Transfer Of Funds To Thailand

[monsieurhappy]

Sorry if this has been dealt with before.

In the past I have transferred funds from my UK bank by sending a bank letter to my local branch.

It has not always been convenient and sometimes got lost.

Recently I have posted it to relatives early for them to take to the bank.

My bank won't let me transfer funds directly to my BKK bank acc. online.

The BKK bank website says I can transfer the funds to their London branch where they convert them into baht and transfer them to my acc. using the BKK banks exchange rate on the day they receive my funds.

What I want to know if anyone can help is do they use the same exchange rate as if here in Thailand or a UK based exchange rate that would be probably 2 or 3 baht per pound less?

[bkkflyer]

First, if I were you, I would change to a bank that allows you to do international Swift payments. I dont understand how anyone could use a bank that dont offer online Swift transfers. Have myself done online Swift payments for the past 13-15 years.

If you have GBP in your account, I would suggest to send GBP to your account in Bangkok. Of course if you can get the same ROE sending it to Bangkok Bank in London, that would probably be fine.

Kasikornbank was giving 48,875 baht per GBP this afternoon. On a sidenote, if you changed GBP banknotes, you would get 49,00 in the market here in Bangkok.

[petertucker48]

Also check out:

http://www.sendmoneyhome.org

For best rates

[Pib]

First, if I were you, I would change to a bank that allows you to do international Swift payments. I dont understand how anyone could use a bank that dont offer online Swift transfers. Have myself done online Swift payments for the past 13-15 years.

Maybe it's a small bank...some small banks have pretty basic online banking systems...pretty much monitor your account and pay bills....but little to no capability to transfer money to other banks, do international transfers, etc. But I agree, the first chance he gets he should change to one of the many banks that also includes a robust online banking/money transfer system...always good to be able to easily and quickly transfer money from the home country to Thailand.

[Robby nz]

Dont know about the UK but in NZ I have what they call an 'online call acc' (with interest) and I can transfer up to $10,000 at any time to any acc anywhere with the click of the mouse, get charged at both ends for international transfers of course, in country transfers free.

[geriatrickid]

Go the Swift route. My transfers cost me 700 baht per transaction and despite SCB having a rep as a nightmare the transfer occurs within the day, usually within hours. (It helps that SCB is the Thai correspondent for my sending bank.) I do the conversion locally and get a btter FX rate.

I held off on Swift transfers for way too long and I was an idiot. I should have followed the wise advice given in the forums. All the 3rd party alternatives out there, Moneygram, Western Union, Ikobo etc. charge fees that are significantly higher and often force you to do an FX at their rates. If your local bank can't do it, change banks. There is no excuse today for a bank to be unable to do a SWIFT transaction. A bank that cannot do this may not be the right bank for you.

[sarahsbloke]

Use a company like HiFx

Very easy and they rtefund you the 200bht that Bangkok Bank nicks in every transfer.

[monsieurhappy]

I may not have made things very clear in my first post so I'll try again.

I use 2 banks in the UK but neither will let me transfer online funds to another country.

I can however transfer online funds to UK banks etc.

If I want to send a Swift transfer of funds to my BKK bank acc. in Thailand I have to send a bank form to them by snail mail.

I am allowed to transfer funds to the BKK bank in London because it is obviously in UK.

On the BKK bank web site they say that if funds are transferred to the London branch to be sent on to an acc. in Thailand they will charge a fee of 15 pounds and use the BKK bank exchange rate when they transfer the funds to Thailand and that no charges will be made in Thailand.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Transferring%20into%20Thailand/Receiving%20Funds%20from%20UK/Pages/UK_Internet%20Banking.aspx

15 pounds may not be the cheapest rate but it doesn't seem too bad considering I have everything set up for it ie. online UK banking and a BKK bank acc. in Thailand.

What I do want to know is if the exchange rate they use in London is the same rate I see when I access their site in Thailand?

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Foreign%20Exchange/FX%20Rates/Pages/Default.aspx

[sarahsbloke]

HiFx charge nothing

You pay Hifx out of your UK bank account using a UK credit card or charge card.

They give you a fixed exchange rate at the moment you click the buy button.

HiFx than use SWIFT to transfer the Baht from their account to your Thai bank account.

There are no fees for you to pay, HiFx pay all fees including anything your Bangkok Bank charge ...... (usually 200bht)

If you use the banks directly, you can never know the exchange rate you are going to get as they pay the rate on the day received, not the day sent. Bangkok Bank ALWAYS charge a fee for money put into your account from a foreign account, but they don't tell you about it, so unless you do a Baht transfer you will never see the 200bht charge ....... even from their bank in London.

So the exchange rate they use will be their displayed rate on the day the funds reach Thailand, about 5 days after to send the money (-200bht fee).

So your charges using your system will be 15UKP SWIFT sending + 200bht receiving and rate on day of receiving

Edited July 11, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[monsieurhappy]

HiFx charge nothing

You pay Hifx out of your UK bank account using a UK credit card or charge card.

They give you a fixed exchange rate at the moment you click the buy button.

HiFx than use SWIFT to transfer the Baht from their account to your Thai bank account.

There are no fees for you to pay, HiFx pay all fees including anything your Bangkok Bank charge ...... (usually 200bht)

If you use the banks directly, you can never know the exchange rate you are going to get as they pay the rate on the day received, not the day sent. Bangkok Bank ALWAYS charge a fee for money put into your account from a foreign account, but they don't tell you about it, so unless you do a Baht transfer you will never see the 200bht charge ....... even from their bank in London.

So the exchange rate they use will be their displayed rate on the day the funds reach Thailand, about 5 days after to send the money (-200bht fee).

So your charges using your system will be 15UKP SWIFT sending + 200bht receiving and rate on day of receiving

I have registered with a FX company but when I checked the amount I would receive, even though I agree with you that once you click the button that rate is locked in, it is quite a bit less than using the BKK bank approach. 15 pounds against 60 approx. for a sum of 2500 GBP. The % deducted by the FX co. gets less as the sum transferred increases.

I agree that it takes at least 1 day for your transfer to reach the BKK bank but unless the pound is very erratic the change will possibly not be noticed and could actually be more than less.

According to the BKK bank site the 15 pound fee is for any amount whereas the FX cost rises with increased amounts.

[sarahsbloke]

Last time I did a big transfer of 20,000UKP it was using the SWIFT bank to bank.

The rate on the day was 50bht to 1 UKP

The SWIFT took 5 days, in that 5 days the exchange rate went to 53bht to 1UKP

The delay made me 60,000bht profit ..... I did notice and enjoy the profit!

Sometimes I am lucky.

In the last 6 months there have been many rises/falls of 1bht a day, hardly insignificant when moving thousands of pounds.

Edited July 11, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[monsieurhappy]

As well as looking for the cheapest way of transferring GBP I am also looking at a more convenient way without having to open a new acc. in another bank. I'm not sure if I could do that anyway without being there personally and I don't know when I'll be next visiting the UK.

Convenience also being able to transfer smaller amounts when the baht is high and more when the baht is/maybe low!

If the BKK bank exchange rate is the same in London as is quoted on their site then it wouldn't matter if it took 5 days for the Swift transfer to Thailand as it would already have been changed into Thai. baht.

Edited July 11, 2010 by monsieurhappy

[pkrv]

Hi OP - Yes you can directly link your UK bank account to your Thai (presumably passbook savings account) use this Bangkok Bank link

http://www.bangkokba...%20options.aspx

It is a simple UK transfer - No problems good rate (on large ish say 10k GBP+ transfers) IMO Hole in the wall for smaller amounts.

PKRV

Edited July 11, 2010 by pkrv

[garrfeild]

OP, I bet your bank Love you. the profit they make form just one of your transactions would frighten you. I use a Forex company to transfer funds from the UK to my Bangkok Bank account. Here is an example.

Last week at one stage the Thai Baht was 49.10 to the GBP. I did a deal for £1000 and got 48.10 per GBP there were no other fees for the transfer of funds, unlike other forex companies or banks.

I tried Bangkok Bank in London for tansfers a couple years ago while I was still learning about the best way to transfer funds from The UK to Thailand. They will not give you a good rate, possibly worse than what you get from your Bank.

So if you are a UK expat looking a better way to transfer funds, contact me (private message) for details.

Edited July 12, 2010 by garrfeild

[pkrv]

OP, I bet your bank Love you. the profit they make form just one of your transactions would frighten you. I use a Forex company to transfer funds from the UK to my Bangkok Bank account. Here is an example.

Last week at one stage the Thai Baht was 49.10 to the GBP. I did a deal for £1000 and got 48.10 per GBP there were no other fees for the transfer of funds, unlike other forex companies or banks.

I tried Bangkok Bank in London for tansfers a couple years ago while I was still learning about the best way to transfer funds from The UK to Thailand. They will not give you a good rate, possibly worse than what you get from your Bank.

So if you are a UK expat looking a better way to transfer funds, contact me (private message) for details.

Ohh you mean herd him off - I don't know if you have heard of the internet or not?

You are spouting utter C**P

[stevehaigh]

i have the same problem as the OP, barkleys will not let me do online or phone transfers to a non UK account

currently i am transferring money to my brother's UK account, 5000 pound per day (max allowed on phone transfer) and when he has enough money, he will send to me. but i'd like to be able to do the whole thing myself.

is there any way you can think of i can open an account in the UK without being there at a bank that allows on-line transfers overseas?

if not, which UK banks have the ability to do large overseas transfers on line? i can have my brother open an account and send me details i suppose.

monsieurhappy , i looked at the BKbank website "

If you or the remitter has a bank account in the UK with Internet banking service, your funds can be transferred online directly to your account or a recipient account with Bangkok Bank in Thailand, using the Bangkok Bank London branch’s sort code and its special “clearing” service account to transfer the fund from the UK to Thailand via the BACS system.

"

on the face of it this looks interesting and i will try call them in London when open to check. assuming that works and you get a good rate, it sounds fine except i can only transfer 5000 pound max per day and i have a lot of money to move so i prefer to move to thailand a large chunk in one move.

thx steve

Edited August 3, 2010 by stevehaigh

[ianguygil]

Without commenting on any specific "FX" company, please always consider who you are putting your money with, and what protection you have in terms of deposit insurance etc., when transferring funds.

If you transfer from your Bank to Bangkok Bank via SWIFT, there many be some intermediaries for the correspondent relationship. But the money is essentially with either your UK Bank or Bangkok Bank in terms of liability.

Should you use a 3rd party and they encouter "problems" it is a different story.

As I said, I an absolutely not commenting on any specific companies. I have absolutely no idea about the company you mentioned. It is something you should consider, however.

[PattayaParent]

is there any way you can think of i can open an account in the UK without being there at a bank that allows on-line transfers overseas?

any bank in channel Islands or Isle of Man, including all those high strreet banks that claim not to be able to do it.

you can open current accounts or savings accounts and transfer by internet or telephone although there may be limits on the amount transferable by internet, usually 20,000 GBP, no limits on telephone transfers.

Some even accept fax instructions but some banks are phasing these out.

[garrfeild]

OP, I bet your bank Love you. the profit they make form just one of your transactions would frighten you. I use a Forex company to transfer funds from the UK to my Bangkok Bank account. Here is an example.

Last week at one stage the Thai Baht was 49.10 to the GBP. I did a deal for £1000 and got 48.10 per GBP there were no other fees for the transfer of funds, unlike other forex companies or banks.

I tried Bangkok Bank in London for tansfers a couple years ago while I was still learning about the best way to transfer funds from The UK to Thailand. They will not give you a good rate, possibly worse than what you get from your Bank.

So if you are a UK expat looking a better way to transfer funds, contact me (private message) for details.

Ohh you mean herd him off - I don't know if you have heard of the internet or not?

You are spouting utter C**P

With Respects some of us don't have internet accounts that allow you to transfer funds to foreign countries. My post is aimed at UK expats who may need the service of a good Forex company, rather than using their bank in the UK that does not allow foreign transfers unless you pay them for the service.

So no I am not spouting utter CR*P

But then some people (yourself) obviously know everything

Edited August 3, 2010 by garrfeild

[monsieurhappy]

i have the same problem as the OP, barkleys will not let me do online or phone transfers to a non UK account

currently i am transferring money to my brother's UK account, 5000 pound per day (max allowed on phone transfer) and when he has enough money, he will send to me. but i'd like to be able to do the whole thing myself.

is there any way you can think of i can open an account in the UK without being there at a bank that allows on-line transfers overseas?

if not, which UK banks have the ability to do large overseas transfers on line? i can have my brother open an account and send me details i suppose.

monsieurhappy , i looked at the BKbank website "

If you or the remitter has a bank account in the UK with Internet banking service, your funds can be transferred online directly to your account or a recipient account with Bangkok Bank in Thailand, using the Bangkok Bank London branch’s sort code and its special “clearing” service account to transfer the fund from the UK to Thailand via the BACS system.

"

on the face of it this looks interesting and i will try call them in London when open to check. assuming that works and you get a good rate, it sounds fine except i can only transfer 5000 pound max per day and i have a lot of money to move so i prefer to move to thailand a large chunk in one move.

thx steve

steve,

I went the BKK bank in London route, filled in the online form to transfer money from my UK bank but after more than a week the funds had not arrived in BKK bank. Then I checked my UK bank to find the funds had been returned. I phoned my UK bank who just told me to ask BKK bank. I sent BKK bank an email which was answered over a week later, telling me I had not filled in the form correctly and they didn't get my BKK bank acc. number.

I have since used HiFX who I had previously registered with and got the funds through within 5 days.

I got a rate that was only 0.16 baht per pound lower than the BKK bank TT rate. so was quite happy.

I do have an address in UK so was able to register with HiFX.

My own bank in the UK does transfer fund using SWIFT and 8 years ago when I first came out I used them to transfer funds for buying my house, don't know if anything about amount has changed. Up to last year I used them for transferring smaller amounts but I wanted the convenience of using internet as opposed to sending them a filled out bank letter.

Hope that helps.

[stevehaigh]

i just talked to BKK bank in london and they confirmed the info on this page is correct

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkok%20bank/personal%20banking/transfering%20funds/receiving%20funds/pages/uk_thailand%20funds%20transfer%20options.aspx

they also said that the rate they will give will be the rate at the time it arrives in the head office in London and the rate will be only slightly less than the Thailand rate, for example he told me today it would be 50.5 and http://baht.thaivisa.com/ currently lists it at 50.56

so it sounds ok, i will try and see how it goes. the previous poster said something about an application form? for me to transfer from my barkleys account all i need to do is call barkleys and give them BKKBank's special account number and sort code and attach my BKK bank account number and name in the ref field. nothing else to do as far as i know.

Edited August 4, 2010 by stevehaigh