Sending Money To Thailand

[WilliamCave]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

[roietjimmy]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

No.

[JBL]

Send it as US dollars so it gets converted in Thiland as you will get a better rate, and send it once a month or you will pay too many charges and fees, about $20 from your bank and 200 to 300baht from the thai bank per transfer, its worth watching the exchange rate as small fluctuations can mean the differance of a thousand baht or so. we are currently moving some money to Bank of Bangkok and the rate as gone from (AUD) 28.39 to 27.93 and back upto 28.57 over the last 3 days

Edited September 19, 2007 by JBL

[geoffphuket]

Send it as US dollars so it gets converted in Thiland as you will get a better rate, and send it once a month or you will pay too many charges and fees, about $20 from your bank and 200 to 300baht from the thai bank per transfer, its worth watching the exchange rate as small fluctuations can mean the differance of a thousand baht or so. we are currently moving some money to Bank of Bangkok and the rate as gone from (AUD) 28.39 to 27.93 and back upto 28.57 over the last 3 days

The UOB bank charge 500 Baht for receiving TT's

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

How about just opening up a new account at your bank, get an ATM card, then mail the ATM card to MIL.  She can do the downloads at most any Thai bank.

A cautionary note, tho.  Check what charges your bank has for overseas ATM withdrawals.  Some banks charge a %age of the withdrawal, some charge a flat fee, and some do BOTH, as a ripoff of their own customers.

I'm lucky, my credit union in the U.S. charges neither, for up to 10 free withdrawals a month.

Mac

[AmericanGuy1066]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

No they won't say anything.

Why YOU would want to send USD 2k to your mother-in-law in Thailand would be a much more interesting question.

I suspect that's where the real savings and efficiencies would arise

Edited September 19, 2007 by AmericanGuy1066

[Edonista]

Why YOU would want to send USD 2k to your mother-in-law in Thailand would be a much more interesting question.

I suspect that's where the real savings and efficiencies would arise

I agree

[Snowbirds]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

How about just opening up a new account at your bank, get an ATM card, then mail the ATM card to MIL.  She can do the downloads at most any Thai bank.

A cautionary note, tho.  Check what charges your bank has for overseas ATM withdrawals.  Some banks charge a %age of the withdrawal, some charge a flat fee, and some do BOTH, as a ripoff of their own customers.

I'm lucky, my credit union in the U.S. charges neither, for up to 10 free withdrawals a month.

Mac

This is a very helpful information. What is the name of your credit union? I'd like to have a reference before I talk to mine or a few others in Seattle. Thanks!

[fletchsmile]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

How about just opening up a new account at your bank, get an ATM card, then mail the ATM card to MIL. She can do the downloads at most any Thai bank.

A cautionary note, tho. Check what charges your bank has for overseas ATM withdrawals. Some banks charge a %age of the withdrawal, some charge a flat fee, and some do BOTH, as a ripoff of their own customers.

I'm lucky, my credit union in the U.S. charges neither, for up to 10 free withdrawals a month.

Mac

I hope they also give you a good rate... It's not uncommon for institutions with no fees to make it up on unfavourable exchange rates or spreads.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

How about just opening up a new account at your bank, get an ATM card, then mail the ATM card to MIL. She can do the downloads at most any Thai bank.

A cautionary note, tho. Check what charges your bank has for overseas ATM withdrawals. Some banks charge a %age of the withdrawal, some charge a flat fee, and some do BOTH, as a ripoff of their own customers.

I'm lucky, my credit union in the U.S. charges neither, for up to 10 free withdrawals a month.

Mac

I hope they also give you a good rate... It's not uncommon for institutions with no fees to make it up on unfavourable exchange rates or spreads.

My last draw was on 17 Sept at 1111 hrs off of an SCB ATM machine, baht 20,000, which equated to $587.61 charged to my U.S. account.  Thus, baht 34.04/$1.

Closest I can come to that time on that date from the SCB www site is 1326 hrs

which shows baht 34.08 as the high rate and baht 33.91 for a $100 bill.

http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/17092007_132600.htm

That's about standard, slightly less than the high rate but still better than $100 green.

Been doing this for lots of years.

Mac

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Hello. I am thinking of sending about $2000. 00 us dollars to my mother in laws bank in Thailand every month about 500 a week,,will the thai government say anything about it or hold any of it.

How about just opening up a new account at your bank, get an ATM card, then mail the ATM card to MIL.  She can do the downloads at most any Thai bank.

A cautionary note, tho.  Check what charges your bank has for overseas ATM withdrawals.  Some banks charge a %age of the withdrawal, some charge a flat fee, and some do BOTH, as a ripoff of their own customers.

I'm lucky, my credit union in the U.S. charges neither, for up to 10 free withdrawals a month.

Mac

This is a very helpful information. What is the name of your credit union? I'd like to have a reference before I talk to mine or a few others in Seattle. Thanks!

William

Ah, Seattle in addition to B.C?  Handy.

Sorry, the membership to that credit union is pretty well restricted to organizations located in the D.C. area.  Credit unions are often this way, sort of like "affinity" clubs and organizations.

So, ask around Seattle there might well be a credit union you're eligible for.

Mac

[lopburi3]

Mac has a good deal - most cards will not provide either no fees or the rate of exchange he received. But if you can find a good card it does make sense to use the ATM/US bank account method as you can always regulate that by your deposit to the US bank and she would have immediate access with the card.

Wire transfer provides a slightly better exchange rate (34.18 vis 34.03) on any given day but entails the extra charge at home bank, possibly intermediate bank, and destination bank. If you use wire transfer it is always best to send higher amounts to limit the percentage of the fees (all but destination as transaction rather than amount) and destination will have a max fee (normally 200-500 I believe here in Thailand).

[fletchsmile]

My last draw was on 17 Sept at 1111 hrs off of an SCB ATM machine, baht 20,000, which equated to $587.61 charged to my U.S. account. Thus, baht 34.04/$1.

Closest I can come to that time on that date from the SCB www site is 1326 hrs

which shows baht 34.08 as the high rate and baht 33.91 for a $100 bill.

http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/17092007_132600.htm

That's about standard, slightly less than the high rate but still better than $100 green.

Been doing this for lots of years.

Mac

Seems reasonable. Bear in mind tho': You don't necessarily get the rate at the time of your ATM transaction. It is often converted later by banks. (Particularly if say your bank is overseas and could be closed at that time). Hence to be on the safe side also compare rates for the following day, and for ATMs compare to what other peer (i.e) US banks are offering for those time periods. i.e another US bank may charge a fee but regularly give better rates.

Hence the same time comparison between a Thai bank and a US bank is not like for like. Tho' a reasonable sanity check.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My last draw was on 17 Sept at 1111 hrs off of an SCB ATM machine, baht 20,000, which equated to $587.61 charged to my U.S. account. Thus, baht 34.04/$1.

Closest I can come to that time on that date from the SCB www site is 1326 hrs

which shows baht 34.08 as the high rate and baht 33.91 for a $100 bill.

http://www.scb.co.th/html/exchange/17092007_132600.htm

That's about standard, slightly less than the high rate but still better than $100 green.

Been doing this for lots of years.

Mac

Seems reasonable. Bear in mind tho': You don't necessarily get the rate at the time of your ATM transaction. It is often converted later by banks. (Particularly if say your bank is overseas and could be closed at that time). Hence to be on the safe side also compare rates for the following day, and for ATMs compare to what other peer (i.e) US banks are offering for those time periods. i.e another US bank may charge a fee but regularly give better rates.

Hence the same time comparison between a Thai bank and a US bank is not like for like. Tho' a reasonable sanity check.

I hit a Bank of Ayuthadia ATM at Future Park Rangsit at 1126 hrs this morning, then to the dentist, then home.  Checked my U.S. credit union and the transaction had already cleared, this was at 1400 hrs.

ATM paid thirty four. zero four [hmmm, my keyboard is sticking]

SCB says thirty four. zero 5 for travellers checks and thirty three.eight eight for a hundered dollar bill.

That's not too bad.

Mac

[chocolate]

No, since it is a small amount. I have an experience in receiving small funds from the US to my Bangkok Bank account. Their bank charge was rather reasonable. I paid only 0.25% of transferred amount. Min THB200 max. THB500. It took about 2 days for funds to arrive my account in Thailand.