Bringing Thai Baht Out Of Thailand.

[North]

I am not sure, if this is the right forum for this question, if not maybe the moderators will move it?

When I go on a holiday next month I would like to bring with me some baht for travel expences, I would like to exchange them in Europe, since I can get a better exchange rate there.

When I read about this at the thai customs website, it says:

"" Outbound passengers: Unlimited amount of foreign currencies are permitted to carry out of Thailand. However, the amount of Baht 50,000 or more in Thai currency must be reported on departure, except those traveling to Lao PDR., Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are allowed to take out Thai currency not exceeding 500,000 Baht. ""

As I read it, it will be ok for me to bring out more than 50,000 baht, as long as I report it on departure.

Does any of you know if this is the way, it actually works ??

any upper limit of bringing out thai baht ?

Any problems regarding this whatsoever ?

north

[Naam]

When I go on a holiday next month I would like to bring with me some baht for travel expences, I would like to exchange them in Europe, since I can get a better exchange rate there.

you will be very much disappointed when you the sorry rate you get in Europe for cash Baht.

[North]

When I go on a holiday next month I would like to bring with me some baht for travel expences, I would like to exchange them in Europe, since I can get a better exchange rate there.

you will be very much disappointed when you the sorry rate you get in Europe for cash Baht.

I don´t think you are right about that.

In my opinion there seems to be a disparity between the exchange rates in Thailand and those in Europe (specifically in Denmark, where i am going)

I think I can get a better rate in my bank in Denmark than here in Thailand.

Can anyone answer the questions in my first post ?

thank you in advance.

north

[Abrak]

I believe the maximum cash you are allowed to take overseas is only Bt100k.

Have you tried wiring baht to your overseas bank account - a friend of mine recently succeeded in wiring himself several million baht in baht to Hong Kong where he is taking advantage of the 10%+ baht interest rates (rather than the currency margin).

[Maestro]

Can anyone answer the questions in my first post ?

1. Any upper limit? The text you quoted from the Customs website says it. No limit for a flight to Europe.

2. Does it actually work? Of course it works, if you can satisfactorily answer the questions and provide the documentation that Customs may ask.

3. Any problems? The jungle of Thai laws and regulations is such that nobody, not even the manager of your Thai bank, can tell you what questions or documentation Customs may ask. You have to find out yourself what these laws and regulations are and then, if Customs should not respect them, you have to fight Customs in the Thai courts. Of course, as you research the subject, you may find that a regulation or rule gives a list of documents that Customs can ask, the last item in the list being “any other document that a Customs Officer may require”

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Maestro

[Naam]

When I go on a holiday next month I would like to bring with me some baht for travel expences, I would like to exchange them in Europe, since I can get a better exchange rate there.

you will be very much disappointed when you the sorry rate you get in Europe for cash Baht.

I don´t think you are right about that.

In my opinion there seems to be a disparity between the exchange rates in Thailand and those in Europe (specifically in Denmark, where i am going)

I think I can get a better rate in my bank in Denmark than here in Thailand.

Can anyone answer the questions in my first post ?

thank you in advance.

north

you are free to think whatever you want North and you are correct that there is a difference between onshore and offshore exchange rates. however, you can't use that to your advantage as it applies to "book money" only. my opinion is that no bank in Europe will offer you a buying rate for cash Baht that you will make a profit.

[North]

Can anyone answer the questions in my first post ?

1. Any upper limit? The text you quoted from the Customs website says it. No limit for a flight to Europe.

2. Does it actually work? Of course it works, if you can satisfactorily answer the questions and provide the documentation that Customs may ask.

3. Any problems? The jungle of Thai laws and regulations is such that nobody, not even the manager of your Thai bank, can tell you what questions or documentation Customs may ask. You have to find out yourself what these laws and regulations are and then, if Customs should not respect them, you have to fight Customs in the Thai courts. Of course, as you research the subject, you may find that a regulation or rule gives a list of documents that Customs can ask, the last item in the list being “any other document that a Customs Officer may require”

--

Maestro

I really do not understand your reply !

I am asking these questions in the hope, that someone in the forum has experience with this situation, and it seems to me, that you don´t know anything about the subject. What you come up with are some common considerations about the way the thai system probably will work. Maybe you are being ironic, but in my opinion your post is not helpful at all, but thank you anyway for trying !

North

[Maestro]

I am asking these questions in the hope, that someone in the forum has experience with this situation

Unfortunately for you, it is highly unlikely that somebody in this forum has experience with the situation you describe. It seems you will be blazing a new trail. After you’ve done it, please do come back and report how it went. I, for one, am interested to know.

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Maestro

[billp]

In any case, the retail rate on buying baht in Europe has been around 42, 43 to the euro in recent weeks, whereas I hear people are getting 46 or 47 in Thailand. So the OP is in for a rude surprise when he first puts his chip-carrying shoulder up to a currency exchange stand in Thailand. I think he got the arithmetic reversed.

[Cuban]

...my opinion is that no bank in Europe will offer you a buying rate for cash Baht that you will make a profit.

But the OP will enjoy the thrill and rush of carrying '000s of Baht, maybe tens of thousands from the ATM/bank through the customs x-ray machines, that may prompt someone asking the question why someone would take so much cash out of the country. Maybe having a few print outs of this discussion forum would be accepted as part of a cover story in a layering step in the process of money laundering.

The problem people suffer when looking at making a killing within any market place is they forget the cost of carry; with dealing diamonds or gold there is the storage, insurance and security in transit costs to consider. Not to forget the fees dealers include within the price when exchanging an asset for money in your local currency, banks are no different - there will either be an exchange fee at a fixed rate or a percentage on top of or built into the quoted FX rate. Many banks or other dealers in FX will quote an attractive rate to get your business, but there will always be a fee.

The Danish "Act on Measures to Prevent Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Act No. 117" places a reporting (lower) limit of 100,000 Krone through retail trades, so if the OP is looking to make some money on the side without the transaction being either reported for purposes of local taxation or potential money laundering it would be wise to stay within this limit. From my (very) rough calculations if you were able to get the best possible rates either side of the buy/sell transaction in the last week then a profit of about 11,000 Baht would be possible, with a best of the market at about 35,000 Baht if traded at the best rates within the last three months. To achieve this profit you need to put at risk the full 628,000 Baht that you can carry under the 100,000 DKK limit and still be able to call the best market rate. To my eyes this seems a big risk for a little return, bear in mind that these figures are the best of the market, there are few people that can trade at these numbers without precognition. There would appear to be a big reliance on luck.

So the answer to your question might be - how much can you take into Denmark ?

Bangkok Bank - FX Rates.

Danskebank - FX Rates.

Danish Krone vs Baht Chart

[Fred Sanford]

rofl Cuban

[Sophon]

When I go on a holiday next month I would like to bring with me some baht for travel expences, I would like to exchange them in Europe, since I can get a better exchange rate there.

you will be very much disappointed when you the sorry rate you get in Europe for cash Baht.

I don´t think you are right about that.

In my opinion there seems to be a disparity between the exchange rates in Thailand and those in Europe (specifically in Denmark, where i am going)

I think I can get a better rate in my bank in Denmark than here in Thailand.

Can anyone answer the questions in my first post ?

thank you in advance.

north

Unfortunately for you he is not wrong.

Todays cash rate THB/DKK

Bangkok Bank: 6.31

Danske Bank: 15.75

Which means that THB 50,000 exchanged in Thailand would give you DKK 7,924 while the same amount would only give you 7,875 if exchanged in Denmark. You might be able to find slightly better rates at one of the exchange bureaus, but you would be very lucky to turn a profit from doing the exchange in Denmark.

Normally it would be even worse, but as you mention there is a disparity between the exchange rates inside and outside Thailand at the moment. However, this advantage is more than lost because of the very poor cash rates you get on THB outside of Thailand.

Sophon