Cheapest Way Send 10,000 Gbp To Thailand?

[GeorgeO]

Via your UK bank to your Thai bank (if you have one).

Send in Sterling and let the Thai bank convert £ to B - you'll get a better rate than all the so called ForEx companies.

Different UK banks charge different rates for sending the money - the lowest I know of are Smile and Halifax (£13 and £10 I think) most "big banks" charge £20-£25. Usually only takes 1-2 days.

Don't pay the receiving banks charegs from the UK - they will be cheaper in Thailand.

Hope that helps

I agree. I am with HSBC in the UK and Bangkok Bank here. The charge at the home bank is GBP 17.00 for any amount up to GBP 10,000, and the rate has always been to my liking.

[Will2011]

HSBC Premier has the lowest fees and best currency rates.

Another option is to open a CITI Gold account in UK and another one in Thailand under the same account name holder so that you will only pay the currency exchange rate and avoid any wire transfer fees.

Have you actually done that? I have a citigold account and I spoke to my account manager in London about opening an account with Citibank Thailand, at the time (2/3 years ago) she said that there would be a fee, however that the system was being looked into.

I did so with HSBC Premier. No fees. Regarding CitiGold, it's the same in the US, so i believe that would be identical in the UK as well.

Please note that it's not uncommon to find account managers who have no clue what they are talking about. It's highly recommended to read all the information, terms and conditions on the website first, so that you have a reliable source, should you ask any bank workers.

[triffid]

Via your UK bank to your Thai bank (if you have one).

Send in Sterling and let the Thai bank convert £ to B - you'll get a better rate than all the so called ForEx companies.

Different UK banks charge different rates for sending the money - the lowest I know of are Smile and Halifax (£13 and £10 I think) most "big banks" charge £20-£25. Usually only takes 1-2 days.

Don't pay the receiving banks charegs from the UK - they will be cheaper in Thailand.

Hope that helps

One step better is to have a Bangkok Bank account and forward the money to the London branch who send it on,making the transaction a domestic one cutting costs further.

This is interesting. I wonder if either SCB or Kasikorn have branches in London or Paris where I could open an account and whether there are obstacles to opening such accounts. Was it a simple exercise opening the Bangkok Bank account at their London branch?

[sushi5734]

HSBC Premier has the lowest fees and best currency rates.

Another option is to open a CITI Gold account in UK and another one in Thailand under the same account name holder so that you will only pay the currency exchange rate and avoid any wire transfer fees.

Have you actually done that? I have a citigold account and I spoke to my account manager in London about opening an account with Citibank Thailand, at the time (2/3 years ago) she said that there would be a fee, however that the system was being looked into.

I did so with HSBC Premier. No fees. Regarding CitiGold, it's the same in the US, so i believe that would be identical in the UK as well.

Please note that it's not uncommon to find account managers who have no clue what they are talking about. It's highly recommended to read all the information, terms and conditions on the website first, so that you have a reliable source, should you ask any bank workers.

Yeah the Indian call centres they use are an absolute joke and they have never managed to deal with anything I asked them to deal with. My wealth manager/ account manager on the other and is completely on the ball, I checked out the website at the time and it was spot on, but I'll ask her again next time we speak as she can arrange an appointment with Citibank Thailand to open an account next time I'm in bkk.

The reason I initially opened the citi account was because at the time I could use any ATM free of charge with a very good exchange rate, however that changed with both the Thai banks and citi adding a transaction charge.

[Naam]

Yeah the Indian call centres they use are an absolute joke and they have
never managed to deal with anything I asked them to deal with.

perhaps they had problems with your Welsh accent?

[dunque]

Via your UK bank to your Thai bank (if you have one).

Send in Sterling and let the Thai bank convert £ to B - you'll get a better rate than all the so called ForEx companies.

Different UK banks charge different rates for sending the money - the lowest I know of are Smile and Halifax (£13 and £10 I think) most "big banks" charge £20-£25. Usually only takes 1-2 days.

Don't pay the receiving banks charegs from the UK - they will be cheaper in Thailand.

Hope that helps

Lloyds TSB charge £10 for transfers up to £5k, £17.50 for £5k+

[Postmaster]

Stoneyboy has it right. I've used that method with BBK in London (from North UK). Everything done in £Sterling. Very Cheap ! Just a small fee for the London Branch of branch BBK (I think was £10) and then 500 baht at the Thai BBK end. You can download the procedure from BBK.

[Huayrat]

Via your UK bank to your Thai bank (if you have one).

Send in Sterling and let the Thai bank convert £ to B - you'll get a better rate than all the so called ForEx companies.

Different UK banks charge different rates for sending the money - the lowest I know of are Smile and Halifax (£13 and £10 I think) most "big banks" charge £20-£25. Usually only takes 1-2 days.

Don't pay the receiving banks charegs from the UK - they will be cheaper in Thailand.

Hope that helps

One step better is to have a Bangkok Bank account and forward the money to the London branch who send it on,making the transaction a domestic one cutting costs further.

Its still 25 pounds doing it that way

[Dellboy218]

HSBC Premier has the lowest fees and best currency rates.

Another option is to open a CITI Gold account in UK and another one in Thailand under the same account name holder so that you will only pay the currency exchange rate and avoid any wire transfer fees.

Have you actually done that? I have a citigold account and I spoke to my account manager in London about opening an account with Citibank Thailand, at the time (2/3 years ago) she said that there would be a fee, however that the system was being looked into.

Just transferred some on HSBC Premier. Exchange rate about 0.4B below Bangkok banks quoted rate. Transfer fee 17 quid.

[loong]

HSBC Premier has the lowest fees and best currency rates.

Another option is to open a CITI Gold account in UK and another one in Thailand under the same account name holder so that you will only pay the currency exchange rate and avoid any wire transfer fees.

Have you actually done that? I have a citigold account and I spoke to my account manager in London about opening an account with Citibank Thailand, at the time (2/3 years ago) she said that there would be a fee, however that the system was being looked into.

Just transferred some on HSBC Premier. Exchange rate about 0.4B below Bangkok banks quoted rate. Transfer fee 17 quid.

So if you transfer 10,000 quid, you lose 4,000 Baht on the exchange rate. That brings the cost of the transfer up to around 100 Quid

[Pib]

Sending banks just love it when you knowing or unknowing authorize them to convert your home country currency to baht before sending as their exchange rate will most likely be significantly lower (creates a nice little profit of a couple percent...some call it a hidden fee) than the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks. Do not allow your sending bank to convert to baht before sending; send your home country currency and let the receiving Thai bank do the conversion.

[MrWorldwide]

And you never said what Bangkok Bank charged.

A percentage.

Whatever the amount. A bunch of sharks,might as well use Western Union

Sent from my GT-S7500L using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Would NOT use Western Union - security ? (google western union scam)

Just did a quote for Western Union, apart from the security issues.....

Max online is GBP4k, charge GBP19.90 and an exchange rate of THB44.10. (BKK Bank 45.33)

Just the differential on the exchange rate on GBP10k is THB12300 = circa GBP270.00 less by Western Union!

Thank you - cant believe that anyone would seriously suggest using Western Union for a transaction like this - they rape you for the relative 'convenience' of being able to avoid a bank transfer.

[MAJIC]

Last time I sent £10,000 from my current account from the UK to Thailand it cost me £24.00 which is pretty cheap,but the same price if you send £100,so not so good,price per transaction.

[Pib]

Last time I sent £10,000 from my current account from the UK to Thailand it cost me £24.00 which is pretty cheap,but the same price if you send £100,so not so good,price per transaction.

Hopefully you didn't allow the sending bank to convert to baht before sending; if so, the lower exchange rate, which let's say for example was only 1% lower, that 10K pound transfer included another 100 pounds in a hidden fee of sorts on top of the 24 pounds. Kinda like what Dellboy218 describes in post #39 above.

[MAJIC]

Last time I sent £10,000 from my current account from the UK to Thailand it cost me £24.00 which is pretty cheap,but the same price if you send £100,so not so good,price per transaction.

Hopefully you didn't allow the sending bank to convert to baht before sending; if so, the lower exchange rate, which let's say for example was only 1% lower, that 10K pound transfer included another 100 pounds in a hidden fee of sorts on top of the 24 pounds. Kinda like what Dellboy218 describes in post #39 above.

No! I always send in GBP.