There are some new brokerage houses like Chuck, and Ameritrade, and a few others that offer checking accounts that have relationships with bank of china (to access the HK Stock Exchange, SEHK) that you can deposit RMB into an investment account and then get a dispersion credited to your USA account, but its a convoluted process probably takes a while, has a bunch of paperwork involved, and is probably as expensive as a wire when you consider all the fees. I say probabley because its one of those things i dont know from experience, and ive only "heard' its possible in theory.
I've seen people get creative with bill pay. The problem is in China most people pay their bills at the post office or bank, and the idea of using checks is unheard of (people do use them, but they go to the bank and get a bank draft or official bank check). I had students that needed to do it when sending application fees to schools outside China. Some banks offer bill pay (mainly for business accounts), and they use checks. Ive seen where they send a check to themselves (to their bank in the USA) through bill pay, but its really just the same as bank through mail. You have to wait for the check to get there and then wait for it to clear, which could take a month.
Personally if you lived closer to HK, you would have more options but in all reality I've found that each innovative idea I hear eventually costs as much or more then doing a wire transfer to begin with.
Shop around at the bank branches in your home and try to find the bank that has the cheapest incoming wire fee. Look into a business account because they sometimes have accounts that are free but have free incoming wires, and reduced costs on outgoing wires. If you can cut the incoming wire fee out, you only need to be concerned with the outgoing fee charged by the bank in china which could cut the cost down as Bank of China charges around 1% and the cap can be as low as 50RMB or under $10.
money and banking abroad
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dreamgiver
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:00 am
Steps
Well check with your credit union first to see what kind of international banking they have? Honestly I dont generally recommend credit unions. They just arent usually set up with extensive (if any) international support. Many just dont do international wires. Even the ones that do, are very unlikely to do a lot of business with asian countries or Thailand meaning your deposits would take even longer to clear. About the only benefit is that usually (if they have them available) incoming wires are nearly free.
Credit Union Requirments:
1) Does their member services department have an international banking department or rep to help you (more likely if you belong to one of the many military service based credit unions, then just a local one for city residents or say teachers)?
2) Do they offer online banking and an internationally useable ATM/Debit card? What are the fees, and exchange rates for ATM use in Thailand? Some small banks and credit unions just wont approve charges or ATM transactions in countries with a high degree of fraud or theft and Bangkok might be one of them. They just dont want the liability.
3) Do they accept Bank by mail, and what are the check requirements and clearing times?
4) Do they have an IBAN account number (similar to a routing number)? Do they have a SWIFT code? Many small banks and credit unions dont have these because they really dont deal with international banking.
Thailand Banking:
There is only one real clearing house in Thailand, the Automated High-Value Transfer Network (BAHTNET). It is owned and operated by the Bank of Thailand. It is comprised of two smaller low value clearing houses at the retail point, the Electronic Cheque Clearing System (ECS) and Media Clearing System.
Most expats bank at Bank of Bangkok (near Emporium mall). They also have a lot of ATM machines. Multi national bank options are HSBC, which is expensive considering account fees and minimum deposits as well, as the fact they have a single branch and only a couple ATMs. CitiBank is also an option. Both banks have bill pay systems in the USA so opening an account and then depositing funds in Bangkok and then paying your bills online is an option. Your deposits would clear next day and be available just as fast, but my understanding is that the convenience and cost for there accounts break about even with doing a wire from BOB (Bank of Bangkok) and a international bank in the USA (Chase, WF, BOA, etc).
Bank of Bangkok has an actual branch in New York which you can use to transfer money. Its supposedly super easy to transfer online very cheaply (like $5 up to 2K, and $10 up to 10K) out of the USA but transfers into the USA from BOB sometimes work and sometimes dont work. The issue is that its not supposed to work and your transfer could be refused or declined by your USA bank at any time is my understanding.
Personally, I do mine with Chase Small Business banking. You can transfer online from BOB and your chase account for $3. Transfers over $1K are recorded, and transfers over $10K have additional paperwork requirements and approval. Anything over $10K requires a Chase Commercial account which requires incorporation and a bunch of other work to maintain a corporation. The transfers "settle" (are converted into currency) within 24 hours of the cut of point and use the FED Interbank rate. Funds are made available in 24-72 hours.
In all fairness BOA supposedly has similar options but they charged $10 last I looked and I cant comment on timelines, etc.
Credit Union Requirments:
1) Does their member services department have an international banking department or rep to help you (more likely if you belong to one of the many military service based credit unions, then just a local one for city residents or say teachers)?
2) Do they offer online banking and an internationally useable ATM/Debit card? What are the fees, and exchange rates for ATM use in Thailand? Some small banks and credit unions just wont approve charges or ATM transactions in countries with a high degree of fraud or theft and Bangkok might be one of them. They just dont want the liability.
3) Do they accept Bank by mail, and what are the check requirements and clearing times?
4) Do they have an IBAN account number (similar to a routing number)? Do they have a SWIFT code? Many small banks and credit unions dont have these because they really dont deal with international banking.
Thailand Banking:
There is only one real clearing house in Thailand, the Automated High-Value Transfer Network (BAHTNET). It is owned and operated by the Bank of Thailand. It is comprised of two smaller low value clearing houses at the retail point, the Electronic Cheque Clearing System (ECS) and Media Clearing System.
Most expats bank at Bank of Bangkok (near Emporium mall). They also have a lot of ATM machines. Multi national bank options are HSBC, which is expensive considering account fees and minimum deposits as well, as the fact they have a single branch and only a couple ATMs. CitiBank is also an option. Both banks have bill pay systems in the USA so opening an account and then depositing funds in Bangkok and then paying your bills online is an option. Your deposits would clear next day and be available just as fast, but my understanding is that the convenience and cost for there accounts break about even with doing a wire from BOB (Bank of Bangkok) and a international bank in the USA (Chase, WF, BOA, etc).
Bank of Bangkok has an actual branch in New York which you can use to transfer money. Its supposedly super easy to transfer online very cheaply (like $5 up to 2K, and $10 up to 10K) out of the USA but transfers into the USA from BOB sometimes work and sometimes dont work. The issue is that its not supposed to work and your transfer could be refused or declined by your USA bank at any time is my understanding.
Personally, I do mine with Chase Small Business banking. You can transfer online from BOB and your chase account for $3. Transfers over $1K are recorded, and transfers over $10K have additional paperwork requirements and approval. Anything over $10K requires a Chase Commercial account which requires incorporation and a bunch of other work to maintain a corporation. The transfers "settle" (are converted into currency) within 24 hours of the cut of point and use the FED Interbank rate. Funds are made available in 24-72 hours.
In all fairness BOA supposedly has similar options but they charged $10 last I looked and I cant comment on timelines, etc.