Need to transfer cash from Thai bank account to UK bank account. Currently out of country.

[polpott]

Due to being stuck in the UK for a longer period than I anticipated, I need to transfer 80k baht from my Thai bank account to UK bank account. Can only interact with Bangkok Bank online. Is it possible?

[impulse]

Not even sure you can do it from inside the country...

Post back if you get your answer.  It may be helpful to a lot of people in your situation.  I ended up using my K-Bank ATM card a couple of years back, taking the hit on fees and exchange rates.  That was before Covid.

 

 

[NanLaew]

There are restrictions on foreign owners of any Thai bank account repatriating funds. The most common enabler is possession of a Thai work permit. I recall that enabling the international transfer option via WP requires the proof to be verified in-person at a bank branch and can't be completed online. Outside of the WP option, unless the account was set up a while ago when restrictions were easier to work around, funds repatriation cannot be done online. Since the OP is asking if it is possible, maybe we can assume that the facility hasn't been enabled by either WP or other methods?

 

Thai owners of Thai bank accounts are not restricted in this manner so if the OP has a trustworthy Thai person willing to work as in intermediary, funds should first be transferred internally in Thailand to that account with the Thai person making the international transfer.

[asiam110]

Easiest would be to find someone you trust based in Thailand but from your home country. And transfer 80k to their thai bank account from your thai bank account online. Once cleared and they are happy they can release the funds in your local currency to your local bank. The risk is on you as the requester / initiator.

[Upnotover]

Isn't this what Deemoney is for?  Seen them mentioned many times on here but can't claim any direct experience. Worth a look i'd think.

[hereforgood]

53 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

Isn't this what Deemoney is for?

Yes have used them cheap and fast so despite what others have said money can indeed be sent out of Thailand bank account using Dee Money

[scubascuba3]

Yes try Deemoney, hopefully your Thai phone number has roaming, may be needed by Bangkok Bank

[gk10012001]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

There are restrictions on foreign owners of any Thai bank account repatriating funds. The most common enabler is possession of a Thai work permit. I recall that enabling the international transfer option via WP requires the proof to be verified in-person at a bank branch and can't be completed online. Outside of the WP option, unless the account was set up a while ago when restrictions were easier to work around, funds repatriation cannot be done online. Since the OP is asking if it is possible, maybe we can assume that the facility hasn't been enabled by either WP or other methods?

 

Thai owners of Thai bank accounts are not restricted in this manner so if the OP has a trustworthy Thai person willing to work as in intermediary, funds should first be transferred internally in Thailand to that account with the Thai person making the international transfer.

eh?  So if one deposited 800,000 baht for visa purposes, they would have issues getting that money out of their own account?  Are all Thai banks like that?  I guess the ATM withdrawal is an option, assuming the Thai bank allows that, or at some point they get difficult and block it claiming some sort of fraud, and then you have a hard time contacting them, or they would cancel the card and then maybe send you a new one, if they even do that to another country and then you would be back to square one again

[grain]

Note to self. When I go back to Australia next year take my 800K THB out of the bank before I leave the country, just in case I never get back to Thailand again.

[YT3k72Em]

- Got an ATM card ?  withdraw the maximum each day until done.

- Got mobile banking ? look for International Transfer button on the mobile App

- Got a trustworthy friend ? ...nah forget that.

[perconrad]

8 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

eh?  So if one deposited 800,000 baht for visa purposes, they would have issues getting that money out of their own account?  Are all Thai banks like that?  I guess the ATM withdrawal is an option, assuming the Thai bank allows that, or at some point they get difficult and block it claiming some sort of fraud, and then you have a hard time contacting them, or they would cancel the card and then maybe send you a new one, if they even do that to another country and then you would be back to square one again

Remember to call your bank and inform them that you go to X country and will use your card there, at least if you have an account in SCB.

[nickmondo]

i have never read such a load of codswallop in some of the replies to you.

of course you can, but you need your Thai phone to receive the OTP.

What a load of rubbish people tell you..........................

 

[balo]

I am outside of Thailand and use my Kasikorn atm card , yes not the best exchange rates but easy solution if you can't do it in any other way. 

[Scouse123]

13 hours ago, NanLaew said:

There are restrictions on foreign owners of any Thai bank account repatriating funds.

I repatriated 5 million last week with no work permit, nothing from a KTB savings account.

 

I am in country however.

[Brick Top]

There is actually a very simple solution , just set up an online account with either Dmoney or Western Union and then you can easily transfer out from your phone.

If people come on here and say Western Union is expensive , well I sent out 200,000 last week and it was actually a little bit cheaper than Dmoney and cheaper than doing through the bank

[Alidiver]

Can be done but not cheap.
But, yes, there's a but...
You'll need your registered phone number for "One Time Password"
My registered phone was my Thai number which has since expired.
I've e-mailed Bangkok Bank and they said I have to visit the Bank in person so I'm stuck.
 

[asiam110]

7 hours ago, Alidiver said:

Can be done but not cheap.
But, yes, there's a but...
You'll need your registered phone number for "One Time Password"
My registered phone was my Thai number which has since expired.
I've e-mailed Bangkok Bank and they said I have to visit the Bank in person so I'm stuck.
 

You also need to use the exact branch you created the account at - no chance using a different branch. In addition you need the passport that was used to registered the account. If you haven't got the passport because you havent been the bank in years and sent them home for storage, then don't think a new passport with all your identical biometric details will suffice,  you need a 20baht piece of paper police report to first update the passport number, this process takes about a lifetime in-branch and 632  signatures and just as much tutting from staff.  Eventually you'll be on your way to updating your phone number, as you previiously explained why several times (i.e. the OTP for online payments and purcahsed), you'll need to return at the end of day to tell them it doesnt work and, as per originally request, to update the number used for OTP, they'll call websupport, tut like hell and make you sign another 330 pages eventually they will summarize its all your fault and tell you it will work tomorrow.. And it does, easy peasy, and straight forward.. Welcome to Thai banking

 

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by asiam110

[asiam110]

9 hours ago, Brick Top said:

There is actually a very simple solution , just set up an online account with either Dmoney or Western Union and then you can easily transfer out from your phone.

If people come on here and say Western Union is expensive , well I sent out 200,000 last week and it was actually a little bit cheaper than Dmoney and cheaper than doing through the bank

Western Union is not bad when loading from a bank account and paying out to a bank account, the rates can be somewhat competitive actually, certainly better than any unregulated crypto transfer intermediaries, usually is a little higher than say Transferwise - I've never seen it cheaper, that said if they support the currency pair and direction you need then it's a reasonable option, there is no thai outbound on nearly all popular consumer forex services.  Western union quickly get expensive with agent cash out on the destination, or card loading on the source.

Edited July 20, 2021 by asiam110

[impulse]

10 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I repatriated 5 million last week with no work permit, nothing from a KTB savings account.

 

I am in country however.

A few weeks after my WP expired and I was on visa exempt, I tried to transfer some money to China, in person at my K-Bank branch.  They explained to me that I needed to be on a long term visa (WP, retirement or marriage).  They claimed it was Thai law, not bank policy.   That despite the fact that all of the money in my account was trackable to salary under the WP.  They also wouldn't allow me to transfer the cash (USD) that I brought with me.

 

I don't claim to know the rules.  Just what happened to me, and what I was told by several levels- bank employee, a branch manager, and a discussion with their main office on the phone they handed me.

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by impulse

[theoldgit]

@polpottDo you have the Bangkok Bank App, there is an option to transfer funds to the UK and to access their Western Union Service.

 

I haven't tried either service with them, but I have used the Kasikorn App which has a similar service and works seamlessly.

 

Dee Money, as others have said, works well but you need to be in Thailand to open an account.

 

You can send cash online to the UK via Western Union from a Debit Card, you do have to register, I haven't used them but it looks pretty straight forward. https://www.westernunion.com/th/en/send-money.html?src=gg___&utm_content=sdc_pcrid_398394828191_mt_e_kw_western union thailand&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6NmHBhD2ARIsAI3hrM11PL9Zd-sVI1p_hA-IOejavy3QwYLnJSSSYyawoJVJGKkr9KYEiMoaAk17EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Scouse123]

7 hours ago, impulse said:

A few weeks after my WP expired and I was on visa exempt, I tried to transfer some money to China, in person at my K-Bank branch.  They explained to me that I needed to be on a long term visa (WP, retirement or marriage).  They claimed it was Thai law, not bank policy.   That despite the fact that all of the money in my account was trackable to salary under the WP.  They also wouldn't allow me to transfer the cash (USD) that I brought with me.

 

I don't claim to know the rules.  Just what happened to me, and what I was told by several levels- bank employee, a branch manager, and a discussion with their main office on the phone they handed me.

 

I don't have a work permit so possibly that makes it easier for them as all monies that flowed through my account and came into Thailand came from outside the country.

 

I am on retirement extension from a Non O visa.

 

In the past, I have purchased UK properties, whilst being in Thailand, and been asked for the legal sales contract. Last week I just told them I wished to repatriate funds for personal use.

[John435]

DeeMoney worked for me. I was in Thailand when I set it up but I can’t remember doing anything that wouldn’t work in the UK. They recently sped up the transfer process to a day or two. 

[Brick Top]

12 hours ago, asiam110 said:

Western Union is not bad when loading from a bank account and paying out to a bank account, the rates can be somewhat competitive actually, certainly better than any unregulated crypto transfer intermediaries, usually is a little higher than say Transferwise - I've never seen it cheaper, that said if they support the currency pair and direction you need then it's a reasonable option, there is no thai outbound on nearly all popular consumer forex services.  Western union quickly get expensive with agent cash out on the destination, or card loading on the source.

 

[Brick Top]

8 minutes ago, Brick Top said:

 

What I said was Western Union can be as cheap as Dmoney or even cheaper for transferring money out of Thailand. 

It certainly is not as cheap as Transferwise but Transferwise cant send funds out from Thailand. That company can only send funds into Thailand .