cavanami Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Just chatted with Wa Mu and they said that they can not get me setup to do wire transfers online. I politely suggested that they pass on my comments that many other banks, like Citibank, allow me to do wire transfers online, so Wa Mu needs to move into the year 2007! They said I must come into a Wa Mu bank to do a wire transfer to a bank outside the USA...errrr, I'm in Bangkok...hello??? Oh well, no biggie, just another disappointing USA bank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldFun Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 "They said I must come into a Wa Mu bank to do a wire transfer to a bank outside the USA...errrr" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongatu Posted July 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 Maybe you could initiate a wire transfer by calling your specific WAMU branch, speak to someone in the branch about what you want to do and then fax them specific instructions signed by you. Not sure if it would be worth all that hassle though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted July 11, 2007 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 Not worth the hassle. I am still waiting for Wa Mu's reply to the email that I had sent earlier, but I expect the same answer. I know that Citibank charges about $25 USD to do a wire transfer to accounts outside the USA, so I have to do the math and see what is the most economical. Another day in the office... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted July 11, 2007 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 C'mon Cavi, don't you know that the USA is the centre of the known universe and all must bow to them? Get with the program! Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted July 11, 2007 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 SD, Okay, so the big Thai bank ATM's are giving the onshore rate? From a US bank ATM card? So what is the 'onshore' rate today, and what is the 'offshore rate' today? I see it down to nearly 31.? offshore. What is it onshore now? Just the difference today from 34 baht to the $ compared to 31 to the $ if taking out 50,000 baht is around 4000 baht's difference! Not a lot really, but multiplied over a few 50G baht withdrawals and you are losing around 20,000 baht in the exchange. Sucks really. And no end in sight yet I can see. Dollar keeps going down and the baht keeps getting stronger. I can understand the dollar going down, but what gets me is the strength of the baht really. Cent p.s. Didn't get into Silver Dollar the other night, but will do so in a few weeks when I am back down in BKK and will buy a few drinks for the lass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted July 11, 2007 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 Changed some USD ($100 bills) today and got 33.15 Baht. Many of the banks/exchange places were at 32.9. The f'ing USD is in the dirt!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Okay, so the big Thai bank ATM's are giving the onshore rate? From a US bank ATM card? Yes, that is correct in my experience using a Cirrus/MasterCard ATM/debit card from my Detroit bank (haven't tried the Las Vegas bank). So what is the 'onshore' rate today, and what is the 'offshore rate' today? I see it down to nearly 31.? offshore. What is it onshore now? Offshore rates -- http://www.oanda.com (31.22 at the time of this post). Onshore rates -- http://www.bbl.co.th/Bangkok+Bank/main.htm (32.93 at the time of this post). Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steffi Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I cannot tell you how much of a pain in the arse Bank of America has been on this trip. First I report fraudulent check card charges and they tell me I have to be in the US for them to pursue the claim and just the other day I asked them for my banks routing number as somebody was wiring me money and they ended up giving me a wrong number such that the wire was rejected by the senders bank. That has probably cost me about 17k If not BoA who do you recommend? HSBC, Ing Direct who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongatu Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I've had bad experiences with B of A and haven't used them for many many years. I think Mr. Tiger said he was happy with Franklin or First Franklin and claimed they don't even pass through the 1% MC/Visa surcharge. Washington Mutual has a free checking account and they don't charge ATM fees beyond them passing through to you the 1% MasterCard fee that both MC & Visa apply to all foreign currency conversions. They also don't charge for domestic or foreign wire transfers but the catch is you have to be personally present in a branch to initiate such a transfer, so that is of limited utility. On a more general note, today I changed two $500 traveler's checks at BKK Bank and got a rate of 33.50 minus a 66 B fee which turned out to net me slightly over 100 B more than I would have received for exchanging US$1,000 cash. Sorry I didn't bring more traveler's checks (I get them free of any service charges through the AAA (American auto club) although I hear they are going to cease offering free TC's in the near future. ING Direct is not good for ATM withdrawals in foreign countries. One of their representatives told me they add a 2% surcharge for foreign atm withdrawals and I think that may be in addition to the 1% MC/Visa fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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