Transferring Money Overseas

[grahamb]

[RANT]

Just before Easter I transferred a chunk of money from my Kasikornbank account here to our HSBC account in Jersey. Went into the branch, filled the forms, got ripped off by the exchange rate (oh, that rate on the paper is out of date sir, new rate is this one... ), thought it was all complete.

As it was the Easter weekend, I knew it would take a bit of time to transfer. The following week, I was very busy and didn't get a chance to check it. I finally logged in last Thursday and noticed that the HSBC account still didn't have the money (which, of course, had gone out the Kasikorn account on the day I did the transfer).

I went back to the branch on Friday. First of all, they told me the account number was invalid. Informed them that it wasn't. Then they called Head Office who said they would check and call the branch back. They did that and they informed me that it was Lloyds Bank in the UK who had told them it was invalid. Coincidentally, this message from Lloyds had only arrived on Friday morning. Mere minutes before I checked... I told them again that it was the correct account number, sort code and account name. OK, leave it with us, we'll check and see what we can do...

I logged into HSBC today and surprise, the money has appeared! Whilst I'm glad it's finally there, I'm annoyed it took 2 weeks to transfer and only seemed to get there because I complained. Still, at least it's done before Songkran...

Moral of the story: If you have to transfer money overseas, check that it has arrived and if it hasn't, chase it up!

[/RANT]

[The_Moog]

...and if you are transferring the reverse way, HSBC Jersey to Kasikorn...

Prepare for a VERY big shock.

As HSBC Jersey will use HSBC Bangkok as its intermediary bank (as it won't have an HSBC Jersey account at Kasikorn)

HSBC Bangkok will take a LARGE fee - well over and above, and in addition to the amount levied by HSBC Jersey.

When one points it out to HSBC, they say that HSBC Jersey and HSBC Thailand are different banks. (Flies in the face of their 'global bank' advertising)

They are crooks.

(I daresay other institutions may do the same).

[grahamb]

Thanks for the heads-up. I knew that HSBC Jersey and HSBC Bangkok were different companies but I didn't realise the fees were so high.

Not planning on transferring the money back anyway but good to know for the future!

[brianbrain]

[RANT]

Just before Easter I transferred a chunk of money from my Kasikornbank account here to our HSBC account in Jersey. Went into the branch, filled the forms, got ripped off by the exchange rate (oh, that rate on the paper is out of date sir, new rate is this one... ), thought it was all complete.

[/RANT]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I transferred a sum of money from Kasikorn to HSBC (UK) just after Easter. It took just three days to arrive (sent on a Friday and arrived the next Monday). The exchange rate did seem rather poor, but I was in a rush to transfer the money and I didn't want to transfer the money to another bank. It was way too much money to handle as cash. Kasikorn stated a single fee of 500 THB to transfer, and HSBC a fee of 6 GBP to receive. These details were checked in advance. The money arrived, less 12 GBP which I suppose could be the 500 THB and 6 GBP combined but seems far too convenient a figure to be correct. An advice note from HSBC (UK) states "Charges 0.00 Chrgs deducted GBP 12.00". Eh?

[grahamb]

I transferred a sum of money from Kasikorn to HSBC (UK) just after Easter. It took just three days to arrive (sent on a Friday and arrived the next Monday). The exchange rate did seem rather poor, but I was in a rush to transfer the money and I didn't want to transfer the money to another bank. It was way too much money to handle as cash. Kasikorn stated a single fee of 500 THB to transfer, and HSBC a fee of 6 GBP to receive. These details were checked in advance. The money arrived, less 12 GBP which I suppose could be the 500 THB and 6 GBP combined but seems far too convenient a figure to be correct. An advice note from HSBC (UK) states "Charges 0.00 Chrgs deducted GBP 12.00". Eh?   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When my transfer finally went through, I also paid B500 to Kasikornbank and GBP12 to HSBC. To be honest, I wasn't as worried about the charges as the fact that our money was in limbo for 2 weeks and Kasikornbank didn't seem to be doing anything about it.

Interesting to hear that it only takes 1-2 working days normally.

[Thetyim]

A few years back I transferred money from IOM to LOS.

After two weeks.....nothing

I complained to the IOM bank. They said they could run a trace on it but this would cost me fifty quid.

My reply was along the lines of " why should I pay to look for the money you have lost"

Three days later it turned up.

[tango]

I transferred a sum of money from Kasikorn to HSBC (UK) just after Easter. It took just three days to arrive (sent on a Friday and arrived the next Monday). The exchange rate did seem rather poor, but I was in a rush to transfer the money and I didn't want to transfer the money to another bank. It was way too much money to handle as cash. Kasikorn stated a single fee of 500 THB to transfer, and HSBC a fee of 6 GBP to receive. These details were checked in advance. The money arrived, less 12 GBP which I suppose could be the 500 THB and 6 GBP combined but seems far too convenient a figure to be correct. An advice note from HSBC (UK) states "Charges 0.00 Chrgs deducted GBP 12.00". Eh?   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When my transfer finally went through, I also paid B500 to Kasikornbank and GBP12 to HSBC. To be honest, I wasn't as worried about the charges as the fact that our money was in limbo for 2 weeks and Kasikornbank didn't seem to be doing anything about it.

Interesting to hear that it only takes 1-2 working days normally.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It’s been my observation over several years that money transfers from and into Thai banks take an inordinate amount of time. It’s been suggested that prior to crediting your Thai account or transferring to your foreign account; your (our) money is transferred into bank officials’ private accounts for the 2 week period. Imagine if you will, placing these monies in their own accounts even for 1 to 2 weeks, given all the countless transfers each day in and out of Thailand, adds up to a sizeable chunk of interest for them. TIT!

Best bet is to get yourself an ‘electron’ visa credit card or equivalent, and use your ATM at home to withdraw freely.

BTW, 2-3 days is not the norm…more like 2-3 seconds as it’s all done electronically as the banking world, including Thai banks believe it or not, are in the 21st century.

[mickmac]

I have a monthly sum transfered from the Bank of Ireland to the Bangkok Bank in Chiang Mai. I have found that I pay 17 euro's for the honour of having them transfer my money. Saying that though, it is in my Thai account 2 days later. So for me the cost is not an issue as it gets where I want it to be in a timely manner.

[brianbrain]

When my transfer finally went through, I also paid B500 to Kasikornbank and GBP12 to HSBC. To be honest, I wasn't as worried about the charges as the fact that our money was in limbo for 2 weeks and Kasikornbank didn't seem to be doing anything about it.

Interesting to hear that it only takes 1-2 working days normally.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

According to the HSBC, they didn't charge the GBP12.00 To quote the helpful employee, "You should feel lucky as we would have charged you more."

Did HSBC tell you they would charge GBP12.00 or did you only find this out after making the transfer? Maybe you just assume the HSBC made the charge but it came from elsewhere? Any more info would be much appreciated!