I recently found myself having to return money to my ex-employer in the USA and never having done this before settled for the much advertised Western Union system. I sat at the desk of Bangkok Bank, Kamtieng Tesco branch with 545 cash dollars in my hand and was told the charge for sending money would be 1,300thb, which despite being quite expensive I was willing to pay. Although I was paying in cash dollars, exactly the same as they would pay out in America, the bank then pulled a trick which surely only banks can be so unethical as to try. My $545 was exchanged to thai baht which was then exchanged to some other mythical bank dollar during which my money was reduced to $515! Plus I was paying $40 for the transfer. A total of $70 to get $515 to the USA. Can this be fair!

western union = highway robbery, most people know this dont they?

Yeh its not fair, international transfers are full of huge hidden charges and poor exchange rates, I am tempted to take a wad of cash next time i travel and drop it into a local account when I arrive.

western union = highway robbery, most people know this dont they?

THe OP does now. Never, Never use Western Union.

Of course it is not fair, but it is not unusual. Welcome to the world of modern banking. Next time mail a check, airmail postage 19 Baht.

It would have been more cost effective to give Western Union Thai Baht rather than USD, WU only accepts the currency of the country they are based in, regardless of which currency you want your counter party to receive - transferring funds is only one part of WU's business, currency exchange is the other and they don't want their customers doing their job for them, sad and unfair as it may seem.

Western Union is great for emergencies only, they've priced themselves out of the market for routine transactions.

couldn't you mail your ex-employer your US bank 'personal check' for the overpayment? the cost for a stamp + registered mail would have cost 60 baht.

You can make a Telex Transfer via any bank and the cost I belive is around Thb 800 and funds arrive within 3 working days.

In any case personal cheque is cheaper but maybe a bit slower to reach the beneficiary.

All bank transfers are highway robbery. That is how they run the banks. For a few tiny clicks on the keyboard they rip off customers one after another. All the rest is pure profit.

Although I was paying in cash dollars, exactly the same as they would pay out in America, the bank then pulled a trick which surely only banks can be so unethical as to try.

Hotels can do this to.

A hotel may quote a dollar rate but they'll actually charge your American credit card in baht at an unfavorable exchange rate. The since it's in baht it's considered a foreign currency transaction which might cost you another 3%.

I found in Bali, hotels like to quote in dollars but the above happened to me in Kanchanaburi.

I recently found myself having to return money to my ex-employer in the USA

Next to an ex wife I can't think of anyone more deserving of waiting for a personal check to arrive via international air mail