International Money Transfers

[passpato]

Does anyone know the cheapest ways to send money from the uk? I want to send about £1000. In the past we have used Uk forex to send larger sums in Thai baht and we have a trusted friend with one of my nationwide cards in Thailand to draw money quickly in emergencies. My Thai wife has a SCB account that we use to pay her mothers carer every month ,using the online bank. I have noticed that the sterling buying rate (tt rate) from the SCB is much better than UK forex exchange rate and so if I can find the cheapest transferer bank in sterling this looks like the best method.Nat west and Nationwide charge about £20 but even Forex charge £7 for foriegn transfers.so these costs have to be factored in.

[cardholder]

Halifax Online is GBP 9.50

[Boater]

Halifax Online is GBP 9.50

can you use this service if you dont bank with them?

[Kimera]

Halifax Online is GBP 9.50

can you use this service if you dont bank with them?

No you need to open a current account.

[passpato]

Halifax its a good price at £9.50 but when I tried it out online with their practice example it will only let me send the money in Thai Baht. My guess is they are making money on the exchange rate. In order for this to be usefull I need to send the money in Sterling and let SCB do the exchange.

[passpato]

Halifax Online is GBP 9.50

But will they let you send Sterling at that price ?or are they clipping the Exchange rate?

[mark131v]

Halifax Online is GBP 9.50

But will they let you send Sterling at that price ?or are they clipping the Exchange rate?

2. Exchange rates

2.1 If you ask us to send the payment in a currency other than sterling we’ll use our standard exchange rate on the day of the payment and we’ll tell you or display online the exchange rate that will apply. To establish the current exchange rate before sending your international payment via our branch or telephone channel call us on 08457 20 30 40 or visit us in branch.

If the payment is in a currency which differs from the currency of the recipient’s account, we cannot control any exchange rate applied by the recipient’s bank or any agent bank.

Like cardholder said Halifax is the best option for most people and has the added advantage that once set up with your Thai account you can then do your transfers online. You also can earn GBP5 per month by simply getting GBP1000 paid in per month and if you twin it with an Halifax Clarity credit card you are getting the best deals available at the moment.... don't take my word for it check out Martin Lewis on his monetsaving expert website

[chris5346]

you maybe better off using your nationwide flex card as before at 2% plus one pound .

i think nationwide actually charge 25 pounds for a swift transfer so that's 2.5 % on 1000 pounds.

advantage of using a card here is you can choose a good time to use it , the rate has been going up and down 1 % recently.

are you in a hurry to send the money ?

you could try santander zero or halifax clarity and post the card to thailand.

you could try moneycorp or HiFX but their rates wont be as good as the TT in a thai bank but you'll save on the fees, you can get a live rate with HiFX if you register.

does the person your sending money to live in ciang mai by any chance ?

[passpato]

you maybe better off using your nationwide flex card as before at 2% plus one pound .

i think nationwide actually charge 25 pounds for a swift transfer so that's 2.5 % on 1000 pounds.

advantage of using a card here is you can choose a good time to use it , the rate has been going up and down 1 % recently.

are you in a hurry to send the money ?

you could try santander zero or halifax clarity and post the card to thailand.

you could try moneycorp or HiFX but their rates wont be as good as the TT in a thai bank but you'll save on the fees, you can get a live rate with HiFX if you register.

does the person your sending money to live in ciang mai by any chance ?

No not Chaing Mia. My wife lives with me here in England but the account is in kumpawapi Udon Thani. I can only draw £300 a day on the nationwide card and there is 150 baht fee + £1 foriegn withdrawl fee. The Nationwide exchange rate is very good at visa +1/2 percent . £1000 = 4 withdrawels =600baht +£4 foriegn withdrawel fees + exchage rate loss =£5 this adds up to £21 but avoids Thai paying in fee if handed over the counter

Nationwide is £25 to send by tranfer £25 + 1/2% exchange rate (sterling)=£5 + pay in fee of 500 baht this adds up to £40

uk forex is £7fees +2% exchange= £20 + pay in fee £10 this adds up to £37

Halifax if you can send Sterling £9.50 fees + thai pay in £10+ 1/2% thai exchange rate=£5 this adds up to £23.50

I don't really want our friend going to the atm 4 times for Nationwide and then paying in so Halifax is a clear leader.

nb If I was in Thailand I would produce my 3 Nationwide cards over the counter draw out free and pay in to SCB

[sbk]

Moving to Banking Forum, there are already several threads on this running there

[mark131v]

you maybe better off using your nationwide flex card as before at 2% plus one pound .

i think nationwide actually charge 25 pounds for a swift transfer so that's 2.5 % on 1000 pounds.

advantage of using a card here is you can choose a good time to use it , the rate has been going up and down 1 % recently.

are you in a hurry to send the money ?

you could try santander zero or halifax clarity and post the card to thailand.

you could try moneycorp or HiFX but their rates wont be as good as the TT in a thai bank but you'll save on the fees, you can get a live rate with HiFX if you register.

does the person your sending money to live in ciang mai by any chance ?

No not Chaing Mia. My wife lives with me here in England but the account is in kumpawapi Udon Thani. I can only draw £300 a day on the nationwide card and there is 150 baht fee + £1 foriegn withdrawl fee. The Nationwide exchange rate is very good at visa +1/2 percent . £1000 = 4 withdrawels =600baht +£4 foriegn withdrawel fees + exchage rate loss =£5 this adds up to £21 but avoids Thai paying in fee if handed over the counter

Nationwide is £25 to send by tranfer £25 + 1/2% exchange rate (sterling)=£5 + pay in fee of 500 baht this adds up to £40

uk forex is £7fees +2% exchange= £20 + pay in fee £10 this adds up to £37

Halifax if you can send Sterling £9.50 fees + thai pay in £10+ 1/2% thai exchange rate=£5 this adds up to £23.50

I don't really want our friend going to the atm 4 times for Nationwide and then paying in so Halifax is a clear leader.

nb If I was in Thailand I would produce my 3 Nationwide cards over the counter draw out free and pay in to SCB

Passpato,

you have lost me a bit with your sums but if you send all the money online to your Thai account then there is no withdrawal fee at all if you are using a Thai Bank card for that bank to withdraw, we have bought a house using this method and other than the 9.50 gbp there was no other fees if you are withdrawing from that bank. It is also really useful if you are not in UK and want to move money internationally as with a lot of other banks this is not an option to do online

The exchange rate that Halifax use is really not an issue as it is sent in gbp so it is whatever your Thai Bank charges, I have no experience with SCB but with Bank Of Ayudha (the yellow bank) the exchange rate was the normal daily rate everyone gets. If this is not a one off and you are moving large amounts could be worth you setting up a Foreign Currency Deposit account. This allows you to keep the money in sterling and swap as much as you want as and when depending on the exchange rate

[passpato]

you maybe better off using your nationwide flex card as before at 2% plus one pound .

i think nationwide actually charge 25 pounds for a swift transfer so that's 2.5 % on 1000 pounds.

advantage of using a card here is you can choose a good time to use it , the rate has been going up and down 1 % recently.

are you in a hurry to send the money ?

you could try santander zero or halifax clarity and post the card to thailand.

you could try moneycorp or HiFX but their rates wont be as good as the TT in a thai bank but you'll save on the fees, you can get a live rate with HiFX if you register.

does the person your sending money to live in ciang mai by any chance ?

No not Chaing Mia. My wife lives with me here in England but the account is in kumpawapi Udon Thani. I can only draw £300 a day on the nationwide card and there is 150 baht fee + £1 foriegn withdrawl fee. The Nationwide exchange rate is very good at visa +1/2 percent . £1000 = 4 withdrawels =600baht +£4 foriegn withdrawel fees + exchage rate loss =£5 this adds up to £21 but avoids Thai paying in fee if handed over the counter

Nationwide is £25 to send by tranfer £25 + 1/2% exchange rate (sterling)=£5 + pay in fee of 500 baht this adds up to £40

uk forex is £7fees +2% exchange= £20 + pay in fee £10 this adds up to £37

Halifax if you can send Sterling £9.50 fees + thai pay in £10+ 1/2% thai exchange rate=£5 this adds up to £23.50

I don't really want our friend going to the atm 4 times for Nationwide and then paying in so Halifax is a clear leader.

nb If I was in Thailand I would produce my 3 Nationwide cards over the counter draw out free and pay in to SCB

Passpato,

you have lost me a bit with your sums but if you send all the money online to your Thai account then there is no withdrawal fee at all if you are using a Thai Bank card for that bank to withdraw, we have bought a house using this method and other than the 9.50 gbp there was no other fees if you are withdrawing from that bank. It is also really useful if you are not in UK and want to move money internationally as with a lot of other banks this is not an option to do online

The exchange rate that Halifax use is really not an issue as it is sent in gbp so it is whatever your Thai Bank charges, I have no experience with SCB but with Bank Of Ayudha (the yellow bank) the exchange rate was the normal daily rate everyone gets. If this is not a one off and you are moving large amounts could be worth you setting up a Foreign Currency Deposit account. This allows you to keep the money in sterling and swap as much as you want as and when depending on the exchange rate

Thanks for confirming that you can send in sterling. The added cost that I pay is a fee charged by SCB of 300 to 500 baht for incoming electronic payments plus 30 baht foriegn exchange fee.

Edited October 17, 2011 by passpato

[CharlieH]

This is worth considering if you dont want to ope another bank account.

http://www.hifx.co.uk

[passpato]

This is worth considering if you dont want to ope another bank account.

http://www.hifx.co.uk

I already use uk forex which is £2 cheaper at £7 and has the same facilities .uk forex is free for first 2 transactions too, saving £18.

[kjhbigv]

You can now send from a Lloyds Bank account online (do it yourself) to a Thai Bank in Sterling, cost GBP10.00 for transactions up to GBP5k.

You get the TT rate quoted here,

http://www.bangkokba...es/Default.aspx

but I think they charge for receiving, I guess same as all banks here?

0.25% Thai Baht amount

200 Baht (minimum fee)

500 Baht (maximum fee)

Edited October 22, 2011 by kjhbigv

[David48]

A lot of the focus from respondents seem to be about the transfer fee. If you are exchanging 1,000 quid, also consider the exchange rate. I use XE Trade and even though it costs to do the transfer the exchange rate is excellent.

See http://www.xe.com/fx/help/all-faq.htm

[maloyd1]

You can now send from a Lloyds Bank account online (do it yourself) to a Thai Bank in Sterling, cost GBP10.00 for transactions up to GBP5k.

You get the TT rate quoted here,

http://www.bangkokba...es/Default.aspx

but I think they charge for receiving, I guess same as all banks here?

0.25% Thai Baht amount

200 Baht (minimum fee)

500 Baht (maximum fee)

Have you tried using PayPal.

Set up a paypal account in the UK and link it to your UK bank account.

Set up an account in Thailand and link it to the Thai Bank account.

To set up the accounts you need a seperate email address for each account and a house address in each country.

I think the house address has to be linked to the Bank account but not certain as I did this back in May this year.

Also the email account should be in the same name/address as the bank account holder.

Transfer the money into the UK Paypal account then send it to the Thai Paypal account in GBP.

Transfer between Paypal accounts as a Gift then you do not get any commercial charge.

They charge you 1/2% (0.5%) for the transfer which is £5 on £1000.

Once in the Thai Paypal account convert it to Thai Baht, where you get a good exchange rate, then transfer it to the Thai Bank account.

Withdraw via ATM or at the counter.

Mal.

[passpato]

Mal. This sounds like an excellent idea . This is just what Im looking for. I already have a paypal account but have never looked into this. Pity I sent it on Friday with forex I could have saved £15 . There will be other times though and I could send holiday money prior to a visit . Thanks very much.

You can now send from a Lloyds Bank account online (do it yourself) to a Thai Bank in Sterling, cost GBP10.00 for transactions up to GBP5k.

You get the TT rate quoted here,

http://www.bangkokba...es/Default.aspx

but I think they charge for receiving, I guess same as all banks here?

0.25% Thai Baht amount

200 Baht (minimum fee)

500 Baht (maximum fee)

Have you tried using PayPal.

Set up a paypal account in the UK and link it to your UK bank account.

Set up an account in Thailand and link it to the Thai Bank account.

To set up the accounts you need a seperate email address for each account and a house address in each country.

I think the house address has to be linked to the Bank account but not certain as I did this back in May this year.

Also the email account should be in the same name/address as the bank account holder.

Transfer the money into the UK Paypal account then send it to the Thai Paypal account in GBP.

Transfer between Paypal accounts as a Gift then you do not get any commercial charge.

They charge you 1/2% (0.5%) for the transfer which is £5 on £1000.

Once in the Thai Paypal account convert it to Thai Baht, where you get a good exchange rate, then transfer it to the Thai Bank account.

Withdraw via ATM or at the counter.

Mal.

[passpato]

Can you give an example of exchange rate below mid market and the fee please.Thai banks have very good exchange rates

A lot of the focus from respondents seem to be about the transfer fee. If you are exchanging 1,000 quid, also consider the exchange rate. I use XE Trade and even though it costs to do the transfer the exchange rate is excellent.

See http://www.xe.com/fx/help/all-faq.htm