Transferring Money From The Uk To Thailand

[wolf5370]

Does NatWest still do Telex Transfers? Back (maybe 15 years ago now) when I had a NatWest account I used to ignore Swift and use telex transfer - it cost half the price of Swift and the money got there (here) sooner.

Now a days I have a bulk standard BKK (Thai currency) saving account and just Swift it in. If you have enough money in Barclays bank (I think 15k sterling - but check online) then there is a service that allows online international transfers which would make it all the simpler.

Not tried this, but just discovered it - the Post Office: (see here http://www2.postoffi...tional-payments)

Pay no fees to transfer money between UK and overseas bank accounts

• no fees to send or receive money
• £250 minimum transfer amount
• make transfers online or by phone*
• 0% commission and competitive exchange rates updated live
• transfer straight from your bank account - you don't need a Post Office® account
• fast and secure transactions
• fix your exchange rate

Sounds bloody good to me.

Frankly, I doubt it.

Notice the 'fix your exchange rate' bit ?

What rate do you think they will offer ?

I would guarantee that there is not an option to send Sterling.

I doubt that you by-passed SWIFT - SWIFT was adopted as the standard for worldwide financial communications more than 30 years ago.

For bog-standard international transfers I have yet to find a better system than Halifax. That is better in terms user-friendliness (online transfers from a Reward account are a piece of cake) and cost - GBP 9.50 is a world-beater as far as the UK is concerned.

Unless anyone has any practical experience to the contrary.

The "fix your exchange rate" bit is an option - if you want to send money regularly or in the future, and believe the rate will drop, then you can fix it to save money. No idea about sedning sterling, but someone has already said they registered and can't - seems reasonable as they need to get their money somehow. Still, may work out cheaper (especially with fixing the rate) for certain amounts I guess, but worse for larger ones. Anyway, its just another option - can be done online (and a lot cheaper than WU too I'd suggest).

NatWest certainly used to allow telex - they always tried to sell the Swift (especially when it became fast), but I guess some countries still worked through telex, so they still had it. I used to send money over that way and saved a fair bit over Swift - though you are probably right, probably no longer an option any more.

[wolf5370]

You will need to open a Foreign Currency Deposit account with your bank here.

No you don't. Simply open a standard account and transfer SWIFT, instructing funds to leave UK in sterling. That's it. Only benefit of a foreign currency account would be if you receive frequent payments in other currencies here. For a simple transfer from home, seems like a lot of hassle.

Try it and see what happens. It is still called a foreign deposit account.

I have a regular Thai Baht savings account with Kasikorn Bank (not a foreign deposit account). I've transferred both Euros and Swiss Francs into this account. Got an excellent exchange rate this way.

I might add that the Manager at the main Chang Klan Branch told me to never transfer more than US $9,999 (in any currency) in at any one time. If you transfer more, the Thai government could seize your account and levy a tax on it.

That's probably the money laundering laws - I had a friend who transfered $10k exactly to his wife's account from Finland and then sent her in to get mit out cash a day after it cleared - it was some sort of Finish tax dodge I gather, but caused him a whole lot of hastle because of the extra paperwork and trying to prove his wife (a kindergarden teacher on about ฿5k a month at the time) could legitimately have access to that kind of money (red flags everywhere as her account had never reached $1,000 let alone $10,000).

[kjhbigv]

Does NatWest still do Telex Transfers? Back (maybe 15 years ago now) when I had a NatWest account I used to ignore Swift and use telex transfer - it cost half the price of Swift and the money got there (here) sooner.

Now a days I have a bulk standard BKK (Thai currency) saving account and just Swift it in. If you have enough money in Barclays bank (I think 15k sterling - but check online) then there is a service that allows online international transfers which would make it all the simpler.

Not tried this, but just discovered it - the Post Office: (see here http://www2.postoffi...tional-payments)

Pay no fees to transfer money between UK and overseas bank accounts

• no fees to send or receive money
• £250 minimum transfer amount
• make transfers online or by phone*
• 0% commission and competitive exchange rates updated live
• transfer straight from your bank account - you don't need a Post Office® account
• fast and secure transactions
• fix your exchange rate

Sounds bloody good to me.

Frankly, I doubt it.

Notice the 'fix your exchange rate' bit ?

What rate do you think they will offer ?

I would guarantee that there is not an option to send Sterling.

I doubt that you by-passed SWIFT - SWIFT was adopted as the standard for worldwide financial communications more than 30 years ago.

For bog-standard international transfers I have yet to find a better system than Halifax. That is better in terms user-friendliness (online transfers from a Reward account are a piece of cake) and cost - GBP 9.50 is a world-beater as far as the UK is concerned.

Unless anyone has any practical experience to the contrary.

Yes I do..... Lloyds Bank now offer (and I have used) online internet banking international transfers (they also have telephone call centre option)....option to send in Sterling....cost GBP10.00 up to GBP5000.00....take 2 days to clear into a Bangkok Bank savings account.....ok 50p more but pretty comparable I would say!

[kjhbigv]

good for you.........Everyones experience is different in Thailand on this interesting subject.

I only offered my own personal experiences and qualified this in my reply by stating that this was a personal experience of BKK banking and that many other banks may adopt a different business approach and regulation to Foreign Deposit Accounts.

Thai Visa is designed to offer personal experiences from all walks of life and I hope will assist others from making mistakes that they may have made personally.

Regards

I think that what everybody except you is wondering is:

Why on earth should the OP open a Foreign Deposit Account? This is not in his post, and for most people it fills no useful purpose. Your posts make it sound as if this is necessary, which it clearly is NOT.

/ Priceless

Priceless....as your name suggests!!!!!

agree to a extent,that a bog standard current account will suffice,but the idea of having my money in sterling,in los and being able to exchange when i like the prevailing rates appeals to me,of course it does depend on charges?????

Why only agree to an extent that a bog standard savings account will suffice? You send the money over from UK in GBP, it hit's the Thai bank account 2 days later (send on Monday at 1.30pm, arrives in your Thai account on Weds morning), you get the best rate that BKK Bank offers on that day for TT transfers.....a bog standard standard savings account is perfectly sufficient in my opinion, works perfectly well for me.

Having GBP in a bank here? Would rather have it in a UK bank, in the knowledge that GBP50k is guaranteed by the Bank Of England, if the bank ever has problems.....which is not unheard of!

[englishinsiam]

You've been told a lot of rubbish here

Go into your A+L Bank give them the Account no and Swift code of your Thai Bank account.

Tell them you want to transfer X amount of money and they will do it. It hits your account in 2 maybe 3 days. Send it in GBP as I have found you get a better rate than if you send it in Baht from UK

For smaller amounts try these people www.easymoneytransfer.eu

[cerbera]

I use Gcen dot co dot uk. referenece 1651 -0100

Fast, efficient, great rates and absolutely FREE. They will even call u up and speak to you like humans used to. Regulated by the FSA.

You can send as little as 200USD or equivalent did I mention it was FREE.