Wise, Revolut & Remitly Into Thai Banks — What Bangkok Bank, SCB, and Kasikorn Actually Accept in 2026

Why Wise transfers look 'domestic' on a Thai statement

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a Money Service Business, not a correspondent bank. It maintains large THB balances at Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn. When you send USD/EUR/GBP via Wise, they debit their local THB pool and push a THB domestic transfer to your account — no SWIFT MT103, no automatic FET.

On the statement: description reads 'Wise Payments Ltd' or 'TransferWise' as a THB inflow. Fine for daily living expenses, but a problem for Immigration extensions, Land Office transfers, and Revenue Department claims requiring evidence funds originated abroad.

Retirement (O-A / O) and marriage visa extensions — Immigration Phuket policy

Immigration Bureau Order 327/2557 (retirement) and 328/2557 (marriage) require THB 800,000 / 400,000 seasoned in a Thai bank for 2/3 months and originated 'from abroad.' Phuket Immigration Chalong accepts Wise transfers only when supported by a bank Credit Advice or FTT letter showing sender name, sender country, and foreign-currency source.

Bangkok Bank Chalong: request 'Foreign Telegraphic Transfer confirmation letter' at the counter with 3+ business days' notice. Fee THB 200. Bank prints original USD/EUR amount and FX rate, referencing your Wise ID.

Kasikornbank Central Phuket: 'Foreign Source Credit Advice' from the Foreign Exchange counter, THB 300, 5-7 business days.

SCB Bang Tao: does not currently issue Wise-specific letters. Retirement visa applicants using SCB should switch primary account to Bangkok Bank at least 90 days before extension.

Revolut, Remitly, Payoneer, OFX — what actually works

Revolut: inbound routes via a UK/EU correspondent (LHV Pank or Community Federal). The Thai leg is a real SWIFT MT103 — proper FET or Credit Advice available. Use 'Revolut Bank UAB' as sender name.

Remitly: local settlement like Wise — same limitations.

Payoneer: real correspondent (Wells Fargo or DBS). SWIFT MT103 available. Works for FET.

OFX / XE: real SWIFT wires. Best-in-class for Land Office FET purpose 318.

DeeMoney (Thai licensee): local settlement but DOES issue an official 'Foreign Remittance Certificate' compliant with BoT regulation. Cheapest reliable option for retirement visa evidence.

Condo purchase FET purpose 318 — the Wise workaround

Only a bank can issue an FET for inward remittances USD 50,000+. Because Wise arrives as domestic THB, no FET is possible. Phuket Land Office rejects Wise-only funding for foreign-quota transfers.

Workaround: for the property leg, bypass Wise and send a single SWIFT wire from your home bank (or via OFX/XE) with purpose code 318 pre-filled. Living-expense flows can still use Wise.

Revenue Department Por 161/162 — tax residency and Wise

Since 1 January 2024, Thai tax residents (183+ days) are taxable on foreign-source income remitted to Thailand in the same or later tax year. Wise transfers count as remittances the moment they hit your Thai account.

Keep Wise statements (PDF from the app) alongside Thai bank statements. To characterise a transfer as 'pre-2024 savings' (excluded from Por 161), the Wise transaction history showing the underlying USD/EUR balance date is your primary evidence.

DTV visa holders: a 180-day stay triggers tax residency, and Wise transfers from a US W-2 salary paid in the same year are prima facie taxable under Por 161.

Practical setup for Phuket expats in 2026

Primary Thai bank: Bangkok Bank (best Wise-letter support, most Immigration-friendly).

Secondary: Kasikorn (best mobile app, K PLUS PromptPay).

Everyday transfers < THB 200K: Wise.

Retirement/marriage seasoning: DeeMoney or OFX (auto-issue foreign-remittance certificate).

Property purchase: direct SWIFT via home bank or OFX with purpose 318.

December tax-year end: download 12-month Wise activity PDF + Thai bank statement, keep both for 5 years per Revenue Code retention rules.

The legal basis — why a 'domestic THB credit' is not a foreign remittance

The distinction is not a bank policy quirk; it comes from the Exchange Control Act B.E. 2485 and Bank of Thailand notifications on inward remittances. Only an authorised financial institution that actually performs the foreign-currency-to-THB conversion inside Thailand can certify that conversion. A Money Service Business paying you out of a pre-funded THB pool performed no conversion in Thailand, so no Thai institution can attest to a foreign source.

This is why the remedy is always documentary: the receiving bank can, on request, trace the underlying funding leg (the MSB's own inbound wire) and issue a Credit Advice referencing your specific credit. Whether it will do so is a branch-level and product-level decision, not a legal entitlement — plan on the letter being possible, never guaranteed.

Practical consequence: never leave evidence-gathering to the month of your extension. Establish which letter your branch actually issues on your first transfer, keep a sample, and repeat the same route every month so the paper trail is homogeneous.

Seasoning rules people get wrong

Retirement extension (Non-O based on age 50+): THB 800,000 must sit in the account for 2 months before the application, and — under the current Immigration Bureau practice — must remain at THB 800,000 for 3 months after the extension is granted, then may drop to no lower than THB 400,000 for the rest of the year before being topped back up 2 months prior to the next extension.

Marriage extension (Non-O based on Thai spouse): THB 400,000 must be seasoned for 2 months, with no post-grant retention rule of the same form — but officers routinely check that the balance was not a same-week deposit.

The income method (THB 65,000/month for retirement, THB 40,000/month for marriage) is only available to nationals whose embassy still issues income affirmations. The US, UK, Australia and Denmark stopped issuing them, so those nationals must use the deposit method or the combination method.

A single 'lump' arrival on day 1 of the seasoning window is acceptable. A transfer that arrives mid-window and is counted from the wrong date is the most common rejection at Chalong.

Verify current figures and retention rules at immigration.go.th before each extension — Immigration Bureau orders are amended without notice and the numbers above reflect the practice in force at the time of writing.

Building an audit file that survives three different agencies

Immigration, the Land Office, and the Revenue Department ask for overlapping but not identical evidence. Maintain one folder per calendar year containing: the monthly Wise/Revolut PDF activity statement (which shows original currency, FX rate, and the date the balance existed), the Thai bank passbook update or e-statement for the same month, and any Credit Advice or FTT letter issued.

For Revenue Department purposes, the critical field is the date the underlying foreign balance was earned or held — not the date it reached Thailand. Screenshots are weak evidence; the provider's official PDF with its reference numbers is what withstands a query.

Keep records for at least five years. The Revenue Code allows assessment within that window, and property or visa disputes surface long after the transfer.

If you change providers or Thai banks mid-year, write a one-page chronology in English and Thai listing each route change with dates. Officers reviewing an irregular pattern accept a clear narrative far more readily than a stack of unexplained statements.

Common failure patterns and how to unwind them

Sender name mismatch: funds sent from an account in a spouse's or parent's name will not evidence the applicant's own funds. Send from an account in the applicant's own name, or expect to document the gift separately.

Split wires to dodge fees: three USD 20K wires instead of one USD 60K wire changes the documentation class from FET to three separate certificates and multiplies rejection risk at the Land Office.

Balance dipping below the threshold during seasoning: a single ATM withdrawal that takes the account under THB 800,000 restarts the clock. Use a dedicated account that receives no debits.

Late letter requests: allow at least 10 business days between requesting a Credit Advice and the extension appointment.

Assuming last year's rule still applies: confirm the current requirement with the specific office handling your file before you move money.