On 8/16/2025 at 12:51 AM, JackGats said:

Interesting you should say that about the fees. Surely that holds for modest amounts (like 1000 euros). On a 8000 euros transfer my Wise bank fee would already be above 50 euros. A SWIFT transfer (which can be as high as 12k euros) will set me back 22 euros with my EU bank.

Wise charge a percentage of the amount that is to be transferred. Around 0.2% if memory servers.

On 8/16/2025 at 6:26 AM, Gsxrnz said:

It's a business decision by Wise to maintain relationships with the banks that have the biggest market share and capitalisation.

Do you have any evidence for this, or is it only speculation?

On 8/16/2025 at 7:06 AM, NanLaew said:

Senseless, speculative and groundless long-term scaremongering.

Speculation yes. Scaremongering? I don't see it like that. A way to try to explain why a banking system upgrade broke things for some banks but not others. Usually upgrades do not do this, but nobody on this thread has posted any details of what actually broke.

 

On 8/16/2025 at 7:13 AM, NanLaew said:

That makes much more (business) sense than the OP's (groundless) suggestion that this is just another facet of Thai xenophobia.

The OP did not suggest xenophobia as a motive. I got the impression the OP was suggesting a change in business practices to boost revenue for Thai banks' foreign exchange businesses. This alternative explanation is also just as speculative.

 

Choose the one you prefer (or both). Either way, it may be time to look for a Wise alternative just in case. I personally reviewed my most recent conversions and transfers of THB to Thailand and the charges as a percentage are much higher: 1.5% versus 0.6%.

7 hours ago, digger70 said:

So what if they stop , One can still use Other international money transfer companies ,I use Wise  for a little better deal , I have used TorFx  ,pretty good.

Thanks for the list - I will make a comparison soon.

 

For me it is important to minimise the charges I pay. I am allergic to currency conversion fees.

11 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Paypal has very bad exchange rates. Compared to wise you lose 5 to 10%.

Thanks.  I have rarely used paypal except for some minor donations 'ot use those so was not aware of much especially how they do international things

On 8/16/2025 at 12:02 AM, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Can I ask how? The local bank takes the fee out of the money they take from the international bank before giving the balance to you - it is not a separate transaction - they do not take out 2 separate amounts.  Maybe you make a claim and get a refund?  I am interested - have heard this before - how do you get refunded?

My Etrade reimburses instantaneously at least it used to.  It does the ATM usage fee.  Doesn't do the international fee anymore

On 8/17/2025 at 6:56 PM, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

 

5000 baht withdrawal + ATM fee debited from my account in one transaction.  In this case Fidelity rebated the ATM fee the same day.  

 

Thanks - looks like the Thai Bank (ATM) advises them what their ATM fees are for overseas withdrawals. Here they take out the money and then hit you with a separate ATM fee that appears separately in the book and statements (some - not all). 

17 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Thanks - looks like the Thai Bank (ATM) advises them what their ATM fees are for overseas withdrawals. Here they take out the money and then hit you with a separate ATM fee that appears separately in the book and statements (some - not all). 

I'll go with that explanation. I can always work out the rate and the charges whenever I do a foreign currency payment. USually not separate line items, but the info is buried in the transaction notes.

On 8/15/2025 at 9:52 PM, Everyman said:

For my part though, I have started using my Schwab card to withdraw 30,000 baht at a time and just deposit it in cash in my account. If I do that twice a month, plus credit card use, it about covers my expenses. 

I use Schwab to just directly tranfer funds to my Thai bank account.  It's free to wire money.  It shows a $15 fee but it is immediately rebated.  This is for the Schwab One international account.  I don't know who it would work for a regular Schwab account that requires a US address.

On 8/16/2025 at 12:05 AM, FriscoKid said:

Yes, it probably would. And I think the majority of the retirees from the UK living in Thailand, who receive a state pension, also have it transferred in via Wise. Without that facility, they would have to do a Bank wire from their UK bank account to get their money into their Thai bank every month. I think wire transfer fees from UK banks are not that inexpensive either. And that would be 12 wires a year for them.

 

I transfer money from my Lloyds Bank account in UK to Kasikorn. Fees are 9 GBP (approx 400 Baht) regardless of the amount transferred. Takes 2 or 3 days. Seems reasonable to me, but I only usually transfer once or twice per year.

Just now, loong said:

 

I transfer money from my Lloyds Bank account in UK to Kasikorn. Fees are 9 GBP (approx 400 Baht) regardless of the amount transferred. Takes 2 or 3 days. Seems reasonable to me, but I only usually transfer once or twice per year.

 

 

You haven't mentioned the exchange rate you get  -  compared to, say, WISE.

On 8/16/2025 at 4:32 AM, FriscoKid said:

Interesting. If that's possible then why have I seen so many people on here talk about having to pay their UK state pension into a UK bank account first and then transferring it to their Thai account via Wise?

Very common to have your UK pension paid directly into your Thai bank.

22 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

You haven't mentioned the exchange rate you get  -  compared to, say, WISE.

 

I don't know the exact exchange rate that I get as I do the transfer in GBP and it is exchanged in Thailand. In my bank book it just shows as a credit with no details. All I can do is divide the credit by the amount of GBP that I sent. Of course that won't give the precise exchange rate as Kasikorn fees will have been taken out. My last transfer arrived the 13th of this month and the division woks out at 32.92 Bt to the GBP. I have no idea what Wise's exchange rate may have been.

On 8/16/2025 at 12:10 AM, FriscoKid said:

Yes, there are of course other options, including bank wires, but Wise works out to be the least costly in terms of fees and the most convenient and the fastest. That's why most people use them. 

Wise is not the be all and end all of fund transfers. I would suggest you cast your net a little wider and look to some of the alternatives available. Wise to  my knowledge, is not necessarily always the cheapest, most convenient or fastest. Go mad, spread your wings, you never know, you just may get a nice surprise?  

On 8/15/2025 at 9:52 PM, Everyman said:

I have noticed that Wise transfer times to my Philipines and Vietnamese bank accounts still take seconds. Only my Thai account at Bangkok Bank is next business day. I do think there’s something to the idea that this is due to restrictions by the BoT, but like most things it’s probably an unintended consequence of something else. 

 

For my part though, I have started using my Schwab card to withdraw 30,000 baht at a time and just deposit it in cash in my account. If I do that twice a month, plus credit card use, it about covers my expenses. 

I did a wise transaction yesterday it was in my Kasikorn within minutes 

On 8/15/2025 at 10:42 PM, FriscoKid said:

Thank you, but there are already plenty of posts about how many seconds it takes to transfer from Wise to a Thai bank account.

 

The real issue is that out of the 27 Thai banks Wise used to support, transfers to 20 have been discontinued as of two and a half months ago. That leaves only seven banks, just 25 percent, that can still receive a Wise transfer. Options are shrinking fast, and if they disappear completely, it will no longer matter how fast a Wise transfer is.

The Thai banks will suffer not the customer there are plenty of ways to get ones overseas money into Thailand without the need of a Thai bank it’s we foreigners who keep the banks going and what about all the 800,000 deposits that are held in the banks for Visa to easy to withdraw and use an agent meaning the banks are not making money 

21 minutes ago, loong said:

 

I don't know the exact exchange rate that I get as I do the transfer in GBP and it is exchanged in Thailand. In my bank book it just shows as a credit with no details. All I can do is divide the credit by the amount of GBP that I sent. Of course that won't give the precise exchange rate as Kasikorn fees will have been taken out. My last transfer arrived the 13th of this month and the division woks out at 32.92 Bt to the GBP. I have no idea what Wise's exchange rate may have been.

 

 

Thank you. Yes, the receiving bank in Thailand will deduct it's normal charges.

 

My point was in trying to get you to consider what you would have received by using WISE. Their exchange rate is always better than you will get with any bank and after fees the net amount received will be better by using WISE.

On 8/16/2025 at 4:32 AM, FriscoKid said:

Interesting. If that's possible then why have I seen so many people on here talk about having to pay their UK state pension into a UK bank account first and then transferring it to their Thai account via Wise?

Not sure of all the details here, but the UK DWP give pensioners living abroad, the option to have their money sent to a foreign bank. The transfer is done through a US bank, but the charge is minimal.

It's just that certain banks are not interested in the additional tax reporting compliance measures for very little reward.

29 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Wise to  my knowledge, is not necessarily always the cheapest, most convenient or fastest.

Would you like to share this 'knowledge'.

 

There may be cheaper options, but, from my own experience, they'd be hard pressed to beat Wise on speed and convenience, unless they can put the money in my account before I sent it.

9 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Would you like to share this 'knowledge'.

 

There may be cheaper options, but, from my own experience, they'd be hard pressed to beat Wise on speed and convenience, unless they can put the money in my account before I sent it.

OK, perhaps being a  little free with the word 'knowledge'. I use REVOLUT to make transfers, and 'knowledge' is from people who share their experiences of their 'WISE' transfers. One mistake I made as far as a transfer via REVOLUT, was sending on a Saturday morning. It didn't arrive until Tuesday PM. Lesson learned. So, I transfer pounds to Baht within the app, cost ZERO. Then transfer Baht to my Thai bank. Cost is usually 45 Baht for 1K pounds. If sent at between 9 & 10 am Thai time, the transfer time is seconds.

On 8/15/2025 at 7:51 PM, JackGats said:

Interesting you should say that about the fees. Surely that holds for modest amounts (like 1000 euros). On a 8000 euros transfer my Wise bank fee would already be above 50 euros. A SWIFT transfer (which can be as high as 12k euros) will set me back 22 euros with my EU bank.

Main benefit is the conversion rate

On 8/15/2025 at 9:56 PM, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Six seconds to Kasikorn Bank 99.5% of the time.

Same with SCB

52 minutes ago, Surasak said:

I use REVOLUT to make transfers

I sent money from Singapore with Wise this morning, so just had a look at Revolut, if I'd used them it would have been SGD$1.60 cheaper on Bht70,000, though that might just be the change in exchange rate since 9am. Revolut promised the transfer by tomorrow, Wise was seconds, though that's not really that important, so one to bear in mind. But I'm happy with Wise, it works well both from Singapore and the UK, in the UK it works directly with my Monzo account. 

1 hour ago, loong said:

 

I don't know the exact exchange rate that I get as I do the transfer in GBP and it is exchanged in Thailand. In my bank book it just shows as a credit with no details. All I can do is divide the credit by the amount of GBP that I sent. Of course that won't give the precise exchange rate as Kasikorn fees will have been taken out. My last transfer arrived the 13th of this month and the division woks out at 32.92 Bt to the GBP. I have no idea what Wise's exchange rate may have been.

Todays Wise rate is 43.91

On 8/15/2025 at 10:32 PM, FriscoKid said:

Interesting. If that's possible then why have I seen so many people on here talk about having to pay their UK state pension into a UK bank account first and then transferring it to their Thai account via Wise?

Did I read something about the UK negatively looking at paying pensions into foreign accounts ? 

On 8/15/2025 at 9:52 PM, Everyman said:

I have noticed that Wise transfer times to my Philipines and Vietnamese bank accounts still take seconds. Only my Thai account at Bangkok Bank is next business day. I do think there’s something to the idea that this is due to restrictions by the BoT, but like most things it’s probably an unintended consequence of something else. 

 

For my part though, I have started using my Schwab card to withdraw 30,000 baht at a time and just deposit it in cash in my account. If I do that twice a month, plus credit card use, it about covers my expenses. 

. Only my Thai account at Bangkok Bank is next business day....The Bangkok Bank has ALWAYS Always been that way.....

1 hour ago, ripstanley said:

Todays Wise rate is 43.91

Of course that won't give the precise exchange rate as Kasikorn fees will have been taken out. My last transfer arrived the 13th of this month and the division woks out at 32.92 Bt to the GBP.WHAT ?? The Exchange rate is ALWAYS Shown on Wise BEFORE You transfer it....LOOK Closely & You'll See.....

On 8/16/2025 at 12:10 AM, FriscoKid said:

Yes, there are of course other options, including bank wires, but Wise works out to be the least costly in terms of fees and the most convenient and the fastest. That's why most people use them. 

I've switched to the monthly transfer of 65k/month method for my annual extension from using an agent. If Wise is no longer available I've established an account with Remitly. They gave a lesser ex rate and take a little longer but at least it worked when I tried it on a trial basis. FYI (Cdn bank to Kbank) My Canadian back transfer fees are over "60$ as opposed to 20$.with Wise

3 hours ago, Surasak said:

Not sure of all the details here, but the UK DWP give pensioners living abroad, the option to have their money sent to a foreign bank. The transfer is done through a US bank, but the charge is minimal.

Not sure of all the details here, but the UK DWP give pensioners living abroad, the option to have their money sent to a foreign bank. The transfer is done through a US bank, but the charge is minimal.BUT...You are better having The DWP ( Thieves) Pay your Pension into an ENGLISH Bank & Transferring it Yourself through WISE !!