Bangkok Bank transfer to/from USA?

[Dezmo]

I have an account with Bangkok Bank. 

Was looking for advice (lowest fees) for transfering money out/in to Bank of America (USA).

Thanks!

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Dezmo

[Thai_Law]

I would suggest getting a Wise account. Link the Wise account with your US bank account and then transfer to your Thai Bank.  For other advice, kindly check out this video to learn more about what we do. 

 

[Dezmo]

28 minutes ago, TLP said:

I would suggest getting a Wise account. Link the Wise account with your US bank account and then transfer to your Thai Bank.  For other advice, kindly check out this video to learn more about what we do. 

Thanks.. I do use Wise.. I will check it out.

[TSS]

Avoid Wise fees- open a Charles Schwab account, get their debit card one of the few that offer worldwide no atm or foreign transaction fees. They give the exchange mid rate. For monthly living expenses/visa requirement transfers, present card, passport, bank book to bank teller request the correct code entered in your thai bank book. (BangkokBank is FTT) takes 5-10 minutes, money is instantly in your account. 

[Thai_Law]

24 minutes ago, TSS said:

Avoid Wise fees- open a Charles Schwab account, get their debit card one of the few that offer worldwide no atm or foreign transaction fees. They give the exchange mid rate. For monthly living expenses/visa requirement transfers, present card, passport, bank book to bank teller request the correct code entered in your thai bank book. (BangkokBank is FTT) takes 5-10 minutes, money is instantly in your account. 

Your idea is good for one off tourists. However for frequent tourists or expats who are in Thailand often every year or full time, transferring money from your US bank account through Wise to a Thai bank account is more convenient and safer.Why? Because you can keep your foreign card locked up and safe in your room for emergencies. If you were to lose that card during your holidays or forget to take it from the ATM, it would be a nightmare and possibly holiday ending. Go cashless using your Thai bank account and pay all sellers, even street vendors and all individuals. I have countless examples of people losing access to their money in foreign accounts because of this. Using Wise to transfer to a Thai bank is 100% the most convenient and safe way to get your money to Thailand and to use it.  

[riclag]

I’ve been here using the Schwab card going on 5 years now!

Originally without getting into details with Schwab,I wanted to save Schwab  the fee by going into the teller but they said use the atm!

I use it 3x pm to take out 80k bht! I used my address in California to set up  the account and i also use travel notification on a yearly basis !

No fees is the best 

I have a  Wise and CapitalOne Accounts as a spare.

As far Transferring money out of Bangkok bank,I never done it! Ive heard Dee Money can be used for transfers to the States!

imop

[Thai_Law]

8 minutes ago, riclag said:

I’ve been here using the Schwab card going on 5 years now!

Originally without getting into details with Schwab,I wanted to save Schwab  the fee by going into the teller but they said use the atm!

I use it 3x pm to take out 80k bht! I used my address in California to set  the account and i also use travel notification on a yearly basis !

No fees is the best 

I have a  wise and CapitalOne Accounts as a spare.

imop

Sure but if you lose your cards, its a pain in the but. Thats why for frequent visitors or expats, wise to as Thai bank is best, while going cashless in Thailand. keeping all your cards at home.

[TSS]

as a long term expat, the ongoing transfer/wire fees would be a no-go but that's just me. Wife & i both have Schwab debit cards to access our joint account. Safe guarding any bank card is a given- keep them safe at home only come out when needed. Couple years ago she thought she had lost hers. Called CS's 24/7 customer service they immediately cancelled her card and FedExed a new one which was delivered to our door about a week later no charge. She later found her cancelled card and shredded it. The fact that we live outside US has never been an issue with CS. Very rarely used that Schwab card in a Thai ATM but take it to the bank teller monthly.

Edited November 19, 2023 by TSS
spelling

[Thai_Law]

9 minutes ago, TSS said:

as a long term expat, the ongoing transfer/wire fees would be a no-go but that's just me. Wife & i both have Schwab debit cards to access our joint account. Safe guarding any bank card is a given- keep them safe at home only come out when needed. Couple years ago she thought she had lost hers. Called CS's 24/7 customer service they immediately cancelled her card and FedExed a new one which was delivered to our door about a week later no charge. She later found her cancelled card and shredded it. The fact that we live outside US has never been an issue with CS. 

Most long term expats need a Thai bank account. You are acting like the fees Wise charge are incredibly high. They are not. Transfers once per month or even less often. For the convenience of going cashless in Thailand and the safety, the Wise and Thai bank combo is the best option. A week without a card for a tourist is vacation ending and a serious disaster. I've witnessed it first hand. Even for a long term expat. Seems you always need the bank card when you go out. If you say you can carry cash? Cash gets lost or stolen. Most of the guys are out partying and drinking in places such as Phuket and Pattaya. A lot can happen and I've heard and seen it all. Sorry mate. I just don't see the logic in this to save a few bucks. To each their own though. 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, TLP said:

Most long term expats need a Thai bank account. You are acting like the fees Wise charge are incredibly high. They are not. Transfers once per month or even less often. For the convenience of going cashless in Thailand and the safety, the Wise and Thai bank combo is the best option. A week without a card for a tourist is vacation ending and a serious disaster. I've witnessed it first hand. Even for a long term expat. Seems you always need the bank card when you go out. If you say you can carry cash? Cash gets lost or stolen. Most of the guys are out partying and drinking in places such as Phuket and Pattaya. A lot can happen and I've heard and seen it all. Sorry mate. I just don't see the logic in this to save a few bucks. To each their own though. 

I'm a huge fan of the Wise card

I just transfer about 10k baht at a time from my Canadian bank and use that

 

But I also think your making a bigger deal of things

 

I'm heading back to Thailand this week

 

I will take a few cards and keep them I'm different places 

 

A couple on me

1 in one bag

1 in the other bag

 

 

 

Bank of America way back shut my ATM card off and that was when it was very hard to use your card anywhere 

 

I didn't know you could do a cash advance on your CC

 

For 3 days I had to go around Bangkok trying to find places I could use credit card 

 

These days I don't use a ton of cash 

All card in Thailand 

[TSS]

"Most long term expats need a Thai bank account. You are acting like the fees Wise charge are incredibly high."

Yeah i was posting strictly as an expat but CS is tourist friendy as well due to their worldwide no fee ATM policy. It was just a suggestion based on 18 yrs. living here. Of course we have Thai Bank accounts into which our monthly expenses around 90-100K baht are transfered to. We usually pay for things with the BangkokBank or K Bank phone apps but do carry the Thai debit cards for cash withdrawals. Several friends use Wise nothing wrong with it. I don't think i put down Wise or said their fees were incredibly high. But i prefer NO fees so will carry on with CS

 

  

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by TSS

[riclag]

4 hours ago, TSS said:

"Most long term expats need a Thai bank account. You are acting like the fees Wise charge are incredibly high."

Yeah i was posting strictly as an expat but CS is tourist friendy as well due to their worldwide no fee ATM policy. It was just a suggestion based on 18 yrs. living here. Of course we have Thai Bank accounts into which our monthly expenses around 90-100K baht are transfered to. We usually pay for things with the BangkokBank or K Bank phone apps but do carry the Thai debit cards for cash withdrawals. Several friends use Wise nothing wrong with it. I don't think i put down Wise or said their fees were incredibly high. But i prefer NO fees so will carry on with CS

I agree with you on using Schwab!

 Schwab doesn’t charge Atm Fees and they also pay the recipient Bank fee ,so its free!

I have saved money annually by not paying fees. 
Do you use a Usa address for your Schwab card ?
 

 

 

[samiam123]

34 minutes ago, riclag said:

I agree with you on using Schwab!

 Schwab doesn’t charge Atm Fees and they also pay the recipient Bank fee ,so its free!

I have saved money annually by not paying fees. 
Do you use a Usa address for your Schwab card ?
 

 

That is not available to non-US residents.  That is why many of use do not mention it.

Edited November 20, 2023 by samiam123

[Thai_Law]

43 minutes ago, samiam123 said:

That is not available to non-US residents.  That is why many of use do not mention it.

I did not mention that because the original OP is from the US. However, you are absolutely correct. Once more, I would never sacrifice convenience and security to save a few bucks on what Wise charges in fees. To each their own. 

[TSS]

"Do you use a Usa address for your Schwab card ?"

yep i do use a US address for my SC account they are aware that I reside in Thailand not a problem. Outside US its ez for anyone to open Internat'l account. 
 

[TSS]

"Do you use a Usa address for your Schwab card ?"

yep i do use a US address for my SC account they are aware that I reside in Thailand not a problem. Outside US its ez for anyone to open Internat'l account. 
 

[TSS]

That is not available to non-US residents.  That is why many of use do not mention it.

 

The original post was a guy asking advice for transfering funds from US to Thailand. That's why I suggested Schwab. 

[Dezmo]

Thanks again.

I did notice that if I use my Bank of America online account to transfer and choose Thai baht there is no transfer fee else if use USD is $45 (not sure why I would choose that anyway - guess the transfer is done at Bangkok bank?).    Later I will set it up and check the exchange rate.   BAC website says:

Lock in the Bank of America exchange rate at time of initiation. Markups associated with the currency conversion are included in the Bank of America exchange rate.

 

I do sometimes use my Schwab card here when I travel and did notice the exchange rate is a little lower than if I change cash on the street but I do like the convenience (and refunded ATM fee).  I am not sure about how to use my Schwab card to transfer money but assume also that I may have to do that at the bank office I opened my account (in Bangkok).  I need to change my address and another branch would not let me ... ugh... at home I can do it at any branch or online. Guess different here. :)

I have used Wise for other payment but will check fee for larger (e..g, $10-20k).... could be pricey ?

I also do not mind bringing cash in (USD) and assume I can deposit at Bangkok Bank.  Would I need to go to the Bangkok Bank branch that I opened the account....assume I may take a hit with the exchange rate but they would accept USD?     Would they be suspect of $10-20k (I am comfortable traveling with that)?

Thanks.

[Dezmo]

On 11/19/2023 at 11:19 AM, TSS said:

Avoid Wise fees- open a Charles Schwab account, get their debit card one of the few that offer worldwide no atm or foreign transaction fees. They give the exchange mid rate. For monthly living expenses/visa requirement transfers, present card, passport, bank book to bank teller request the correct code entered in your thai bank book. (BangkokBank is FTT) takes 5-10 minutes, money is instantly in your account. 

Could you clarify this please? 

I have the Schwab card and sometimes use the ATM here. What do you mean by the correct code entered?  Is this something they can link - Schwab to my BB account so i can transfer anytime or is it a 1-time thing at the teller?

Assume I need to to the branch I opened my account or any BB branch?

[TSS]

the 'code' is the transaction code -what they enter in my Thai bankbook when any transaction takes place(deposit,withdrawal,transfers, etc.) 

I don't park the large sum in the Thai bank, instead  i bring over X amount of baht every month (don't skip even one month) for my yearly visa renewals, I need them to enter the code for "foreign telex transfer" in my book. Immigration requires the monthly income come from outside Thailand.  For BangkokBank that code is "FTT". not sure what other banks use. I have done this at other branches of BKB besides my town's branch. With Schwab no fees are incured. Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dezmo]

So using my debit card they can transfer whatever amount I tell them?

They just use the card number I assume? Thanks.

My Non-O didn'r require income when i opened it but I saw on SIam Legal website that it may on renewal but I am unsure...

[Dezmo]

I forgot to ask if you encounter a limit using your S card also... I know when I use it at an ATM I am limited to about 1,000 USD a day.

[Dezmo]

I started a little experiment tonight. I set up my Bangkok Bank account in my Bank of  America account and transfered 3,500 baht (trying to get close to $100). The exchange rate was revealed at ~34.xx and no fee since I chose Baht.

(If I choose USD the exchange rate is the same and they do not reveal the Outbound Wire Transfer $45 fee they mentioned when I set up the account... odd - wonder it shows up later.)

I looked at Wise to do the same thing. The exchange rate was 35.xx (to $1) and there was a $1.90 fee.  So overall  Wise was a little bit cheaper.

The exchange rate did not change for either for 35,000b - but the Wise fee goes up :)    

Hopefully it goes through...

[Marc26]

7 minutes ago, Dezmo said:

I started a little experiment tonight. I set up my Bangkok Bank account in my Bank of  America account and transfered 3,500 baht (trying to get close to $100). The exchange rate was revealed at ~34.xx and no fee since I chose Baht.

(If I choose USD the exchange rate is the same and they do not reveal the Outbound Wire Transfer $45 fee they mentioned when I set up the account... odd - wonder it shows up later.)

I looked at Wise to do the same thing. The exchange rate was 35.xx (to $1) and there was a $1.90 fee.  So overall  Wise was a little bit cheaper.

The exchange rate did not change for either for 35,000b - but the Wise fee goes up :)    

Hopefully it goes through...

But what about time?

 

I've only used a bank transfer once in the last 3 years to send 3mil when we bought a house because it can take 2-3 days

 

We send WISE to Bangkok Bank and Krungsi and it takes seconds, usually 

[Dezmo]

4 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

But what about time?

I've only used a bank transfer once in the last 3 years to send 3mil when we bought a house because it can take 2-3 days

We send WISE to Bangkok Bank and Krungsi and it takes seconds, usually 

I will know soon... BAC wil email me when its done. I don't mind a day or 2 but will find out.