Issues sending money out of Thailand. How to?

[banagan]

I tried to send an international bank transfer from Thanachart bank, they want all sorts of info, where it came from, what its for, do I have an invoice, a work visa etc... what the hell?

 

Anyway, I have a Bank of Bangkok account I can try. How can I wire money with no hassle, possible in Thailand?

[FritsSikkink]

Welcome to international banking laws.

[banagan]

40 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Welcome to international banking laws.

Right, but Western Union is ok.

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Welcome to international banking laws.

Not aware of many other countries that need you to have a work permit to send money abroad. Most just want to be sure that the cash is yours, and none of my UK banks has ever queried any transfers I have made.

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Not aware of many other countries that need you to have a work permit to send money abroad. Most just want to be sure that the cash is yours, and none of my UK banks has ever queried any transfers I have made.

Because they most likely can see where the money comes from.

[Monomial]

There are Bank of Thailand rules that prohibit sending money out of the country unless it falls into one of only a few categories. So no, there is no way to wire money out of Thailand with no hassles. All banks are the same.

 

That said, the banks are left to police their own customers, so they have broad discretion in how much checking they do. I always hear stories on here about how easy it is to send money out. In my experience, a root canal has always been less painful than trying to do an outward remittance via SWIFT from a Thai bank.

 

My option is to hand carry the money to Cambodia and wire it from there. Others have either found a less anal retentive bank officer, or have made friends with a bank employee that allow them to do what us general toads can not.  You need to navigate this for yourself and discover the options in your particular situation.

 

You can use Western Union if the amount is less than $2000 USD. That is easy, but be prepared to pay handsomely for this.

[Pib]

Thailand:  Land of Smiles for incoming money; Land of Frowns for outgoing money.   

 

I think the first two paragraph's in Monomial's post above pretty much sums it up regarding the Bank of Thailand regulations regarding outflow of funds and how each bank implements the regulations differently.

[Chassa]

Yesterday sent 4000 Aud to my son in Australia, Bangkok Bank was the same as Westpac. Australia. Cost 1100 Baht.

 

Only problem was keeping my eyes off the delightful young lady handling the transaction.

[Pib]

2 minutes ago, Chassa said:

Yesterday sent 4000 Aud to my son in Australia, Bangkok Bank was the same as Westpac. Australia. Cost 1100 Baht.

 

Only problem was keeping my eyes off the delightful young lady handling the transaction.

Can you expand on what docs and/or reasons for transfer you had to provide Bangkok Bank to justify the transfer....make them happy.

 

And do you have a work permit as having a work permit makes accomplishing outflow of funds much, much easier.

[RayD]

They only do the checks the first time. After that it's straight forward so no big hassle really.

[Pib]

35 minutes ago, RayD said:

They only do the checks the first time. After that it's straight forward so no big hassle really.

Do what checks specifically?

 

[guest879]

I have done it quite a few times. just need to show where the money came from.  did you earn it in Thailand or did it get paid into your bank from abroad? I found SCB to be the best and the rules change bank to branch to branch. go to the bigger branches.  I am done with keeping money in Thailand and just use an eftpos car to access funds from abroad. 

[anfh]

Use this system, charge for transfer up to £1000, then no charges, good rates the more you send.yesterday was 0.9bht below bank rate only .

 

https://uk.ofx.com/login?ReturnUrl=%2fsecure%2fHome%2fMyDashboard

[Pib]

14 minutes ago, anfh said:

Use this sysystdm, no charges, good rates the more you send.

 

https://uk.ofx.com/login?ReturnUrl=%2fsecure%2fHome%2fMyDashboard

You can't use OFX to send out Thai baht....like a baht to pound transfer. 

 

However, you can transfer pounds to baht....and the OFX market-up for GBP-THB is approx 2% (i.e., 2% less than the FX mid-market rate or approx 1.5% lower than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate)

[anfh]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

You can't use OFX to send out Thai baht....like a baht to pound transfer. 

 

However, you can transfer pounds to baht....and the OFX market-up for GBP-THB is approx 2% (i.e., 2% less than the FX mid-market rate or approx 1.5% lower than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate)

Sorry, did not see he meant OUT od Thailand.

 

i sent 15,000 bht out from Bangkok Bank in march, rate was actually pretty good and very low charge. Just went into branch, filled in form and job done. Money in UK in three days !,

[Pib]

Just now, anfh said:

Sorry, did not see he meant OUT od Thailand.

 

i sent 15,000 bht out from Bangkok Bank in march, rate was actually pretty good and very low charge. Just went into branch, f-upilled in form and job done. Money in UK in three days !,

Yea....I have an OFX account also, but I've never used it for an actual transfer because of their approx 2% market-up on a USD-THB or GBP-THB.   Their markup does decrease to around 1.5% when  you start sending BIG money like 10K dollars or pounds. 

 

Transferwise is a better deal than OFX when exchange rate and fees are fully evaluated....that is, which one puts the most baht in your account at the lowest cost to you.

[Oztruckie]

Seen an ad on fbook several times just recently, claiming they can easily send money out of Thailand to 180 different countries, they have several branches in bkk, their called Dee Money, may be suitable for yr requirements. 

[BoganInParasite]

I've used TransferWise a number of times to sent money into Thailand from the USA and Australia. Having now worked out I'm in Thailand, I've had marketing correspondence indicating they can send out as well. On the inbound journey the fx rates have been good and the fees very reasonable. Might be worth contacting them.

 

[Pib]

25 minutes ago, BoganInParasite said:

I've used TransferWise a number of times to sent money into Thailand from the USA and Australia. Having now worked out I'm in Thailand, I've had marketing correspondence indicating they can send out as well. On the inbound journey the fx rates have been good and the fees very reasonable. Might be worth contacting them.

 

If you are talking exchanging "from Thai baht" to another currency, you can't.   See below.  Plus, initiate a Transferwise transfer and you will notice in the "You Send" block Thai baht is not offered but in the "Recipient Gets" block Thai baht is offered.  Summary: can't not send money from Thailand; you can only send to Thailand.

 

https://transferwise.com/help/article/1570071/basic-information/supported-countries#/Thailand

[TommyUK1960]

I put money in wifes account and she had no trouble sending it to UK no questions asked.

[Lacessit]

I've never tried. However, that's because I bring into Thailand only what I need to live on.

I did try to send US dollars to a coffee supplier in Vietnam through Bangkok Bank. However, the commission they wanted was as much as I was sending, so I said no thanks.

[Pib]

Now although I have implied in some above posts that sending money from a Thai bank can be hard unless you have a work permit (which is true with many Thai banks) or proper docs showing original source of funds as some folks have stated in this thread and similar threads over the years, there have been other farangs who have sent out money relatively easy....small or large amounts.  And I have sent out money relatively easy also from my Krungsri ibanking via SWIFT...arrived my U.S. bank same day....but I only did it one time as a test and only for a couple hundred dollars....it was primarily a test transfer to confirm it worked. 

 

The fee is Bt350 and if you want the receiver to "not" pickup any intermediary bank fee(s) which might occur (probably will) there is another Bt800 fee for a total Bt1,100.  Basically you are paying for any intermediary bank fee upfront whether there is an intermediary bank fee or no.   If you don't care if an intermediary fee might occur, like if sending money to yourself, then you can forego the Bt800 fee....you'll just be paying Bt350 for the transfer on the sending end.  Same fee structure applies for any amount sent...small or big.

 

In my test I chose for the receiver to pickup any intermediary bank fee (I was sending the money to myself) and there was indeed an intermediary fee of $20 USD some where along the line which works out to approx Bt660...so I made the right choice in not selecting the Bt800 front end fee to prevent the receiver from getting any intermediary bank fee.  I do not have  work permit...I have a retirement visa. 

 

And keep in mind the Thai bank uses their TT "Selling" Rate which is about a 1.5% markup over the TT Buying Rate used for incoming transfers.  1.5% does not hurt much on a low transfer amount but 1.5% say on a $10,000 transfer would be $150.  But a 1.5% markup is definitely a lot less hurtful than using Western Union that has around a 3% markup. 

 

Now with my Bangkok Bank ibanking it's a flat out no-can-do without getting approval to add an international transfer feature to your ibanking which usually requires a work permit.   Different policies at different banks.   But I'm sure I could physically go to a Bangkok Bank branch and do a SWIFT transfer although they may ask this and that.

 

So we will continue to read all kinds of different success and unsuccessful stories regarding how someone "tried to send money out of Thailand" from a Thai bank.  Sometimes it ends in Smiles; sometimes it end in Frowns.   If running into a Frown, go find a Smile.

 

 

[chicowoodduck]

It is all because of those Bitcoin crazies in Bangkok stealing and doing the laundry.??

[Baerboxer]

On 8/15/2018 at 10:23 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Welcome to international banking laws.

 

Now if he was a billionaire or politician they'd bend over backwards for him!

[TBKK]

I was told by my brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, that if I obtained a certified check from my bank in Thailand (Bangkok Bank) and mailed it to them, they would do the conversion at the TT rate when they received the check and deposit it in my account.

In other words, if I wanted to send 1 million baht to my brokerage firm in the U.S., I could just go to Bangkok Bank and obtain a certified check for 1 million baht and mail it to them via Fed. Ex. and they would do the conversion and deposit it in my account.

I have never tried this so I can't verify if this information is correct but I doubt that they would provide me with false information.  

[Pib]

9 hours ago, TBKK said:

I was told by my brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, that if I obtained a certified check from my bank in Thailand (Bangkok Bank) and mailed it to them, they would do the conversion at the TT rate when they received the check and deposit it in my account.

In other words, if I wanted to send 1 million baht to my brokerage firm in the U.S., I could just go to Bangkok Bank and obtain a certified check for 1 million baht and mail it to them via Fed. Ex. and they would do the conversion and deposit it in my account.

I have never tried this so I can't verify if this information is correct but I doubt that they would provide me with false information.  

You best find out what exchange rate Schwab would use....I expect it would be 2 to 3% percent below the FX mid market rate which equates to a lot of money in the form of an indirect fee.  Little use for baht in the U.S. as it's a minor currency....pretty much only used in Thailand and somewhat in some SE Asia countries.   Let's say it's 3%....on a million baht check that equates to 30K baht which is around $900.

[Scottjouro]

On 8/15/2018 at 10:04 PM, banagan said:

Right, but Western Union is ok.

Western Union is not a bank...different laws

 

Thailand has exchange controls in place, hence the reason for the paper work...if you brought the money in legally and its documented, simple process to send it back out..

 

If have work permit easy to send money out as well

 

If you need an invoice, make up your own proforma invoice to an entity outside Thailand, they dont check

[Scottjouro]

On 8/15/2018 at 11:44 PM, KittenKong said:

Not aware of many other countries that need you to have a work permit to send money abroad. Most just want to be sure that the cash is yours, and none of my UK banks has ever queried any transfers I have made.

As the UK have KYC polices in place which you have complied with...rest assured transfer a signifcant amount of cash as an indivdual even in the UK and the bank will want to know what your doing 

[lannarebirth]

On 8/17/2018 at 2:49 PM, TBKK said:

I was told by my brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, that if I obtained a certified check from my bank in Thailand (Bangkok Bank) and mailed it to them, they would do the conversion at the TT rate when they received the check and deposit it in my account.

In other words, if I wanted to send 1 million baht to my brokerage firm in the U.S., I could just go to Bangkok Bank and obtain a certified check for 1 million baht and mail it to them via Fed. Ex. and they would do the conversion and deposit it in my account.

I have never tried this so I can't verify if this information is correct but I doubt that they would provide me with false information.  

 

That is correct information but oftentimes it will take 2 weeks or more to clear, in addition to delivery time.

[UncleTouchyFingers]

I have Bangkok bank savings account (basic account) and have sent wires to my US Citibank account several times up to $45k USD (Thai baht equilivent) per time. 

 

I live in a rural part of Thailand, so these types of transactions are rare for the branch here and when first attempted, the typical person behind the counter basically make up their own rules. Cannot. Ok, can but only 100,000 baht per time. Ok, can but only 200,000 baht per time. 

It took me going into the branch with printed evidence from BKK Bank website and talking to the bank manager literally PROVING that, yes I can send money, and yes, it can be up to $45k per time, and yes a foreigner can send his own money back home. 

 

The only clincher was that all the money I was sending back to the states was actually mine. All money that I brought into Thailand went through this same Bangkok bank account, so when the time came to send money back out, it was clear that I had brought in WAY more money that I am trying to send out. 

 

Wire transfer like this isnt the best, most cost efficient way to transfer large sums, but such is banking. 

 

Thats why nowadays I cringe when I hear people lave lived here for a decade of more just pulling money at ATM's from their foreign bank accounts and all. If they ever want to a substantial amount of money out, they are gonna be in a bind. 

 

Hopefully transferwise gets some accounts within Thailand. 

 

Anyway if OP can prove that he brought that money into Thailand (bank account records are perfectly fine) then it should be no problem. 

Main issue is cutting through the BS at the local banks because the kind of make up their own rules as they go due to ignorance of the actual rules/laws and face.