Has anybody ever tried Transferwise?

[sushyoshi]

Thank you all for the answers. I start to understand the point.

 

I will calculate taking in consideration exchange rates aswell. This has really opened my eyes.

 

Regards

[alphason]

Used TransferWise for the first time yesterday GBP>THB and was impressed. Easy to open an account, verification was done online with no need (yet) to send in any documents (using a UK address). As I had an invite code there were no fees for the first transaction, did the transfer at 15.24 Thai time, sent money from my UK bank to their UK bank and got notification within minutes, and the best part the money was in my Thai account before 17.00 the same day, so under 90 minutes it was all done.

 

I have been using Xendpay for a few years and while you are under the 2000GBP annual limit then it works out overall a bit cheaper as you don't have to pay a transfer fee. Although they quote 2-3 working days in reality it is 4-8 days as there is always some delay or excuse or they just sit on your funds and don't transfer it for a few days, I've used them many times and only a couple of times has it been less than 4 days. Customer service is also slow sometimes. So if you want the cheapest (for upto 2000GBP per year max) and don't mind the possible wait, need to upload documents to get verified account then Xendpay is ok.

 

I have invite code codes if anyone needs them for Transferwise (first transaction free), or Xendpay (free 10GBP/Eur/$ credit + 200GBP per year no fees).

[Kadilo]

 
 
Sending via your bank = EUR 10,000 less EUR38 = EUR 9,962 to Thailand.
 
 
At, say, Kasikorn bank the rate is 38.57375 less 500 Baht = 384,272 Baht.
 
Via TW = EUR 10k less EUR 52.74 = EUR 9947.26 @ 38.88856 = 386,835 Baht.
 
Benefit from using TW =  2,563 Baht.

Spot on. I used to use my bank in UK to send. £25 fee and exchange rate was usually around 0.5 baht less than the mid range. Started using Transferwise after reading bout on TV and not only cheaper but quicker. Usually in my Kasikorn account within 24 hours.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[lopburi3]

Requested $2,000 ACH transfer from USAA at 0903 (Thai time) August 1 and Transferwise $1,000 from another US bank at 0906.  Both to same Bangkok Bank account.

Received ACH transfer at 0930 today in amount of 65,595.10 deposited

Received T/W transfer at 1410 today in amount of 32,770.34 deposited

 

If I had sent $2,000 using T/W would have received 65.606.67 as fee would have been less than double.

 

Transferwise seems to be a very competitive method for making monthly type living transfers.

[Henryford]

On 7/30/2018 at 5:59 PM, Jip99 said:

 

 

Sending via your bank = EUR 10,000 less EUR38 = EUR 9,962 to Thailand.

 

 

At, say, Kasikorn bank the rate is 38.57375 less 500 Baht = 384,272 Baht.

 

Via TW = EUR 10k less EUR 52.74 = EUR 9947.26 @ 38.88856 = 386,835 Baht.

  

Benefit from using TW =  2,563 Baht.

Plus you quote 500 baht as the receiving bank fee. This is never explicitly shown anywhere and i have never been able to reconcile the net receipt with the current rate - 500. I have always suspected they charge more as it is routed via a Bangkok head office.

[Jip99]

3 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Plus you quote 500 baht as the receiving bank fee. This is never explicitly shown anywhere and i have never been able to reconcile the net receipt with the current rate - 500. I have always suspected they charge more as it is routed via a Bangkok head office.

 

 

Henry, it is explicitly quoted on each bank's website.

 

 

I quoted BKB rates which attract 0.25% fee,  maximum 500 Baht.

 

Kasikorn (who I mainly use) quote 0.25%, max 500 min 200 Baht baht + 0.1% (unlimited) + 20 Baht to move it from Bangkok....

[Henryford]

4 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Henry, it is explicitly quoted on each bank's website.

 

 

I quoted BKB rates which attract 0.25% fee,  maximum 500 Baht.

 

Kasikorn (who I mainly use) quote 0.25%, max 500 min 200 Baht baht + 0.1% (unlimited) + 20 Baht to move it from Bangkok....

Jip yes i know they quote it as their fee BUT there is no detail given of the net receipt showing what the fee actually was. Like TW show GBP x rate - fee (shown exactly) = net receipt.  When i use a UK bank all i get is GBP - UK bank fee = net Thai baht receipts. There is no detail of what makes up the net thai receipt in terms of the rate used or the receiving bank fee. When i try to do the reconciliation it always seems that the fee is more than 500.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Henryford

[lopburi3]

59 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Jip yes i know they quote it as their fee BUT there is no detail given of the net receipt showing what the fee actually was. Like TW show GBP x rate - fee (shown exactly) = net receipt.  When i use a UK bank all i get is GBP - UK bank fee = net Thai baht receipts. There is no detail of what makes up the net thai receipt in terms of the rate used or the receiving bank fee. When i try to do the reconciliation it always seems that the fee is more than 500.

If you use Bangkok Bank they have sms alerts of foreign deposits at no cost and it details exact amount transferred and what baht fee was deducted.  I suspect the amount sent to your Thai bank was less than you think due to an intermittent bank charging a small fee in home country before sent here.  Most home county banks would not have direct access to a Thai bank.  

[topt]

3 hours ago, Henryford said:

Jip yes i know they quote it as their fee BUT there is no detail given of the net receipt showing what the fee actually was. Like TW show GBP x rate - fee (shown exactly) = net receipt.  When i use a UK bank all i get is GBP - UK bank fee = net Thai baht receipts. There is no detail of what makes up the net thai receipt in terms of the rate used or the receiving bank fee. When i try to do the reconciliation it always seems that the fee is more than 500.

Can you not go to your bank and ask them for a foreign exchange transaction form for your last transfer from your UK bank? This will show how many GBP received, the exchange rate and any Thai bank charges. This will clearly show if there was an intermediate bank cost (as lopburi3 suggests above) based on what GBP your Thai bank received. 

 

I get this every time I transfer foreign currency to my Thai account.

Edited August 3, 2018 by topt

[Jip99]

5 hours ago, Henryford said:

Jip yes i know they quote it as their fee BUT there is no detail given of the net receipt showing what the fee actually was. Like TW show GBP x rate - fee (shown exactly) = net receipt.  When i use a UK bank all i get is GBP - UK bank fee = net Thai baht receipts. There is no detail of what makes up the net thai receipt in terms of the rate used or the receiving bank fee. When i try to do the reconciliation it always seems that the fee is more than 500.

 

I take your point......before I switched to TW I used to calculate the transaction from Kasikorn’s published rate, whether it be round 1, round 2 etc.... it was rarely exact but it was invariably within 50 Baht of my calculation. 

[VBF]

32 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

I take your point......before I switched to TW I used to calculate the transaction from Kasikorn’s published rate, whether it be round 1, round 2 etc.... it was rarely exact but it was invariably within 50 Baht of my calculation. 

I get my UK bank to transfer Pounds to my SCB account, for which the UK bank charges me £25.

I usually transfer £4000 to £5000 in one hit.

 

SCB then converts it to Baht and I can see the transfer on my SCBEasy banking page, and as others have said it only shows a transaction occurring, a code useful to SCB and the amount in Baht that was credited. Obviously, I can calculate the overall rate from that, including all fees etc, but knowing those other details would be useful.

 

I've searched the English areas of the SCB website with no joy, so:

 

Does anyone know how much SCB  actually charges to receive UKP?

By how much do they alter the published rate?

 

If I knew that I could make an intelligent decision as to whether TW was worth trying (for me)

Edited August 3, 2018 by VBF

[Jip99]

1 minute ago, VBF said:

I usually get my UK bank to transfer Pounds to my SCB account, for which the UK bank charges me £25.

I usually transfer £4000 to £5000 in one hit.

 

SCB then converts it to Baht and I can see the transfer on my SCBEasy banking page, and as others have said it only shows a transaction occurring, a code useful to SCB and the amount in Baht that was credited. Obviously, I can calculate the overall rate from that, including all fees etc, but knowing those other details would be useful.

 

I've searched the English areas of the SCB website with no joy, so:

 

Does anyone know how much SCB  actually charges to receive UKP?

By how much do they alter the published rate?

 

If I knew that I could make an intelligent decision as to whether TW was worth trying (for me)

 

 

It is a a no brainer .... TW will be better....SCB will be 500 Baht max like the rest.

 

 

I am surprised that your Enquiries did not unearth this...

 

 

http://www.scb.co.th/stocks/media/ratesfees/fcd-fee-en-55-1.pdf

 

 

 

 

[chickenslegs]

13 minutes ago, VBF said:

I get my UK bank to transfer Pounds to my SCB account, for which the UK bank charges me £25.

I usually transfer £4000 to £5000 in one hit.

 

SCB then converts it to Baht and I can see the transfer on my SCBEasy banking page, and as others have said it only shows a transaction occurring, a code useful to SCB and the amount in Baht that was credited. Obviously, I can calculate the overall rate from that, including all fees etc, but knowing those other details would be useful.

 

I've searched the English areas of the SCB website with no joy, so:

 

Does anyone know how much SCB  actually charges to receive UKP?

By how much do they alter the published rate?

 

If I knew that I could make an intelligent decision as to whether TW was worth trying (for me)

Right now Transferwise will put 215,177 THB into your Thai bank for a 5,000 GBP deposit.

 

The published exchange rate for SCB is 42.3 THB, so (even disregarding the bank charges at the Thai end) your 5,000 GBP would give you 210,442 THB.

I'm using this website for up to date rates ... https://daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

 

 

[VBF]

22 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

It is a a no brainer .... TW will be better....SCB will be 500 Baht max like the rest.

 

 

I am surprised that your Enquiries did not unearth this...

 

 

http://www.scb.co.th/stocks/media/ratesfees/fcd-fee-en-55-1.pdf

 

 

 

 

Well they didn't so thank you for posting it.  ?

It is dated 2012, but lets assume those figures are still correct 

 

As I read that, on a  GBP (UKP) SWIFT/Telex deposit, the Fee for inward remittance is 0.25% of the remitted value. : Min. Baht 300, Max. Baht 500

 

Therefore if I transferred £5000, I'd be paying my bank £25, plus SCB would charge me £5000 x 0.25% = £12.50 but there's  MAX charge of of 500 Baht,

At today's rate of 43.28, (from XE.com) £12.50 is approx 540 Baht so i'd pay the 500 Baht

At today's rate of 43.28, 500 Baht is approx £11.55 

So a total of £36.55 to send £5000 from my UK bank and have it deposited in my SCB account in Baht.

 

And we think TW would be cheaper? That's a genuine question not an argument ?

 

Chickenslegs - our posts crossed over

 

 

Edited August 3, 2018 by VBF

[VBF]

9 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Right now Transferwise will put 215,177 THB into your Thai bank for a 5,000 GBP deposit.

 

The published exchange rate for SCB is 42.3 THB, so (even disregarding the bank charges at the Thai end) your 5,000 GBP would give you 210,442 THB.

I'm using this website for up to date rates ... https://daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

 

 

Thank you @chickenslegs

I just went to the TW site and got that £5000 would get me 215,242.03 Baht - even (marginally) better than you said.

So...... are you saying that TW would put that sum into my SCB account in Baht and therefore SCB would not charge me anything? 

[chickenslegs]

1 minute ago, VBF said:

Thank you @chickenslegs

I just went to the TW site and got that £5000 would get me 215,242.03 Baht - even (marginally) better than you said.

So...... are you saying that TW would put that sum into my SCB account in Baht and therefore SCB would not charge me anything? 

Correct. There are no charges at the Thai end, as the bank receives THB.

[VBF]

4 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Correct. There are no charges at the Thai end, as the bank receives THB.

I think i shall be investigating TW next time!

There do seem to be several positive threads about them apart from this one and I shall follow this with considerable interest.

Oh, and I just read that they are regulated by the FCA, so if things did go wrong, as long as I send from a UK bank, they look secure.

Thanks very much, all. ?

Edited August 3, 2018 by VBF

[Kadilo]

24 minutes ago, VBF said:

I think i shall be investigating TW next time!

There do seem to be several positive threads about them apart from this one and I shall follow this with considerable interest.

Oh, and I just read that they are regulated by the FCA, so if things did go wrong, as long as I send from a UK bank, they look secure.

Thanks very much, all. ?

I used to do as you, changed to TW and never had a problem. Excellent service. Good luck. 

[scubascuba3]

I think i shall be investigating TW next time!
There do seem to be several positive threads about them apart from this one and I shall follow this with considerable interest.
Oh, and I just read that they are regulated by the FCA, so if things did go wrong, as long as I send from a UK bank, they look secure.
Thanks very much, all. [emoji106]

One caveat with transferwise, you can't get an FET so no good for a condo purchase or for transferring money back out with no FET

[Jip99]

8 hours ago, VBF said:

Well they didn't so thank you for posting it.  ?

It is dated 2012, but lets assume those figures are still correct 

 

As I read that, on a  GBP (UKP) SWIFT/Telex deposit, the Fee for inward remittance is 0.25% of the remitted value. : Min. Baht 300, Max. Baht 500

 

Therefore if I transferred £5000, I'd be paying my bank £25, plus SCB would charge me £5000 x 0.25% = £12.50 but there's  MAX charge of of 500 Baht,

At today's rate of 43.28, (from XE.com) £12.50 is approx 540 Baht so i'd pay the 500 Baht

At today's rate of 43.28, 500 Baht is approx £11.55 

So a total of £36.55 to send £5000 from my UK bank and have it deposited in my SCB account in Baht.

 

And we think TW would be cheaper? That's a genuine question not an argument ?

 

Chickenslegs - our posts crossed over

 

 

 

 

VBF....go back over this thread, I quoted an example or 2.

 

 

TW will ALWAYS be better than direct transfer. You save the £25 UK bank fee and the 500 Baht Thai bank fee (versus a lower TW fee) + the exchange rate is ALWAYS better with TW.

 

The saving I quoted on a transfer of €10,000 was over 2,500 Baht. I think for £4/5,000 it will be just under 2,000 Baht.

 

Don’t forget, you fix the exchange rate at the time of transfer with TW - with the bank transfer you don’t know what rate you are getting until it arrives. TW rates are ‘live’ so you can still fix your rate outside banking hours i.e. weekends...

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by Jip99

[Henryford]

1 hour ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

VBF....go back over this thread, I quoted an example or 2.

 

 

TW will ALWAYS be better than direct transfer. You save the £25 UK bank fee and the 500 Baht Thai bank fee (versus a lower TW fee) + the exchange rate is ALWAYS better with TW.

 

The saving I quoted on a transfer of €10,000 was over 2,500 Baht. I think for £4/5,000 it will be just under 2,000 Baht.

 

Don’t forget, you fix the exchange rate at the time of transfer with TW - with the bank transfer you don’t know what rate you are getting until it arrives. TW rates are ‘live’ so you can still fix your rate outside banking hours i.e. weekends...

  

This is another big advantage. You know what rate you will actually get and can fix it when you think the rate is high. Often in the past i have initiated a transfer via my UK bank and by the time the money arrives the rate has dropped (like now after Carnage's statement).

[gmac]

I find the Transferwise comparison figures a little misleading as  I always use Nationwide and transfer to Bangkok Bank via their London office and the rate I get is the current rate in Thailand not the rate in the UK which appears to be what is shown on the Transferwise site.  While I can see that it is still a little cheaper, the difference is around 1500 baht on a Stg10k transfer not the almost 9000 baht saving they would have you believe.  I have based this calculation on the TT rate shown on the Bangkok Bank website which is usually pretty close to what I receive. (Bangkok bank rate 42.9275 against Transferwise example rate for Nationwide 42.2073)

[alphason]

2 hours ago, gmac said:

I find the Transferwise comparison figures a little misleading as  I always use Nationwide and transfer to Bangkok Bank via their London office and the rate I get is the current rate in Thailand not the rate in the UK which appears to be what is shown on the Transferwise site.  While I can see that it is still a little cheaper, the difference is around 1500 baht on a Stg10k transfer not the almost 9000 baht saving they would have you believe.  I have based this calculation on the TT rate shown on the Bangkok Bank website which is usually pretty close to what I receive. (Bangkok bank rate 42.9275 against Transferwise example rate for Nationwide 42.2073)

At this moment BB TT is 42.97 TransferWise is 43.26, of course the BB rate can change and you will whatever it is at the time the funds arrive, TransferWise is fixed.

[Pib]

Like all money transfer services their advertising figures can indeed be somewhat misleading as they usually use "a fee-evil bank, worst case exchange rate & fee scenario" in their advertising.  Like a person allowed their Sending bank to do the exchange based on the Sending bank's exchange rate which is usually several percent below the mid market rate.   Kinda like how some politicians use selective stats to support their agenda.

 

That's why a person needs to do their own cost analysis based on how they currently do their transfers.  Like not allowing the Sending bank to exchange the funds but allowing the Thai bank to use their TT Buying Rate...and then crank-in associated fees.   

 

Then a person will usually see the money transfer service may not be a better deal for any amount sent...or they may find out the money transfer service is best for amounts  up to XYZ....after amount XYZ using your bank is the better deal.   Or they may find out the money transfer service is always the best deal over their bank.  And of course what currency pair you are dealing with such as GBP-THB,  USD-THB, or EUR-THB can change the cost analysis outcome due to different pricing associated with each currency pair.

 

Like for U.S. folks doing USD to THB transfers in comparison to using a SWIFT or Bangkok Bank ACH transfer method, Transferwise is the better deal up to around $3K to $5K depending on exchange rates....above those amounts using SWIFT or the Bangkok Bank ACH method is usually a better deal.   By better deal I mean after exchange rate and fees are fully evaluated which method put the most baht into your Thai bank account.   If Tranferwise's pricing schedule for USD-THB was similar to thee lower pricing schedules used for GBP-THB or EUR-THB transfers then Transferwise would probably be the best deal to use on most all cases.

 

Yeap, a person needs to cost out transfer costs based on their real world costs versus the worst case advertising scenario which may not apply to them. 

[stud858]

On 7/26/2018 at 5:12 PM, DUS said:

I regularly use Transferwise and so far, touch wood, never had any issues with them. 

It seems though if something goes wrong you won't get any protections that banks have and backed by government controls.

 

Not likely, but the day they file for bankruptcy will be a sad one. Those unlucky in the middle of a transfer would find it hard to recover from 

[BritManToo]

On 8/4/2018 at 2:27 PM, Pib said:

Then a person will usually see the money transfer service may not be a better deal for any amount sent.

It hides where you are quite well though.

Your bank in the UK can't see where you're sending money, and I'm quite happy to pay extra for that.

Just did my 4th 40k (@41.8) ...... arrived next day as usual in my BKB account marked FTT as usual.

Edited March 7, 2019 by BritManToo

[Forza2002]

Transferwise is not as quick as they used to be. I have done 3 transfers in the last 2 weeks and they have taken nearly 24 hours. Previously would only take a couple of hours max. 

 

I'm using HSBC debit card going to my BKK bank. Anybody else experiencing slower times?

[scubascuba3]

2 minutes ago, Forza2002 said:

Transferwise is not as quick as they used to be. I have done 3 transfers in the last 2 weeks and they have taken nearly 24 hours. Previously would only take a couple of hours max. 

 

I'm using HSBC debit card going to my BKK bank. Anybody else experiencing slower times?

Mine took 20 minutes a few weeks ago using a bank transfer. If you've tagged it i suspect it may take longer

[Forza2002]

23 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Mine took 20 minutes a few weeks ago using a bank transfer. If you've tagged it i suspect it may take longer

Tagged it?

[VBF]

As I hadn't used my TW account for a while, on 2nd Jan I made a "test" transfer of £10 from my UK account to my SCB account.

It had reached SCB when I checked 15 minutes later.

Now I did this at about 09:30 UK time (16:30 Thailand) and my UK bank is, like most here, on the Faster Payments scheme.

 

It might be that if you time it so you're in banking hours in both countries as I was, then it goes through faster than, say, at night or over a weekend.

 

I do know, that in the past I've used a Debit card and it has taken longer and I assume (!) that even if the card is a Debit card, the funds or authorising may still have to pass through the MasterCard or Visa systems.  YMMV, as they say.