Changing Euros To Thai Baht In Thailand

[chrisjohn66]

Hi

Just a quick question for a friend of mine.

My friend is French and is married to a Thai Lady, he has been married 18 months.

He is working in Malaysia and lives in Bangkok under a tourist visa ( he intends get a more suitable visa later)

He has a Bangkok Bank account and wishes to transfer a large amount of Euros from France to Thailand.

He wishes to be able to control when to change the Euros to Thai Baht using his Bangkok Bank account.

Is this possible and how can it be done.

Any other suggestion appreciated.

One more question is it possible for him to open a Euro currency account in Bangkok whilst he is on a tourist visa, bearing in mind he is married to a Thai ?

Thanks in advance

Chris

[Cuban]

He wishes to be able to control when to change the Euros to Thai Baht using his Bangkok Bank account.

If he is trying to maximise the transaction based on the FX spot price, the problem he will encounter is that pretty much every retail bank will accept instructions to transact the FX exchange but never confirm either the exact time or rate at which the trade will take place. Normally the contract is for 'best price at the time of transaction processing' - not the time at which the instruction was passed from customer to counter staff.

If he is looking at any of the public reported FX rates they will be delayed by 15 minutes, real time rates are generally availible at a cost from the market data providers, Reuters, Bloomberg etc.

If the amount he wishes to transfer is large enough (excess of USD 40,000) it might be worth opening a private account at one of the smaller private banks (France), they will allow him to set trade limits on the transaction and at least not deal below a set point. BNP and Soc Gen etc will have accounts for private wealth customers but if your friend had that sort of money his account manager would already be handling the transaction.

Moving large sums these days can tickle the imagination of some banking staff on the look out for terrorists funding the next international incident, with this in mind be ready to answer the question, "Why are you moving X Euros to Thailand?" living expenses, car purchase, house purchase (Tor Tor 3) etc. can all be used and are acceptable reasons. Generally movements of less that USD 20,000 do not attract much attention.

One more question is it possible for him to open a Euro currency account in Bangkok whilst he is on a tourist visa, bearing in mind he is married to a Thai ?

I have not had to open local accounts in a few years, there are other threads running on TV suggesting that it is currently difficult to open a new account as a fresh customer to a bank (ie no previous contact) based purely on a Tourist Visa or possibly Tourist Visa Exception Stamp, two different status's but many posters here confuse the two. My first account in Thailand was with 30 day stamp and a hotel as 'my' address.

The average counter staff at a Thai bank will not understand the idea of holding a Euro account in a Thai bank on Thai soil. I would suggest he contact HSBC* in Bangkok directly as they do understand international banking, or contact customer services of one of the French banks in Bangkok, (Google search:)

"BNP Paribas Bangkok can handle all banking operations in THB and foreign currencies for domestic and international customers.

Head Office:

BNP Paribas Bangkok Branch, 29th Floor, Abdulrahim Place, 990 Rama IV Road Silom Bangrak

Bangkok 10500, Thailand, Tel. : (66) 2636 1900, Fax : (66) 2636 1, http://www.bnpparibas.co.th"

HTH

( * The HSBC link was down for my ISP at the time of posting. )

Edited June 14, 2008 by Cuban

[chrisjohn66]

Hi Cuban

Many thanks for your fast and helpful reply

Regards

Chris

[Khun Bob]

If he works in Malaysia, why not get a Euro and Thai baht account there ?<br /><br />As far as I am aware there is little onshore/offshore forex difference now for THB ?<br /><br />If you want a good rate of interest on THB, Lao banks pay well. You have to go there to get an account, but it is easy to open. There are some Malaysian banks in Laos - Public Bank BHD is one...<br /><br />HTH ?

But he may well be better off with a euro and THB account actually in Thailand - I could have got a foreign currency account a few years ago in BKK Bank head office quite easily, if I had $20k+ top open it. Best to compare the bank exchange rates too. Not all are the same and some consistently pay less - eg HSBC. Their rates are usually published on their websites. Best to monitor for a while to see how each compares.

Edited June 22, 2008 by Khun Bob