Moving US$100,000 to Thailand

[khunbillmex]

9 minutes ago, rabas said:

Long term you may want to look into a Charles Schwab International Account. Over the years I have had problems with Merrill Lynch then Wells Fargo because of living overseas and having a Thai wife.  Schwab International  is an American banking/brokerage account designed for offshore people. US laws for expats have tighten a lot over the years but I easily put my wife on the Schwab account a year ago. A US address in not needed. No need for translations when submitting documents, "No problem, we read Thai just fine". 

That's a plan I hadn't considered - thx

[lopburi3]

35 minutes ago, khunbillmex said:

Point taken of course but situation complicated by the facts 1: that my  sister who 'hosts' my US presence won't always be in a position where she can forward updated debit cards and 2: my wife does not have a US Social Sec number which keeps her off my US accounts.

1.  Banks can send cards directly to Thailand - Chase and USAA do for me.  You could also have someone else forward if required,

2.  But if you file tax form and obtain ITIN suspect she could use that - my wife has US joint account with me using ITIN (although done years ago).

3.  You also have option to move part of the 100k here into local account.  If moving it all remember Thai insurance at some point will likely only cover 1 million baht in deposits so moving all might not be a good option.

[Enzian]

I transferred a third of that amount in one SWIFT wire transfer into a FCD acct at Krungsri (hope I'm not telling too much). Those type accts have no deposit insurance, but recent events assure me that the elite of this country will not let any banks go under. And if and when the baht goes to 35 or 36 you could change the money into baht and then have deposit insurance. Honestly I would not transfer any more than necessary for the visa renewal because there are easy ways to access money sitting in the US, even with your situation.

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, tonray said:

Schwab charges $25 no matter what size transfer..no other fees either end

and are the rates good? I am new to Schwab but htink I got a bit short changed on my atm withdrawal... would I be better off with a swift transfer to Kasi?

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, khunbillmex said:

Because I may be incapacitated at the time. My wife would need to access thee funds. I realize this is a less than perfect time to change $ into THB if holding the baht is simply for storage and not immediate use.

I understand what you are saying but you pay a hospital bill when you are recovered and leaving hospital. So long as your wife could present a credit card etc you would be admitted and treated, settle the bill later. Even leave instruction with your wife how to transfer money.

It literally takes a couple of hours to transfer money, on a mobile phone. Or keep a credit card handy with a high limit, pay back the card when recovered. Your funds can be at home in the bank, invested, earning interest etc.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Peterw42