Foreigner sending money OUT of Thailand?

[GoDucks]

I have been in Thailand for over 20 years and never tried to send money out.  But I am thinking of buying a house in the US and, because I recently sold a few of my cars, I have a lot of cash here in Thailand.

I am now on a Retirement visa.

 

Is it possible to easily send a few million baht out of the country, or will they want to see my work permit, etc.  Yes, I had one for nearly 20 years and paid my taxes but no more.

Just send through a wire transfer?  Other options?

[hello55060]

You will have to wire the money out, your bank will be able to do swift transfers just need the IBAN and swiftbic of the account you want to wire it to. If you have internet banking setup you can do it online without having to visit the branch. krungsri and Citi are easy enough to do this online . If you are sending money to an account in your name they won't ask questions ive sent a few million baht in and out of Thailand and no questions have been asked. 

 

Alternatively the harder option  you could try to find an American expat you trust who is in need of baht and then you would both save on bank fees and losing out on the exchange rate and he can transfer from his US bank to yours and you from your Thai bank to his. I'm sure there's lots of Americans who want to buy property and other stuff here and would wire large sums over but it's just getting lucky and finding someone. 

 

You can bring back cash thb to the States and change it over but I'm guessing you won't be allowed to take more than $10k on the plane  which won't really help I'm sure another board member could clear up the max allowance limit on the plane. 

[GoDucks]

Max hand carry is indeed $10,000

So if I go into Siam Commercial Bank, where I have an account, and I ask to transfer 3 million, they will, no problem?

[Pib]

You will just need to go to your SCB branch and ask how much you can send out and their requirements.  Thai banks/branches vary in how hard or easy they make it.  The upfront sending fee would range from approx Bt400 to Bt1200 depending on the sending option you select and you will need to buy US dollars at the Thai bank "TT Selling Rate."

 

Or you could use a money transfer service like DeeMoney, which is a relatively new transfer service, for sending money out of Thailand....and licensed by the Bank of Thailand.   Far, far fewer restrictions than Thai banks.  Upfront sending fee is Bt150...and their money transfer exchange rate is very, very similar to the Thai bank TT Sellling Rate.  I've used DeeMoney twice to send money to the US....piece of cake...money posted to my US bank account in under 3 business days.  

 

DeeMoney Website

https://www.dee.money/money-transfer-rate/

 

 

[hello55060]

Citi bank I could transfer $20k per day that's like 655,000 tbh internationally. Krungsri only 200,000 baht iirc. 

 

I've just taken a look on SCB website for you, it says $50k per day

 

• Fund transfers will be allowed less than 50,000 US dollars / day only

https://www.scbeasy.com/v1.4/site/presignon/en/srv/srv_ftf.asp

 

 

[Pib]

Transfers within Thailand...between Thai banks...does not mean you can transfer internationally without prior approval specifically for international transfers from your bank.  

 

For a foreigner, "typically" outward remittance is approved for those with a work permit...for repatriation of salary...see below from SCB Easy Net page.

 

However, for sending large amounts of funds like from the sale of a residence, savings, etc., the bank will require additional documentation/approvals.  

 

Edited December 18, 2018 by Pib

[hello55060]

I'm not talking about transfer between Thai banks, I'm talking about international transfer from Thai bank to UK/Singapore account in my experience and what my limits with the respective banks were.

 

 

To the OP after a bit more reading it says if you can register with SCB easynet and do it online you will get a better exchange rate than going to the branch and doing it, but the branch you can do 50,000$ also which is around 1,638,000 THB so short of your 3 million baht. So you would have to go in on 2 different days and fee is 1200 per transfer in order to move 3 million.

 

Edit: I misunderstood your post Pim, I see what you're saying now with the picture, with Citi and Krungsri I was able to do them both online and I wasn't asked about having a work permit. I did 2.5 million in total between both banks. 400,000k with krungsri and the rest with citi I had to do it over the course of 4 days because their limit is $20k per day, but was able to send it all without having to fill in any forms or needing a work permit. it just asked for what purpose was I sending it for.

Edited December 18, 2018 by hello55060
picture

[mogandave]

2 hours ago, hello55060 said:

I'm not talking about transfer between Thai banks, I'm talking about international transfer from Thai bank to UK/Singapore account in my experience and what my limits with the respective banks were.

 

 

To the OP after a bit more reading it says if you can register with SCB easynet and do it online you will get a better exchange rate than going to the branch and doing it, but the branch you can do 50,000$ also which is around 1,638,000 THB so short of your 3 million baht. So you would have to go in on 2 different days and fee is 1200 per transfer in order to move 3 million.

 

Edit: I misunderstood your post Pim, I see what you're saying now with the picture, with Citi and Krungsri I was able to do them both online and I wasn't asked about having a work permit. I did 2.5 million in total between both banks. 400,000k with krungsri and the rest with citi I had to do it over the course of 4 days because their limit is $20k per day, but was able to send it all without having to fill in any forms or needing a work permit. it just asked for what purpose was I sending it for.

Cheaper to send in dollars or baht? 

[bartender100]

Saw this today on another forum, not a recommendation from me, but might suite what you want OP, I've not seen it before

 

https://www.dee.money/

 

DeeMoney is also the ONLY international transfer services that offer “Branch Free Transfers”, with our DeeMoney App so you can send money from your phone to 17 countries around the world!

[aussienam]

20 hours ago, Pib said:

You will just need to go to your SCB branch and ask how much you can send out and their requirements.  Thai banks/branches vary in how hard or easy they make it.  The upfront sending fee would range from approx Bt400 to Bt1200 depending on the sending option you select and you will need to buy US dollars at the Thai bank "TT Selling Rate."

 

Or you could use a money transfer service like DeeMoney, which is a relatively new transfer service, for sending money out of Thailand....and licensed by the Bank of Thailand.   Far, far fewer restrictions than Thai banks.  Upfront sending fee is Bt150...and their money transfer exchange rate is very, very similar to the Thai bank TT Sellling Rate.  I've used DeeMoney twice to send money to the US....piece of cake...money posted to my US bank account in under 3 business days.  

 

DeeMoney Website

https://www.dee.money/money-transfer-rate/

 

 

Hello, thanks for the info here.  I have just sold my condo and the cheque has been deposited into my Krung Thai Bank account today.  I want to transfer that money back to Australia at the best exchange rate.   I want to avoid a bank to bank transfer as KTB's exchange rate is very high compared to money transfer companies. 

I have been told that Thai banks are known at times to not allow bank transfers overseas in Thai Baht currency (am considering Currency Solutions based in London) and therefore I would be stuck with the bank to bank transfer and a few thousand dollars less. 

But if I can transfer the funds from my account to DeeMoney based here in Thailand then I assume they will make the exchange on the spot before transferring funds to my Australian bank account. I am in Pattaya.  Also. would I have to travel to Bangkok for this?  Website only lists Bangkok branches.  

 

Thanks.  

[Pattaya46]

20 hours ago, hello55060 said:

You can bring back cash thb to the States and change it over but I'm guessing you won't be allowed to take more than $10k on the plane  which won't really help I'm sure another board member could clear up the max allowance limit on the plane. 

20 hours ago, GoDucks said:

Max hand carry is indeed $10,000

No. There is not limit on the cash you can bring out of Thailand when in foreign currency (USD, EUR, GBP...)

You just have to declare it at airport when you leave and when you arrive.

[mogandave]

Hello, thanks for the info here.  I have just sold my condo and the cheque has been deposited into my Krung Thai Bank account today.  I want to transfer that money back to Australia at the best exchange rate.   I want to avoid a bank to bank transfer as KTB's exchange rate is very high compared to money transfer companies. 
I have been told that Thai banks are known at times to not allow bank transfers overseas in Thai Baht currency (am considering Currency Solutions based in London) and therefore I would be stuck with the bank to bank transfer and a few thousand dollars less. 
But if I can transfer the funds from my account to DeeMoney based here in Thailand then I assume they will make the exchange on the spot before transferring funds to my Australian bank account. I am in Pattaya.  Also. would I have to travel to Bangkok for this?  Website only lists Bangkok branches.  
 
Thanks.  

You could just get a bank check here and deposit it to your Australian account via post.

[david555]

18 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

No. There is not limit on the cash you can bring out of Thailand when in foreign currency (USD, EUR, GBP...)

You just have to declare it at airport when you leave and when you arrive.

In and out Thailand is allowed in cash  20 000 usd value in any currency undeclared, higher must be declared , but I don't know what is the limit to bring in cash UNDECLEARED in the USA

Edited December 19, 2018 by david555

[aussienam]

7 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

You could just get a bank check here and deposit it to your Australian account via post.

 

Thanks for suggestion.  But I would be subjected to the rate set by my Australian bank which will pose the same problem with jacked up exchange rates with banks compared to foreign exchange services. 

Didn't know BTW that you could bank a foreign bank cheque?  Handy to know anyway.  

[mogandave]

Thanks for suggestion.  But I would be subjected to the rate set by my Australian bank which will pose the same problem with jacked up exchange rates with banks compared to foreign exchange services. 
Didn't know BTW that you could bank a foreign bank cheque?  Handy to know anyway.  

I know I can bank a US check here, I only assume you can bank a Thai check in Australia.

[aussienam]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

I know I can bank a US check here, I only assume you can bank a Thai check in Australia.
 

 

You are correct.  I looked it up with my Australian bank.  Foreign draft, foreign cheque, cash letter - all the same.  But they apply a rate for a foreign cheque which according to what I have read online can end up costing more than the other options.  

 

I have checked the rates for DeeMoney here in Thailand versus the rates for FOREX broker 'Currency Solutions' & 'TORFX'.  The last two were the most competitive rates at the time.  But Currency Solutions were a bit better and the broker happy to beat another competitor's rate.  I believe the more you want to transfer then the better the exchange rate it is.  So for smaller amounts it may not be as good as other money transfer agents.  

 

Also for the info of anyone in the same situation - I received an email reply from Krung Thai Bank: 

 

"Regarding outward remittance if you would like to transfer money without convert currency, you will need to have Thai Baht Account with UK Bank"

 

Currency Solutions have a Thai Baht account in their London bank account.  The transfer is made at their rate and then transferred to my Australian bank account.  The broker was a friendly chap and very helpful as well.  

 

I will make sure I am armed with the email from KTB and their support number, as I have experienced in the past that what head office may say does not always interpret the same way at local branches.  

 

[Pib]

2 hours ago, aussienam said:

Hello, thanks for the info here.  I have just sold my condo and the cheque has been deposited into my Krung Thai Bank account today.  I want to transfer that money back to Australia at the best exchange rate.   I want to avoid a bank to bank transfer as KTB's exchange rate is very high compared to money transfer companies. 

I have been told that Thai banks are known at times to not allow bank transfers overseas in Thai Baht currency (am considering Currency Solutions based in London) and therefore I would be stuck with the bank to bank transfer and a few thousand dollars less. 

But if I can transfer the funds from my account to DeeMoney based here in Thailand then I assume they will make the exchange on the spot before transferring funds to my Australian bank account. I am in Pattaya.  Also. would I have to travel to Bangkok for this?  Website only lists Bangkok branches.  

 

Thanks.  

Where you say KTB exchange rate is very high compared to money transfer services, I don't think there is any western money transfer service (i.e., like Transferwise, OFX, etc) which you can use to transfer money "out of Thailand."  Western money transfer services like Transferwise/OFX can transfer "into" Thailand no problem, but not transfer out.   So, there is no money transfer service exchange rate I'm aware of you can use to compare rates with KTB.   

 

And I hope you were not talking PayPal or Western Union.  Yes they are money transfer services and an transfer out of Thailand but they rape you on exchange when transfer into or out of Thailand.

 

When transfer funds out of Thailand a Thai bank uses their "TT Selling Rate"...not to be confused with their TT Buying Rate used for incoming foreign funds.  For transferring funds out your want the "lowest" TT Selling Rate because that means you have to fork less baht to buy each unit of foreign currency you are sending out.    The Thai bank will charge you approx Bt400 to Bt1200 direct sending fee...around Bt400 if you don't want then to pick up any intermediary bank fee....approx Bt1200 if you do want them to cover any intermediary bank fee.  

 

I wouldn't even consider using some method where your western bank does the exchange as western baht banks give a crappy exchange rate for baht since it's a minor currency; not a major currency. 

 

Regarding DeeMoney below are their transaction limits for US dollars....I expect for Oz dollars it would be similar.  Below is their response in Nov 18 when I asked about USD transfer limits.   You will find DeeMoney Money Transfer exchange rate plus or minus a hair of Thai bank TT Selling Rate but their direct sending fee is only Bt150 plus 7%VAT.  There are no intermediary bank fees.      

 

Quote

 

 Thank you for your question!

 

For USA we have a transfer limit per transaction at 475,000THB and you can send up to 800,000THB per day.Actually,customer can transfer up to 20 transactions per day and up to 40 transactions per month for both channels:mobile app and branches.

 

*Note : Via mobile application customer can send only 690,000THB per month,but via branches of DeeMoney no limit...

 

Sincerely Yours,

Customer Service Team

 

 

[lucjoker]

On 12/18/2018 at 1:50 PM, hello55060 said:

You will have to wire the money out, your bank will be able to do swift transfers just need the IBAN and swiftbic of the account you want to wire it to. If you have internet banking setup you can do it online without having to visit the branch. krungsri and Citi are easy enough to do this online . If you are sending money to an account in your name they won't ask questions ive sent a few million baht in and out of Thailand and no questions have been asked. 

 

Alternatively the harder option  you could try to find an American expat you trust who is in need of baht and then you would both save on bank fees and losing out on the exchange rate and he can transfer from his US bank to yours and you from your Thai bank to his. I'm sure there's lots of Americans who want to buy property and other stuff here and would wire large sums over but it's just getting lucky and finding someone. 

 

You can bring back cash thb to the States and change it over but I'm guessing you won't be allowed to take more than $10k on the plane  which won't really help I'm sure another board member could clear up the max allowance limit on the plane. 

If i'm married to a Thai lady,can i put money on her bankaccount and she can wire it to her bank account in Belgium, Spain,....?