You and your Thai Wife of 20 years.

[chiang mai]

[clinique]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I want to get an account opened as soon as possible and I'll have a look into the banks suggested.

Regards.

just a note; if you want to use LLOyds TSBASia or ICICI - they are located in Singapore.. it is likely you will have to go to their Singapore office to open the account !! Doubt you can do it in UK ? as they are different operations (jurisdictions) under the same parent umbrella..

[chiang mai]

"but is provided instead by their Treasury function in real time? No, I thought not!"

I like the way you answer your own questions. I can see now why you think you never lose arguments

The rate I quoted was after speaking to their treasury as a premier customer and after negotiating upwards. Their rate 51.85 ; BKK 52.10

As I said and note the bit in bold ( which showed I was speaking to the treasury departments):

"This morning's rates, just taking hsbc and bangkok bank were hsbc 51.85, bkk 52.1; This morning's rates, just taking hsbc and bangkok bank were hsbc 51.85, bkk 52.1; both after negotiation upwards.

And as for your comment, "there have been no rude comments posted as far as I can see, just statements of fact", what you said was

"neither of you know what you are talking about. "

The rates quoted show that we do. But let members check for themselves. As i said the forum is here to help people and I agree it is not about winning or losing - that is why I stuck only to the facts of what rates I obtained from the treasury departments.

Your original post was very pro- HSBC and misled other posters. Just review the thread from the beginning.

caf

I just checked the GBP/USD Forex rates (same pattern as GBP/THB) at DailyFX for activity between 09:00 and 10:45 today and the rate moved by up to 30 bps during that time. So, unless you timed your two calls to two different Treasury Depts at two different banks, at exactly the same time, it does not surprise me that you got two different answers.

Edited February 17, 2010 by chiang mai

[caf]

Did it the way we all do it. Calls within seconds of each other.

As you said.

"Typically, when I make such an exchange I will also be looking at a live currency feed so that I can check to make sure that the rate I'm being offered is suitable and I can check the offer against the spot rate to establish what the banks margin is on the exchange, if I think it's out of line I'll counter with a rate that involves a smaller margin and on occasion such a bluff has worked in my favour."

Advice to members. Enjoy this exchange CM is not going to change his prejudice. If you want a currency conversion check a few banks; hsbc is rarely if ever more beneficial., They are a good bank in other ways but are not competitive on foreign exchange and they probably wouldn't claim to be. Premier banking comes at a price. I have a premier account with no bank charges, free cashier cheques, no credit card charges but I do FX with Bangkok bank ( the rates I quoted show why)

caf

[Naam]

Did it the way we all do it. Calls within seconds of each other.

As you said.

"Typically, when I make such an exchange I will also be looking at a live currency feed so that I can check to make sure that the rate I'm being offered is suitable and I can check the offer against the spot rate to establish what the banks margin is on the exchange, if I think it's out of line I'll counter with a rate that involves a smaller margin and on occasion such a bluff has worked in my favour."

Advice to members. Enjoy this exchange CM is not going to change his prejudice. If you want a currency conversion check a few banks; hsbc is rarely if ever more beneficial., They are a good bank in other ways but are not competitive on foreign exchange and they probably wouldn't claim to be. Premier banking comes at a price. I have a premier account with no bank charges, free cashier cheques, no credit card charges but I do FX with Bangkok bank ( the rates I quoted show why)

caf

even that might not really help. exchange rates change within minutes and even seconds. that's why they are called exchange rates

[chiang mai]

And finally we can agree on one thing, members should look at all the alternatives and make their own decisions. But let me just throw out one other angle on all of this and BTW, I am not unduly prejudice towards HSBC, I just happen to think they offer me the best deal given all the alternatives.

There was a poster some months back that made all manner of outrageous claims about having the very best deal on currency exchange from the UK, no fees, no charges, no commissions, preferred rates etc, when challenged about the detail the poster continued to insist that everything he had said was true and correct although the scenario he presented was just not commercially viable - come to find out after much debate that he was in fact paying an annual fee for a set of privileges!

So when I think of exchange rates I think in terms of the end to end process, it's one thing to get the best rate possible but if you then have to pay a fee to get your Sterling into a position where you can take advantage of that excellent rate, it kinda defeats the purpose. Paying a transfer fee to (any) bank, UK or Thai, to get the Sterling from the UK to Thailand, reduces the effective exchange rate considerably. That's another part of the reason why I continue to favour my present arrangements with HSBC because the transfer is free. But as with everything else in this world I will continue to monitor the competition and as soon as the picture changes, so will I, HSBC or no HSBC, it's all down to the cost effectiveness of the end to end deal. Over and out.

[caf]

Well done Naam "exCHANGE rates"

Just to finalise:

"So when I think of exchange rates I think in terms of the end to end process, it's one thing to get the best rate possible but if you then have to pay a fee to get your Sterling into a position where you can take advantage of that excellent rate, it kinda defeats the purpose." quotes Chiangmai

Chiangmai is right; I've just done a deal with Bangkok Bank at 52.0. And , horror of horrors, Chiangmai is perfectly correct, you need to think of the "end to end process". They charged me 200 baht whereas HSBC would have been a free transfer. hel_l, I've lost 200 baht.

caf

I won't tell you the HSBC rate but I'm a few thousand ahead.

Anyone want info on the different bank rates, please pm me. I'm happy to help. This thread has run its course

As CM says, over and out.

You can have the last word if you want to Cm, no hard feelings. I only post to help people.

[chiang mai]

Well done Naam "exCHANGE rates"

Just to finalise:

"So when I think of exchange rates I think in terms of the end to end process, it's one thing to get the best rate possible but if you then have to pay a fee to get your Sterling into a position where you can take advantage of that excellent rate, it kinda defeats the purpose." quotes Chiangmai

Chiangmai is right; I've just done a deal with Bangkok Bank at 52.0. And , horror of horrors, Chiangmai is perfectly correct, you need to think of the "end to end process". They charged me 200 baht whereas HSBC would have been a free transfer. hel_l, I've lost 200 baht.

caf

I won't tell you the HSBC rate but I'm a few thousand ahead.

Anyone want info on the different bank rates, please pm me. I'm happy to help. This thread has run its course

As CM says, over and out.

You can have the last word if you want to Cm, no hard feelings. I only post to help people.

Now that has really sparked my interest!

You say you got hit with a fee of 200 Baht by Bangkok Bank, OK, not a huge figure by any means. But I'm curious, how did you get your Sterling from the UK (or outside of Thailand) into Bangkok Bank in the first place because that's all a part of the end to end process - if you have a Premier account presumably you transferred from HSBC UK to HSBC Thailand? But if that's what you did then you also had to pay a fee to transfer from HSBC to BB?

The second part of the same question is, having now converted your currency into THB at Bangkok Bank, will you leave it there or will you transfer it over to HSBC and use your ATM card to make withdrawals?

You see, it's little things like this that sometimes keep me awake at night just wondering how and why.

[caf]

"You say you got hit with a fee of 200 Baht by Bangkok Bank"

Correct. But chicken feed compared to what I had gained on the exchange rate. I was being humourous

As I said " I've just done a deal with Bangkok Bank at 52.0. And , horror of horrors, Chiangmai is perfectly correct, you need to think of the "end to end process". They charged me 200 baht whereas HSBC would have been a free transfer. hel_l, I've lost 200 baht."

"

" presumably you transferred from HSBC UK to HSBC Thailand?" Wrong assumption again. HSBC, like all banks, have facilities to transfer to any bank. When I was quoted a better rate they did precisely that. BKK will receive in Sterling and honour the rate quoted.

"then you also had to pay a fee to transfer from HSBC to BB? " No, but the usual rate is around gbp 35 to transfer to banks outside the group. All banks do that normally.

"The second part of the same question is, having now converted your currency into THB at Bangkok Bank, will you leave it there or will you transfer it over to HSBC and use your ATM card to make withdrawals?"

I intend spending some of it ; I have ATM cards at HSBC and BKK and I will shortly be making a big purchase using the funds at BKK. My normal spend and credit cards will be met from my current HSBC funds.

Sleep well

caf

( This is getting like the free water thread - lots of criticising but getting nowhere because the facts ( shop around for good rates as I have done) are so obvious)

[chiang mai]

"You say you got hit with a fee of 200 Baht by Bangkok Bank"

Correct. But chicken feed compared to what I had gained on the exchange rate. I was being humourous

As I said " I've just done a deal with Bangkok Bank at 52.0. And , horror of horrors, Chiangmai is perfectly correct, you need to think of the "end to end process". They charged me 200 baht whereas HSBC would have been a free transfer. hel_l, I've lost 200 baht."

"

" presumably you transferred from HSBC UK to HSBC Thailand?" Wrong assumption again. HSBC, like all banks, have facilities to transfer to any bank. When I was quoted a better rate they did precisely that. BKK will receive in Sterling and honour the rate quoted.

"then you also had to pay a fee to transfer from HSBC to BB? " No, but the usual rate is around gbp 35 to transfer to banks outside the group. All banks do that normally.

"The second part of the same question is, having now converted your currency into THB at Bangkok Bank, will you leave it there or will you transfer it over to HSBC and use your ATM card to make withdrawals?"

I intend spending some of it ; I have ATM cards at HSBC and BKK and I will shortly be making a big purchase using the funds at BKK. My normal spend and credit cards will be met from my current HSBC funds.

Sleep well

caf

OK, so you paid either £15 or £30 for the transfer to a non-group bank, (http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/1/2/international/bank-accounts/money-transfers/money-out) understood and thanks for the clarification.

[caf]

"You say you got hit with a fee of 200 Baht by Bangkok Bank"

Correct. But chicken feed compared to what I had gained on the exchange rate. I was being humourous

As I said " I've just done a deal with Bangkok Bank at 52.0. And , horror of horrors, Chiangmai is perfectly correct, you need to think of the "end to end process". They charged me 200 baht whereas HSBC would have been a free transfer. hel_l, I've lost 200 baht."

"

" presumably you transferred from HSBC UK to HSBC Thailand?" Wrong assumption again. HSBC, like all banks, have facilities to transfer to any bank. When I was quoted a better rate they did precisely that. BKK will receive in Sterling and honour the rate quoted.

"then you also had to pay a fee to transfer from HSBC to BB? " No, but the usual rate is around gbp 35 to transfer to banks outside the group. All banks do that normally.

"The second part of the same question is, having now converted your currency into THB at Bangkok Bank, will you leave it there or will you transfer it over to HSBC and use your ATM card to make withdrawals?"

I intend spending some of it ; I have ATM cards at HSBC and BKK and I will shortly be making a big purchase using the funds at BKK. My normal spend and credit cards will be met from my current HSBC funds.

Sleep well

caf

OK, so you paid either £15 or £30 for the transfer to a non-group bank, (http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/1/2/international/bank-accounts/money-transfers/money-out) understood and thanks for the clarification.

I paid neither 15 or 30 as I have already told you. You seem to like making lots of assumptions on people's transactions with their own banks.

They waived their fee as they could not match the Bangkok Bank bid. They are a good bank in other ways.

caf

[chiang mai]

"You say you got hit with a fee of 200 Baht by Bangkok Bank"

Correct. But chicken feed compared to what I had gained on the exchange rate. I was being humourous

As I said " I've just done a deal with Bangkok Bank at 52.0. And , horror of horrors, Chiangmai is perfectly correct, you need to think of the "end to end process". They charged me 200 baht whereas HSBC would have been a free transfer. hel_l, I've lost 200 baht."

"

" presumably you transferred from HSBC UK to HSBC Thailand?" Wrong assumption again. HSBC, like all banks, have facilities to transfer to any bank. When I was quoted a better rate they did precisely that. BKK will receive in Sterling and honour the rate quoted.

"then you also had to pay a fee to transfer from HSBC to BB? " No, but the usual rate is around gbp 35 to transfer to banks outside the group. All banks do that normally.

"The second part of the same question is, having now converted your currency into THB at Bangkok Bank, will you leave it there or will you transfer it over to HSBC and use your ATM card to make withdrawals?"

I intend spending some of it ; I have ATM cards at HSBC and BKK and I will shortly be making a big purchase using the funds at BKK. My normal spend and credit cards will be met from my current HSBC funds.

Sleep well

caf

OK, so you paid either £15 or £30 for the transfer to a non-group bank, (http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/1/2/international/bank-accounts/money-transfers/money-out) understood and thanks for the clarification.

I paid neither 15 or 30 as I have already told you. You seem to like making lots of assumptions on people's transactions with their own banks.

They waived their fee as they could not match the Bangkok Bank bid. They are a good bank in other ways.

caf

I truly hope you believe me when I say I am seriously trying to understand the process you went through and how you managed to save money at the same time, I would be foolish not to want to and who knows, if you've found a better/cheaper way to make the transfer and conversion the perhaps it's a system I can adopt also and maybe I am incorrect about my positive views of HSBC.

But as things stand the end to end process seems unclear and incomplete and it's for that reason that I have had to try and make assumptions to fill in those gaps - if you don't want to share the information that please say so but I will be keen to understand it better.

From what you've written thus far it seems that you made two telephone calls in very quick succession to obtain a GBP/THB exchange rate quote, one call to HSBC Treasury and the other to BB Treasury. You decided that the BB rate was the better one and decided to go with it. You then went back to HSBC and said, look, BB has given me a better rate so HSBC said OK, in that case we'll waive our international transfer fees and remit the money to BB in Thailand for free. Your funds arrived at BB the following day, BB charged you 200 Baht for accepting the money and then exchanged your Sterling into Baht at the rate they had promised the previous day. Is that correct?

Just for the avoidance of doubt: I've referred to the following day and yesterday in the above, this is because HSBC UK overseas transfers have to be complete by 2pm each day.