Yesterday the British pound rose to a 11 month high against the US$ so I decided to change GBP 5K today in Pattaya.

I checked all the Thai Bank websites this morning and the best two rates for buying were:

KTB: 50.27

Bangkok Bank: 50.38

The SCB, TMB, KASKORN, AYUDHYA etc all offered 50.1 or less.

However by pure chance I walked past a U.O.B. FX Booth and got 50.48

So my advice would be to change GBP at U.O.B. booths.

The difference between GBP 5K at Bangkok Bank & U.O.B. was 500 baht!

huge savings, so for 10kGBP it would be 20quid

I agree with the strategy of changing £ to baht now. When you have struggled for 6 months with rates near 45 baht to the £ it is a welcome relief to secure some money at 50ish.

Maybe the £ will strengthen further, but I'm not greedy and would be kicking myself if the rate drops back down again. So I changed enough to 'buy' about 6 months future baht purchases yesterday. If the £ were to rise by say another 5% then I would go for forward conversion of another 6 months of purchases.

Personally I am not too concerned about the risks of keeping money in Thailand rather than a UK bank. The pitiful after tax interest rates on UK bank money is no longer an incentive to keep it there, my relationship seems strong enough not to worry about it disappearing in a divorce settlement (famous last words) and, most importantly, the amounts I convert will be kept within a 'can ultimately afford to lose if it all goes tits up' limit.

I strongly believe that the future is with SE Asia including Thailand, not with the bust old economies of the West, and in the medium term I expect that rates will settle back in the low/mid 40s

I use internet transfers from my HSBC Premier account in the UK. 250,000 baht was converted yesterday at a headline rate of 50.2. HSBC take £17 for their troubles and Bangkok Bank will take about 850baht on receipt. That reduces the effective rate to 49.9. [Yes I know I could could avoid some charges by opening an HSBC account in Bangkoka nd one day I'll get round to that]

I agree with the strategy of changing £ to baht now. When you have struggled for 6 months with rates near 45 baht to the £ it is a welcome relief to secure some money at 50ish.

Maybe the £ will strengthen further, but I'm not greedy and would be kicking myself if the rate drops back down again. So I changed enough to 'buy' about 6 months future baht purchases yesterday. If the £ were to rise by say another 5% then I would go for forward conversion of another 6 months of purchases.

Personally I am not too concerned about the risks of keeping money in Thailand rather than a UK bank. The pitiful after tax interest rates on UK bank money is no longer an incentive to keep it there, my relationship seems strong enough not to worry about it disappearing in a divorce settlement (famous last words) and, most importantly, the amounts I convert will be kept within a 'can ultimately afford to lose if it all goes tits up' limit.

I strongly believe that the future is with SE Asia including Thailand, not with the bust old economies of the West, and in the medium term I expect that rates will settle back in the low/mid 40s

I use internet transfers from my HSBC Premier account in the UK. 250,000 baht was converted yesterday at a headline rate of 50.2. HSBC take £17 for their troubles and Bangkok Bank will take about 850baht on receipt. That reduces the effective rate to 49.9. [Yes I know I could could avoid some charges by opening an HSBC account in Bangkoka nd one day I'll get round to that]

If these posts are anything to go by the Thai banks will be flooded with UK sterling - which I'm sure they won't want - so they'll probably drop the rate accordingly!

doubt it, it's all to do with the US Dollar and Europe currency relationship, I expect this trend cycle to continue as it has done for many years

Best place is Jenjit in walking street (near the big tree). Allways .3 minimum more than any bank !!!

cheers

Yermanee

Wht is Jenjit?

What about Koday near Big C?

Wht is Jenjit?

What about Koday near Big C?

Jenjit is a money exchange office. Don't know abt Koday

cheers

Theres another money exchange on 3rd road not to far from the golf range just accros from back entrance to carrfour cant remember the name of the place but always away better than the banks