Transfering Or Taking Money

[jfk]

hi guys, want to take my money back to thailand in a few weeks. a little apprehensive about taking it in sterling cash form.

total about 18000gbp. not much i know but any suggestions on how to get it there with no fuss is appreciated. all totally legit from sale of house but would like to avoid questions from customs if possible. currently have 9000 in international draft that i am going to present to bank when i get back to thailand. remainder in cash.

all suggestions are appreciated. anyone just took cash and winged it?

thanks in advance.

jon

[pluto_manibo]

if its legit, why not make a Swift transfer?

[terrier123]

Why try to be devious when the best way also complies with the Immigration requirements. Just have your UK bank transfer it to your Thai bank account. Barclays will send the lot within a few days for 28 quid -- cheaper that SWIFT.

[alantheembalmer]

If you wish to take cash out of the UK, you can do so, but you must have completed a customs declaration form, which can be downloaded from www.hmrc.gov.uk. Just keep the cash on you at all times, preferably under your clothing. Although a swift transfer is very straightforward, you must state a bank account to deposit the money into, and you must take care about exchange rates. Lastly, but not least, I hope that the money does not "get lost" in the swift system, as once happened to me, and I can assure you that it was a hair-raising experience trying to locate it, especially when the Thai receiving bank told me they had no knowledge of it.

[mgjackson69]

10,000 USD seems to be a magic number. Stay below that and you are ok. You can do higher, but it will raise a flag and you will likely have to do more paperwork.

In your situation I would do the wire transfer, or wire part of it and carry the rest.

Related, I am a bit confused here...what is the difference between "SWIFT" and a wire transfer?

[roygsd]

hi guys, want to take my money back to thailand in a few weeks. a little apprehensive about taking it in sterling cash form.

total about 18000gbp. not much i know but any suggestions on how to get it there with no fuss is appreciated. all totally legit from sale of house but would like to avoid questions from customs if possible. currently have 9000 in international draft that i am going to present to bank when i get back to thailand. remainder in cash.

all suggestions are appreciated. anyone just took cash and winged it?

thanks in advance.

jon

Hi

From memory you only have to have to declare anything above £10k in LOS, take your £10K in cash and put the rest in a Nationwide Flexaccount and draw it out in LOS daily, no transfer fees involved.

I have taken more than the £10k in cash and never had a problem.

If you are not travelling alone then dont forget the £10k is for each traveller so there may be scope for you there.

Roy gsd

Edited August 1, 2008 by roygsd

[Chaimai]

Post #2 is spot on.

Arrange a SWIFT transfer (Americans call it a wire transfer from the old telex days) - the boring answer is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - see Wikipedia for more details.

It will cost £20 - £25 depending on which bank you use.

Send it in Sterling you will get a significantly better rate at the Thai bank end.

The amount is not an issue, if you do it through Nationwide and have to put a reason for transfer you can put down "personal expenditure", "for property purchase" etc,etc.

Should take 3 - 4 working days although HSBC managed it in 2 on one occasion.

These rarely go astray but if yours does you have an audit trail from the UK bank to Thai and an enquiry to the remitting bank should see the query resolved within a couple of days. Very rare, especially if you manage to put the correct details on the transfer.

Now about taking that much cash - mislay that and you are totally <deleted>'d. Why bother.

At SCB I always get a phone call asking if I want to convert on the day of receipt or wait.

[jfk]

Post #2 is spot on.

Arrange a SWIFT transfer (Americans call it a wire transfer from the old telex days) - the boring answer is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - see Wikipedia for more details.

It will cost £20 - £25 depending on which bank you use.

Send it in Sterling you will get a significantly better rate at the Thai bank end.

The amount is not an issue, if you do it through Nationwide and have to put a reason for transfer you can put down "personal expenditure", "for property purchase" etc,etc.

Should take 3 - 4 working days although HSBC managed it in 2 on one occasion.

These rarely go astray but if yours does you have an audit trail from the UK bank to Thai and an enquiry to the remitting bank should see the query resolved within a couple of days. Very rare, especially if you manage to put the correct details on the transfer.

Now about taking that much cash - mislay that and you are totally <deleted>'d. Why bother.

At SCB I always get a phone call asking if I want to convert on the day of receipt or wait.

[jfk]

thanks guys. i currently have an international draft cheque for 9000 from my bank. should i give it back to them and get them to "swift it" or just keep it and present it to the bank when i get back to thailand. i could just send a little of the remainder of my balance by swift and carry the rest in cash as it is well under the amount allowed to take out of the country?

thanks for all your help,it is very much appreciated.

Post #2 is spot on.

Arrange a SWIFT transfer (Americans call it a wire transfer from the old telex days) - the boring answer is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - see Wikipedia for more details.

It will cost £20 - £25 depending on which bank you use.

Send it in Sterling you will get a significantly better rate at the Thai bank end.

The amount is not an issue, if you do it through Nationwide and have to put a reason for transfer you can put down "personal expenditure", "for property purchase" etc,etc.

Should take 3 - 4 working days although HSBC managed it in 2 on one occasion.

These rarely go astray but if yours does you have an audit trail from the UK bank to Thai and an enquiry to the remitting bank should see the query resolved within a couple of days. Very rare, especially if you manage to put the correct details on the transfer.

Now about taking that much cash - mislay that and you are totally <deleted>'d. Why bother.

At SCB I always get a phone call asking if I want to convert on the day of receipt or wait.

[jfk]

forgot to mention draft is in my name. can i lodge this in my g/f account if i endorse it or do i have to open an account when i get there. i,m getting a non o visa so dont see any problems with opening an account. they are used to seeing me come in to get money of my c/card over the past 4 years. also should be able to get letter from village boss to say i have been living there on and off for 4 years.

what do you think?

thanks guys. i currently have an international draft cheque for 9000 from my bank. should i give it back to them and get them to "swift it" or just keep it and present it to the bank when i get back to thailand. i could just send a little of the remainder of my balance by swift and carry the rest in cash as it is well under the amount allowed to take out of the country?

thanks for all your help,it is very much appreciated.

Post #2 is spot on.

Arrange a SWIFT transfer (Americans call it a wire transfer from the old telex days) - the boring answer is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - see Wikipedia for more details.

It will cost £20 - £25 depending on which bank you use.

Send it in Sterling you will get a significantly better rate at the Thai bank end.

The amount is not an issue, if you do it through Nationwide and have to put a reason for transfer you can put down "personal expenditure", "for property purchase" etc,etc.

Should take 3 - 4 working days although HSBC managed it in 2 on one occasion.

These rarely go astray but if yours does you have an audit trail from the UK bank to Thai and an enquiry to the remitting bank should see the query resolved within a couple of days. Very rare, especially if you manage to put the correct details on the transfer.

Now about taking that much cash - mislay that and you are totally <deleted>'d. Why bother.

At SCB I always get a phone call asking if I want to convert on the day of receipt or wait.

[denboy]

forgot to mention draft is in my name. can i lodge this in my g/f account if i endorse it or do i have to open an account when i get there. i,m getting a non o visa so dont see any problems with opening an account. they are used to seeing me come in to get money of my c/card over the past 4 years. also should be able to get letter from village boss to say i have been living there on and off for 4 years.

what do you think?

thanks guys. i currently have an international draft cheque for 9000 from my bank. should i give it back to them and get them to "swift it" or just keep it and present it to the bank when i get back to thailand. i could just send a little of the remainder of my balance by swift and carry the rest in cash as it is well under the amount allowed to take out of the country?

thanks for all your help,it is very much appreciated.

Post #2 is spot on.

Arrange a SWIFT transfer (Americans call it a wire transfer from the old telex days) - the boring answer is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - see Wikipedia for more details.

It will cost £20 - £25 depending on which bank you use.

Send it in Sterling you will get a significantly better rate at the Thai bank end.

A bit difficult to make a swift transfer if you don't have an account in Thailand. Why don't you keep your draft and bring the balance in travellers cheques at the same time. I doubt that the customs will check that closely.

It is very easy to open an account in Thailand especially if you have an O visa.

Good luck.

The amount is not an issue, if you do it through Nationwide and have to put a reason for transfer you can put down "personal expenditure", "for property purchase" etc,etc.

Should take 3 - 4 working days although HSBC managed it in 2 on one occasion.

These rarely go astray but if yours does you have an audit trail from the UK bank to Thai and an enquiry to the remitting bank should see the query resolved within a couple of days. Very rare, especially if you manage to put the correct details on the transfer.

Now about taking that much cash - mislay that and you are totally <deleted>'d. Why bother.

At SCB I always get a phone call asking if I want to convert on the day of receipt or wait.

[Chaimai]

forgot to mention draft is in my name. can i lodge this in my g/f account if i endorse it or do i have to open an account when i get there. i,m getting a non o visa so dont see any problems with opening an account. they are used to seeing me come in to get money of my c/card over the past 4 years. also should be able to get letter from village boss to say i have been living there on and off for 4 years.

what do you think?

jfk - you also forgot to mention that you don't have a Thai bank account !

(I am going to assume that you would not want to remit the money into your G/F's account)

I assume that the draft is either for £9,000 (Sterling) or equivalent in Baht, and drawn on a Thai Bank in Bangkok. It may be in Sterling drawn on a bank elsewhere in the world (I don't know why you finished up with a draft) - perhaps you can clarify that bit.

This being the case my personal view is that you get it cancelled and (when you have a Thai bank accout SWIFT the money). There will be issues - you are likely to be in Thailand when you want to transfer the money so you may have to sweet-talk someone in a UK bank and hold your instruction until you can give them the go-ahead, with Thai bank details. Get someone's name and direct phone number or you will finish up in Bangladesh, Edinburgh or, God forbid, Wales.

Plan B - is to get an international bank draft for all your money. This should probably be drawn on Bank of Bangkok, Bangkok (like having a Lloyds Bank cheque drawn on London). I really do not know how well the Thai bank will handle this but take your G/F (and preferably the pu yai ban as well) if you can.

[jfk]

ok, i dont have a thai bank account but i do trust my g/f. we have been together 4 1/2 years and have been living together up until may when i came home to n.ireland to sort out financial affairs so i can go back and try to stay there permanently if possible.

i am with the northern bank and they have given me an international draft cheque payable to me. with hindsight i dont know why this was suggested to me. i told the lady i wanted to take the money out of the country and this is what she suggested. she said it is accepted with all banks worldwide and is as good as cash. if i open a bank account when i get there, can i just submit the draft for deposit. i realise it will probably take about a month to clear but i will take extra money with me to tide me over until it clears.

very tempted just to cash it in here and just take the money with me. why is it so hard to take money that is yours out of the country.it is so frustrating. any more advice is appreciated.

thankyou.

forgot to mention draft is in my name. can i lodge this in my g/f account if i endorse it or do i have to open an account when i get there. i,m getting a non o visa so dont see any problems with opening an account. they are used to seeing me come in to get money of my c/card over the past 4 years. also should be able to get letter from village boss to say i have been living there on and off for 4 years.

what do you think?

jfk - you also forgot to mention that you don't have a Thai bank account !

(I am going to assume that you would not want to remit the money into your G/F's account)

I assume that the draft is either for £9,000 (Sterling) or equivalent in Baht, and drawn on a Thai Bank in Bangkok. It may be in Sterling drawn on a bank elsewhere in the world (I don't know why you finished up with a draft) - perhaps you can clarify that bit.

This being the case my personal view is that you get it cancelled and (when you have a Thai bank accout SWIFT the money). There will be issues - you are likely to be in Thailand when you want to transfer the money so you may have to sweet-talk someone in a UK bank and hold your instruction until you can give them the go-ahead, with Thai bank details. Get someone's name and direct phone number or you will finish up in Bangladesh, Edinburgh or, God forbid, Wales.

Plan B - is to get an international bank draft for all your money. This should probably be drawn on Bank of Bangkok, Bangkok (like having a Lloyds Bank cheque drawn on London). I really do not know how well the Thai bank will handle this but take your G/F (and preferably the pu yai ban as well) if you can.

[Chaimai]

ok, i dont have a thai bank account but i do trust my g/f. we have been together 4 1/2 years and have been living together up until may when i came home to n.ireland to sort out financial affairs so i can go back and try to stay there permanently if possible.

i am with the northern bank and they have given me an international draft cheque payable to me. with hindsight i dont know why this was suggested to me. i told the lady i wanted to take the money out of the country and this is what she suggested. she said it is accepted with all banks worldwide and is as good as cash. if i open a bank account when i get there, can i just submit the draft for deposit. i realise it will probably take about a month to clear but i will take extra money with me to tide me over until it clears.

very tempted just to cash it in here and just take the money with me. why is it so hard to take money that is yours out of the country.it is so frustrating. any more advice is appreciated.

thankyou.

jfk - I don't really like it but in your situation (ie not planning to return to NI) I would probably take £9,000 cash plus the draft (is it drawn on a Thai bank ? It will be a lot more costly to transact if it is not). Not sure about customs but I might just take a bank statement/transaction list showing the cash withdrawal. In the unlikely event that anyone stops you, you are starting a new life in Thailand and the cash is your living expenses over there. i have taken £6k before and other posters have taken more in cash.

[alantheembalmer]

It is not difficult to take cash. Just have an audit trail, ie. a bank statement or confirmation of a withdrawl from your bank, just in case Customs ask for evidence. If the amount you take is greater than 10,000 Euros, you then fill out form C9011, which can be downloaded from the HMRC website. You should also note that the definition of "cash" includes money, travellers cheques and bankers drafts. Good luck.

[jfk]

THE DRAFT IS IN MY NAME, IS ISSUED BY NORTHERN BANK AND IS CROSSED ACCOUNT PAYEE ONLY. I THINK THIS MEANS I CAN ONLY CASH IT IN A NORTHERN BANK WHERE I HAVE AN ACCOUNT. CHRIST, THESE ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU ENCOUNTER WITH SMALL TOWN BANKS,THEY DONT HAVE A CLUE. I WILL GO SEE THEM ON MONDAY BUY IT LOOKS LIKE THEY GAVE ME THE WRONG DRAFT.

ok, i dont have a thai bank account but i do trust my g/f. we have been together 4 1/2 years and have been living together up until may when i came home to n.ireland to sort out financial affairs so i can go back and try to stay there permanently if possible.

i am with the northern bank and they have given me an international draft cheque payable to me. with hindsight i dont know why this was suggested to me. i told the lady i wanted to take the money out of the country and this is what she suggested. she said it is accepted with all banks worldwide and is as good as cash. if i open a bank account when i get there, can i just submit the draft for deposit. i realise it will probably take about a month to clear but i will take extra money with me to tide me over until it clears.

very tempted just to cash it in here and just take the money with me. why is it so hard to take money that is yours out of the country.it is so frustrating. any more advice is appreciated.

thankyou.

jfk - I don't really like it but in your situation (ie not planning to return to NI) I would probably take £9,000 cash plus the draft (is it drawn on a Thai bank ? It will be a lot more costly to transact if it is not). Not sure about customs but I might just take a bank statement/transaction list showing the cash withdrawal. In the unlikely event that anyone stops you, you are starting a new life in Thailand and the cash is your living expenses over there. i have taken £6k before and other posters have taken more in cash.

[alantheembalmer]

Post #2 is spot on.

Arrange a SWIFT transfer (Americans call it a wire transfer from the old telex days) - the boring answer is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - see Wikipedia for more details.

It will cost £20 - £25 depending on which bank you use.

Send it in Sterling you will get a significantly better rate at the Thai bank end.

The amount is not an issue, if you do it through Nationwide and have to put a reason for transfer you can put down "personal expenditure", "for property purchase" etc,etc.

Should take 3 - 4 working days although HSBC managed it in 2 on one occasion.

These rarely go astray but if yours does you have an audit trail from the UK bank to Thai and an enquiry to the remitting bank should see the query resolved within a couple of days. Very rare, especially if you manage to put the correct details on the transfer.

Now about taking that much cash - mislay that and you are totally <deleted>'d. Why bother.

At SCB I always get a phone call asking if I want to convert on the day of receipt or wait.

Chaimai-Yes you are correct that transfers rarely go astray, but when they do it is not so easy to get them sorted out, particularly when you are dealing with two seperate banking systems, different bank procedures and the six or seven hour time differences in banking hours. I was left in the postion of having two banks telling me that different stories: the sending bank telling me that the money had been sent, and the receiving bank saying that they had not received it. I eventually found the payment in the nominated Bangkok bank's suspense account, but only after being insistent that they interogate this account. This is only a personal experience, and yes, all the details on the transfer forms were correct.

[mgjackson69]

Chaimai-Yes you are correct that transfers rarely go astray, but when they do it is not so easy to get them sorted out, particularly when you are dealing with two seperate banking systems, different bank procedures and the six or seven hour time differences in banking hours. I was left in the postion of having two banks telling me that different stories: the sending bank telling me that the money had been sent, and the receiving bank saying that they had not received it. I eventually found the payment in the nominated Bangkok bank's suspense account, but only after being insistent that they interogate this account. This is only a personal experience, and yes, all the details on the transfer forms were correct.

I had that once with my payroll direct deposit in USA, several years ago. The transaction was similar, in that it went from my employer -> payroll company -> Denver Federal Reserve -> Minneapolis Federal Reserve -> my bank. I did not know anything was amiss until Ms. Judy from my bank called and started chewing my ass for having an overdraft (yes, it is a small-town bank, everyone knows everyone by name). We started checking backwards and found that my payroll deposit had never shown up. Fortunately I had money in savings to cover the missing payroll.

My employer started tracking from their end, and my bank did the same. It finally came down to, the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis had sent the transaction to my bank, but my bank never received it. However they do such things, my bank was able to "prove" they had not received the transaction and the Fed resent it.

At that time we were paid every two weeks (26 per year). My next payroll had arrived before we got this one sorted.

[taxout]

Your crossed cheque marked "A/C Payee Only" can only be deposited in a bank account in your name; you cannot, for example, endorse it over to your girlfriend for deposit in her account. But you can deposit it yourself in any bank where you have an account, not just Northern Bank. Of course, to avoid problems, especially overseas, make sure your account's opened in precisely the name that appears on the cheque.

Edited August 2, 2008 by taxout

[Chaimai]

Chaimai-Yes you are correct that transfers rarely go astray, but when they do it is not so easy to get them sorted out, particularly when you are dealing with two seperate banking systems, different bank procedures and the six or seven hour time differences in banking hours. I was left in the postion of having two banks telling me that different stories: the sending bank telling me that the money had been sent, and the receiving bank saying that they had not received it. I eventually found the payment in the nominated Bangkok bank's suspense account, but only after being insistent that they interogate this account. This is only a personal experience, and yes, all the details on the transfer forms were correct.

Alan, I think we could both have suggested that the remitting bank and receiving bank check their suspense accounts first !

Theoretically, the receiving bank should immediately return any payments they cannot apply. This is all well and good if they didn't fall into that suspense account first. How motivated are they to clear that account ?

I accept that my "few days to resolve" could get stretched in those circumstances

[Chaimai]

Your crossed cheque marked "A/C Payee Only" can only be deposited in a bank account in your name; you cannot, for example, endorse it over to your girlfriend for deposit in her account. But you can deposit it yourself in any bank where you have an account, not just Northern Bank. Of course, to avoid problems, especially overseas, make sure your account's opened in precisely the name that appears on the cheque.

For jfk's benefit this post is true. However, Northern Bank have clearly not understood what you want to achieve. Taking a sterling draft drawn on a UK bank to Thailand (or any other country) is not the way to go. Bank charges would be high and it would take time for the Thai bank to "collect" the proceeds of your cheque. It is like you taking a US$ draft, drawn on New York to Northern Bank - they cannot process it through the home country's clearing system and would have to post it via Belfast to New York etc, etc and that can take 6 weeks (and some get lost!).

Sorry to be long-winded but I wanted to try and explain the difference. So, after paying the cheque into your account (which is all you need to do).....

1) Take all cash if you are prepared to take the related risks. Travellers cheques would be safer but carry costs at both ends.

2) Take an international bank draft, drawn a Thai bank in Bangkok, in Sterling if you can because you will get a better rate in Thailand (I don't know you can have a Sterling draft drawn on Bangkok, Northern Bank will have a book that tells them if they can do in Sterling or if it HAS to be in Baht). If you get the draft in Thai Baht you will get a crap rate from Northern Bank.

3) A combination of both - especially if you have to have the draft in Baht.

4) Consider the option of giving them a part-completed SWIFT instruction that you will advise bank details on later. You could do this on any money you don't need for the first month or two. I don't really like option 4 because you lose control of the transaction and despite my comment about getting a named contact, you are 6000 miles away.

5) If you needed to keep a Uk account then I would consider the Nationwide Flex account option that I think someone has already referred to.