Cashing Us Government Checks

[roamp]

I'm expecting a us goverment pension check for around US$10,000. I have a baht savings account at Thai Farmers Bank (did I hear they changed their name?). Will I have a problem cashing it in Thailand?

Thanks for your help.

[PeaceBlondie]

You can deposit it to your account and wait a month or more for it to clear before you can draw upon it (spend it). Good luck. The fact that it's the US govt. probably doesn't matter much. Thai banks are in no hurry to cash international checks. On an amount of roughly 400,000 baht, who can blame them?

[barryofthailand]

PeaceBlondie is correct. The waiting period after deposit is 45 days, and they will probably charge you for the deposit. Best to have pensions go to a U.S. Bank.

Barry

[lopburi3]

The name was changed several years ago but otherwise they are still in business. I have not used a Thai bank to cash a US check for over 10 years. Just save them up and send to my US bank for deposit (health insurance is about the only thing that still requires checks to pay me).

[Curt]

..... Thai Farmers Bank (did I hear they changed their name?).

Thanks for your help.

TFB now goes by Kasikorn.

There will be a minimum discount of 1/2 of 1% ($50) for the currency conversion.

Don't know if they will charge a service charge in Bangkok, but Kasikorn charges $20 to transfer money to Thailand from the US (Los Angeles branch).

[billrussell]

I use direct deposit for my U.S. pension check, and then use my ATM to withdraw cash. I have found that using a ATM card gives you the best rate, and lowest fees. You might want to check with several U.S. banks to find out how much they charge for overseas ATM transactions. Mine charges $1.50 per transaction.

[tavarich]

I'm expecting a us goverment pension check for around US$10,000. I have a baht savings account at Thai Farmers Bank (did I hear they changed their name?). Will I have a problem cashing it in Thailand?

Thanks for your help.

Call the U.S. Emabassy. I'm not sure about the one in BKK but some of the embassies around the world cash them on a certain day. Ask for the banking and finance extension.