Europeanguy

There is a deluge of postings about what it is needed to get into Thailand. And I feel deeply for people who are caught in that and suffer from it. Nevertheless, there is another side of the coin which is not mentioned (as far I have seen): those people who are in Thailand (like me, 5 years, retirement visa) and do not dare to go back to Europe or elsewhere (you know, family, weddings, baptisms and that sort of things) because they don't know if they will be able to come back. So I keep my head down but it is of course not a satisfactory situation. Just left with fear of one immigration officer or having to take the chance being able to come back. 

14 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Oddly enough I hear France is about to lock up tight again.

Who gives a poop about Belgium?

I am Belgian so I do care.

I am surprised that the moderators have not removed that offending post in line with their rules.

5 hours ago, Shey420 said:

"can they hit there money goals while in this scheme". 

Sorry to be perhaps pedantic but shouldn't it be "their"? I am not a native English speaker so I could be wrong but I have lived in the UK for 35 years and I have never seen that use while I was there. But I see it nearly every single day on Thaivisa. If I am wrong, I am sorry and offer my apologies. If I am right, I see the problem as a writer making a point and get the reader to wander off because somehow disturbed by something else. The reader thought process interrupted is another way to describe what happens. 

Best regards all.

On 8/29/2020 at 12:08 PM, dabhand said:

The talk of the strength of the baht is based on movements of the Baht/Usd exchange rate. The other currency movements related to the baht are only a factor of their rates relative to the USD.

 

As an example, the Baht/GBP rate is currently showing the GBP as gaining against the Baht, despite the baht being seen as strengthening against the USD. This is due to the USD weakening against the GBP and other currencies in recent days.  

 

The Baht/USD rate is the driver of comments on the relative strength / weakness of the Baht.

Thank you. It is an answer I can understand.

Thank you for your answer. I am not sure my original post has been understood, no problems as I perhaps haven't explained it properly. I am not talking of predictions or particular exchange rates between 2 currencies. I will rephrase it: people talk a lot about a strong baht, where do they get that statement from, irrespective of what the hell others currencies are doing? I just do not understand where the statement that Baht is strong comes from.

Yes, thank you for your answer. I really do not want to belittle it and I am grateful for it but It doesn't answer my question though. How can I understand what is caused by which fluctuations of each currencies? The £ goes up and down, so the Baht. How do I know the exchange rate is caused by the £ being strong or weak or the Baht being strong or weak? Or both being strong or both being weak. How can you graph that rather than the simple current daily rate.

Kind regards 

I keep reading much about the strength of the Baht.

But at the calculated risk ???? of looking stupid, how can I quantify or graph that?

Of course I follow closely the rates £/ Baths as my money comes from the UK but how can I understand what is caused by which fluctuations of each currencies?

Can I ask why I get the posting messages email when there are already 6 pages of answers? It makes me feel like like a second rate participant not worthy of participating until nearly everything has been said? Every time, not only this post,

I have regret too but as Daniel Guichard sang "when you are young, you do not have a heart big enough to take it all in"

12 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

That's an interesting one. 

 

I don't 'think' in any of my secondary languages, but even though I don't speak Spanish every day, I'll still have thoughts in my head in Spanish & English

Yes, very interesting. A friend of mine asked me if I thought in French or English. A deep and interesting question that I was unable to answer. Like what is in your brain has no language. It goes back to the language you dream in, is there any?

Counting is another good one. In my head, I sometimes count in French, sometimes in English. It looks like my French mother tongue takes over when speed is the essence and English when meaning and quantities are the essence. Explain that!

1 hour ago, Gandtee said:

My son married a Swiss girl and moved to Switzerland. She wrote the Swiss names on household articles, fridge, cooker etc. He has been speaking Swiss German for years.

I married my Thai wife and moved here over 30 years ago. She spoke English before we married and regretfully, for me, we conversed in English. Much to my shame and only one regret, my Thai is minimal. We raised our foster son from a baby. At nineteen he is fluent in English and Thai. My wife spoke Thai to him and translated any English he didn't understand. And that was the secret I think. I'm now spending some time teaching my eleven year old nephew, English. He shoots off and asks my wife "what does ... mean?" Of course he is older than my son was at the learning stage and has the problem- probrum, with his ls and th's, which my son had not been exposed to. We are getting there.  "Every little bit helps" as the boy said while peeing in the sea.

Nice story. Thank you. We are all special carrying different life stories with all of them worth it.

Can your Thai wife say "film"? Or have I found the only one who can't? ???? We still enjoy watching a "flim" together.

I wonder why she can't, her English is pretty good. I don't know if it is not hearing the right sound or repeating it with her tongue and mouth that is the problem. But she definitely cannot say it. We have sorted that problem by saying "movies" so everybody is happy ???? . Which movie to watch remains a bone of contention though ahaha ???? . But it is a different subject for this thread... 

I spare you all with the discussions on the audio language and subtitles to be used ???? 

I am a little weary to enter this discussion. Opinions sometimes are high and expectations low. But I will try.

I am Belgian and my mother tongue is French. I have been educated in both French and Flemish. Also educated by the Beatles - She loves you yeah yeah yeah and that sort of things. I immigrated to the UK where I worked for 35 years. I am actually more comfortable with English now and my family tells me that my French is completely Anglicised, still fluent but translating English idioms literally to their amusement (not understand them either). My Flemish has gone downhill, if I try, English words come out.

Languages are so beautiful and carry so much culture. Amazing.

There are 3 points I would like to make.

First, the need to learn another language is a deciding factor. My ex-wife was Spanish so we often went on holidays in Spain. On the beach, Spanish children played hide and seek. My children were desperate to play too (4, 6 and 7 years old at the time). It took them, no lies, 30 minutes to learn how to count up to 30 in Spanish to be able to play.

Second, to join the previous poster about switching and parenting, there is one thing I will never forgive myself. Living in the UK, I insisted on talking to my eldest in French only. It is hard work because all is English: TV, friends etc. I carried on the good work with the next children too. But parent's fatigue comes in, much easier to keep to English. Results? The oldest one fluent in French and Spanish as well as English of course. She works as a business translator now. The second one, understand French and Spanish with some speech. The third one, very little of either French or Spanish. I regret I did let my guard down on that one.

Third is age. I live in Thailand now but at 63, I just cannot learn Thai, my memory has passed it and I cannot even go and pass the Thai letters being one after the other without any way to even spot or learn a word.

So, let's be in wonder of what languages are and not critical of whoever gives them a go. My Thai wife just cannot say "film", she says "flim" no matter how much I try to help her pronounce it properly. And you know what, I am in awe that she speaks English no matter how and ashamed of my inexistence of Thai.

I am afraid I don't know what consolidating payments means or even what it is. Can you enlighten us please?

For the British state pension, it is £846 a month if you have contributed fully for 32 years (about 33,000 Bahts a month). That is what NI tells me.

You might be interested by a similar perhaps complimentary topic:

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1164851-transferring-money-from-the-uk-or-elsewhere-into-thailand/

So I have the green light from one of the moderator to name companies. Thank you.

One limit assigned to me is not to give links. I will obey that. But there is a point I want to make: I have NO interests in any of those 3 companies, I only have an interest in getting the best deal for myself and you. It has been quick for someone to say that I might have an untowards bias/ financial interest, a post removed by the way. If I get any aggravations from posters (as I can see so often from some people on Thaivisa), I will just drop out of the conversation as I have no time for these behaviours.

I share this information for this community, again of no interest for myself, just if it helps you possibly getting better deals.

So what are the 3 companies? Moneycorp, TorFX and Transferwise.

I started with Moneycorp, happy as a bunny, completely unaware of what the game was.

I found out about Torfx later with much better rates (I am talking of an extra 1,800 Bahts on a £3,000 transfer)

Moneycorp was quick to realise and "switched me" to a preferential rate which was much closer to Torfx - it shows how those people make money at their pleasure. It also shows it is worth pitching them against each other.

And you probably guessed it, I did get in touch with Torfx and they "switched me" too, a flick of a button for them, a meal in a restaurant paid for as far as I am concerned ...

But the story does not end there ... I learned about Transferwise - yes! through the Thaivisa pages! I found out even better deals.

I have used Transferwise for the last 3 months. I still check the deals of the 3 companies every time I transfer - it only takes 3 minutes. So far Transferwise has been the best,but things move along, Moneycorp was a better deal than TorFX last time for example.

So what is the same between those 3 companies?

They all take credit/debit cards but also direct transfer from your UK or other country bank. I found the latter a much better option as you have full control. You made them a recipient online and just transfer. They give you the bank details together with a reference/ personnal account number and that's it. 

Using a card is not so reliable - I was refused once because Barclaycard did not like it - what the hell Barclaycard has got to do with my Royal Bank of Scotland account is anyone guess - I guess it is because my RBS card is a VISA card. Lesson: use online bank transfer, not a card.

So, what is different?

Moneycorp quote you a rate and * the amount is what you get in the Thai account.
They automatically provide an MT503 form.

TorFX quote you a rate and * the amount is what you get in the Thai account minus 0.25% capped to 500 Bahts charged by the Thai bank. Apparently it is because of the way money is send. It can be seen on the MT503 form that is not automatically sent by TorFX, you have to ask for it - I attach one of this MT103 which shows the clause "71A: OUR", meaning the Thai bank will charge you - Bangok Bank and Kasikorn charge the same (0.25% capped to 500 Bahts) An MT103 from Moneycorp will show the clause "71A: SHA" meaning you will not be charged by the Thai bank

Transferwise works differently: it gets you a much better exchange rate but charge a fee. So to compare,it is (amount-fee)*rate. It has consistently be a final better outcome than Moneycorp or TorFX in the last 2 months. Money quoted is what you get in the Thai bank, no charge from the Thai bank.

Find attached my last transfer comparison. Not much difference but I wish I had known all this when I transferrd from the UK to buy my house here in Thailand. I must have lost thousands of Bahts then.

Another difference is that Moneycorp and TorFX provide a personal account manager. Transferwise is much more on the online frontier.

Transferwise keeps you up to date regularly on when the money will arrive or why there is a delay. Deal in the morning in Thailand and it will usually be there the same day - talking of several days with the other two.

A previous poster introduced a very different issue: transferring back to the UK or somewhere else. I thought of opening a new thread for this but I will keep it here. The reason is that it is imperative to keep records of money transferred from the UK (or elsewhere) - why I did talk of MT103 for example. Without that, you have no chance whatsoever to bring it back. So I keep these records but I also get Thai bank statements showing international transfers. I am talking of property purchases here, not monthly pensions.

So how do I feel about that? Very guilty as I am not sure that I can get the property money back to my children. I would be extremely interested by other's experiences on that subject as I have none. 

2 files attached if it helps.

Best regards
Bernard

example of transfer.pdf

I have 3 very very good friends who are English teachers in good schools. Bless them, first I stop drinking to see if it improves my understanding then I start drinking again to see if that makes it ...

7 minutes ago, RichCor said:

You may already be aware that there are generally no issues transferring funds 'into' Thailand (so long as you use regulated financial instruments or methods, or declare the amounts beforehand if doing hand carry).

 

Taking funds 'out' of Thailand is another process. It's here that you'll want to maintain a paper trail so that any funds transferred in can then be transferred out.

 

Many existing ThaiVisa threads exist on the topic, which can be found using either the ThaiVisa search or Google Search utilizing the following format:  Site:thaivisa.com {search text goes here}  

It is a very interesting take on the question. One which is close to my heart too. A different subject altogether though. We want the best to get money in Thailand but also the best on how to take it out back to Europe or wherever.

Why it is important? It is about bringing back properties money like houses to children still in the UK.

I keep records and copies of all transactions. I also have bank statements clearly showing the international transactions. I have doubts though that it will be easy to transfer back to my children as my Thai stipulates.

I take your point on searching older threads but they are, if you allow me, older in a rapidly change of scene recently.

I will publish my thoughts on getting money in Thailand from abroad in 24 hrs, waiting for moderators comments if any. 

Best regards

8 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Isn't Transferwise by far the best?

As of today, yes

When I will produce some facts in 24 hours, it will show exactly that.

I still check all my 3 providers every time though, things do not stay still.

Best regards

Good answer, thank you. It is so difficult here on this site where people get so worked up on anything. They forget sometimes that it should be a helpful site for the community.

I will publish in 24 hours waiting to see if I get any answers from moderators.

Best regards

Thank you. I will wait for the moderators answer though.

As far as having any interests with any of the companies, it is a disappointing thought. I haven't got any interests invested in them, only interests and share thoughts for the people on this site if it was useful to them.

Actually, if I get any aggravation, I will just drop it and keep happy. I know what I am doing, it is only if it help others. 

Best regards

I get my UK pension in a UK bank account rather than a Thai account. I have 2 reasons: it will not be considered as a Thai taxable income and I keep control on how, with who and when to transfer.

My initial question is to the moderators: I have experience of 3 online companies to transfer money, all 3 with subtle differences. If I was to publish a comparative study - sorry, big pompous words ???? -. can I give the companies name? It is not worth doing if I can't really.

I think it is a worthwhile endeavor as I know now that I have lost some money not knowing. 

Best regards

A lot has been said about easing the lockdown measures and I am certainly not an expert, only interested to see what will happen like all of us. But I found this very interesting article from the BBC this morning. It is the first time that I see a comprehensive plan. It uses contagion rates as a yardstick for the easing and is full of interesting ideas and approaches.

And it comes from Italy which has been hit much harder than Thailand.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52435273

Food for thoughts for the Thai government, hopefully it keeps aware of what others are doing.

33 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Also, I have found that what time of day one does the transfer, can make a difference. Early GMT seems to be quicker than afternoon.

Yes, good comment and very true. Thank you.

Rates change in front of me on websites though. 

I think that speed of transfer is less important than quality/quantity of transfers. If somebody is so tight by speed, he might be desperate and unorganized, for which I am sorry for him/her.

.

I will never be on the starting block waiting for the pistol to go off as the officials/ responsible tell me. 

My view is that if it takes 1 day, 2 days , a week, a month, I will always be guessing or no clue, another way to put it.

Kind regards

Bernard

23 minutes ago, KaputtAlreadyNa said:

If you are using TransferWise

You only needs to pay the sending fees no receiving fees

Warmest

Thank you for comments.

It doesn't address the important comparison though.

How much you put in and how much you get on the Thai bank account at the end, taking into account all these financial companies helping themselves on the way.

It cannot be avoided. How to minimise it is the question.

"you only pay this etc." It is vague and no match to my numbers (very slightly wrong I have admitted) but what I am saying is still true.

I note your "warmest" ending. We are not for fight here indeed, just not letting financial institutions taking us for a ride.

Kind regards