Moving Usd To Los

[longball53098]

I will throw this question out to the local experts.

I was chatting with a fellow American the other day and the discussion came around to getting money to LOS from the USA. We both are retirees and have US bank accounts and we both have Siam Commercial bank (SCB) accounts. We discussed methods of transferring cash from the US to LOS.

He went on to tell me he has been using a method that I had never considered before or heard of anyone using. So I figured I would post here for some discussion.

He takes a personal check from his US bank writes the check using his name on the payee line(basically writing the check for cash) He deposits this check in to his SCB account and waits the 3 or 4 weeks for the check to clear and the cash appears in his SCB account. He has been doing this for a couple of years with no issues.

I realize this method of waiting for the cash is an issue for some but with some planning this can work for those of us just moving cash to replenish an expense account.

The question I posed to him was about any fees involved for this. This is where it gets vague. He claims there was only a small fee for handling the check of about 10 baht and no conversion fees.

I post here to get any comments to learn if anyone has done this and what fees you paid. This method has some interest to me if the handling fees are as low as he states. I will be asking the branch manager of my local SCB about this and what fees are involved.

Write a personal check to yourself and deposit to you're local Thai bank.

Did the local bank here lay out a guideline as to what should appear on the Payee line?

How much did you pay the local bank for handling this check?

How long did it take to clear?

Did you're US bank give you any issues with this?

I'm sure there will be many comments here so please fire away.

[lopburi3]

Normal clearance time seems to be about 3 weeks but can vary (believe all banks are similar). This used to be a local lottery with bank manager delay for better exchange rate (for him) sometimes causing long delays (exchange at xxx+ and wait for xxx- day to clear it with profit going into his pocket). Rate of exchange will not be known until cleared. I suspect fee is much more than 10 baht however - but never used SCB and have not used checks in years.

[Pib]

One person's recent experience in cashing a foreign check at SCB. Link

[NovaBlue05]

My mother in law has a Bangkok Bank savings account. From the US, I do a simple ACH transfer from my US account and into her savings thru the Bkk Bank New York branch Takes 2 days tops.

[Jingthing]

My mother in law has a Bangkok Bank savings account. From the US, I do a simple ACH transfer from my US account and into her savings thru the Bkk Bank New York branch Takes 2 days tops.

That can be done ONLY to Bangkok Bank. No other Thai bank supports that tweak. In my case, my US bank limits this to 2,000 dollar max per send though, so if you have a lot to send, it could take weeks.

[wildoates]

I use Siam bank and Bangkok bank, I find that Bangkok bank has fees for everthing, so I shy away from them. Both banks will cash american checks, but the fee is much higher than 10 baht. it is around 300-600 baht. I set up a swift from my US bank to my siam bank. cost is $40 for any amount. used to be $25 but with banks having to pay all the law suites, prices went up. So I just do it couple times a year, bring over large amounts. I did the direct deposit at Bankkok bank, but you pay 2 fees and it adds up. JMO

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

From my experience, SCB has a flat fee on such foreign check deposits... used to be around 200 baht per check... Another member recently said the fee had risen to about 300 baht... The minimum per check amount previously at SCB was $50.

You also have to be careful, especially with SCB, about what exchange rate they use on such transactions.You'd want them to give you their buying TT rate, but on some kinds of transactions, SCB also uses a lower rate called DCC. You want to make sure they don't use their DCC rate, otherwise the effective fee you're paying will increase substantially.

Between the two, I'd prefer the BKK Bank via New York to Thailand route, which can be done entirely online from a linked U.S. bank account via ACH transfer and only takes a couple days to arrive in your local BKKB branch. But for large, occasional tranfers that aren't time sensitive, I guess the check deposit method would be OK, depending on the actual fee details with SCB.

[NovaBlue05]

My USAA acct allows me to transfer up to $5000 a day online. Bkk Bank NY would charge be $10 for the ACHand then another 0.25% for the transfer from NY to the local branch. For $5K, that's $22.50 total. Not sure if that's competitive with others.

[Pib]

Beginning to look like the fellow the OP was chatting with didn't have much insight on what it's really costing him to cash those checks.(probably why the fellow was vague...he didn't know or didn't want to talk about the probable charge) . Good thing the OP felt uneasy about the fellow's answer and is checking into it.

I can't find it right now but there was another semi-recent topic where I think the price was around $10 per check and it took around 3 weeks to clear, but no one in the topic knew exactly what exchange rate was being given. The rate given may be as identified in the SCB exchange rate for Travelers-check and "Checks." See Here. And maybe if they give the DCC rate which will be around 3-4% lower than the TT rate, there would be no separate fee, but there would still be the clearing period.

Here's another TV thread which talks foreign check cashing at Bangkok Bank and the associated fee/time frames. Since it seems Thai banks all charge similar fees, I expect SCB's foreign check fee is similar. Link

Edited September 4, 2011 by Pib

[meatboy]

the only sure way of finding out what rate you get is to go through a currency dealer,always been happy in the past,only trans.once a year,this year i did trans.from bank in uk to bkk bank and it seemed i got the lowest rate on the day.i was told thai banks dont like you doing it that way.

[Pib]

My USAA acct allows me to transfer up to $5000 a day online. Bkk Bank NY would charge be $10 for the ACHand then another 0.25% for the transfer from NY to the local branch. For $5K, that's $22.50 total. Not sure if that's competitive with others.

It's very competitive as USAA is one of the U.S. banks that does not charge an ACH Sending fee. As you mentioned, the only charges are the slice the Bangkok Bank NY branch takes as it flows through them on the way to the "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank branch account where the 0.25% (200 baht min, 500 baht max) funds receipt/exchange fee is charged...and you get the TT Buying Exchange Rate on the Thailand end.

And another example is if sending exactly $2000 ($2000.01 is the trigger point for the NY branch $10 slice) you are only charged $5 as it flows through the Bangkok Bank NY branch and then the 0.25% (200 min, 500 max) fee on this end which would end up in total fees of $11.67 (at 30 baht/USD). Much cheaper than than using banks/firms which charge a front end/Sending bank SWIFT fee in the $20-$50 range and then you still get the 0.25% fee on the in-Thailand fee. And on the few occasions I do use ACH transfers for a large amount (I just use a zero percent foreign transaction fee Visa debit card for day-to-day living expenses), I will get the ACH transfer in 2 to 3 business days...been a few cases where I got it in 1.5 business days. Quite a few U.S. banks offer no ACH sending fees, but there are also many that charge a $3-$25 ACH fee and for SWIFT fees in the $20-$50 range.

As mentioned, for the day-to-day living cash expenses I just use my Schwab or State Farm Bank zero percentage foreign transaction fee Visa debit cards to get money from the ATM. I get the Visa exchange rate which is usually just a little better than the TT Buying Rate, have the money immediately in-hand, and absolutely no fees. And I use AEON ATMs to avoid the 150 baht fee, but even if I do use a Thai bank ATM and get charged the 150 baht fee I get this ATM fee reimbursed by Schwab/State Farm. For amounts up to $1000/day, which is the daily limit on each card, it's the only way to go....no fees...excellent exchange rate...money immediately in-hand. Example on the exchange rate for today: Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate: 29.82 baht/USD....Visa Exchange Rate: 29.88 baht/USD. If you can get a zero percent foreign transaction fee Visa debit card it's a great way to get money from the home country....even such a card with the Mastercard logo is really good but you get an exchange rate that is usually just a little lower than the Visa or TT Buying exchange rates....Mastercard's exchange rate for today is 29.73 baht/USD.

Edited September 4, 2011 by Pib

[meatboy]

as the exchange changes throughout the day,for example morning opening rate 49 to £sterling,then changes at diff.times of the day ending at 50to £,who knows that we are getting the right rate when our money arrives at the bank.if you change a large amount and they cream off say 50satang it is quite a fair amount out of our pocket into someone else,s.

[JimGant]

The question I posed to him was about any fees involved for this. This is where it gets vague.

Pib's link to a similar thread divulged this:

I deposited a US check in February into an account at SCIB. Took 33 days to clear and the cost was 500 baht plus $20 USD.

And, presumably, he got the 'buying check' rate, which was 29.61 on Sept 2 -- 20 satang below the buying TT rate of 29.81. So, if a check for $10000 cleared on 2 Sep, he would have gotten 296,100 baht, less 1092 baht in fees, for a net 295,008.

If, on the other hand, he SWIFT transferred the $10000, he would have realized the 29.81 TT rate, less the fees. Assuming a SWIFT fee of $40, and the 500 baht back end fee, he would have realized 296,408 baht, or 1400 baht *more* than depositing a check. Plus, one day vs. 33 day service.

Assuming the back end fee is .25%, a SWIFT transfer with a $40 fee will be superior to a check cashing, with a $20 fee, on amounts down to about $3000. Then, that $40 fixed fee is felt, so that a transfer of $1000 would give the check casher 400 baht more than a similar SWIFT, even with the 20 satang differential in rate received.

Of course, a lower SWIFT fee would reduce even more the cross over point. And, an ACH transfer would always be superior to check cashing. And probably well worth getting a Bangkok Bank account, even if this means having to do a 3rd party transfer to your SCB account, if that's your daily bank of preference.

Oh, USAA's $5000 daily limit can, in my experience, be easily, and permanently, raised. I've ACHed $20,000 from USAA several times. Call them on their toll-free Thai number 001-800-531-87220.

[Bakseedaa]

My mother in law has a Bangkok Bank savings account. From the US, I do a simple ACH transfer from my US account and into her savings thru the Bkk Bank New York branch Takes 2 days tops.

That can be done ONLY to Bangkok Bank. No other Thai bank supports that tweak. In my case, my US bank limits this to 2,000 dollar max per send though, so if you have a lot to send, it could take weeks.

So, open a Bangkok Bank account....Easy..!

[longball53098]

As I guessed the person I was chatting with may not have realized the real cost involved in cashing the personal check or just wasn't telling "all" in this casual chat.

I have yet to visit my local SCB office but I'm betting from the feedback here the actual costs are much higher than 10 baht.

Thanks for all the input on this and to those pointing to the links to previous topics about this

[lopburi3]

As I recall there is a stamp that must be placed on checks (tax) and that is likely the 10 baht your friend is talking about.

[Pib]

As I guessed the person I was chatting with may not have realized the real cost involved in cashing the personal check or just wasn't telling "all" in this casual chat.

I have yet to visit my local SCB office but I'm betting from the feedback here the actual costs are much higher than 10 baht.

Thanks for all the input on this and to those pointing to the links to previous topics about this

Be interesting what you find out. From me surfing around on the Bangkok Bank website I found one area where it indicated the fee for collection of a foreign check for deposit there is a fee of $10/Bt300 and also possibly the foreign currency receipt/conversion fee of 0.25% (200 baht min to 500 baht max) to go along with it. But I found that in the Foreign Currency Deposit account fee schedule area and it may not be applicable for deposit in a regular account or maybe it didn't even apply to a "personal" check....maybe they have some other similar fee (or not). Bangkok Bank does a very good job in listing their fees on their web site (about 10 times better than other Thai banks) especially when using the Search feature, but even for Bangkok Bank some of the fees are only listed in PDF file only in the Thai language, so maybe the full story for fees associated with cashing a foreign personal check for deposit is in one of those Thai language documents.

But it sure seems like from other TV posters on the subject over several years they were paying a significant fee for cashing personal checks for deposit. I would think if it was truly a cheap method, expats would have discovered it years ago and it would be widely used by expats living in Thailand....and maybe it is about the same price as sending money via ACH when the Sending bank charges no Sending fees; only significant difference being the time difference in getting the funds credited to your account (i.e., a few days compared to a few weeks). I can' remember one post that that clearly laid out the personal foreign check cashing fees/costs to include any upfront fee, the exchange rate given (i.e, TT, DDC, etc), etc., in a manner that sound fully creditable...all the posts seemed a little too vague and begged several questions or they never responded to follow-up questions....but my memory ain't as good as it use to be, so maybe they were numerous posts that clearly laid it out. Cheers.

[longball53098]

I have not been to my local branch yet but I did look on the SCB website and found this fee doc. I think this explains the fee for depositing a foreign chec.

http://www.scb.co.th...s/fcd-en-t5.pdf

Using this doc if i were to deposit a personal check in to my SCB account of say 5,000USD then the cost would be about 20 USD? The flat fee of 203 baht and the .25% conversion fee.

Does this sound correct? This is based on a 30 baht exchange rate I used

Edited September 7, 2011 by longball53098

[Pib]

I read it the same way as you; however, the title of the fee document implies it's for a Foreign Currency Account Deposit (i.e., an account you have for USD, Euro's, etc) versus just a plain ol' saving deposit account in baht. Just as in post #17 where I mentioned I found a Bangkok Bank fee schedule which may apply for deposit of foreign checks in a regular savings account, but it also seemed to indicate it may apply to deposit in a Foreign Currency Account versus a Regular Saving Account....I just wasn't sure what they were trying to say in the fee document. Then again, maybe that's just the smoke-and-mirrors way the bank amny banks displays their fees.....and of course we have the Thai to English (and vice versa) miscoummunications/translation issues which occur all too often.

Probably the only way to know for sure is the next time your are at your SCB branch is to ask the question. Heck to ensure they understood I would even take in my home country bank check book and use that as a real world example of what you may want to do to help ensure they understand the fee question regards deposit of a foreign personal check in your regular savings account.

Edit: after posting above (which I'm leaving unchanged) and then re-reading the fee document where it lists the commision fees in the columns, the 0.25% commission may represent the basic/multiplier for the commission fee and the 500 baht the Minimum commission fee. So a 0.25% commission fee applied to $5000 would be $12.50 or 375 baht....since the 375 baht does not meet the minimun commission fee of 500 baht, then 500 baht or $16.67 would be the commission fee applied. Then, the Other Fee of 200 +3 Baht comes into play or $6.77. Total fees would then add-up to $16.67 plus $6.67 for a total of $23.34 or 700 baht to cash/deposit the $5000 personal check if the fee document applies to regular savings accounts.

Edited September 7, 2011 by Pib

[Pib]

<BR>I read it the same way as you; however, the title of the fee document implies it's for a <U>Foreign Currency Account</U> Deposit (i.e., an account you have for USD, Euro's, etc) versus just a plain ol' saving deposit account in baht. Just as in post #17 where I mentioned I found a Bangkok Bank fee schedule which may apply for deposit of foreign checks in a regular savings account, but it also seemed to indicate it may apply to deposit in a Foreign Currency Account versus a Regular Saving Account....I just wasn't sure what they were trying to say in the fee document. Then again, maybe that's just the smoke-and-mirrors way the bank amny banks displays their fees.....and of course we have the Thai to English (and vice versa) miscoummunications/translation issues which occur all too often.<BR><BR>Probably the only way to know for sure is the next time your are at your SCB branch is to ask the question. Heck to ensure they understood I would even take in my home country bank check book and use that as a real world example of what you may want to do to help ensure they understand the fee question regards deposit of a foreign personal check in your regular savings account. <BR><BR>Edit: after posting above (which I'm leaving unchanged) and then re-reading the fee document where it lists the commision fees in the columns, the 0.25% commission may represent the basic/multiplier for the commission fee and the 500 baht the Minimum commission fee. So a 0.25% commission fee applied to $5000 would be $12.50 or 375 baht....since the 375 baht does not meet the minimun commission fee of 500 baht, then 500 baht or $16.67 would be the commission fee applied. Then, the Other Fee of 200 +3 Baht comes into play or $6.77. Total fees would then add-up to $16.67 plus $6.67 for a total of $23.34 or 700 baht to cash/deposit the $5000 personal check <U>if</U> the fee document applies to regular savings accounts.<BR>

<BR><BR>Update to My Edit Above: after posting above (which I'm leaving unchanged) and then re-reading the fee document where it lists the commision fees in the columns, the 0.25% commission may represent the basic/multiplier for the commission fee and the 500 baht the Minimum commission fee. So a 0.25% commission fee applied to $5000 would be $12.50 or 375 baht....since the 375 baht does not meet the minimun commission fee of 500 baht, then 500 baht or $16.67 would be the commission fee applied. Then, the Other Fee of 200 +3 Baht comes into play or $6.77. Total fees would then add-up to $16.67 plus $6.67 for a total of $23.34 or 700 baht to cash/deposit the $5000 personal check the fee document applies to regular savings accounts.<BR><BR>This could still be a good deal depending on what your Sending bank may charge for a ACH/SWIFT Sending fee. If your bank does not charge any Sending fee (like my home country banks do not charge any ACH Sending fee), then like for me in doing a no-Sending fee $5000 ACH transfer to my Bangkok Bank account I would see a $10 fee/slice-off as the funds flowed through their New York Branch on the way to my in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch, then 0.25% (200 baht min, 500 baht max) applied to the $4990 arriving my in-Thailand branch for conversion to baht/deposit into my account. Total fee charged would be the $10 NY branch slice plus the 0.25% applied against the $4990 which equates to 374.25 baht/$12.48 for a total of $22.48. Pretty close to being a tie ball game in the fee charges except the wire/ACH transfer gets to my bank account in a few business days compared to weeks for the personal check to clear/post. So, if your Sending bank charges a healthy Sending fee that is common with many banks and you can wait weeks for the check deposit to clear/post, it should be a cheaper way to go if a person didn't want to open another bank account with a home country/U.S. bank that provides no-cost ACH transfers like USAA, Schwab, State Farm and numerous other banks in the U.S. Heck, even evil Bank of America only charges a $3 ACH sending fee for a 3 business day transfer. And of course, the receiving Thai bank has to be able to accommodate/handle ACH transfers....some are only setup to accommodate/handle pricey SWIFT type transfers. Edited September 7, 2011 by Pib