WISE TRANSFERS

[Faz]

1 hour ago, WilliamG said:

How much was that transfer for please Gummy, as Faz says anything below about Bht40k will not show as an FTT.

I never stated below 40K.

I stated small amounts, such as 1,000 baht that your using as an example.
I showed a screenshot of transferring over 40,000 baht as an example of larger amounts.

[Faz]

44 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

I have done transfers GBP to THB both by using pre-transferred GBP in my Wise GBP account, also by transferring the GBP at the moment of transfer, and by transferring pre-converted THB. Never made any difference previously. Always arrived in my Bkk Bank at 2pm that day or the next, as an FTT.

So your not initiating the transfer from your UK bank account, which is the question @gummy has been asking. Had you done so, you'd get a different result.
Your holding a Wise account with funds already deposited, therefore it's being paid locally electronically without the need for a Foreign Telex Transfer request.

[Faz]

1 hour ago, Smithydog said:

Are they confused, likely. Does that really matter? Well, if Wise are doing or allowing that to happen to the detriment of their business, then I would suggest its to their loss. Expats needing the facility operating correctly will likely consider the value and choose to either continue with them or move to other options.

It's not Wise that's the problem, it's the way the Thai banks regulate their transfers.

If your chosen bank is Kasikorn, even when the transfer goes through Wise's Kasikorn account, the HQ do not inform the local branch it what an FTT transfer, therefore it gets coded as 'local'.
For proof of an FTT transfer you need to request a 'credit advice receipt' from you KK branch, which comes from the HQ branch, or, alternatively request a statement from KK's head office branch, which will code it as an 'International transfer'.

For Immigration purposes, I submit a number of annual extension applications on behalf of disabled foreigners and when using the monthly overseas income method, Immigration are more than grateful to accept the printable Wise PDF receipts, rather than any Thai Passbook as proof of overseas transfers.

They detail the foreign currency type, amount, exchange rate and the Thai banks it moved through to reach your account. 

[gummy]

1 hour ago, GMoney2312 said:

Your Pound is kicking my Dollars ass!

From what @JamesE has said earlier it looks like because they are holding that rate for 25 hours they are confident that on opening Monday it will not weaken so guess they are thinking the THB against the $ will actually weaken which is good news.

[WilliamG]

3 hours ago, Faz said:

So your not initiating the transfer from your UK bank account, which is the question @gummy has been asking. Had you done so, you'd get a different result.
Your holding a Wise account with funds already deposited, therefore it's being paid locally electronically without the need for a Foreign Telex Transfer request.

In the post you replied to, I stated that I have done all three methods of supplying the money to transfer, and all have arrived in the past as International transfers.

I do not understand your statement   'Your holding a Wise account with funds already deposited, therefore it's being paid locally electronically without the need for a Foreign Telex Transfer request.' 

but then in your next post say 'It's not Wise that's the problem, it's the way the Thai banks regulate their transfers.'

[WilliamG]

3 hours ago, Faz said:

I never stated below 40K.

I stated small amounts, such as 1,000 baht that your using as an example.
I showed a screenshot of transferring over 40,000 baht as an example of larger amounts.

OK, you suggested that I do a 40/65k transfer as opposed to 2 x 1000 Bht. 

However Gummy says he did Bht 1000 last week which arrived as FTT.

[Faz]

22 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

OK, you suggested that I do a 40/65k transfer as opposed to 2 x 1000 Bht. 

However Gummy says he did Bht 1000 last week which arrived as FTT.

@gummy did it on a Tuesday.

 

[Faz]

29 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

I do not understand your statement   'Your holding a Wise account with funds already deposited, therefore it's being paid locally electronically without the need for a Foreign Telex Transfer request.' 

You stated you had both baht and £££'s.
You can't have baht in a UK bank account, so it must be held in a Wise account.
Do you have a Borderless account.

[LoongFred]

On 10/9/2021 at 12:46 PM, WilliamG said:

I heard that some Wise transfers done in the last couple of days are not being shown as FTT/International transfers even though 'long term stay' option is clicked. So I just did a Bht 1000 transfer to my Bangkok Bank as I do every month and yes, it was shown as a transfer from a local bank, Kasikorn, and was instant wheras it normally takes a few hours or even a day. I have sent an enquiry email to Wise and expect an answer soon, but if this is going to be the normal from now on, a lot of us will be very disappointed, and will have to go to say Kasikorn to get a Credit advice to show to Bangkok Bank, and Immigration. 

My usual monthly transfer on 1st October came as it has done for over two years, as an FTT. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have my US social security checks go via direct deposit to Kaikorn bank for visa requirements. I do need to call them to get credit advice documents to show that it was a foreign transfer. 

When I renewed my visa I had all the paperwork but they really didn't seem to look.

Best part is I get the bank transfer rate and it always arrives between the 1st and 3rd of the month. Also, although I have a large enough balance,  I'm not required to do so.

[gummy]

15 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

I have my US social security checks go via direct deposit to Kaikorn bank for visa requirements. I do need to call them to get credit advice documents to show that it was a foreign transfer. 

When I renewed my visa I had all the paperwork but they really didn't seem to look.

Best part is I get the bank transfer rate and it always arrives between the 1st and 3rd of the month. Also, although I have a large enough balance,  I'm not required to do so.

Completely irrelevant.  This thread is about Wise transfers,  You do know who and what Wise are do you ?

[WilliamG]

41 minutes ago, Faz said:

You stated you had both baht and £££'s.
You can't have baht in a UK bank account, so it must be held in a Wise account.
Do you have a Borderless account.

I thought I had explained it properly but obviously not. Yes I do have a Borderless account, both GBP & THB sections. I send GBP, from my Nationwide Bank, into which my UK pension is paid and then convert  into THB when the rates are favourable during the month, and then at the beginning of each month I transfer THB 50,000 from that pot to my Bangkok Bank. It costs Bht 32.89 for the transfer and every time for the past two years the money has arrived at 2pm the same day if done early morning, or 2pm next day if done later in the day always arriving as an FTT in my preferred account, Bangkok Bank. Yes I do know that on the transfer note from Wise it says via local transfer, but that doesn't matter to my Immigration Officer as long as my bank statement and book show FTT/International. I have made smaller transfers now & then and they also have taken the same time and got the same coding. 

Recently members started saying that their transfers were not showing as FTT in Bangkok Bank which is why I tried the small transfers last week, unfortunately on last Saturday, not ever thinking that it would go any different way, via Kasikorn. One transfer was GBP to THB, the other THB to THB. Both arrived instantly via Kasikorn Bank as local.

My Wise account has 'tagged' my Bangkok Bank which I assumed meant that all transfers would go to that bank and not via Kasikorn.

Can't be any more specific than this.

Edited October 17, 2021 by WilliamG

[Bob20]

On 10/9/2021 at 12:46 PM, WilliamG said:

I heard that some Wise transfers done in the last couple of days are not being shown as FTT/International transfers even though 'long term stay' option is clicked. So I just did a Bht 1000 transfer to my Bangkok Bank as I do every month and yes, it was shown as a transfer from a local bank, Kasikorn, and was instant wheras it normally takes a few hours or even a day. I have sent an enquiry email to Wise and expect an answer soon, but if this is going to be the normal from now on, a lot of us will be very disappointed, and will have to go to say Kasikorn to get a Credit advice to show to Bangkok Bank, and Immigration. 

My usual monthly transfer on 1st October came as it has done for over two years, as an FTT. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

On 10/9/2021 at 12:46 PM, WilliamG said:

I heard that some Wise transfers done in the last couple of days are not being shown as FTT/International transfers even though 'long term stay' option is clicked. So I just did a Bht 1000 transfer to my Bangkok Bank as I do every month and yes, it was shown as a transfer from a local bank, Kasikorn, and was instant wheras it normally takes a few hours or even a day. I have sent an enquiry email to Wise and expect an answer soon, but if this is going to be the normal from now on, a lot of us will be very disappointed, and will have to go to say Kasikorn to get a Credit advice to show to Bangkok Bank, and Immigration. 

My usual monthly transfer on 1st October came as it has done for over two years, as an FTT. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

Yes, and I see lots of explanations here. I asked Transferwise customer services last year (before they changed name) and they told me this:

Transferwise uses a number of Thai banks. The money you send in foreign currency does not necessarily go directly to your bank but may be exchanged into baht by another bank altogether, before being sent onwards to your bank.

If you're lucky that the currency exchange took place by your own bank, it'll show as FTT immediately. Otherwise it shows as local transfer (from another Thai bank). If the exchange into THB was done by another bank than your own, you'll be able to get proof of foreign transfer through the bank where the currency exchange took place. Your own bank can tell you which bank it was. Not only handy for immigration, but also for land-office etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[Faz]

14 hours ago, WilliamG said:

I thought I had explained it properly but obviously not. Yes I do have a Borderless account, both GBP & THB sections.

That's the difference. The banks only operate 5 days a week.
Wise is 24/7 as they're not a bank.
Hence you can make a transfer on a weekend.

[WilliamG]

13 hours ago, Faz said:

That's the difference. The banks only operate 5 days a week.
Wise is 24/7 as they're not a bank.
Hence you can make a transfer on a weekend.

Where's the 'Confused' emoji?

Are specifically referring to International Transfers as we all can transfer to other banks over the weekend, both Thai & UK.

[WilliamG]

13 hours ago, Bob20 said:

If you're lucky that the currency exchange took place by your own bank, it'll show as FTT immediately. Otherwise it shows as local transfer (from another Thai bank). If the exchange into THB was done by another bank than your own, you'll be able to get proof of foreign transfer through the bank where the currency exchange took place.

And that is why many Wise customers had their account 'tagged' so that each transfer went directly to their Preferred bank, in my case Bangkok Bank. Worked flawlessly for over two years, but now somewhere in the chain my last transfers went via Kasikorn and so arrived at Bangkok Bank as a local transfer. I know I can go to Kasikorn and get a Credit Advice note, but what PITA after trouble-free transfers for so long. 

[Faz]

24 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

Are specifically referring to International Transfers as we all can transfer to other banks over the weekend, both Thai & UK.

Your not making an International transfer as you don't involve your UK bank.
Your transferring from your local Wise account which you hold funds in.

[Faz]

20 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

And that is why many Wise customers had their account 'tagged' so that each transfer went directly to their Preferred bank, in my case Bangkok Bank.

Tagging was the original method used before they created the the option to choose the reason of transfer as 'Funds for long term stay in Thailand'. Their main purpose and mission is to transfer funds as quickly as possible through whatever means.

I don't use the income method for Immigration purposes and I don't keep funds in my Wise account.
I transfer funds as required in a two step procedure.
First I notify Wise of the amount I wish to transfer in £ to THB and the reason.
Then I transfer that amount from my UK account to my Wise account.
I have a Bangkok Bank account and in 6 years of transfers every transfer has been coded as FTT.

If I submit a transfer request on a weekend day Sat, Sun, I am informed the funds will arrive in my Thai bank account on Monday. Bangkok Bank only manually update 'foreign transfer' requests at 2PM Monday to Friday (working hours).

In difference, your requesting a transfer from your Wise account, which you already hold funds in, to your Thai bank account on a weekend. Wise can therefore use your local account to complete the transfer if their is sufficient funds to meet the request. 

The Wise printable PDF will give you all the details you need of the transfer, however in your case the origin will not be your UK Nationwide account.

[Soidog]

Sorry to jump in so late on this and also to say that I don’t currently require the same requirements as some people do for immigration. However, I fully understand the issue and the need to show the transfer is coming from outside of the country for extension of visa purposes. The question I have is this: Why don’t the details shown on page 1 of the PDF receipt satisfy immigration? I’m assuming they will only accept the print out in your Thai Bank passbook which indicates (or not) the foreign transfer? 
 

I know I’m being a little silly here. But is it not possible to get a letter from your Thai bank, having shown them the receipts on your wise account (on screen I mean, not a potentially modified paper copy) and have them confirm the transfer is initially in GBP, USD, EUR? Or heavens forbid, even showing the electronic versions to the immigration office? I know, I know, but had to ask. 
 

I just checked the last couple of transfers. I made one for 45,000 baht and another for 65,000 baht in September and October to my Bangkok Bank account. Both PDF receipts show the transfer from “Local bank transfer” and the bank is “Deemoney”.  
 

I sincerely hope you can get this resolved as we all appreciate how good Wise is in terms of convenience, exchange rate and speed.   

 

 

[Soidog]

54 minutes ago, Faz said:

Tagging was the original method used before they created the the option to choose the reason of transfer as 'Funds for long term stay in Thailand'. Their main purpose and mission is to transfer funds as quickly as possible through whatever means.

I don't use the income method for Immigration purposes and I don't keep funds in my Wise account.
I transfer funds as required in a two step procedure.
First I notify Wise of the amount I wish to transfer in £ to THB and the reason.
Then I transfer that amount from my UK account to my Wise account.
I have a Bangkok Bank account and in 6 years of transfers every transfer has been coded as FTT.

If I submit a transfer request on a weekend day Sat, Sun, I am informed the funds will arrive in my Thai bank account on Monday. Bangkok Bank only manually update 'foreign transfer' requests at 2PM Monday to Friday (working hours).

In difference, your requesting a transfer from your Wise account, which you already hold funds in, to your Thai bank account on a weekend. Wise can therefore use your local account to complete the transfer if their is sufficient funds to meet the request. 

The Wise printable PDF will give you all the details you need of the transfer, however in your case the origin will not be your UK Nationwide account.

I do exactly as you do @Faz. I set up the transfer using the Wise App on my phone. Then hop in to my HSBC U.K. account and pay Wise the amount. I then hop back in to Wise to confirm I’ve made the payment. Sometimes it takes a few hours, others it’s near instant. I never checked previously what the coding was, though having checked the last two PDF receipts, both amounts have shown as local transfers from Deemoney. However, I always use the reason for transfer as “General monthly living expenses”. I have never tried the “Funds for long term stay” I will try that next time.
 

This seems a significant problem for people needing the proof of international fund transfers. there has to be a solution to this with Wise. 

[WilliamG]

1 hour ago, Faz said:

If I submit a transfer request on a weekend day Sat, Sun, I am informed the funds will arrive in my Thai bank account on Monday. Bangkok Bank only manually update 'foreign transfer' requests at 2PM Monday to Friday (working hours).

In difference, your requesting a transfer from your Wise account, which you already hold funds in, to your Thai bank account on a weekend. Wise can therefore use your local account to complete the transfer if their is sufficient funds to meet the request. 

I beg to disagree here Faz as I have in over two years ago was doing every transfer by sending from my Nationwide when asked, but then realised that changing GBP into THB at times when the exchange rate was better, and building up a balance, I could send the THB to my Bangkok Bank on the day I need it to show for Immigration, in my case 1st of every month, always ticking the 'long term option' when it started.

I have also converted GBP from my Wise balance for other transfers. In all three cases the THB have arrived in my Bkk Bank at 2pm that day, or 2pm the following day as FTTs. 

In my past experiences, it does not matter from where the GBPs come from for a transfer, the sender's UK bank or their Wise GBP balance. As I said in a previous answer, I do not want to do my 'big one' on 1st November to find it arrived instantly and not coded FTT, so that's the reason I tried a few 'small ones' this week. 

I have just done £50 from my Nationwide to Bangkok Bank with 'long stay' reason, and it arrived instantly via Kasikorn. Absolute shambles at Wise.

Edited October 18, 2021 by WilliamG

[BlueSphinx]

55 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Sorry to jump in so late on this and also to say that I don’t currently require the same requirements as some people do for immigration. However, I fully understand the issue and the need to show the transfer is coming from outside of the country for extension of visa purposes. The question I have is this: Why don’t the details shown on page 1 of the PDF receipt satisfy immigration? I’m assuming they will only accept the print out in your Thai Bank passbook which indicates (or not) the foreign transfer? 
 

I know I’m being a little silly here. But is it not possible to get a letter from your Thai bank, having shown them the receipts on your wise account (on screen I mean, not a potentially modified paper copy) and have them confirm the transfer is initially in GBP, USD, EUR? Or heavens forbid, even showing the electronic versions to the immigration office? I know, I know, but had to ask. 
 

I just checked the last couple of transfers. I made one for 45,000 baht and another for 65,000 baht in September and October to my Bangkok Bank account. Both PDF receipts show the transfer from “Local bank transfer” and the bank is “Deemoney”.  
 

I sincerely hope you can get this resolved as we all appreciate how good Wise is in terms of convenience, exchange rate and speed.   

Elsewhere, I have come across a couple of reports of long-term stayers that had a different bank than Bangkok Bank and used Wise to transfer funds to their local Thai bank-account.  Even when selecting 'Funds for long-term stay' as the reason for the transfer, the transfer code for the funds on their local Thai bank-account always showed up as 'domestic transfer', which is no surprise as it is ONLY BangkokBank that provides this info from Headquarters to their nation-wide network of local bank-offices. 

So when these long-term stayers used the monthly income-transfer method - which requires evidence that the 40K/65K funds originated from abroad -  they would normally have to visit the Wise thai partner-bank that routed their transfer to their domestic account and request the Foreign Exchange Transfer document from that bank < see my earlier post on that subject -  https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/6440-wise-transfers/?do=findComment&comment=85172  >

HOWEVER, some of those long-term stayers did NOT do that, but simply provided the Wise PDF transfer receipts together with their bank pass-book to Immigration.  Those Wise PDF transfer receipts do show the routing that the funds followed to the applicants bank-account, and the date/amount is identical with what their pass-book and the document with the 12-month transaction overview shows.   I have not come across any reports that such Wise PDF Transfer-receipts were not accepted by the Immigration officer handling the application, but it is of course possible that the occasional rogue officer would not accept anything else than the FET-document that you would have to get at the Wise thai partner-bank that transferred the funds coming from abroad to their local thai bank where you have your account.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Faz
change introduction comment.

[Faz]

20 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

I have also converted GBP from my Wise balance for other transfers. In all three cases the THB have arrived in my Bkk Bank at 2pm that day, or 2pm the following day as FTTs. 

Not on a weekend as BKK only manually process an FTT transfer on weekdays.

22 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

In my past experiences, it does not matter from where the GBPs come from for a transfer, the sender's UK bank or their Wise GBP balance. As I said in a previous answer, I do not want to do my 'big one' on 1st November to find it arrived instantly and not coded FTT, so that's the reason I tried a few 'small ones' this week. 

Oh! and Immigration are going to love you turning up with several 'smaller' transfers throughout a month to meet the monthly 'overseas' financial requirements. They hate the 'monthly transfer' method to begin with.
It's Immigration way, or the Highway. Your complicating a simple process for the sake of possibly 200 baht a month difference on the total amount required.

If you are paid through Kasikorn to your BKK account because you choose to do it your way, good luck with getting the 'Foreign Exchange Transfer' form you'll need from Kasikorn as proof the funds came from overseas. Been there done it, it's expensive and time consuming.

[Soidog]

17 minutes ago, BlueSphinx said:

On the 'other Forum' I have come across a couple of reports of long-term stayers that had a different bank than Bangkok Bank and used Wise to transfer funds to their local Thai bank-account.  Even when selecting 'Funds for long-term stay' as the reason for the transfer, the transfer code for the funds on their local Thai bank-account always showed up as 'domestic transfer', which is no surprise as it is ONLY BangkokBank that provides this info from Headquarters to their nation-wide network of local bank-offices. 

So when these long-term stayers used the monthly income-transfer method - which requires evidence that the 40K/65K funds originated from abroad -  they would normally have to visit the Wise thai partner-bank that routed their transfer to their domestic account and request the Foreign Exchange Transfer document from that bank < see my earlier post on that subject -  https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/6440-wise-transfers/?do=findComment&comment=85172  >

HOWEVER, some of those long-term stayers did NOT do that, but simply provided the Wise PDF transfer receipts together with their bank pass-book to Immigration.  Those Wise PDF transfer receipts do show the routing that the funds followed to the applicants bank-account, and the date/amount is identical with what their pass-book and the document with the 12-month transaction overview shows.   I have not come across any reports that such Wise PDF Transfer-receipts were not accepted by the Immigration officer handling the application, but it is of course possible that the occasional rogue officer would not accept anything else than the FET-document that you would have to get at the Wise thai partner-bank that transferred the funds coming from abroad to their local thai bank where you have your account.

Thanks for that @BlueSphinx . I know some immigration people can be difficult SOB’s, but there are also plenty of helpful ones. I would have thought the full PDF showing the routing would work for some. If they were concerned the document was fake, then showing the electronic version would help another layer of immigration officer sceptics. Failing that, getting something from your Thai bank should also reduce yet further difficult immigration officers? I know all of this can feel like a lottery but surely the routing is sufficient in most cases to show these funds are genuinely incoming foreign amounts? 

[gummy]

50 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

I beg to disagree here Faz as I have in over two years ago was doing every transfer by sending from my Nationwide when asked, but then realised that changing GBP into THB at times when the exchange rate was better, and building up a balance, I could send the THB to my Bangkok Bank on the day I need it to show for Immigration, in my case 1st of every month, always ticking the 'long term option' when it started.

I have also converted GBP from my Wise balance for other transfers. In all three cases the THB have arrived in my Bkk Bank at 2pm that day, or 2pm the following day as FTTs. 

In my past experiences, it does not matter from where the GBPs come from for a transfer, the sender's UK bank or their Wise GBP balance. As I said in a previous answer, I do not want to do my 'big one' on 1st November to find it arrived instantly and not coded FTT, so that's the reason I tried a few 'small ones' this week. 

I have just done £50 from my Nationwide to Bangkok Bank with 'long stay' reason, and it arrived instantly via Kasikorn. Absolute shambles at Wise.

Well my transfer today via Wise has just come through to Bangkok bank shown as international transfer as usual

[BlueSphinx]

10 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Thanks for that @BlueSphinx . I know some immigration people can be difficult SOB’s, but there are also plenty of helpful ones. I would have thought the full PDF showing the routing would work for some. If they were concerned the document was fake, then showing the electronic version would help another layer of immigration officer sceptics. Failing that, getting something from your Thai bank should also reduce yet further difficult immigration officers? I know all of this can feel like a lottery but surely the routing is sufficient in most cases to show these funds are genuinely incoming foreign amounts? 

Indeed, most Immigration officers will accept the WISE Transfer receipt as evidence that the funds originated from abroad, and if you encounter the occasional 'difficult' one you can open your Wise account on your mobile phone and show him the electronic evidence.  And if still not accepted, politely ask to speak the Immigration officer in charge to explain your case. Worst case scenario on non-acceptance is that you would have to visit the Wise partner-bank that routed the funds to your local Thai bank-account, and request the missing FETs from them.