Bringing A Cheque Into Thailand

[exeter]

I am thinking I would bring a cheque into Thailand to put towards a large purchase( could be anything between £3000 and £38000 depending on how quick I can move funds) are there any rules I need to know about, such as maybe I have to declare it at customs and if so and I dont would that be a problem? The reason I ask is that I am told a swift transfer may take up to a week and if I have left the UK and there is a problem I would be stuck, if on the other hand I could get the UK bank to write me a cheque and I bring it with me I will know the funds have arrived with me even though I will have to wait a month to clear.

Thanks for any information from the knowledgeable forum that ensues

[monekyface]

easier to wire the money. if there are any problems just call your bank in the UK. wire transfers are fast and painless.

[12DrinkMore]

1. There is no requirement to declare cheques at customs.

2. A SWIFT transfer should arrive inside a few hours, although the UK banks introduce their own "special" delays. You need a bank account in Thailand to do this. I have never had a problem with SWIFT and if you do, a phone call should be enough to sort it.

3. Western Union will get you the money here quickly and be available for you to pick up immediately.

4. You seem to indicate that you will be travelling from the UK. Maybe travellers cheques might be a good solution for the amounts you are talking about, they will give you an insurance against loss. 3,000 quid I would bring across in cash, ain't worth what it used to be, thanks to Merv, Gordon and his Darling (what happened to those two?)

[WhizBang]

2. A SWIFT transfer should arrive inside a few hours, although the UK banks introduce their own "special" delays. You need a bank account in Thailand to do this. I have never had a problem with SWIFT and if you do, a phone call should be enough to sort it.

Stick with swift.  The most painless method.

3. Western Union will get you the money here quickly and be available for you to pick up immediately.

And Western Union will give you an exchange rate considerably below what the banks will give you, PLUS charge you a whopping great fee too.

AVOID Western Union.

[CharlieH]

I would suggest opening an account with Bangkok Bank, move the money via online banking from your account to to Bangkok Bank LONDON, they will then move the moeny to your thai account, very easy and straight forward. It takes 24 hrs from London receiving it to it hitting the Thai account.

[Pib]

2. A SWIFT transfer should arrive inside a few hours, although the UK banks introduce their own "special" delays. You need a bank account in Thailand to do this. I have never had a problem with SWIFT and if you do, a phone call should be enough to sort it.

Stick with swift. The most painless method.

3. Western Union will get you the money here quickly and be available for you to pick up immediately.

And Western Union will give you an exchange rate considerably below what the banks will give you, PLUS charge you a whopping great fee too.

AVOID Western Union.

From looking at the UK Western Union web site, it appears today they would inflict an approx 1.7 pounds/baht (3.4%) lower exchange rate wound by sending in Thai baht. And then pour salt in the wound with another 9.8 pound fee (I guess they want to charge for the exchange rate wound they inflicted...of course people paying that much to send money maybe should be whipped). Well, send in pounds and let Western Union convert on the Thailand end...but I expect they would use pretty close to the same exchange rate (a Western Union rate) in order to extract their major profit for the transaction. I think all of that comes to around an effective charge of 111 pounds to send 3000 pounds. Yeap, sounds expensive to me also....but lots of people still use Western Union to send money on a regular/infrequent schedule.

[exeter]

The UK banks are not hurrying clearing my cheques and on top of that when I can see my money has cleared, there is no talk of an instant transfer( I suspect this is one of their little wheezes to screw a bit more money out of us). What I was thinking is if they are still playing games it might be easier to just draw a cheque and bring it when I come back and now that I know there is no problem with that at least I know it is the fall back position if the SWIFT is not available. I may just have to talk to the right person in the bank who knows how to process it. Thanks for the help to you all.

[IMA_FARANG]

If you want speed....do NOT bring a paper check (cheque)to put in your Thai bank account. Yes it is safe and the immigration/customs people couldn't care less if you hand carry it in. I brought one into Thailand about 6 months ago...not sure what you would call it in the U.K. but in the U.S. it is known a cashier's check. It is issued by your bank, in your name, and certifies that you have te funds available in your bank account. Maybe you would refer to it as a banker's sight draft.

I had no problems brining it into Thailand and Bangkok Bamk accepted it for deposit in my newly opened retirement bank account. HOWEVER, it has to clear your U.K. bank (in your case, in mine my U.S. bank) and it takes between 30 and 45 days to clear from the U.S. bank to Thailand. That means the money will NOT be credited into your Thai bank account for at least 30 days...often longer.

Doing a quick and rough caculation in my head I guess the check I brought was about 12,000 U.K. Pounds.

The fact that it took over 30 days to clear was no problem for me, as the check was for my retiremt bank account in which the funds must sit for a minimum of 60 days anyhow (first application for retirement visa) before I could even apply for the retirement visa. So the check taking 45 days to get here wasn't that important...just as long as the funds were there in my bank account when I applied for my retirement visa.

So bringing a check is safe, and no problem at immigration, but DON"T BRING IT THAT WAY if you can't wait nearly 45 days for it to clear from your bank in the U.K. into your Thai bank account.

[12DrinkMore]

but DON"T BRING IT THAT WAY if you can't wait nearly 45 days for it to clear from your bank in the U.K. into your Thai bank account.

Horse and cart with a steamboat crossing no doubt?

[exeter]

but DON"T BRING IT THAT WAY if you can't wait nearly 45 days for it to clear from your bank in the U.K. into your Thai bank account.

Horse and cart with a steamboat crossing no doubt?

Time is not issue, have experienced the 30 day clearance before but at least I knew it was here. The SWIFT is the best option with hand carry cheque if the UK banking system goes AOL.

[12DrinkMore]

but DON"T BRING IT THAT WAY if you can't wait nearly 45 days for it to clear from your bank in the U.K. into your Thai bank account.

Horse and cart with a steamboat crossing no doubt?

Time is not issue, have experienced the 30 day clearance before but at least I knew it was here. The SWIFT is the best option with hand carry cheque if the UK banking system goes AOL.

How on earth can any transaction take 30 days to clear? With Goldmann Sachs running millisecond deals with their HFT systems, it is absolutely laughable that we from the UK are subject to delays longer than a few minutes to whisk funds around the globe. The Thais run a far more efficient banking system (unless the UK has improved, which I doubt, they are still in the horse and cart carrying paper cheques era), I can send money via ATM to any other bank account in Thailand and it arrives in a flash. With SMS notification too.

Not sure what AOL means, but I am sure that the UK banking system will be the last thing to collapse, as Merv and the government are on their knees keeping the Great Banking Gods going.

[silentnine]

if you send via swift from the halifax as sterling it takes under 24 hours.. if your send as thai baht it can take 5 days.

i'd just bring cash .. even 30k .. i brough 60k in a few years ago .. all i had to do was demonstate at UK customs where the money came from .. ie not money laundering . there are no restrictions on the amount you cna bring from the UK

[maprao]

Use a swift transfer. Mine take less than 48 hours to reach my Thai bank.

[cardholder]

How on earth can any transaction take 30 days to clear?

If a cheque is drawn in Sterling on a UK bank it will be negotiated or collected by the Thai bank.

A Thai bank will not negotiate (ie give immediate value) for that sort of amount. The only option is collection and that can take up to 6 weeks.

Why anyone would choose to that, is beyond me. Just send via SWIFT and be done with it.