Unsafe at work: Thai experts sound the alarm on Mental Health Day

[robbieh]

I used to make regular withdrawals with a NW Debit card, but now with a 0.85% (-is it still that?) NW fee and a 15 baht ATM fee with Bank of Ayutthaya (Krung Sri), I was wondering how it compared to a HSBC UK online transfer to a Thai Bank (baht) account. I think the HSBC SWIFT fee is 15 pounds and then BKK Bank charge something like 0.25% of the transferred amount (minimum fee 200Bt, maximum fee 500Bt per transaction).

I checked the rates for today and Visa was rounded to 55 baht to the pound and the BKK Bank TT buying rate was 54.87750, so at a guess using these rates wouldn't it take a transfer of two thousand pounds with HSBC/SWIFT to get the equivalent rate with regular withdrawals of 10,000 baht from a NW Debit card?

Would appreciate some feedback from anyone who has tried the two services at roughly the same time and compared the % of received amounts versus fees?

Does anyone know if there is any benefit to using the Bangkok Bank London branch as an intermediate bank as it just seemed to be similar to a SWIFT transfer but either cost an extra 5 pounds or require the London branch exchange the funds for you, whose exchange rates probably wouldn't match the local Bangkok Bank rates.

Was thinking that now my new long term solution should be to open up Citibank accounts in the UK, Thailand and maybe Singapore too, and make use of their cheap transfer fees and good exchange rates, so any experience/feedback on that solution would also be appreciated.

[tutsiwarrior]

I have an HSBC euro account in the UK with First Direct (an HSBC affiliate) and transfer funds in euro to Kasikorn Bank...they use an intermediary bank for the transfer that takes a whack and a flat GBP25 charge to transfer any amount...

the last last transfer this month was quick, about 24 hrs; they advise usually 3-5 working days...

today, I wanted to transfer funds from the euro account (no cash card and no internet; must be done by phone thru First Direct) to my GBP current account and they offered 0.89047GBP/euro compared to 0.9014 on the BBC and 0.8999 on OANDA so you might want to do a GBP/baht comparison for a couple of days before you open an account with them...

I'd do a different arrangement with another western bank but I only have a Thailand address and have also received 'special treatment' from First Direct in the past for being a 16 year customer...makes a difference when faced with liquidity problems and living in Thailand...

I was a long term NatWest Visa customer and they simply told me that they didn't want to do business anymore as I no longer resided in the UK (after years of doing business as an expatriate)...transferred the account to First Direct and got free interest for 6 months on a special promotion...

Edited November 23, 2009 by tutsiwarrior

[MickeyM]

A Premier account with HSBC (Thailand) will provide you with same day transfers with no fee from any other HSBC bank (for transfer to account of same currency, otherwise normal baht conversion fee).

[PattayaParent]

HSBC charge me 35 Quid for transfers to Thailand and I think their fees may have gone up since I last made a ransfer.

I'm thinking of opening a local HSBC account and then the charge will be less (or even free) and I can transfer from HSBC Bangkok to my TMB Pattaya account.

[antony77]

Most UK banks have a fixed rate of about 20-25 GBP for transferring funds regardless of the amount. They can send it in baht or GBP. If they send in GBP Thai banks seem to give a poor rate of exchange. I have found it better for my UK bank to buy Baht and remit it to my Thai bank which takes no "cut"

[Chaimai]

Most UK banks have a fixed rate of about 20-25 GBP for transferring funds regardless of the amount. They can send it in baht or GBP. If they send in GBP Thai banks seem to give a poor rate of exchange. I have found it better for my UK bank to buy Baht and remit it to my Thai bank which takes no "cut"

Not true.

Halifax Online charge GBP 9.50.

Typically, and historically, the best advice has been to send Sterling and you will get a better rate and low handling costs at the Thai end. There are numerous topics on ThaiVisa.com confirming this.

Personally, I think the gap has narrowed but I would still send small amounts (under GBP 5,000) in Sterling - above this I would ask for a quote on the exchange rate.

Halifax Online gives you a quoted rate if you indicate that you want to transfer in Baht. It is usually 1 - 2 Baht worse than what you can get at the Thai end.

Nationwide (VISA) have traditionally always given a good rate of exchange. Try a transaction in Baht on a HSBC card and look closely at the rate - it will be ugly .

[Chaimai]

Most UK banks have a fixed rate of about 20-25 GBP for transferring funds regardless of the amount. They can send it in baht or GBP. If they send in GBP Thai banks seem to give a poor rate of exchange. I have found it better for my UK bank to buy Baht and remit it to my Thai bank which takes no "cut"

Not true.

Halifax Online charge GBP 9.50.

Typically, and historically, the best advice has been to send Sterling and you will get a better rate and low handling costs at the Thai end. There are numerous topics on ThaiVisa.com confirming this.

Personally, I think the gap has narrowed but I would still send small amounts (under GBP 5,000) in Sterling - above this I would ask for a quote on the exchange rate.

Halifax Online gives you a quoted rate if you indicate that you want to transfer in Baht. It is usually 1 - 2 Baht worse than what you can get at the Thai end.

Nationwide (VISA) have traditionally always given a good rate of exchange. Try a transaction in Baht on a HSBC card and look closely at the rate - it will be ugly .

May have to soften my position re HSBC. Today's notional rates quoted were as follows:-

Halifax Online 51.98

HSBC 'notional' 53.87