Sending lump sum from UK to Thai bank for property purchase

[RandolphGB]

As per property laws, I’m sending money from the UK to Thailand to buy a condo.

 

Has anybody had experience with Bangkok Bank receiving large amounts? 8m baht. 
 

My bank in the UK that received GBP to GBP held the payment until they verified it was legal. 
 

Is it better to send in installments - e.g 1m a day until complete. This could also help to mitigate against exchange rate fluctuations. 

[marin]

1 minute ago, RandolphGB said:

This could also help to mitigate against exchange rate fluctuations. 

Over 8 days? Yes you can trust BKK Bank, make sure both ends are connected and make the transfer. 

[MJCM]

And do a test transfer with like 10k Thb to make sure that all the info is correct if you haven’t transferred to the account at BBL yet. 

[NanLaew]

11 minutes ago, MJCM said:

And do a test transfer with like 10k Thb to make sure that all the info is correct if you haven’t transferred to the account at BBL yet. 

THIS!

 

Smaller sums don't really warrant this sort of double-check but £196k is something else.

[ian carman]

Banks give a terrible exchange rate whereas wise give the actual exchange rate .May have to make several transfers due to maximum allowed but it’s worth investigating as you could easily save £10k on the difference between rates 

[Peterw42]

There is no need to do installments, a transfer is a transfer, 1m, 10m or 100m all gets processed the same. There would be a fixed fee for each transfer, so less transfers means less fees. Also larger amounts with a fixed fee, can end up being better that wise as the wise fee is always bigger if the amount is bigger.

[The Old Bull]

I would definitely check out various options as a difference of one or two percent is a large hunk of cash.

[soi3eddie]

My biggest concern would be in satisfying the Land Department. They want to see that the money for purchase has come from overseas and purpose of transfer must be stated clearly such as "...for purchase of condominium in Thailand". Better still is to state the exact address in full of the property. Last thing you want is some jobsworth at your land department refusing to effect transfer of the condo. When I bought here (twice), I sent in one payment each time in GBP from UK to Thai Lawyer's client account. The Thai bank did the currency conversion.

 

[UKJASE]

ask the bank if they can give you a better transfer rate than the one they offer on typical transfer, as it is a large amount

 

kasikorn gave me an improved exchange rate, when i transferred a large amount

 

if they dont, look into Wise as an option.  as has been stated, it may save you quite a lot of money

[Henryford]

Just transfer from your UK bank to your thai bank (in Sterling). There will be a single transfer fee maybe 30 Pounds. Then get your thai bank to convert to baht and issue with the form confirming the receipt from overseas.

[DrDave]

As was mentioned above, most banks assess a flat fee for doing an outbound wire transfer, while Wise's fee is a percentage of the amount transferred. While Wise is almost always cheaper for smaller transactions, it becomes very expensive when sending larger amounts.  It's fairly simple to work out at what transaction amount a wire transfer is cheaper.

[skorts]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

Just transfer from your UK bank to your thai bank (in Sterling). There will be a single transfer fee maybe 30 Pounds. Then get your thai bank to convert to baht and issue with the form confirming the receipt from overseas.

I agree. This is what I did when purchasing a condo. The money has to be remitted in foreign currency, in this case £U.K. and converted to Thai baht within Thailand. 
 

As soi3eddir states the Land Department want to see that the money for purchase has come from overseas and purpose of transfer must be stated clearly such as "...for purchase of condominium in Thailand".

 

Using Wise would mean the funds are converted by Wise before arrival in Thailand which could potentially cause a problem with the Land Department.  

[RandolphGB]

2 hours ago, skorts said:

I agree. This is what I did when purchasing a condo. The money has to be remitted in foreign currency, in this case £U.K. and converted to Thai baht within Thailand. 
 

As soi3eddir states the Land Department want to see that the money for purchase has come from overseas and purpose of transfer must be stated clearly such as "...for purchase of condominium in Thailand".

 

Using Wise would mean the funds are converted by Wise before arrival in Thailand which could potentially cause a problem with the Land Department.  

Yes, I'll be using Wise. I found a guide on their website for sending to Bangkok Bank. There's a two million baht limit per transfer. 

 

https://wise.com/help/articles/2932335/guide-to-thb-transfers

 

 

[Brick Top]

I have lived here 23 years and purchased several foreign freehold condos.

I totally agree with Soi3eddie , your biggest concern is the land office.

It may be cheaper using Wise for smaller amounts  but your not going to be able to get the correct Torta Sam or Credit advice to satisfy the land office. 

They now require the exact amount your paying , the exact address , condo building name and  floor and unit number on the foreign exchange. Also clearly stated the reason is to purchase a Condominium .

I would strongly recommend sending it in one single payment directly from your overseas bank to a Thai bank account in your name or your lawyers name.

I have experienced many problems before regarding this issue.

Wise is great for smaller amounts but on a Condo purchase definitely not the way to go , I tried it 2 years ago with Wise and had no end of problems at the land office. In the end I had no choice but to return the funds back to the UK and resend using UK bank to Thai bank in one transaction with the exact amount matching the contract price.

[prakhonchai nick]

You must realise that when you do a Wise transfer from the UK, you do so at a fixed rate and a fixed amount to be received, the rate being approx 0.25bt lower than the XE rate at the time Wise large transfers can and have recently taken 3./4 days  to arrive, but you always receive what you were advised at the outset.

 

TT rates change regularly during the day and are around 0.5bt lower than XE rates. UK money is converted at the TT rate when it arrives at the bank, which can be several days after setting up the transfer. The TT rate can be higher or lower than what you were expecting when sending.

 

Wise net  rate at this moment (weekend) for £1,000 is 40,35, whilst the last quoted Thai banks TT rates was 40.40+ However earlier in the day Wise were quoting a net rate  of some 40.6. Not only do the Thai banks take commission but there is a sending fee from the UK banks.

 

Wise fees are 0.57%for large amounts to a little over 0.60% for small amounts

 

Sending money from the UK depends on the time of day and the rates at the time.   I believe Wise wins hands down every time.

[skorts]

30 minutes ago, Brick Top said:

I have lived here 23 years and purchased several foreign freehold condos.

I totally agree with Soi3eddie , your biggest concern is the land office.

It may be cheaper using Wise for smaller amounts  but your not going to be able to get the correct Torta Sam or Credit advice to satisfy the land office. 

They now require the exact amount your paying , the exact address , condo building name and  floor and unit number on the foreign exchange. Also clearly stated the reason is to purchase a Condominium .

I would strongly recommend sending it in one single payment directly from your overseas bank to a Thai bank account in your name or your lawyers name.

I have experienced many problems before regarding this issue.

Wise is great for smaller amounts but on a Condo purchase definitely not the way to go , I tried it 2 years ago with Wise and had no end of problems at the land office. In the end I had no choice but to return the funds back to the UK and resend using UK bank to Thai bank in one transaction with the exact amount matching the contract price.

Completely agree Brick Top. My Thai lawyer handling my condo purchase told me to do exactly what you have said for the reasons you mention and NOT to use Wise. Sorry you had to return the funds back to the U.K. and start again. 

[skorts]

55 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Yes, I'll be using Wise. I found a guide on their website for sending to Bangkok Bank. There's a two million baht limit per transfer. 

 

https://wise.com/help/articles/2932335/guide-to-thb-transfers

 

 

As Brick Top strongly recommends from his personal experience better sending it in one single payment directly from your overseas bank to a Thai bank account in your name or your lawyers name and avoid using Wise for the transfer. Same advice given to me by my Thai lawyer when I bought my condo and transferred funds from the U.K. 

[Brick Top]

17 hours ago, DrDave said:

As was mentioned above, most banks assess a flat fee for doing an outbound wire transfer, while Wise's fee is a percentage of the amount transferred. While Wise is almost always cheaper for smaller transactions, it becomes very expensive when sending larger amounts.  It's fairly simple to work out at what transaction amount a wire transfer is cheaper.

Correct

[omnipresent]

The info at https://wise.com/help/articles/2932335/guide-to-thb-transfers suggests that Wise does cater for the specific aim of purchasing property in Thailand - there are at least 3 mentions of this and the need to prove that the funds came from abroad. Wise seem to be aware of the requirements and would want their service to work for property purchases in Thailand.

 

Brick Top's negative experience with Wise was in 2021, but maybe things have improved since then. I'm not sure when the article was written but the earliest possible publish date would be 7 January 2022 because it mentions that date when listing Thai banks that can accept larger transfers.
 

It would be good to hear more experiences. Who else have tried Wise, preferably recently, for transferring funds into Thailand for purchasing property?

[RandolphGB]

On 2/11/2023 at 1:45 PM, Brick Top said:

I have lived here 23 years and purchased several foreign freehold condos.

I totally agree with Soi3eddie , your biggest concern is the land office.

It may be cheaper using Wise for smaller amounts  but your not going to be able to get the correct Torta Sam or Credit advice to satisfy the land office. 

They now require the exact amount your paying , the exact address , condo building name and  floor and unit number on the foreign exchange. Also clearly stated the reason is to purchase a Condominium .

I would strongly recommend sending it in one single payment directly from your overseas bank to a Thai bank account in your name or your lawyers name.

I have experienced many problems before regarding this issue.

Wise is great for smaller amounts but on a Condo purchase definitely not the way to go , I tried it 2 years ago with Wise and had no end of problems at the land office. In the end I had no choice but to return the funds back to the UK and resend using UK bank to Thai bank in one transaction with the exact amount matching the contract price.

I'm confused by this.

 

Quote

They now require the exact amount your paying

 

My lawyer and the estate agent both said 'transfer slightly more' than the sale price. 

 

Quote

 

They now require.... the exact address , condo building name and  floor and unit number on the foreign exchange. Also clearly stated the reason is to purchase a Condominium .

 

 

 

There is not option in Wise to add these details to their transfer page. Is it not Bangkok Bank that add them to the FET form?

 

 

 

[proton]

On 2/11/2023 at 2:01 PM, prakhonchai nick said:

You must realise that when you do a Wise transfer from the UK, you do so at a fixed rate and a fixed amount to be received, the rate being approx 0.25bt lower than the XE rate at the time Wise large transfers can and have recently taken 3./4 days  to arrive, but you always receive what you were advised at the outset.

 

TT rates change regularly during the day and are around 0.5bt lower than XE rates. UK money is converted at the TT rate when it arrives at the bank, which can be several days after setting up the transfer. The TT rate can be higher or lower than what you were expecting when sending.

 

Wise net  rate at this moment (weekend) for £1,000 is 40,35, whilst the last quoted Thai banks TT rates was 40.40+ However earlier in the day Wise were quoting a net rate  of some 40.6. Not only do the Thai banks take commission but there is a sending fee from the UK banks.

 

Wise fees are 0.57%for large amounts to a little over 0.60% for small amounts

 

Sending money from the UK depends on the time of day and the rates at the time.   I believe Wise wins hands down every time.

I used swift from bank to bank 12 years ago, 2 million at 50 baht the pound. Thai bank wanted me to go in and sign for it before they put it in my account. By the time I did that the rate was 49 baht so lost a few hundred pounds. I'd use Wise next time, at least you know what you are going to end up with

[BobBKK]

Doing it in chunks might alert the authorities more?  I transferred more than 8m via Nat West to Bangkok Bank and they just phoned me from Bangkok to check it was me

[oxo1947]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:30 AM, UKJASE said:

ask the bank if they can give you a better transfer rate than the one they offer on typical transfer, as it is a large amount

UKJASE is correct--- I transferred a larger than usual sum from Oz, I am with wise but have extra safety, -- Wise only has access to my Debit card, when I want to use I transfer from a different  account, just move the amount I want into the Card & let Wise take.

Downside is they do have limits on Debit cards $16K  , but can as many times as you want. I have done 3 a day once.

 

I first asked my bank in Oz for a better rate--they gave it to me , then I told my  Bangkok bank (Local branch Issan ) that My bank will give me this exchange--they phone head office & came back with a better rate again (quite close to wise)

 

Make sure you have the (I think its <deleted>) paper work in case you fined you want to live in some other country some time-- this allows you to then transfer funds out of Thailand.