Tranferring Money

[apetley]

Hi, after trying my best to find something using the search facility but with no luck I would be very grateful if anyone could give me their advice on transferring money from the UK to Thailand. With the present exchange rate, my wife(Thai), would like to send some money home to her own account.

What would be the cheapest/best(secure) options available.

She currently banks with HSBC here in the UK and has her own Krung Thai account back home.

Thanks in advance, Andy.

[Spee]

I would be very grateful if anyone could give me their advice on transferring money from the UK to Thailand.

You can do Western Union, but they take a big slice (about 7.5%). Ouch that hurts from experience.

Also, you can unfortunately ship only to another WU office, not to a bank account. That is really inconvenient.

Another thing you can try is something that my bank suggested to me. This is to try and set up an automated payment just like one would do for a utility or a phone bill.

Then you set up your Thailand bank account as the account payable. This might work and would allow you to automatically send "x" number of currency at designated intervals.

I haven't tried it yet, so I can't guarantee that it is going to work, but I'm in the process of getting it into place.

Hope this helps ...

[lopburi3]

The cheapest would probably be sending an atm or debit card that could be used to withdraw funds from a Thai ATM machine and make deposit into account.

The normal method for a direct way would be to use wire transfer (SWIFT) from your bank sending pounds to Thailand and having them converted to Baht at the Thai end. From US this costs about $50 for each transfer so it is best to make them large amounts. Be sure conversion is done at Thai end or you will receive a very poor exchange rate.

If you need to have proof of foreign source for immigration type reasons the wire transfer is the way to go.

[Roger13]

Hi apetley

If you Search for "Money Transfer"

and search the Titles you will get several

results. Here is a link to one of them:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=money+transfer

HSBC is perfectly able to transfer money

from UK to Thailand - you only need give them

the Name & Address of the Bank

And the Name and Account number of the recipient.

But when you do this HSBC make and CHARGE you for the transfer

to their office in Bangkok and convert the Sterling to Thai Baht

before sending Thai Baht to Krung Thai Bank..

Unfortunately I think you will find HSBC are one of the most expensive banks.

My advice is as follows:

Ask Krung Thai Bank for the details

of their Sterling account:

Name of Bank (and their SWIFT Code)

(for EXAMPLE Barclays Bank, Threadneedle Street, London)

The Name and Account number of Krung Thai Bank's

account (and their SWIFT Code)

(For example the name of the account might be:

Krung Thai Bank, Head Office, Bangkok

OR Krung Thai Bank, International Division, Bangkok)

and instruct HSBC to send the Sterling

to that Account, for credit to their Branch

in xxxx, Thailand, for the Account

of your wife (and her account number)

Using the above EXAMPLE your instructions to HSBC in UK

would look like this:

Please pay £X,000 (X Thousand Pounds Sterling) to:

Barclays Bank, Threadneedle Street Office London (SWIFT Code - xxxxxx)

For the Account of Krung Thai Bank, International Division,

Bangkok (SWIFT Code xxxxxx)

Account Number xxxxxx (That is the Pound Sterling Account Number

of Krung Thai Bank in Barclays Bank.)

Reference their xxxxx Branch, Thailand.

For account of Mrs xx xxxx

Account Number xxxxxxx (of Mrs xx xxxx)

This should result in the Krung Thai Bank transfering the money to Bangkok

and converting the Pounds Sterling into Thai Baht and should result in

a lower transfer charge and a better rate of exchange.

***This of course can be applied to any Bank or Currency.

If for example you are sending Danish Kroner to Thai Farmers Bank

ask Thai Farmers for details of their Danish Kroner account

(which will be with a bank in Copenhagen)

Steer clear of Western Union.

They ARE very QUICK in Emergencies for CASH transactions

But VERY VERY expensive and have Terrible Exchange rates.

Hope this helps you

Roger

[Up2U]

From your post, it seems that both you and your wife are in UK.

It is possible to transfer money directly from a UK account to a Thai account, with a lot of form filling. But the banks are concerned about money-laundering. So make sure that you can cover the transfer amount by wage-slips.

The rate given by the High Street banks is as good as you'll get, bearing in mind all the charges that seem to occur at both ends.

If my understanding is wrong, and your wife is in Thailand, then set up a bank account with a card, send her the card and PIN number (UK banks do not send these to Thailand, you'll have to do it yourself) and she can withdraw in LOS.

[Roger13]

You can do Western Union, but they take a big slice (about 7.5%). Ouch that hurts from experience.

Also, you can unfortunately ship only to another WU office, not to a bank account. That is really inconvenient.

Western Union place the Transfer into a Centralised Computer.

The money can be claimed from any of their offices

in the Recipients Country.

Roger

[apetley]

Thanks to everyone who has replied and offered advice, it's very much appreciated.

I am in 2 minds whether to wait until we are both in Thailand again in the New Year and take cash.

Anyone have a crystal ball about what way the exchange rate is heading?

[Spee]

Anyone have a crystal ball about what way the exchange rate is heading?

Sort of a "reverse" crystal ball ... hope this helps ....

2004:

http://www.x-rates.com/d/THB/GBP/hist2004.html

2003:

http://www.x-rates.com/d/THB/GBP/hist2004.html

2002:

http://www.x-rates.com/d/THB/GBP/hist2002.html

Looks like the GBP is as strong against the TB today, as it has been for a long time. No way for me to know if this is a peak or if it is still going to go up.

[konangrit]

Well, interest rates in Britain are on their way up, so I would guess that the pound should remain strong for sometime.

[Totster]

I did a bit of looking into the cheapest way to send money to Thailand a couple of months ago...

I found that Lloyds TSB offered the cheapest service charging only £0.25p per £100 with a minimum charge of £13.

Please note that there will be a charge from the Thai Bank you are sending to, however this can be paid in the UK as part of the sending fee.

totster

[grahamb]

Please note that there will be a charge from the Thai Bank you are sending to, however this can be paid in the UK as part of the sending fee.

I read on here earlier (probably in one of the links that Roger13 linked to) that it is better to get the Thai bank's charge paid at the Thailand end. Apparently, they will take their charge anyway - if you've already paid all charges in the UK, you would end up getting double charged for the charges at the Thai end. Of course, you could always try to claim that back from the ever-generous UK banks...

[Totster]

Please note that there will be a charge from the Thai Bank you are sending to, however this can be paid in the UK as part of the sending fee.

I read on here earlier (probably in one of the links that Roger13 linked to) that it is better to get the Thai bank's charge paid at the Thailand end. Apparently, they will take their charge anyway - if you've already paid all charges in the UK, you would end up getting double charged for the charges at the Thai end. Of course, you could always try to claim that back from the ever-generous UK banks...

Hmmm...

Hadn't thought about that happening... although I'm not aware that this has happened to me yet !!

totster

[anono555]

a standard SWIFT funds transfer to an overseas account will cost you £20 from Nationwide Building Society... they are very reliable and quick and you will get very good exchange rates. (usually takes about 2 days). make sure you put a note on the form saying why you are sending the money - i.e is it a gift for someone or is it for a business deal etc. i'm not sure what upper limit is but it is probably in the tens of thousands

don't bother paying the charges at the English bank the Thai bank will deduct their own charge anyway and there is nothing you can do about it...

[wolf5370]

I do it all the time. I use Natwest as they still allow Telex Transfers (cheaper then Swift/CHAPS). I think you'll find you always get charged at both ends, but often this is taken from the principle - at Natwest you can decide who is charged - your account, destination account or from principle. It is not reams of forms, like some banks, it is just a single page. If it is a large amount, then you will need passport type ID and will need to sign a few other forms (bank will fill them in) - this is the law in the UK now since the terrorist fund clamp down. I transfered £60,000 sterling last month - no problems.

[12call]

Charges for T.T. can be payed at Senders end or Receivers end or SHARED between both parties.

[Spee]

don't bother paying the charges at the English bank the Thai bank will deduct their own charge anyway and there is nothing you can do about it...

Does anyone have any idea what the hit is on the far end? What has been your experience in terms of percentage of the transfer? Or is it a flat rate?

[wilson steer]

Try moneygram from any UK Post Office. It cost 12 pounds for less than 100 pounds transfer and 18 pounds for more than 100 pounds transfer. You just need the address of the Thai Military bank in Thailand nearest your wife.

Works O.K. with a password, 15 minutes and a fair exchange 74= ONE POUND

Cheers

Wilson Steer.