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[newbepat]

Is it true that when taking cash out of a foreign currency bank account in

Thailand they charge a fee of 2% or a minimum of 500Bht ??

[akampa]

No! I have an Euro account with siam commercial when I transfer to my account which is in Thai baht no charge .

Or do you mean taking the foreign currency out and not exchanging to Baht?

Edited June 20, 2013 by akampa

[newbepat]

No! I have an Euro account with siam commercial when I transfer to my account which is in Thai baht no charge .

Or do you mean taking the foreign currency out and not exchanging to Baht?

Yes I mean taking money out in euros (cash)

[sas_cars]

Yes. Most of the banks charge 2 % , and there's a minimum usually 500 to 1000 Baht fee, differs from bank to bank

[Pib]

Yes. Most of the banks charge 2 % , and there's a minimum usually 500 to 1000 Baht fee, differs from bank to bank

So what is the real advantage of having a foreign currency account?

Say a person needed some Euro...from looking at the SCB exchange rate page I see the TT Buying Rate used for incoming money is 40.8075/Euro (like wiring money to yourself from your home country bank) and the TT Selling Rate 41.6425/Euro for Notes/Cash (i.e., you are buying Euro's) which means you pay a 2.05% premium to buy Euro's. Now if buying Euro's to wire-out then I see the TT Selling Rate is 41.355/Euro which means you pay a 1.35% premium for the Euro's. Seems it would be just as cheap or cheaper just to buy Euro's when needed compared to a flat 2% charge to pull Euro's from a foreign currency account...seems the bank is going to get their 1 to 2% fee one way or another.

[newbepat]

Ok Thanks Guys/Gals

I just had web chat with Kbank for anybody who is interested

they said:

To open a foreign currency account with them you need:

The required minimum deposit is 10,000 USD.

The required documents for account opening:
- Passport
- Work permit in Thailand

If/when you want to take your money out in foreign currency (cash)

1% of total withdrawal amount Minimum of Baht 1000

so it differs with each bank I imagine as you say

[newbepat]

I was thinking if you take your money out when the Baht is high against what

ever currency you require. There is a fee/commission to be paid

It seem to be between one or two percent. so is it worth the exercise.

[chiang mai]

And if you leave the foriegn currency untouched for a year you will be charged that 2% (or whatever the charge is), each and every year.

[newbepat]

And if you leave the foriegn currency untouched for a year you will be charged that 2% (or whatever the charge is), each and every year.

Wow that's interesting

[sas_cars]

Banking market in Thailand for foreign currency accounts is not mature yet. That's why you see these ridiculous charges. Keeping a foreign currency account in Thailand is a novelty, and you pay for it. Practically it doesn't make any sense at all. If you really need one,

You are much better off holding a foreign currency account in Singapore or Malaysia and manage it by online banking.

[newbepat]

Banking market in Thailand for foreign currency accounts is not mature yet. That's why you see these ridiculous charges. Keeping a foreign currency account in Thailand is a novelty, and you pay for it. Practically it doesn't make any sense at all. If you really need one,

You are much better off holding a foreign currency account in Singapore or Malaysia and manage it by online banking.

Thanks sas-cars, I would love to have a chat with you regards transferring funds and

opening a foreign currancy account in Singapore or Malaysia

[yoshiwara]

Banking market in Thailand for foreign currency accounts is not mature yet. That's why you see these ridiculous charges. Keeping a foreign currency account in Thailand is a novelty, and you pay for it. Practically it doesn't make any sense at all. If you really need one,

You are much better off holding a foreign currency account in Singapore or Malaysia and manage it by online banking.

Thanks sas-cars, I would love to have a chat with you regards transferring funds and

opening a foreign currancy account in Singapore or Malaysia

HSBC Hong Kong offers foreign currency deposit accounts. Includes baht BTW.

http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/hk/banking/accounts#hkd_time

Withdrawing cash though carries a premium.

[newbepat]

Thanks for the link Yoshiwara

[yoshiwara]

If you are visiting HK and want to make enquiries there are two HSBC branches in the airport with full branch facilities:

Terminal 1: HSBC Premier Accounts.

Terminal 2: HSBC all other accounts.

[akampa]

I have a euro account with SCB I have never had any charges made to the account except when transfers were made, but I must have a minimum of 200 euros to keep the account active.

[newbepat]

I have a euro account with SCB I have never had any charges made to the account except when transfers were made, but I must have a minimum of 200 euros to keep the account active.

May be you suffer by way of exchange rates

[chiang mai]

I have a euro account with SCB I have never had any charges made to the account except when transfers were made, but I must have a minimum of 200 euros to keep the account active.

Great, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, especially in banking and especially in Thailand!

[akampa]

The point is I do exchange Euros to Baht but my European bank transfers to my SCB Euro account (small SCB charge 11 to 19 euros)and when I do the transfer to my baht account I get a good exchange rate better than the advertised in the bank and they do not charge me anything for the euro to baht bit.

On the 12 june 2013 35000 was moved from my bank in europe to SCB EURO ACCOUNT commision was 12.67Euros and on the 13th june I exchanged the Euro @ 41.10 and no commision charges

[chiang mai]

The point is I do exchange Euros to Baht but my European bank transfers to my SCB Euro account (small SCB charge 11 to 19 euros)and when I do the transfer to my baht account I get a good exchange rate better than the advertised in the bank and they do not charge me anything for the euro to baht bit.

On the 12 june 2013 35000 was moved from my bank in europe to SCB EURO ACCOUNT commision was 12.67Euros and on the 13th june I exchanged the Euro @ 41.10 and no commision charges

OK so your bank in Europe charges you to send Euro's to your bank in Thailand plus your bank in Thailand charges you a a fee to recieve those Euro's, thus far that's the same deal that everyone else gets so nothing new thus far. But then you exchange Euro's for THB and you get a favorable rate, that's something that can be obtained from most banks where the customer transfers over a certain ammount, GBP 10k I think is the threshold before you recieve a call from the banks Treasury department offering you a rate. So, in summary it looks like you're getting the same deal that we all get except you have the advantage of having your foriegn currency here in Thailand hence you don't suffer any delay when you decide to exchange currency and you can grab favorable exchange rates in real time.

But one question, have you held your Euro account for more than one year yet, I strongly sus[pect you may get charged a commission on the balance at each aniversary?

EDIT: I just realised you said you didn't pay a commission charge when you converted from Euro's to THB, hardly anybody does, we either pay a commission charge or an exchange rate where the banks profit is built into the exchange rate spread, raely both.

Edited June 21, 2013 by chiang mai

[akampa]

EDIT: I just realised you said you didn't pay a commission charge when you converted from Euro's to THB, hardly anybody does, we either pay a commission charge or an exchange rate where the banks profit is built into the exchange rate spread, raely both.

yes thats true but I checked the x rate from http://themoneyconverter.com/EUR/THB.aspx today as I write they quote 40.84160 SCB qoute 40.41 the bank gave me .20 above there advertised rate when I changed my Euros to Baht, of course everybody takes there few points.

I also checked i`ve had the account for over 3 years and had no charges deducted only a very small amount of interest paid.

[stoli]

Just opened one with Bangkok Bank this week. Upon receipt of your funds from outside the country, they charge 0.25%, minimum 200 baht, and maximum 500 baht. If you convert the funds to baht, no charge. If I want to take my money out in US currency, they charge 1%. There is no way to beat the system that I have found, other than have friends that visit you bring your money with them. I also would like to take out my US dollars and go to the street and exchange at a much higher rate than the bank pays you, so they add the 1% fee to make this unprofitable for you.

[stoli]

Ok Thanks Guys/Gals

I just had web chat with Kbank for anybody who is interested

they said:

To open a foreign currency account with them you need:

The required minimum deposit is 10,000 USD.

The required documents for account opening:

- Passport

- Work permit in Thailand

If/when you want to take your money out in foreign currency (cash)

1% of total withdrawal amount Minimum of Baht 1000

so it differs with each bank I imagine as you say

As I mentioned in another post, I opened a foreign currency account at Bangkok Bank this week. The minimum deposit with them is $1000, and must maintain a balance of $300. I just have a retirement visa, did not need a work permit. 1% to take out your money in US dollars, no charge to convert to baht, and they did not mention a minimum. Could be that I wasn't told this because I did not ask. Could be they don't have a minimum. It does seem like all banks are a little different, except for one thing. They are all profitable.