Sending Money To Chiang Mai

[husseinfatal]

Hey everybody hope you are all well!!!

I have a question and im sorry if its been posted already!

I wish to send money to Chiang Mai every month from OZ for my thai friend out there. The money is not very much only around 4000 baht. I used western union before but got charged 1000 baht for that transaction!!!!!

I have looked into getting one of those cash passports from the PO here in Melbourne but i will get charged 14 bucks also i belive.

Is it safe for me to conceal money in an envelope and send it? Would it be better to send it to the post office for her to pick up (if they have this function!), or just send it to her appartment?

Any tips from u guys would be great!

Thanks for the help in advance!!

Ed

[jimmym40]

Hi, not really sure if this will work, I know some guys do it from the states.

They have a credit or debit card account (in the states). They give a card to their gf here in Thailand and they are able to withdraw from that account. I believe that may be the safest way. However, you have to be careful that she does not clear the account immdiately, so jut put in what you wish to donate.

Something like that.

[Crow Boy]

I wish to send money to Chiang Mai every month from OZ for my thai friend out there. The money is not very much only around 4000 baht. I used western union before but got charged 1000 baht for that transaction!!!!!

I have looked into getting one of those cash passports from the PO here in Melbourne but i will get charged 14 bucks also i belive.

Is it safe for me to conceal money in an envelope and send it? Would it be better to send it to the post office for her to pick up (if they have this function!), or just send it to her appartment?

Any tips from u guys would be great!

Thanks for the help in advance!!

Ed

My advice is do NOT send cash in the Post - it will most likely disappear in transit. I tried the same thing a couple of times a number of years back and the cash never arrived. You can register the letter but they don't allow you to post cash anyway so it defeats the purpose.

Easiest way is to get the g/f to open a bank account here in thailand - she only needs to show her ID card. From Oz do a direct deposit from you account to the bank here. If you do it via the internet like I do to my own account here it is free. If you get the bank to send it they will charge about $10 depending on the amount and the bank.

Western Union also have an online service that you can use with a credit card - not sure of the fees but that may be an option to try.

The other option you may consider is to open a new account in Oz - put the amount of money you want to transfer plus a holding deposit. Get an extra ATM card, ask for International not Domestic Only access and send that with the PIN (seperately) to her. She can access the money from the account. Again depending on the bank there may be additional fees for international transfer.

CB

[paulie2277]

crow boy what bank u with i am nab and cant do a internet transfer they slug me 30$ each time

[Crow Boy]

crow boy what bank u with i am nab and cant do a internet transfer they slug me 30$ each time

Australian Credit Union - I had the same problem with the NAB, but thought they now allow it. Before it was illegal for you to do an internation transfer by the internet because of concerns about money laundering. Then they opened up the system. The big thing though is to make sure you do it via the internet on Net Bank not over the counter. When I went back to Oz on a holiday I had to do the setup with the CU - they couldn't do it for me from here. I automatically handed over the photocopy pages out of my passport - been here too long.

I did this because every time I made a transaction with my ATM or Visa card from here I was slammed with a $10 "transaction fee". This way the money appears in my account over night and is free of fees. I think that it is because they don't get many people doing it so haven't come up with a fee for the service.

CB

[paulie2277]

ok when in thailand i use my visa at the atm and pay the nab about 30$ each time ,u saying u transfer via internet to your account in thailand for free then use your local account to withdraw cash no charge?

[paulie2277]

maybe not free but a minimum charege

[FolkGuitar]

Hey everybody hope you are all well!!!

I have a question and im sorry if its been posted already!

I wish to send money to Chiang Mai every month from OZ for my thai friend out there. The money is not very much only around 4000 baht. I used western union before but got charged 1000 baht for that transaction!!!!!

I have looked into getting one of those cash passports from the PO here in Melbourne but i will get charged 14 bucks also i belive.

Is it safe for me to conceal money in an envelope and send it? Would it be better to send it to the post office for her to pick up (if they have this function!), or just send it to her appartment?

Any tips from u guys would be great!

Thanks for the help in advance!!

Ed

Here are two suggestions;

Send the cash, wrapped in opaque paper, in an envelope via EMS at your local post office. It costs very little more than via 1st class mail, The post office will provide you with an outer plastic or cardboard envelope for your envelope, and there is a tracking number on it. I've been doing this for years and never lost a cent.

Or, do what DeBeers does with its diamond shipments. Put it in a box about the size of a desktop computer speaker (not so small as to get stuck in the cracks, but not so big as to make people think it's important, and send it regular airmail. If DeBeers can trust the mails with millions of dollars worth of stones, you should be OK with 4,000 baht. By the way, DeBeers doesn't use it's regular name in the return address, but you can...

(We saw a film made by DeBeers in a post graduate business course, which is where this information comes from. They claim never to have lost a shipment.)

[Ta22]

open two account in thailand .

one one account put in 48k .

and another account

for your GF .

apply for online traction . or e-banking

every month log in and do your donate to thailand by tranfering . part of what you want to whom ever you want ..

or you can pass me 48k ..

i would be more then happy to help you out every one but i charge 500b + 1 beer whahhahahahahahhahahah per month to help you out .

to ponder on it ok

[Wizzard of Oz]

Yeah, I get slugged with a big ass fee from HSBC.

You can try this:

Open an account with moneybookers and once you have a thai bank account in the same name as with moneybrookers, you can try get money in there (maybe from a credit card), and then moving it from mb to your thai bank acct costs like $3 for pretty much any amount.

The unknown step is in getting the money from your cc to mb. It may be no problem - I just don't know because I haven't done that before.

One other note - the number of stories I've heard of thai chicks who have multiple phalang sending them money is so high that it would make you dizzy. There is a very very very small chance you are not being conned. I hope you are not, but just be aware that if you are not being conned, you are in the extreme minority, so don't be blind to that high (unfortunate) possibility.

Good luck,

WoZ

[husseinfatal]

Thanks for all the help lads!!!!

Ill try various methods and post a response later and let u know what worked for other dudes that want to do the same thing.

Ed

[Ta22]

4000 baht is alot in chaingmai .. if you want ot make her life better , you can start off by not hand feeding

just like animal in the wild . if you hand feed it .. soon it lose it ability to find food . and slowly turn into a leech .

make sure she have a job .. which most thai job get her abuot 5-8k per month which is enough for her ..

offer to lighten her load by paying .. her electrical bill , water bill rental ( assuming she is getting a 5-8k salary )

she would not be staying in a condo that is rented for 10k . if so .. how she do it ? multi income from donation like yours ?

elecitcal bill should not be more then 1000 baht for a single person . in fact when i stay in a condo my bill is about 500-700 baht

with my computer on whole day .

water bill is even cheaper in the range of 50-200 baht ( my house with 1 rai of garden which my father water every few days give me a water bill of 280 baht ) and on some week i wash my cars my water bill go up to 300 ++ i got 6 cars

there is clue around for you to check and confirm . ..

if you met a girl full of tattoo . in a bar .. my suggestion is you go slow .. not that i am aginst tattoo in fact i love tattoo

but random tattoo is usually a psycological reminder for them about people there had - or past BF who have donated . so i hope you don't get Tattoo on her .

if you just having an exchange of service which i use it cruelly. anyone .. that what i think ..

there is still many nice people out there . but some is just out to sell you a hugz and smile and more so there can leech you off till you wake up .

my best wishes to you ..

Yo Oz . been a long since i saw you .. whahahhaha still mad at me ?

[Wizzard of Oz]

4000 baht is alot in chaingmai .. if you want ot make her life better , you can start off by not hand feeding

just like animal in the wild . if you hand feed it .. soon it lose it ability to find food . and slowly turn into a leech .

make sure she have a job .. which most thai job get her abuot 5-8k per month which is enough for her ..

Listen to this - it is absolutely 100% spot on.

I hope you realise we are ust trying to help. What Ta22 said is pretty exact - how did she feed herself before? Why are you all of a sudden supporting her? Sending her money only makes her rely on you.

Good luck, hope all goes well,

WoZ

[husseinfatal]

Hey u guys are great thats some cool info!!!!!!!

She works odd jobs and earns about 4500 baht a month. I agreed to send her 3000 a month to pay for a motorbike i bought her when i was there last. I sent 4000 last month as the extra 1000 was for a deposit for a room. I thought the extra 1000 would be ok every month but i may just keep to 3000. She doesn't ask for anything so i thought it was a good sign but yeah u never know eh?

As far as our situation goes we been together for nearly 6 months and 3 of those i was with her in Thailand. She is not a bar girl or anything like that and doesn't have any parents or family so i dont have to pay for them! She has 2 kids but doesnt see them any more, only her daughter who she sees every few months or so.

I bought the motorbike when i first got there as i thought it was better paying 3000 a month for that than 6000 rental. I have about 5 months left on payments so after that ill review if i need to send her any more! I think i should as i used to spend more on girlfriends back home!!!!!

Thanks again for the info!

[husseinfatal]

Oh yeah and she pays 1600 for her room. That leaves her 3000 to play with but if she wants extra money she helps her friend in a restarant some nights.

Edited November 9, 2007 by husseinfatal

[thomo]

Bloody hel_l there's a lot of people sending money to girls here from overseas. Why?

[Crow Boy]

People do what people want to do - some find a girl and want to help her financially while they are back "home". It is not unusual and people should not read anything into this that is not their business.

That said - this discussion is about sending money from overseas to Thailand - it will NOT become a thread discussing bar girls because that is against the TV rules.

CB

Moderating Team

Thai Visa

[Wizzard of Oz]

Hey u guys are great thats some cool info!!!!!!!

She works odd jobs and earns about 4500 baht a month. I agreed to send her 3000 a month to pay for a motorbike i bought her when i was there last. I sent 4000 last month as the extra 1000 was for a deposit for a room. I thought the extra 1000 would be ok every month but i may just keep to 3000. She doesn't ask for anything so i thought it was a good sign but yeah u never know eh?

As far as our situation goes we been together for nearly 6 months and 3 of those i was with her in Thailand. She is not a bar girl or anything like that and doesn't have any parents or family so i dont have to pay for them! She has 2 kids but doesnt see them any more, only her daughter who she sees every few months or so.

I bought the motorbike when i first got there as i thought it was better paying 3000 a month for that than 6000 rental. I have about 5 months left on payments so after that ill review if i need to send her any more! I think i should as i used to spend more on girlfriends back home!!!!!

Thanks again for the info!

Ahh ok, yea if it's to pay off an item, that's not the same, because it (hopefully) will not be a permantnt ongoing thing such as paying for her lifestyle here.

People do what people want to do - some find a girl and want to help her financially while they are back "home". It is not unusual and people should not read anything into this that is not their business.

That said - this discussion is about sending money from overseas to Thailand - it will NOT become a thread discussing bar girls because that is against the TV rules.

CB

Moderating Team

Thai Visa

Sorry CB, but I think this is VERY wrong.

The number of chicks here that con multiple phalang into sending money to them is very high, and censoring this kind of information from likely potential victims seems quite immoral to me.

Also, in what way is it against the rules? Is there a problem with people finding out and having their 'image' of thailand tainted by the truth? Or is it something else? It was never about 'bar girls'. A dodgy chick doesn't have to have anything to do with a bar.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Wizzard of Oz

[Crow Boy]

People do what people want to do - some find a girl and want to help her financially while they are back "home". It is not unusual and people should not read anything into this that is not their business.

That said - this discussion is about sending money from overseas to Thailand - it will NOT become a thread discussing bar girls because that is against the TV rules.

CB

Moderating Team

Thai Visa

Sorry CB, but I think this is VERY wrong.

The number of chicks here that con multiple phalang into sending money to them is very high, and censoring this kind of information from likely potential victims seems quite immoral to me.

Also, in what way is it against the rules? Is there a problem with people finding out and having their 'image' of thailand tainted by the truth? Or is it something else? It was never about 'bar girls'. A dodgy chick doesn't have to have anything to do with a bar.

I accept your point but this topic is about the transfer of money from Australia to Thailand. It is not a discussion about protecting farung who are sending money for whatever reason or to whoever they choose. There is nothing in my comment about censoring the discusion but it was about keeping the thread on topic and away from areas that under Thai Visa rules cannot be discussed.

Now if you have anything to add that is relevant to the Original Post or will help the Original Poster send his money to his girlfriend here in Thailand then feel free to add it, if you don't then stay out of the conversation.

CB

[mcgriffith]

I will add my personal experience as guidance, for what it is worth.

I send money through HSBC to Bangkok Bank (New York) to my Thai bank account here in CM. This is not an international "wire" transfer, it is an internet-based direct transfer.

HSBC doesn't charge any fees for the transfer, but Bangkok Bank charges $10 (used to be $5 until a few months ago) in New York, and then charges an additional 500 B in country (when the transaction goes through their center in Bangkok)- total of about $25 USD at current exchange rate.

Speaking with a lot of expats here in CM who send money, it is apparent that everyone pays some kind of bank fee somewhere along the line.

These fees are not universal, and perhaps there is some bank in Australia that will transfer monies without a fee, to a bank in Thailand that also doesn't charge a fee. I find this highly unlikely, in the current bank environment world.

The alternative mentioned by some above, to give an ATM card valid on a foreign account, and deposit only the monthly monies needed to be transfered on a monthly basis, might be a better low cost option for the small amount of money being transfered. You/she might receive the offshore rate (not as good) but compared to the fees, you will still be way ahead.

And sending an overnight letter/EMS/FedEx with cash enclosed doesn't make sense, given the risks and costs, for such a small amount of money.

Go with the foreign account ATM card for her, and deposit just what is needed on a monthly basis, is my advise.

[Crow Boy]

perhaps there is some bank in Australia that will transfer monies without a fee, to a bank in Thailand that also doesn't charge a fee. I find this highly unlikely, in the current bank environment world.

As per my post above - my credit union in Australia allows me to do an Internet Transfer from Sydney to my Bank of Ayudhya account here. There are NO fees for transfer and NONE for receipt IF and this is the important word IF you transfer the money from Australia as Thai Baht. If you send Australian dollars there is a transfer fee by the Bank of Ayudhya for the conversion to local currency.

The alternative mentioned by some above, to give an ATM card valid on a foreign account, and deposit only the monthly monies needed to be transfered on a monthly basis, might be a better low cost option for the small amount of money being transfered. You/she might receive the offshore rate (not as good) but compared to the fees, you will still be way ahead.

Using an Australian ATM card incurs a service fee which varies between banks and credit unions. My credit union waived the fee if I had more than an agreed amount of money in my account. This was something they could do because I was living overseas and never used my "fee free transactions" from domestic ATMs in Australia. Each bank applies a transfer fee for each transaction and they individual banks pass them on (with additional charges) to their customers. Most banks allow a certain number of transactions from other bank ATMs without charging a fee. My credit union allowed me to do that but it took a fair bit of discussion. For the first couple of months they applied the fees and then refunded a set amount - for a while I made a profit because the refund was greater than the individual fees

I think that the ATM card is a safe option but the OP should be aware of the fees. I think the better option is for him to check with his bank (National) and find out the situation with Internet transfers then get his girlfriend to open up a local account here in Thailand. He can then transfer money direct from his account in Australia as Thai Baht to her account here in Thailand.

CB

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

IF you transfer the money from Australia as Thai Baht. If you send Australian dollars there is a transfer fee by the Bank of Ayudhya for the conversion to local currency.

The problem with this system is the massive difference between AUD-THB exchange rates in Oz vs. local, e.g. based on today's National Australia Bank and Siam Commercial Bank forex rates, AUD $100 would give you 2660.70 Baht if changed in Oz, or 3097 Baht if changed locally, so even if it cost you AUD $10 to send as THB, you'd still be ahead when comared to sending it as a "free" THB transfer - i.e. AUD$90 would convert to 2787.30 Baht here..

IMHO, the smartest thing the OP could do is open a Thai bank accout for himself, transfer a lump sum into it to minimise fees, then setup a direct debit to his GF's account from there. The only potential downside to this would be if the AUD suddenly shot up in value more than a few percent.

Edit: To CB - I really hope you're not sending any reasonable amounts of money to yourself this way - the losses at even just few grand a month would be heartbreaking.

Edit #2: If anyone Aussies here want to send money to Thailand in the way CB has mentioned, do it through me and I'll guarantee 5% better AUD-THB exchange rate than your Aussie bank is offering*

* Offer valid while the BOT continues to buy ~$100M of forex a day.

Edited November 11, 2007 by BlissfullyIgnorant

[Crow Boy]

IF you transfer the money from Australia as Thai Baht. If you send Australian dollars there is a transfer fee by the Bank of Ayudhya for the conversion to local currency.

The problem with this system is the massive difference between AUD-THB exchange rates in Oz vs. local, e.g. based on today's National Australia Bank and Siam Commercial Bank forex rates, AUD $100 would give you 2660.70 Baht if changed in Oz, or 3097 Baht if changed locally, so even if it cost you AUD $10 to send as THB, you'd still be ahead when comared to sending it as a "free" THB transfer - i.e. AUD$90 would convert to 2787.30 Baht here..

IMHO, the smartest thing the OP could do is open a Thai bank accout for himself, transfer a lump sum into it to minimise fees, then setup a direct debit to his GF's account from there. The only potential downside to this would be if the AUD suddenly shot up in value more than a few percent.

Edit: To CB - I really hope you're not sending any reasonable amounts of money to yourself this way - the losses at even just few grand a month would be heartbreaking.

Edit #2: If anyone Aussies here want to send money to Thailand in the way CB has mentioned, do it through me and I'll guarantee 5% better AUD-THB exchange rate than your Aussie bank is offering*

* Offer valid while the BOT continues to buy ~$100M of forex a day.

Some interesting points you raised in your message - thanks - I sent money from Oz to my own bank acount here in Thailand every couple of months. Then took out the cash using my local ATM card. This was to avoid the hefty fee everytime I used my Oz Visa or National Bank ATM card.

Thanks

CB

[Mr.StickyRice]

I mailed my GF an American Bank ATM card and sent the pin# through email. Washington Mutual bank, they also offer free bank transfers overseas. I had to tell the bank to activate the card in SE Asia.

She has to be careful of over-withdrawing (they don't charge the first time it happens!), and even checking the balance is like 150Baht charge, so you have to have good communication and trust to do it this way.

Another way to send money would be an international POSTAL MONEY ORDER. Cheap and safe.

I also let her use my PAYPAL account to buy things online if she likes. One of the banks in Thailand has a paypal/e-banking option for savings accounts also.

I have also sent small amounts of cash in clothing(under the removable pad of a tennis shoe for example), and it got there ok the 2-3 times I tried it.

[Crow Boy]

I also let her use my PAYPAL account to buy things online if she likes. One of the banks in Thailand has a paypal/e-banking option for savings accounts also.

Do you know which bank? And to the Australians reading this the response to Which Bank? Is not The Commonwealth, to the rest of the world this is an in joke and not worth explaining.

CB

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

Which Bank?

Looks like pretty much all Thai Banks are able to withdraw PayPal funds now:

Cost for withdrawing are 50 Baht for <5000 Baht, or free if >5000 Baht, but be warned that PayPal do as bad, if not worse, exchange rates than your Aussie bank does. Transferring AUD to Thailand in this way still just throwing away money IMHO. The receiving PayPal member will also need a credit card (or Web Debit Card - i.e. Kasikorn "K-Web Shopping Card") in their name in order to verify their account before making any withdrawals.

On a side note, just in case you haven't noticed the AUD has been absolutely massacred since last week - from a high of 94c US to less than 88c this morning. I'd hold off transferring any money from Oz for at least a couple of weeks, based on the assumption that it's just another repeat of August's over-reaction to the US sub-prime woes.

[mogoso]

Hey everybody hope you are all well!!!

I have a question and im sorry if its been posted already!

I wish to send money to Chiang Mai every month from OZ for my thai friend out there. The money is not very much only around 4000 baht. I used western union before but got charged 1000 baht for that transaction!!!!!

I set up a bank account that I keep only enough money to make the bank happy. I sent an atm card, not a debit, not a credit, but an atm card to Thailand. I send 10,000 baht a month by my MIL taking it out at a atm machine in Thailand. The first 5 years it was a 1% fee (100baht) added to the transaction. A large bank took over the small bank I was using, and now the transaction is free. My wife put the fear of something into momma not to devulge the card number to anyone and to examine the atm machine very carefully before using. It's been utterly reliable and now better than cheap, its free.