How Do I Cash A Foreign Check In Thailand

[Bababooey]

I have a few Thai bank accounts.

Can I deposit a foreign check denominated in GBP or USD into my Thai account denominated in baht? No problem if it takes a very long time to clear.

I cannot open a foreign currency account because I don't meet those requirements.

If the check cannot be deposited, is there a place I can cash it?

[longball53098]

Just make a deposit to your local Thai account and wait 4 to 6 weeks for the check to clear. No problem!

[Tywais]

Done it several times at Bangkok Bank with no problems. They will say 45 days but usually is cleared in no more than 3 weeks. Also a $10.00 Charge for processing.

[joeaverage]

yes, go to foreign remittance section bkk bank, then wait.

[Kerryd]

Yep - just deposit it and then check once in awhile (after a few weeks) to make sure it went through. I was told that the procedure is, the cheque goes from your bank to the main office in your city/province/region, then to Bangkok, then to your home country where it gets authenticated, then all the way back until it gets to your branch where it is finally credited to your account. (Hence the 45 day turn around. Could be they've figured out a more efficient, and quicker, method of authenticating the cheques now.)

And note, Bangkok Bank (at least) will not accept a cheque if it is over 6 months old from date of issue, even if it was issued by your government (i.e. a pension or tax refund cheque), and even if you can show them a statement from your government mentioning that government cheques don't go "stale".

(Cheque I had was 10 days over 6 months and their computer system wouldn't process it. I mailed it to my bank back in Canada who deposited it no questions asked.)

(I have deposited other cheques with the same bank, that were under the 6 month limit, with no problem.)

[sgtsabai]

I have a Kasikorn account, no problem going to bank and getting money with my US Debit Cards. I tried to deposit a Veterans Affairs payment check, US Treasury. It seems the Kasikorn bank does not have full faith in the US government. They would not cash. I had to send the check back to the states and have my attorney deposit it in my local Credit Union account (I hate the big, too big to fail, too big to jail banks). Thankfully have since gotten direct deposit straightened out.

[how241]

Done it several times at Bangkok Bank with no problems. They will say 45 days but usually is cleared in no more than 3 weeks. Also a $10.00 Charge for processing.

Thanks for the info.

[elgenon]

Bangkok Bank said 3 weeks if check made out to me. 3 days if check made out to them!

[bumpkin]

The interval before you have Cleared funds in your account can vary considerably. Usually 5-6 weeks, but more than once I have had to wait for 2+ months. Same senders Bank, same depositing Thai Bank. No explanation. Usually quicker to mail back to your Bank in home country.

Edited June 14, 2013 by bumpkin

[MichelBangkok]

Just deposited a CAD $30,000 cheque in one of my local accounts; it took 4 weeks, Baht 290 charge up front, no other charges either in Canada or on the way. The only catch is the exchange rate when the money is landing converted from CAD to THB by the local bank, which is usually the best way to plan it; verified the day it was deposited in my account and got a substantially lower rate than what was quoted on the Bank web site for that day. So beware... A SWIFT transfer may get a better rate, but there are other charges. It depends if you plan a substantial deposit or not.

[Pib]

Just deposited a CAD $30,000 cheque in one of my local accounts; it took 4 weeks, Baht 290 charge up front, no other charges either in Canada or on the way. The only catch is the exchange rate when the money is landing converted from CAD to THB by the local bank, which is usually the best way to plan it; verified the day it was deposited in my account and got a substantially lower rate than what was quoted on the Bank web site for that day. So beware... A SWIFT transfer may get a better rate, but there are other charges. It depends if you plan a substantial deposit or not.

What rate was you looking at? It will vary among Thai banks but for checks you should get the sight bill and/or checks rate which is a little lower than the TT Buying Rate used for wire/ACH/SWIFT transfers. Like for example, at the SCB exchange rate webpage the check rate is approx. 0.2 baht/CAD lower than their TT Buying rate. But on a $30K amount that 0.2 baht lower rate would be around $200 / Bt6000 / 0.7% less received...or said another, a fee/profit of around 0.7% / $200 / Bt6000 (on top of the Bt290 fee) earned by the bank in the form of a lower exchange rate.

[Berkshire]

Most Thai banks will accept foreign government and institutional checks. But I do not believe they will accept a personal or third-party checks.

[timber]

I use TMB fairly often to do this. Just deposit a check to myself. Takes about four or five weeks.

Costs about 10 baht. Exchange rate normally is quite acceptable with internet exchange rates.

Probably better than going to money exchange in Bangkok.

[Tywais]

Most Thai banks will accept foreign government and institutional checks. But I do not believe they will accept a personal or third-party checks.

At least with Bangkok Bank, all my checks were personal checks written out to me for cash.

[sas_cars]

Bangkok Bank said 3 weeks if check made out to me. 3 days if check made out to them!

Can you explain it a bit? Means we write a check payable to Bangkok bank in our favour? That is, payable to Bangkok Bank for credit to Mr. XYX?

[IMA_FARANG]

Yes, if you have a Thai bank account it can be done.

I've had some checks mailed to me in Bangkok from proceeds of a bank account closed that was my account in the U.S.

I simply went to my bank in Bangkok (Bangkok Bank account) and deposited these checks for collection to my Bangkok Bank account.

Be aware your looking at least 3 weeks required for collection, because they have to verify the check from the issuing bank in the U.S.

Bangkok Bank will charge a fee for collection of course. I can't remember, but it is 200 or 300 Baht for the collection fee.

For practical purposes, if it is only a small dollar amount, say less than $50, it may not be worth the hassle ... but that's your choice.

I deposited 2 $100 checks, and other than having to wait for over a month before they cleared, I had no problem getting the money ... minus the fees.

Go through the foreign remittance desk, they have the experience in that kind of thing. It's part of their function.

In my experience trying to go through the normal counter tellers to cash or deposit such a check confuses the tellers.

[MichelBangkok]

Most Thai banks will accept foreign government and institutional checks. But I do not believe they will accept a personal or third-party checks.

At least with Bangkok Bank, all my checks were personal checks written out to me for cash.

Same with my own experience : a personal check from my account in Canada deposited to my account in Bangkok Bank.

[taxout]

A bank can accept a foreign cheque two different ways.

First, it can buy the cheque from you. In this case you get more or less immediate credit of the funds. Of course a bank will not do this unless it is satisfied with your credit (or the credit of the drawer). If there's a problem, it wants to know you're good for the chargeback.Travellers' cheques, for example, are usually bought from the customer, since the bank is satisfied with the credit of Amex or whoever.

Second, it can take the cheque for collection. In this case you don't get credit for the cheque until the bank is satisfied it has cleared, without risk of chargeback. This of course would be the more common method of Thai banks when dealing with retail customers. Nonetheless, if you've got a substantial long-term relationship with a Thai bank, you can always ask them to purchase the cheque, not send it for collection. (Since the bank lays out funds earlier when it buys a check, the net cost is usually a bit higher to the customer, though.)