UK to Thai transfer of funds

[simoh1490]

21 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Will that money not have been spent here long before any talk of exporting back. Mine will.

If companies such as TW are truly a better deal then we would be crazy not to use them but it's not clear to me that they do indeed offer a truly comparable product to banks nor that the cost comparisons are being made accurately. Personally, if I transfer funds into Thailand I want the reassurance that they can be transferred out again without a problem, regardless of what my original intentions were, simply, plans and circumstances change.

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, The Fat Controller said:

If you send via Nationwide (or any other UK bank) , DO NOT USE THEIR RATE, send in STERLING and let the receiving bank convert your funds.

 

I have been using NW for years, as another poster mentioned, once above a certain amount the SWIFT transfer does become cost-effective as compared to the likes of Transferwise.

 

Money laundering regulations can be a pain if you want to send large amounts via transfer companies, proof of ID etc may be required on registration.

 

 

 

 

It's also worth adding that the Thai banks TT rates will always beat the Nationwide rate, any day of the week.

[Esso49]

31 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

If companies such as TW are truly a better deal then we would be crazy not to use them but it's not clear to me that they do indeed offer a truly comparable product to banks nor that the cost comparisons are being made accurately. Personally, if I transfer funds into Thailand I want the reassurance that they can be transferred out again without a problem, regardless of what my original intentions were, simply, plans and circumstances change.

Well of course it is up to you but if you need to transfer funds out of Thailand again then you should never have transferred them in in the first place.  Only transfer in what you can afford to lose and that goes for any country.  Also another OP mentioned about registration with Transferwise.  Of course you should register as that not only avoids the limitations on what you may transfer but also allows Transfer wise to comply with the UK's money laundering requirements ( what ever they are !!).

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, Esso49 said:

Well of course it is up to you but if you need to transfer funds out of Thailand again then you should never have transferred them in in the first place.  Only transfer in what you can afford to lose and that goes for any country.  Also another OP mentioned about registration with Transferwise.  Of course you should register as that not only avoids the limitations on what you may transfer but also allows Transfer wise to comply with the UK's money laundering requirements ( what ever they are !!).

Over the years I've transferred in many millions but as the exchange rates changed I have also transferred out a fair amount and taken the profit to buy UK real estate, the rental income from which comes back into Thailand. And whilst I have sufficient THB in country currently to see out the rest of my days here I am always happy to leverage that position as markets and circumstances change. I'm afraid I have never bought into the TVF concept of only transferring funds to Thailand you can afford to lose, I've made a lot of money out of THB and I continue to do so. More importantly, however, I don't have sleepless nights about exchange rates and the strength of the Baht and the value of the estate I will leave to my family here. So this business of "shouldn't have transferred them in in the first place" is not relevant, one could almost argue that being in Sterling is too dangerous given the losses it has incurred in recent years and that THB is far safer!

[steve73]

Registration with TW is very quick and easy (scan/photo of passport & bank statement from the one you will send the funds from showing your address IIRC).

 

TW uses the mid-market rate (MMR) for its conversion.  Thai banks all use their own TT buying rate (which is usually about 1 bt  or 1-1.2% less than MMR).  UK banks that will send THB usually offer a rate even less than that.

 

TW charges a fixed fee of GBP1.50 per transfer plus 0.55% of funds transferred .  Clearly if the bank rate is 1% less than TW rate, you will receive about 0.45% more (less the 1.50).  But there is no sending fee (20 for NW swift, less for others), and no receiving fee (500bt for Kasikorn).  Based on a typical transfer of 1000 GBP, I would receive around 1,600 Bt more by using TW than from NW to Kasikorn, (assuming there was no rate change between sending and arrival.

 

But IMO, the best thing about TW is that the rate is fixed when you confirm the transaction, and by tracking the MMR on a financial site you can try and pick a high point - or at least what you're happy with... You can always send more again if it spikes up after you've sent some.

The other big advantage is that transfers usually complete in around 24 hours - or more accurately the next working day so if you send during Fri or Sat, the funds don't arrive until Monday.   

[simoh1490]

THB is a restricted currency, it is not fully convertible and overseas banks are under strict limits as to how much THB they can hold and that limit is not huge - by fully convertible I mean that THB cannot be exported at will in unlimited amounts. So when a UK bank says it's sending THB it is almost certainly not sending THB that it holds but is instead buying it from another course inside Thailand I presume. In the case of HSBC I believe their THB comes from THB Commercial which is still based in Bangkok. Exactly where other banks source their THB is unclear.

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

If companies such as TW are truly a better deal then we would be crazy not to use them but it's not clear to me that they do indeed offer a truly comparable product to banks nor that the cost comparisons are being made accurately. Personally, if I transfer funds into Thailand I want the reassurance that they can be transferred out again without a problem, regardless of what my original intentions were, simply, plans and circumstances change.

That is if you are doing BIG amounts. For someone like me who is simply transferring my pension each month for living expenses here (house and car are paid for) TW is ideal. Or you can transfer into a Foreign Currency Account with Bkk Bank, have it sitting here in GBP, and exchange as and when you want/need via online banking.

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

Only transfer in what you can afford to lose

I only transfer in what I need to spend over here, I do not lose it, I use it to enjoy life here.

[mrjohn]

On 9/23/2018 at 1:36 PM, lopburi3 said:

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I had not considered any need to move the money out of the country at a later date but now it’s got me thinking.

I’m not quite sure what FET stands for but I’m assuming it’s some sort of foreign exchange certificate. Could anybody confirm this please?

 

As Lopburi said

Transfers using Transferwise are clearly marked as "International Transfer" when received in Thai account (but have had no need to ask for FET so can not answer if available or not).  

 

 

However, I just checked on the Bangkok bank website and at the foot of my account they add the following:

 

“Disclaimer: The Transfer Reference is provided by the sender. The bank is not responsible for its content or appropriateness.”

 

My pension is paid in with the reference BAHTNET which I’m assuming is traceable as money coming from abroad. Does anybody know if this is correct?

  

 

 

[mrjohn]

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I had not considered any need to move the money out of the country at a later date but now it’s got me thinking.

I’m not quite sure what FET stands for but I’m assuming it’s some sort of foreign exchange certificate. Could anybody confirm this please?

 

As Lopburi said

Transfers using Transferwise are clearly marked as "International Transfer" when received in Thai account (but have had no need to ask for FET so can not answer if available or not).  

 

 

However, I just checked on the Bangkok bank website and at the foot of my account they add the following:

 

“Disclaimer: The Transfer Reference is provided by the sender. The bank is not responsible for its content or appropriateness.”

 

My pension is paid in with the reference BAHTNET which I’m assuming is traceable as money coming from abroad. Does anybody know if this is correct?

[simoh1490]

On 9/24/2018 at 2:58 PM, mrjohn said:

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I had not considered any need to move the money out of the country at a later date but now it’s got me thinking.

I’m not quite sure what FET stands for but I’m assuming it’s some sort of foreign exchange certificate. Could anybody confirm this please?

 

As Lopburi said

Transfers using Transferwise are clearly marked as "International Transfer" when received in Thai account (but have had no need to ask for FET so can not answer if available or not).  

 

 

However, I just checked on the Bangkok bank website and at the foot of my account they add the following:

 

“Disclaimer: The Transfer Reference is provided by the sender. The bank is not responsible for its content or appropriateness.”

 

My pension is paid in with the reference BAHTNET which I’m assuming is traceable as money coming from abroad. Does anybody know if this is correct?

AN FET is a Foreign Exchange Transaction certificate which is the official central bank form that identifies foreign funds coming in or going out of Thailand. The banks have been quite lax about issuing formal FET's in the past and most often will issue either their own bank Treasury Dept. currency exchange form as a receipt, or, a letter confirming the funds are from overseas, as long as they can confirm that is the case. The FET or the bank letter becomes important whenever a foreigner wants to prove incoming funds to say buy real estate, make a large investment and at one time some years ago, buy a motor vehicle....the FET or its equivalent is also needed to prove funds came in from overseas whenever a foreigner wishes to transfer those funds back out again - without that bank letter the Land Office will not proceed with a property transfer and banks will not proceed with an outbound overseas transfer.

 

It looks from what has been posted above that the "international Transfer" notation on TW funds has been put there by TW and that the banks wont necessarily support it as fact, the acid test, of course, will be when somebody tries to use that notation as proof, personally, I wouldn't count on it being successful.