Bringing Money To Live On In Thailand

[stumck219]

Hi all

I will be going to thailand in november for 6 months.

I am not sure whether to bring money with me in cash and then use the exchange facilities in thailand or leave the money in my uk bank and withdraw it from atm's in thailand.

If i leave it in the uk bank will i get a decent exchange rate when i withdraw it or will i be better off bringing the cash.

Any advice from anyone who knows about such matters would be greatly appreciated

[rainman]

ATM withdrawals get a crappy exchange rate. I suggest you take whatever you need the first 2 months with you in cash, then go into either Kasikorn Bank or Bangkok Bank to open a bank account. After that you can send wire transfers from your UK bank to here and you'll get a much better rate. Remember to inform your bank in the UK to allow you to send them a fax to request a wire transfer. Or if you have Internet Banking and it allows you to send to any destinations worldwide, even better.

Don't rely only on ATM withdrawals. If your ATM card breaks or you lose it you're in trouble.

[martinharvey]

remember that if u wire money from ur uk bank account into a new account in thailand it will cost u about 21 pounds each time.(approx 14,000 baht)so transfer what u think u will need.i bank with hsbc and when in thailand use my bank card to withdraw,u will get around 66 baht for the pound if the exchange rate is say 68.so u loose around 2 baht roughly.my bank does not charge me so i figure this ok for me,i usually take a certain amount of cash and use that first.

have fun and enjoy.

[martinharvey]

ATM withdrawals get a crappy exchange rate. I suggest you take whatever you need the first 2 months with you in cash, then go into either Kasikorn Bank or Bangkok Bank to open a bank account. After that you can send wire transfers from your UK bank to here and you'll get a much better rate. Remember to inform your bank in the UK to allow you to send them a fax to request a wire transfer. Or if you have Internet Banking and it allows you to send to any destinations worldwide, even better.

Don't rely only on ATM withdrawals. If your ATM card breaks or you lose it you're in trouble.

Not sure if ur from uk or usa,but in england we have a sort code,i think it is called swift code in thailand,i have internet banking and have just set up a bank account in thailand on my last visit,hsbc internet banking in uk does not recognise swift codes so i cant tranfer unless i go to my bank which then costs me £21 pounds each time regardless of how much i wire,how can i get around this cost each time.?

[Fred Sanford]

Don't carry cash, carry American Express Travelers Checks. This is Karl Malden

[bkkmadness]

cost u about 21 pounds each time.(approx 14,000 baht)

Someone's getting an odd exchange rate.

For the OP it's about 1,400 Baht. A typo beforehand I think.

[martinharvey]

yes u r right,i should always check before i click.

[wileycoyote]

We go for mix ATM/Travellers Cheques & Cash

But we will open an account with Kasikorn soon.

Wiley Coyote

[Thaicoon]

When in Thailand i drawer money from my UK Lloyds TSB Card or Nationwide, i get the thai exchange rate on that day, not the UK baht rate, which is always about 8 to 10 baht lower, Lloyds do charge a small fee, or another option, open a nationwide account before coming over, they charge zero, or just bring cash, i do not like travellers cheques.

[sukanyacondo]

Dont fanny about with any of these replies, BRING CASH IN CLEAN UNRIPPED £50 NOTES ONLY AND GO TO A MONEY CHANGER IN PRATUNAM TO GET A RATE BETTER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE.

Keep you mouth shut about doing this to anyone keep the cash on you in an inside pocket preferably zipped up at all times and change the money asap then bank it. No bank account?? walk into Kasikorn bank Seacon Square with your passport and slap the money down to open the account.

Get a taxi to pratunam and as soon and as you have changed the money get back into a taxi. You can call the money changers first by phone to check the rate. If you are bringing thousands they will let you go into their small office for security. Take a friend with you if you have one.

Do not tell any taxi drivers or anyone else you want to change money.

If nobody knows about it it s unlikely you will have any problem.

Its worth rememberin g the UK now tells you you must declare any CASH cheques money orders over €10000 when leaving.

[offset]

I use a Nationwide flex account also an E account I keep the bulk in the E account I think the interest is 5.8% at the moment I transfer via the internet before I change my money in an ATM. Last week I was getting 69.2 Baht to the pound (nearly 1 baht more than the street exchanges) this way my money is safe if I loose my card (because the card as not link to you E account) I get a good rate of interest and my money is safe in England

[Eff1n2ret]

Not sure if ur from uk or usa,but in england we have a sort code,i think it is called swift code in thailand,i have internet banking and have just set up a bank account in thailand on my last visit,hsbc internet banking in uk does not recognise swift codes so i cant tranfer unless i go to my bank which then costs me £21 pounds each time regardless of how much i wire,how can i get around this cost each time.?

I have a First Direct account in UK, and a passbook account with a Swiftcode in Thailand (Bangkok Bank). I also have an account with www.moneybookers.com. , with both my other accounts listed on there. I can upload online from FD to my Moneybookers account, takes about 4 days and costs around £2.50 when I send say £1000, and then the transfer to the BKK account is very quick, and from memory costs nothing. The trick is not to send too much, as I can't send it back the other way.

[intumult]

Don't carry cash, carry American Express Travelers Checks. This is Karl Malden

I got penalised even more when using AETC.

Using my Visa card got me above K banks exchange rate each time often just over 69 B to a £.

[stumck219]

Thanks for the replys

I hadn't thought of openning a bank account in thailand, is it really that easy to open an account ?

It looks like a nationwide account could be the way to go if you are getting a good exchange rate on withdrawels. Is there any way to guarantee that you get the thai exchange rate and not the uk exchange rate when you make withdrawels.

Thanks

[lazyguy]

don't come to Thailand at all.

your money is about five times more worth in Vietnam and there you'll get it all as it was ten years ago over here.

Vietnam might be also ruled by retired kids in iniforms but there the law is straight for decades.

if I wouldn't be caught into my business here I would have moved already.

no worries - I will :-)

[LinkPopularity]

wow, terrible stories I hear so many times about UK rates and fees

I use ATM and get really great rates, no risk etc.

but well, that obviously doesn't work for UK

check carefully, the Pound is rather low now !

[Maigo6]

If people bring Cash and want to use it towards the purchase of a Condo or to get the retirement Visa requirement of 800,000 in the bank, can you get a letter from the bank saying the money originated overseas, when you are going to the bank with Thai Baht already changed in the money changer ?

Can you get a letter from a Money Changer?

Will the Bank issue a letter stating it was foreign currency if you change it with them?

Seems that going to a money changer or direct to the Bank can save thousands of Baht with large ammounts of cash as opposed of going through the banking system.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Maigo6

[blizzard]

dont think its so ez to open bank account in thailand wo work permit.

just use atm and travellers cheques and real cash. good to have

2 atm cards though.