Transferring from abroad to Thailand a large sum of money – Could I have problems - Advice Please

[Monkie Business]

   

 

I recently sold a property in Spain , and now need to transfer approximately € 25,000.00 ( euro ) into my Thailand Bangkok bank account ( approx 900,000.00 Thai Baht ).

 

There several areas that I am concerned about.

 

Transferring that amount of money to Thailand may in some way trigger money laundering checks and cause a problem with my Bangkok bank account . I do have a UK HSBC bank account , that I regularly transfer individual amounts of ( £1,000.00 ) pounds sterling to my Thailand Bangkok bank account , with out any problems or money laundering checks.

 

The Spanish bank ( my Spanish Lawyer's bank  ) will only transfer money in Euro to either my Thai Bangkok bank account or my UK HSBC bank account , so I could transfer € 25,000.00 ( euro ) directly to my Bangkok Bank account but then possibly receive a lower currency exchange rate at Bangkok bank.

 

I could transfer the € 25,000.00 ( euro ) from the Spanish bank to my UK HSBC bank , then re transfer the money in pounds sterling to my Bangkok bank account so I should receive a better currency exchange rate at my Bangkok bank account.

 

As this will be the first time I have ever needed to transferred a large amount of money from abroad into my Bangkok bank account . I have had a look through some old posts , but I am still not sure on the best way to proceed relating to the possible money laundering problems and the best option to receive the money into my Thai Bangkok bank account.

 

Any thoughts , comments or suggestions on the above , appreciated

[Naam]

relax mate! transferring that peanuts amount of money will trigger nothing.

[Odin Norway]

13 minutes ago, Naam said:

relax mate! transferring that peanuts amount of money will trigger nothing.

Agree with Naam.That is just peanuts.Did a mill a few times building my house a few years back.1-3 days and the money was in my kasikorn account.

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, Monkie Business said:

I could transfer the € 25,000.00 ( euro ) from the Spanish bank to my UK HSBC bank , then re transfer the money in pounds sterling to my Bangkok bank account so I should receive a better currency exchange rate at my Bangkok bank account

This logic doesn't make sense to me.

Assuming your Bangkok Bank account is in THB (not a foreign currency account in GBP?).

 

What do you want to win by doing two money exchanges (EUR -> GPB -> THB) vs. one (EUR - GBP) and paying fees twice?

Send the money from the Spanish bank in EUR and that's it.

I don't know the rules in Spain, but in Germany a transfer of 12500 EUR up would require  a notice/form to the central bank with a reason for payment. A routine procedure for the files. (just don't write "for weapons-usable plutonium" ).

[Pib]

25K Euros is really not a large amount.  The receiving Thai bank is not even going to blink at that amount. Heck, a Thai Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form is not even required/desired until the amount exceeds 50K U.S. Dollars or equivalent.

 

And why to you want to relay the Euros to the UK first.  Just send Euro directly to the Thai bank....you will get the Thai bank TT Buying Rate which is a better rate than you will get out of any Spanish, UK, or any western bank.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Pib

[simoh1490]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

25K Euros is really not a large amount.  The receiving Thai bank is not even going to blink at that amount. Heck, a Thai Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form is not even required/desired until the amount exceeds 50K U.S. Dollars or equivalent.

 

And why to you want to relay the Euros to the UK first.  Just send Euro directly to the Thai bank....you will get the Thai bank TT Buying Rate which is a better rate than you will get out of any Spanish, UK, or any western bank.

Issuance of an FET is not dependent on the amount.

[blackhorse]

Some Chinese and Indians carry that amount around in Pattaya for a night ???? out if you believe the crime reports 

[steve73]

If you're not planning to buy a condo in T/L or won't be intending to transfer the THB back out of Thailand then you don't need a FET, and you could use Transferwise (TW) to move the money. 

For GBP to THB it's by far the most cost effective method, since it uses mid-market exchange rates (usually around 1bt higher than banks give you), and would probably give you an extra 6-7,000 bt.

But since you need to send the money from your own named account, you'd need to get the Euro's to your UK bank first which may negate any savings (unless your lawyer has a TW account and he could send it to you with that - but unlikely).

Alternative is to open a TW "international account", which gives you sort codes and acct #'s for a range of currencies.  Your lawyer could then send the EUR direct to your TW EUR acct, where you could hold them as EUR and then exchange it and move it to THB when ever you felt the rate was favourable. 

[Pib]

38 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Issuance of an FET is not dependent on the amount.

 

Pretty much...depending on who you ask....your Thai bank policy....etc.....that's why I said "required/desired."   The desired part being thrown in as it can make it much easier for you to repatriate the money in the future.   Just good to get whether you "immediately" need to the form for condo purchase purposes or just for later use down the road to repatriate funds.

 

https://www.samuiforsale.com/fet-form/view-document.html

 

Quote

 

Relaxation of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions (2010)

The Bank of Thailand has issued the Notice of the Competent Officer to further relax foreign exchange regulations in order to increase the flexibility of Thai businesses in managing their foreign exchange risks. The main issues are summarized as follows:

1. Allowing Thai companies having export proceeds in foreign currency to transfer funds from their foreign currency deposit accounts to counter parties in Thailand for payment of goods or services. This relaxation will facilitate companies to have more flexibility in managing foreign exchange risks and help reduce transaction costs
2. Increasing the foreign exchange transactions threshold amount for which FET form must be submitted from USD 20,000 to USD 50,000 and easing the requirement for submission of supporting documents.

 

 

Sample FET Form

https://www.samuiforsale.com/fet-form/view-document.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[catman20]

19 hours ago, Naam said:

relax mate! transferring that peanuts amount of money will trigger nothing.

hahaha agree 100% yes peanuts

[chicowoodduck]

Chump change.....have more in my pockets on vacation.....relax...????

[boriga]

As Steve 73 suggests. Open a Transferwise account and activate the GBP and Euro balances and then receive and send money as you wish, especially to Thailand at good rates. Last week I sent GBP from my UK Barclays account to my THB Krungsri account and it took just over 24 hours.

[Crash999]

It won’t trigger anything. I have transferred in amounts far higher. 

 

Your bank in Thailand may give you a call with their exchange rate and ask you if you are ok to convert at that rate. That’s it. 

[fakename]

But if your American, you might have problems! 

[Pib]

19 minutes ago, fakename said:

But if your American, you might have problems! 

Why?

 

[micmichd]

22 hours ago, Naam said:

relax mate! transferring that peanuts amount of money will trigger nothing.

In  Germany the limit is 15,000 EUR per transaction. Above this limit, transactions will be reported to the regulatory (Deutsche Bundesbank), and the source (ie the sender) will be ckecked for money laundering. This is done by the banks in the background, usually the sender isn't even aware of it. But it's part of the compliance regulations. And, yes, it can trigger confiscation, and the burden of proof that the money is "clean" will be put on the sender. 

Anyone who works in a German bank has to learn these compliance regulations and demonstrate that he/she understood them. I had to learn them, too. 

 

So, my advice would be to cut the lump sum into 2 tranches and wire each one separately. 

You never know what they check behind your back. There might even be a greedy ex-wife who claims alimony, and then you'd get into serious trouble.

Edited October 19, 2018 by micmichd

[rwill]

41 minutes ago, fakename said:

But if your American, you might have problems! 

I have sent more than that many times from America with no problem.

[Proboscis]

You should not have any legal problem with transferring such a relatively small amount of money by bank transfer. There may be a declaration form depending on the country's local laws.

 

That said, please be aware that banks are notorious for cheating their own customers by giving them really bad exchange rates. A friend of mine was cheated out of about $3,000 on a transfer of about $40,000 because the receiving currency was different. This is perfectly legal and there is no way you can get your money back as you are deemed to have "agreed" the exchange rate, no matter how far it deviates from the mid-point exchange rate (mid-point between the selling rate and the buying rate, always a slight difference).

 

Very simple to check what rate your bank proposes: phone them up and ask them for the Rate (how many thai baht to the Euro) they will give you if you transfer $25,000 today. While you are talking to them, make sure you have xe.com open on your laptop with the most recent rate displayed (keep refreshing it). The rate that xe.com is displaying is invariably the "mid-point." Have a calculator nearby to see how much you lose with the rate the bank gives you. 

 

And you may not even be able to find out the transfer fee anyway - many banks cannot tell you exactly what the transfer costs are going to be as no transparency is the norm. Would you enter into any other transaction where you did not know how much it was going to cost you?

 

If you are losing more than a thousand on the rate, then you should seek out Transferwise.com.

 

Just so we all know where we stand, I do not work for nor do I in any way economically or in any other way benefit from the fortunes of Transferwise - I am not a shareholder nor am I related to one in any way. There are other such services - I have not used them myself but I have used Transwise and was very satisfied with their service.

 

The system is basically you register with Transferwise - a little bit onerous but security is necessary. Once you agree online with them the rate and the transfer cost, you then transfer the money to their local account in the EU in Euros and they do the rest.

 

One small item though, while they do transfer money to Thailand, they do NOT TRANSFER OUT of Thailand, according to their website.

 

I use another strategy in another SE Asian country where I have an account in Euros - so the bank in the EU country cannot cheat me on the exchange rate. I transfer Euros directly to a Euro account in a local bank in a SE Asian country - that bank gives me very close to mid-point exchange rates whenever I take money out of my Euro account. I have no idea whether Thai banks allow Euro accounts and, if so, what exchange rates they apply when you withdraw Euros out in Thai Baht. You might want to check that as an option too.

 

Good luck.

 

[Thingamabob]

Hardly a large sum of money. No worries.

[worgeordie]

All you billionaires berating the OP,fail to recognize that

it maybe a large sum to him.

I just hope he has an honest Spanish lawyer,that will

actually send him the money,and not like the UK lawyer

I had years ago,who stole some 3 Million from several

of his clients and me,he got 4 years for it,not enough i

thought.

regards worgeordie

[uksmdh]

No problem they love it.  Transferred the equivalent of 2.5 mil couple of weeks ago.  Had to give the reason house purchase (could have been car purchase or pension remittance).  Not a murmur.  Different story getting it out I believe.

[dick turpin]

Its your UK bank which will run laundering checks and if you already make online transfers to your Bangkok Bank account then they will already have checked you out. For which reason better to transfer from Spain first and then Thailand. Pound is up against the Euro at the moment.

[steve73]

1 hour ago, Proboscis said:

....

 

Just so we all know where we stand, I do not work for nor do I in any way economically or in any other way benefit from the fortunes of Transferwise - I am not a shareholder nor am I related to one in any way. There are other such services - I have not used them myself but I have used Transwise and was very satisfied with their service.

 

...

 

 

Good post "proboscis... all of it.

 

I've quoted just the section above, to make it clear that I am in the same position.  I've recommended TW on many occasions on many of the T-Visa subjects.

The more people that use this service, the cheaper it will become.  (I know that AUD to THB fees have reduced significantly over the past 12 months.)  It may also put pressure on banks to improve their service and reduce their costs (although the Thai banks may well employ the reverse tactics, as the local bars seem to when short of customers).

There are some u-tube videos explaining their "Borderless Account" - useful if anyone is interested in this.

[Naam]

5 hours ago, micmichd said:

This is done by the banks in the background, usually the sender isn't even aware of it. But it's part of the compliance regulations. And, yes, it can trigger confiscation, and the burden of proof that the money is "clean" will be put on the sender. 

rubbish!

[Arkady]

No problem.  Just transfer to your Thai bank account.  No questions asked if under USD 50k. Problems only occur if you try to remit it out again.

[Naam]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

All you billionaires berating the OP,fail to recognize that

it maybe a large sum to him.

nobody "berated" the OP! au contraire, he was advised to relax because these kind of peanuts transfers won't trigger any of the actions he feared. the expression "peanuts" was also clearly meant as far as Thai banking is concerned. and that £25k is for some people a huge amount of money goes without saying.

[pjuk]

Use Transferwise. You will save a load on fees and get the best exchange rate.

 https://transferwise.com/

[how241]

That is not large money.  The bank will not care or make problems for you.

[natway09]

Just send it to the BBK from the country of origin.

As long as no problem at the sending end ,,,, no problem at this end.

DO NOT let them change to THB before they send

[cookai]

That is worth about 4.32 Bitcoin