Banking and Transferring funds to Thailand

[Karee 4,190]

I just got back from Thailand and wanted to start a thread about what's needed to open a bank account and transfer money to Thailand using Google Wallet.

Bank Account.

You'll want to open a bank account at Bangkok Bank for the simple reason that they are the only Thai bank that I'm aware of that has a U.S. branch where you can send ACH transfers from other U.S. bank accounts.

I opened a bank account at the Emporium Bangkok Bank branch without an issue holding a 30 day stamp in my passport. Another VJ member tried the same thing at another Bangkok Bank branch and was rejected because he didn't have a work permit. I was told the same thing back in 2004 when I tried to open a Bangkok Bank account at the Silom branch. So it seems to be important that anyone wanting to open a Bangkok Bank account, do so at the Emporium Branch. They gave me an ATM card that also acts as a debit card. They were out of the standard ATM cards at that branch when I opened the account. This is good and bad. The good thing is that you can use it as a visa card anywhere in the world. The bad thing, and this is a big one, is that you can only withdraw money at Bangkok Bank ATMs. It WILL NOT WORK at Kasikorn or any other Thai banks ATMs. I went back on Saturday to get a standard ATM card and they were still out of them. For this reason I withdrew most of my money and took it back to the U.S.

When you open the account you'll want to sign up for iBanking (Bualuang Banking.) This is online banking. You'll need a Thai address to do this. They send you you're username via SMS to the phone number provided, and they send the username to the Thai address you provided. I used my wife's parents address in Si Saket. I opened the account on Saturday, April 12, and the username didn't show up until Thursday, April 24. This took awhile for two reasons. 1. They live in Bumf*ck Isaan, and 2. Songkran was April 13-15 so that probably set the mail back.

Also, when you open this account in Bangkok, if you use the ATM card at a Bangkok Bank ATM outside of Bangkok, they ding you 15 Baht for every ATM withdrawal. Also, if you do anything like deposit money at a Bangkok Bank outside of the region where you opened the account they ding you as well for a percentage. It's a weird thing, but like many things in Thailand, that's how it is and probably wont change anytime soon.

Online Banking.

They seem to think that mobile phone banking is more secure than regular PC based internet banking for some reason. Because of this, anytime you add transfer recipients online, or want to transfer money online they ALWAYS send a SMS with a PIN to complete the transfer. This can be a problem if you're in the U.S. However I just tested the SMS roaming, and I'm able to receive SMS messages on my phone using an AIS 1-2-call prepaid SIM on my phone here in the U.S. You can topup your AIS 1-2 call from the U.S. using a credit card here:

https://aiseservice.ais.co.th/eServiceWeb/

You can also use this to topup other peoples phones in Thailand if you feel the need. This website gave me problems using a U.S. credit card but it worked using my Bangkok Bank debit card.

Also, they have a thing called "Term Hai Na" wher you can send money from your phone to topup another phone. Here is the info on that:

http://www.ais.co.th/12call/en/fill-money-service.html

The reason that the above are important is that if you don't use your prepaid number for a certain amount of time, they disconnect it, and this will lead to all kinds of issues with the Ibanking etc. So you want to occasionally put 20 or 50 baht on the phone whether you do it via credit card or via a friend. I've also seen people selling the scratch cards online in the U.S. but they seemed really expensive.

Now that you have the Bangkok Bank account all setup, you might want to send money to it from the U.S. This is good because you can transfer money to other Thai bank accounts online. If you have a Thai spouse, you're going to be sending money back to the family in Thailand on occasion. I've figured out how to do this completely free using google wallet. You'll need to google accounts.

On the first account, link it to your U.S. bank account. Google will send a test deposit and after a couple days it will show up in your U.S. bank account and you go back and verify the test amounts that Google deposited. Once you do that, you can send money to and from that account pretty easily for free.

The second account is a little trickier. You'll use the ACH number for Bangkok Bank in New York (026008691) and your Bangkok Bank account number. It also asks for the name on the Bangkok Bank Account. Make SURE you set this up exactly the same as the name on the Bangkok Bank account. The Thai banks like to use the full name including middle name. For example if your name is John Michael Smith, that's how you need to to send the money. Not John Smith. Anyway, Google will do the same thing with the test deposits. However, these will show up in your Bangkok Bank account in Thai Baht. You'll just need to call Bangkok Bank and ask them for the U.S. amount so you can enter it in Google Wallet to verify the account.

I sent $50 using this method last Thursday to my Bangkok Bank account and it still hasn't shown up online in Thailand yet, but I suspect it will tomorrow (Monday)

I know all this seems somewhat complicated, and it is, but once you setup it up the first time, you can then fund your own account in Thailand and distribute money at will by simply sending an email from one Gmail account to the another and attaching money to the email. You can pay Thai bills online etc.

I want to give special thanks to AaronLV. He pointed me in the right direction as far as topping up AIS phones online.

[Jamnan_n_Steve 17]

Thanks for putting this together. I am not sure if subsequent iBanking transfers get a sms passcode or only the first one to each account, I think the latter. Inter bank transfers are not free but cost 15 baht to send. Not sure if the exchange rate is very good; we send on a three-day free transfer from Citibank and the exchange rate never seems to be as much as I thought it should be. If you are linking to a u.s. bank and they send two test deposits you will need to back out the dollar amounts from the baht amounts - unless you luck out use a spreadsheet.

Steve

[slowlyman 118]

Thanks Karee.

Just curious, why go to the trouble of setting up your own account in Thailand. Why not just have your wife set one up?

[Karee 4,190]

Thanks Karee.

Just curious, why go to the trouble of setting up your own account in Thailand. Why not just have your wife set one up?

Because she's Thai, and I don't trust Thai people.

Edit:

Ok maybe that's a little harsh. Let me give you a scenario.

I transfer 10k baht into my wife's Thai bank account. 3 days later it's gone because she fell for every sob story from every relative over there and now she needs to send her mom money for something legitimate? Do I tell her no, I'm not doing that because you blew the first 10k?

You married a Thai, so trust me you're going to fight this battle until one of you is dead or you're divorced. Mostly because of her family, not because of her.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Karee

[Karee 4,190]

Thanks for putting this together. I am not sure if subsequent iBanking transfers get a sms passcode or only the first one to each account, I think the latter. Inter bank transfers are not free but cost 15 baht to send. Not sure if the exchange rate is very good; we send on a three-day free transfer from Citibank and the exchange rate never seems to be as much as I thought it should be. If you are linking to a u.s. bank and they send two test deposits you will need to back out the dollar amounts from the baht amounts - unless you luck out use a spreadsheet.

Steve

More than likely that's Citibank screwing you on the exchange rate. I've always found the Thai bank exchange rates to be pretty fair.

As far as the 15 baht, that's more than likely an inter-provincial transfer fee. I forgot to include that little tidbit in my post. If I open a bank account in Bangkok at Bangkok Bank and then use a Bangkok Bank ATM in another province to withdraw money, they ding me 15 baht. If I withdraw the money at a Bangkok Bank ATM in Bangkok it's free. Also, I had someone deposit 362,000 THB into my mother in law's account at a Bangkok Bank in Isaan. I then withdrew this money at the same branch in Isaan in deposited into my account. The charged me roughly 300 baht for this. Later that afternoon I transferred 150k to someone else's Bangkok Bank account to pay for some land I was dinged another roughly 150 Baht for the privilege.

Concerning the test deposits, I had to call Bangkok Bank in Thailand and they actually told me what the exact U.S. dollar amounts were over the phone since it only shows up in THB online.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Karee

[slowlyman 118]

Because she's Thai, and I don't trust Thai people.

Edit:

Ok maybe that's a little harsh. Let me give you a scenario.

I transfer 10k baht into my wife's Thai bank account. 3 days later it's gone because she fell for every sob story from every relative over there and now she needs to send her mom money for something legitimate? Do I tell her no, I'm not doing that because you blew the first 10k?

You married a Thai, so trust me you're going to fight this battle until one of you is dead or you're divorced. Mostly because of her family, not because of her.

But True. I thought my wife was the only one.

Edited April 28, 2014 by slowlyman

[AaronLV 12]

Thanks Karee.

Just curious, why go to the trouble of setting up your own account in Thailand. Why not just have your wife set one up?

One of the primary reasons to have the bank account in your own name is if you ever plan on doing an extension of stay based on marriage and you want to qualify based on having money in the bank vs having income. They require that the account with the 400K be in your own account, NOT a joint account. Yes this is completely stupid because the money is suppose to be used as living expenses for the family.

[AaronLV 12]

It was great talking to Scott, unfortunately we weren't able to meet up, but hopefully on his next trip.

Great information Scott, I have just a few other items to add.

Every branch seems to be different on what is required to open a bank account, I originally did mine the 30 day stamp, but I had to go to two different banks. Having a Non-O visa simplifies it and makes it fairly easy at most of the branches, however some will still insist on a WP. Don't argue just move on to another branch.

The fees when using a Bangkok Bank outside of the province you opened it in are annoying. They also charge you even if it is your account at Bangkok Bank in both provinces, and they cap the daily ATM withdrawal limit outside your home banking province so you have to pay more per withdrawal. However there is no charge for using the card as a debit card at the retailers outside your home bank, but it is not like US where everyone accepts the card, and does not add on a fee. (I see the additional 3% fee for CC/Debit less and less now then I did a year ago).

As for Currency rates, Bangkok bank seems to be some of the best rates using the ACH method vs Wiring funds, when you factor in the cost to wire the funds. What tends to kill the exchange rate on the transfer and what the majority of people do, is wire the funds in the countries currency rather than sending in USD. There is a check box on the wire form that asks if you want to send in USD or Currency. If you don't wire money often (international especially), your bank will help you fill out the form, and they will ALWAYS check send in the countries currency.

ALSO remember you can only transfer INTO Thailand, you cannot transfer back out.

[Karee 4,190]

One of the primary reasons to have the bank account in your own name is if you ever plan on doing an extension of stay based on marriage and you want to qualify based on having money in the bank vs having income. They require that the account with the 400K be in your own account, NOT a joint account. Yes this is completely stupid because the money is suppose to be used as living expenses for the family.

Good point. I think it has to be in there for 90 days as well.

[Karee 4,190]

ALSO remember you can only transfer INTO Thailand, you cannot transfer back out.

I'm glad I checked with the bank concerning this before I left Saturday. For this reason I took most of my money out and brought it back to the U.S. I'll put it back 90 days prior to applying for a Non-O.

[AaronLV 12]

Good point. I think it has to be in there for 90 days as well.

60 days for a Marriage extension. 90 days for retirement and has to be 800K. I know a few guys who just do the retirement extension even though they are married as the paperwork is less of a hassle. If you aren't planning on working and have the money, retirement is the way to go.

[AaronLV 12]

I'm glad I checked with the bank concerning this before I left Saturday. For this reason I took most of my money out and brought it back to the U.S. I'll put it back 90 days prior to applying for a Non-O.

You don't need it when applying for the Non-O Visa in the US. Just need to submit a bank statement showing at least 1000 USD in the account. You need the 400K when you apply for the extension of stay once in Thailand and your Non-O entry is running out. Some of the embassy's close to Thailand are now requiring proof that you have 400K in the bank to get the Non-O but not in the US.

[Karee 4,190]

So I sent my mother in law 100 baht as test transfer. They sent her a text message. For some reason she took this to mean that she only had 100 baht left in her account and didn't sleep the whole night. My wife straightened that out.

Also, on the way out of town I slipped her dad 2000 baht. Apparently the entire village got smashed on Lao Khao thanks to my 2k. The father and all his friends got hauled in front of the Poo Yai Baan for stealing a chicken. One guy ended up in the hospital after his wife kicked his a$$ for being so wasted.

I'm definitely reconsidering building a house in that village.

[slowlyman 118]

So I sent my mother in law 100 baht as test transfer. They sent her a text message. For some reason she took this to mean that she only had 100 baht left in her account and didn't sleep the whole night. My wife straightened that out.

Also, on the way out of town I slipped her dad 2000 baht. Apparently the entire village got smashed on Lao Khao thanks to my 2k. The father and all his friends got hauled in front of the Poo Yai Baan for stealing a chicken. One guy ended up in the hospital after his wife kicked his a$$ for being so wasted.

I'm definitely reconsidering building a house in that village.

In a couple months, you'll be one of the boys.

[TEX_715 6]

I think I am going to get a charles schwab debit account and send the card to TH for free instant ATM withdrawl. The TT rates it pays are higher than bank rates, you basicly lose nothing. I can fill the debit account from my CC using amazon pay (1,000 free per month) and get 2% rewards on top.