TransferWise still working well

[JimGant]

24 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

You are aware that Transferwise does not send money across borders?

Neither does Bangkok Bank New York. But the electronic transaction that ensues, resulting in dollars leaving my US account and baht ending up in my Thai account  is what's being regulated. How the accounting, at all levels, occurs is immaterial: the bottom line is that a cross border financial operation has occurred.

[JimGant]

1 hour ago, john terry1001 said:

I suggested this as the reason for the delays/slower US process earlier in the thread but was told its all down to the ACH system that creates the necessity for TW to pull the funds from your own bank account instead of the individual being able to push the funds from their account. 

Lemme see. Feds won't allow an ACH push, that goes overseas, unless it's in IAT format. TW likes to use ACH for its cross border operation; but because of Fed regulations, it's restricted to doing an ACH pull, which is a slower operation. So, who's to blame for this slowness in the US TransferWise operation -- the Feds or the ACH system?

BEEP! Time's up ????

[Pib]

1 hour ago, wpcoe said:

 

(I'm guessing that Transferwise doesn't realize October 23 is a bank holiday?)

It hard to keep up with all the Thai holidays....official, religious, banking, etc.  Plus they also just declare holidays out of the blue like when they have this big ASEAN meeting next months I think it is that the govt is going to give two days off to most govt workers in order to reduce traffic in Bangkok so the ASEAN attendees supposedly can get around easier.  One of the reason it takes longer to get some things done in Thailand is because they have so many holidays.

[Pib]

From my personal experience of doing around a half dozen Transferwise transfers the status messages you see when checking your online Transferwise acct can change rapidly.   Log on today in the morning and it might say the money is still on the way to them and they give you final delivery estimate of say 3 days from now.  But then log again in the evening and they have got your money and project final delivery of tomorrow.  It's like Wow!!!!...that was a big status change.

 

Now folks who can push money to Transferwise like Brits who can use their Faster Payment System to get money to Transferwise within minutes will not see radically different status changes because Transferwise gets the money to fund the transfer fast.  But unfortunately for us US folks using the ACH system which is a batch system, non-real time system this can cause the Transferwise status updates to vary greatly as the "pull" request processes through the ACH system.

[john terry1001]

6 hours ago, JimGant said:

TW likes to use ACH for its cross border operation

I'm not from the US but, as I understand it, TW doesn't have any preference. In the UK (and many other countries) they are equally happy with both push and pull options. If push, they receive the transfer immediately and start the transfer straight away (on occasions the complete process is literally completed in minutes). If pull they must first ask the members bank for the transfer (and receive it) before they can start the transfer. That does incur a small delay with the pull system but, in the UK, it's straight forward so that delay is not significant.

 

With the US system, as explained to me, it's very, very difficult to set up a push system because of the security checks that are needed but almost impossible to complete. I'm told that US citizens therefore have to use the pull system. TW will ask for the transfer immediately but (again I'm told) that request has to go via the ACH process and (partly because US banks tend to send transfers in batches) it's there that delays, that could add up to several days, are generated. 

 

i'm sure there are 'get around' options in the US but, whether it's the ACH or money laundering restrictions that cause the delay, it seems (most) Americans are frustrated in their attempts to transfer money to Thailand quickly.

[ThaiBob]

If I were to transfer money today using TW I was given a receival date of May 5. What gives? 

[chris_samui]

If i transfer today, i will receive it today (normal within 10 minutes).

 

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by chris_samui

[lopburi3]

14 minutes ago, ThaiBob said:

If I were to transfer money today using TW I was given a receival date of May 5. What gives? 

What are you sending?  USD 1k in 7 hours or 4K on day 28th for USA to Thailand just now.

[john terry1001]

1 hour ago, ThaiBob said:

If I were to transfer money today using TW I was given a receival date of May 5. What gives? 

If you complete the transfer before 9am Thailand time (Monday to Friday) it will usually arrive in your Thai bank account the same day. If you complete the transfer after 9am (or over the weekend) it will arrive on your Thai bank's next working day. 

[chris_samui]

1 hour ago, john terry1001 said:

If you complete the transfer before 9am Thailand time (Monday to Friday) it will usually arrive in your Thai bank account the same day. If you complete the transfer after 9am (or over the weekend) it will arrive on your Thai bank's next working day. 

I have been transfering with TW in the evening, and it still arived the same day.

Weekends or holidays will be on the next working day 

[Laza 45]

On 10/3/2019 at 1:37 PM, chang50 said:

You might not believe this but last month I did a transfer that took 5 mins from TW receiving my money to it appearing in my Thai bank.

Mine often comes through very quickly from Oz.. I could be wrong but I think using direct debit card is faster than other options.. I tag mine 'monthly living expenses'.. what is advantage of tagging 'for immigration'? 

[lopburi3]

4 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

what is advantage of tagging 'for immigration'? 

If being deposited into a Bangkok Bank account it will be clearly marked as a foreign transfer so can easily be used for immigration extension of stay proof.  

[ThaiBob]

2 hours ago, john terry1001 said:

If you complete the transfer before 9am Thailand time (Monday to Friday) it will usually arrive in your Thai bank account the same day. If you complete the transfer after 9am (or over the weekend) it will arrive on your Thai bank's next working day. 

To be clear my bank, Schwab, is in the USA and the ACH system I have used for two years with no issues for prompt transfers. 

[dabhand]

2 hours ago, john terry1001 said:

If you complete the transfer before 9am Thailand time (Monday to Friday) it will usually arrive in your Thai bank account the same day. If you complete the transfer after 9am (or over the weekend) it will arrive on your Thai bank's next working day. 

That is also my experience, with BB and SCB as the receiving bank in Thailand (from UK). Although I use 8.30am as the cut-off time. BB receipt around 14.00 / SCB receipt around 13.00, Both accounts in Pattaya branches. 

Edited April 27, 2020 by dabhand

[lopburi3]

19 minutes ago, ThaiBob said:

To be clear my bank, Schwab, is in the USA and the ACH system I have used for two years with no issues for prompt transfers. 

I still get April 28 for a $3,000 transaction on computer (page is not same format: amount - you - recipient - review - pay - rather than international/local).  Have you already entered payment source by chance?

Can you see what address you are connected?  Is it the same as normal?

Edited April 27, 2020 by lopburi3

[ubonjoe]

23 minutes ago, ThaiBob said:

To be clear my bank, Schwab, is in the USA and the ACH system I have used for two years with no issues for prompt transfers. 

That might be due to the banks here being closed from the 1st to the 4th for holidays and then again on the 6th.

From the bank holiday list.

Friday	1 May	National Labour Day
Monday	4 May	Coronation Day
Wednesday	6 May	Wisakha Bucha Day

[treetops]

1 hour ago, Laza 45 said:

Mine often comes through very quickly from Oz.. I could be wrong but I think using direct debit card is faster than other options.. I tag mine 'monthly living expenses'.. what is advantage of tagging 'for immigration'? 

Not conclusive, but I've found when marking it "for immigration" it takes longer than "monthly living expenses", maybe because they force the routing through Bangkok Bank?

[ThaiBob]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That might be due to the banks here being closed from the 1st to the 4th for holidays and then again on the 6th.

From the bank holiday list.

Friday	1 May	National Labour Day
Monday	4 May	Coronation Day
Wednesday	6 May	Wisakha Bucha Day

That would explain it. Thanks! 

[stouricks]

5 hours ago, chris_samui said:

I have been transfering with TW in the evening, and it still arived the same day.

Weekends or holidays will be on the next working day 

I had no idea that computers had weekends and holidays off!   PML. 

I did Bht50k at 8am this morning, in my Bkk Bank at 2pm, as usual, as a Foreign Transaction. 

Unfortunately the GBP - THB went up from 40.14 to 40.40 so I missed out on about Bht 350. Damn!

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

I had no idea that computers had weekends and holidays off!   PML. 

Then you have no experience with German banks

Do a transfer via internet banking on Friday evening to another German bank....

Experiencing the instant transfers between Thai banks is an enlightenment.

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by KhunBENQ

[Pib]

Yea, in the U.S., the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system is the primary funds system used to transfer money between financial institutions...like from your bank acct to Transferwise....or vice versa.  Additionally, it's a batch system where transactions occur over night "fastest"....but normally take around 2 business day.  Long way from being a real time system.  And various other US payment system interface with the ACH system to complete their transfer.  The ACH is basically a Mon-Fri operation.    Now you can initiate the ACH transfer to an external bank/financial acct on Sat or Sun but it will not actually leave your bank to the ACH system till Mon.  Pretty much a Monday thru Friday operation.  Ditto if doing a Domestic Wire.  

Edited April 27, 2020 by Pib

[brenton]

Anybody using cryptocurrency to move money?

[Laza 45]

I just did a $1,000 Au transfer from my Australia account to my Bangkok Bank account.. An email popped up saying the transfer was on its way.. at almost exactly the same time my phone beeped to alert me of the deposit to my Bangkok Bank account.. I got 20,660 after $13 service charge.. exchange rate looking a bit better... Can't get any quicker than that! 

[john smith]

Having looked at the prognosis for Pound Sterling over the next three years I gulped. The possible Sterling to Baht rate is estimated at Baht 35 to the Pound. Such estimates are frequently wrong but this one just might be correct.

If so I shall need to look seriously at Transferwise.

My only bank account in the UK is a pension account with Bangkok Bank London. It can be used only for transfers to a given country ( Thailand in this case)

It is not a cheap way to make transfers but it is reliable.

My occupational pension is sent monthly by Capita to Bangkok Bank UK and from there to my branch of Bangkok Bank here.

The meat of my query is has anyone arranged to successfully send their monthly pension from Capita to Transferwise and then on to Thailand as a permanent arrangement? It is not possible to instruct Capita each and every month to do this.

I have not yet contacted Transferwise as I prefer initially to ask forum members.

I would be obliged if only members have gone down this route would respond.

 

[treetops]

If you open a multi currency debit card account with them you'll get a UK Sort Code and Account Number which should be enough to allow your pension to be paid in.  Probably still have to transfer manually to your Thai bank for cash withdrawals, but at least you can try and time it to get the best rate.

[john smith]

Thank you for that advice treetops

[stouricks]

21 hours ago, john smith said:

Having looked at the prognosis for Pound Sterling over the next three years I gulped. The possible Sterling to Baht rate is estimated at Baht 35 to the Pound. Such estimates are frequently wrong but this one just might be correct.

If so I shall need to look seriously at Transferwise.

My only bank account in the UK is a pension account with Bangkok Bank London. It can be used only for transfers to a given country ( Thailand in this case)

It is not a cheap way to make transfers but it is reliable.

My occupational pension is sent monthly by Capita to Bangkok Bank UK and from there to my branch of Bangkok Bank here.

The meat of my query is has anyone arranged to successfully send their monthly pension from Capita to Transferwise and then on to Thailand as a permanent arrangement? It is not possible to instruct Capita each and every month to do this.

I have not yet contacted Transferwise as I prefer initially to ask forum members.

I would be obliged if only members have gone down this route would respond.

 

I use T'wise every month but have not seen any mention of setting up regular transfers. But, come on, it takes a couple of minutes on the app or PC to do it each month.

[stouricks]

21 hours ago, treetops said:

If you open a multi currency debit card account with them you'll get a UK Sort Code and Account Number which should be enough to allow your pension to be paid in.  Probably still have to transfer manually to your Thai bank for cash withdrawals, but at least you can try and time it to get the best rate.

As I said in a previous post, with their Borderless Account, you can 'build up' your THB balance as and when the exchange rate is good, and then transfer your 65k or whatever on the day you need to without being tied to that particular day's rate. It still goes to Bkk Bank as an FTT.

[chris_samui]

On 4/27/2020 at 6:13 PM, stouricks said:

I had no idea that computers had weekends and holidays off!   PML. 

I did Bht50k at 8am this morning, in my Bkk Bank at 2pm, as usual, as a Foreign Transaction. 

Unfortunately the GBP - THB went up from 40.14 to 40.40 so I missed out on about Bht 350. Damn!

I didn't either, but thats the way it is, no transfers on weekends and public holidays (maybe only for Thailand, i not know).

[Pib]

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

I use T'wise every month but have not seen any mention of setting up regular transfers. But, come on, it takes a couple of minutes on the app or PC to do it each month.

 

Yea, no one should hold their breath in waiting for Transferwise to offer automatic transfers....probably regulations/reasons that makes it problematic for Transferwise as a "money transfer company" vs a govt agency or company that's just doing monthly distributions of your pensions/savings.   

 

Technically, it would probably be a piece-of-cake for Tansferswise to setup their system to do automatic transfers...but my guess there are government regulations that make it problematic for Transferwise.

 

 When looking at Transferwise's Twitter acct people have been asking for automatic transfer for years....even years before the fairly recent tweets below.