Sending money from Thailand to Europe

[Confuscious]

I will move next month back to Europe and need to send my funds in Thailand back to Europe.

I read about different companies to handle thism eg Wise transfer.
I would like to know of users who used such a company to make money transfers about their experiences with them.

Easy of transfert, transparency, costs, etc.
TIA

[harry94]

I use Dee money easy to use with out hassle .download the App you need id . i used passport and Thai drivers licence i think also your address in Thailand .

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Banking

[Srikcir]

There is Western Union both online and physical locations throughout Bangkok maybe elsewhereq. Comparing Wise to WU the former is much more cheaper.

[treetops]

Wise cannot be used to send money out of Thailand.  Deemoney, as already mentioned, or direct from your Thai bank account are the most used going by what I read on here.

[lopburi3]

On 1/16/2023 at 6:21 PM, treetops said:

Wise cannot be used to send money out of Thailand.  Deemoney, as already mentioned, or direct from your Thai bank account are the most used going by what I read on here.

Actually they advised yesterday in an email they now have that ability - you select Thai Baht and go through a one time verification process and use local banking app QR code.  I have no need to use so have not tried - and may not be good option if already departed Thailand (using local banking app).

[nigelforbes]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually they advised yesterday in an email they now have that ability - you select Thai Baht and go through a one time verification process and use local banking app QR code.  I have no need to use so have not tried - and may not be good option if already departed Thailand (using local banking app).

It sounds like Wise has a Thai banking partner that has a banking license, do you know who it is?

[lopburi3]

24 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

It sounds like Wise has a Thai banking partner that has a banking license, do you know who it is?

No and email said it was in beta currently so something very new.

[treetops]

10 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually they advised yesterday in an email they now have that ability - you select Thai Baht and go through a one time verification process and use local banking app QR code.  I have no need to use so have not tried - and may not be good option if already departed Thailand (using local banking app).

i'm still seeing this if I try to select baht in the "You send" box.

 

[lopburi3]

4 minutes ago, treetops said:

i'm still seeing this if I try to select baht in the "You send" box.

 

Email was an invite to try beta so perhaps doing a shake down now with only those invited allowed?  Was expecting others to say that also received same email.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Email was an invite to try beta so perhaps doing a shake down now with only those invited allowed?  Was expecting others to say that also received same email.

 

 

On reddit they are talking about it....apparently like you said it's in beta testing....and apparently it's done via DeeMoney since DeeMoney is a Wise partner for sending THB money into Thailand.   Looks lie Wise is indeed setting up the ability to send money out of Thailand in partnership with DeeMoney.

 

[nigelforbes]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

 

On reddit they are talking about it....apparently like you said it's in beta testing....and apparently it's done via DeeMoney since DeeMoney is a Wise partner for sending THB money into Thailand.   Looks lie Wise is indeed setting up the ability to send money out of Thailand in partnership with DeeMoney.

 

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

I don't believe BOT has changed the currency exchange rules so THB cannot be remitted overseas. My guess is that somebody in the partnership is going to do the exchange into the destination currency. 

 

https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/ForeignExchangeRegulations/FXRegulation/Pages/default.aspx

Edited January 20, 2023 by nigelforbes

[Pib]

1 minute ago, nigelforbes said:

I don't believe BOT has changed the currency exchange rules so THB cannot be remitted overseas. My guess is that somebody in the partnership is going to do the exchange into the destination currency. 

Correct....but your THB is used to buy whatever other currency you want to send.....like if wanting to transfer funds to a U.S. bank you would exchange THB for USD.   So in a round about way you did send THB but by exchanging it for another currency.

 

Just like when sending money to Thailand via Wise you use another currency like USD, GBP, EUR to buy & send THB.

[nigelforbes]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

Correct....but your THB is used to buy whatever other currency you want to send.....like if wanting to transfer funds to a U.S. bank you would exchange THB for USD.   So in a round about way you did send THB but by exchanging it for another currency.

 

Just like when sending money to Thailand via Wise you use another currency like USD, GBP, EUR to buy & send THB.

 

In a not round about way, customers remit whatever currency they chose, to an overseas destination of their choice but pay for the service in Baht in Thailand.

 

I do get it, but it's a wording and marketing issue which leaves things unclear to customers who think they are actually sending THB overseas.

[Confuscious]

26 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

 

I don't believe BOT has changed the currency exchange rules so THB cannot be remitted overseas. My guess is that somebody in the partnership is going to do the exchange into the destination currency. 

 

https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/ForeignExchangeRegulations/FXRegulation/Pages/default.aspx

In my case it's a little bit different.

My account is already in Eur (FCD) account.

Thus no exchange should be made.

But I fear for the bank rules at UOB that specify that it's only possible to take money out of the account in Thai Baht 

[wordchild]

15 hours ago, Confuscious said:

In my case it's a little bit different.

My account is already in Eur (FCD) account.

Thus no exchange should be made.

But I fear for the bank rules at UOB that specify that it's only possible to take money out of the account in Thai Baht 

Yes i have come across this before (a few years ago) , and it is one reason (among others) that i closed the FCD account I had then.

 

I was told by my (Thai) bank that i could not transfer USD directly  from my FCD account to my Singapore bank (USD) account. Instead  I  would  have to transfer my USD  back to my Thai Baht account and then do a further currency transaction (back into USD!)  to get the funds out and send to Sing.

The reason i was  given,  was that otherwise the bank would lose the ability to make any money from the currency exchange. The Bank officer explained that with a completely straight face! 

 

As i said, this was several years ago, so maybe things have changed, but from my experience FCD accounts with Thai banks are expensive to operate and of limited use.

 

Better hold non TB assets offshore from Thailand; eg  with my Singapore  multi-currency account i can transfer funds anywhere, with minimal fuss, in the currency of my choice, without the need to suffer the additional cost of a currency exchange. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by wordchild

[wordchild]

i am not sure if it is relevant for the OP but, from my experience, it is much easier to transfer out  securities (ie bonds or shares) than cash.

If you have an investment account with a Thai broker it is relatively straightforward to instruct them to transfer the securities (and even the cash within the account!) from that account to another account overseas eg in Europe. As long as the account you are transferring too is  in your name

 

I have done this myself on  4 or 5  occasions, without issue,  moving both single stocks  and on one occasion  an entire portfolio (which included some cash) . Sign a couple of forms, complete the relevant details and it can all be done over a couple of days, and your assets are now outside Thailand.

 

It is one reason i maintain an account with a local broker for investing in local stocks, it also has other uses!

 

From my experience the local brokers and, even those that are linked to banks are much more user friendly and flexible than the bank branches.

 

One word of caution; i am an established customer of the local broker i use; I would be cautious about opening a broking account as a device  just to move funds outside Thailand. You may have issues with the local money laundering Feds.

But for the OP if this is a "one and done" moving your asset out of Thailand and, you are confident you can explain the source of funds, if required, then this maybe something worth exploring.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by wordchild

[mrwebb8825]

OP - what amount (ballpark figure)  are you thinking about? If it's not a suitcase full, why not go to superrich, exchange it and carry it with you on the plane? I did this to bring 100k to the states with me. Nobody cared about the lump in my socks in my backpack.

Also. my wife has sent me around 75k straight from Bangkok Bank to my account in the states. Cost her 200 baht to send and me $20 to receive.

I also have the ability to use the Thai banking app on my Thai phone from the states as all it needs is a wifi connection.

Right now, with the exchange rates so low we're making a little money with each transfer and when the $ gets stronger again we'll be sending some back to Thailand.

[Confuscious]

2 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

OP - what amount (ballpark figure)  are you thinking about? If it's not a suitcase full, why not go to superrich, exchange it and carry it with you on the plane? I did this to bring 100k to the states with me. Nobody cared about the lump in my socks in my backpack.

Also. my wife has sent me around 75k straight from Bangkok Bank to my account in the states. Cost her 200 baht to send and me $20 to receive.

I also have the ability to use the Thai banking app on my Thai phone from the states as all it needs is a wifi connection.

Right now, with the exchange rates so low we're making a little money with each transfer and when the $ gets stronger again we'll be sending some back to Thailand.

At this moment, I have about 32,000 Euro at the UOB bank in a FCD account.
Exchanging them to Thai Baht makes no sense as I will be leaving Thailand and the banks in Europe which exchange thai Baht to Euro again are hard to find.
On top of that, it is illegal to take that amount of Thai Baht out of Thailand.

According to the UOB Bank, I would need to redraw the 32,000 Euro from my FCD account in Thai Baht and then exchange the Thai Baht back to Euro when I send them by the bank or any application.

Crazy

Note: The exhange from Euro to Thai baht will be done at the exchange rate from the UOB.
NOT the official exchange rate.
The UOB exchange rate is normally one of the lowest rates.

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Confuscious
Note added

[mrwebb8825]

21 hours ago, Confuscious said:

At this moment, I have about 32,000 Euro at the UOB bank in a FCD account.
Exchanging them to Thai Baht makes no sense as I will be leaving Thailand and the banks in Europe which exchange thai Baht to Euro again are hard to find.
On top of that, it is illegal to take that amount of Thai Baht out of Thailand.

According to the UOB Bank, I would need to redraw the 32,000 Euro from my FCD account in Thai Baht and then exchange the Thai Baht back to Euro when I send them by the bank or any application.

Crazy

Note: The exhange from Euro to Thai baht will be done at the exchange rate from the UOB.
NOT the official exchange rate.
The UOB exchange rate is normally one of the lowest rates.

 

Don't take THB out of Thailand, take EUROs out. You can go to the bank, withdraw the funds, take them to a SuperRich location and exchange the baht to Euro then take the Euro back home in your pocket.

Another option would be to use said funds to buy stock in UOB Bank and then sell them when you get back to your home country.

Stock price: UOVEY (OTCMKTS) $45.49 +0.01 (+0.02%) <- from the UOB Bank website)