Sending Money To Thailand

[Roger_royal]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

[Chaimai]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

Have a look at the banking forum - there are loads of threads on this subject. If it is pretty much one-off you are stuffed with using SWIFT (surprised she was charged that much, Thai banks are much cheaper) remmember to send Sterling.

If you are likely to put her in funds on a regular basis get a Nationwide card and give her an ATM card - again many posts about that.

[Meg_2003]

Western Union and Moneygram, but they also work out quite expensive! Would be best to open up a bank account, and send her the ATM card, as chaimai stated above. That would probably be the cheapest way.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Meg_2003

[Basil B]

I would be careful of giving anybody a debit card to which you are listed as the account holder, even if you have no agreed overdraft on the account they may still allow a transaction and as the account holder you may be liable and the overdraft interest is a lot higher for an unapproved overdraft plus the cost of all those letters to tell you you are overdrawn.

banks international transfers are a right rip off at £20 for most banks, Weston Union is cheaper £14 but they shaft you on the conversion rates.

I am looking at the pre paid cards, the best I can find FairFX card, no monthly fee, 1.50Euro or $2.00USD per ATM withdrawal (depending which currency you choose to have your account, even though this is a British company there is no option to have you account in £GBP), buying goods with a card is free, you have to buy Euros or US Dollars and it looks like they load the the exchange rate at 1.5% the initial cost to purchase a card is £9.95 but if you use the following link "moneysupermarket" and buy 130 Euros the card is free.

Not shore what the exchange rate is to convert to THB and would be interested to hear how others have faired with prepaid cards.

BB

Edited August 4, 2008 by Basil B

[junki3korean]

western union???

[Chaimai]

I would be careful of giving anybody a debit card to which you are listed as the account holder, even if you have no agreed overdraft on the account they may still allow a transaction and as the account holder you may be liable and the overdraft interest is a lot higher for an unapproved overdraft plus the cost of all those letters to tell you you are overdrawn.

So you would give a g/f a pre-paid card with over £100 on, but would not risk the unlikely scenario of, say, Nationwide having a 'safety net' overdraft tolerance to £20 - in practice I don't think you can OD significantly on these debit cards - mine went £2 OD once (but I will stand corrected). I have asked my g/f to check the balance each time she visits the ATM but I do value our relationship enough that an OD would not cause me to terminate the arrangement.

My main point is that the Nationwide Flex account is perfect for regular payments - I arrange for weekly transfers online from my Nationwide account to "hers" (my Number 2 account). Today is her birthday so I have made another transfer

It also allows immediate access. On one occasion I had to send some money for an item of furniture - within 2 minutes of me transferring online the funds were taken out of an ATM in Pattaya. Now that is swift.

[FATNAPPY]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

Try and get together with the rest of her boyfriends and all send together....save on the commission charges

[Cuban]

Open a Thai bank account - then you can transfer small amounts online for a few baht a go. (Yes difficult when overseas - but a task for you when you return.)

[longball53098]

Do you have a mate in Thailand, he can take care of your GF and show her a great birthday and he can tell her its compliments of you. You can buy him a beer or three when you return

[Roger_royal]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

Try and get together with the rest of her boyfriends and all send together....save on the commission charges

Not funny

Smart arse

No Wonder you don't want to show your face

[Roger_royal]

Do you have a mate in Thailand, he can take care of your GF and show her a great birthday and he can tell her its compliments of you. You can buy him a beer or three when you return

You Should get together with Fatnappy you make a fine pair.

Maybe the Chang beer is to much for you to handle.

[Roger_royal]

Thank you all who gave sensible replies and bo-----s to the others

[Roger_royal]

Open a Thai bank account - then you can transfer small amounts online for a few baht a go. (Yes difficult when overseas - but a task for you when you return.)

I have the details of her Thai bank account could I transfer online into that do you know?

[dougieboy]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

I opened a current account which I pay money into monthly by standing order, my mum in law is then able to withdraw every month and it cost only bout £2/transaction. Smooth.

[Roger_royal]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

I opened a current account which I pay money into monthly by standing order, my mum in law is then able to withdraw every month and it cost only bout £2/transaction. Smooth.

So how does this work:-

The current account is in a Thai Bank and the standing order is paid from your account in UK or where ever.

[Chaimai]

[

I opened a current account which I pay money into monthly by standing order, my mum in law is then able to withdraw every month and it cost only bout £2/transaction. Smooth.

So how does this work:-

The current account is in a Thai Bank and the standing order is paid from your account in UK or where ever.

Not from UK to Thailand for £2 ??

[Scabo]

Roger_Royal as other's have post there are heaps of options.

For me personaly if Iam away from Thailand and my wife needs some baht

I transfer from my HSBC offshore account. Very easy to do this from the

comfort of your own laptop.

[Cuban]

Open a Thai bank account - then you can transfer small amounts online for a few baht a go. (Yes difficult when overseas - but a task for you when you return.)

I have the details of her Thai bank account could I transfer online into that do you know?

If you do not have a Thai bank account - you are limited to carrying out an international funds transfer from your bank to her account, the best way is via Swift which you can do at any bank in your home country. Shop around but the fee will be about USD40 - GBP20 depending on where in the world you are. Even if you have on-line banking at home you will need to use Swift for such a transfer internationally.

You would need her account details, Person's name, bank name, branch name/location, account number, home address is sometimes asked for.

I will assume that you are not wishing to send USD1,000 or an amount that high so the USD40 fee represents a high percentage of the transaction. I understand Western Union is cheaper, but less secure in the end to end point of collections. I have never used this service but have read about it. I know people that use this service for their personal needs in Thailand without problems.

If there is a Thai bank branch within the country you live in, there are some Thai bank offices dotted around the world's major cities, it is very unlikely that this would help you in the remotist. They would allow you to open an account in your name - but only in your native currency in that branch office - it would not be a Thai Baht account or allow transfer to any native Thai bank account within Thailand. Why? Because that would be an easy way to avoid paying their international tranfer fees and FX exchange comissions.

The method that I believe some are refering to with a GBP2 per transaction fee is where they have given their own ATM card to a 'loved one' to allow them to draw funds at will from their home account, this might seem like a good idea and easy to do but you are screwed onthe FX rate and any international fee that your home or the drawing ATM's bank may impose. This is generally a really bad idea.

With a Thai bank account in your name you can set up a payment path to your friend's account - then simply tap in the amount you want to transfer when you want to transfer it - the transfer is pretty much instant - the fee is about 5 Baht or so. Then you simply refill your Thai bank account via a Swift transfer when you need to.

Sending money or similar paper via the post is not wise, checks/cheques take a long time to clear and incure silly fees internationally.

If you knew a retailer in Thailand that had credit card facilities there is a way that your could avoid the USD40 fee for an international transfer and only pay about 5% for the transaction using a credit card, but you would have to be close friends with such a retailer.

In short there isn't a quick easy solution to your problem.

[Chaimai]

The method that I believe some are refering to with a GBP2 per transaction fee is where they have given their own ATM card to a 'loved one' to allow them to draw funds at will from their home account, this might seem like a good idea and easy to do but you are screwed onthe FX rate and any international fee that your home or the drawing ATM's bank may impose. This is generally a really bad idea.

Cuban - sorry but you are wrong. For people in the UK the Nationwide Flex account card works a treat - see many threads about this. NO charge to use and best rate on the market (seems to equate to BBK's T/T rate) always 2 to 4 baht better than the likes of HSBC. Only SCB charge 20Baht for withdrawals - avoid them and off you go laughing, one hand waving free.

[Cuban]

I don't consider the use of an ATM card from Nationwide suitable for the OP's situation - what do you suggest he do - mail the card to her?

For long term remote support - using a local bank with an account that offers an ATM card is better.

Consider the situation where 'your' 2nd ATM card is lost - it will take time for you to get a replacement card sent out to her. She could get a replacement card from a Thai bank in a few days, and gain access to any funds in the account OTC there and then with a passbook using her Thai ID card.

Also consider if your bank were to question how 'your' ATM card is being used in Thailand when you would appear to be in the UK. Having evidence of other people using 'your' ATM card and account might impact any future claim of fraudulent ATM withdrawals. I hope that when your card is used in Thailand extra care is being taken that the card is not skimmed and the PIN caught on pinhole camera.

HTH.

[Humphrey Bear]

Open a Thai bank account - then you can transfer small amounts online for a few baht a go. (Yes difficult when overseas - but a task for you when you return.)

I have the details of her Thai bank account could I transfer online into that do you know?

Depends where your account is - when I was working in Saudi Arabia the Saudi-British Bank (a HSBC affilits) was quite happy to allow it. But HSBC UK will not allow it - due to British regulations regarding money laundering.

I will be travelling to Dubai soon on business and will set up an account there - it's the money-laundering capital of the world.

I have had great difficulties over the past nine months in transferring money to my wife through my Thai bank. Just goes not work when I am outside Thailand. So I arrange with the German company for whom I work to transfer part of my monthly fee and that has to last my wife for a month - usually it lasts about ten days

[longball53098]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

I gave you a typical smartass reply as it seemed like the thing to do,,,,,,,,,,now I will add the suggestion maybe already posted.

I did this myself a few years back and it worked for me.

I opened a separate bank account in my home country that was linked to my main checking/savings account. I got an ATM card for that account only and it was not a credit/debit card only for ATM use. I mailed the card to my GF here in LOS. When she emailed me that she receieved the card I called her and told her the PIN for the card.

I only transferred an amount of cash that I believe she needed and we agreed to into that account and she made use of the card on her end. If she drained it early her problem as I would not transfer any funds into that account until our agreed time.

Worked well until we split company. I closed the account and cancelled the card

Good luck

[Chaimai]

I don't consider the use of an ATM card from Nationwide suitable for the OP's situation - what do you suggest he do - mail the card to her?

For long term remote support - using a local bank with an account that offers an ATM card is better.

Consider the situation where 'your' 2nd ATM card is lost - it will take time for you to get a replacement card sent out to her. She could get a replacement card from a Thai bank in a few days, and gain access to any funds in the account OTC there and then with a passbook using her Thai ID card.

Also consider if your bank were to question how 'your' ATM card is being used in Thailand when you would appear to be in the UK. Having evidence of other people using 'your' ATM card and account might impact any future claim of fraudulent ATM withdrawals. I hope that when your card is used in Thailand extra care is being taken that the card is not skimmed and the PIN caught on pinhole camera.

HTH.

I would give it to her personally - it worked for me

Equally, I don't fear the Thai post so I will have sent it under ordinary cover, advising her of the PIN number over the phone.

Lost card? - the Thais survive. You could actually get it to Thailand in just over week via your home address.

Cuban - relax and sleep and night the thought police are not watching you all day. I worked for a bank for over 30 years and we didn't go round analysing all 6m accounts. Nationwide are unlikely to give a toss - if they do there will be thousands of Thai g/f's who will be inconvenienced. Be sensible and dont keep your main banking there, just a 1 account (to feed second), 2 account for g/f and Internet Banking to do it all remotely. You can fund the No1 account via BACs from your main bank account elsewhere (or pay cash into No1 account if you dont want an audit trail

[Cuban]

......we didn't go round analysing all 6m accounts.

Indeed it is done by computer, not humans.

I worked for a bank for over 30 years and.....

I 'retired' after 20.

[britmaveric]

Moneygram certainly is cheaper than Western Union by a large margin.

Go debit card route, open a seperate account and give her a card. Load dosh into it when you need to.

[Chaimai]

......we didn't go round analysing all 6m accounts.

Indeed it is done by computer, not humans.

Only for exception reporting by transaction size/volume etc. Mrs Jones' weekly shopping payments would be 'under the radar' - as would your Thailand ATM withdrawals.

I worked for a bank for over 30 years and.....

I 'retired' after 20.

Lucky sod ! Enjoy the freedom

[Dario]

I want to send a small amount of money to my Thai lady for her up coming birthday and was wondering if anyone knows of a cheap,preferably free, way of doing it,

because the last time I sent money by Swift my bank charged me £20 and her bank also charged £20 making it a very expensive transaction.

I have had problems with the Thai postal service before when greetings cards and small parcels have been mysteriously lost,so I am a bit wary of sending cheques or the like by post.

All positive suggestion appreciated.

Thank you.

If you are with a good bank, this is not a problem. I just bought a second house in Pattaya and transferred EUR 20,000 from my account at a small Swiss bank this Wednesday morning. One day later the money had already arrived in my Bangkok Bank account. Cost: EUR 3.07( £2.40) in Switzerland and 200 Baht in Thailand. Belive it or not! But this is the truth.