Money Transfer Dilemma - Any Suggestions ?

[tonika]

I have send money shortly to Thailand, from the UK , to meet a deadline, or face a penalty. Last Friday I phoned my wife to ask the Exchange Rates. She said the Bank rate at her Bank in Bungkan, was approximately 48.6 Baht to the Pound. Money Corp, a financial company that I found on the web,on Friday were giving 49.56. On a large transfer It can mean the difference of a few thousand Baht.

My dilemma is when enquiring with Money Corp, about transferring money with them to Thailand, I was told there would be NO problem, as long as it went to a Bank account of mine in Thailand. But as I need to have it sent to my wife's account ( My wife and I have separate accounts ) they said it can't be done. They say because of money laundering. Because of family problems, my wife, has been living in Thailand for over a year. She has a UK Passport, but is not on the Electoral Roll. They therefore can't use this house address in the UK, as her resident address. So she cannot be registered with them.

Anyone have an idea, if, I transferred the money via this company, to my Bank account in Thailand, how could my wife access this money from my account, and then transfer to hers ?.

[ajahnlau]

All the banks have online banking services,just transfer from your acc't to hers.

[Boater]

how much are you looking to transfer, and for what purpose? , i have used money corp many times for my clients and never an issue, and yes you will get far better exhange rates then the banks with them ....

i also know another company, and work with them who can give the same rates, PM if you wish and i can see if i can help

[CharlieH]

If she has a Bangkok Bank account, transfer the money into Bangkok Bank London and they'll pass it to Bangkok Bank Thailand account.

[chainarong]

I can't see why you need to go through the third degree with Money Corp, Take the money out of Money Corp, put it into your U.K. account, log into your net bank and transfer, naturally this only works if you have a bank account with net bank , if not, it's time for you to set one up.

[CWMcMurray]

I assume that the penalty is much more than a few thousand baht? l also assume that any delays in processing may cause you to miss the deadline?

If so and you have a hard deadline, it may not be worth the risk of having problems or delays with the transfer and end up missing the deadline.

[ianguygil]

I am not sure of the amount you are moving, but if it is a large amount from a Bank perspective you may well be able to get a preferred exchange rate (I know, what seems like a large amount to us is not a large amount to a corporation and I know I will get flack for this).

This is really the difference between buying Wholesale and Retail. So if it is > 50,000 USD I can put you in touch with our Treasury and they can set the rate. Then you can move it via our London Branch as CHARLIEH says.

One note on using these 3rd party money transfer services, and I do not know this one you are mentioning at all. However, please be careful when you give money, even temporarily, to a company you are not completely familiar with. It would be "ugly" to be the last one standing during a game of financial musical chairs. Also, you are probably not covered by any deposit insurance program with these companies should things hit the fan during your transfer.

Please PM me or DAVEROC if you want help with this.

Ian

[meatboy]

i know moneycorpe and have trans.money to los many times since 2008,they are safe as the are regulated by the f.s.a. you can send money to your wifes account in thailand but you have to declare what it is for,my wife sent money to her sisters acc.when we had to pay a dep.on our house,but she was on the electrol reg.so as long as you are there should be no problem.but remember you must declare what its for.

[ianguygil]

One of the things we try to do in participating in this forum is to provide information to help consumers make more educated decisions. So it is probably worth noting the difference between oversight by financial regulators and deposit insurance.

Companies providing financial services are subject to regulation in almost all markets. Regulators create and enforce the laws, guidelines and restrictions which apply to financial services. Regulators approve specific companies to provide specific products and services

If a company is subject to regulatory oversight, in this example by the FSA, it should give some assurance that they are being run properly. However, please note that the role of regulators is also to close down companies who are in breach of the rules. So companies like Barings, Lehman, Northern Rock were all regulated.

Deposit insurance provides an assurance that a certain amount of certain asset types will be repaid in the event of a failure of the financial institution. As many bondholders found out in 2008, this does not normally cover debts issued by the financial institution to raise capital. It covers just certain types of deposits up to a limit per account per customer.

So in the USA the regulators are the Fed, OCC etc. and the Deposit Insurance is the FDIC with a limit of 250,000 USD per customer per financial institution.

In the UK the regulator is the FSA (for now) and the Deposit Insurance is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which covers 85,000 GPB per customer per financial institution

So just because your bank (or money transfer agent) is regulated does not mean they are insured.

Ian

[tonika]

how much are you looking to transfer, and for what purpose? , i have used money corp many times for my clients and never an issue, and yes you will get far better exhange rates then the banks with them ....

i also know another company, and work with them who can give the same rates, PM if you wish and i can see if i can help

If, the exchange rate was favourable, it would be in the region of £ 60, 000. The purpose is to pay the future installments of the house we're having built. ( So it must go thro' my wifes account ). Penalty, starts from 10/12/ 2011, if 1st installment not paid by that date. As I said in my original email, Money Corp,are adamant they can not send funds to my wifes account,because she has no fixed address.

[tonika]

i know moneycorpe and have trans.money to los many times since 2008,they are safe as the are regulated by the f.s.a. you can send money to your wifes account in thailand but you have to declare what it is for,my wife sent money to her sisters acc.when we had to pay a dep.on our house,but she was on the electrol reg.so as long as you are there should be no problem.but remember you must declare what its for.

Hi thanks for the reply. Money Corp are adamant ( had 3 telephone conversations with them ) they cannot transfer these funds to my wifes account, as they cannot verify her resident address. I did tell them it's for installment payments for the house we're having built ( for my retirement ). Deposit already paid, but penalty starts 10/12/2011. If 1st installment not paid. Hence, I've got to get cracking.

[tonika]

I am not sure of the amount you are moving, but if it is a large amount from a Bank perspective you may well be able to get a preferred exchange rate (I know, what seems like a large amount to us is not a large amount to a corporation and I know I will get flack for this).

This is really the difference between buying Wholesale and Retail. So if it is > 50,000 USD I can put you in touch with our Treasury and they can set the rate. Then you can move it via our London Branch as CHARLIEH says.

One note on using these 3rd party money transfer services, and I do not know this one you are mentioning at all. However, please be careful when you give money, even temporarily, to a company you are not completely familiar with. It would be "ugly" to be the last one standing during a game of financial musical chairs. Also, you are probably not covered by any deposit insurance program with these companies should things hit the fan during your transfer.

Please PM me or DAVEROC if you want help with this.

Ian

If the exchange rate was favourable, it would be approx £ 60,000. It's for a house I'm having built, for my retirement. Deposit paid , penalty starts 10/12/2011 if 1st installment not paid. Hence my dilemma.

[tonika]

All the banks have online banking services,just transfer from your acc't to hers.

Will investigate this further, if I can, I might just do this. thanks

[tonika]

Thanks guys, some very helpful suggestions, will reply to individuals when I get the chance