I have a cheque from the Canadian Gvt that I need to cash in bkk. Bkk Bank said it will take up to 45 days and costs 32US$ to process. Is there another way, faster, cheaper?

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The bad news is.....probably that is the fastest that can be done. The check has to be returned to Canada and verified. Then the money is forwarded to Bangkok Bank for deposit to your acoount. Bangkok bank charges a fee for cashing and a percentage of the check amount as I recall.

If it is a relatively small check, it may not be worthwhile to go through the process due to the cost of cashing it. If it is large enough to make the procedure worthwhile, go ahead and cash it.

The good news is ........if it is a large enough amount, issued by a check on a Canadian BANK (I mean directly from the bank itself) it may be possible that the Canadian bank has a correspondent busines association with one particular bank in Thailand.

As an example, I once recieved a check from Barclay's bank for 3000 English pounds. Bangkok Bank (as well all the other Thai banks) would only cash it with a minimum 30 day wait time and a hefty fee for cashing it. I happened to find out that Barclay's Bank had a association with a particular Thai bank. So I went to that Thai bank (I think it was called the Bangkok Bank of Commerce then, but I may be wrong). I was able to cash my check in 48 hours, because that Thai bank had a signature verification procedure to match the signature on my bank check with the stored signature copy they maintained in their files. It required 48 hours for a bank officer to make the physical check of signatures, verify the match, and initial the paperwork before I could cash the check. They still charged a fee for cashing, but at 3000 English pounds it was worthwhile.

If the Canadian bank has a coressponding business arrangement with a Thai bank, you are in luck. If not, and if the check is for a small amount, you've got expensive wallpaper.

Edited February 3, 201016 yr by IMA_FARANG

there is a person at JAOW-WA-RARGE who uses to take foreign checks.

she'll take anything less than 10,000 usd equivalence.

interested? pm me

I'm with BKK Bank in Chiang Mai. You say your cheque is a Canadian GVT. cheque? Bkk Bank Cash's my US Govt. cheque instantly . No waiting.

Another option, depending on the amount: mark the cheque "For Deposit Only", and mail it to your own bank in Canada, for deposit in your Canadian bank account. Time involved is only in the transportation of the cheque.

Then use your ATM card to withdraw the money here. Aeon if you don't want to pay the 150 baht fee.

It'll probably cost about the same in converting anywhere from $$ to baht.

Another option, depending on the amount: mark the cheque "For Deposit Only", and mail it to your own bank in Canada, for deposit in your Canadian bank account. Time involved is only in the transportation of the cheque.

Then use your ATM card to withdraw the money here. Aeon if you don't want to pay the 150 baht fee.

It'll probably cost about the same in converting anywhere from $$ to baht.

Thats the way I would do it, but i dont have an account in Canada. I started another thread about how to open an account in Canada from here, what would be the best way to do that, or can i do that? Would the HSBC offshore account work in this case or be an option?

Can you start an online account from here?

Greenie, check your PMs from last October.

How about mailing the check to your Canadian bank, then wire the funds back to Thailand?

Talk to the foreign Department - they know what to so. these guys also arrange currency checks drawn on foreign correspondence banks like Bank of

Ayuthaya uses HSBC in HKG for HKD.

Good luck!

Chris

Another option, depending on the amount: mark the cheque "For Deposit Only", and mail it to your own bank in Canada, for deposit in your Canadian bank account. Time involved is only in the transportation of the cheque.

Then use your ATM card to withdraw the money here. Aeon if you don't want to pay the 150 baht fee.

It'll probably cost about the same in converting anywhere from $$ to baht.

Thats the way I would do it, but i dont have an account in Canada. I started another thread about how to open an account in Canada from here, what would be the best way to do that, or can i do that? Would the HSBC offshore account work in this case or be an option?

Can you start an online account from here?

Aaah, there's the rub. I rather doubt you can actually open an account with a Canadian bank without going into some branch. Perhaps a trusted friend there that you could send the cheque to, transferred to his/her account, and then sent back to you as a bank cheque or SWIFT transfer to your own account here?

Another option, depending on the amount: mark the cheque "For Deposit Only", and mail it to your own bank in Canada, for deposit in your Canadian bank account. Time involved is only in the transportation of the cheque.

Then use your ATM card to withdraw the money here. Aeon if you don't want to pay the 150 baht fee.

It'll probably cost about the same in converting anywhere from $$ to baht.

Thats the way I would do it, but i dont have an account in Canada. I started another thread about how to open an account in Canada from here, what would be the best way to do that, or can i do that? Would the HSBC offshore account work in this case or be an option?

Can you start an online account from here?

Bangkok Bank cashes US and UK governments checks instantly or within a few days and will definitely consider doing the same for Canadian government checks as well provided that the amount is not too large and you have opened an account with the Bank for some time.

Ask your Bangkok Bank branch to call their Foreign Notes and Drafts Section, Global Payment Services Department at Silom Head Office to look into this matter for you before taking any other option.