Air con experts

[ukrules]

So - what shall i put in as a reason?

I send these from the UK every month within Europe and at Lloyds it doesn't ask for a reason.

If it did then I would no doubt put 'Need to send money' or 'No cheaper and quicker option' as the reason for using swift.

[henryalleman]

It's not just a "UK bank thing", it applies to many banks globally including, from personal experience, those in Hong Kong and Europe. I believe that the basis for it all began with JWB's war on terrorism earlier this century and am surprised to see that UK/European banks have adopted the measures whilst apparently some US banks have not. HSBC Hong Kong, UK and Bangkok all require this information.

Its was already long before 9/11 that EU banks ask to fill in the reason why. Its was original started agains money laundring in the 90s.

[NotNew2You]

SWIFT fees from the US vary from free (if you are a preferred customer) to 50 or 60 dollars max.

Citibank (Citigold account)...US$ 20 per transfer...regardless of amount. I once phoned and asked them what to put in the "reason" field for online transfer form and they said "merchandise purchase."

[Cuban]

> Can you do this by post from Thailand?

I do not think this is possible.

> I understand they do not accept email or fax?

I believe that is correct.

> There seems to be some conflicting reports that you need a UK address?

I believe that you may need to be 'resident' in the UK to hold the account.

> Is depositing cheques or succesion of cheques cheaper than SWIFT?

This is the reason that I am answering your post, the issue here is that any check that you draw on your UK account will be in GBP Sterling. Any Thai bank will produce a long list of 'fees' to handle and translate your GBP into THB. It will also take a long time for the funds to clear.

> What charge is made for cheque deposits by the Thai bank?

It will vary between banks and the daily FX rate - unless you are transfering a large sum - it is not worth the effort. Use Swift.

[fft100]

Never been asked for a reason by a UK or German bank when transferring money to Thailand. Nat West, Deutsche, RBS.

However, if it is more than 20,000 USD equivalent, then i have to go the bank in thailand to sign a piece of paper before the funds are released into my thai bank account. On the paper i have to give a reason why i have bought the money into thailand. Property seems to be the accepted thing to write. anyone ever written anything different ?