Experiences with Transferwise?

[lungbing]

Whilst I would recommend Transferwise you might not  get that much more baht for your money than if you used a UK bank.

Two weeks ago I did a test and within 15 minutes of each other I send 1700 GBP from HSBC at a cost of 4 pounds and 1711.24 GBP from TW, the extra 11.24 GBP being the cost of transfer which is taken from the amount sent.  So the charge by TW is nearly 3 times the charge by HSBC.

 

I received 72,172 baht from TW and 71,641 from HSBC, both the next day.  A 'profit', if you like, of  531 baht, which just exceeds the extra cost of sending by TW.

 

Kasikorn bank recorded the TW amount as coming from Dummy Account, whatever that is.

 

TW makes an excellent backup, just in case HSBC get upset about me living here, but they are also a business and there to make money.  I would be far more impressed if they charged a fixed fee.

[Pib]

7 hours ago, mngmn said:

When I transfer the THB into to my Bangkok Bank account, the bank doesn't charge any fees as it is a THB transfer.  Previously using HiFx they always used to grab THB 500 as a tip.

 

And that is probably because HiFx used SWIFT for the final leg of the transfer....since SWIFT is an arriving "international" transfer the Thai bank applies it approx 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) receiving/conversion fee.  It's actually a "receiving" fee and it doesn't matter what currency it arrives in...Thai baht or foreign currency... the Thai bank will apply its international receiving fee.

 

However, the Transferwise final leg of the transfer is via a "domestic" transfer from its accounts with a couple Thai banks so there is no international receiving fee.

[glegolo]

Today I did try out Transferwise.... It was really great to deal with them. Superfast, easy and low fees and excellent rate of exchange... I did transfer 11.700 SEK and at the very same time I did a fake transfer with SWIFT, so I could see the actual rate of exchange at that moment.

 

Transferwise gave me a plus of 756 baht for this transaction. So with me and my 25 transfers a year, I will have an extra 18.900 baht on a yearly basis...

 

glegolo

[steve73]

The TW fee is comprised of 2 parts:

A fixed fee of 1.50GBP and 0.55% of the funds transferred (e.g. on 1000GBP that's 1.50 and 0.55% of 998.50 or 5.46, giving a total of 6.96).... note other currencies have different charging structures, so you need to check.

They use the mid-market rate (updated every minute, which you can see change if you refresh the page), and for GBP it's usually significantly higher than any of the Thai banks give you - even after you take the 0.55% into account.

 

So 2 separate 500 GBP transfers will only cost you 1.50 more than a single one of 1000 GBP.  This means that you only need a marginally higher rate for a second transfer to cover the additional fixed fee.

Currently with the Brexit negotiations in full sway, the GBP rate can move +/- about 1 bt (>2%) in a few hours, so it often pays to split your transfers into smaller "lots".  If the Fx does move against you, wait a few days/week and it often recovers. 

I've set up a TW notification that tells me when it at a 2 week high, and I'll then keep a close eye and make a transfer hopefully before it falls back.

With the GBP as low as it is every little helps as they say...

Also, their customer service is first class.

Edited November 19, 2018 by steve73

[SooKee]

FWIW Kasikorn Bank have just started using the label 'International Trade and Factoring Centre' together with a transaction code which denotes an international transaction for deposits received from TW as opposed to their previous description of 'Dummy Branch' with a misc code that doesn't actually appear in their code list. Will likely assist those using TW > Kasikorn at the time of extension applications. Hopefully other banks that also use a vague / domestic type description for TW deposits will follow suit. BKK Bank, being TW's banking partner, not a problem as they always show the credit as international.

Not sure what prompted Kasikorn to start using the much more useful and helpful code to identify the source of the funds being international despite them recieving the funds from BKK Bank but sure glad they have. Maybe input from Thai Immigration or maybe they had complaints or an adverse audit report from using the term Dummy Branch in statements etc with some nebulous transaction code that was pretty much meaningless.


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[steve73]

3 hours ago, SooKee said:

FWIW Kasikorn Bank have just started using the label 'International Trade and Factoring Centre' together with a transaction code which denotes an international transaction for deposits received from TW as opposed to their previous description of 'Dummy Branch' with a misc code that doesn't actually appear in their code list. Will likely assist those using TW > Kasikorn at the time of extension applications. Hopefully other banks that also use a vague / domestic type description for TW deposits will follow suit. BKK Bank, being TW's banking partner, not a problem as they always show the credit as international.

Not sure what prompted Kasikorn to start using the much more useful and helpful code to identify the source of the funds being international despite them recieving the funds from BKK Bank but sure glad they have. Maybe input from Thai Immigration or maybe they had complaints or an adverse audit report from using the term Dummy Branch in statements etc with some nebulous transaction code that was pretty much meaningless.


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I've been using TW for over a year to send to Kasikorn.  In that time the Reciept Code has changed from Dummy to ITFC or back again on at least 4 occasions.  I think it depends on which intermediary bank they use, but it certainly can't be relied upon if it's critical that it shows as an ITFC. 

[SooKee]

Damn. That's a blow. Trouble is with the new TI rules you can't afford to have transactions suddenly going rogue and showing up as domestic transfers. It'll become clearer what is acceptable as the year goes on. Also give me a chance to see if the coding starts to vary again and to see what shows up on Kasikorn credit advice WRT a TW tx. If push comes to shove a BKK Bank account would be an option. Then you'd have to hope TW don't change their business arrangements and start using another bank as you'd then be beck to square one.

 

Credit advice wise I'll probably wait to see if I get a Dummy Branch again as it'd be only those entries you might need the supporting evidence for if all the others show international transfer.

 

 

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[MJCM]

Question about Transferwise please. (sorry if this has been answered before)

 

Does anyone know if the cost also include the Fee the Thai Banks charge (max 500 THB ???)

 

I did a couple of transfers via my own Bank to my Thai Bank and on a amount of 6500 Euro I only had to pay 22,10 Euro fee and that included the Fee of the Thai Bank as well.

 

Transferwise is showing that I have to pay 34,33 Euro for the same amount and it takes 2 days longer to arrive in my account here in Thailand but a bit better exchange rate.

Edited January 6, 2019 by MJCM

[billd766]

5 hours ago, steve73 said:

I've been using TW for over a year to send to Kasikorn.  In that time the Reciept Code has changed from Dummy to ITFC or back again on at least 4 occasions.  I think it depends on which intermediary bank they use, but it certainly can't be relied upon if it's critical that it shows as an ITFC. 

Mine showed up as a dummy transfer too but when I change from a retirement to a marriage extension one of the papers I will show them will be the TW log of transfers which match the amount transferred.

[billd766]

16 minutes ago, MJCM said:

Question about Transferwise please. (sorry if this has been answered before)

 

Does anyone know if the cost also include the Fee the Thai Banks charge (max 500 THB ???)

 

I did a couple of transfers via my own Bank to my Thai Bank and on a amount of 6500 Euro I only had to pay 22,10 Euro fee and that included the Fee of the Thai Bank as well.

 

Transferwise is showing that I have to pay 34,33 Euro for the same amount and it takes 2 days longer to arrive in my account here in Thailand but a bit better exchange rate.

 

I have used TW for 2 months now and it shows that there is a fee from TW (deducted from the amount I send) but no extra fee from my Thai bank.

[steve73]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Mine showed up as a dummy transfer too but when I change from a retirement to a marriage extension one of the papers I will show them will be the TW log of transfers which match the amount transferred.

Are you planning on using it for "income" or "savings"?

 

I topped up my bank to well over the 800k at the start of my seasoning period, and hopefully (emergencies excepted) will not need to bring in any more until I extend.  I'm hoping Imm. won't have a problem with that, but it was fortuitous timing anyway the way the GBP has dropped over the past couple of months.

[Puchaiyank]

Been using TW to send money from US to Thailand bank's... Average cost works out to be about .01%...$1000 cost around $10. Excellent exchange rate generally covers the cost of the transaction...much better rate than Thai bank exchanges in my experience.

[billd766]

26 minutes ago, steve73 said:

Are you planning on using it for "income" or "savings"?

 

I topped up my bank to well over the 800k at the start of my seasoning period, and hopefully (emergencies excepted) will not need to bring in any more until I extend.  I'm hoping Imm. won't have a problem with that, but it was fortuitous timing anyway the way the GBP has dropped over the past couple of months.

You are lucky enough to have the money to transfer, but many of us here don't have access to 800,000 baht to leave in the bank though we do have enough income to cover the 65,000 depending of course on the Forex rates.

[billd766]

10 hours ago, SooKee said:

FWIW Kasikorn Bank have just started using the label 'International Trade and Factoring Centre' together with a transaction code which denotes an international transaction for deposits received from TW as opposed to their previous description of 'Dummy Branch' with a misc code that doesn't actually appear in their code list. Will likely assist those using TW > Kasikorn at the time of extension applications. Hopefully other banks that also use a vague / domestic type description for TW deposits will follow suit. BKK Bank, being TW's banking partner, not a problem as they always show the credit as international.

Not sure what prompted Kasikorn to start using the much more useful and helpful code to identify the source of the funds being international despite them recieving the funds from BKK Bank but sure glad they have. Maybe input from Thai Immigration or maybe they had complaints or an adverse audit report from using the term Dummy Branch in statements etc with some nebulous transaction code that was pretty much meaningless.


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Thank you very much for that information.

 

I will call KBank tomorrow and see what they say about the dummy account.

[steve73]

12 minutes ago, billd766 said:

You are lucky enough to have the money to transfer, but many of us here don't have access to 800,000 baht to leave in the bank though we do have enough income to cover the 65,000 depending of course on the Forex rates.

Currently I have nowhere near 65k/mon income, but by managing the 800k I get to stay here relatively hassle free.   I would have problems if I had to show 65k/month either as income or spending.  Even when I reach 67 (in 9 years) and get my UK state pension, I will still be well short.  But I enjoy a much better life here than I would in the UK on the same.

Using TW allows me to maximize my THB as FX rate fluctuations allow. 

[scubascuba3]

Currently I have nowhere near 65k/mon income, but by managing the 800k I get to stay here relatively hassle free.   I would have problems if I had to show 65k/month either as income or spending.  Even when I reach 67 (in 9 years) and get my UK state pension, I will still be well short.  But I enjoy a much better life here than I would in the UK on the same.
Using TW allows me to maximize my THB as FX rate fluctuations allow. 

How about using the combined method? i think its 400k balance and 40k a month

[billd766]

2 hours ago, steve73 said:

Currently I have nowhere near 65k/mon income, but by managing the 800k I get to stay here relatively hassle free.   I would have problems if I had to show 65k/month either as income or spending.  Even when I reach 67 (in 9 years) and get my UK state pension, I will still be well short.  But I enjoy a much better life here than I would in the UK on the same.

Using TW allows me to maximize my THB as FX rate fluctuations allow. 

I was OK and within the limit until about July last year when I dropped below the 65,000 per month due to the Forex rate dropping though I did quality last year.

 

One problem is that Immigration uses the Bangkok Bank cash rate for Forex rather than the TT rate which is lower and my extension was in August.

 

I was using the UK Embassy letter at the gross income rate though I paid UK taxes and after tax I was about 2,500 baht short for the year.

 

As my extension is due in August the Embassy letter would have been of no use in 2019 so this year I will go to the marriage extension as I can meet that requirement without a problem.

 

Whether Immigration will accept the TW rate which is the real rate or insist on the BBK cash rate will be down to the individual Imm office and whether your face fits or not IMHO.

 

We can only wait and see.

 

I think that if you are only a couple of thousand baht short for the year the local office may  gloss over it or they may not, it will depend on the IO and how they feel that day. Whether to skip the odd few thousand short over the year, or go the Marriage extension route with all the paperwork that entails.

[steve73]

56 minutes ago, billd766 said:

<snip>

 

I think that if you are only a couple of thousand baht short for the year the local office may  gloss over it or they may not, it will depend on the IO and how they feel that day. Whether to skip the odd few thousand short over the year, or go the Marriage extension route with all the paperwork that entails.

I've read some reports where extensions have been denied for the sake of just a few baht short due to a dip in the Fx on the application date....

 

If you're close to making the 40/65k per month, then you shouldn't need to have to keep too much in a Thai account.. Maybe just tighten your belt for a few months, and keep enough untouched.  Friends who have gone the marriage route say it's not worth the hassle (and some of them are under 50 so have to jump through even more hoops than the over 50's)

 

As for me, I have absolutely no choice but to use the 800k for 3 months, as I have zero qualifying income.. I'm just running down my investments (and hoping they grow sufficiently to keep up - with mixed success).  In 9 years my pension will offset some of this requirement.  But I currently have no need to spend anywhere near the required amount, and any attempt by T/L to force me to do so (such as mandatory purchase of totally inadequate insurance) is likely to see me move elsewhere.

 

edit.. we seem to be getting a little off the topic of TW experience, so I'll stop here..

Edited January 6, 2019 by steve73

[sfokevin]

I have use the income method for a few years because I do monthly transfers in excess of 65k and have always made a point to also have a bank balance of at least 100k for 3 months prior to my extension... I did this to show immigration I was not just skirting the income rules and if I was off just a bit I could use the 100k in a combo scenario... But have never been questioned- but with the new rules we will see...

[sfokevin]

I setup a TransferWise account on Saturday night and received my first transfer into my BK Bank by 2pm Monday... Setup was easy but I couldn’t pull the US funds directly from either my brokerage account or a bank account as they both have 2 step security that TW doesn’t seem to account for so I was left with using my brokerage debit card (where the fee is slightly higher)... I did setup a USD Account and then went to my bank and have started the process of linking them (the 2 small deposit way)... But a read from a previous poster that TW won’t accept this method of linking?... 

 

How are other getting there US funds to TransferWise?

Edited January 7, 2019 by sfokevin

[raven0099]

How much is the limit for sending to a Thai account ? 

 

I am looking to transfer in the region of 25k UK, will i have problems with Transferwise ?

[sfokevin]

6 minutes ago, raven0099 said:

How much is the limit for sending to a Thai account ? 

 

I am looking to transfer in the region of 25k UK, will i have problems with Transferwise ?

Their website seems to have a 2 million baht limit so you should be fine...

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by sfokevin

[dabhand]

7 minutes ago, raven0099 said:

How much is the limit for sending to a Thai account ? 

 

I am looking to transfer in the region of 25k UK, will i have problems with Transferwise ?

The limit is Bt2 million.

[scubascuba3]

How much is the limit for sending to a Thai account ? 
 
I am looking to transfer in the region of 25k UK, will i have problems with Transferwise ?

FET may be an issue if important to you

[trd]

How much is the limit for sending to a Thai account ? 
 
I am looking to transfer in the region of 25k UK, will i have problems with Transferwise ?

Are you sure you want to use TransferWise? For smaller amounts it's very cost effective. I use them for a couple of thousand pounds at a time. I just checked. Their transfer fee for 2K is £12.43. My bank would charge £25. But for £25K the fee from TransferWise would be £138.24. My bank would still charge £25 for the Swift transfer for that amount.

[scubascuba3]

Are you sure you want to use TransferWise? For smaller amounts it's very cost effective. I use them for a couple of thousand pounds at a time. I just checked. Their transfer fee for 2K is £12.43. My bank would charge £25. But for £25K the fee from TransferWise would be £138.24. My bank would still charge £25 for the Swift transfer for that amount.

Depends on the difference in exchange rate also. Worth comparing both on a day and see the impact. Of course the UK bank will settle later so won't be accurate

[glegolo]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

7 hours ago, trd said:

Are you sure you want to use TransferWise? For smaller amounts it's very cost effective. I use them for a couple of thousand pounds at a time. I just checked. Their transfer fee for 2K is £12.43. My bank would charge £25. But for £25K the fee from TransferWise would be £138.24. My bank would still charge £25 for the Swift transfer for that amount.

Depends on the difference in exchange rate also. Worth comparing both on a day and see the impact. Of course the UK bank will settle later so won't be accurate

For us in Sweden, there is no doubt when it comes to SWIFT transfers.. We buy thaibaht and send that from our swedish banks... Better rate then the thaibanks offers. So by that, We know before we press the "go"-buttom" what the rate of exchange will be, and can compare easily to Transferwise....  And you are correct,,, the rate of exchange is that much better then the banks so it many times eats up the higher fees for higher amounts that goes with Transferwise..

 

So easy to compary SWIFT and Transferwise from case to case before transfering your money

..

 

glegolo

Edited January 13, 2019 by glegolo

[trd]

Depends on the difference in exchange rate also. Worth comparing both on a day and see the impact. Of course the UK bank will settle later so won't be accurate

For smaller amounts Transferwise is definitely cheaper because they give you the mid rate between the buying and selling price of the currency whereas your bank will only give you the buying rate for baht but if the amount is so big that the transfer fee offsets what you are saving on the difference between the mid rate and the buying rate and your own Bank's fixed rate for a swift transfer then you need to make a calculation and see if it is cheaper than your bank for such a large amount. If I put 2K to transfer via Transferwise and go to the "compare" in the Transferwise App it definitely shows that it is cheaper than my bank but if I put 25k in and go to compare, then my bank is no longer listed which means that my bank is cheaper at that larger amount.

You can test this for yourself. Just go into the app find out how much transferwise charge and then compare it with your own bank charges.

[glegolo]

5 minutes ago, trd said:

If I put 2K to transfer via Transferwise and go to the "compare" in the Transferwise App it definitely shows that it is cheaper than my bank but if I put 25k in and go to compare, then my bank is no longer listed which means that my bank is cheaper at that larger amount.

You can test this for yourself. Just go into the app find out how much transferwise charge and then compare it with your own bank charges.

Not as good as  my suggestion to just do a pretend-transfer via SWIFT in your bank without actually press ther go-buttom, and see the rate of exchange there... Then you will have WITHOUT any doubts the banks costs and can compare properly...

 

glegolo

[trd]

Not as good as  my suggestion to just do a pretend-transfer via SWIFT in your bank without actually press ther go-buttom, and see the rate of exchange there... Then you will have WITHOUT any doubts the banks costs and can compare properly...
 
glegolo

I know that without doing a pretend transfer. I know that my bank charges a fixed £25 for a swift transfer. I don't send Baht to Thailand, I send pounds and have it converted in Thailand which is cheaper. I thought everyone knew that. Then I go to my Thai bank and check the latest TT rate. Then I have the answer. But the problem with that is that by the time my bank sends the pounds to Thailand the exchange rate will have changed and that is out of my control. With Transferwise of course you get the guaranteed mid rate at the time you make the transaction.