Those who use Bank of America to transfer funds through Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd, the agreement which both parties had is now null and void as of the 25th of Jan., 2009. This is the reason you can not transfer funds from your account at Bank of America to your Bangkok Bank account here in Thailand. Will be another agreement, I have no Idea, I'm just hoping they do. There are a lot of Thais that use Bangkok Bank in USA that might be pulling the plug on Bangkok Bank.

Pop's

That's a better explanation than I got from Bank of America.

Had been transferring funds online from Bank of America to Bangkok Bank, New York branch then to our Udon account number for past almost three years at $3 per transaction but now no longer able to complete transactions. Called Bank of America last week and they gave no good reason for it but just said it wasn't allowed. They said we could use international wire transfers but had to go back to the US to set it up. They said setting up the wire transfers can't be done from overseas even though there is a Bank of America branch in Bangkok. Looks like we're forced to use our Bank of America ATM cards with high fees for the time being. Deposited a personal check (Bank of America account) with Bangkok Bank yesterday and it will take up to 45 days to clear, according to lady at main Udon office.

Planned on making a trip back to the states in late summer anyway but might have to move it up some. Definitely don't want to make a trip back there (Michigan) in February.

Polehawk, you might want to use the atm at Aek Udon Hospital, may not cost you, don't know. Try and find out if it does. The no fee may only be for those who use their atm cards from credit unions.

Pop's

polehawk wrote:That's a better explanation than I got from Bank of America.

Had been transferring funds online from Bank of America to Bangkok Bank, New York branch then to our Udon account number for past almost three years at $3 per transaction but now no longer able to complete transactions. Called Bank of America last week and they gave no good reason for it but just said it wasn't allowed. They said we could use international wire transfers but had to go back to the US to set it up. They said setting up the wire transfers can't be done from overseas even though there is a Bank of America branch in Bangkok. Looks like we're forced to use our Bank of America ATM cards with high fees for the time being. Deposited a personal check (Bank of America account) with Bangkok Bank yesterday and it will take up to 45 days to clear, according to lady at main Udon office.

Planned on making a trip back to the states in late summer anyway but might have to move it up some. Definitely don't want to make a trip back there (Michigan) in February.

Ron,

Is your ATM a debt card (Visa/MC)? If so, go to your local bank & have them do a Cash Advance using your debt card. I tried it with SCB earlier this month, I wasn't charged a transfer fee. but got hit with 1% International Transaction Fee (or conversion fee). Transfer the funds directly into your local account and ensure they use the bank code that indicates funds were transferred from abroad.

Might check with your local & stateside bank for any fees and of course you'll need your passport.

Rito I also pay a 1% transaction fee the charge is from Master card not my credit union
it seems every one want to get in to your pocket nothing we can do about it

It doesn't look like I'm getting hit with a fee on this end, Pop's. Bank of America stateside charges my account $5 PLUS the 1% for every transaction and thought it was a bit over the top. I will try the ATM at AEK Udon next time I'm there.

Rito, I am using a stateside debit card so will give the Cash Advance at Bangkok Bank a try, also. Have to wait now for the personal check I gave them to clear first.

Thanks for the info, guys. Seems crazy to have to make a trip back to your home country just to set up the international wire transfer (with pin code access) but suppose the banks would say that they're looking out for our best interests. It's good to know that there are some other alternatives.

Well, with my military retirement, I just make out an allotment going to the savings account here. It still has to go through Bangkok Bank in New York though, have to use their routing number.

Pop's

To bad about the B of A agreement. That was the best deal I've seen for getting your money here. I was going to set up an account with them and Bkk bank, but to late now.

Ron, I use wire transfers to keep those fingers from going too deep into my pockets.

Of the 3 ways I've gotten money here (ATM, Visa Card and Wire Transfer), I've found the wire transfer the best method as long as I transfer over $3,500. USD at a time.

For an example, let's say the current rate of exchange is 35 Baht to $1.00 USD, and I want to bring in $5,000.00.
At 35Bt to 1USD I should get 175,000 baht.

ATM card: My bank charges me no fee's but I've found that I always get a slightly less baht to dollar rate than what the bank's are posting for the current rate. The difference can be anywhere from .5 to 1 baht less than the posted rate that day.
ATM: gives me 34.5 to 1.
I get: 172,000 baht.
My cost: 2,500 baht or $71.42 USD

VISA card/cash at bank: As stated before, 1% charge.
After the fee the bank gives me 34.65 to 1.
I get: 173,250 baht.
My cost: 1,750 baht / $50.00

Wire Transfer: Flat fee of $35.00
After the fee the bank gives me 34.75 to 1.
I get: 173,775 baht.
My cost: 1,225 baht / $35.00

Since the wire transfer is a flat fee, the more you transfer, the better your rate-
Transfer $10,000.00
After the fee: 34.87 to 1.
- transfer more, the rate gets closer to the actual posted exchange rate of 35 to 1.


Polehawk, What are the fee's for writing a personal check? I was told by a teller at Kasikorn bank that she thought the fee was 5%!

If someone knows of a better way to get the best exchange rate (other than bringing in cash) please let us know!

Just add to the above, assuming the rate is 35 and using $5,000 cash:

USD (50 -100) notes
Rate received: 34.615
I get 173,075 baht
My cost 1,925 baht

USD (5 - 20) notes
Rate received: 34.185
I get 170,925
My cost 4,075 baht

USD 1 dollar notes
Rate received: 33.845
I get 169,225
My cost 5,775 baht

Above based on current Kasikorn Bank differentials and assuming no additional fees.

Mr Natural, my understanding is that the total fee will be 1.5 %. I had to pay .5 % of the check amount (350 baht of $2000) when I handed the check over to the lady at the Foreign Exchange desk. Her English was limited but I understood from my wife's translation that when the check clears the bank will deduct another 1% of the check amount. The exchange rate, according to my receipt, is 35.07 baht to $1. Won't be positive about these fees and rate until the check clears, of course.

Based on your examples above, the fee for writing a $5000 check @ 1.5 % would be $75. Looks like the int'l wire transfer would be the best way to bring money in unless someone knows a better way, as you said.

Food for thought for anyone planning on retiring here would be to set up the international wire transfer with your bank.

At Kasikorn Bank,I write a check from my USA account,they charge a $10 fee,it takes about 6 weeks to be in my account here and I get the Thai Bank rate posted on the day it goes into my account!

It usually takes about a week for the check to be charged to my USA account,but the rate is not converted at that time!

I have done 3 times in the last few years all for different amounts of $50K,35K and 20K!

Possibly save yourself $10.00

Those of you who are past members of the US Military, should have your Bank of America account registered with the 'Military' branch of the bank. By do so, you will only pay $25 for all international wire transfers rather than the $35 stated above.

Other bank services offered by the Bank of America, Military Account will be cheaper as well. Take advantage of your prior military service if you're dealing with this bank.

seeing some of these fees you all are paying for the bank to give you, YOUR MONEY, after of course it sits in there computer and makes money for them..........................folks.....time to change banks.

my bank/brokerage account charges me......................- 0 -...............for atm/cash advance/debits, i have no yearly/monthly/per use fee of any kind, and even earn interest, well, no worth mentioning. free checks/checking. WHY ARE YOU PAYING TO HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR OWN MONEY.



i use Fidelity Investments, USA, they have forms for international customers, but haven't got a clue, and also insured via FDIC.

lot of the Miltary retirees here use Pentagon Federal and then a automatic transfer right into Bank of Bangkok New York might check with the Service Officer might eb a better way.

Any member of the VFW can set up an Account with Pentagon Federal, you don't need to be retired military. You can sit up the account on line no need to travel to the states.

Just a thought

I use my credit union's on line bill pay service to send money to my local Bangkok Bank account through the NY branch. The credit union has no fee and Bangkok Bank charges their standard rates depending upon the amount transferred, as follows:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank ... SA+Fee.htm

It seems the current problem is just with Bank of America. I have dealt with them in the past and found them to be a rip off as they wanted to charge fees for almost everything.

My advice is the same as git, find a credit union you can join on line and set up your finances through them. In all likelihood, you'll save money and grief over the long run. Modern credit union membership rules are much more inclusive than in the past. Before they were pretty much employer based but have expanded greatly in recent years to sometimes include ZIP codes, cities, counties, military service, etc. They are also safer than banks because the ways they can invest their money is more regulated. The people who join the credit union own it, so they tend to be more customer friendly, and your voice is more likely to heard when you have a complaint or suggestion.

My credit union charges no fee on its debit card use and from the exchange rate I get, there is no foreign transfer fee charge. So, the only fee I pay is the ATM on this end if there is one. Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn, and Bank of Ayudhya ATM's don't charge a fee; Siam Commercial does.

Writing checks works, but as noted above the banks place a hold on the money while they draw interest on it for about a month. That rip off is enough to keep me away. It's not the amount of interest I'd forgo, just the principle of being forced to lend them the money. A few years ago I tried this and the check cleared in the US in 6 days. It wasn't available to me for nearly 40 days.

The debit card withdrawal at a bank's counter works well and the banks have varying policies about the fees. I got 200,000 THB at Bank of Ayuhdya with no fee. At Bangkok Bank the same amount cost me 100 THB. As this was with my credit union debit card there was no foreign transfer fee. I did find that the banks didn't want to transfer more than 200,000 at a shot. I needed 400,000 that day so had to use two banks. This was about 6 years ago, so fees and amounts may have changed since then.

The US banking industry has recently perpetrated a huge fraud on the rest of the world and we should divest ourselves of their services. Use credit unions!!

I keep $50 in a Citibank account just because I hope it costs them more to maintain the account than the $50 earns for them. Down with Citibank!! And BofA, too!!