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If the transfer services do not work either to or FROM Thailand...


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39 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Apparently most transfers to Bangkok Bank do show up as clearly international, it is though, not 100%, as I have experienced personally and they just might bring it in via say TMB, and then domestic transfer to BB. 

It isn't the bank manager who has to be satisfied but an IO, and if one of 12 transfers looks different, that might be a problem. Hopefully confirming Transferwise receipt and identifying the transfer description as international yourself, may work. 

As of yet no one knows the clear definitive qualification that each individual I/O will want, since it appears each office interprets and enforces the rules differently.   I think it's fair to say, No one will know until after March 1, what will or won't be accepted, and even then it will be I/O dependent.  Maybe one office enforces the "FTT" requirement, while another just wants to see 65k transferred in each month.  We have to wait to see what each office will accept. 

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2 hours ago, TheThai said:

No one will know until after March 1

The international transfers have nothing to do with March 1st. The rules are in effect now. 

 

However the kind of people who are most likely to report and need to renew soon here will probably have got a document from their embassy last year.

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I've used TW twice now (Dec & Feb) to transfer 65K+ into my BKK Bank accounts. [January was when I had a seniors moment & transferred by Swift from my Oz bank to BKK Bank. Sob sob.]

 

All fine. Quick & easy to initiate. From Oz it has - so far - taken 1.5 days to show up [from 0700 initiation one day to around 1600 notification next day]. Shows as FTT in my bankbook.

 

[On the latter it strikes me that it would be inefficient & costly to TW if their transfer to a BKK Bank account went thru a different Thai bank, given that the deal with them has already been agreed by you hours in advance. Doesn't make sense, so I expect it may be a rare event - perhaps (I'm speculating) when, say, BKK Bank computers are down or overloaded?]

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On 2/20/2019 at 6:16 PM, BertM said:

KhunFred,

There are several ways to transfer money to Thailand. The way I do it is as follows:

I have a Chase Bank account in the US and a Citibank Thailand Bank account in Thailand. I transfer USD from Chase in the US using SWIFT (international wire xfers) to Citi. I have a FCD (foreign currency deposit) USD account & THB account with Citi. I transfer the USD to the FCD account and convert it to THB account at my convenience. Chase doesn't charge any fees for my international transfers due to being a Private Client. You can google & research which banks and/or brokerage firms have the cheapest/best wire fees. I also have a newly opened Kasikorn Bank THB account that I transfer from Citi to Kasikorn to put the 400k & 800k in to meet Immigration's requirements. Kasikorn has a branch office at CW Immigration in Bangkok, so it's convenient to get the letter & passbook updated on the day I go for my extension renewal. That's it... Good luck...

What are the names of the banks at CW?

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7 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

FYI:  Quote from Etrade.  I have 900K USD on deposit with Etrade and while those amounts get me lots of perks, free ATM, no IRA fees, etc., I don't get any break from transfer fees.

"FEES: There is a $25 fee per transaction for outgoing wires. We may deduct the fee from your account, in addition to the amount you request. If you have insufficient funds for the transaction fee, it will be deducted from your wire amount. Wires which are converted from US Dollar ($) to a foreign currency will incur an additional conversion fee of up to 225 basis points (2.25%). We will deduct the conversion fee from the total amount you request.

JP Morgan Chase in the US doesn't charge a fee for international wire transfers if you qualify for Private Client; i.e. maintain assets greater than $250k USD. I believe Fidelity Investments does the same for their Private Client Group, but I never made the effort to fill out the forms to set up the wire transfer at Fidelity.

Edited by BertM
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15 minutes ago, BertM said:

JP Morgan Chase in the US doesn't charge a fee for international wire transfers if you qualify for Private Client; i.e. maintain assets greater than $250k USD. I believe Fidelity Investments does the same for their Private Client Group, but I never made the effort to fill out the forms to set up the wire transfer at Fidelity.

Thanks for that.  I do plan to roll over my last 401k to Charles Schwab, but I have not checked on what their rates or policies or fees are.  Chase I hate due to past dealings.  Fidelity I thought was giving people a hard time that were now living overseas or had addresses or phone numbers or IP addresses showing overseas?

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16 hours ago, BertM said:

KhunFred,

If you're a US citizen and your Social Security doesn't meet the 65k monthly requirement, then you will need to deposit your SS in a US bank, CU or brokerage firm, then supplement it with additional monies and transfer enough to meet the 65k requirement to a Thai bank using TransferWise, SWIFT international wire transfer or some other method. You will have to pay transfer fees.

I don't know what else anyone can tell you that would help explain. Being unmarried means you will need the 65k per month or you can always use the 400k & 800k bank method. Good luck.

The only problem with that is the requirement to move all my funds to Thailand, which I can't do and pay my bills. The requirement would simply mean bankruptcy if I could not pay my credit card bills from Thailand. I have more than enough money and my only option seems to be a  budget-busting visa service. Please advise if you can. The situation is getting more desperate by the month. 25 thousand baht per year for a Thai retirement visa is sheer insanity. My debts must be paid. Is there anyway that card companies can be paid that does not require a bank? Don't tell me to drop it in the mail. It takes a month to reach the USA, I am boxed in everyway I turn and I have the income. Just insane.

 

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40 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

Thanks for that.  I do plan to roll over my last 401k to Charles Schwab, but I have not checked on what their rates or policies or fees are.  Chase I hate due to past dealings.  Fidelity I thought was giving people a hard time that were now living overseas or had addresses or phone numbers or IP addresses showing overseas?

once fidelity realizes you no longer physically reside in the usa, your account will be restricted, meaning you can no longer purchase mutual funds.  you can keep the ones you have, and reinvest the dividends, but no new fund purchases.

 

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19 minutes ago, KhunFred said:

The only problem with that is the requirement to move all my funds to Thailand, which I can't do and pay my bills. The requirement would simply mean bankruptcy if I could not pay my credit card bills from Thailand. I have more than enough money and my only option seems to be a  budget-busting visa service. Please advise if you can. The situation is getting more desperate by the month. 25 thousand baht per year for a Thai retirement visa is sheer insanity. My debts must be paid. Is there anyway that card companies can be paid that does not require a bank? Don't tell me to drop it in the mail. It takes a month to reach the USA, I am boxed in everyway I turn and I have the income. Just insane.

 

swift 65k equivalent in as an FTT, then send back what you need to pay credit cards using one of the cheaper alternatives.  i assume you can keep in a foreign currency account to avoid forex fees.

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, KhunFred said:

The only problem with that is the requirement to move all my funds to Thailand, which I can't do and pay my bills. The requirement would simply mean bankruptcy if I could not pay my credit card bills from Thailand. I have more than enough money and my only option seems to be a  budget-busting visa service. Please advise if you can. The situation is getting more desperate by the month. 25 thousand baht per year for a Thai retirement visa is sheer insanity. My debts must be paid. Is there anyway that card companies can be paid that does not require a bank? Don't tell me to drop it in the mail. It takes a month to reach the USA, I am boxed in everyway I turn and I have the income. Just insane.

 

KuhnFred,

As I see it from what you explained of your situation, you have only 4 options. You either (1) transfer 65k to Thailand every month or (2) deposit the 400k/800k in a Thai bank or (3) use the combination method or (4) pay an agent to assist you in getting your extension illegally.

 

That's it... I don't see any other options for you. 

 

By the way, how do you pay your bills in the US right now? You must have a bank account with an income source that you use to pay your bills in the US. If you don't have any savings in the US to pay your bills, then use option (1) above and send 65k to Thailand every month, then send back what you don't use in Thailand via one of the electronic methods such as; DeeMoney, SWIFT, etc. to pay your bills in US. And, if you don't want to do that, then see if an agent can help you... If you have property here, maybe you can make a legal loan against the property and put the 800k in the bank. Good luck...

Edited by BertM
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11 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

Thanks for that.  I do plan to roll over my last 401k to Charles Schwab, but I have not checked on what their rates or policies or fees are.  Chase I hate due to past dealings.  Fidelity I thought was giving people a hard time that were now living overseas or had addresses or phone numbers or IP addresses showing overseas?

When folks speak of Charles Schwab, they don't distinguish between 'Charles Schwab' (for folks that are U.S residents) and 'Charles Schwab International' (for folks that are residents outside the U.S.)

 

Charles Schwab doesn't offer international wire transfers

 

Charles Schwab International charges USD 25 and they (actually an intermediary bank) performs the foreign currency conversion; CSI doesn't have their forex rates online as does, for example, Transferwise. CSI simply gives mumbo-jumbo about 'favorable' rates; in my experience, entities that don't publish their rates generally give poor ones

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10 hours ago, BertM said:

KuhnFred,

As I see it from what you explained of your situation, you have only 4 options. You either (1) transfer 65k to Thailand every month or (2) deposit the 400k/800k in a Thai bank or (3) use the combination method or (4) pay an agent to assist you in getting your extension illegally.

 

That's it... I don't see any other options for you. 

 

By the way, how do you pay your bills in the US right now? You must have a bank account with an income source that you use to pay your bills in the US. If you don't have any savings in the US to pay your bills, then use option (1) above and send 65k to Thailand every month, then send back what you don't use in Thailand via one of the electronic methods such as; DeeMoney, SWIFT, etc. to pay your bills in US. And, if you don't want to do that, then see if an agent can help you... If you have property here, maybe you can make a legal loan against the property and put the 800k in the bank. Good luck...

I have no property and never will have. my only option is the expensive visa services. Combo method is impossible if you have no savings. I get strictly a monthly income from three different sources, which amounts to very near 80 thousand baht a month.. My credit card bills are paid from my credit union account. THere has got to be another electronic option to send money. As it is, I am racking up overdraft and insufficient funds charges everytime a payment is late.

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4 hours ago, KhunFred said:

As it is, I am racking up overdraft and insufficient funds charges everytime a payment is late.

This indicates you do not have the savings to cover 1-mo of your USA bills?  If so, the delay time of sending the money over here, then some back to cover those bills, could be impossible.

 

Sometimes, CC companies will offer to let you skip 1-mo payments w/o a late-charge, if asked in advance.  You may wish to try to get them to negotiate, in order to get enough "padding" in your USA acct to make it possible to send 65K here, then send back what you need to pay them in future months.

 

Alternatively, live like a pauper for a few months, to save-up the difference needed.  Maybe live somewhere cheap and ugly for awhile - reminding yourself daily that it is only temporary.

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/22/2019 at 10:51 AM, mfd101 said:

I've used TW twice now (Dec & Feb) to transfer 65K+ into my BKK Bank accounts. [January was when I had a seniors moment & transferred by Swift from my Oz bank to BKK Bank. Sob sob.]

 

All fine. Quick & easy to initiate. From Oz it has - so far - taken 1.5 days to show up [from 0700 initiation one day to around 1600 notification next day]. Shows as FTT in my bankbook.

 

[On the latter it strikes me that it would be inefficient & costly to TW if their transfer to a BKK Bank account went thru a different Thai bank, given that the deal with them has already been agreed by you hours in advance. Doesn't make sense, so I expect it may be a rare event - perhaps (I'm speculating) when, say, BKK Bank computers are down or overloaded?]

Could you, or anyone, advise please on using Transferwise--I had used the Bkk Bank NY transfers that ended, so trying new methods, which seem to be a service like Transferwise or making SWIFT international transfers at a more costly rate.

So, I decided to try Transferwise--opened an account, verified my ID, etc--and got to the point where i had to make payment from my US bank, and Transferwise wanted me to enter my US bank account number AND MY PASSWORD.  Is this the normal process, providing a pw I protect so religiously--and mine is a two step authentication for added security, so not sure they could even use that (I understand they promise secrecy, security, and that no one sees it, etc, but----??), or am i missing something, and there is another way to make payment to Transferwise, without providing my bank account?   If not, then it looks like i am back to making more expensive SWIFT transfers, as I don't share that pw with anyone.

Thanks for any feedback.

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4 hours ago, SammyJ said:

So, I decided to try Transferwise--opened an account, verified my ID, etc--and got to the point where i had to make payment from my US bank, and Transferwise wanted me to enter my US bank account number AND MY PASSWORD. 

It uses the term 'reference number' not 'password' when I do transfers.

After completing the first part of the transfer to your Thai bank, they send an e-mail with the 'reference number' to include for the second part of the transfer, that is from your home bank to TW.

 

This reference number is your membership number and remains the same for each and every transaction.

Mine begins with P------.

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6 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

It uses the term 'reference number' not 'password' when I do transfers.

After completing the first part of the transfer to your Thai bank, they send an e-mail with the 'reference number' to include for the second part of the transfer, that is from your home bank to TW.

 

This reference number is your membership number and remains the same for each and every transaction.

Mine begins with P------.

Yes, I agree. They don't ask for a password, they simply need a reference number (that THEY give YOU to quote when you do the transfer from your bank to TW) so that, when your payment appears in TW's account, they know who it's from. Indispensable to the whole operation, I should think, & no threat at all to your security.

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14 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

It uses the term 'reference number' not 'password' when I do transfers.

After completing the first part of the transfer to your Thai bank, they send an e-mail with the 'reference number' to include for the second part of the transfer, that is from your home bank to TW.

 

This reference number is your membership number and remains the same for each and every transaction.

Mine begins with P------.

I have never used TransferWise.  Could the difference be that you log into your non-Thai bank account and "push" money into TW, while SammyJ is trying to "pull" money into TW?

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21 hours ago, SammyJ said:

Could you, or anyone, advise please on using Transferwise-

I simply transferred money to them using my UK account debit card. The amount hit limits which may be too small for your needs and incurred a slightly higher cost, but it seemed expedient. 

 

Edited by jacko45k
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12 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Yes, I agree. They don't ask for a password, they simply need a reference number (that THEY give YOU to quote when you do the transfer from your bank to TW) so that, when your payment appears in TW's account, they know who it's from. Indispensable to the whole operation, I should think, & no threat at all to your security.

Hello, just to clarify--yes, they do request both one's user name and pw for the bank from which they are "pulling" the funds to pay for the transfer.  it is considered an ach debit--one may opt of out of that, but then you must send to transferwise a wire transfer--not a ach transfer (which is free from my US bank, but most charge for wire transfers)--see the info below copied directly from transferwise's own support/help section of their website--so, my own bank would not like it, and hold me liable for any future online thefts, if they knew i was providing my pw to any outside source, regardless of transferwise's claims that no one sees it, its encrypted, etc--that's just what was said by all the big US corps that had millions of users' data breached.

 

it is unwise to give your bank details to anyone--so, then if i must pay for a wire transfer, then transferwise's fees, i may as well just make a SWIFT transfer--see the help info copied below:

 

Why do I need to enter my US online bank details?

TransferWise has set up various local payment methods for each currency depending on the popularity and cost-effectiveness. ACH bank debit is a cheap and convenient way of paying, making it the most preferred method for our US customers.

Entering your online banking credentials is what creates the "withdrawal" or "pull" of funds in the ACH network. 

* Your login credentials are not stored, nor are they visible to any TransferWise employee. They are used in encrypted format to authorise an online bank debit payment via the ACH network. It is not in our interest to misuse any customer banking details as it would easily compromise our trading licenses and most importantly - trust of our clients.
* If you check the address bar when browsing our website, you may notice a green part in front of the URL. Upon clicking this you may see all the encryption measures that we've dedicated to keep the site safe and secure.

As an alternative payment method to the ACH debit, our customers can also send their USD to us by domestic wire on their online banking interface on a separate tab instead without entering any online banking information on our site. We've combined instructions for most common US banks in our support centre here and you can find all articles related to security concerns here

Transferring money abroad has been overly complicated for some time now, and it is one of our primary goals to make it much simpler and accessible for everyone. ACH bank debit proves to be undeniably popular with our US customers for the convenience and low cost.

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4 hours ago, SEtonal said:

I have never used TransferWise.  Could the difference be that you log into your non-Thai bank account and "push" money into TW, while SammyJ is trying to "pull" money into TW?

No.

The only time a password is required is to log into your TW account, or your online home bank account.

Step 1. Sign up to use TW services, using e-mail and password of your choice. You are then given an account number which doubles as your reference number for transactions.

Step 2. Log in to your TW account and enter the details of your Thai bank account, or any other bank where you want to send the funds. (You will given TW's sort code, account number and a reference number).

Step 3. Log into your online home bank account and enter TW's account details and the reference number.

 

I made a transfer last evening at 1830.

Within minutes I received an e-mail from TW confirming they had received the funds and it would be deposited in my Thai bank account today 17/4.

 

Sammy J may have been signing up to use TW for the first time and it asks you to enter a password for use in login to your account in the future.

 

Sammy J just posted same time.

The difference is because he is from the US and it's the US banking system that creates this difference in required information.

Edited by Tanoshi
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8 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

No.

The only time a password is required is to log into your TW account, or your online home bank account.

Step 1. Sign up to use TW services, using e-mail and password of your choice. You are then given an account number which doubles as your reference number for transactions.

Step 2. Log in to your TW account and enter the details of your Thai bank account, or any other bank where you want to send the funds. (You will given TW's sort code, account number and a reference number).

Step 3. Log into your online home bank account and enter TW's account details and the reference number.

You didn't transfer any funds in this explanation.   What is Step 4 or the Step where you enter the amount to be transfered and hit send?

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9 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

No.

The only time a password is required is to log into your TW account, or your online home bank account.

Step 1. Sign up to use TW services, using e-mail and password of your choice. You are then given an account number which doubles as your reference number for transactions.

Step 2. Log in to your TW account and enter the details of your Thai bank account, or any other bank where you want to send the funds. (You will given TW's sort code, account number and a reference number).

Step 3. Log into your online home bank account and enter TW's account details and the reference number.

 

I made a transfer last evening at 1830.

Within minutes I received an e-mail from TW confirming they had received the funds and it would be deposited in my Thai bank account today 17/4.

 

Sammy J may have been signing up to use TW for the first time and it asks you to enter a password for use in login to your account in the future.

 

Sammy J just posted same time.

The difference is because he is from the US and it's the US banking system that creates this difference in required information.

Yes, I registered recently and then later logged and completed most of the steps you indicate above, but then, when the "payment" option came up, they did not provide the option that you mentioned, nor another friend who uses transferwise as well, they had me select my bank from a list of US Banks, which i did and then a log into that bank appeared, with two slots, asking for my user id and my clearly my pw--when i did not go forward and researched more, i was sent to the info above that i shared in another post--about how they need my id and pw to "pull/debit" money, but will keep that info secure, etc--or.as mentioned, i can send them a wire transfer with the funds--if you google transferwise asking for bank "details", as i did, you will find a number of others who have complained about it--it is not me misunderstanding what they were asking for.  

of course, i do not provide my bank "details" to transferwise or anyone--and i can transfer money to them instead, but not via an ach transfer, which is free from my US bank, but by wire transfer for which my bank, and most all, charge.

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9 minutes ago, SEtonal said:

You didn't transfer any funds in this explanation.   What is Step 4 or the Step where you enter the amount to be transfered and hit send?

Step 3. Log into your online home bank account and enter TW's account details and the reference number.

Press send.

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14 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Step 3. Log into your online home bank account and enter TW's account details and the reference number.

Press send.

i wish i could do this if they allowed an ach transer--as from their help page i referenced in another post, they will provide the details, but state it can delay the transfer , so i don;t disagree that you can "push"/send the funds to them, but they appear to prefer the "pull method, which they call an "ach DEBIT" , but, once again, they require it to be a wire transfer from my bank to them--not a free ach transfer--and so, i might as well just use a SWIFT transfer from my bank

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25 minutes ago, SammyJ said:

Yes, I registered recently and then later logged and completed most of the steps you indicate above, but then, when the "payment" option came up, they did not provide the option that you mentioned, nor another friend who uses transferwise as well, they had me select my bank from a list of US Banks, which i did and then a log into that bank appeared, with two slots, asking for my user id and my clearly my pw--when i did not go forward and researched more, i was sent to the info above that i shared in another post--about how they need my id and pw to "pull/debit" money, but will keep that info secure, etc--or.as mentioned, i can send them a wire transfer with the funds--if you google transferwise asking for bank "details", as i did, you will find a number of others who have complained about it--it is not me misunderstanding what they were asking for.  

of course, i do not provide my bank "details" to transferwise or anyone--and i can transfer money to them instead, but not via an ach transfer, which is free from my US bank, but by wire transfer for which my bank, and most all, charge.

From reading the above information that you posted, it's clear that using the ACH method of transfer the funds have to be withdrawn (pulled) from your US account, rather than you send any funds.

 

Entirely different banking system in the UK, where we can send funds using the faster payments option to other local UK accounts (such as TW's London account), entirely free and within 2 minutes.

 

It is purely a personal decision whether to use the ACH method of transfer (cost effective) but having to trust another with your ID and PW for transfers. Perhaps other US citizens who have used this method of transfer can comment.

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11 minutes ago, SammyJ said:

i wish i could do this if they allowed an ach transer--as from their help page i referenced in another post, they will provide the details, but state it can delay the transfer , so i don;t disagree that you can "push"/send the funds to them, but they appear to prefer the "pull method, which they call an "ach DEBIT" , but, once again, they require it to be a wire transfer from my bank to them--not a free ach transfer--and so, i might as well just use a SWIFT transfer from my bank

This is more to do with the intrusive tax regulations imposed on it's citizens by the US.

They want to know where you spend every dime and every dollar you make.

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14 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

This is more to do with the intrusive tax regulations imposed on it's citizens by the US.

They want to know where you spend every dime and every dollar you make.

 

23 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

From reading the above information that you posted, it's clear that using the ACH method of transfer the funds have to be withdrawn (pulled) from your US account, rather than you send any funds.

 

Entirely different banking system in the UK, where we can send funds using the faster payments option to other local UK accounts (such as TW's London account), entirely free and within 2 minutes.

 

It is purely a personal decision whether to use the ACH method of transfer (cost effective) but having to trust another with your ID and PW for transfers. Perhaps other US citizens who have used this method of transfer can comment.

Yes, when within the transfer process and the payment to them, transferwise, came up and selected my bank as they requested, then a window opened that gave the appearance it was from my own US Bank, and was a login, requiring both my user id and pw, i just stopped--i will not provide that to transferwise, regardless of their promises made in the help section article i posted above.

 

as many US citizens did before, i simply made an ach transfer(free) to bkk bank NY and then the money was transferred to my bkk bank account here in thailand.  Now, while transferwise wants to pull/debit my account, they want my US bank login info--no way.  If they allowed an ach-free--transfer to them, rather than requiring it be a wire transfer, i would still use them.

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On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 7:38 AM, Caldera said:

They do work. The only (but quite relevant, to those affected) question is if immigration will accept inbound transfers using such services as "coming from overseas".

 

Knowing how Thai officials tick, I'd say: Don't bank on it! The obvious - albeit potentially expensive - alternative are regular SWIFT transfers.

 

Thai Imm specify that incomes must come in from abroad. They do not dictate how you do that. You only need to have some way of proofing that it did.

 

With TransferWise it is very easy to provide that proof. Simply download and retain all the transfer slips. Job done.

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