Transferring Money to Thailand

[Gobsmacked]

Since I arrived in Thailand nearly 8 years ago I have used the Capitol One 360 (previously ING) P2P (person-to-person) payment system to transfer money to my Bangkok Bank account (BB has a branch in NYC).

Recently, however, Capitol One 360 discontinued P2P and replaced it with a third party system called 'clearxchange.com'. Clearxchange will not make these money transfers since they are 'international' even though Bangkok Bank has a NYC branch.

I've also heard of some people using a similar process with Citibank (which has a Bangkok branch) and Siam Commercial Bank. I don't know if this process has been similarly affected and no longer works.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had this experience, and if so, what solution have they arrived at to get their funds transferred to Thailand.

[mahjongguy]

Most U.S. banks will do an ACH transfer for you for free but they have strong limits on the maximum dollar amount per transfer and per month. For me, the limits are too low.

On the other hand, brokerages usually have no fees and no limits. So, I move money as I please from my two online brokers to Bangkok Bank in New York.

[Up2u]

Transfer the money to another domestic bank or credit union such as Schwab and the do the ACH transfer to BB. Might add another day or so before you get your money.

[Trongpai]

Most US banks do ACH transfers via their web sites. Not all are free. Search via http://www.bankrate.com/ for a new bank. I use several US banks but usehttps://www.everbank.com/ as my main transfer bank with all the other banks and brokerage accounts linked. The verification process is a bit of a problem for each linked bank with the original bank first sending two small transfers and you validate on-line. The problem is doing this from Thailand. You have to convert to dollars to Baht in very small amounts for linking the Bangkok Bank NYC branch. Then some banks have an automated phone system and they don't call international. Once it's all set up it's easy and can be put on automatic.

No limits that I'm aware of other than if it's over 10,000US they report the transfer to the IRS. So what, it's my money and I'm not doing anything against the law.

Then there's http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoRegFBARFiler.html but that's another topic and also no big deal.

[mahjongguy]

From the EverBank website:
ACH Services (per customer, per month) $9.95
ACH Item Originated (per item) $0.12
ACH File Transmitted (per file) $5

I hope that the monthly fee is waived for premium customers, or perhaps only applies to Business Banking customers. .

[Gaybutton]

With use of these transfer methods, are there also fees on the receiving end when the money gets to your Thai bank account?

[mahjongguy]

from the Bangkok Bank website:

Transferred Amount

Not more than USD 50.00 $ 0.00 + 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200Bt, maximum 500Bt)
USD 50.01 – 100.00 $ 3.00 + 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200Bt, maximum 500Bt)
USD 100.1 – 2,000.00 $ 5.00 + 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200Bt, maximum 500Bt)
USD 2,000.01 – 50,000.00 $ 10.00 + 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200Bt, maximum 500Bt)
USD 50,000.01 or more $ 20.00 + 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200Bt, maximum 500Bt)

So, US$10,000 will cost $10 plus 250 baht.

It's a decent deal for large transfers ($20,000 and up) and a very very good deal for smaller transfers.

[2lz2p]

Since I arrived in Thailand nearly 8 years ago I have used the Capitol One 360 (previously ING) P2P (person-to-person) payment system to transfer money to my Bangkok Bank account (BB has a branch in NYC).
Recently, however, Capitol One 360 discontinued P2P and replaced it with a third party system called 'clearxchange.com'. Clearxchange will not make these money transfers since they are 'international' even though Bangkok Bank has a NYC branch.

I've also heard of some people using a similar process with Citibank (which has a Bangkok branch) and Siam Commercial Bank. I don't know if this process has been similarly affected and no longer works.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had this experience, and if so, what solution have they arrived at to get their funds transferred to Thailand.

I have been using Capital 360 since they acquired IngDirect (I was using P2P with IngDirect for a few years and thenCap 360 took over the operation - only discernible difference was the name change). I was also unhappy when they went to ClearXChange for the same reasons - BUT I am still using them! Gobsmacked, go to their account transfer section and select add transfer account. You will enter your name, ACH for Bangkok Bank NY Branch, and your Bangkok Bank account number here in Thailand (as I recall they didn't ask for bank name, only the account number).

Cap360 will set up the account transfer, but tell you it is not confirmed. They will send two small deposits to the account. Upon receipt, you return to Cap360 and enter the two amounts (no fee by NY Branch AND Bangkok Bank here did not charge any fee). If you have signed up for Bangkok Bank message alert for foreign deposits, you will receive a text message which shows amount of funds transferred in US Dollars, amount deducted by NY Branch for their fee, and the exchange rate used less Bangkok Bank fee (.0025) and net deposit to your account - Otherwise, you can wait till amount is deposited in your account in Baht and contact the Bank at 1333 for the information.

I did this last month. After the transfer account was confirmed, it was available to use. I then transferred US$500 to test it was working - it was. The money was deposited in my Bangkok Bank account in 3 business days. Unlike the old P2P system, there is no email confirmation procedure.


I suggest you give it a try - ONE CAUTION - see their notice below:

Important Note

You cannot transfer funds from Bangkok Bank's account in Thailand to your account with banks or online payment service providers in the US via Bangkok Bank's New York branch and the ACH system. If you initiate direct debit or ACH debit transactions to Bangkok Bank's New York branch, banks in the US and online payment service providers may suspend your account.

. The web page(s) explaining the process can be found here: http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/ ... omUSA.aspx

When Cap360 kept advising me they were going to change to ClearXChange whenever I did a P2P payment the past few months, I did some checking and, like you, found that CXC said that you cannot do international transfers and, if I recall correctly you were limited to US$2,000 - I think it was a daily limit, but might have been a longer period.

So as a backup for when Cap360 made the changeover, I set up in the same manner, for transfers to my Bangkok Bank account through the NY Branch from my Chase account. It also worked. When Cap360 made the changeover, I recalled my linking my Chase and IngDirect (now Cap360) accounts back when I first opened the account with IngDirect. That is what gave me the idea of adding my Bangkok Bank account through NY Branch ACH number as a "transfer account" - and as mentioned it worked - for the ease in doing the transfer, I probably should have been doing the account transfer all along instead of using their P2P system.

from the Bangkok Bank website:
Transferred Amount

USD 2,000.01 – 50,000.00 $ 10.00 + 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200Bt, maximum 500Bt)

So, US$10,000 will cost $10 plus 250 baht.

It's a decent deal for large transfers ($20,000 and up) and a very very good deal for smaller transfers.

Actually, I believe US$10,000 would have fees of US$10 + 500 baht (calculation:(10,000x35=350,000x.0025=875 - however their maximum fee is 500).

[mahjongguy]

Thx, 2lz2p. You're right, I applied the formula incorrectly. Fortunately, the conclusion remains true: it's a good deal for anyone who can do the ACH to BKK Bank NYC without prohibitive fees or limits.

[Up2u]

There are many financial institutions that still do not charge ACH fees. Go to nerdwallet for example to find banks with no ACH fees.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking ... ks-online/