Best way (and cheapest) to transfer money to Thailand

[digger70]

1 hour ago, Jumbo1968 said:

Swings and roundabouts, some transfer companies have no fees but give you a lower exchange rate, the ones who give you the going rate charge a fee.

i was going to bring the 800000 baht for my Extension of Stay in cash and deposit it in my Thai Bank Account but I have been told the money has to show up as a transfer from out with Thailand ?

No it doesn't I done it.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Jaggg88 said:

I registered with Transferwise online while in the UK and it only takes a few minutes. I didn't have to send any documents.

I registered with Transferwise last Saturday. I had to send a photo of my passport ID page via their website. It was checked and approved within minutes.

 

After that I was able to do my first transfer, which I already received to my Thai account. 

 

Pretty handy system and I now understand why they were so well recommended. They also are very active on Twitter and do help, if required, via DM's. Far better service than my own bank gives me. 

[digger70]

On 11/12/2018 at 3:12 PM, Ahab said:

TransferWise. $11.90 USD to transfer $1000 USD, great exchange rate and no other fees from my Thai bank account (BKK Bank). 

 

Transferwise quoted AU $60 for 10000 and AU$120 for 20000 transfer from AU to Thailand

[Peterw42]

How long does a transferwise transfer take, hours, days ?

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

How long does a transferwise transfer take, hours, days ?

For me it took from last Saturday to Monday. That was during weekend and I selected, cheap as I am, the cheapest rate, which was probably the slowest method. 

 

 

[Jaggg88]

9 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

How long does a transferwise transfer take, hours, days ?

Mine has always been within 24hrs except on weekends.

[fanjita]

2 minutes ago, Jaggg88 said:

Mine has always been within 24hrs except on weekends.

That's 24hrs then as financial institutions only operate on good business days.

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, oilinki said:

I just did my first transfer with TransferWise as it came highly recommended by multiple people.

 

Amount sent 1,000 EUR
Converts to 37,154.13 THB
Fee 8.96 EUR
Exchange rate 37.49000

 

 Do the 2 transfer companies mentioned also operate from Canada?

 

Any other transfer facilities more specific to Canada to recommend?

 

Also, are the fees in the posts mentioned above fixed for any transfer amount, or do they rise with higher amounts of money, e.g. transfer Canadian $1million to  Thailand?

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 Do the 2 transfer companies mentioned also operate from Canada?

 

Any other transfer facilities more specific to Canada to recommend?

 

Also, are the fees in the posts mentioned above fixed for any transfer amount, or do they rise with higher amounts of money, e.g. transfer Canadian $1million to  Thailand?

I don't know. You can check it yourself from https://transferwise.com or ask them in Twitter.

 

For me the fees I paid was about 0.7% of the value for €1000. If you send a lot larger sums the rules of international money laundering comes to play. I think transfers of more than €5000 are subjected to extra checks. At least one of my normal Bank to Bank transfer from EU to Asia failed due that reason.

 

If you really want to transfer 1 million Canadian dollars, I suppose your bank will be quite helpful with the transfering details and can offer quite good rates to you.

 

 

[steve73]

11 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 Do the 2 transfer companies mentioned also operate from Canada?

 

Any other transfer facilities more specific to Canada to recommend?

 

Also, are the fees in the posts mentioned above fixed for any transfer amount, or do they rise with higher amounts of money, e.g. transfer Canadian $1million to  Thailand?

TW will charge you $4.25 fixed plus 0.5% of the funds sent.  Rate is pretty close to MMR, and well above Thai bank TT's.

So 1000CAD will currently buy you 24,674.39 bt (with $9.19 total fees)

 

[Suradit69]

On 11/12/2018 at 4:12 PM, observer90210 said:

Best way to bring in money with 0 fares and a far better exchange rate ?....carry ca$h and change it at Super Rich exchange booth in Bangkok...

If you do annual extensions of your permission to stay, you could need to show that funds deposited in your Thai bank account originated overseas in future.

 

I emphasize COULD because the details of what will or will not be accepted in future are not clear, although there seems to be a belief that showing bank deposits from abroad MIGHT replace the income method for those unable to provide an embassy affidavit.

 

Some of the methods mentioned in this thread may not satisfy the expectation that bank deposits be shown to be foreign originated ... and of course if you're not doing annual extensions or already have Baht 400,000 or Baht 800,000 tucked away in a Thai bank, then this wouldn't be a problem for you.

[molartom]

Just an interesting point about wiring money from Canada to Thailand.

 

I checked out what would happen if I had an HPSC account. Their wire fee is always $40 no matter how much you send. Without the wire fee If I send $1000 to Thailand, then reconverted back from Thailand to Canada I lose about $48. That means their conversion fee is 2.4%

 

I checked out what would happen on a Scotia bank account. For each $5000 they charge $25 to a maximum of $100. Without the wire fee If I send $1000 to Thailand and then bring it back I am left with $774. That means that their conversion charge is 11.3%.

 

That's not counting the recipient fee if the bank in Thailand which is typically between 10 and $20

 

HIFX uses XE.com to transfer using bank account if you live in USA or Canada ...possibly UK...and travel to Thailand ...for holidays

ends up being 4% all wiring fees ....all banking fees .both sides....all conversion fees both sides

[fanjita]

2 minutes ago, molartom said:

HIFX uses XE.com to transfer using bank account if you live in USA or Canada ...possibly UK

I've looked into HiFX, Caxton, Azimo in the UK and many others.  Two stand out and that's Xendpay and TransferWise.  Xendpay is my main provider on the basis that I get the first 2k of transfers free of charge.  

[tifino]

Just untangenting back to the OP, which is Australia focused... 

Do you still have someone back home, trustworthy, who can nick down to one of their local Thai grocery stores?

For example in melbourne: Nathan in Footscray & Talad in Abbotsford. 

Take in Australian cash. Fill out simple forms with senders name and #. Add receivers thai account details & their tel #

Shop calls their relatives over in LOS with all the details. Over in LOS they nick down to the bank you've noted and theyou deposit the cash in the into the noted account.

Nathan is more expensite using a % method where a fee of $25 for a few 1000au sent

Talad charges flat au $5 for upto au1000 sent. Charges  $au10 for any figure sent above au1000. 

3weeks back the Talad  exchange rate was 22.5

Last week we were in Chiang Mai and the rate by then was 23.13 at the money changers 

 

Doing via Talad, the money is in Thai account within 3-4 hours 

 

[fanjita]

5 minutes ago, tifino said:

Doing via Talad, the money is in Thai account within 3-4 hours 

Sounds like Western Union which isn't good.  

[steve73]

12 minutes ago, tifino said:

 

Doing via Talad, the money is in Thai account within 3-4 hours 

 

This how most of the terrorist organisations move their cash around... using similar "unofficial" channels.

I'm not saying Talad is supporting such illegal activities, but it could be being watched by "others"..  Beware.

[Zack61]

Transferwise is the one I’ve settled on. They charge $3.75 transfer fee and 0.6%. They pay out on the actual rate at the time you accept to make the transaction. Rate is updated in real time until you accept then is locked. 

I recently transferred 5400Aud and paid a total of $35+ but got the official rate. There may be other providers but this is the best I’ve found and don’t get fleeced like the banks do to you. 

[Kevbo]

4 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Yes, but easy to do online. Must send copy of passport via email. And it comes into your Thai bank as a FTT....foreign transfer.

What would cost to transfer 800,000 thb

with TW (19,000 gbp) Anyone had experience with Forex ?

 

[tifino]

2 hours ago, fanjita said:

Sounds like Western Union which isn't good.  

Not them the WUnion

Although the Nathan does have a WY capability,  it is gathering cobwebs as we use the Nathan famIly connections setup only. 

[quandow]

I did a test transfer with TransferWise. It was fast, good exchange rate, easy to navigate website. $5,000.00 USD daily limit.

[Ahab]

9 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

How long does a transferwise transfer take, hours, days ?

2-3 days from the USA.

 

[Ahab]

11 hours ago, Mavideol said:

do you need an account with transferwise

Yes, but you can set it up online from anywhere in a few minutes.

[Ahab]

15 hours ago, oilinki said:

I just did my first transfer with TransferWise as it came highly recommended by multiple people.

 

Amount sent 1,000 EUR
Converts to 37,154.13 THB
Fee 8.96 EUR
Exchange rate 37.49000

 

The exchange rate used for the EUR in your transfer was good, when I did my transfer the exchange rate used for the US dollar was also really good. One thing good with TransferWise is you know exactly what the exchange rate and fees will be when you make the transfer.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Ahab
clarification

[dutchdog3000]

10 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

How long does a transferwise transfer take, hours, days ?

Ive just finished Aussie transferewise (been doing it now 2months) I start transaction 5am thai time and get email confirmation within 1hr ie transaction starting, then by 1.30 pm the money is in my thai bank (KBank) on every occasion. Ive saved approx. 700-800baht every fortnight from using ATM withdrawals to using transferwise (and yes I was using ATM continue without conversion system) my OZ bank charged me $24 plus $5,00 and thai charged me 220 atm fee) hence the 800baht savings, I do recommend transferwise for ease of use great customer service and assistance and saving me money cheers

[wgdanson]

10 hours ago, Kevbo said:

What would cost to transfer 800,000 thb

with TW (19,000 gbp) Anyone had experience with Forex ?

 

Go to Transferwise site and find out. But here it is....GBP 19,000 costs GBP 105.42 to send @ Bht 42.79303 to GBP. You get Bht 808,556.33.   The effective rate is therefore 42.5555..Bkk Bank right now is 42.39750, so 19k would get you Bht 805,552...Bht 3000 less than T'wise.

Transferwise is not good for large amounts as the cost is proportional to the amount transferred. There are other ways with a fixed cost.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by wgdanson

[Oztruckie]

Have a look at Macquarie Int Money Transfers, good x rates, no fees if you send more than 10 k aud, once you agree to x rate it doesn't change, immediately after you do transfer they call you on phone to confirm the amount, reason for transfer and you are the account holder doing the transfer. 

[elgenon]

Where's the schwab poster?

[SunsetT]

20 hours ago, craighj said:

Thanks all

 

I'm trying both TransferWise and OFX, should know in a day or so but by the looks of them both they are very similar, fair exchange rate and decent fees.

 

Craighj

 

[SunsetT]

On 11/12/2018 at 3:12 PM, Ahab said:

TransferWise. $11.90 USD to transfer $1000 USD, great exchange rate and no other fees from my Thai bank account (BKK Bank). 

 

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Posted September 17 (edited)

On 9/17/2018 at 10:08 AM, 4MyEgo said:

Transferwise gives the best rate after their fee is taken out and its usually in the next day, straight to your Thai account over here in Thailand.

Agree totally......and If u use this link to sign up u will get your 1st transfer or part transfer free: 

 

transferwise.com/u/terencep15

 

OTHER ADVANTAGES WITH TRANSFERWISE:  There is no charge from my receiving Thai bank; Kasikorn, which Ive never enjoyed before having tried most other ways to transfer money over 12 years. Another important advantage with Transferwise is that if having booked a transfer, u opt for the 'send the money later' option the exchange rate is guaranteed for 24 hours, and even longer at the weekend. So if the exchange rate should dramatically increase during that time u can cancel the transfer and book another one to take advantage of the better rate. The last transfer I made I forgot to send the money to them within the 24 hours but sent it a few hours late. The rate had gone up a bit but not enough to warrant cancelling and booking another transfer, but they gave me the increased real time rate anyway! Good service eh?

 

[SunsetT]

12 hours ago, Kevbo said:

What would cost to transfer 800,000 thb

with TW (19,000 gbp) Anyone had experience with Forex ?

 

Just go onto the transferwise.com website and enter £19000 into the transfer box and it will show u the live rate, the fee u will pay, and the net amount that u will receive in your Thai bank account. It is all very straightforward and upfront with no hidden fees. And If u use this link to sign up u will get your 1st transfer or part transfer free: 

 

transferwise.com/u/terencep15

 

See my post above to see other advantages with using transferwise.