Transfer Income From Uk Bank(Or B.s.) To Thai Bank

[tommynew]

I have received my Pension income through Nationwide in the UK for the last 7 years and now I intend to stay. I want to open a Bank account, hopefully with a debit card/credit card or their likes in Thailand. Has anybody any suggestions for suitable banks with minimal charges. At present using ATM's I pay about 25GBP per month for the pleasure of spending my own money. I live in Sikhoraphum and only have access to Bangkok Bank, Krungs Thai Bank and Government Savings Bank

[CharlieH]

Bangkok Bank account, have paid or transfer monies into Bangkok Bank London, they'll have it in your Thai account next day.

Make sure you have it transferred in STERLING and converted in Thailand for best exchange rate.

Cost 20.00 pounds for transfer and max 500 baht Thai side. Total cost about 30.00 pounds.

You'll have a debit card etc when you open your account so all sorted.

Incidentally, if you withdrew the money over the counter in the bank with your card and passport you wouldnt pay any ATM fee.

MORE INFO FOR YOU HERE: http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUK/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUK.aspx

Edited November 18, 2012 by CharlieH

[loong]

It really depends on how much you need to transfer and how urgently you need the money in your Thai bank account.

Probably the cheapest way is to pay a sterling cheque drawn on your UK bank account into your Thai bank.

Cost is $10- US, about 300 Baht

The drawback is that it takes between 4 and 6 weeks to clear and you get the exchange rate on the day that it is credited to your account. Usually they will only allow this in the branch that holds the account. I have managed this at other branches, but it has been a battle.

Make sure that the receipt that they give you is written as GB Pounds, some of the staff seem to think that all foreign currency is US$. I don't know if this would lead to problems with the exchange rate because I have always got it corrected before the transaction progresses.

[Tafia]

You can always SWIFT Transfer it from NW to your Thai account. From NW the fee is 25 quid but you can send as much as you want so maybe transfer once or twice a year, an alternative is get your pension paid directly into your Thai account.

[Kimera]

Halifax will transfer to a Thai bank cost £7.50 from their current account, open one.

[JohnC]

I was in a similar situation and got fed up with Nationwide charges so I asked my pension provider to pay my pension into my Bangkok Bank Account, they use Citibank in the UK so they arranged an account, sent me the details and every month they pay my pension into my Citibank account who automatically transfer it to my Bangkok Bank, no charges and after monitoring the exchange rates for a year found them very favourable. The only downside is if my payment falls on a Friday and Monday is a holiday here or in the UK then it can be Tuesday or Wednesday the following week before I get my pension. When I started drawing my state pension this year I just gave them my Citi Bank details and they paid it direct to that account and Citi Bank transferred it, my payment for this always falls on a Thursday and so far it is always in my Thai Bank around 9am on a Friday. All round I am very happy with this service as unlike some I cannot leave my pensions to accumulate and transfer a lump sum (and pay £25 for the privilege)

Edited November 18, 2012 by JohnC

[craigt3365]

Probably best over in the banking forum. Topic Moved.

[chris2004]

Halifax will transfer to a Thai bank cost £7.50 from their current account, open one.

I think it's 9.50 but still the cheapest. I use Halifax to transfer money to my thai bank. Kasikorn claim that their maximum fee is 500 baht but whenever i try to check the final transfer it seems that someone has taken a greater fee. Either Halifax is not sending the amount i quoted or Kasikorn are charging more than 500. I heard somewhere that banks (maybe both) use head offices as an route for the money and they take a cut as well.

[PattayaPhom]

Metro bank now have many branches throughout the South East, foreign withdrawls are free......of course you need to go back to the UK to open but they do it in branch within 30 minutes......You can open an SCB account and with your Nationwide card, to reduce costs, dont use atms, once your pension has been paid, go in branch with passport and Nationwide card, you can get the money free of atm charges, however will still be stung with Nationwides 2%

[theoldgit]

If you are now living in Thailand you might find it difficult to open an account with the Halifax or any UK Bank.

I used to have my Civil Service Pension paid directly into my Kasikorn account but they didn't give a very good rate, I understand that the State Pension gives a better rate.

I opened a Nationwide International account on the Isle of Man and both my pensions are paid into that account and I transfer funds electronically when I need to, sometimes the funds arrive the same day but usually the following day.

Even taking into account the twenty pound charge from Nationwide, and the .25% fee from Kasikorn, I still get more Baht for my Pound.

[tommynew]

Thanks for all the input. Basically I want to use solely a Thai bank to receive my pensions direct from the private and public pensions in the UK

[sandrabbit]

the cheapest way to send money is by sending relatively large amounts, i.e. a few thousand, using a company like HIFX.co.uk which gives you a fixed rate with no additional charges. it has a live rate and when you click to send money that is the rate it sends and unlike using a bank which charges you for sending money plus a poor exchange rate and then you get charged by the receiving bank as well you get what you sent. I have an account with HIFX with a registered British address so I can use a debit card and do immediate transfer to them and I then get the money about 3 days later in Thailand. If you don't have a British address you have to send them the money through a holding bank so it will take a day or so later. this is the cheapest way to send money to Thailand, there are a number of reputable fx companies but I have sent about £50,000 totally through this company and so can recommend them. I have an account with the Halifax in the UK and their exchange rates are terrible so please don't use them, I would rather use a wire transfer company as you know exactly what the charges are before you make any transaction.

[sandrabbit]

Halifax will transfer to a Thai bank cost £7.50 from their current account, open one.

I think it's 9.50 but still the cheapest. I use Halifax to transfer money to my thai bank. Kasikorn claim that their maximum fee is 500 baht but whenever i try to check the final transfer it seems that someone has taken a greater fee. Either Halifax is not sending the amount i quoted or Kasikorn are charging more than 500. I heard somewhere that banks (maybe both) use head offices as an route for the money and they take a cut as well.

The reason for this is that it goes through another bank first, I think the handling bank is Bangkok bank. I know this as I recently bought an apartment and first of all got my tor tor sam from Kasikorn but it was wrong as they weren't the handling bank so I then had to go to Bangkok bank to get another tor tor sam.