Korean Job Discussion Forums

[badfish77]

I just got off the phone with my US bank, and I'm wondering if anybody can enlighten me on transfer fees.

Every time I transfer cash, my Korean bank (Woori for my first contract, Shinhan for the current one) charges me 20,000 won, give or take. Then, Citizens Bank in the US charges me a $13-$16 transfer fee. Fine. The problem is, the amount that appears in my account BEFORE the US transfer fee and after the Korean one is always $20 less than what my Korean bank tells me is being sent.

Now, the woman I spoke with from Citizen's bank claims that Shinhan or Woori have to use an intermediary bank to get the money to my US account. And that intermediary bank, the one that has never before been mentioned to me and doesn't appear on my statements, is who is siphoning $20 off the top every time. She also claims that ALL banks use an intermediary when sending money back and forth internationally and all intermediaries charge fees.

I plan on heading into Shinhan to try to get this dealt with, though the branch I use doesn't seem to be particularly well versed in the English language.

I am fairly certain that it's Citizen's fault, I just want to be armed with as much information as possible when I call them back. That means talking to other expats and having it out with Shinhan first.

So my questions:

Does anyone else have this problem of $20 vanishing into thin air between Korea and the US?

Does anyone else use Citizen's in the States? What bank can I switch to so that I don't spend $50+ in fees for every transfer?

Does Shinhan have an English customer service line I can call if the folks in the bank don't understand the problem?

[tired of LA]

I think the intermediary bank is the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. When I banked with Busan Bank a few years ago, they always got a cut. But it showed up on my US banks website when I looked into the transactions history for my account. However, I don't think it was that high, at least not a two years ago. I think it was about $10.

Now I bank with KEB and the I've only transferred money home once so far, but I didn't notice any exxtra money missing and nothing showed a extra $10 being taken out by the federal reserve. KEB charges about 20,000 won to make a transfer and my bank charges $20 to receive, so I end up paying about $40 in fees to transfer money back home.

[hochhasd]

[DorkothyParker]

So what I am hearing is, you tell the your originating bank you want to transfer, say, $550 USD. They deduct about 660,000 won from your account to cover whatever their fee is plus the exchange rate. You check your US account expecting it to be about $535 USD. However, it is only $515 USD, yes?

That is a conundrum. I worked in a bank for almost 3 years, did many a wire transfer and never heard of such a thing.

Do you tell your bank what you want taken out in USD or in won? Maybe something is lost in translation (like their fee being added on top of the amount you say and not deducted from)

[davai!]

Never, ever had that problem. Why? because I mailed myself AMEX travelers checks for the price of a stamp.

[Quack Addict]

[themagicbean]

Had the same issue and called my bank. What happens is your money is first wired to an intermediary bank in the US who takes out a fee (usually about $20) then wires it to your bank. I've never found a way around it and since I only wire 3-4 times a year I don't sweat it.

And whomever mailed themselves traveler's checks ... what was the fee to convert the cash to traveler's checks? ... I'm used to a couple of percent, which is often more than $20 for any worthwhile sum.

[davai!]

[runthegauntlet]

Yep, got the same $20 intermediary fee last year. This year I've switched Korean banks and had to pay a $15 intermediary fee on my one transfer. Plus 30k for my Korean bank. Plus $15 for my bank back home.

I'll walking the rest of my savings through the U.S. in my pocket. No more transfers for me.

[SeoulMan6]

I too have done the AMEX cheques as there are no fees and they are guaranteed, though it is a major pain if they have to be reissued.

[ama]

[ATlasIAm]

yea fees suck. hate the banks

[davai!]

[jhuntingtonus]

[SeoulMan6]