Monthly U.S. $ pension to Baht

[Ray.Charles]

I did go to the 2nd floor of the main branch, and did speak to a lady. I also had my long haired translator with me. The bank lady was nice but couldn't tell me how to open an a/c at the NYC branch.
Did you do it from Here?

[papaguido]

The main branch in Udon is the only branch in town that has the forms and know the procedure, I suggest you speak with bank manager.

Yes it's all done from here, no need to go to NY. Initially I went to the main branch to set up my account, but as they don't provide an ATM/debt card for the account I didn't follow this procedure. Instead I opened a regular savings account with ATM/debt card and then set up direct deposit using the department of defense MyPay website.

[keg]

Can you open an a/c with the Bangkok Bank in New York without being there? The person in the local branch in Udon had no clue about it.
How do you ask the New York branch to transfer funds to the Udon branch?

You don't actually open an account with the Bangkok Bank in New York. You set up a local direct depsoit account here at your local Bangkok Bank branch. You then use the routing number of the New York bank and the account number of your local account. Your money is just routed through the New York Branch.

I set up my account the same way papaguido did and all was well for about 6 months until they sent me the letter that I posted previously directing my to set up a proper direct deposit account.

At best they are not consistant in following their own rules as intially they told me no problem using a standard savings account and as you can see, some are still using that set up.

Craig

[Ray.Charles]

Keg, do I understand correctly that Bangkok Bank has told you that you can not continue with the set-up you had earlier, the same as many others continue to have now?
"directing my to set up a proper direct deposit account"--what is that? I have a checking account with Bank of America in the U.S. which received direct deposit of my salary from my the then employer and now receives direct deposit of my pension from my now ex-employer.
You seem to say that the Bangkok Bank is making a distinction between a proper direct deposit account and a savings account? May be I am misunderstanding you.

[Pakawala]

Ray, Direct Deposit accounts at BKK Bank are 'special' only in that you cannot withdraw from them without going directly to the same bank where you set it up originally and withdraw either in cash or transfer to another account (savings w/ATM). This transaction MUST be done by YOU and only you and you must show your passport. This is Social Security's way of insuring that you are 'still alive' and is the way the US gov't has set it up with the bank.

By having an amount transferred from your B of A account to your BKK Bank savings account you by-pass the need to go to the bank each month. It is no longer a Direct Deposit from the gov't. You can go on-line with B of A and set it up to automatically transfer $XXX to your BKK Bank each month with no hassles because your direct deposit is still going to B of A.

[keg]

Pakawala has it correct. The issue is money straight from the US govt to Bangkok Bank routed to Thailand. My money is an alotment from my military pension prior to the rest being deposited in my US account, therefore it is straight from the US govt to Bangkok Bank.

Ray you can read my letter I received from them on page 4 of this thread. They do distinguish from a direct deposit account and a regular savings account for the reasons that pakawala listed and they outline in the letter.

Why I got this letter and others have not is a good question as obviously others are still using a regular savings account as I did for 6 months. I do have my accounts in Nong Khai versus Udorn, as most do on here, but that should not make a difference. The letter was from the main branch in Bangkok.

Craig

[Ray.Charles]

I am beginning to grasp bits of it, I think. My situation could be simpler; my pension is not from any government source. There has never been any requirement to produce a ‘life certificate’ to my ex-employer or a physical presence at my Bank of America (BofA) branch where the pension comes in.
I would have no problem however to present myself at the branch of Bank of Bangkok in Udon with a passport in hand to withdraw Bahts. In fact, I do not and never did have an ATM card.
I would prefer to have my pension not continue to go to BofA and then transfer it to the Bangkok Bank, because fee for such a transaction I believe is rather high, although reading another thread I understand that it can be a low $5 per transaction, but what is the benefit in paying anything to a middleman if I can have it deposited directly into Bangkok Bank.
It seems then that I should open an a/c at the Bangkok Bank in Udon and try to have my pension come into it. Also, it is only a minor hassle for me to go directly into the Bangkok Bank branch in NYC to open an a/c there when I would be in the States in June. Meanwhile, I can have the pension continue to go into the BofA, and from there transferred into Bangkok Bank.
Did I get it right?
As an aside, I am confused about the restriction on those of you receiving money from the government to open a ‘proper’ account at the Bangkok Bank and go there with your passport in hand to withdraw it. Is it because it is a ‘foreign’ bank and branch? The easy loophole to get around that seems to be to have the pension money go to a bank or credit union (udonexpat) in the U.S. and then have it transferred into Bangkok Bank. I must be missing something if the first institution has no restriction on how that money is taken out and the second institution is not aware of the original source of the money.

[UdonExpat]

There is no need for an account at the NY branch of BKK Bank. All that is needed is the ACH routing number for the bank and the name and account number of your BKK Bank in Thailand. Any branch will do. Mine happens to be on Posri Road, not far from the police station.

Step by step instructions are included in this link.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank ... om+USA.htm

[papaguido]

I am beginning to grasp bits of it, I think. My situation could be simpler; my pension is not from any government source. There has never been any requirement to produce a ‘life certificate’ to my ex-employer or a physical presence at my Bank of America (BofA) branch where the pension comes in.
I would have no problem however to present myself at the branch of Bank of Bangkok in Udon with a passport in hand to withdraw Bahts. In fact, I do not and never did have an ATM card.
I would prefer to have my pension not continue to go to BofA and then transfer it to the Bangkok Bank, because fee for such a transaction I believe is rather high, although reading another thread I understand that it can be a low $5 per transaction, but what is the benefit in paying anything to a middleman if I can have it deposited directly into Bangkok Bank.
It seems then that I should open an a/c at the Bangkok Bank in Udon and try to have my pension come into it. Also, it is only a minor hassle for me to go directly into the Bangkok Bank branch in NYC to open an a/c there when I would be in the States in June. Meanwhile, I can have the pension continue to go into the BofA, and from there transferred into Bangkok Bank.
Did I get it right?
As an aside, I am confused about the restriction on those of you receiving money from the government to open a ‘proper’ account at the Bangkok Bank and go there with your passport in hand to withdraw it. Is it because it is a ‘foreign’ bank and branch? The easy loophole to get around that seems to be to have the pension money go to a bank or credit union (udonexpat) in the U.S. and then have it transferred into Bangkok Bank. I must be missing something if the first institution has no restriction on how that money is taken out and the second institution is not aware of the original source of the money.

Actually it can't be done, my understanding is that the NY branch is not opened to the general public. I could be wrong, best to contact them.

[UdonExpat]

The NY branch of Bangkok Bank is a commercial bank and does not provide individual accounts. It provides services to commercial accounts; much as the Bank of America branch in Bangkok does.

[laphanphon]

usa social security simply asked the routing number,and will forward anywhere, except cuba or n. korea at the time. private pensions, i'm assuming depends of course. but 1st thing SS asked for, routing #, as sure it cuts their cost considerably. though i do keep mine in usa account, not forwarded here, since that is where it needs to be, in case i use atm / debit for purchases. had the account too long to change things, no advantage to, since no charges to use. keep my residense/phone all in usa, as i am a citizen and resident there, just a guest here, until i have to stop asking every year if i can stay.

[jimbo]

Pakawala, the Bank of America will not let you transfer funds internationally online if you don't have a US address. I used to transfer from BofA to my BKK account online all the time when I lived in the states. Once i moved here and changed my address to Udon, the screen for setting up transfers was blocked. I finally called them and reached a human (after many tries) who confirmed that you cannot use the online transfer feature if you don't have a US address. Silly me, I didn't think to set up a dummy address before I relocated, as I had been assured by the local branch manager that I don't need one. To make the cheese more binding, I then cleverly was going to change my address back to a friend's addy in the USA. I was told that I couldn't process an address change online, since I was out of the country. I would have to "visit my local branch office" in the USA. So I went the direct deposit to Bangkok Bank route, resulting in BofA revoking my free checking account and they started to charge me a six dollar a month service fee. Bye Bye Bank of America......

[Ray.Charles]

I got it, finally.
I should just open a savings account at the Bangkok Bank on Posri Road. Then for transfer from the U.S., I would follow the steps outlined in the Bangkok Bank website. I shouldn't have brought up Bangkok Bank, New York, and confused the lady at the Bangkok Bank here and myself. Had I understood the process when I first came here, I would have opened my account at the Bangkok Bank rather than at Kasikorn where my account is now.
As long as I would have other transactions through my checking account at BofA where the pension is going into, it would be more convenient to transfer to Bangkok Bank only as needed. Transfer cost over an year would also be less if I transfer only 3 or 4 times a year. Plan B would be to get the pension deposited monthly and directly into the Bangkok Bank account.
Jimbo, do you think that I may be able to get away with the P.O.Box as my U.S. address that I have rented for receiving a variety of letters, at least during my initial period here when I am trying to figure out what am I doing here.
I also have to hope that at the extension time, immigration would be able to see the total transfer over a year and average that to a monthly number to figure out if I did bring in enough as per their law.

[Ray.Charles]

I have been talking to my ex-employer, my credit union, Bank of America where my pension goes to, and the NYC branch of the Bangkok Bank.
You can of course wire transfer from your U.S. bank into a bank in Thailand or any bank anywhere with a SWIFT code. Assume here that you choose Bangkok Bank in NYC as the entry point of conversion of your $ into Baht.
Text from the Bangkok Bank website is in bold.
Fees (same for online and wire transfer)
Bangkok Bank in New York charges the following fees for funds transfers initiated via the US ACH system:
Transferred Amount Fee
Less than USD 50.00 Free
USD 51.00 - 100.00 USD 3.00
USD 100.01 - 2,000.00 USD 5.00
USD 2,000.01 - 50,000.00 USD 10.00
USD 50,000.01 or more USD 20.00

After the fee for the NYC branch subtracted, the $s will be converted to Baht using the Bangkok Bank’s TT rate in Thailand. Then the Bangkok Bank in Thailand will take their cut:
Bangkok Bank in Thailand also charges a fee of 0.25% of the amount in the Baht currency (minimum of THB 200; maximum of THB 500) when the funds are deposited into the recipient’s Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.

For the examples, assume that the TT rate is $1= B34.
Example1: transferring $2,000.
BB in NYC takes $5, then sends $1,995 to Thailand which is converted to (1,995 x 34) B67,830. 0.25% of that is about B170. So, in Thailand they will deduct the minimum, B200, and you will get B67,630. Therefore, your total cost for the transfer will be B370, and the effective rate of exchange will be B67,630/$2,000 = B33.815 for a $.
Example 2: transferring $10,000.
BB in NYC takes $10, then sends $9,990 to Thailand which is converted to (9,990 x 34) B339,660. 0.25% of that is about B849. So, in Thailand, they will deduct the maximum, B500, and you will get B339,160. Therefore, your total cost for the transfer will be B840, and the effective rate of exchange will be B339,160/$10,000 = B33.916 for a $.
If you are able to bring the $s into the BB in NYC without any cost, then that will be your total cost and effective rate of conversion, and you do not need to read any further.
Unfortunately for me and perhaps for some others there could be a cost to get the $s to the BB in NYC. My searches for how to get my pension $s into the Bangkok Bank in NYC:
1. Direct deposit my pension into my credit union, but they cannot transfer online.
2. Direct deposit my pension into Bangkok Bank, a free transfer from my ex-employer to BB in NYC. Conversion of $ to Baht will be immediate. This would be OK for someone living from pension check to pension check, or when each transfer is slightly to the south of $2,000, or not concerned about timing the transfer.
3. Direct deposit my pension into a Vanguard account, then transfer from Vanguard as needed into BB in NYC. Vanguard charges a small fee for wire a transfer, but provides it free for ETF (or online) transfers. But my ex-employer will send my pension only into a bank, not to an investment company.
4. Direct deposit into BofA. But, their terms for online transfers are very restrictive: limit $3,000 per online transfer (3 business days), $3 per transfer, and limit $6,000 in a rolling 30 day period.
[For, quick transfer of larger amounts, one can wire transfer; from BofA to BB in NYC for the domestic transfer fee, $25 (International wire transfer fee is $45). But, it will not be easy to trigger that from Thailand.]
Some options:
1. Keep the pension coming into BofA, and transfer online within the restrictive limits to BB in NYC, as needed. For a $2,000 transfer, add another $3 or B102 to the cost of conversion bringing the total conversion cost to B472, lowering the effective conversion rate to B33.764 for a $.
2. Let the monthly pensions pile up and then transfer in bulk by check into a Vanguard account for no-fee transfers to BB in NYC, if and when needed.

I should have probably sent this to the insomnia thread.

[Stantheman]

As a quick note, those who have access to a BOA military bank account, the international transfer fee is $25.00.

[sammyg]

Buenos Dias Khon Ray Charles and All! Ray I just finally got my BKK Bank transfers from U.S. to Udon Thani BKK Bank account finally fixed so it works and at the cost you mentioned above.I had Washington Mutual Bank in U.S. which just changed to Chase Bank which is All over at elast America now.They don't charge anything to do an online transfer to BKK Bank NY Branch,then to my account in Udon.I had deposited $2000 a month ago and money had not been deposited for nearly 2 weeks and had father in law find out why.They had to have me fill out paperwork(notarized)then scanned and emailed to them.Took about 2 days but then was deposited and second transfer took about 4 days to get in Udon BKK Bank.I wanted to get set u here before we move there permannetly hopefully in a month or so when house sale settles here.I have asked my pension company who also says that will only deposit into any U.S. Bank account and asked about directly into Bkk Bank Ny Branch and they said any bank in the U.S. so yes they would direct deposit to them.I think I will keep my account at Chase Bank in U.S. for credit cards use etc. and do almost everything online now anyway.You have to maintain a U.S. address in order to keep a bank account here I believe so keep that in mind if you have someone to receive whatever annual statement they might provide via regular mail.If it is possible to set up an account with Chase Bank from there I don't know but I just had my son added to my account so that he could take care of some bank problems and to pay his truck payment to me(oh sure he always on time too-Ha-Ha!!!).You might check about this type arrangement?I know my other bank account U.S. Bank did not do any transfers out of the U.S. unless a wire transfer and cost $40 minimum I believe I have paid many times.If you REALLY Want to Transfer your money to a NEW ACCOUNT Feel Free to wire it to ME and I promise I WILL DEPOSIT It into a New Account(maybe for YOY!)SammyG :-&

[Ray.Charles]

I wish you well in your transition.
When I contacted Chase, they told me that there will be charge of $3 for each online transfer. The limit is $10,000/transfer with a daily limit of $25,000; these numbers are a lot higher than the BofA limits of $3,000/transfer, with a limit of $6,000 in a rolling 30 day window. That makes Chase a good alternative to Vanguard.

[sammyg]

Well Ray I have yet to see any charges on Chase Banks part for any transfer of funds and not sure about limits on funds to be transferred? You must be in a different money class than I am? Unless I was building a house and needed to send all the money I have at once or will ever have those amounts seem more than adequate to me.If they don't meet your needs then HELL you don't have any problems AT ALL RAY!!! You are ONE Rich son of a gun! Congratulations on your success!!SammyG

[Ray.Charles]

I do not deserve any congratulations on the basis of my wealth; I was merely stating the terms of different sending banks in the U.S. for those of us not lucky enough to have an account at a place where they do not charge for online transfer and have no limit on transfers, practically speaking.
A $3 charge per transfer for up to $10,000 is trivial, but I did speak to a person at Chase 'Central' and that's what I heard.

[sammyg]

Ray I wasnt being a sm----ss was just saying I have as yet been chrged anything on my account as it was whatever that term is ACH or something like that which means online bank transfer between banks and you do it completely online.My USBank account did not offer such a service at all.They only have bill pay online which wouldn't work at all I don't belieive.Just wanted to suggest what I have experienced with Chase as my original bank was just bought out by them.My original Washington Mutual Bank use to charge nothing and had Free Money Transfers anywhere in the world but Chase bought them out during this banking termoil.I had BOA but did not like it at all although I know lots of people swear by them.It took me 4 years to finally close a checking account with them that I had pulled my money from but they kept charging me for insufficient funds although I closed account years before and each time they would say yes ti is close dnow.I still get shivers and expect another notice from them as I have had to pay around $250 in their late fees for managing my account that was closed years before.So I'm no big fan of most any bank especially BOA but they all can do stupid things.Did you look online to see if Chase mentioned anything about charges for ACH transfers?They have never charged me anything and said that I could easily set up my pension to be transferred to BKK NY Branch at no charge also.SammyG