, the following excerpt from their website is obtained:

Bangkok Bank > Personal Banking > Transfers > Transferring into Thailand
Frequently Asked Questions,  Answer Number 14:

What is an IBAN? 
IBAN stands for ‘International Bank Account Number’, a code offered to an individual or company in European countries only. Bangkok Bank doesn’t have IBAN and the remitter does not have to specify an IBAN in the payment instruction to Bangkok Bank. Remitters must specify Bangkok Bank’s SWIFT code: BKKBTHBK when sending funds to Thailand.

 

So to summarise, the two numbers which are required to be inserted on the Claim Form are:

BIC is the SWIFT code for Bangkok Bank, and IBAN is not required.

Have I got it right?  Cheers, UW.

[Xircal]

Yes that's correct. Thailand hasn't caught up with the rest of the world yet and doesn't use International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN). More info and tips for transferring funds to Thailand from the UK here: Bangkok Bank

[KittenKong]

5 hours ago, UniqueWord said:

My other question was about opening a bank account in UK as a non-resident and that was overwhelmingly answered as NOT possible.

 

Actually that's wrong. It is possible. And you could also open an offshore UK bank account that will allow BACS/FPS transfers.

 

Anyway, as for your question in this thread, if you transfer via Bangkok Bank in London you are not making an international transfer from the UK. You are making an internal UK transfer to Bangkok Bank via BACS/FPS, and they are making the international transfer to here.

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

 

You dont need to give the pension people either an IBAN or SWIFT code for this, just Bangkok Bank's UK sort code and account number (both of which are actually part of the IBAN).

 

Your other option is to give them the SWIFT code and account number for your Thai bank account here, and the pension people will transfer the money directly to your Thai bank account, without going via Bangkok Bank in London at all. You would need to study the likely costs and exchange rates to work out which will be the best value in your case, though I suspect that it will be cheaper to get the pension sent directly here.

[chiang mai]

The best explanation I could find follows:   IBAN -> is International Bank Account Number. The number is constructed in such a way that it uniquely identifies your account in the world. I.e. it has a country in it, Bank (and branch) and the actual account number. This is an international standard adopted by the EU, Australia and NZ. Going forward it would be sufficient to just quote the IBAN for payment without any other details. BIC, SWIFT Code, SWIFT BIC, SWIFT ID [all mean the same] is a Bank Identifier Code [More correctly Business Identifier Code] that is again an International standard and used on all International payments. The SWIFT BIC is constructed as 4 Chars Bank Code [As issued by SWIFT] 2 Chars of Country Code [ISO Country Code standard] 2 Chars of Location Code [Issued by SWIFT in consultation with country] 3 Chars of Branch Code decided by the individual Bank [This is optional] Hence SWIFT BIC can be 8 Chars or 11 Chars. The additional 3 Chars help bank identify the Branch where the account is held and where the payment needs to be made. So LOYDGB2L is the main head office BIC LOYD-> Lloyds TSB GB-> Great Britain 2L->London If your branch is, say, in Canary Wharf, the SWIFT BIC would be LOYDGB21 [21-> Canary Wharf] with a 3 digit branch added.

[Oxx]

On 05/10/2016 at 6:03 AM, KittenKong said:

Actually that's wrong. It is possible. And you could also open an offshore UK bank account that will allow BACS/FPS transfers.

 

People keep asserting that it's possible to open a UK bank account as non-resident.  Perhaps you'd care to name a bank in the UK which will open an account for someone resident in Thailand? I can't find one.

[chiang mai]

3 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

People keep asserting that it's possible to open a UK bank account as non-resident.  Perhaps you'd care to name a bank in the UK which will open an account for someone resident in Thailand? I can't find one.

 

With enough money a non-resident  can open one anywhere.

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

 

With enough money a non-resident  can open one anywhere.

 

In that case, would you care to name even a single UK bank which will accept a wealthy expat living in Thailand as a customer?

[SaintLouisBlues]

2 minutes ago, Oxx said:

In that case, would you care to name even a single UK bank which will accept a wealthy expat living in Thailand as a customer?

You might find that the local branch of Citibank, if you were a customer there, would facilitate you opening an account with their UK bank. Ditto Standard Chartered locally via their "expatriates" services. Since the Western banks have all adopted (by necessity) a "know your customer" policy, opening an account remotely without some sort of formal introduction is increasingly difficult. I dare say other banks such as HSBC are the same, but I chose two international banks that operate in Thailand as the most likely source of help - always assuming your question was a genuine one

[KittenKong]

On 08/10/2016 at 7:44 AM, Oxx said:

 

People keep asserting that it's possible to open a UK bank account as non-resident.  Perhaps you'd care to name a bank in the UK which will open an account for someone resident in Thailand? I can't find one.

 

Investec is one, and it's not the first time I have mentioned them. Also look at some of the Indian banks. There are others.