International Remittance Of Thb Into Usd

[AJARNJACK]

Having transferred SGD from my HSBC Singapore account to my US bank account, I'm already aware of the outrageous fees charged by the banking institutions. I paid 10% of the transferred amount in banking fees and I'd sure like to avoid that this time. My Thai wife's brother bought my pickup and deposited the money in my Siam Commercial Bank account and now I'd like to reinvest the money into a pickup truck here in the States.

First I checked with my US bank who recommended the foreign bank simply send a bank draft and they could convert THB into USD. Unfortunately when I used the international currency exchange formula on the web it didn't match my bank's exchange rate. Yahoo's info was that the THB converted to 0.03010 USD, but that same day my US bank said it was 0.025703 USD! With the amount I was going to transfer I'd loose 20% of the international market value!!!

Next I checked with SCB and although they assured me that they would use the daily exchange rate and there was no charge for the convertion, they couldn't wire it directly to my account. It seems there is the 550 baht transfer fee, an additional fee SCB charges for using a "correspondence bank", the fees charged by the "between bank" and still charges assessed by the bank where my US account is!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions that might help me keep a bigger portion of my money before the banks start taking their shares out of it? We don't plan on returning to Thailand until April, 2011 so we can't just go to the SCB branch and take a bank draft back to the USA with us.

[scott_cos]

Sorry, but I don't know who you are banking with but your case certainly is not like ours.

We transfer money all the time via Bangkok Bank to several banks in the USA and the UK. Not very large sums but amount does not seem to matter. As long as we have an Invoice for what was paid and what needs to be remitted or a Purchase Order we are good to go.

Fees are reasonable and rate is as posted (sometimes few satong difference)

My suggestion, get a new bank

PS For transfers into banks our bank iis familiar with - has transferred before - takes LESS than 24 hrs for omney to reach account.

[Naam]

My suggestion, get a new bank

that's my suggestion too!

[IMA_FARANG]

Use Bangkok Bank for your account here in Thailand.

Bangkok Bank has a New York branch. Open a dollar account there.

You put your money in to your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.

You then request it to be transferred to your Bangkok Bank account in New York.

You then withdraw it in dollars from your Bangkok Bank New York account. Do it electronically, and send it to a local U.S. bank acccount you opened.

Of course there will be a fee for the transfer, but you will eliminate the fee that you paid to SCB for the "correspondent bank" transfer.

Be aware that the rate you will get in the U.S. for converting Baht to dollars is NOT the same as you will get converting money inThailand.

However, I can't see losing 5 baht for each dollar...I would expect it might be more like 1 baht, or maybe 2 baht. That is to say the rate in Thailand might be qouted as 31.2 baht for a dollar, but in the U.S. you might get 30 baht (as an example). The difference is a hedge for the bank...because it takes them time to get their money remitted to them. So they "hedge" against the possibility that the baht/dollar rate changes between the time they pay you the money in dollars and they get the compensation in baht.

That is another advantage of using Bangkok Bank....they should have a closer (smaller difference) between rates and a a shorter period of time to transfer money...because they are the same bank.

I think by using Bangkok Bank, you will minimize the fees you have to pay. But undestand that they bank has to charge fees to cover the costs of the transfer, transfer and other clerical costs, etc.

Also be aware there will always be a difference between the onshore (in Thailand) qouted rates and the offshore (outside Thailand) rates.

I'm not sure if Bangkok Bank will charge you a fee in New York or not. I usually send money the other way...from my local U.S. bank to Bangkok Bank via swift transfer thru New York Bangkok Bank.

I have to pay a wire transfer fee to my local U.S. bank for the transfer, but I am charged no fee in Bangkok. Since you're going the opposite direction I wouldn't be surprised in Bangkok Bank charged you a fee for each transfer. Since the wire transfer fee is the same no matter how much you transfer, it pays you to transfer as much as you can each time (percentage of fee to the amount transferred is lower for larger amounts transferred)

I'm presuming that any money you earn (as in selling something) in baht in Thailand and want to send to the U.S. to be converted to dollars already has Thai tax (if required) taken care of and the Thai tax people are happy....aren't they.

Of course they are.

P.S. I meant to say...if the rate in Thailand is 31 baht to a dollar....it may COST you 32 or 33 baht to get one dollar in the U.S. That is, the bank makes a profit to "hedge" the costs of any dolar/baht rate change.

Edited November 30, 2009 by IMA_FARANG

[ianguygil]

I posted this last week, and rather than imbedding a link I will just cut and paste. In summary you should send by a large Thai bank to the US and the conversion will be done at this end. Depending on the amount, the costs as a percentage will vary, I know that is obvious, but people should keep that in mind. You need to pay the SWIFT fee and the Bank makes on the fee and the spread (FX rate). If it is a large amount you should contact the Bank and they will give you a better rate.

I see many people comparing the wrong rates to calculate their "costs" in this forum. One is the rate at which the Bank will buy currency from you. The other is the rate at which the Bank will sell the same currency to you. Depending on the currency the rate varies (obscure currencies get terrible rates, some are not bought and sold at all).

I recommend Bangkok Bank, go to them and this is simple, they do several thousand per day. They will show you how to calculate the "cost"

Here is my post from last week. Good luck!

----------------

Just to be clear with everybody (and I know people do not want to know to much about banking), there are actually no "real" THB accounts in the US for normal people. A bank or trading house may offer such an account, but the actual funds are held with a Thai financial institution via a Correspondent relationship. And as the THB is not a major currency most Western banks will not hold too much of it for their own account, so they will just maintain enough liquidity to cover their obligations and those of their customers.

If you send the cash to the US you either need to identify an account (which is normally a USD account) or you need to do the whole PUPID thing I have covered before (Pay Upon Proper ID). Either way they will issue the funds in USD.

In some cases with some major currencies (EUR, JPY) you can have accounts in the US in foreign currencies with normal banks. That is a pretty new thing in the US, although many other countries have had this for a long time (HK, Singapore, Japan) to allow people to hedge/diversify outside their own home currencies. But I am pretty sure this is not the case for THB except for some real specialist trading houses. And all real THB funds are actually held in Thailand via the Correspondent. The largest of which in Thailand is Bangkok Bank.

I hope this explains without getting too technical. So you actually cannot (in most cases for normal people) send THB to the US. If you have a large amount you can arrange an FX deal which will normally give you a better rate than the retail street rate, but this is again for just large sums.

If you send a large amount of funds out of Thailand you do need to explain where the funds come from (e.g. I work here) and why you are sending them out of the country. For most expats employed legally, an explanation that it is for "living expenses" is true and accepted. All countries want to understand the source of funds, and the destination of funds, to try to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, and I am sure all on this board fully understand the need to stop these things.

Good luck. I hope this helps.

This post has been edited by ianguygil: 2009-11-23 09:57:48