Pension Payment Direct To Thai Bank

[rayinkrabi]

Some time ago I researched the best way to access my pension from England. A friend of mine was quite proud of the fact that he now has his paid direct to his Thai account but couldn't answer my query of what exchange rate he got.

I asked my pension payers about this subject and they agreed they can pay direct but insisted they can only send Thai Baht. This was obviously a non starter as you can expect a much reduced rate of exchange this way.

I saw on another thread however that someone has his pension paid directly from England in Pounds..maybe the rules have changed? or his pension payer is better than mine (Capita Hartshead).

Any one out there with any thoughts on this or use Capita? I'm still awaiting a reply from them but not holding my breath as they don't seem very helpful.

[theoldgit]

You will be aware that Capita will only send in Baht, it's in their contract with the Cabinet Office and there are no plans to change it. My experience was that it was a poor rate, though it always arrived promptly.

The State Pension is also paid in Baht but they use Citibank, who seem to give a fairly competitive rate.

I opened up an account with Nationwide International and both of my pensions are paid into that account. I then transfer funds monthly online, or less often if I can afford to do so, my experience has been that, even taking account of the £20 fee, I still receive more Baht per month.

[meatboy]

why dont you have your pension paid to your bank in the uk,then to cut down on transfer fees uk.and thailand if you are not dependant on your pension alone have it trans.in sterling say twice a year,that way you can watch the exchange rate so when its favourable to you get it sent by swift trans 24hrs.never have it sent in baht,eg.today t/t rate baht 49+ rate you would get if it was sent in baht around 44.you would have to pay uk.end for the trans.and this end around 300bht.

[rayinkrabi]

Yep, I agree with you entirely and have indeed been withrawing cash using my Nationwide card for many years now and where ever possible with an aeon atm.

I was simply re-exploring the possibilty of avoiding this method as I saw a post the other day by Billd766 saying he was happy 'cos he has his pension paid in pounds direct...maybe he has an offshore account where this is of course possible? I've found an old post on TV by Bill (below) which suggests he has already successfully gone down this road. Are you there Bill? :-)

Seems so far this won't go anywhere tho so I've also added a few details that may help some newbies:

As you know the Nationwide now charge 2% plus 1 pound for every withdrawal so this leaves the Metro Bank or Norwich & Peterborough Building Society..as far as I know, that are the only ones in England who do not charge at all for foreign atm withdrawals (don't know what their exchange rates will be tho I assume them to be as good as most).

The main difference between these 2 is that the Metro currently only have a small number of branches in and around London and insist on personal applications only. The Norwich & Peterborough allows you to apply online and automaticaly gives you internet banking. So I would advise anyone to open an account with the N & P and Metro while they are still resident in the UK.

I would also recomend having other bank accounts and debit cards set up (regardless of what they charge for atm as funds can easily be transferred online) split your money between them as you never know when your card may be lost or damaged or they change the rules, plus a good credit card as 'back ups'.

Posted by Billd766 on 2010-12-02 15:24:37

I spoke to the Pensions department last week and they said

1 I can get my pension paid into my bank in Thailand

2 It would be through Citibank UK

3 If I was not happy I could change back

That is fine so far so yesterday I called Citibank 5 times to ask to be put through to the department who deals with there transfers and could give me a link to the forex rates on the internet.

One call put me through to the Department of Works and Pensions who actually pay my pension and are not Citibank at all.

Another put me though to a number which was unattended. 2 other ones went nowhere and the last one the operator hung up on me. There is no way to email Citibank unless you have an account there.

The contact numbers are worse than useless. Their complaints hotline number has been changed.

All I really want is a link to their online forex rates. Can anybody help me with this please?

[BrianCR]

Yep, I agree with you entirely and have indeed been withrawing cash using my Nationwide card for many years now and where ever possible with an aeon atm.

I was simply re-exploring the possibilty of avoiding this method as I saw a post the other day by Billd766 saying he was happy 'cos he has his pension paid in pounds direct...maybe he has an offshore account where this is of course possible? I've found an old post on TV by Bill (below) which suggests he has already successfully gone down this road. Are you there Bill? :-)

Seems so far this won't go anywhere tho so I've also added a few details that may help some newbies:

As you know the Nationwide now charge 2% plus 1 pound for every withdrawal so this leaves the Metro Bank or Norwich & Peterborough Building Society..as far as I know, that are the only ones in England who do not charge at all for foreign atm withdrawals (don't know what their exchange rates will be tho I assume them to be as good as most).

The main difference between these 2 is that the Metro currently only have a small number of branches in and around London and insist on personal applications only. The Norwich & Peterborough allows you to apply online and automaticaly gives you internet banking. So I would advise anyone to open an account with the N & P and Metro while they are still resident in the UK.

I would also recomend having other bank accounts and debit cards set up (regardless of what they charge for atm as funds can easily be transferred online) split your money between them as you never know when your card may be lost or damaged or they change the rules, plus a good credit card as 'back ups'.

Posted by Billd766 on 2010-12-02 15:24:37

I spoke to the Pensions department last week and they said

1 I can get my pension paid into my bank in Thailand

2 It would be through Citibank UK

3 If I was not happy I could change back

That is fine so far so yesterday I called Citibank 5 times to ask to be put through to the department who deals with there transfers and could give me a link to the forex rates on the internet.

One call put me through to the Department of Works and Pensions who actually pay my pension and are not Citibank at all.

Another put me though to a number which was unattended. 2 other ones went nowhere and the last one the operator hung up on me. There is no way to email Citibank unless you have an account there.

The contact numbers are worse than useless. Their complaints hotline number has been changed.

All I really want is a link to their online forex rates. Can anybody help me with this please?

Remember if your Government pension is transferred to your Thai bank account it will first go to Citibank Bangkok (150 baht) and from there to your own bank and your account (150 baht)

[JohnC]

"Remember if your Government pension is transferred to your Thai bank account it will first go to Citibank Bangkok (150 baht) and from there to your own bank and your account (150 baht) "

Not true, I have my state pension paid through Citibank to my Bangkok Bank and there are no charges either end, in addition on Friday 28th I was given 49.76 to the £ which is a good rate compared to others. I have been using this method for a couple of years and very happy to avoid both Nationwide ATM charges or SWIFT charges plus with Nationwide my card was continually blocked "for security as Thailand is rife with fraud" this despite my registered address being here and having told them on every occasion when I have to make an international call to unfreeze my card. This happens irrespective of which ATM I use, they told me it was because I tried to withdraw cash on the same day my pension was deposited! Hello it's MY money and I have to eat!

[Mousehound]

Read Bill Bryson on the English language - he is good, and American! If you want to hear really well spoken English then you are most likely to hear it from "well educated" Indians. The Australian accent is fairly even but their understanding of grammar is often, at best, average. In fact English seems to be evolving into lots of new languages. If you don't believe me then try going to parts of London or Geordie land. So the strange thing is that English is the most universal of all languages but it breaking down into new variations that are unintelligible to many English speakers

[rayinkrabi]

Quick update to my earlier 'advice' about having a back-up debit card or 2, I've just discovered (to my cost) that Santander won't issue me with a new card as I haven't used my account for a long time, in my case 3 yrs or more.

So I guess it makes sense to move your funds around online a few times to keep the accounts active.

[Bpuumike]

"Remember if your Government pension is transferred to your Thai bank account it will first go to Citibank Bangkok (150 baht) and from there to your own bank and your account (150 baht) "

Not true, I have my state pension paid through Citibank to my Bangkok Bank and there are no charges either end, in addition on Friday 28th I was given 49.76 to the £ which is a good rate compared to others. I have been using this method for a couple of years and very happy to avoid both Nationwide ATM charges or SWIFT charges plus with Nationwide my card was continually blocked "for security as Thailand is rife with fraud" this despite my registered address being here and having told them on every occasion when I have to make an international call to unfreeze my card. This happens irrespective of which ATM I use, they told me it was because I tried to withdraw cash on the same day my pension was deposited! Hello it's MY money and I have to eat!

It seems common in several countries (including the UK) that you have to wait 1-3 days after a deposit has been made for the funds to be 'cleared'.

Just more interest earned for the banks.

[NorfolkBoy]

Inaddition to the UK Government pension I have three other small private pensions. Theses are all paid into my UK bank account. I then use a service provided by HIFX.com to transfer into my Thai bank account. This is all done over the internet.

I have found HIfx to be extremely efficient and friendly. They charge 9 gbp per transaction for amounts under 3000 gbp but make no charge for transfers in excess of this

[meatboy]

Inaddition to the UK Government pension I have three other small private pensions. Theses are all paid into my UK bank account. I then use a service provided by HIFX.com to transfer into my Thai bank account. This is all done over the internet.

I have found HIfx to be extremely efficient and friendly. They charge 9 gbp per transaction for amounts under 3000 gbp but make no charge for transfers in excess of this

do you use internet banking to transfer the amount to hifx from your uk bank,do you have to have an acc.with hifx,i do mine once a year[10,000gbp] by swift attached to my uk bank £27.but is there a catch what currancy are hifx sending to your thai bank?

[BrianCR]

"Remember if your Government pension is transferred to your Thai bank account it will first go to Citibank Bangkok (150 baht) and from there to your own bank and your account (150 baht) "

Not true, I have my state pension paid through Citibank to my Bangkok Bank and there are no charges either end, in addition on Friday 28th I was given 49.76 to the £ which is a good rate compared to others. I have been using this method for a couple of years and very happy to avoid both Nationwide ATM charges or SWIFT charges plus with Nationwide my card was continually blocked "for security as Thailand is rife with fraud" this despite my registered address being here and having told them on every occasion when I have to make an international call to unfreeze my card. This happens irrespective of which ATM I use, they told me it was because I tried to withdraw cash on the same day my pension was deposited! Hello it's MY money and I have to eat!

I just checked again with Thai Farmers Bank and they are still claiming these charges

[PattayaPhom]

Metro are expanding and will open branches next month in Slough, Reading and Marlow, already have in High Wycombe, although correct you need to apply personally, their Swift is £17.50. N&P require a minimum £500 a month deposit in your account