Using A Company Called 'currency Solutions"

[Wentworth]

I would be grateful for any feedback about this company: www.currencysolutions.co.uk. They specialise in foreign transfers from the UK.

They only charge 10 GBP for transfers under 10,000 GBP. There are no further charges or taxes etc. I thought the rates were good and you get confirmation of the details beforehand. The transfer process seems quite quick. They claim to be regulated by the FSA and HM Customs, which I will check if I feel positive about it.

I've used SWIFT transfers from my UK bank before but even with a priority request you just don't know what the rates are. Also, they charged me 26 GBP and could have been higher.

[Morden]

Have a look at the FSA Register entry for this company:

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/psdFirmPass...s.do?sid=230890

They don't seem to have a 'passport' For Thailand even though they quote rates against the Baht in their website. Perhaps the FSA's Passport field isn't long enough to go beyond 'Sweden'.

Note also that payment service aren't covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

There's precious little information about them on the FSA Register website. Type in the name of your favourite UK insurance company and see how much detail you get.

[sarahsbloke]

You might want to try HiFx, they don't make any transfer charge at all.

Edited April 28, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[poppysdad]

We used this company around 4 years ago when purchasing our house over here and used them to send each payment as it became due. We found then to be excellent to deal with both being friendly, helpful and doing exactly what they said they would and there was never a worrying moment. Can't quite remember how we made the deals, you have to register first, then phone them for a quote in your chosen currency, you basically buy at the spot rate at that moment or you can defer until later. They then e-mail you a confirmation buying note which you then fax back signed along with a bank transfer form filled in from your own bank to pay for your currency. They then transfer those funds to the account no that you gave them in your chosen country. All in all quite a painless way to do it and certainly quick and easy. We have not used them since as have no need to do so but I'm still on their books and get almost daily updates on the financial situation around the world.

[cerbera]

I have had a great experience with GCEN in the uk. No charges either end and a much better rate than the tourist rates offered by banks. if you register using reference 1651-0100 they know youve come from a thai visa reco. Plus you can actually talk to somebody (free on skype) They are fully FSA registered and have great credentials. You can forward buy spot buy. Very flexible. FX trade. ETc Etc

[Carlosm]

I only use currency solutions now as they are 'superb'. Fast and a way better rate than anywhere i've ever tried. They are very professional and tag your transfer so you can ring them anytime and they'll tell you where your transfer is and how long it should take. Last time i transferred i went to my bank (Bangkok bank) and they said it hadn't arrived yet, so there and then i rung currency solutions and they said to give the phone to the teller. 2 minutes later they had 'suddenly found the transfer and the funds had cleared !

Plus i got 4 baht to the pound better rate than my bank in England and no fee's !

[Hornell]

I have used Moneycorp - www.moneycorp.com - for regular transfers from sterling to Baht for the past year, they don't make a charge, the rate is good and they deliver when they say so. To date BAY has charged me only 100 Baht per transaction.

[tutsiwarrior]

whatever happened to the perceived wisdom of transferring western currency to a thai bank and letting them do the conversion to baht on their end?

[chiang mai]

whatever happened to the perceived wisdom of transferring western currency to a thai bank and letting them do the conversion to baht on their end?

I think this is all about the behaviour of UK banks in that they are now increasingly charging more money to make overseas funds transfers, as a result folks are trying to find alternatives to them. If howver I'm wrong and folks are using such companies to convert Pounds into THB in the UK prior to tyransfer, that's a bad mistake to make since you'll almost certainly never beat the exchange rates given at Thai Banks in Thailand, all cost factors considered.

[neil324]

whatever happened to the perceived wisdom of transferring western currency to a thai bank and letting them do the conversion to baht on their end?

I think this is all about the behaviour of UK banks in that they are now increasingly charging more money to make overseas funds transfers, as a result folks are trying to find alternatives to them. If howver I'm wrong and folks are using such companies to convert Pounds into THB in the UK prior to tyransfer, that's a bad mistake to make since you'll almost certainly never beat the exchange rates given at Thai Banks in Thailand, all cost factors considered.

What spread do Thai banks charge when moving in by electronic method is it the same as their advertised rate, UK banks charge about 2% and up on the spread plus the transfer charge,but would have thought companies like HiFX would be very similar. On fairly large amounts anyway.

[chiang mai]

whatever happened to the perceived wisdom of transferring western currency to a thai bank and letting them do the conversion to baht on their end?

I think this is all about the behaviour of UK banks in that they are now increasingly charging more money to make overseas funds transfers, as a result folks are trying to find alternatives to them. If howver I'm wrong and folks are using such companies to convert Pounds into THB in the UK prior to tyransfer, that's a bad mistake to make since you'll almost certainly never beat the exchange rates given at Thai Banks in Thailand, all cost factors considered.

What spread do Thai banks charge when moving in by electronic method is it the same as their advertised rate, UK banks charge about 2% and up on the spread plus the transfer charge,but would have thought companies like HiFX would be very similar. On fairly large amounts anyway.

The spread is only relevant to the conversion and not the transfer, Thai bank spreads are typically around 1% whereas UK high street banks tend to start at 5%, The Oanda spread on GBP/THB is 0.9% so not a great margin in it - Travelex UK is often nearer to 10%. - obviously there are variable factors in all of that.

Edited May 4, 2010 by chiang mai