Sending Money To Thailand, Ridiculous Forex Rates

[junkofdavid2]

Will be receiving some money from abroad, from a customer who has USD.

It's not that big actually, about 7,000 USD.

However, if he sends, what rate will the bank use? Forex rates quoted internationally say the Baht is 32.63, while if I change USD at the money changer here, I'd get 34.80.

That's a difference of more than 2 Baht per dollar, or more than 14,000 THB!!!!

Is there any way I can receive money from abroad, and get a rate closer to 34.80 instead of 32.64?

Someone said something about SWIFT. How is SWIFT different from Wire Transfer? Will SWIFT solve the problem and get me the better rate? If yes, how?

Cheers.

[LoveDaBlues]

If money is being sent by wire xfer to your Thai bank account you will get the best rate possible. If you want to know what that rate is go to your bank and check the posted rate or go to your bank's website and check the rate posted.

[soundman]

If money is being sent by wire xfer to your Thai bank account you will get the best rate possible. If you want to know what that rate is go to your bank and check the posted rate or go to your bank's website and check the rate posted.

Just to clarify the above comment;

SWIFT & Wire TX are the same thing. Its actually refered to as TT in thailand. If you want to get the onshore rate make sure the transfered amount is in the home currency. ie US$ from USA, AuD$ from Australia etc. Do Not change into Baht in the country of origin otherwise you'll get the offshore rate & lose 3 - 10% of the value of the transfer.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[farangene]

I recently wire transferred funds from the US to my Bangkok Bank acct and the exchange rate was about 35.08. The offshore rate was about 3 baht less than that rate.

BE SURE TO SPECIFY THAT YOU WANT THE FUNDS SENT TO THE THAI BANK IN DOLLARS AS THE ABOVE POSTER NOTED.

[Maestro]

However, if he sends, what rate will the bank use?

It’s very simple, really, If you invoiced him an amount in dollars, he will remit dollars and you will get the onshore rate. If you billed him in Baht he will remit the corresponding Baht amount and this amount will be credited to your Thai account, minus a small bank charge of your Thai bank; the exchange rate his bank uses is of no concern to you.

--

Maestro

[sonicdragon]

To be sure that the money is sent in US$, thereby getting the onshore rate (if it is sent to a baht account) or actually received in $ (if it is sent to a US$ account) then you should give, in addition to you own bank details in thailand, the "correspondent bank" details to your customer - your bank in thailand will give this information to you. It is a bank located in New York that holds a US$ account in the name of your own bank in thailand - the details consist of the bank name & address, account number and (optionally) swift code.

I am aware of one recent situation where someone wanted to send US$ to a US$ account held in thailand - it was first converted to baht (at the offshore rate) by the overseas bank and baht was sent to the US$ account, and the baht was then converted back to US$ at the onshore rate by the local thai bank. A rather unpleasant outcome.

[Heng]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

[junkofdavid2]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Actually, I have a Citibank USD account and I almost withdrew from the Citibank ATM yesterday, but the screen said it was only gona give me 32.64 to 1 THB!!!!

So now I'm really confused... Was Citibank one of your US Banks?

[LoveDaBlues]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Actually, I have a Citibank USD account and I almost withdrew from the Citibank ATM yesterday, but the screen said it was only gona give me 32.64 to 1 THB!!!!

So now I'm really confused... Was Citibank one of your US Banks?

Citibank sux. Go with a different bank.

[Heng]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Actually, I have a Citibank USD account and I almost withdrew from the Citibank ATM yesterday, but the screen said it was only gona give me 32.64 to 1 THB!!!!

So now I'm really confused... Was Citibank one of your US Banks?

Strange. No, Compass Bank, Guaranty Bank, Frost Bank (Texas), and Chase Bank. All nearly exactly the same rate (within a few hundredths). No atm fees from Compass as well (same as the Brits get at Nationwide I'd assume).

Have you withdrawn before and calculated if the rate was the same as the one on screen?

[sonicdragon]

Someone said something about SWIFT. How is SWIFT different from Wire Transfer? Will SWIFT solve the problem and get me the better rate? If yes, how?

Cheers.

SWIFT is an organisation set up and owned by the banking industry. They supply secure messaging systems to their customers. MT103 is the name of the current system that is used by most banks. Anyone can conceivably use it, and many large non-bank companies do. SWIFT assigns a unique identifier (SWIFT code) to each company using it.

It is used to send messages. It is like a suped-up telex machine network. When a message is sent it is guaranteed that the recipient has received it, and cannot easily be intercepted. It can be used to send birthday wishes if that's what the user wants, but more commonly it is used to send messages that initiate payments between banks - telegraphic transfers, otherwise known as wire tansfers.

Thus, a "SWIFT transfer" is a wire / telegraphic transfer, although not all wire / telegraphic transfers are made using SWIFT, and as mentioned, SWIFT systems can and are used for many other things (but usually related to payments). In fact (but being very pedantic) it is not really correct to say "SWIFT transfer" at all, and one should instead say "telegraphic transfer" or "wire transfer"

[sonicdragon]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Actually, I have a Citibank USD account and I almost withdrew from the Citibank ATM yesterday, but the screen said it was only gona give me 32.64 to 1 THB!!!!

So now I'm really confused... Was Citibank one of your US Banks?

Citibank sux. Go with a different bank.

Citibank truly does suck. I agree wholeheartedly there. But the problem mentioned isn't specific to citibank. It appears that citibank is giving you the offshore rate on conversion. This also happens with my citibank credit card and my HSBC ATM card.

I thought that the rate would depend on which network (eg PLUS/Visa, Cirrus etc) your card/bank uses, but it is obviously more complicated than that. Or maybe citibank and HSBC are just ripping us off because they can.

[samtam]

Is there any restriction on the amount of baht that can be remitted out of Thailand, assuming Foreign Exchange Certificate was completed when the money was remitted in to Thailand?

[PeaceBlondie]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Heng, I thought you were so financially superior to me! I got 20,000 baht out of a Siam Commercial Bank ATM last night at 9:32 for $572.90, which converts to 34.91, ten satang better than you got. However, I also paid $5 for the transaction fee. Wells Fargo.

[jmc55555]

Will be receiving some money from abroad, from a customer who has USD.

It's not that big actually, about 7,000 USD.

However, if he sends, what rate will the bank use? Forex rates quoted internationally say the Baht is 32.63, while if I change USD at the money changer here, I'd get 34.80.

That's a difference of more than 2 Baht per dollar, or more than 14,000 THB!!!!

Is there any way I can receive money from abroad, and get a rate closer to 34.80 instead of 32.64?

Someone said something about SWIFT. How is SWIFT different from Wire Transfer? Will SWIFT solve the problem and get me the better rate? If yes, how?

Cheers.

If you hold a foreign passport, just open a foreign currency account at Bangkok Bank, main branch. Silom Rd., 2nd floor.

Too open, you will need a minimum of 5000USD deposited to open, but you will get to keep the money in USD. When you need to make a withdrawl, just go to the bank, specify the amount you want out, in Thai Baht.. and they give you very favorable rates to do so.

You will need to maintain a minimum balance, i think its around 350USD, but not a big deal. You can also withdraw in USD, but they will charge for doing so.

This also works for Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollars, and many other foreign currencies.

This way i can go online and determine when is the best time to withdraw... then walk down stairs and deposit into Thai bank, and use a local ATM card... takes a bit of foot work, but when u transfer 30-40,000 a year, or want to do business in Thailand, its very convenient.

The SWIFT is a simple banking code for the banks to use for international transfers.

[Heng]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Heng, I thought you were so financially superior to me! I got 20,000 baht out of a Siam Commercial Bank ATM last night at 9:32 for $572.90, which converts to 34.91, ten satang better than you got. However, I also paid $5 for the transaction fee. Wells Fargo.

Go with your first instincts, Buffy. $5 transaction fee for me too, except for Compass. $10 for Bank of America when I use those accounts (they sneakily put a $5 charge and then tag on a separate $5 charge that pops up a day later). I have to admit I only do it because I love that whirring bank notes noise that the machines make.

[junkofdavid2]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Actually, I have a Citibank USD account and I almost withdrew from the Citibank ATM yesterday, but the screen said it was only gona give me 32.64 to 1 THB!!!!

So now I'm really confused... Was Citibank one of your US Banks?

Strange. No, Compass Bank, Guaranty Bank, Frost Bank (Texas), and Chase Bank. All nearly exactly the same rate (within a few hundredths). No atm fees from Compass as well (same as the Brits get at Nationwide I'd assume).

Have you withdrawn before and calculated if the rate was the same as the one on screen?

Yup, I've withdrawn before (under old govt) and the rate was always good. However, Citibank ATM has a (good) feature that tells you exactly how many USD will be deducted for your withdrawal, and asks you if you want to push thru. Rate was always good before (under old govt) but this time it wasnt... so i didn't push thru with the transaction!

[junkofdavid2]

Will be receiving some money from abroad, from a customer who has USD.

It's not that big actually, about 7,000 USD.

However, if he sends, what rate will the bank use? Forex rates quoted internationally say the Baht is 32.63, while if I change USD at the money changer here, I'd get 34.80.

That's a difference of more than 2 Baht per dollar, or more than 14,000 THB!!!!

Is there any way I can receive money from abroad, and get a rate closer to 34.80 instead of 32.64?

Someone said something about SWIFT. How is SWIFT different from Wire Transfer? Will SWIFT solve the problem and get me the better rate? If yes, how?

Cheers.

If you hold a foreign passport, just open a foreign currency account at Bangkok Bank, main branch. Silom Rd., 2nd floor.

Too open, you will need a minimum of 5000USD deposited to open, but you will get to keep the money in USD. When you need to make a withdrawl, just go to the bank, specify the amount you want out, in Thai Baht.. and they give you very favorable rates to do so.

You will need to maintain a minimum balance, i think its around 350USD, but not a big deal. You can also withdraw in USD, but they will charge for doing so.

This also works for Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollars, and many other foreign currencies.

This way i can go online and determine when is the best time to withdraw... then walk down stairs and deposit into Thai bank, and use a local ATM card... takes a bit of foot work, but when u transfer 30-40,000 a year, or want to do business in Thailand, its very convenient.

The SWIFT is a simple banking code for the banks to use for international transfers.

So is the minumum balance 5000 USD or 350 USD? A little confused...

[junkofdavid2]

I wonder if I would get the on-shore (better) rate if I used my Citibank Card and withdrew from a local bank (i.e. SCB) ATM instead of the Citibank ATM. Might be worth the local bank's ATM withdrawal charge...

[topfield]

6 atm withdrawal transactions from different US banks yesterday @34.81, closer to the onshore rate than offshore rate. Plenty of folks on the board receive funds this way, I'm sure some could confirm.

Actually, I have a Citibank USD account and I almost withdrew from the Citibank ATM yesterday, but the screen said it was only gona give me 32.64 to 1 THB!!!!

So now I'm really confused... Was Citibank one of your US Banks?

Citibank sux. Go with a different bank.

The rate offered by Citibank may have been poor but their ATM system is ....BRILLIANT !

I know of no other bank that for an overseas withdrawal will show the proposed exchange rate

ON THE ATM SCREEN and allow the customer the option of confirming or aborting the transaction.

I'd give my right arm were Nationwide UK to introduce such a service.

Anyone else know of another bank that offers this serVice at their ATM's ??

[ProThaiExpat]

i do know the Citibank charges 3% as a foreign service fee on credit cards used overseas and I wouldn't be surprised if the ATM conversion rate includes a similar fee, thus accounting for the very low exchange rate quoted in this thread.

I made a wire transfer early this week and the funds appeared in my SCB the very next day, the day the BKK Post announced that the 35 baht barrier would be broken that day.

Sure enough, my conversion rate was 34.99, hurt then, but based on PeaceBlondies rate yesterday, I feel better. Evidently no fees were charged on either end of the transfer.

[Gary A]

For those people praising Citibank, they DO charge a three percent currency conversion fee PLUS you get the offshore rate. I know for a fact because I use Citibank USA. A wire transfer is by far the best option because you wire dollars and get the onshore rate plus the fee is a flat $30 regardless of the amount. I no longer use the ATM card at all.

[ProThaiExpat]

Gary A: Quite right. I do keep my citibank card for use in online overseas mail orders and travel in the U.S. I have such a high limit on that card that I would never qualify for in retirement, that I am reluctant to lose that borrowing capacity.

I did change my card from a travel type card with air miles for each transaction to their no fee card so it is free to me when I pay off any balance during the billing peiod.

My wire transfer last week mentioned in my previous post was from Charles Schwab International. I have posted before that 25K USD is their minimum deposit but they do pay interest if the money is not invested. I use them for CDs as they have an excellent online CD center that allows no cost purchases from a pool of very competititve U.S. banks and other instituttions.

Schwab provides one free wire transfer a quarter to International Account Holders but you have to send them an e-mail and ask for it, as the wire department charges your account up front and the international division later credits the like amount upon request.

Thus I was able to post that my wire transfer last week was without fee. The conversion rate of 34.99 was determined by simple division, baht divided by dollars, of the amount charged to my account for the wire transaction.

My Schwab International Account also provides a debit card, the limit on the Schwab end is the amount in your account, thus I was able to pay my hospital 10 day stay with two surgeries bill effortlessly with that card. I am not aware of a limit on the vendor end of a debit transaction.

[prakhonchai nick]

[quote name=topfield' date='2007-03-17 19:18:33'

I'd give my right arm were Nationwide UK to introduce such a service.

You can always check the likely nationwide withdrawal rate each day, by checking the Visa web site.

http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_serv...HB&rate=0.0

[65Craig]

For those people praising Citibank, they DO charge a three percent currency conversion fee PLUS you get the offshore rate. I know for a fact because I use Citibank USA. A wire transfer is by far the best option because you wire dollars and get the onshore rate plus the fee is a flat $30 regardless of the amount. I no longer use the ATM card at all.

I have a Citibank account in America, but I hardly ever use my ATM but travelers checks (because of my balance awhile back I was able to get free travelers checks at Citibank). But they are basically running out, and was going to take out money from my Citibank account. I noticed on their website that they have a Branch in Bangkok. So are all these blasts on Citibank's rate using other ATM machines and not the actual Citibank Branch/ATM? I'm just wondering if you actually go to the Branch on Thailand soil if you will get the onshore rate? Knowing banks, probably not, but just checking to see if any of you know. Need to take out a bunch of money and if I get more at the actually BKK branch, it's probably worth the trip from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

[Carmine6]

For those people praising Citibank, they DO charge a three percent currency conversion fee PLUS you get the offshore rate. I know for a fact because I use Citibank USA. A wire transfer is by far the best option because you wire dollars and get the onshore rate plus the fee is a flat $30 regardless of the amount. I no longer use the ATM card at all.

I have a Citibank account in America, but I hardly ever use my ATM but travelers checks (because of my balance awhile back I was able to get free travelers checks at Citibank). But they are basically running out, and was going to take out money from my Citibank account. I noticed on their website that they have a Branch in Bangkok. So are all these blasts on Citibank's rate using other ATM machines and not the actual Citibank Branch/ATM? I'm just wondering if you actually go to the Branch on Thailand soil if you will get the onshore rate? Knowing banks, probably not, but just checking to see if any of you know. Need to take out a bunch of money and if I get more at the actually BKK branch, it's probably worth the trip from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

If the trip is worth it, you're probably moving a bit of money. You may want to find out what the rate is on a wire from them. Not sure if you're account is eligible, but my Citibank account allows me to wire funds internationally without having a letter or anything on file. They send a code to my email address on record and then I enter that to do a transfer. It's a cheapy basic account. $30 fee so that's a factor, but what's a ticket or gas from Chiang Mai cost?

It normally goes at 99% of the rate on xe.com since it's a dollar transfer, but not sure if the last transfer was before the rate spread opened up so much.

[Gary A]

For those people praising Citibank, they DO charge a three percent currency conversion fee PLUS you get the offshore rate. I know for a fact because I use Citibank USA. A wire transfer is by far the best option because you wire dollars and get the onshore rate plus the fee is a flat $30 regardless of the amount. I no longer use the ATM card at all.

I have a Citibank account in America, but I hardly ever use my ATM but travelers checks (because of my balance awhile back I was able to get free travelers checks at Citibank). But they are basically running out, and was going to take out money from my Citibank account. I noticed on their website that they have a Branch in Bangkok. So are all these blasts on Citibank's rate using other ATM machines and not the actual Citibank Branch/ATM? I'm just wondering if you actually go to the Branch on Thailand soil if you will get the onshore rate? Knowing banks, probably not, but just checking to see if any of you know. Need to take out a bunch of money and if I get more at the actually BKK branch, it's probably worth the trip from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

I darkened the door of Citibank Bangkok ONE time. My US Citibank ATM card quit working and after I had a very close look at it I discovered it had a tiny crack. I went to the Bangkok branch and wanted to get a replacement card. I soon found out the Citibank Bangkok may as well have been Bank of Bumf**k Nowhere. They said they couldn't even contact Citibank US for me. I have never tried their ATM because even when I lived in Bangkok it was not convenient. I should mention that at that time ATM transactions were free if you had a high enough minimum balance. About two years ago they added a one percent currency transaction fee and last year they raised it to three percent. I would really like to change banks but since I have direct deposits set up and I like their free bill pay there's not much advantage to change. I no longer use the ATM card and use the Internet wire transfer service from Citibank US to Siam Commercial. It works great. The fee is a flat $30 and my money is in Siam Commercial the next day.

[topfield]

[quote name=topfield' date='2007-03-17 19:18:33'

I'd give my right arm were Nationwide UK to introduce such a service.

You can always check the likely nationwide withdrawal rate each day, by checking the Visa web site.

http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_serv...HB&rate=0.0

[/quote

A test ATM withrawal of Baht 200 followed by a look at online banking to see whats been retained is the only available option as the above site gives an approximate rate

However Citibank tells you the ACTUAL rate and allows you to accept or reject that rate...BRILLIANT

[MMan]

Great forum and great advice.

I was all set to open an account at Citibank's Bangkok office thinking it would be the safest and best option for transferring money from the US and managing my Thailand finances. I now think I'll opt for Bangkok Bank instead.

I'm moving to BKK next month and be looking for an apartment somewhere near a BTS station, probably along off mid/upper Sukhumvit.

Any suggestions for a particular Bangkok Bank branch office I should go to for opening my account? Want to work with someone I can rely on who speaks English well and will give me straight & thorough answers.

[farangene]

Any suggestions for a particular Bangkok Bank branch office I should go to for opening my account? Want to work with someone I can rely on who speaks English well and will give me straight & thorough answers.

The Emporium shopping mall has a Bangkok Bank branch on the ground floor. Emporium is located near Soi 24 and Sukhumvit Road. There is a direct land bridge connection between the Emporium and the BTS Phrom Phong station.

It has longer than usual operating bank hours (until 6PM?) due to the foreign exchange booth (open until 8PM) I think. The manager speaks excellent English and they are used to dealing with foreign customers at that branch. Would highly recommend it based on 5 years experience with them.

Also, Bkk Bank seems to have many ATMs scattered around Bkk and upcountry. For example there is at least one ATM in each BTS stations I have noticed.

Edited March 21, 2007 by farangene