Sending Thai Baht Cash To Australian Account

[hyperdimension]

I have approximately 100,000 baht in physical cash that I would like to send to my National Australia Bank (NAB) account.

I had withdrawn this money from ATMs over the past month using my NAB card, and now I just want to put it back in.

It sounds stupid, but I have simply been doing some speculative currency trading between AUD and THB using physical cash.

I would like to send this money via telegraphic transfer (TT). I would like the conversion to be taken place at the destination because the rate is better.

I thought it would be an easy and straightforward process.

I went to a Siam Commercial Bank branch yesterday, and the manager said I cannot send the money in Thai currency, that I'd have to convert it in Thailand before sending.

I have been reading a lot of the previous posts on this site and it seems some people have been able to do a transfer in Thai currency.

My bank displays the buying rate of Thai baht via TT on their web site. This would mean that the bank certainly does accept incoming TTs of Thai currency. So What I need to know right now is the avenue to take in Thailand to send them the Thai currency.

I don't have a Thai bank account, nor a work permit. I tried opening a bank account once but could not without a work permit.

Though I do have a friend (falang) who has accounts with Siam Commercial Bank. He does not have a work permit. (How he got the accounts is a different matter.)

I do have some friends who are Thai citizens, who may or may not have bank accounts.

Could or should I use one of these people? From what I have read, it seems that there are less restrictions/hassles if a Thai citizen does a transfer.

What are my options to do a TT in Thai currency? Should I keep trying at different branches or banks?

I have been reading about the Visa Electron Card. I could send an Electron Card (belonging to a friend here) to Australia. I would have to deposit my baht into the Thai account. Then I would get a friend in Australia to use the card to withdraw the cash there, and then deposit it into the NAB account. What is the daily withdrawal limit? Can this be raised? e.g. to 5,000 AUD? My Australian ATM cards have a daily withdrawal limit of 1,000 AUD. I'm not sure how good this option is.

Thank you in advance for any ideas that you can share here.

[Naam]

I would like to send this money via telegraphic transfer (TT). I would like the conversion to be taken place at the destination because the rate is better.

all of us would like to use that kind of financial perpetuum mobile. unfortunately no can do.

I went to a Siam Commercial Bank branch yesterday, and the manager said I cannot send the money in Thai currency, that I'd have to convert it in Thailand before sending.

SBC manager is right.

I have been reading a lot of the previous posts on this site and it seems some people have been able to do a transfer in Thai currency.

a misconception.

My bank displays the buying rate of Thai baht via TT on their web site. This would mean that the bank certainly does accept incoming TTs of Thai currency. So What I need to know right now is the avenue to take in Thailand to send them the Thai currency.

see above.

Could or should I use one of these people?

you might be able to use them, however not for the purpose you stated.

Should I keep trying at different branches or banks?

why not? ...if you are very bored and have time to kill.

I have been reading about the Visa Electron Card. I could send an Electron Card (belonging to a friend here) to Australia. I would have to deposit my baht into the Thai account. Then I would get a friend in Australia to use the card to withdraw the cash there, and then deposit it into the NAB account.

an idea that seems feasible (at first glance) if the card has an international validity. give it a try and if it works we'll all get rich.

[aussiestyle1983]

Im in the same situation as you. But, I have a Thai bank account. If you keep trying to open one im sure you will eventually get one.

I want to send 100,000 THB to my NAB account. I just want the best rate and im not sure how to do it. Should I wire transfer the money or do something else? I dont really want to carry cash with me cause I will be leaving LOS for a few months to travel before returning to Oz, so id rather just transfer the money some how? How can I do this? And, for example, if it takes 27 THB for $1AUD, what rate would I actually get after I transfer? How much would I loose?

[Simmo]

It sounds stupid, but I have simply been doing some speculative currency trading between AUD and THB using physical cash.

It is stupid. You saw the difference between the onshore and offshore rate and thought you could make a profit off it.

The SCB manager is correct , the onshore rate is used for transfers to and from the county.

[hyperdimension]

Okay I think what I will do is deposit the cash into a Thai bank account. Send the Visa Electron card for this account to a relative in Australia. He or she can withdraw from the ATMs every day until all of my money has been taken out. I could try raising the limit so that it doesn't take a whole month. The exchange rate would be the Australian bank rate (the bank that owns the ATM), not the Thai bank rate.

I don't expect to really profit, it's small pocket money to me. I don't care if I have no option but to end up taking a loss. I make and lose hundreds or thousands of dollars daily in my main occupation - trading US shares. I just thought I'd play around with a bit of Thai baht, given the current climate, and then see what happens. Maybe it's a bit like how people spend a lot of time and effort playing computer games. The financial markets are my chosen games. At least I learn some new things along the way, especially about how money works in Thailand.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

This is a bit late but still may be of interest. NAB (National Australian Bank) lost a billion$ in the US home mortgage fiasco. Didn't do the profit margin any good.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...649-664,00.html

[rdog]

I'm gonna be rich, yeeeehaaa!!!!

[myauq]

now would be a very good time to send money to an aussie bank.

i would like to do this when the banks open on monday - the rate is the best it's been for ages.

i have a thai bank account with baht in it, but i'm not sure exactly what to do. i was thinking of asking in the bank whether i can just transfer it right there and then, but i'm worried that there will be a limit on how much i can transact each day. the commonwealth bank said that i just give the guy at the thai bank my aussie bank details and i can just transfer, just like between banks in australia. i'm not sure sure though - can this be done without any hassle?

failing that i think i will just take out the maximum out and send it through western union.

any help on easy, fast electronic transfer would be appreciated.

ps - my bank is bangkok bank (thai), commonwealth (oz).

thanks

[zorro1]

I am also interested in this. Lets say you sold your condo for 7 mill today and wanted to transfer out. Would there be a tax and a limit ? Also from what I'm reading apparently you cant convert the currency offshore right?

Edited October 11, 2008 by zorro1

[hyperdimension]

myauq, to transfer straight from your Thai bank account to your CBA account you would have to do a Telegraphic Transfer. You will need to know the SWIFT code of CBA. You have to fill out a form, and it can take a few days to arrive at the destination.

The rate that it will convert at would be the Thai bank rate. That's assuming that it's not possible to convert at the destination. But you wouldn't want to anyway if it's a worse rate at the destination. e.g. at Bangkok Bank it currently costs you 23.05 baht to get 1 Australian dollar. But if you look at the CBA exchange rate page, it costs you 24.48 baht to get 1 Australian dollar. I think CBA generally give very bad rates either way you transact through them.

I'm not sure what the rate would be on Monday morning at the Thai banks, but if you are concerned that it may be a worse rate that right now, I suggest withdrawing as much as possible from ATMs today to lock in the current rate as much as possible. Bangkok Bank lets you withdraw 25K baht per ATM withdrawal, but you can do it multiple times. You can then take that cash with you when you do the TT.

Alternatively, you could withdraw everything and send it through Western Union, but Western Union rates are very bad, and I think you would need to arrange for someone at the other end to collect the money.

Edited October 12, 2008 by hyperdimension

[zorro1]

myauq, to transfer straight from your Thai bank account to your CBA account you would have to do a Telegraphic Transfer. You will need to know the SWIFT code of CBA. You have to fill out a form, and it can take a few days to arrive at the destination.

The rate that it will convert at would be the Thai bank rate. That's assuming that it's not possible to convert at the destination. But you wouldn't want to anyway if it's a worse rate at the destination. e.g. at Bangkok Bank it currently costs you 23.05 baht to get 1 Australian dollar. But if you look at the CBA exchange rate page, it costs you 24.48 baht to get 1 Australian dollar. I think CBA generally give very bad rates either way you transact through them.

I'm not sure what the rate would be on Monday morning at the Thai banks, but if you are concerned that it may be a worse rate that right now, I suggest withdrawing as much as possible from ATMs today and after midnight Australian time to lock in the current rate as much as possible. Bangkok Bank lets you withdraw 25K baht per ATM withdrawal, but you can do it multiple times. CBA may impose a 1K AUD withdrawal limit per day. You can then take that cash with you when you do the TT.

Thanks for that. I know there is a major difference when going the opposite way AUS-THAI so assumed it was same deal THAI-AUS when converted onshore

[hyperdimension]

Actually please disregard the following, for some reason I thought you were withdrawing from an Australian bank account, but I now realize the money is in a Thai bank account:

I'm not sure what the rate would be on Monday morning at the Thai banks, but if you are concerned that it may be a worse rate that right now, I suggest withdrawing as much as possible from ATMs today to lock in the current rate as much as possible.

My head was quite misaligned this morning and I was in a hurry to head out.

[hyperdimension]

I am also interested in this. Lets say you sold your condo for 7 mill today and wanted to transfer out. Would there be a tax and a limit ? Also from what I'm reading apparently you cant convert the currency offshore right?

You can try asking at various banks whether it's possible for you to convert at the destination. I have a friend who says he has always transferred in baht, converted at the destination as pounds. But I'm skeptical. Last year I asked many banks whether it was possible but always got "no" and "not allowed" as the answer.

The rate at the destination may or may not be better, depending on the bank. On the NAB exchange rate page it costs 22.846 baht to get 1 Australian dollar, whereas the best rate you can get here in Thailand is 22.925 baht for 1 AUD at Bank of Ayudhya (based on the bankexchangerates web site). So it's slightly better if you could convert at NAB (unlike last year), but as I said,it may not be allowed.

Instead of trying to find a way to convert at the destination, it may be better to divert the efforts to finding the best bank to do the transfer, because the rates can vary a bit amongst the Thai banks. For an amount like 7M baht, the amount saved can be significant, and it may therefore be worth signing up for a new account at the bank that gives the best rate in order to use their TT service.

Edited October 12, 2008 by hyperdimension

[myauq]

myauq, to transfer straight from your Thai bank account to your CBA account you would have to do a Telegraphic Transfer. You will need to know the SWIFT code of CBA. You have to fill out a form, and it can take a few days to arrive at the destination.

The rate that it will convert at would be the Thai bank rate. That's assuming that it's not possible to convert at the destination. But you wouldn't want to anyway if it's a worse rate at the destination. e.g. at Bangkok Bank it currently costs you 23.05 baht to get 1 Australian dollar. But if you look at the CBA exchange rate page, it costs you 24.48 baht to get 1 Australian dollar. I think CBA generally give very bad rates either way you transact through them.

I'm not sure what the rate would be on Monday morning at the Thai banks, but if you are concerned that it may be a worse rate that right now, I suggest withdrawing as much as possible from ATMs today to lock in the current rate as much as possible. Bangkok Bank lets you withdraw 25K baht per ATM withdrawal, but you can do it multiple times. You can then take that cash with you when you do the TT.

Alternatively, you could withdraw everything and send it through Western Union, but Western Union rates are very bad, and I think you would need to arrange for someone at the other end to collect the money.

thanks for that. very helpful and reassuring.

will try and send the money tomorrow.

[zorro1]

I am also interested in this. Lets say you sold your condo for 7 mill today and wanted to transfer out. Would there be a tax and a limit ? Also from what I'm reading apparently you cant convert the currency offshore right?

You can try asking at various banks whether it's possible for you to convert at the destination. I have a friend who says he has always transferred in baht, converted at the destination as pounds. But I'm skeptical. Last year I asked many banks whether it was possible but always got "no" and "not allowed" as the answer.

The rate at the destination may or may not be better, depending on the bank. On the NAB exchange rate page it costs 22.846 baht to get 1 Australian dollar, whereas the best rate you can get here in Thailand is 22.925 baht for 1 AUD at Bank of Ayudhya (based on the bankexchangerates web site). So it's slightly better if you could convert at NAB (unlike last year), but as I said,it may not be allowed.

Instead of trying to find a way to convert at the destination, it may be better to divert the efforts to finding the best bank to do the transfer, because the rates can vary a bit amongst the Thai banks. For an amount like 7M baht, the amount saved can be significant, and it may therefore be worth signing up for a new account at the bank that gives the best rate in order to use their TT service.

That's kind of difficult as no work permit. I do have an account at Siam so they would have to do and even getting one there was touch n go on a tourist visa

Edited October 12, 2008 by zorro1