bangkok bank fcd account

[farlong68]

has anyone had a chance to use the Bangkok bank foreign currency accounts let me know of your thoughts about them fees seems to be inline according to what they list on line delays in transfer of funds from states ie social security or reg. bank transfers please share you thoughts good or bad... sincerely john

[vincemunday]

Had mine a while now and have found it to be quite simple to use, as long as you go to a proper branch, the one in Central Plaza is bit of a nightmare, they don't really know what they are doing with this type of account. Transfering in money is prompt and quite simple, my bank HSBC only charges me £4.50 for the transfer and as the money is held in the original currency you can pick and chose when you want to convert it to baht, again best done at a main branch. When I've done my conversions I've found the rate they give me is slightly better that the Forex rates but not much. We use the branch that is at the junction of Phosri and the Udon Thani prison, the young lady there, I think her name is Beer, knows her stuff and makes all the transactions nice and simple.

[farlong68]

thanks for your insight just getting ready to transfer some coins around after the move sincerely john

[thighlander]

I haven't done it, but I looked at it a few years ago....seems like there were some surprise fees, as well as not getting g the TT rate, but their own exchange rate. IMO, getting direct deposit pension checks to your BKK bank account in any currency is a mistake. You have to personally sign for US social security payments. Best to get them deposited in a bank like capitalone360 and periodically transfer for free to BKK bank new York or London. You could even have automatic transfers set up that might get your spouse an extra few years after you die.

[thighlander]

BTW, with a million THB, you can get preferred status at CIMB, which allows you a lot of seamless business in ASEAN..and no inter province fees in LOS. Free ATM use at any Thai ATM. Letter to Immigration is 100 and free ATM card, and after first year, 100 per year. Interest rates significantly better than BBL. I keep BBL for the transfers...but nothing else.

[semperfiguy]

I haven't done it, but I looked at it a few years ago....seems like there were some surprise fees, as well as not getting g the TT rate, but their own exchange rate. IMO, getting direct deposit pension checks to your BKK bank account in any currency is a mistake. You have to personally sign for US social security payments. Best to get them deposited in a bank like capitalone360 and periodically transfer for free to BKK bank new York or London. You could even have automatic transfers set up that might get your spouse an extra few years after you die.

Thighlander, I've had the USD FCD accounts at BKK Bank for a few years now, and I think it's great. They will use the TT Buying rate to exchange your USD to Thai Baht, and that's the absolute best exchange rate one can get. I also have the CapOne 360 Online Savings, and even though the transfer of USD to BKK Bank in New York is free, BKK Bank will then charge a fee in New York to process it on to Thailand, and then another fee that will not exceed 500 Baht once it reaches your Thailand account. The fee schedule can be found on this link:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/ ... omUSA.aspx

I'd say it's only wishful thinking to plan on a spouse getting a few extra years of a US citizen's SS payments after ones death unless it's done legally by way of Surviving Spousal Benefits. I spoke with US Citizen Services at the US Embassy Bangkok a few years ago, and as part of their protocol when processing the death of an American citizen abroad they will automatically notify SS of the death and payments will be stopped. So, no chance to beat the system!

[thighlander]

Are you saying you get the TT rate anytime with no ey from your FCD account? Also, you pay the sane fees for your SS check as I would at bangkok bank new York and one it reaches here. Even if it doesn't appear as a line item in your book...it is there or rather not there, lol. Do a quarterly transfer and cut the fees by about two thirds. I am 8 years from SS, but it might be helpful if you state how much in Dollars they take from your check, to get it here in Dollars.

[semperfiguy]

Are you saying you get the TT rate anytime with no ey from your FCD account? Also, you pay the sane fees for your SS check as I would at bangkok bank new York and one it reaches here. Even if it doesn't appear as a line item in your book...it is there or rather not there, lol. Do a quarterly transfer and cut the fees by about two thirds. I am 8 years from SS, but it might be helpful if you state how much in Dollars they take from your check, to get it here in Dollars.

Yes, any time you exchange your dollars into Thai Baht from a USD FCD account you get the TT Buying Rate. I have online access through their ibanking and I also have a Thai Baht account. I can see both of these accounts on the same online account, and I can exchange and transfer dollars to my baht account at any time online and the current exchange rate will be posted on the site. And yes, New York takes their fee and the Thai local bank takes its fee when your SS check is processed through BKK Bank. I get automatic email notifications of the deposits which show the fees at both ends. You can also set up SMS notifications for all international transfers by going to the ATM machine and arranging it, or by seeing a teller at the main office and she can arrange it for you. The fees for the SS check are taken from the gross transfer and what you see deposited into your account is simply the net in Baht. I'm assuming your SS check will go into a Thai Baht account since I am not sure if SS can send it to a USD FCD account. You might want to check on that. You also cannot transfer USD through CapOne 360 online directly into your USD FCD account in Thailand. Those accounts have too many digits in their account numbers and the online system will not take that many numbers when you try to do a link up of accounts. It will only send USD from your US bank through New York BKK Bank to be sent on to your Thai Baht account here in Thailand and automatically exchanged in the process. Hope this helps!

[thighlander]

Are you saying you get the TT rate anytime with no ey from your FCD account? Also, you pay the sane fees for your SS check as I would at bangkok bank new York and one it reaches here. Even if it doesn't appear as a line item in your book...it is there or rather not there, lol. Do a quarterly transfer and cut the fees by about two thirds. I am 8 years from SS, but it might be helpful if you state how much in Dollars they take from your check, to get it here in Dollars.

Yes, any time you exchange your dollars into Thai Baht from a USD FCD account you get the TT Buying Rate. I have online access through their ibanking and I also have a Thai Baht account. I can see both of these accounts on the same online account, and I can exchange and transfer dollars to my baht account at any time online and the current exchange rate will be posted on the site. And yes, New York takes their fee and the Thai local bank takes its fee when your SS check is processed through BKK Bank. I get automatic email notifications of the deposits which show the fees at both ends. You can also set up SMS notifications for all international transfers by going to the ATM machine and arranging it, or by seeing a teller at the main office and she can arrange it for you. The fees for the SS check are taken from the gross transfer and what you see deposited into your account is simply the net in Baht. I'm assuming your SS check will go into a Thai Baht account since I am not sure if SS can send it to a USD FCD account. You might want to check on that. You also cannot transfer USD through CapOne 360 online directly into your USD FCD account in Thailand. Those accounts have too many digits in their account numbers and the online system will not take that many numbers when you try to do a link up of accounts. It will only send USD from your US bank through New York BKK Bank to be sent on to your Thai Baht account here in Thailand and automatically exchanged in the process. Hope this helps!

Yes, helpful thanks for the details....I was looking at their site and it looks like there are minimums. So, does this mean all transactions through NY will automatically convert? It sounds like you wouldn't be able to link them with any bank. BTYW, I tried two different of the highly acclaimed credit unions, and both would not allow the link with BKK Bank NY...which I thought was BS as it is FDIC. I now recall, I think the surprise fee...someone mentioned several years ago...like 2000 THB to send USD back to the US.....instead of the 400 THB they charge usine TT...I sent back 300K a few weeks ago, and it showed up in my brokerage account in four hours...things are a little looser, and 50,000 USD is the new number, but I think more than 10,000 requires an extra step/signature. A friend sent 9 million back in January, and had to pay an extra 18,000 THB, from his companies sale of a house....

But, I still say get SS Checks into Cap One and do fewer transfers. If something goes wrong, it will be much easier to sort in America...

[semperfiguy]

Are you saying you get the TT rate anytime with no ey from your FCD account? Also, you pay the sane fees for your SS check as I would at bangkok bank new York and one it reaches here. Even if it doesn't appear as a line item in your book...it is there or rather not there, lol. Do a quarterly transfer and cut the fees by about two thirds. I am 8 years from SS, but it might be helpful if you state how much in Dollars they take from your check, to get it here in Dollars.

Yes, any time you exchange your dollars into Thai Baht from a USD FCD account you get the TT Buying Rate. I have online access through their ibanking and I also have a Thai Baht account. I can see both of these accounts on the same online account, and I can exchange and transfer dollars to my baht account at any time online and the current exchange rate will be posted on the site. And yes, New York takes their fee and the Thai local bank takes its fee when your SS check is processed through BKK Bank. I get automatic email notifications of the deposits which show the fees at both ends. You can also set up SMS notifications for all international transfers by going to the ATM machine and arranging it, or by seeing a teller at the main office and she can arrange it for you. The fees for the SS check are taken from the gross transfer and what you see deposited into your account is simply the net in Baht. I'm assuming your SS check will go into a Thai Baht account since I am not sure if SS can send it to a USD FCD account. You might want to check on that. You also cannot transfer USD through CapOne 360 online directly into your USD FCD account in Thailand. Those accounts have too many digits in their account numbers and the online system will not take that many numbers when you try to do a link up of accounts. It will only send USD from your US bank through New York BKK Bank to be sent on to your Thai Baht account here in Thailand and automatically exchanged in the process. Hope this helps!

Yes, helpful thanks for the details....I was looking at their site and it looks like there are minimums. So, does this mean all transactions through NY will automatically convert? It sounds like you wouldn't be able to link them with any bank. BTYW, I tried two different of the highly acclaimed credit unions, and both would not allow the link with BKK Bank NY...which I thought was BS as it is FDIC. I now recall, I think the surprise fee...someone mentioned several years ago...like 2000 THB to send USD back to the US.....instead of the 400 THB they charge usine TT...I sent back 300K a few weeks ago, and it showed up in my brokerage account in four hours...things are a little looser, and 50,000 USD is the new number, but I think more than 10,000 requires an extra step/signature. A friend sent 9 million back in January, and had to pay an extra 18,000 THB, from his companies sale of a house....

But, I still say get SS Checks into Cap One and do fewer transfers. If something goes wrong, it will be much easier to sort in America...

Thighlander, I can link my US credit union and my BKK Bank Thai Baht account with CapOne360, but not the USD FCD account. However, you can do an ACH transfer of USD from any US bank/credit union, and once it gets to BKK Bank NY they can forward it on to your USD FCD account at BKK Bank in Thailand for the customary fees outlined on the link I gave you above. CapOne360 can only send money to BKK Bank via NY if it is being sent to your Thai Baht account in Thailand. Any of the linked accounts on CapOne360 are supposed to be checking accounts only, but for some reason it will link with a Thai Baht savings account through NY.

You can go to the SS website if you have signed up and arrange for your SS checks to go direct deposit to BKK Bank NY to be sent on to your Thai Baht account in Thailand. No reason to go an extra step and course them through CapOne360 even if the transfer is free from them to BKK Bank NY.

Any USD sent back to the US out of your USD FCD account in Thailand will incur a fee of 1/4th of 1% on this end. Anything over $50,0000 requires a special form be completed and approved by the Bank of Thailand.

[thighlander]

Even though the credit unions may do ACH; they will not necessarily link with BKK Bank NY. They know it is an intermediary bank...kind of sucks. I was going to close my 360 account, which started as Netbank years ago, but I am glad that I did not. Also, the rates offered by the credit unions would not even be in the top half of what Fidelity is offering on CDs.