Which Bank Is Best For Transfering Money

[whichschool]

Ive a Bangkok Bank account and when i transfer money from the UK i get less then what the UK bank tells me i'll get.

So can anyone recommend which bank wont charge me to transfer money into the acount, and which Bank is best for us Foreigners.

[Penkoprod]

You're not transferring this as Thai baht, by any chance?

If you ARE then stop that practice IMMEDIATLY as the banks over here (UK) rip you off with the exchange rate. Send it as Sterling and let the Bangkok Bank convert it at the THAI rate, which you can check via its website. Its always more than at home

You will ALWAYS be charged to send it, but that, again is the British banks imposing the charge...which they should have informed you of (the fact AND the amount they charge)

There may well be a charge inposed by the Thai banks, but nowhere near the amount most UK banks charge to send it in the first place

Penkoprod

Edited February 15, 2010 by Penkoprod

[bellagrego]

There is no shortage of Bank Charges here, the USA or anywhere. Dead right on the fund selection. Send as sterling or dollars. Our home banks, both HSBC or Chase, the two biggest in the world take about 3-5 percent off the top, and then the Thai Banks take a little more. Krug Thai is my second bank here and the charges there and my Bangkok account are identical as regulated by the BOT.

[lopburi3]

There are several fees involved in transfer - upfront is a wire transfer fee to home bank when you make the transfer - then the correspondent bank sending funds to Thailand will take a bit out (likely several pounds from UK) and then on receipt 1/4 of one percent will be deducted from the baht total (range of 200-500 baht).

Bangkok Bank will tell you exactly if you ask - if you have SMS set up it is detailed on the receipt they send.

Chase New York in my experience only took $2 on a $9,000 transfer - Bangkok Bank New York took $5 for the same transfer.

[Tanaka]

As has been said, always transfer your money in your country's currency and have the exchange done by your bank here in Thailand. If I transfer, say, 100.000 tbh, the difference between that and let your home country bank change, can be 6.000tbh.

Bangkok Bank charges between 200 and 500 baht before the money is in your account there. There is a percentage of the transferred sum but 500 is max.

The charges in our home country banks differ a lot.

[whichschool]

Cheers

I was transfering from HSBC in sterling but will now be using Nationwide, i received about 1500bht less when transfering about 2000gbp.

So can i take it most Banks in Thailand are the same or is there one that stands out?

[JAS21]

Cheers

I was transfering from HSBC in sterling but will now be using Nationwide, i received about 1500bht less when transfering about 2000gbp.

So can i take it most Banks in Thailand are the same or is there one that stands out?

OK here is an example..On 8 Oct 2009 I transferred 5000GPB from my UK bank to Bangkok Bank. I got 264,512 Baht. On that day BB quoted an a.m. and a p.m. exchange rate of 53.0 and 53.2.

Assume the lower…the overall rate I got was 52.90 (264512/5000) however my UK bank charged me £26 for a quick transfer so the actual rate was 52.628 (264512/5026) but lets neglect the UK charges for now.

At 53 I should have got 265000 Baht, so BB got at least 478Baht.

Now lets look at doing ATM transfers..Assume all in one day and ATM cost nil. Visa International Exchange rate on that day was 1THB equals 0.019022 including Nationwide 1% charge and that gives 52.571. So at that rate I would have got 262,855 Baht (52.571*5000).

Like for like TT transfer is best, however between then and now I have ATM exchanged at a somewhat better rate on occasions.

I didn’t know that you can do what Naam did and that is hold the money whilst negotiating the exchange rate. Maybe you have to transfer larger amounts..I will enquire.

[ianguygil]

This is the table from the BangkokBank.Com website for that day (I will paste the link at the bottom). Our site has the ability to go back several years to display rates. Which is pretty useful.

Using the ATM scenario you need to consider that each ATM will limit you to 20,000 THB per withdrawal. So you will have a charge on each end for 12 or so withdrawals for 5,000 GBP assuming you can take that much out each day (there are limits on both sides).

The TT rate is almost always the best net value for the customer.

BTW, GBP 5,000 is not sufficiently large amount to negotiate an FX contract in most cases.

Good luck

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/...es/Default.aspx

CurrencyDescriptionBank NoteBuying RatesSelling Rates

Bill-DD-TTBuying RatesSelling RatesSight BillTTUSD1USD : 132.1733.55USD5USD : 5-2032.4833.55USD50USD : 50-10032.9533.6033.1033.2033.45GBPUnited Kingdom52.4154.2452.8650053.0025053.63750EUREuro Zone48.4849.6148.7037548.8200049.40750JPYJapan (:100)36.9138.2137.2275037.3150037.99000HKDHong Kong4.204.384.262504.276254.32375MYRMalaysia: 10, 50, 1009.0010.07UnquoteUnquoteUnquoteSGDSingapore23.4824.1623.5937523.6575024.07750BNDBrunei22.9324.10---CNYChina4.165.24UnquoteUnquoteUnquoteIDRIndonesia (:1000)2.074.453.115203.155854.04475INRIndia : 50-10000.615000.76625--0.76750KRWKorea0.02330.0354---PHPPhilippines0.520.79--0.73250TWDTaiwan0.831.14---AUDAustralia29.4130.8529.6725029.7625030.25750NZDNew Zealand24.2025.3924.3900024.4675024.87750CHFSwitzerland31.8032.7632.0475032.1475032.62000DKKDenmark6.336.666.532506.552506.64250NOKNorway5.695.965.832505.850005.93875SEKSweden4.594.854.746254.758754.83125CADCanada30.9031.9231.2800031.3500031.81250RUBRussia0.901.29---VNDVietnam (:1000)1.332.10---ZARSouth Africa2.915.98---AEDUnited Arab Emirate7.299.47---BHDBahrain59.5589.20---OMROman58.7087.62---QARQatar7.189.48---SARSaudi Arabia7.059.41---

[JAS21]

Yes Ian thanks..thats how I got the last October values earlier today. Their web site actually allows you to go back as far as 1997!

I was not suggesting doing multiple ATM withdrawels, just showing that TT teansfer, as you confirm is the best. Before Nationwide put that 1% on ATM transfers was the best nethod. The yellow bank is still not charging ATM withdrawel fee so I use it on ocassions.

[whichschool]

Cheers for all the info., so it looks as if Bangkok Bank is as good as any as you guys seem to know what youe talking about and still use BKK bank.

[sibeymai]

I use SCB to transfer to Australia and it's in the account within 3 hours provided I do the transfer before midday. Can't fault the service. Costs 450 baht.

[caf]

Transferring only gbp 5000 gives you little negotiating power but a poster on another thread does this but does not realise he's not getting a good deal. Banks love these people.

Bangkok bank offer good rates as do other Thai banks.

As other posters have said: bring in money in yourr home currency and get the thai bank to convert to baht here. agree the rate first, it can be done.

and most important, check the banks' rate - shop around. negotiate

caf

[JimGant]

Using the ATM scenario you need to consider that each ATM will limit you to 20,000 THB per withdrawal.

Maybe some do, but Bangkok Bank's ATMs will deliver 25,000 baht (assuming the 25 feeds are loaded with 1000 baht notes).

As long as you're not exceeding the daily limit established by your card's issuing bank, you should be able to get 25000bt per pull.

[ianguygil]

20,000 THB per withdrawal at Bangkok Bank ATM's

[JimGant]

20,000 THB per withdrawal at Bangkok Bank ATM's

Must be a limitation of your issuing bank. My daily ceiling with my Stateside issuing bank is well above 25000 bt, so there's never a problem getting 25k each time. Lately, however, I've only been using my Be1st ATM/Debit card. Again, 25,000 bt per.

A couple of times they loaded the 25 slots with 500bt notes. A big note on the machine said: "12,500 max dispense." But, that is rare.

I only use Bangkok Bank machines, attached to Bangkok Banks, in case the machine 'eats' my card (easier to rectify this way). Don't know much about other banks' machines. Believe I heard SCB can dispense 30,000 bt at a time, but maybe it was some other Thai bank.

[chiang mai]

There are two web tools you can use to do a quick check to see which financial institution is offering the better rate. In the first one you'll need to change your home currency in the box at the top and also the currency type (Notes, TT etc) but it will give you near enough real time rates. It's worth noting that difference between the best and the worst rate shown is around 1.3% using the GBP/THB TT rate so there's not a huge amount in it when converting small amounts of money but it could be significant when making say a once an annual transfer for say visa or house purchase purposes. Note: the exchange rates shown here don't include additional charges that some banks make for receiving cash or handling large amounts:

http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

Since the tool above only covers Thai financial institutions I attach a second link for HSBC although I'm not certain how frequently the information here is updated, presumably the other international banks have similar tools:

http://www.hsbc.co.th/1/2/exchange-rate

Edited February 19, 2010 by chiang mai

[ianguygil]

I finally checked with our product people

The amount per withdrawal depends on the physical machine age. Older ATMs can provide 20 notes per withdrawal. Newer ATMs can provide 25. Depending on the notes available in the particular machine, with 1,000 Baht notes being currently the largest denomination, the machine can dispense either 20,000 THB or 25,000 THB per time.

If the machine has run out of 1,000 THB notes it will step down to 500 THB or 100 THB depending on what is left, so the amount available will range depending on the machine and notes.

Hope this finally clears it up.

Good luck.

[jor]

I recently transfereed GBP 30,000, in Sterling, from my IOM bank to my Bangkok Bank THB account. Although I gave the BB Bangkok SWIFT address the IOM bank routed it through BB London branch as they said they do not have a correspondent relationship with BB Bangkok. BB London deducted GBP 60 in charges before sending it to Bangkok who then took their THB 500 fee. I phoned BB London to ask why they had taken so much instead of the GBP 15 fee quoted on their website and was told that this is their standard charge.

I will try to get something in writing from BB London before taking this up with BB Head Office and in the meantime will be looking for another Thai bank - any recommendations will be welcomed.

Jor

[ianguygil]

Please send me a message and I'll see if I can help understand what happened here

[twix38]

Open an account with The Halifax Bank and use their online international payment.

Cost GBP 9.50 and can do it equally from UK or Thailand (as online)

Send in home currency.

If doing from Thailand, need a Thai phone number (can use a mobile phone number) for spot checks when doing online transaction, but I have never been phoned and i've done 8. Even if I was phoned, it would not be a problem either as just follow authentication process by typing in a given code number as part of online transaction process.

Can do from UK easily too - it's online.

Funds takes 3 days to arrive and exchange rate is better as Thai bank's rate.

Thai bank will probably charge 0.25% with max. 500 Baht - well my bank does

No other charge made by UK bank (Hlaifax) than the GBP 9.95

Bonus, if you pay in more than GBP 1,000, then you get GBP 5 each month. I only use my Halifax account for transfering money to Thailand and so I transfer from my Nationwide Flex to Halifax. I then make the payment via Halifax and the GBP 5 makes my UK cost for intl payment a total of just GBP 4.50 for any amount!!!!!

This is probably the only good point for Halifax and cheaper than Nationwide, who don't yet have an online intl payment option.

Come on, sharpen up you lot. :-) LOL

Edited February 21, 2010 by twix38

[JimGant]

I guess if I were a Brit, Halifax Bank would be my choice for sending money to Thailand. I would certainly appreciate the ability to do this online, which, according to the Halifax site, saves you 10GBPs over doing it by phone or walk-in. Out of curiosity, to your knowledge, is this a SWIFT transfer?

I transfer from my Nationwide Flex to Halifax.

Presumably, that can also be done online. How many days does that take?

The amount per withdrawal depends on the physical machine age. Older ATMs can provide 20 notes per withdrawal. Newer ATMs can provide 25.

Ian, thanx for solving that. I guess I haven't encountered any 20k machines.

[twix38]

Bacs (not swift) and takes 3 days. This is all based in UK and I opened Halifax account only for intl payments and don't use them ordinarily for my banking. Halifax has a same day system in UK and Nationwide are due to get it, then it will be well within 24 hours from N'wide to Halifax in order to start Halifax intl payment process.

I guess if I were a Brit, Halifax Bank would be my choice for sending money to Thailand. I would certainly appreciate the ability to do this online, which, according to the Halifax site, saves you 10GBPs over doing it by phone or walk-in. Out of curiosity, to your knowledge, is this a SWIFT transfer?

I transfer from my Nationwide Flex to Halifax.

Presumably, that can also be done online. How many days does that take?

The amount per withdrawal depends on the physical machine age. Older ATMs can provide 20 notes per withdrawal. Newer ATMs can provide 25.

Ian, thanx for solving that. I guess I haven't encountered any 20k machines.

Edited February 27, 2010 by twix38

[Chaimai]

Open an account with The Halifax Bank and use their online international payment.

Cost GBP 9.50 and can do it equally from UK or Thailand (as online)

Send in home currency.

If doing from Thailand, need a Thai phone number (can use a mobile phone number) for spot checks when doing online transaction, but I have never been phoned and i've done 8. Even if I was phoned, it would not be a problem either as just follow authentication process by typing in a given code number as part of online transaction process.

Can do from UK easily too - it's online.

Funds takes 3 days to arrive and exchange rate is better as Thai bank's rate.

Thai bank will probably charge 0.25% with max. 500 Baht - well my bank does

No other charge made by UK bank (Hlaifax) than the GBP 9.95

Bonus, if you pay in more than GBP 1,000, then you get GBP 5 each month. I only use my Halifax account for transfering money to Thailand and so I transfer from my Nationwide Flex to Halifax. I then make the payment via Halifax and the GBP 5 makes my UK cost for intl payment a total of just GBP 4.50 for any amount!!!!!

This is probably the only good point for Halifax and cheaper than Nationwide, who don't yet have an online intl payment option.

Come on, sharpen up you lot. :-) LOL

twix - I do exactly the same except that I use HSBC to fund Halifax. Any amount I send falls with the FPS and gets there same day (usually a couple of minutes ).

I do think is worth mentioning the warning from Halifax about online banking being intended for UK use only. The warning states that if you are overseas you can check balances but CANNOT use online banking to transfer or remit funds.

It does not say should not, it clearly states CANNOT. This was also confirmed in a previous conversation with the bank.

However, you are also right in describing the practical implications of this. Only once in about 10 transactions have I had Online banking frozen - even then I think it was due me trying to check if my Thai number was logged on the system. It was all sorted out in one phone call and if anyone lectures you about not being for overseas use, just invent an emergency.

Nevertheless, users of Halifax Online should be aware of this potential hiccough.

[Bagwan]

If using TT do ask for a copy of the routing. I bank with BoS in Jersey and was alarmed at the cost to me until I checked it all out. Since BoS do not have a chummy relationship with UOB - or anybody in LoS as far as I can tell - they sent the money to Barclays in London who sent it to Krung Thai who forwarded it to UOB. I discovered that Krung Thai charged far more than the 15 GBP BoS charged me. I opened a Krung Thai account and the money is now sent there so that I only get robbed by BoS. I withdraw most of the dosh in cash and cross the road and deposit it in UOB.

If I telephone BoS before 1000 UK time the money is in my Krung Thai account the following morning.

You may have to fight your way past bank clerks to get the Manager of your Thai bank to produce the paperwork - which you are legally entitled to. Having a copy of the routing enables you to cut out the middle man which saves time and your money.

[HerbalEd]

20,000 THB per withdrawal at Bangkok Bank ATM's

I get 25K baht from my Bangkok Bank ATM whenever I want ... sometimes two or three times per day. Only exception is late at night or on weekends when the ATM machine doesn't have enough 1000 baht notes.

[jor]

I recently transfereed GBP 30,000, in Sterling, from my IOM bank to my Bangkok Bank THB account. Although I gave the BB Bangkok SWIFT address the IOM bank routed it through BB London branch as they said they do not have a correspondent relationship with BB Bangkok. BB London deducted GBP 60 in charges before sending it to Bangkok who then took their THB 500 fee. I phoned BB London to ask why they had taken so much instead of the GBP 15 fee quoted on their website and was told that this is their standard charge.

I will try to get something in writing from BB London before taking this up with BB Head Office and in the meantime will be looking for another Thai bank - any recommendations will be welcomed.

A BM, who happens to be a senior manager in BB, took this up on my behalf. BB Head Office took into consideration that the transfer was for a donation to a Thai charity and have refunded the GBP 60 charge in full and so I am happy with this result and am grateful to the BM for his assistance.

I was also advised to use the BACS route to move the money to the BB London branch although there was no way of knowing this in advance. A friend has also been caught by this in similar circumstances.

Jor

[lopburi3]

Bangkok Bank ATMs can provide 25 bills if you want them. And have for the many years I have been using them and I have never found one that didn't. Unfortunately they are heavly used and often not topped up in a timely manner so you may only be able to get 12,500 if 500 baht notes or 2,500 if only one hundreds available.