BuckBee

Wife took 10k out today at Bank of Ayudhya in Phanom Phai with nationwide cash card. Cost £181.44 which works out at 55.11 exchange rate. No fee that i can see.

I used Ayudhya ATM Bang Kapi today, no charges yet but the Nationwide stage one 0.87% fee will be coming into play within the next few hours.

I don't mind the Nationwide fee as it is still a great deal for a basic current account but if you get stung by the ATM for a further 150฿ total charges on standard limit withdrawal hit close to £6.00, not too reasonable !

Slight deviation from main topic but as many of us have turned some of our currency to gold it has some relevance !

Anyone here have experience of using bank safe deposits & what annual costs are involved ?

I have some gold & consider it a risk keeping it at home.

Although any would be thief would first have to bypass my 5'2" 45KG trouble & strife who makes Smeagol look tame when protecting the precious.

I on the other hand am more delicate & don't fancy being stabbed, shot or beaten by gold hungry Thais.

Here a link to the Ayudhya Foreign Exchange Currency Accounts:

http://www.krungsri.com/en/ourservice-cons...st.aspx?cid=124

I can see no real advantages with this type of account.

It may be good in terms of securing you from some damage from EX rate fluctuations but you are still subject to the same charges for swift deposits, would be great for those flying in with a suitcase of cash (cash deposits are free of charge & then exchange from account balance to Thai Baht is free of charge) or perhaps for those who get paid in Baht & require some funds to be sent home.

For me it is better to keep my funds invested in blighty to maximise returns & access them when EX rates are personally acceptable.

Out of interest (no pun intended) what is the interest rate on Ayudhya FCE accounts, info is not yet listed on their website !

My question is, how much does it cost to cash in traveller's cheques here in Thailand. It's been along time now since I last used them and just can't clearly remember the charges. I kinda recall a standard charge, maybe 30bt, either on each cheque or each transaction, then a small percentage charge also, can anyone elaborate on this please??

The fee is 30B plus 3B tax each cheque, although I do believe banks & exchange booths in tourist hotspots have a higher fee.

I change mine at my local Ayudhya Bank.

The fee is the same regardless of the TC value, so it is wise to get £250/£500 cheques.

Lloyds TSB did do sterling TC's charge free & allowed you to choose Cheque values if ordering in branch.

Will be interesting to see what options we get with Nationwide, it may not be the best option for larger amounts but for initial bank account funds & a backup they can be a great option.

Just done the online option for opening the halifax current account.

Very easy process, gives you account number & online banking setup all within 10 minutes.

The online swift could be handy & is the best price I can find.

Visa card is subject to 2.75% & £1.50 fee per transaction (won't be using that)

Sterling TC's have a 1% fee.

I have accounts with Bangkok Bank & Ayudhya and in the past I have been subject to 500B fees when doing swifts.

Anyone recommend a Thai Bank with a better deal ?

Anyone here use Nationwide for Sterling Traveller Cheques ?

From their website it looks like its free of charge, anyone confirm this.

Used to use Lloyds for commission free TC's but they now charge 1.5%

Looks like the Nationwide flex account debit card is still the best card, easy ATM access & only a 1% fee if you use the fee free thai ATM's

I have looked at every debit & credit card I could find & none in reality beat the flex debit card, sure you can get charge free cards on the high end accounts but these have monthly fees of around £12 & that equates to 4 15,000B ATM withdrawals on my Flex debit card & at the most I would only do 2 a month.

The Post Office credit card looked interesting but it's mastercard & looks to me to have aditional charges for overseas ATM cash withdrawals.

I have used Royal Mail international Recorded in the past with 100% success.

Delivery is normally 3 to 5 days from my experience.

I always write the recipients name in Thai & the address in clear block capitals & duplicate the address in Thai underneath.

Post Offices won't accept receipt of the item unless it has address in English (Roman script).

If posting bank cards disguise them.

I have sent & received bank cards, TC's & mobile phones without a problem so far.

Standard mail can be a bit hit or miss.

Anyone using the Post Office credit card ?

Do you get the option for Visa or is the only choice Mastercard ?

Visa exchange rates haves always been reasonable, does Mastercard match Visa exchange rates ?

Halifax online swift £9.50

Does the online form allow you to transfer in sterling so the exchange is handled off shore (don't want uk banks EX rates)

But has anyone tried opening a sterling/euro/usd account in thailand and then transferring the same currency. I know Kasikorn offer foriegn currency accounts and i'm looking into it with paypal (when i get the time). I can't see their being any merchant fees as the currency stays the same. You can then transfer the foriegn currency from, in my case a sterling account into a thb account within the bank and just pay the bank rate of exchange.

If anyone's tried this let me know as i'm fed up paying HSBC 25.00 gbp per transfer and it would save me looking into it any further if it's a no go.

sparkey

I think linking & verifying a UK PayPal account to a Thai Bank sterling account will not be possible.

Best methods really depend on sum of currency being moved.

Nationwide card still is good for easy ATM access & will only have a 1% (effective next month) fee if you use 1 of the 3 ATM's currently not charging the 150B transaction fee.

Travellers Cheques are good if you can get them commission free & in large denominations (Lloyds TSB are good for this, open up a clasic account & milk them for some £500 sterling TC's, £500 TC's can be done in branch via faxing order).

For large transfers 1OK or more SWIFT fee looks more reasonable (Nationwide fee is £20)

I believe HSBC do reduced SWIFT fee (£15) if you do it via online banking.

Plenty of good options but full benefits depend upon individual requirements.