Gaybutton Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 On the 'ATM Cards' thread I mentioned that this evening I was told that you can now set up a PayPal account with use of your Thai bank account. I just tried it. It works! When I went to set it up, there is an option to select your country of residence. Of course, I selected Thailand. Then there is a button to click to select either Thai language or English. I selected English, of course, and everything does appear in English with one exception: When you go to select which bank holds your account, all the bank names appear in Thai. Don't panic. If you click on any one of the bank names, on the next screen the name of the bank appears in English. That screen allows you to either confirm the bank name and your account number or you can click "Edit." If you click edit, it takes you right back to the Thai list of bank names. So, all you have to do is go through each name on the list until you finally get to your bank, and then confirm. By the way, the first bank name on the list is Bangkok Bank. Now that PayPal finally works in Thailand, that can solve a lot of problems. For example, now instead of having to pay that 150 baht foreign ATM card fee, you can simply transfer money into your Thai bank account via PayPal, which charges only a nominal fee, and then use your Thai bank's ATM card when you visit Thailand. Then, when you return home, you can transfer whatever funds remain right back into your own domestic account. You can also have your boyfriend set up a PayPal account. Now you will be able to transfer funds via PayPal into his account whenever you wish to give him money. Someone asked about how you can pay bills in your home country if you are going to reside in Thailand and have your retirement benefits direct deposited to Bangkok Bank. Now that you can use PayPal, that problem is solved. You'll be able to transfer funds from your Bangkok Bank account into PayPal, and then transfer from your PayPal account into your home country account, and then use online banking with your home country account to pay your bills back home. Finally! For a long time PayPal did not service Thailand. Now it does and I think that's going to solve a lot of headaches for many of you. Quote
Guest Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 That is great. Just be careful of the fees. Here is what the site said: Fees Personal account Premier/Business account Open an account Free Free Send money Free Free Withdraw Funds Free for 5,000.00 THB or more, 50.00 THB for 4,999.99 THB or less to bank accounts in Thailand Fees for other withdrawal options Free for 5,000.00 THB or more, 50.00 THB for 4,999.99 THB or less to bank accounts in Thailand Add funds Free Free Receive payments funded by PayPal Balance, PayPal Instant Transfer or PayPal eCheck Free 2.4% + $0.30 USD to 3.4% + $0.30 USD Receive payments funded by Credit Card, Debit Card 5.4% plus $0.30 USD. There is a limit of 5 transactions per year 2.4% + $0.30 USD to 3.4% + $0.30 USD Multiple currency transactions Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee** Fees for cross border payments Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee** Fees for cross border payments ** If your transaction involves a currency conversion, it will be completed at a retail foreign exchange rate quoted to PayPal by an international financial institution, which is adjusted twice daily based on market conditions. This exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee above the wholesale exchange rate at which PayPal obtains foreign currency, and the fee is retained by PayPal. The specific exchange rate that applies to your multiple currency transaction will be displayed at the time of the transaction. ** Personal accounts may not receive payments funded by credit card, debit card or Buyer Credit for eBay or eBay Express transactions without upgrading to Premier or Business accounts. As I know the formatting may not come out correctly, I have attached a jpg. Most importantly I think in Paypal is that if someone has a personal account and someone sends them money they take 5.4 percent AND they charge a 2.5 percent exchange rate if the money was sent in USD. I am sure there are ways to play with all this and make it work out and you are right GB, this is great they are now allowing Thais to have accounts. I did not see where they can get a Debit Card but maybe I am missing that as well. Quote
Guest mlomker Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 I think in Paypal is that if someone has a personal account and someone sends them money they take 5.4 percent AND they charge a 2.5 percent exchange rate if the money was sent in USD. I spent some time looking through their site. The rate for accepting credit card payments is around 3%. It is free to add money to your Paypal account from a linked US account. It would then be a 50 baht fee if you were transferring less than 5000 baht into your Thai account. As long as you are transferring between two linked accounts that belong to you then you are only dealing with the 2.5% currency conversion fee. There is a debit/ATM card from Paypal but you'll be paying the usual ATM/currency conversion fees with that route (it'd be cheaper just to transfer the money to your Thai account). Quote
Gaybutton Posted May 27, 2009 Author Posted May 27, 2009 The way I'm reading it, if funds are transferred from PayPal into a Thai bank account there is no fee at all, with the exception of the 2.5% deduction for currency exchanges. It also appears to say that when someone withdraws money, if the withdrawal is less than 5000 baht, then you pay a 50 baht fee, but no fee at all if you withdraw more than 5000 baht. So, unless I'm misunderstanding it, the least expensive way is to transfer from your PayPal account directly into your Thai bank account and make withdrawals of 5000 baht or more. That, and the 2.5% currency conversion fee seems reasonable to me. I don't see anything about a debit card either, but I would think the 150 baht ATM fee would apply to the PayPal debit card anyway, which in many cases would defeat the purpose of using PayPal in the first place. If it takes a few days for funds to appear in the Thai bank account when money is withdrawn, it seems worth the wait to save a lot of money in the long run. PayPal is noted for charging very nominal fees. I don't see anything here that indicates anything particularly different. It certainly appears to me to be a hell of a lot less expensive than using foreign ATM cards at 150 baht per transaction. It's not free, but PayPal isn't in business to be free. But as far as I can tell, it offers an excellent alternative. I think we'll get it all figured out once people start using it. Mlomker, maybe you can answer this one: If I understand correctly, then if US $100 is put into my PayPal account, then I will be able to send US $97.50 to my Bangkok Bank account, minus the additional 50 baht fee for transactions under 5000 baht, since a 2.5% fee is charged. Am I understanding that correctly? Quote
Guest Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 I see. So you can have 2 different bank accounts linked to one paypal account? Is this correct? Quote
Gaybutton Posted May 27, 2009 Author Posted May 27, 2009 Here's an off-the-wall technical question . . . in another thread it was mentioned that US citizens have to file a report if they have more than US $10,000 in a foreign bank account. Not that I have even close to that kind of money, but suppose you put that same money into PayPal and leave it there. Would that be considered a foreign bank account? Quote
atri1666 Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 For me its not new. I already since 2 years have paypal connected with thai account. Verification with credit card was always a problem because paypal not was accepting thai visa card. When i send over 5000 baht there is no fee and under the fee is 50 baht. Quote
Guest kcampb49 Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 I see. So you can have 2 different bank accounts linked to one paypal account? Is this correct? I, also, would like someone to explain this. I just added my bank in the USA to a Paypal account I created years ago to pay something or the other, with the USA as my home country. I was hoping, based on a previous post, that I could just add my Siam Commercial Bank account number and transfer funds from the USA bank to the Thai bank using the Internet. I can't figure out from Paypal's "help" page how to do this, or even if I can. I'm happy to open a Paypal account in Thailand as well, if that is what it takes, to be able to go online and move money from a USA bank to a Thai bank. Whatever is the easiest and least expensive option, once it is set up. Also, I need simple directions:) Thanks Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Guess I'm missing something because 2.5% doesn't seem cheap to me. Unless the exchange rate is better than the wire transfer exchange. Exactly how do ACH transfers to Bangkok Bank work? I was under the impression that there was a small $10 flat fee. Before I left Thailand I opened an account at Bangkok Bank so that my next transfer would be thru them. On another forum, someone reported that with their bank they had 3 days to undo a wire transfer if they did not like the exchange rate. Not sure which bank. Anyone else hear of this? Quote
Guest mlomker Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Guess I'm missing something because 2.5% doesn't seem cheap to me. Unless the exchange rate is better than the wire transfer exchange. Exactly how do ACH transfers to Bangkok Bank work? I was under the impression that there was a small $10 flat fee. Yeah, the math only works for small amounts. Beyond 50k baht the wire transfer may be cheaper. I was reading the Bangkok Bank website today. It sounds like you open an account, get set up on their website, and from then on you can just go to their website to do a transfer. That's a tough deal to beat. Sounds like they opened a branch in NY solely for retirees to be able to have their SS checks ACHed to Thailand--you can't actually open an account in NY. Quote
Guest mlomker Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 If I understand correctly, then if US $100 is put into my PayPal account, then I will be able to send US $97.50 to my Bangkok Bank account, minus the additional 50 baht fee for transactions under 5000 baht, since a 2.5% fee is charged. Am I understanding that correctly? I agree that the rate schedule reads that way but logistically this doesn't look promising. I don't see a way to add anything other than an ACH checking to my US Paypal account. If you need separate US and Thai Paypal accounts then they are going to charge you to transfer funds between them (just like if you were buying something from a merchant). That fee would probably make it too costly relative to a wire. It sound to me that the best approach is to have your funds deposited into a US bank account and then use Bangkok Bank's online ACH transfer to send money to your Thai account when you need it. The bank doesn't allow you to ACH funds from Thailand to the US -- it only works in one direction...I found that interesting. The really only created this feature for the sake of Social Security money. Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Yeah, the math only works for small amounts. Beyond 50k baht the wire transfer may be cheaper. I was reading the Bangkok Bank website today. It sounds like you open an account, get set up on their website, and from then on you can just go to their website to do a transfer. That's a tough deal to beat. Sounds like they opened a branch in NY solely for retirees to be able to have their SS checks ACHed to Thailand--you can't actually open an account in NY. Gotta pop into the New York branch and see what's up. Last time, a few years ago, they said I couldn't open an account. Now I have one from Pattaya. Quote
Guest mlomker Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Gotta pop into the New York branch and see what's up. Last time, a few years ago, they said I couldn't open an account. Now I have one from Pattaya. That's correct, you can't open an account in NY. The branch was opened just to facilitate the transfers. You can read the details on their website. You'll just need to find a bank (perhaps an online bank or even Paypal US) that'll allow you to initiate an ACH from a web page to Bangkok Bank's NY branch. I suspect that any bank that offers a "bill pay" service that can be initiated online would work--you'd just be paying yourself electronically. Most banks seem to offer bill pay these days... Quote
Gaybutton Posted May 28, 2009 Author Posted May 28, 2009 I wish you folks would stop using acronyms and merely assume everyone knows what you're talking about. I don't. "ACH" What's that? I don't have a clue. Meanwhile, we seem to have several interpretations as to how PayPal is going to work with regard to Thailand and just what is and is not lost when transferring money. To me that means PayPal has done a poor job of making it clear to their customers. Is it really a good deal or is it a rip-off, as Western Union is? I don't think we're going to know for sure until a few people begin using it and posting the actual results. Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 ACH is an acronym for automatic clearing house. Here's a wiki page on ACH but it contains even more acronyms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_Clearing_House Quote
Gaybutton Posted May 28, 2009 Author Posted May 28, 2009 Here's a wiki page on ACH but it contains even more acronyms. Sheeeeeeesh! Great! Now I'm much more confused than I was in the first place. Quote
Guest TOQ Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Sheeeeeeesh! Great! Now I'm much more confused than I was in the first place. Good to know that all seems to be normal john Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 ACH is a just a regular transfer, either physical check or electronic, between USA banks. So one can transfer money (though I've never done so) between an American bank and the Bangkok Bank New York Branch and it's treated as a normal (FREE)transaction. Then Bangkok Bank tacks on a small fee (lower than other banks) when they send to Thailand and convert to baht. I guess it's cause there are no middlemen to get paid. Quote
Guest Patexpat Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 As stated earlier in the thread, this isn't new - I've been using a verified business account for at least a couple of years BUT BEWARE that because of the high fraud rate in Thailand I had many problems when I tried to make a payment via PAYPAL as they assumed that because I was using it frequently (as I said earlier, it's a verified business account) then I must be doing something dodgy! Finally solved this be registering all 3 of my Thai credit cards with them, and I find that if payment is refused for one card it will work with another. I had several lengthy emails with PAYPAL support and they would never give a reason for the initial refusal of a payment, only that it was due to 'confidential security measures and is no way a reflection on my account" !! Quote
