Korean Job Discussion Forums

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

How does everyone pay their bills back in their home country? Do you keep your home bank account and send cheque's home? Did you get a korean bank account? If I get a korean bank account can I transfer the money back to home to another bank, so my loan payments etc can still come out of them.....

Any help would be great...thanks!

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

I have a Korean bank account. Every couple of months, I wire money to my account in the states. I have all of my bills come out of this account in the states. I pay the bills online. (There isn't enough time to pay by post with a check before it is late). Pretty much any bill can be paid online. I have one that is also charged to my debit (which you can use like a credit) card every month. Its really pretty easy. Once you leave home you probaly won't have that many bills anyway.
My husband's paretns have our check book and if something vital needs to be done, they write a check for us. They also deposit any checks taht come to us for us. This is pretty rare though. If you are lucky enough to have someone you trust with your money at home, then do this. If not (for example, I love my dad to death but he's not good with money), then you need to explain to any creditors your situation and try to work something out.

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

The whole reason I'm going to Korea is to pay my bills off at home!! lol

So I need to find a reliable, cheap way to pay my bills online. Unless I can use a korean bank account to pay my bills at home via the internet... if they bank has an english option.

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

I really doubt you would be able to pay any bills with a Korean bank account. Korean accounts won't recognize home creditors and home creditors won't recognize korean bank accounts. You will have to do it with an account from home.

Don't you have a bank account in your own country? Maybe you didn't understand my post. You get paid into your Korean bank account here. You transfer money from Korean bank account to home bank account. You pay bills online with home bank account. Easy! A lot of places will even let you set up automated monthly bill payments so you don't have to remember to do it.

It's simple. What don't you understand?

CBP · Joined: 15 May 2006 Location: Korea

I've been having some difficulty thinking this through, too. But from all I've read here, I've decided to keep my checking and savings in the States and send money home. I think most schools in Korea do automatic payments into your Korean account every month. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) You can either wire money directly into your home-country account from your Korean bank, or send it to your family by mail. It might take a month from what I'm understanding, but except for the initial month you'll soon have something posting to your home account every month.

Talk to your bank and ask them about sending a check directly to them each month, instead of sending it to a friend or family member. Bring deposit slips with you. Then set up "Bill Pay" through your online access to your account. My bank has free Bill Pay, but some charge a small monthly fee. Try to always have two or three months worth of payments in your account in case something happens and the check doesn't get deposited into your account.

Also, look into Paypal. Millions of people use Paypal to exchange money and what not. Maybe you can register your Korean and home account with Paypal, linking them together so that you can transfer funds between them. I'm not sure if Paypal accepts Korean accounts, but it might be worth looking into. They charge fees, but not nearly as much as a wire transfer costs.

Cheers.

alabamaman · Joined: 25 Apr 2006

Bill Pay... I access my bank account online, punch in a few numbers, and I'm set! No problems at all...

CBP · Joined: 15 May 2006 Location: Korea

Yeah, Bill Pay works really well. I just sent an email to Paypal, asking about whether or nor foreign bank accounts are accepted. There might be some problem with currency conversion, so this might not work out, but I'll post back here when I know for sure.

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

what is "bill pay?" a section in paypal?

CBP · Joined: 15 May 2006 Location: Korea

Bill pay is a feature that most banks offer their clients. It's attached to your accounts. You log into your account online, click bill pay and enter information for all of your creditors. You can then begin making payments from your checking account to your creditors. The creditors never see your checking account number, and for most creditors the payment arrives the same day that your bank issues it. I have one creditor that only accepts mailed payments. My bank is able to pay them, too. I did a test run, taking note of when the payments were made and how long it took for the creditors to receive payment ... went like clockwork. You can even set up automatic monthly payments so you don't have to log in every month or remember to pay. It's a great system.

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

when you say "most banks," so you mean Korean, or US/UK, etc.?

I have never heard of this before, and I have HSBC and Sovereign Bank, but it sounds awesome.

Maybe I have to ask for it at a bank? Unless the bank offers the option automatically.

CBP · Joined: 15 May 2006 Location: Korea

Sorry I wasn't clear. I'm referring to American bank accounts, but I also think Canadian have the bill pay option, too. From what I've been reading, Korea doesn't offer this service, and with currency conversion it would be complicated.

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

When I first came to Korea I owed money to Visa, Mastercard, Discover, SallieMae (student loans), Allstate (car insurance), and a few assorted and sundry folks.

I bought traveler's cheques at an exchange bank and mailed the cheque to all of the above, kinda like I would have paid by check back in the US. It mean I had to pay my bills in $50 or $100 increments, but when I paid more, I just put more cheques into the envelope. I made them out like regular cheques, payable to Visa et al. with the normal tracking information I would put on my own checks. I never had a problem with this -- they were always accepted and my accounts were credited.

I did it this way because:

1) TC's traded at a better exchange rate (got more USD for my won than cash exchanges)

2) TC's used to count as "in-country" purchases, and so didn't count as money sent out of country (this is no longer a problem, since you can send your full salary out now -- back in the day, I was limited to 50 or 60% remittance, I think...)

3) Wiring money back cost about 10,000 won on this side and $20 on my bank's side. Buying TC's had no additional cost.

Only problem is that if your cheques get lost, you have to report them lost or stolen to get your money back -- the ones I buy are insured/guaranteed/whatevered so I can get them replaced...but if they are lost in the mail you have to claim they were lost or stolen from your wallet/belongings...mailing them (like mailing cash) is a no-no...but they are as safe as mailing a check otherwise....

Just an alternate idea....

CBP · Joined: 15 May 2006 Location: Korea

There's a lot to consider, but at this point I'm convinced that setting up bill pay in your home country is the best way to go. It's much more manageable, especially if you always have at least two months worth of payments sitting in your account. Then all you have to do is mail money to your bank every other month or so. You avoid having to pay wire fees (Korea's fees and your banks 'receiving' fees). What I haven't figured out yet is in what form I should send the money. I'll look into traveler's checks, but do Korean banks offer something similar to money orders (in dollars, of course)?

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

I can't believe you are considering MAILING money home. That is idiotic. Sorry, but it is. just wire it. If you only do it every few months, you will pay about 30 US$ in fees. It will be there the next day. You don't have to worry about it. Mailing is crazy.

LarrytheGiraffee · Joined: 12 Feb 2006

I respectfully disagree with kat2. I have been here for almost 3 years and I have always mailed my money home. I get a bank check ( a check made out in US$) with pay to the order of filled in with "Bank Name". On the back of the check I sign it and write for deposit only.

I save up my money and every few months I send a few thousand dollars home. I only pay 6000won per check and it takes no more than 20 days for the check to clear (10 days for an international check to clear and anywhere from 5-10 days for the check to mail).

It can cost anywhere from $30-$50 to wire transfer money. I much prefer the savings.

I US account is accessable online and I pay all my bills with that account.

Just another opinion but I hope it helps.

~Larry