2 minutes ago, jaideedave said:

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

FYI (Cdn bank to Kbank) My Canadian back transfer fees are over "60$ as opposed to 20$.with Wise..." Kinell M8 F That !!

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

20 have been discontinued as of two and a half months ago. That leaves only seven banks

I've hardly heard of ANY of the 20 banks and the seven working ones are major "high street" ones

2 hours ago, Blueman1 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.BUT...You are better having The DWP ( Thieves) Pay your Pension into an ENGLISH Bank & Transferring it Yourself through WISE !!

I do transfer  money myself, but not via Wise, thanks all the same.

6 hours ago, Surasak said:

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?  

 

Indeed, Wise don't even claim to be all these things and even provide a comparison tool which currently shows Moneygram being better for GBP and Instarem for EUR and USD (tested with 1,000 of each).  However that's just a cost comparison and you should also look at the quality of service and support.  If Wise can provide that and be close in price then it's an easy choice (for me) to make.

 

 

7 hours ago, loong said:

My last transfer arrived the 13th of this month and the division woks out at 32.92 Bt to the GBP.

 

A typo, a miscalculation or have you been robbed?

5 hours ago, ripstanley said:

Todays Wise rate is 43.91

 

3 hours ago, Blueman1 said:

Of course that won't give the precise exchange rate as Kasikorn fees will have been taken out.

Kasikorn don't take any fees on a Wise transfer.

 

3 hours ago, Blueman1 said:

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.....

 

The poster you made a mess of quoting (loong) did not use Wise so nothing for him to see.  Here's his post:

 

7 hours 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.

 

On 8/16/2025 at 6:52 AM, FriscoKid said:

On top of that, none of the Thai banks are earning from the currency exchange,

They earn money traffic that is a great reward for banks, even though there is 0 for them.

@FriscoKid

 

I used to have a Revolut account, still have it but don't use it anymore, but Revolut insisted they want to collect information related to where I reside. Now, I've obviously ignored those requests and Revolut have thus frozen the account until such time as I reveal the information they require, which is never.

 

What do you think are the odds that Wise too will insist on due diligence information regarding residence? 

 

Obviously, this information is then furnished to the local authorities for tax purposes,.

On 8/15/2025 at 3:52 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. 

With me from the UK to Kbank Thailand transfers are instant 

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.

 

A SWIFT transfer can be for any amount, even billions of USD. It is what we used to settle bank to bank payments for billions daily and there is no €12k limit.

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.

Wire transfers from the Royal Bank of Scotland to Thailand are free of all bank charges by the UK bank if for delivery within 2 to 3 working days.  15 GBP if required within 24 hours.
I have the money sent as sterling, so it is converted by the Thai bank.
Decades ago I found the exchange rate GBP to THB was more favourable over here than in the UK.  Maybe no longer the case.
However when I have needed to remit in euros or dollars, to the Continent or the US, I have found, to my surprise, the RBS's exchange rates to be almost identical with those of specialist wire-transfer companies.
The RBS seems to be a virtually defunct bank these days, but one good thing one can applaud them for is their bank transfers.  In fact I opened an account with them more than three decades ago because they were then advertising cheap transfers to France.

5 hours ago, SGD said:

 

A SWIFT transfer can be for any amount, even billions of USD. It is what we used to settle bank to bank payments for billions daily and there is no €12k limit.

Ok, what I meant is when I do a simulation for a transfer of 12k euros from Europe to Thailand with Wise I come up with a fee of nearly 100 euros. While a SWIFT transfer would have a fixed fee of 22 euros whatever the amount.

I do not use Wise since about 6 years after having 2 transfers fail (my UK building society didn't like them). I have a UK fee free credit card (Clarity) which i have used for about 10 years here for my transfers - I do a counter withdrawal (to avoid ATM fees) once or twice a month and get the Mastercard exchange rate, which compares well with Wise once you factor in Wise's fee which is additional to the exchange rate they show.

 

Easy for me as i live 15 minutes from a bank which will do the counter withdrawals for free. Not all banks do. Also not convenient for those who live a long way from a bank.

Also, you need to maintain a UK bank and an address (always advisable in case of unforeseen emergencies).

On 8/20/2025 at 11:10 AM, ripstanley said:

Todays Wise rate is 43.91

 

Sorry, I made a mistake the rate was 42.92 not 32.92, that would be terrible.
Today's rate with Kasikorn is higher than it was last week. 43.46 so less than Wise.

19 hours ago, treetops said:

 

A typo, a miscalculation or have you been robbed?

Yes, I should have typed 42.92

Everyman.  Hi, Never heard of a Schwab card.   Is this a common used method?

ericbj.  Interesting about the UK RBS ' wire' transfers could you enlighten me on the modus operandi.  I'm with BBK bank and use Wise from UK RBS?

On 8/15/2025 at 7:02 PM, FriscoKid said:

How often do you transfer money into Thailand with Wise?

I checked your question.

I made 5 transactions this year. Total around 1.8 million bht (we were building our house) via Bangkok Bank.

 

Not amused if that wouldn't be possible for the future.

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

 

I know many people who only transfer funds into Thailand once or twice a year with Wise and not every month because they are not pensioners. Monthly pensioners who are affected would already be aware of this. I only transfer money at the beginning of the year, and the bank I usually use is no longer supported. If I had not come across this information now, I would have been caught out by it early next year. How about you? How often do you transfer money into Thailand with Wise?

I transfer 40k per month via WISE/BKK Bank. Never have Immigration asked for any proof of where the money comes from for the 12 years I have been here in P'lok, just as long as it comes every month and is noted as an International Transfer. Luckily (well it is the law) Immigration Offices MUST allow the Combination Method, ie 40k per month = 480k, plus 400k in a deposit account, as long as it all adds up to over 800k. But many do not.

24 minutes ago, Postmaster said:

ericbj.  Interesting about the UK RBS ' wire' transfers could you enlighten me on the modus operandi.  I'm with BBK bank and use Wise from UK RBS?

SWIFT payments from my Nationwide to Bkk Bank cost GBP20 , no matter how much, can take 3 or 4 days, and will NOT be noted as FTT if needed for Immigration purposes. 

8 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

SWIFT payments from my Nationwide to Bkk Bank cost GBP20 , no matter how much, can take 3 or 4 days, and will NOT be noted as FTT if needed for Immigration purposes. 

 

That's odd.  I thought Swift was the backup if Wise let one down as it was guaranteed the international annotation?

Troll posts and responses removed.

17 hours ago, ericbj said:

Wire transfers from the Royal Bank of Scotland to Thailand are free of all bank charges by the UK bank if for delivery within 2 to 3 working days.  15 GBP if required within 24 hours.
I have the money sent as sterling, so it is converted by the Thai bank.
Decades ago I found the exchange rate GBP to THB was more favourable over here than in the UK.  Maybe no longer the case.
However when I have needed to remit in euros or dollars, to the Continent or the US, I have found, to my surprise, the RBS's exchange rates to be almost identical with those of specialist wire-transfer companies.
The RBS seems to be a virtually defunct bank these days, but one good thing one can applaud them for is their bank transfers.  In fact I opened an account with them more than three decades ago because they were then advertising cheap transfers to France.

Thank you for that information.

 

This is continuing off-topic, but I am curious about UK state pensions, so I am just looking for some clarification for my own personal knowledge.

 

It was my understanding that if you are a UK citizen receiving a UK state pension, the payments would only be deposited into a UK bank account by the UK government. Then, if you are living in Thailand, it is your responsibility to transfer the money yourself. That is why many people living in Thailand on a UK pension use services like Wise to save on bank wire fees when sending money from a UK bank to a Thai bank account.

 

From what you are saying, though, it seems that it is not necessary to do that and the UK will transfer a state pension directly to an account in Thailand. Is that correct?

 

Also, from what I have been reading on this topic, the main reason people transfer the pension first to a UK account is not because the UK government requires it, but because doing so ensures that you continue to receive pension increases over time. If you transfer the state pension directly from the UK government to a Thai bank account, you may lose the opportunity for your UK state pension to increase over time. Is that correct or incorrect?

33 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

SWIFT payments from my Nationwide to Bkk Bank cost GBP20 , no matter how much, can take 3 or 4 days, and will NOT be noted as FTT if needed for Immigration purposes. 

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) payments should always show up as FTT. 

17 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

That's odd.  I thought Swift was the backup if Wise let one down as it was guaranteed the international annotation?

To send GBP800 = THB 35000 via Nationwide SWIFT, would cost me GBP15 AND an exchange rate of 42.78, giving me THB 34224 and up to 6 days wait

WISE charges GBP4.62 to Convert GBP 800 to THB 35000 @ 43.94 22 and then THB 44.77 at Bangkok Bank arriving the same day if instigated before 6am, or 14.02 the next day if you say it is for Long Time Stay, or buying property.

1 hour ago, FriscoKid said:

From what you are saying, though, it seems that it is not necessary to do that and the UK will transfer a state pension directly to an account in Thailand. Is that correct?

 

Also, from what I have been reading on this topic, the main reason people transfer the pension first to a UK account is not because the UK government requires it, but because doing so ensures that you continue to receive pension increases over time. If you transfer the state pension directly from the UK government to a Thai bank account, you may lose the opportunity for your UK state pension to increase over time. Is that correct or incorrect?

Yes correct on both counts, DWP will pay into ANY bank, but if you are not in the right country, e.g. Thailand as opposed to Philipines, you will not get your annual increase.

Mum's the Word!

13 hours ago, FriscoKid said:

Thank you for that information.

 

This is continuing off-topic, but I am curious about UK state pensions, so I am just looking for some clarification for my own personal knowledge.

 

It was my understanding that if you are a UK citizen receiving a UK state pension, the payments would only be deposited into a UK bank account by the UK government. Then, if you are living in Thailand, it is your responsibility to transfer the money yourself. That is why many people living in Thailand on a UK pension use services like Wise to save on bank wire fees when sending money from a UK bank to a Thai bank account.

 

From what you are saying, though, it seems that it is not necessary to do that and the UK will transfer a state pension directly to an account in Thailand. Is that correct?

 

Also, from what I have been reading on this topic, the main reason people transfer the pension first to a UK account is not because the UK government requires it, but because doing so ensures that you continue to receive pension increases over time. If you transfer the state pension directly from the UK government to a Thai bank account, you may lose the opportunity for your UK state pension to increase over time. Is that correct or incorrect?

Your state pension can be paid directly into a Thai (or other foreign) bank account. You can also have it paid directly into tour Wise "account".  DWP pay my SP into my Wise account.

20 hours ago, KannikaP said:

To send GBP800 = THB 35000 via Nationwide SWIFT, would cost me GBP15 AND an exchange rate of 42.78, giving me THB 34224 and up to 6 days wait

WISE charges GBP4.62 to Convert GBP 800 to THB 35000 @ 43.94 22 and then THB 44.77 at Bangkok Bank arriving the same day if instigated before 6am, or 14.02 the next day if you say it is for Long Time Stay, or buying property.

 

I wasn't commenting on the arithmetic or cost/time involved but on this bit of your post

 

21 hours ago, KannikaP said:

. . . . and will NOT be noted as FTT if needed for Immigration purposes. 

 

I understood Swift transfers will always show as international.

22 hours ago, FriscoKid said:

Also, from what I have been reading on this topic, the main reason people transfer the pension first to a UK account is not because the UK government requires it, but because doing so ensures that you continue to receive pension increases over time. If you transfer the state pension directly from the UK government to a Thai bank account, you may lose the opportunity for your UK state pension to increase over time. Is that correct or incorrect?

 

I don't receive a UK pension of any sort. Rather I receive pension from Canada and from Europe. The Canadian pension is not relevant to your post, but the European pension may be. 

 

My European pension consists of part from an European government organisation and part from a German pension (not a civil nor a military service German pension).  The European government organisation is only taxable per the law  of the country where I reside.  The German pension (per the Thai-German DTA) is only taxable by Thailand.

 

In both cases (European government/German pension) the funds are only taxable by Thailand if remitted to Thailand.  So if I leave both amounts outside of Thailand, they are not taxed (since I am a Thai tax resident).  I try to travel internationally 2 to 3 months per year (sometimes 4 months) and when I do, I pay for my expenses of expenditures outside of Thailand, with funds that are outside of Thailand.

 

I am not sure, but if UK private pensions are not taxable in UK, but only in Thailand, then some may NOT wish to bring the money into Thailand where it may be taxed by Thailand.  It 'may' , for some, be better to leave that money outside of Thailand, such that neither the UK nor Thailand, legally per the UK tax law, per the Thai tax law, and per the UK-Thai tax agreement,  tax such.  Hence for private pensions, it may not make sense to have such immediately deposited into a Thai bank as it may then become taxable.  Rather only transfer it (and risk being taxed) when it makes sense/becomes necessary per one's lifestyle.

 

I am speculating here.  ... Speculating... but that would be my consideration here, if I have the DTA and tax law aspects correct (and I may have such wrong).

 

 

10 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

I am not sure, but if UK private pensions are not taxable in UK, but only in Thailand, then some may NOT wish to bring the money into Thailand where it may be taxed by Thailand.  It 'may' , for some, be better to leave that money outside of Thailand, such that neither the UK nor Thailand, legally per the UK tax law, per the Thai tax law, and per the UK-Thai tax agreement,  tax such.  Hence for private pensions, it may not make sense to have such immediately deposited into a Thai bank as it may then become taxable.  Rather only transfer it (and risk being taxed) when it makes sense/becomes necessary per one's lifestyle.

UK tax law,

Money sourced in the UK is taxed in the UK.

 

Thai tax law, (currently under legislation)

No money earned outside Thailand in 2024 or 2025 and remitted to Thailand in 2024 or 2025 is liable to taxation in Thailand.

52 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

UK tax law,

Money sourced in the UK is taxed in the UK.

 

Thai tax law, (currently under legislation)

No money earned outside Thailand in 2024 or 2025 and remitted to Thailand in 2024 or 2025 is liable to taxation in Thailand.

 

That being the case, then from a tax perspective, not having the money transferred direct to Thailand has no obvious tax relevancy (other than maybe avoiding having to file a Thai tax return - albeit that also may not be relevant).  

 

Perhaps it just boils down to one gets better interest in UK banks, and also to a view that UK banks are more secure than Thai banks.  That is my view with regards to my Canadian pensions which are only taxable in Canada.