International Transfer Question for Newbie

[eastcst84]

Hello all. Apologies ahead if this is a silly question but I am a novice with the best practices with international transfers as far as not getting killed with fees and exchange rates, etc.

 

So, long story short, I am closing my Krungsri account and transferring the balance to my account in the US.

 

They are offering 250 baht for online app transfers until the end of the year, so that seems fair enough.

 

My main question is, would "Wise" or any similar app be better to do this for saving on fees and conversion rates?

 

Also, my US bank does not accept baht, which seems reasonable.

 

In the app, you can choose Thai baht or USD to get transferred.  If you choose THB, there are tons of extra fees, etc... Do they convert the THB to USD once it reaches my US bank? Or do I really only have to choose USD and accept their conversion rate they offer that day I transfer?

 

I maybe overthinking this, but it all gets confusing for me.

 

Thanks for any assistance.

[cnx1204]

I would suggest making sure you talked to a knowledgeable banker at your US bank.  I would think Thai baht transferred to the US under normal international transfer protocols would be exchanged into dollars at the international exchange rate.   If you called a customer service number and just talked to who ever answered, I doubt you got the answer a banker who deals with international transfers on a daily basis would give you.

[topt]

38 minutes ago, eastcst84 said:

My main question is, would "Wise" or any similar app be better to do this for saving on fees and conversion rates?

Wise only works for transfers into Thailand - they are not allowed to transfer out.

You could look at Dee Money who transfer out and compare their fees although they have a maximum amount.

https://www.deemoney.com/

 

As a general rule you should get a better rate from your Thai bank to change baht then from a destination foreign bank. Your Thai bank will exchange into $US before sending to the US bank. 

Edited October 8, 2023 by topt
added link

[gamb00ler]

I think it is probably best to have your Thai bank convert to US$ rather than your US bank.  US banks hardly ever deal with TH ฿ so it's not convenient for them whereas Thai banks often deal with the US$ because it's effectively the global currency.  You will likely get a better exchange rate from the Thai banks.

 

Dee Money seems to be the most popular 3rd party to provide transfer of funds to US.  You can probably easily find their rates and fees online.  Just make sure that Dee Money and your Thai bank tell you exactly how much in US$ you will receive into your US account so you can fairly evaluate their costs.

[eastcst84]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Seem like I should just choose USD when setting up the transfer and just use the Thai bank for the one time transfer. Too bad the US dollar is strong at the moment.

 

I just thought being able to transfer the exact total balance in THB minus the 250 baht that the Thai bank would charge could clean out my account perfectly but I guess, I'll just get as close as I can doing the USD conversion through my Thai bank.