Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Coffeeprincess]

So every month, I've been wiring money home to the US for the last few months, and today I discovered that even though my bank here (Woori) charges me 20,000 KRW in commission, another $15 US is being taken out somewhere along the way, so it's costing me approximately 34,000 KRW to send a wire every month. Does this sound about right?????

I have the money wired to my brother's account each month and since he works for Wells Fargo they don't charge a commission. So when I walked into Woori today and asked them to whom is that $15 going to every month (since WF isn't taking it), they said that it's some middle bank in the US. But when I informed them that WF seems to be directly receiving the money from Woori, they said they'd look into it. The woman at the bank makes some phone calls and says that once again, it's some middle bank in the US but can't confirm which bank it is. And the reason they go through a middle bank is because supposedly WF is very strict and they want to be able to verify the money and the amount. Does this sound right????

But what really pissed me off was that at the end of our conversation, she tells me that from now on, if I request that Woori directly wire the money to WF, then they'll do that and therefore I could save the extra $15 a month by not using the middle bank. When I asked why wasn't this option available to me before, she said it's because I didn't ask. Wtf??? And they still couldn't tell me exactly who the middle bank was.

I hate Korean banks. And the people who work there are so friendly that I can't even get that angry with them for their incompetency.

Also, the last time I went in there to wire money, they said they wanted a copy of my passport, so I gave them a photocopy. Then they said that they need to stamp my passport each time, and when I refused, they just looked at me with a blank stare and said that it's the new law. When I still refused, citing that they didn't need my passport, they finally just accepted the photocopy and said "ok."

Those of you who wire money home, how much are you charged in commission? And have you been asked to show your passport?

[rhinocharge64]

To your show passport then fair doos. However, you did right by not letting them stamp it, you are not passing port!!

[nomad-ish]

it's all a conspiracy. koreans just don't want ANY money leaving their country, hence difficulties in transferring money, getting international ATM cards, and the quoting of non-existant banking laws.

i'm only sort of kidding.

oh, and sorry OP, i can't help you all that much, but i can tell you that my fee is about 18,000W from korea and then another $10, i think

[ellegarden]

They have to stamp your passport because the law says that you can only transfer up to 20,000$ worth per year and they need some way of tracking that.

I also get about a 15-50$ charge that some secret middle bank takes and the receiving bank has no idea who is taking it.

But I'll ask them to wire it directly like you said and hopefully that resolves that problem.

[tzechuk]

[quote="Coffeeprincess"]So every month, I've been wiring money home to the US for the last few months, and today I discovered that even though my bank here (Woori) charges me 20,000 KRW in commission, another $15 US is being taken out somewhere along the way, so it's costing me approximately 34,000 KRW to send a wire every month. Does this sound about right?????[quote]

Yes, it does, I am afraid.

[Juregen]

There are some banking rules you should know about.

When transferring money, there are three ways to cover the cost

1. Sender pays all
2. Receiver pays all
3. 50/50

The third option is the cheapest. I asked this question to my banker in my home country and he explained the different methods.

Talk to a banker you trust.

PS: a lot of Koreans know they are incompetent, but it really is the fault of management, they are the most incompetent.

[Coffeeprincess]

Tzechuk, thank you for the helpful information. Though I don't feel better about the whole situation, at least I know that I'm not being singled out here. I was exasperated at the bank today.

[KYC]

I've sent money home twice since I've been here. Never heard of a middle bank. Nongyhup charges me 12,000 to send and my home bank charges 10 usd to receive. My home bank did tell me if I open a premium account with a min balance of 10k there'd be no charge

[GoldMember]

A much cheaper option (only about $10), get an international cheque, and then post it home. Easy peasy.

[whatever]

[deluxe]

I second that notion of sending home traveler's checks. I wired home money a couple of times years ago, and the bank's fees, plus the mystery middle bank fees, and then my bank's fees made me feel quite unhappy, plus the fact that you have to spend a friggin eternity waiting in the bank.

So for a long time now I've just had my girlfriend get me traveler's checks (she's a VIP, gets a better rate, and her bank delivers them to her) and then I mail them off to my my bank.

Just make sure to keep a record of the traveler's checks in case they get lost in the mail. I always take a photo of them.

[wylies99]

[bassexpander]

[lastat06513]

I used to wire money to my parents when they were in a jam and yes, I was charged the Korean bank's (KEB) wiring fee and well as the fee from the bank (Bank of America) where the money was deposited.
So, for my standpoint $34 seemed about right.

Another option would be Western Union, but I would suspect the charges would be the same, maybe.

[saw6436]

Thismay or maynot help a bit. Talk to your bank back home and see if you can negotiate a redued bank wire fee. I've had an account with Wachovia Bank since I was 8 years old (around 35 years). My first trip back to the States I stopped by my local branch, explained my situation, and they agreed to cut the fee from $25.00 down to $12.50. Worth a shot for you if you are a good customer at your bank.