Bangkok Bank £ account

[Agusts]

I have a Bangkok Bank baht account and want to open a £ account:

 

1- I assume this should be straight forward in the same branch of my baht account, with my passport that has 1 year pension visa/extension... ?No need for other docs like statement from home bank etc. ...!?

 

2- This account is for my next pension visa extension, do they give me a letter after 3 months that says I have so much £ and then immigration officer calculates the equivalent in baht to see if it is 800k, or bank gives letter with equivalent in baht... ? What exchange rate EACH of the above use in those cases...?  

(I want know the procedure  exactly bevause of Brexit, who knows how bad the rate will be in a few months, we could all be bankrupt, let alone getting a visa extension...!  lol) 

 

3- Finally,  if in the future,  I go the my branch and ask for say £1000 from this account to receive in baht,  what is their fees, if any?  And will they use this exchange rate from this page for Notes :

http://daytodaydata.net

[Oxx]

Much of that is already answered on the Bangkok Bank website.  See https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Save-And-Invest/Save

 

The FX rates they use are their own, and are published on their website.

[Agusts]

I got some answers, like bank transfers into a £ account incurs 0.25% fee,  max 500b. Take money out in cash 2% fee, no max, and their exchange rate is usually 2.5% lower than mid-market, so it all adds up... 

 

I still not sure about (2), would the bank gives statement in £ total ? I think it will for such account. So then I assume the immigration officer will calculate baht equivalent for 800k,  so what exchange rate they use...? 

 

The other possibility is if you can ask the bank to give you baht statement and I guess in that case they use their own rate... 

 

All in all,  it's hard to guess what the exchange rate for £ would be next year in May - I either have to transfer a lot extra to be safe or transfer in baht...! The baht is probably safer,  imagine in the day going for extension the £ drops,  then you have 799k instead,  bye bye extension I guess,  no time to add money or do anything else etc...?  

[Oxx]

You may find the following topic of interest (even if it does appear to be a troll posting) https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1074263-refused-an-extension-for-55-satang-retirement/

 

 

One of the respondents asserts that Immigration using Bangkok Bank's TT buying rate.

 

[Agusts]

Or someone else claiming Bangkok Bank cash rate, either way,  pretty much lower than mid-market... 

 

But the problem is they apply the current rate to previous 3 months...!!!  That's really crazy, if dropped lower than 800k in the past , there is no way of correcting that,  adding money later does not remedy or adjust historic balance... 

 

With £ being in this mess of Brexit, there is no telling what happens to it. I'm now thinking 800k baht is the only sure way,  or a hell of a lot of £ to cover all eventuality...!  ????

[worgeordie]

Can anyone advise me,if I put 20,000 Pounds into say Bangkok Bank,

foreign account,could i take the 20,000 Pounds out at a later date,

or would I only be able to take it out in THB ? thanks

regards Worgeordie

[Agusts]

14 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Can anyone advise me,if I put 20,000 Pounds into say Bangkok Bank,

foreign account,could i take the 20,000 Pounds out at a later date,

or would I only be able to take it out in THB ? thanks

regards Worgeordie

Follow the link on Bangkok Bank given above,  it's all there,  you can transfer out to your UK bank via Swift etc. or anywhere with 0.5% fees,  cash out has 2% fees plus in baht using their exchange rate, usually about 2.5% lower than mid-market... See my post above. 

 

Disclaimer : I have never had a foreign account,  only my understanding. Ask the bank to be sure... 

 

P. S.  £20k is no where near enough for pension visa as GBP/THB will certainly drops below 40 at some point in the next few months. 

Edited December 24, 2018 by Agusts

[worgeordie]

4 hours ago, Agusts said:

Follow the link on Bangkok Bank given above,  it's all there,  you can transfer out to your UK bank via Swift etc. or anywhere with 0.5% fees,  cash out has 2% fees plus in baht using their exchange rate, usually about 2.5% lower than mid-market... See my post above. 

 

Disclaimer : I have never had a foreign account,  only my understanding. Ask the bank to be sure... 

 

P. S.  £20k is no where near enough for pension visa as GBP/THB will certainly drops below 40 at some point in the next few months. 

Thanks, the 20K is not for extension,I already have that in bank THB for several

years now, just have 20K in pension money saved up here,my daughter brings it,

i should have exchanged it when it first went down !, who knew, hoping one day ?

it will go up again,or the THB will go down,both wishful thinking I suppose.

regards Worgeordie

[jackdd]

On 12/23/2018 at 8:10 PM, Agusts said:

Or someone else claiming Bangkok Bank cash rate, either way,  pretty much lower than mid-market... 

 

But the problem is they apply the current rate to previous 3 months...!!!  That's really crazy, if dropped lower than 800k in the past , there is no way of correcting that,  adding money later does not remedy or adjust historic balance...  

 

With £ being in this mess of Brexit, there is no telling what happens to it. I'm now thinking 800k baht is the only sure way,  or a hell of a lot of £ to cover all eventuality...!  ????

You could just put the £ equivalent to 900k THB in your foreign currency account, very unlikely that it drops more than 10% in 3 months ????

 

5 hours ago, Agusts said:

GBP/THB will certainly drops below 40 at some point in the next few months.

If you are certain about this you should clearly invest all your money in THB and not keep pound. Or even better, buy some currency options which give you more leverage, then you will be rich.

 

Edited December 25, 2018 by jackdd

[Pib]

On 12/23/2018 at 8:10 PM, Agusts said:

Or someone else claiming Bangkok Bank cash rate, either way,  pretty much lower than mid-market... 

 

From Bangkok Bank website:

 

The TT Buying Rate is approx.  1% below the mid market rate.  For example the mid market GBP-THB rate at this moment in time is 41.35.   The Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate at this moment in time is 41.03 which is 0.8% below the current mid market rate.

[OJAS]

On 12/23/2018 at 4:42 AM, Oxx said:

One of the respondents asserts that Immigration using Bangkok Bank's TT buying rate.

@Tanoshi - I think that that was you!

 

 

On 12/23/2018 at 8:10 PM, Agusts said:

Or someone else claiming Bangkok Bank cash rate, either way,  pretty much lower than mid-market... 

As definitively confirmed in this 2017 thread, I think:-

 

 

[Agusts]

6 hours ago, Pib said:

From Bangkok Bank website:

 

The TT Buying Rate is approx.  1% below the mid market rate.  For example the mid market GBP-THB rate at this moment in time is 41.35.   The Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate at this moment in time is 41.03 which is 0.8% below the current mid market rate.

TT rate is better than Notes/Cash rate,  so that is an advantage... 

 

TT rate is for  FCA to baht account transfer, though from what I understand Notes rate is what they use at immigration office.

 

Also I read their fees document again,  the 2% fee I mentioned is for withdrawing foreign notes, so for baht as you found above there is no fee, that's again in FC account favour.

 

I was trying to know if I use transferwise and transfer 800k,  then spend some here after 3 months after I got the extension, how that compares with transfer £ and spend some if I want, or transfer back £ if want.

 

Looks like considering fees and commissions either way are not that different, just a bit. Just that with £ the exchange rate will be a bit unknown during the 3 months, need extra for buffer..

 

@jackdd : As for GBP/THB, I know it will be volatile in the next few months could be far more than 10% - Brexit, my point was it could drop very low, maybe for a few days/weeks, who knows, could be the day you go for your visa extension...!? So,  no,  not a good idea to try to play the currency game to make money, it will go down and up but no one can tell exactly when, to get rich. THB is also unusually strong recently ...

 

On the other hand,  £ should come back up longer term, who knows, maybe 6 months or a year or more,  hence I was looking into £ account... But I'm not going to do currency trading to make money,  just to hedge this 800k a bit. 

Edited December 25, 2018 by Agusts

[Tanoshi]

14 hours ago, Agusts said:

TT rate is for  FCA to baht account transfer, though from what I understand Notes rate is what they use at immigration office.

Immigration use BKK TT rate when converting foreign currencies into baht, such as on Income letters from Embassies.

 

If your considering a FCA, then a transfer through BKK London office is the cheapest option.

FCA interest rates are lower even for fixed term accounts, than a general fixed term baht account.

I did the maths and considered opening an FCA wasn't worth it for the time being.

Using Transferwise and depositing that baht into a fixed term account, where interest rates are better, was in my opinion still the best option.

 

 

[Agusts]

5 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Immigration use BKK TT rate when converting foreign currencies into baht, such as on Income letters from Embassies.

 

If your considering a FCA, then a transfer through BKK London office is the cheapest option.

FCA interest rates are lower even for fixed term accounts, than a general fixed term baht account.

I did the maths and considered opening an FCA wasn't worth it for the time being.

Using Transferwise and depositing that baht into a fixed term account, where interest rates are better, was in my opinion still the best option.

 

 

Thanks for the info. Can you do a transfer via bbk London office remotely/online to your FCA in Thailand...?  I can probably do an online SWIFT transfer from my UK bank to my FCA in Thailand,  but not sure how via intermediary bbk branch in London while not being there etc... 

 

I'm also thinking transferwise probably safer,  I might do half and half. But are TW transfers accepted ? Someone in other thread said TW transfers looks local because they are sent from Thai account and immigration wants transfers into accounts from abroad...! ?

[Tanoshi]

2 hours ago, Agusts said:

Thanks for the info. Can you do a transfer via bbk London office remotely/online to your FCA in Thailand...?  I can probably do an online SWIFT transfer from my UK bank to my FCA in Thailand,  but not sure how via intermediary bbk branch in London while not being there etc... 

 

You can do the transfer online, but you first have to register with the London branch of Bangkok bank.

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-UK-to-Thailand-via-London-Branch

Scroll down and click on 'Service details' links.

The £20 fee is deducted by BKK London before transfer to Thailand.

No fee from your UK bank as you transfer locally.

 

2 hours ago, Agusts said:

I'm also thinking transferwise probably safer,  I might do half and half. But are TW transfers accepted ? Someone in other thread said TW transfers looks local because they are sent from Thai account and immigration wants transfers into accounts from abroad...! ?

Either option is safe.

Transfers into a BKK account from Transferwise are shown as FTT (Foreign Telegraphic Transfer) in your passbook.

Some other banks are reported as showing the payments as local.

Transferwise have higher charges than through BKK London, but the rates of exchange are higher.

 

I've used both with no problems.

In either situation transfers take less than 24 hours to hit your Thai bank account.