Convenience of Online Thailand Bank Accounts

[TotallyOz]

I have had KBank and Bangkok Bank for years.  I recently had a friend who had a Bday and I was not in Thailand.  I saw on Facebook it was his birthday.  I wished him happy Birthday and send him a message and told him to give me his bank info and I'd send him a present.  He replied in less than 5 min with all the information I needed.  I logged in, added him, verified him via SMS and send him some money.

 

Hours later, he posted great photos of all the booze he bought for his friends and himself to drink that night. It was great to see. 

 

He did say thank you.

 

And, with an online account, it was so easy to do or take care of something like this quickly.

[williewillie]

With only the Thai guy's legal name (name must match his I.D.), one can use Moneygram. It cost as little as $5.00 US

if you plan ahead and can wait 3 days, or 5 minutes later, the money is in a pickup location for $15.00 fee.

It's another option for those of us without a Thailand online bank account

[kokopelli]

Michael, can you be more specific as to how to do this type of money transfer?  I have a Bangkok Bank on-line account but have no idea how to transfer money to another's account. Does the "other" have to have a Bangkok Bank account or can it be another bank such as Kbank?? I know how to do this via an ATM while in Thailand but not on-line.

[TotallyOz]

I asked the boy what bank he had and he said K Bank.  I logged into KBank and added a transfer account.  I needed his name and his account number.   I clicked submit and got a SMS Pin.  I entered and it was approved.  It was really that simple.  I have also used my KBank to transfer to other banks like Bangkok Bank. 

 

It works fast and I think the charge was 25 baht. 

[Guest]

Just in case anyone is wondering, I opened a K-bank savings account a few years back.

For this, I needed:

(i) Passport

(ii) Address scribbled on a piece of paper (any address)

(iii) Mobile phone number

 

I left the branch with all the paperwork, passbook and ATM card.  

Admittedly the first K-bank branch said it was not possible without a work permit, however the second one was very obliging.

 

The online banking ID expires after about 3 months of inactivity, necessitating a call to their call centre (cheap enough via Skype).  Now my google calendar sends me periodic reminders to log in and prevent such problems.

[Bob]

I'm not sure how I use my online (SCB) account to transfer funds to an account in another bank as I've never tried doing that.  I do regularly transfer funds to the beloved's account (also at SCB) and I remember that I had to "link" the account somehow at a local SCB branch.  Since then, I simply transfer funds on occasion with a few clicks of the mouse and all the transfers have been without any cost whatsoever.

 

I'd note that the "linking" simply identifies the other account and doesn't imply or allow anyone else (including the beloved) access to my account or my account information.  And, whereas Michael was able to do the "linking" online, I did it at the branch bank long ago (perhaps....haven't tried it....I could link online now).

 

Another nice safety feature is that I get an email notice and SMS notice from SCB every single time anybody (only me) accesses the online account or transfers funds from the account.  The notices come within seconds and have a link to use in the event that anything should be amiss with the access or transfer.  Extremely easy, efficient, and safe.

[Up2u]

I have TMB and Bangkok Bank and had been sending money to Thailand from America for many years including my bf. It is just as Michael described and I have sent money to my contractor and various vendors using the online transfer feature. They don't have to belong to the same bank. Thais like to use the Cash Deposit machines to send money to friends and family.

[Gaybutton]

To answer the questions about transferring money via online banking, it is quite simple to transfer money from your Thai bank account to someone else's Thai bank account, whether within the same bank or a different Thai bank.

 

With most banks it works the same way - with a few minor variations.  Once you log in to your account, there will be some sort of tab that usually says "Transfers" or "Funds Transfers" or something similar.  Once you click on that tab, in most cases what you do next to set it up is self explanatory.  For transferring money to other banks, usually there is a drop-down list and you click on the bank where you want the transfer sent.  You'll of course need the boy's account number.  Most of the time you won't have to worry about his name as long as you have his account number. 

 

It is usually not mandatory, but you should also have the boy's telephone number.  When transferring money to someone else's account, most banks will include an option to have a text message sent to his phone that will let him know money has been placed into his account, the source of the money, and the amount he received.

 

In most cases, in order to set up the transfer and to make the actual transfer, there will be OTPs.  OTP means "One Time Password."  That password is usually sent by text message to your mobile phone.  If for some reason the OTP cannot be sent to your mobile phone, such as you're out of the country or you don't have a mobile phone, some banks offer other options and some don't.  If your account happens to be in a "some don't" bank, you'll have to contact their customer service to see if some other arrangement can be made.

 

You also can make transfers from your own account to someone else's account, including accounts at different banks, at ATMs, but you can only do that at an ATM from your own bank.  In other words, if your bank account is a Bangkok Bank account, you can make the transfer at any Bangkok Bank ATM, but you won't be able to do it from any other bank's ATM.  That text message sent to his mobile phone is always an option at ATMs too.

[Guest]

Has anyone managed to get the banks to send the SMS to a non-Thai phone number?   

I presume they would not do this due to additional expense.

 

As it is, my SIM usually expires about 1 month after the holiday. 

[Gaybutton]

As it is, my SIM usually expires about 1 month after the holiday. 

 

There is a topic on my board that includes several posts explaining how to prevent that from happening.  See:  http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6998

[Guest naughtybutnice]

For anyone not wanting to go through what can be a hassle of setting up transfers between bank accounts it is worth looking at www.worldremit.com.

 

I have just checked the cost of sending £1000 ($1500) from the UK to a Thai bank account and the cost is just £3.99 ($6)  for a 3 day service. The average charge made by a UK bank for the same amount is £25 ($38). Using World Remit he recipient would receive 48,441TB

 

I have never personally used the service but know friends who have sent to money various companies using the service and they have always expreseed satisfaction.

[vinapu]

 Using World Remit he recipient would receive 48,441TB

 

 

I can volunteer to be one...