theVenerable Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi I used Lloyds Tsb (nasty bank in my opinion) to transfer soem funds over to Thailand. I didnt realise they use a very low exchange rate, And I think I about lost about £200 during the transfer. For future reference, can anyone advise the cheapest way to transfer funds please? I dont enjoy being stung. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You're bank should ask you if you want to send gbp or baht. If you say baht they will give you their crappy rate. Tell them to send gbp and the Thai bank will convert it at a much better rate. I send AUD, 32 to 1, if I send baht I would get 27 to 1. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theVenerable Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) You're bank should ask you if you want to send gbp or baht. If you say baht they will give you their crappy rate. Tell them to send gbp and the Thai bank will convert it at a much better rate. I send AUD, 32 to 1, if I send baht I would get 27 to 1. Yes, I was going to do that next time, if its the best approach to take. Unless anyone knows an ever better way? It seems all banks have a low exchange rate, but yes its true, its a better way to do it the way you suggested. I will do it that way in future, unless anyone knows an even better way? Thanks p.s, the rate my bank gave me was 47.4 to 1.... if the thai bank did it, it would have been 48 to 1, it would have saved me about £80. However, if i go online to a currency converter, the rate is about 48.8 to 1. bank rates are crap it seems. Edited January 25, 2012 by theVenerable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You're bank should ask you if you want to send gbp or baht. If you say baht they will give you their crappy rate. Tell them to send gbp and the Thai bank will convert it at a much better rate. I send AUD, 32 to 1, if I send baht I would get 27 to 1. Yes, I was going to do that next time, if its the best approach to take. Unless anyone knows an ever better way? It seems all banks have a low exchange rate, but yes its true, its a better way to do it the way you suggested. I will do it that way in future, unless anyone knows an even better way? Thanks p.s, the rate my bank gave me was 47.4 to 1.... if the thai bankl did it, it would have been 48 to 1, it would have saved me about 80. However, if i go online to a currency converter, the rate is about 48.8 to 1. bank rates are crap it seems. Ask your Thai bank for their TT, Cash and Travelers Cheque rates, those are your options. You used to get the best rates for travelers cheques, but then you have to pay for the cheques.. TT in GBP will be your best option unless you want to smuggle something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theVenerable Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Sorry, Whats 'TT' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Sorry, Whats 'TT' ? Transfer from your bank to the Thai bank. (telegraphic transfer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You're bank should ask you if you want to send gbp or baht. If you say baht they will give you their crappy rate. Tell them to send gbp and the Thai bank will convert it at a much better rate. I send AUD, 32 to 1, if I send baht I would get 27 to 1. Yes, I was going to do that next time, if its the best approach to take. Unless anyone knows an ever better way? It seems all banks have a low exchange rate, but yes its true, its a better way to do it the way you suggested. I will do it that way in future, unless anyone knows an even better way? Thanks p.s, the rate my bank gave me was 47.4 to 1.... if the thai bank did it, it would have been 48 to 1, it would have saved me about £80. However, if i go online to a currency converter, the rate is about 48.8 to 1. bank rates are crap it seems. Currency converters use the inter bank rate, not the retail one that will be available to you. Someone has to make money when you change FX else why would they do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theVenerable Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Sorry, Whats 'TT' ? Transfer from your bank to the Thai bank. (telegraphic transfer) Hmm I'm confused, I thought I did trasnfer from my bank into the Thai bank. In fact, I know I did... So TT is the best option? then I will just carry on as before, apart from transfer it in bhat instead of pounds. Thanks Edited January 25, 2012 by theVenerable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 So TT is the best option? then I will just carry on as before, apart from transfer it in bhat instead of pounds. Thanks Transfer pounds not baht, tell them specifically to send pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theVenerable Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 So TT is the best option? then I will just carry on as before, apart from transfer it in bhat instead of pounds. Thanks Transfer pounds not baht, tell them specifically to send pounds. OK, thanks very much. As long as I know im getting the best deal possible, and not getting needlessly fleeced, its all good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 how much do you want to send ? a u.k bank will charge you to send a wire transfer and the thai bank charge to convert pounds into baht. the above charges are quite small but still a factor if your sending small amounts. if you can get a credit card with zero overseas charges - halifx clarity and santander zero etc - you can then go into a bank and ask for a cash advance and wont receive any fees. i have a santander zero , it's limited to 300 pounds a day but i have transferred thousands of pounds into thailand with it and not paid a penny in charges. if your going to send larger amounts then maybe wire transfer is better - you can compare the different thai banks here : http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx the wire transfers take a few days so if you want to get a gaurantted rate then maybe a company like hifx or moneycorp can be used - i have used smartcurrency exchange in the past and they were giving rates with-in 0.5% of the interbank rate and no fee if over 3000 pounds converted into baht. scb seem to always have a good TT rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ch23 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I have always been a bit confused about the transfer rate that the receiving bank will give me. In the example at this link. if I was transferring GBP to bht which rate would I get if I send in GBP they recieve it and then exchange it? would it be the end; sell rates bill DD-TT column? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 i thought it was the bank buying TT rate ? sorry it's been years since i last transferred any and i can't fully remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKJASE Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 how much do you want to send ? a u.k bank will charge you to send a wire transfer and the thai bank charge to convert pounds into baht. the above charges are quite small but still a factor if your sending small amounts. if you can get a credit card with zero overseas charges - halifx clarity and santander zero etc - you can then go into a bank and ask for a cash advance and wont receive any fees. i have a santander zero , it's limited to 300 pounds a day but i have transferred thousands of pounds into thailand with it and not paid a penny in charges. if your going to send larger amounts then maybe wire transfer is better - you can compare the different thai banks here : http://bankexchanger...et/default.aspx the wire transfers take a few days so if you want to get a gaurantted rate then maybe a company like hifx or moneycorp can be used - i have used smartcurrency exchange in the past and they were giving rates with-in 0.5% of the interbank rate and no fee if over 3000 pounds converted into baht. scb seem to always have a good TT rate. i have a Halifax Clarity, but i always thought, that if you take out cash on the credit card, then you will start to pay interest on the amount as soon as you take the cash. So if you take the money 15 days before your credit card bill arrives, you will be paying 18% interest or something on that amount for 15 days.... am i mistaken?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 hi, yes your right, if you withdraw cash they charge interest - my santander zero is over 20 %. what i do is pay santander first making a positive balance then withdraw the money out avoiding any charges - easy with online banking. my card is limited to 300 pounds a day , i believe the clarity card isn't limited ? but i wouldn't recomend you shart shovelling thousands at a time using this method incase u raise any alarms and they think your money laundering. also you can go inside some banks with your passport and ask for a cash advance instead of using the atm and getting a 150 baht charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 if you want to copy what i'm doing ask halifax if it's possible for you to make manual payments in addition to your monthly direct debit (maybe you will need to set your DD to the min. amount or 5 pounds etc). they should give you there account number and sort code and you use your 16 digit credit card no. as a reference - that's how i do mine. i tested it first on a small amount and my omline banking saves all the details so it's very easy once set-up. i can now make a payment and money appears on the credit card the same day. the nationwide also have a pretty good one but they charge 1 % and one pound per transaction. most credit and debit cards charge a small fortune if using cards abroad for cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endure Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 the nationwide also have a pretty good one but they charge 1 % and one pound per transaction. most credit and debit cards charge a small fortune if using cards abroad for cash. Nationwide charge 2% plus £1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endure Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 i have a Halifax Clarity, but i always thought, that if you take out cash on the credit card, then you will start to pay interest on the amount as soon as you take the cash. So if you take the money 15 days before your credit card bill arrives, you will be paying 18% interest or something on that amount for 15 days.... am i mistaken?? If you have a Clarity card with an interest rate of 12.8% PER ANNUM you'll pay ~1% PER MONTH whilst your card has a cash debt on it. If you draw money today and then transfer money from your bank to clear the Clarity debt in a couple of days time you'll be paying that one per cent for a matter of days at the most. Halifax say that they won't allow a positive balance on the card so, in theory, you have to wait for the debt to appear before transferring money to clear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javabear Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Do any of the Thai banks have a UK branch you could transfer the money to? I use Bank of America in the US and Bangkok Bank has a branch in New York. I use my account number and the routing number for the Bangkok Bank New York branch and do a domestic transfer from Bank of America. The money shows up in my account , converted to Baht by Bangkok Bank, in Thailand a few days later. The best part is that it is free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAYNEandAEI Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) I have always been a bit confused about the transfer rate that the receiving bank will give me. In the example at this link. if I was transferring GBP to bht which rate would I get if I send in GBP they recieve it and then exchange it? would it be the end; sell rates bill DD-TT column? Its the TT Buy rate. Also Bangkok Bank will slug you a 200baht fee for their efforts. http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transaction%20Accounts/Foreign%20Currency%20Account/Pages/FCD%20Fees.aspx Edited January 26, 2012 by WAYNEandAEI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JolyonB Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Has anyone tried the Lebara prepaid card. this is offering a rate of 48.75 today on their web site? i have a Lebara SIm in theUK and have found them to offer an excellent service which accounts for their incredible growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMA_FARANG Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Well, I'm an American so I can't tell you the exact process from the U.K. But I transfer funds monthly to my Bangkok Bank acccount here in Thailand and there is NO FEE here in Thailand for that transfer. I do this through the Bangkok Bank in New York...that's why there is no fee on the Thai end. Unfortuneatly, however, my local U.S. bank imposes a "service fee" of $30...so I have to pay that. The funds are tranferred in Dollars and are credited to my account here in Thailand at the same exchange rate I would get by walking into that bank with $100 bills in cash and converting them to Baht. I believe, from other posts on this forum, (try looking in the Business and Investments in Thailand topic) that there is also a Bangkok Bank in the U.K. possibly in London. If that's the case, from my experience, doing a domestic transfer from your U.K. bank to that Bangkok Bank in London for Credit to your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand would probably be the cheapest method of doing a bank transfer of funds to Thailand. Of course, this requires having a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand to transfer the funds to already. If you choose to go this route, you will probably have to talk to Bangkok Bank in the U.K. to get the process started. A similar process is the most cost-effective (cheapest/simpilest) method for me as my pension is deposited monthly into my U.S. bank account...and I just desigante a monthly amount for them to transfer montghly...and 3 to 5 days later it appears in my Thai bank account. But of course there is that d---ed "service charge" from my local U.S. bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendix Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Christ alive. Reading the OP get in a muddle about transferring in baht or pounds was like jogging through treacle. How do some people reach adulthood? It would strike me as obvious that you send the money in the currency of the country you're sending it from - it's just logical. Myself, I transfer from Standard Chartered here in HK to Standard Chartered in Bangkok. No charge at all, and excellent rates. I do it all online and the funds are in Thailand within hours, but always on the same day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsieurhappy Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Fees Bangkok Bank in New York charges the following fees for funds transfers initiated via the US ACH system:Transferred Amount Fee Not more than USD 50.00 Free USD 50.01 - 100.00 USD 3.00 USD 100.01 - 2,000.00 USD 5.00 USD 2,000.01 - 50,000.00 USD 10.00 USD 50,000.01 or more USD 20.00 Bangkok Bank in Thailand also charges a fee of 0.25% of the amount in the Baht currency (minimum of THB 200; maximum of THB 500) when the funds are deposited into the recipientÆs Bangkok Bank account in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsailor35 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I get my aussie pension paid into my Commonwealth bank account then on payday, i just take my debit card to the atm and draw it all out in one go. Is this a bad way of doing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I get my aussie pension paid into my Commonwealth bank account then on payday, i just take my debit card to the atm and draw it all out in one go. Is this a bad way of doing it sounds too easy to be the cheapest method. you need to talk to your bank and ask what there charges are etc. you could work out what rate your receiving by looking at your statements and comparing to ones in thailand. but what other choice do you have ? send a transfer instead but on small amounts maybe not much difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKJASE Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 i think from the UK sending via halifax bank is the cheapest method..... £9.50 flat rate, and when the ££££'s arrive hre, you get the TT rate from your bank......... but this would not be effective for your monthly pension i guess, unless you accumlate the ££££'s and send every 6 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 i took a look at halifax and there demo etc shows converting in uk only ? http://www.halifax.co.uk/onlinebankinghelp/international-payments/help-guidance/ this new guys sending his pension is from australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKJASE Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 i took a look at halifax and there demo etc shows converting in uk only ? http://www.halifax.c.../help-guidance/ this new guys sending his pension is from australia. The OP was talking quids though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5346 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 yes the first guy is talking about sending from the u.k and the second guy is talking about his australian pension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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