Transfer of $100,000 from Australia to Thai Bank Account

[baansgr]

Small amounts as this is easy enough with Swift or Transferwise

[Franko666]

27 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

I will offer you some advice, whether you want it or not, it's free and it could assist if you put it to use.

 

I am from Sydney, married to my best friend, she is Thai of course.

 

Been living here for 3 years, it was planned since 2007 when I met my wife, I knew that I wanted to retire at 55 and get the hell out of Sydney and spend the rest of my years enjoying her and what life I have left in me, Vs working.

 

6 months after living here, I sold my property just before my residency status was due to change, i.e. from Australian resident to Non resident

 

All of the money I made from my property is invested and in the bank back in Australia.

 

I retain and renew my drivers/riders licences back in Australia

 

I also renewed my Medicare card, have kept club memberships and affiliations going, never know when one has to or will return, but that is not in my/our plans, but you never say never

 

Only transfer money here when I need it, and that is with Transferwise, they give the best transfer rate available after fees taken out and money usually arrives into account within 24 hours.

 

Suggest as Peter42 has, leave the money in Australia, and just transfer what you need when you need, exchange rate is pretty much on the nose at the moment, around the 23.35 mark, but it is what it is.

 

The biggest thing you will want to look into is health insurance to cover you while you are here, you will NEED it for private hospital cover, otherwise you would be better off visiting a vet back in Oz, seriously, for minor stuff the public hospitals are ok, but private for other stuff and they are not cheap.

 

As I used to ride big bikes, the sun here will be challenging as will the drivers (seriously), I like your wifes suggestion, get a car or a pickup if your going to cart things around in the back, we purchased a Ford Ranger over an Isuzu 7 seater and it worked out really pleasingly as we built our house and carted a lot of stuff in the back tray. We have a scooter for local use and it suites us for its purpose.

 

Be a good idea to get your international drivers/riders permit from NRMA for 12 months before you leave as any insurance you take out here for a car or bike won't cover you without one until you do the simple test here to get a Thai drivers and riders licence.

 

I live by a simple rule, only invest 10% of my worth here in Thailand, because my fall back position if I will ever need one, is my 90% back home and if you invest too much here and you want out, it can be painful as there are different laws here and corruption is ripe, just remember your not in Oz and its basically anything goes so why put your money down here, always have a plan B and with those finances readily available back in Oz, your there with a single ticket if need be.

 

Congratulations on your windfall, 60 and tax free super, make it last because you will need it in your retirement, seen too many blokes loose the lot in under a year and two.

 

EDIT: Work out a monthly budget and stick to it, once you have worked out your monthly budget, let's say 60,000 baht per month for example, multiply that by 12 months, then divide that into say 23 baht, which should be about $31,304AUS per annum, then divide that back into 12 months and that is what it is going to cost you to survive here per month, i.e. about $2,608AUS, that said, now multiply that by 12 again and then multiply that by the years you think you will survive, say you will live till your 80 years of age, so multiply that by 20 years and then you will know if you have blown your budget to live here for 20 years, i.e. you will need $626,087AUS or you will have to revise your budget down.

 

The above advice is free and is as close to reality as it will get, and as the Thai's say, "up to you" to take it or not.

 

Good luck mate

 

[murraynz]

as others have said--its easy to send money by SWIFT  transfer..ive often sent  $100k at a time{from nz-but aussie owned bank}-same same..

sure the xchange is low at present, but saves on fees sending a larger sum, also making regular small withdrawals from credit Card at ATM, incurs huge fees...

i dont know how it works....but i find the money i receive for my pension payments is always MORE  per thb than the xchange rate shown by my bank??  gets paid direct to my bangkok bank account...

[Franko666]

2 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

 

All that is correct and when him and her gets feds of the 24/7 Thai life, home is still waiting!!!!

[catman20]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

All the above are good tips, but watch out for the exchange rates, aussie banks are notorious for giving bad exchange rates when converting for AUD to any other currencies, shop around for good rates as a few satangs or cents can mean a big difference in the outcome...

can the OP not transfer in ozzy dollars and when it hits Thailand he will get the Thai rate here thats the way ive done it with sterling.

[Oztruckie]

Have a look at Macquarie Int Money Transfers, good rates, no fees when sending over 10k, safe, highly reputable bank, when you do transfers with them you automatically get the FET form with all the details of the transfer. 

[Pib]

23 minutes ago, Franko666 said:

But what is the Exchange rate when Thai banks convert the money? I bet it is a crap rate.

 

It called the TT Buying Rate...and it's not crap....around 0.5% below the FX rate compared to most western banks that are several percent below the FX rate.  While each Thai bank shows its exchange rate like at this Bangkok Bank webpage (just for example) you can also see various Thai banks rates at this webpage...just select the currency pair and TT to see the TT Buying Rate given.

 

[ICECOOL]

I now use XE Money for my regular transfers from Oz as my bank HSBC was ridiculous for fees and also Kasikhorn was high. It goes via NAB NZ but although a bit slower. (2-3 days) Suggest check a few and compare overall. 

[Billthekiwi]

Hi,

 

I use WorldFirst myself. It is an Australian company.

 

For larger transfers there are no fees and their rates are usually better than a banks.

 

They deposit Thai baht for me.

 

I use NZ and Australian banks to transfer to the Bangkok Bank which seems to mostly not charge me fees. Once or twice I have paid minimal amounts on transfers.

 

Within Thailand they seem to charge for things not seen in NZ or Australia. If you take out funds in a town not in your account town there is a fee for example.

 

Only 15 baht but I ask myself why? Does the bank's computer get tired?

Edited October 2, 2018 by Billthekiwi
Clarification.

[AjarnMartin]

Try TransferWise. That's what I use from the UK. Good Luck!

[Scottjouro]

The likes of SWIFT and Transferwise will be going out of business with the wide scale adoption of things like RippleNet by FIs

 

A number of pioneering banks and providers are using RippleNet’s global payments network to give workers an instant, affordable and transparent way to send needed cash to their families. One example is the collaboration between SBI Remit and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) that leverages RippleNet to power real-time remittance payments for those Thai workers living in Japan.

 

https://ripple.com/insights/the-power-of-instant-remittances-ripplenet-in-japan/

 

[BestB]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I am with BKK bank and have never had fees from them for an incoming swift transfer, it comes into my account at whatever the daily TT rate is. besides the Australian bank fee, no fees at this end.

That’s weird. K bank and krungsi both have fees

[Mister T]

I have been using Bahtsmart for years now, transfer from my ANZ account to their Anz account, 24 hours later it is in my Bangkok bank account without any fees or charges. The rate is always better than any of the banks, here or in Aus. https://www.bahtsmart.com/

[BestB]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I am with BKK bank and have never had fees from them for an incoming swift transfer, it comes into my account at whatever the daily TT rate is. besides the Australian bank fee, no fees at this end.

That’s weird. K bank and krungsi both have fees

[BestB]

2 hours ago, steve73 said:

 

If you do this can you still get a FET when you eventually change it to THB?

If you tell me what you mean by FET, then I might be able to answer 

[topt]

4 minutes ago, BestB said:

That’s weird. K bank and krungsi both have fees

See my post no 21

[BestB]

1 minute ago, topt said:

See my post no 21

Why do I need to see your post? 

[Sumarianson]

8 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Swift transfers are very easy nowadays, you can do it on your banking app on your phone, literally comes overnight, usually a flat fee (around $20) no matter what the amount, and an FET to buy condo etc. your Thai bank will give you the swift codes etc .

Send the money as $AU, dont let oz bank exchange it as the rate is always lower, and needs to be foreign money to get FET.

 

Transfer-wise and similar will give you a marginally better exchange rate and variable fees and no FET.

(maybe 20k-30k more in your account than swift)

 

You appear to be buying a condo (otherwise why bring so much when the ex rate is down) so you will need the FET that only the banks can provide, so you limited to a swift transfer.

No such thing ss an FET now. It has been done away with. You just need a letter. You can also use an FX firm as I have just recently been informed by a participant on here. 

He says that the FX firm (who will give a rate comparable to Superrich)

Transferred the money in Thai Baht directly to his Bangkok Bank account and when he showed Bangkok Bank the transfer paperwork they supplied the letter for the land registry.

The letter is only so as you can easily transfer out that amount of money if you sell the property.

[steve73]

7 minutes ago, BestB said:

If you tell me what you mean by FET, then I might be able to answer 

I assumed everyone on a thread such as this would have known.

It's a Foreign Exchange Transaction form that you need if you want to buy property (i.e. condo) in your name.  It proves the cash was imported from outside of Thailand.  

[Changbeer4me]

Thanks for all the great advice

Guy’s much appreciated.

 

Keeping Bulk in My Super just sending this over for Visa, Bike, maybe Car.

 

Idea is to stretch savings as best we can and see what happens.

 

Down the path is the pension but got 7 yrs to worry about that.

 

Riding/ driving in Thailand I’ll certainly

habe health Insurance that next thing after visa’s sorted.

 

Regards

 

Changbeer4me

 

 

 

[BestB]

5 minutes ago, steve73 said:

I assumed everyone on a thread such as this would have known.

It's a Foreign Exchange Transaction form that you need if you want to buy property (i.e. condo) in your name.  It proves the cash was imported from outside of Thailand.  

Ok, well I did not know . Though failing to understand how a transfer into account would be any diffferent to transferring into foreign currency account?

[GreasyFingers]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

 

Actually OFX customer rates are not as good as Transferwise rates.  Below are snapshot of OFX and Transferwise "customer" exchange rates as of 2 Oct 18/3pm Thailand time....that is, what you really get for an exchange rate.  

 

OFX "customer" rates are lower than the their "indicative" rates they show on their public webpage....OFX "indicative" rates are FX rates like shown on XE.com, but OFX customers do not get the FX rate as one does with Transferwise.  Beware of money transfer services that only show an "indicative" rate on their public web page and you can only find out the the actual rate you will get (i.e., customer rate) by getting a quote from them/becoming a customer....it's kinda like a worm-on-the-hook type advertising.

 

OFX Customer Rate as of 2 Oct 18/3pm

 

 

Transferwise Customer Rate as of 2 Oct 18

I have just brought 5M baht here and when I checked with Transferwise there was very little difference with OFX.  I looked at some and needed to convert to USD before converting to baht. Not sure if Transferwise was one of them.

Then of course you can use the Indian forex dealers which will quote the Xe mid rate but have some very poor reviews.

[gaviny]

Best you bring cash in with you on the plane..maybe $100grand is a bit too much to carry but take what ever you comfortable with.I usually bring around a fifth of that .

Sent from my SM-N9200 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Pib]

1 minute ago, GreasyFingers said:

I have just brought 5M baht here and when I checked with Transferwise there was very little difference with OFX.  I looked at some and needed to convert to USD before converting to baht. Not sure if Transferwise was one of them.

Then of course you can use the Indian forex dealers which will quote the Xe mid rate but have some very poor reviews.

What your definition of very little difference?   For large amounts a small difference in exchanges rates can make a big difference as a lower exchange rate is basically an "indirect" fee. 

 

Always fully price-out any transfer for exchange rate "and" fees."  

[gaviny]

When I'm here and need extra I do it thru Ozforex , always a better rate than the banks.

Sent from my SM-N9200 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[GreasyFingers]

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

What your definition of very little difference?   For large amounts a small difference in exchanges rates can make a big difference as a lower exchange rate is basically an "indirect" fee. 

 

Always fully price-out any transfer for exchange rate "and" fees."  

I did not check your rates but as I said in my original post the over the phone quote is better than the website rate. And if you are not a member the open website rate is less than you will get as a member.

[malt25]

30 minutes ago, gaviny said:

Best you bring cash in with you on the plane..maybe $100grand is a bit too much to carry but take what ever you comfortable with.I usually bring around a fifth of that .

Sent from my SM-N9200 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

So, he just needs 5 trips to get his 100K here. I think the cost of the trips & associated expenses might offset any gain in exchange rates & fees. Just a thought.

 

[Peterw42]

3 hours ago, topt said:

Then you must be pretty unique as I believe every Thai bank charges 0.25% (min 200, max 500 baht) for receiving incoming foreign funds (ex. ACH transfers from London and New York).

See top of page 2 of attached.

 

TransactionFees_En.pdf

 

from https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand

It must be hidden as its never listed as a fee or a deductionin the account, 

[Pib]

7 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

It must be hidden as its never listed as a fee or a deductionin the account, 

The fee is applied "before posting" to your account...that is why you never see it on your ibanking, statement, passbook, etc.  This fools a lot of people into thinking no fee was applied but indeed it was.  It's also why some folks can never get their personal math in trying to figure out the exchange rate they got to match any exchange rate posted by the bank.   However, if you sign up for Bangkok Bank's free SMS Remittance the SMS you get will show the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) fee.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2018 by Pib

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, Mister T said:

I have been using Bahtsmart for years now, transfer from my ANZ account to their Anz account, 24 hours later it is in my Bangkok bank account without any fees or charges. The rate is always better than any of the banks, here or in Aus. https://www.bahtsmart.com/

 

You may want check , bahtsmart rate today for $1000 is 22.68, bangkok bank TT rate today is 23.00. Bahtsmart is good for small amounts as no fees, but its always a lower rate (thats how they make money)