Wise formerly Transferwise

[migrant]

I'll let you know if I have a problem.

I've just transferred £1,900 - money arrived in seconds.

BB would you mind telling me what exchange rate you got?

[caller]

My last transfer was Monday evening, at 19.30. Unusually, I then received a message saying they have my money and that it would transferred at 20.00. It came at 20.03.

I kind of got the impression, no idea why, that their kitty in Thailand needed restocking, and this took place at 20.00.

[Big Boy]

BB would you mind telling me what exchange rate you got?

45.0013

[buksida]

The only issue I have with it is that I can't transfer THB to it from a Thai bank.

All this Wise talk had me experimenting with it again with reverse transfers and it can be done!

The K-bank app has an international transfer facility that works with regular banks so I thought I'd try it to the GBP Wise account.

It found the SWIFT code for Wise and you have to keep trying with the right answers for the reason for the transfer until it goes through, either remittances or education fees work.

The transfer took about 20 seconds and there was a 100 baht fee from K-bank. The exchange rate worked out at 45.3 going the other way (XE was showing 44.85).

Prolly not the best of times to send money to the UK due to the strengthening pound, but at least I know there is a way to send THB to Wise now (handy if the Thai banks are on shaky ground).

[Big Boy]

My last transfer was Monday evening, at 19.30. Unusually, I then received a message saying they have my money and that it would transferred at 20.00. It came at 20.03.

I kind of got the impression, no idea why, that their kitty in Thailand needed restocking, and this took place at 20.00.

It is whenever I get such delays that I find my money has travelled around Thailand before reaching Kasikorn Bank. On such occasions, I've had to get my Credit Advice from Bangkok Bank instead of Kasikorn. If you use the Credit Advice route for visa renewal, it might be worth checking out now, rather than receiving a surprise at visa renewal time. Kasikorn will not provide a Credit Advice if the money hit another bank first.

[caller]

Sorry BB, I don't really understand what you mean by 'hitting another bank first'?

[Big Boy]

They make a mistake sometimes and although the destination bank is Kasikorn, the money is received by Bangkok Bank first, who then will realise the mistake and send it on to Kasikorn. When that happens, Bangkok Bank have to provide the Credit Advice.

If you check the partner bank at the bottom of your Transferwise receipt, it will tell you who the first bank in Thailand was.

[caller]

Okay, thx. I never look at those normally, but it was Kasikorn.

[Ratsima]

I'm wondering how those of you who get instant transfers manage to accomplish it. Here's the timeline on a transfer I did this week:

Thursday 7:06 am - You set up your transfer
Thursday 7:06 am - You used your USD balance
Thursday 8:54 am - We paid out your THB
Thursday 1:13 pm - Transfer successfully sent to your recipient's bank

As you can see there is a 4+ hour gap between "we paid out your THB" and "transfer successfully sent".

This was sent to my account at Kasikorn.

What did I do wrong to deserve the four hour delay?

[Big Boy]

According to my confirmation e-mail, mine took 6 seconds yesterday. and that is pretty normal. I find if I transfer at weekends or bank holidays, then delays often kick in. I just avoid those periods these days.

[Ratsima]

According to my confirmation e-mail, mine took 6 seconds yesterday. and that is pretty normal. I find if I transfer at weekends or bank holidays, then delays often kick in. I just avoid those periods these days.

Well, mine was on a Thursday, not a weekend or, AFAIK, a bank holiday and it still took hours rather than seconds. I’m baffled. What’s the secret? Not that I’m in a huge hurry. It’s just a mystery I’d like to understand.

I see I put the wrong bank; it was Bangkok Bank, not Kasikorn.

[caller]

I usually try to ensure both banks are open at either end. On Monday, the Thai bank had already closed, although I didn't think that would make any real difference, because the money paid into my Thai account isn't transferred from abroad. Hence, I assumed Wise telling me in advance, that they would pay the money due into my account in 30 minutes, was an internal matter to do with Wise.

[huahin4ever]

There is a difference in transaction times using transfer from a debit/credit card or transfer from your homeland local account to the local account in same country before TW sends the money locally in Thailand to your account.

But maybe the transactions above are from cards only? If so it should normally take seconds to get the funds into you Thai account. At least if the Thai bank is open.

YNWA

[Ratsima]

I've never tried using a card. I have a two step process:

• First I transfer funds from my US bank (American Express) to my Wise account. That takes a few minutes.

• Then I initiate the transfer from my Wise account to Bangkok Bank. This can take many hours.

I guess that holding on to my funds for a few hours is one way that Wise makes their money.

It's not a big deal as I only transfer funds once or twice a year and plan well ahead so there is no urgency. Just curious.

[dundrillin]

I've never tried using a card. I have a two step process:

• First I transfer funds from my US bank (American Express) to my Wise account. That takes a few minutes.

• Then I initiate the transfer from my Wise account to Bangkok Bank. This can take many hours.

I guess that holding on to my funds for a few hours is one way that Wise makes their money.

It's not a big deal as I only transfer funds once or twice a year and plan well ahead so there is no urgency. Just curious.

my procedure with Wise is different, first I log on to wise and state how much I want to transfer, they then connect me directly to my UK bank. I click transfer "now" the funds are then transferred to Wise. This step is always virtually instantaneous.Wise then transfer funds to Kasikorn. 90% of the time it takes 6 secs, very occasionally it may take a couple of hours. Long Live Wise