Best Way To Transfer Money From The Us

[Smithson]

I've been having money sent from the US and often my bank, Bangkok Bank, is taking a cut. Does anyone know how I can prevent this? Should I switch to another bank? Maybe one that has a connection with the senders bank?

[lopburi3]

Bangkok Bank in Thailand takes 1/4 % with a min/max of 200/500 baht on wire transfers. Believe you will find all banks do the same. The larger your transfer the better. You receive a very good exchange rate so do not believe you will find a better system.

[Smithson]

Bangkok Bank in Thailand takes 1/4 % with a min/max of 200/500 baht on wire transfers. Believe you will find all banks do the same. The larger your transfer the better. You receive a very good exchange rate so do not believe you will find a better system.

The last transfer was over $5,000 and it came up short around $150

At other times I've had them take 1,000B, I've heard of others having similar experiences with different banks.

[lopburi3]

Are you sending US $ or is you home bank changing to Baht? The fee is as I have said and urge you to obtain the transfer paperwork to check it. If the funds go through the Bangkok Bank New York branch there is a $5 transfer fee at that point so your transfer report will show $4,995 as arriving in Bangkok. It will be converted to baht at that days TT rate. From that 1/4% in a range of 200-500 baht is deducted.

If you have the paperwork please provide complete details so we can check it out. There is no way you were legally charged $150 by Bangkok Bank for an incoming wire transfer of $5,000.

I would strongly suspect your US bank as the problem. You do know they have a fee for sending? And if they do the baht conversion you will receive a very poor rate of exchange.

You are talking about a bank to bank wire transfer using SWIFT and not a Western Union or some other type?

[Gary A]

Citibank US charges a flat $30 for a wire transfer regardless of the amount of the transfer. My Thai bank, Siam has a very small charge, certainly no more than 500 baht. I get the exact same exchange rate that shows on my Yahoo home page.

As a side note Citibank has been charging one percent for a foreign currency ATM transaction. On April 7th, that goes to two percent. I'd say that's a pretty hefty increase.

[Smithson]

Thanks for your help,

The money's being sent by a free, SWIFT transfer and he's already paying $40 for the wire.

So I should advise him to make sure US$ are sent and the the exchange is done by the bank in Thailand?

Thanks again,

[lopburi3]

Yes. Make sure that USD are sent. And you can ask at your Bangkok Bank counter for a copy of the transfer slip which will list the details if you want to check the old transfers.

[Jeff1]

Citibank US charges a flat $30 for a wire transfer regardless of the amount of the transfer. My Thai bank, Siam has a very small charge, certainly no more than 500 baht. I get the exact same exchange rate that shows on my Yahoo home page.

As a side note Citibank has been charging one percent for a foreign currency ATM transaction. On April 7th, that goes to two percent. I'd say that's a pretty hefty increase.

Siam bank.. thanks for the tip .

Chase bank , last year only charged $1.50 for each ATM transaction . This year it's up to $3.00 . Still not bad .

I closed my account at Fifth third when I got back after learning that they now charged 2% for ATM

[tonyisfat]

Wouldn't it be much easier to just do it through a private Credit Union account from the states and withdraw the money from an ATM and then deposit into your Thai bank account?

Im new to this but it seems to me that would make it much easier vs. wiring fees etc.

[Gary A]

It well may be Tony, but not everyone has a private credit union. A friend of mine has money in a US credit union but his does not do international transfers nor even international ATM transactions. In fact he is returning to the states next month to close out his credit union and move the money to his bank.

Wouldn't it be much easier to just do it through a private Credit Union account from the states and withdraw the money from an ATM and then deposit into your Thai bank account?

Im new to this but it seems to me that would make it much easier vs. wiring fees etc.

[lopburi3]

Wouldn't it be much easier to just do it through a private Credit Union account from the states and withdraw the money from an ATM and then deposit into your Thai bank account?

Im new to this but it seems to me that would make it much easier vs. wiring fees etc.

1. Can not be used for extension of stay for immigration.

2. Can not withdraw more than token amount (normal $200-500) per day.

3. Days do not have the same meaning as Thai time so can be problem - many also limit weekend totals adding another fudge factor.

4. Exchange rate is normally at least one percent less than bank rate and believe never meets the wire transfer "TT" rate.

5. Communications may be down and no money available - and some of the atm warnings are not exactly helpful or nice.

6. If card damaged or lost you may be in trouble (unless you keep serious backup in your local account).

7. You risk an international card every time you use.

That said you can use the ATM, and not even have a local account, if you do not want the extra security. But I would urge a close check of your real exchange rate compared with wire transfer/fee before you believe it will be cheaper in the long run (for those that transfer $5,000 or more each time).

[Smithson]

So from the sounds of things I need to have my friend insist the money is sent to Thailand in US$ and the exchange is done here, not in the US.

Is there anyway I can garuntee the US bank will do this?

[lopburi3]

So from the sounds of things I need to have my friend insist the money is sent to Thailand in US$ and the exchange is done here, not in the US.

Is there anyway I can garuntee the US bank will do this?

Tell them. It is a part of any transfer form. They work for you.

[Smithson]

It's not actually me doing the transfer, but an American friend. If there was a box to tick I'm sure he be selecting US$, as this is the currency I've requested. So I'm still a little concered that somehow I'll get the low rate.

Thanks for your help!

[Gary A]

If you keep a minimum of $6,000 US in Citibank there is no charge for an international ATM transaction. HOWEVER there IS a 1% charge for currency exchange that is going to 2% the 7th of this month. You never see that charge because it comes out of the exchange rate. To know what it actually costs you need to use Yahoo or another exchange rate site and divide the amount of dollars into the amount of baht you actually received. Since my Thai account is very low I just took a 20,000 baht withdrawal out of my Citibank. That will be the last time I will get the 1% charge so within a couple of months I will need to make a wire transfer. I have been waiting for the baht to weaken but that hasn't happened.

Quote;

Siam bank.. thanks for the tip .

Chase bank , last year only charged $1.50 for each ATM transaction . This year it's up to $3.00 . Still not bad .

I closed my account at Fifth third when I got back after learning that they now charged 2% for ATM

[lopburi3]

It's not actually me doing the transfer, but an American friend. If there was a box to tick I'm sure he be selecting US$, as this is the currency I've requested. So I'm still a little concered that somehow I'll get the low rate.

Thanks for your help!

If he is filling out the form there should be a box to tic. But more likely the bank is filling out the form from a phone call or OTC and you will have to tell them or they may well take the most advantages rate for them.