Wire Transfers to LOS Bank Account

[deepthroat]

So, I've got my thai bank account (Kasikornbank PLC) and have the wire transfer form here all filled out and ready to go.

I'm bringing a fairly large sum of money with me for my expenses on my next trip, and since I've never done one of these transfers I'm nervous. I keep thinking "what if there's some screwup?" - I'd hate to have all my trip money tied up in a screwy transaction that would take a bunch of international calls to straighten out.

I'm thinking of only transferring 1/3 of the money via wire, and bringing the rest in cash and then depositing it immediately upon arrival. Just to sort of test the waters, as it were.

Anyone have any experience to offer?

[Road Runner]

There should be no reason why a bank transfer would 'screw up'.

The transfer process is automated and there is a mechanism that confirms receipt of the transfer.
The sending bank has details of the account it's going from and the amount plus it knows the account details and bank name it's going to.
In event of non-receipt the money would return to the sending account.

The only really viable reason for non-receipt would be that a mistake was made in notifying the details of the receiving account.

If you are really that worried  -  do the transfer a few days before you travel remembering the process will take something like 3 working days.

RR.

[TTChang]

I've made a number of SWIFT bank transfers from UK Bank to my Kasikorn account.   Never had a problem.  Just make sure all the receiving details are 100% correct.

I was a bit nervous about the first one, but plain sailing (and usually within 2 working days for me).

[mardhi]

Whatever you do make sure the money is SENT in your home currency (i.e. US $) and that you pay the sending bank banks ONLY. DO NOT allow your sending bank to convert it to Baht (i.e do not put your sending 150,000baht in the example below) - you will lose probably 5-8% on their dud exchange rate. The receiving bank (Kasikorn) will take the US $ and then convert it based on their TT (Telegraphic transfer) rate on the day its received. You will get a much better exchange rate.

So for example, you send $5000 - that is the amount you send and in that CURRENCY (i.e NOT Baht)
You pay the sending fees (e.g what your bank in the US charge) and the receiving bank debit their charges locally (they will do this anyway regardless of you saying you will pay both from the USA).
Kasikorn get $5000 and then convert it to Baht (e.g. 30 baht to $ - sorry not checked what actual is currently) - so you end up with 5000 X 30 = 150,000b MINUS their receving charge (typically 300-600b) so your account gets credited 149,400 b.

Hope that explains it. You also need to ascertain Kasikorns SWIFT number - just google it. Thai banks do NOT have sorting or branch codes - the first 3 digits of the account number indicate which branch holds the account but all International transfers come through their Head Office in BKK.

Cheers
Mardhi

[PigDogg]

(mardhi @ Oct. 20 2010,10:23) Whatever you do make sure the money is SENT in your home currency (i.e. US $) and that you pay the sending bank banks ONLY.   DO NOT allow your sending bank to convert it to Baht (i.e do not put your sending 150,000baht in the example below) - you will lose probably 5-8% on their dud exchange rate.     The receiving bank (Kasikorn) will take the US $ and then convert it based on their TT (Telegraphic transfer) rate on the day its received.    You will get a much better exchange rate.  

Can't emphasize enough how important Mardhi's advice is.

You want to make sure that your USA bank sends US dollars.

[Steff]

DT,
If you are nervous just send it to me. Rose and I will deposit it for you in December.  
You can trust me eh!!!

I think trying the transfer process with a small amount to determine how it works is a good idea. Then bring the balance with you in large domination AETCs and deposit it personally upon your arrival.

[EyeMahk]

Agree with all the above.

And if I were in your situation, as this is your first transfer, I'd send US$100 right now and make sure there are no quirks in the transfer. Then later, you can use the same bank and process to transfer more.

And for reasons too numerous to explain, if it is just spening money you are transferring, I'd keep each of your transfers below US$10,000.

[deepthroat]

Thanks for the advice folks.

Yes, I understand how important it is to require the US Bank to send the amount in US Dollars, so that's not a problem. Already have that box ticked on the Wire Transfer.

And the amount is under $10k so all good there too.

The remaining concerns are:

1. Don't want to do $100 wire "test" as Bank of America charges $45 per wire transfer regardless of size - that would be an expensive test.

2. I don't want to send the money now as you never know what will happen between now and my departure in January. I'd like to wait until as close to departure as possible to wire the money (in case of illness, catastrophe, red shirt uprising, etc.)

3. If I wait until the week before and send the entire amount, there really is no way to determine in time whether the money arrived correctly until landing in LOS. And that would be a nightmare if it somehow got f'd up in the works.

Ultimately, I'm just being paranoid, and I know it. I could easily just send the money and it will arrive safely, I'm 85% certain. Kasikorn gives you a nice little piece of paper with your account booklet that details the swift code and other information needed for the transfer. But some of it doesn't correspond exactly with the Bank of America wire request document so there's just that tiniest bit of uncertainty.

I'm going to wire 1/3 of the money about a week before I depart, and bring the rest in $100 dollar bills which I will shove up my anus for security purposes. Then I'll go to the bank immediately after arriving in Pattaya and deposit the now shit-encrusted bills.

Most of the above is true; can you guess which part isn't?

[Jake_Sully]

The part you borrowed from Bruce Willis's father's watch in Pulp Fiction.

[PigDogg]

(deepthroat @ Oct. 20 2010,16:03) And the amount is under $10k so all good there too.

One reason for USA citizens not to have a total of more than 10K USD in overswas account is so u don't have to file a Treasury form.

http://taxes.about.com/gi....221.pdf

Note since your Thai account automatically deducts Thai taxes, one should be able to claim the Foreign Tax Credit on your 1040. However in practice the amount is small and it is difficlt to get documentation so I didn't claim it as I didn't want to increase the chance of triggering an audit or inquiry.

[PigDogg]

(deepthroat @ Oct. 20 2010,16:03) Bank of America charges $45 per wire transfer regardless of size - that would be an expensive test.

In general, best to use big banks like BOA. If using a let's say the Shitway Bank, besides there fee and the Kasikorn fee there will probably be an intermediary bank fee from an outfit like JPMorgan Chase.

One of the cheapest transfers is using Bangkok Bank of New York. This involves an ACH (automated clearing house) transfer instead of an international wire transfer from your American institution.

Fee is 10 bucks plus 500 baht so about 25 bucks.

If you have a Fidelity account you can do this online once it is setup properly. When you open a Fido account you can get as much as 25K free frequent flyer miles for doing so, a nice bonus.

[Rick Shaw]

In the UK, there are exchange organisations like Hifx where you change your money into baht at a much better rate than banks give and then they send it to your Thai bank as baht. The advantage is that, although you get a slightly lower rate than Kasikorn will give you for sending pounds, there is no fixed charge of £30 (roughly equivalent to $45); the calculation that I did was that for sums under about £2500, it saves you money.

Yes, Kasikorn and Bangkok banks take a cut (about 500 baht for 50,000 baht, but hifx will refund that on receipt of proof.

I am sure that if we have it, the US will have something similiar. Try googling "online foreign currency exchange brokers" which is their official name.

[Rick Shaw]

Sorry - I got carried away and forgot the point of the post.

With this method, you can transfer a little bit to start with, just to test the system and then when it is proven, you can either transfer the lot using an established bank as described by other postings or transfer smaller amounts as you need them which is what I do.

If you have got your Kasikorn bank account set up correctly, you have internet access to it so that you can check your balance to make sure that everything is working before setting foot on a plane

[tropical]

You have got nothing to worry about as long as your account figures and swift codes are correct. Follow the advice Mardhi and PigDogg gave you regarding the transfer currency. I recently transferred $110,000.00 AUD for a property purchase to my Kasikorn Bank account, they emailed me the following day to confirm all was good. From memory the charges applied by Kasikorn as the reciever were minimal.

[deepthroat]

Thanks for all the great info guys. I know I'm being overly cautious but this year I'm going to bring the cash and deposit it immediately upon arrival. Why? Well.... I tried to get online access to my account, and discovered that I cannot even check my balance online at this time, because I didn't get it set up that way in advance.

To set up my Kbank account for online access, I have to give them the account number, name, my passport number, and the exact balance in the account. DOH! I don't know the balance and without that it won't let me set up online access. I emailed them and got a nice reply back that boiled down to "next time your in a Kasikorn branch just ask us to set this up for you".

So combine my inability to even view my account electronically with the fact that I THINK I used a certain password for ATM access, but cannot be certain, and I think it's best that I just show up at a branch, use my ATM card to access my account to make sure it's working properly, then go inside and deposit this years trip fund.

I'll be sure to set up online access this time so I can then view my balance from home, and when I make a wire transfer next year I'll be able to see that it worked.