Transfer money Singapore => Thailand

[Cloggie]

For more than 10 years I have worked in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

I was paid in Thailand TB 55.000 so I could get a work permit and the rest of my salary / bonus was paid offshore at HSBC Singapore in my US$ account.

Now I want to transfer US$ 65.000 to my Thai Bank account (THB) at The Bank of Ayudhya.

I want to use it first for 'time deposits' - 3 months - and later use it to setup a Thai company and if it fails well, lesson learned...

I do not trust banks very much as I am sure they will give me an answer that will have benefits for them and NOT for me.

What is the best way to transfer the money from Singapore => Thailand with minimal cost and maximum 'freedom'.

The example below is the transfer cost just to send US$ 7.500 to my Thai UOB account a few years ago (2011).

Transfer HSBC => UOB Bank (Split cost)

Commision SGD 30.00 $24.09 THB 747.15

Cable SGD 35.00 $28.11 THB 871.83

------------ ------------ ------------

Total SGD 65.00 $52.20 THB 1,618.98

UOB CHGS THB 319.00

------------

Total cost THB 1,937.98

Hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction what to do.

Thanks for your help and advice..

[MadMac]

I've used UOB SIngapore to UOB Thailand in the past. Pretty easy and they also help you to resolve any issues locally (in TH) with UOB in SIngapore.

What you should do is open an US$ account in Thailand and transfer the funds into TH without conversion. Then change it here for a better rate. Also, do not split costs, it's usually cheaper to pay all as sender. UOB in TH doesn't charge a fee for incoming transfers. That's the only bank I know of.

http://www.uob.co.th/announcement/bankfee/2013/fee-deposit_19Jul2013_en.pdf

Edited July 9, 2013 by MadMac

[Soutpeel]

If you were with Citibank Singapore, you could open a Citibank account in Thailand and transfer for free via the Citi-Citi free transfer facility

I have been with Citi in Sing for many years and when I looked at this I was told Thailand wasnt part of this scheme, but have been told recently

That apparantly now you can do it

[MadMac]

I heard the contrary that Citybank is not able to do this from Singapore to Thailand, recently. Where did you get that information from?

[Soutpeel]

I heard the contrary that Citybank is not able to do this from Singapore to Thailand, recently. Where did you get that information from?

A collegue of mine who also banks with them, and I did have a quick look on the website and lo and behold Thailand is listed under the free citi-citi account transfers...I havent persued this any further yet, but if it is the case a useful facilty to shift money into Thailand, and would be worth opening an account with them in BKK, even though I think Citi BKK is usless.....if there is an issue not being able to do...one suspects its the Thai end not the Singapore end

[sas_cars]

If you were with Citibank Singapore, you could open a Citibank account in Thailand and transfer for free via the Citi-Citi free transfer facility

I have been with Citi in Sing for many years and when I looked at this I was told Thailand wasnt part of this scheme, but have been told recently

That apparantly now you can do it

Yes. You can do it, only if you are willing to shed 2 % of your amount due to the exchange rates citi offers for global transfers.

[Soutpeel]

If you were with Citibank Singapore, you could open a Citibank account in Thailand and transfer for free via the Citi-Citi free transfer facility

I have been with Citi in Sing for many years and when I looked at this I was told Thailand wasnt part of this scheme, but have been told recently

That apparantly now you can do it

Yes. You can do it, only if you are willing to shed 2 % of your amount due to the exchange rates citi offers for global transfers.

ok but what happens if you shift say US$ to a US$ account in Thailand and use your Thai ATM card to withdraw THB ?

you would be getting the preveiling citi exchange rate on the day, which I assume wouldnt attract the 2%

[sas_cars]

If you were with Citibank Singapore, you could open a Citibank account in Thailand and transfer for free via the Citi-Citi free transfer facility

I have been with Citi in Sing for many years and when I looked at this I was told Thailand wasnt part of this scheme, but have been told recently

That apparantly now you can do it

Yes. You can do it, only if you are willing to shed 2 % of your amount due to the exchange rates citi offers for global transfers.

ok but what happens if you shift say US$ to a US$ account in Thailand and use your Thai ATM card to withdraw THB ?

you would be getting the preveiling citi exchange rate on the day, which I assume wouldnt attract the 2%

Yes. Tht's better but I never tried it, so don't know if it's possible to do or not.

[MadMac]

If you were with Citibank Singapore, you could open a Citibank account in Thailand and transfer for free via the Citi-Citi free transfer facility

I have been with Citi in Sing for many years and when I looked at this I was told Thailand wasnt part of this scheme, but have been told recently

That apparantly now you can do it

Yes. You can do it, only if you are willing to shed 2 % of your amount due to the exchange rates citi offers for global transfers.

That's not really an issue, for investments in TH you need to transfer the money in foreign currency into the country and convert it locally, covered by that foreign exchange transaction form (FET). Without that you'll unlikely get your money out of the country again in the future. Besides that, exchange rates to THB are worse abroad.

Edited July 10, 2013 by MadMac

[MadMac]

I've just transferred 150kUS$ from Standard Chartered SG to UOB TH. Hell of a nitemare to get them doing so, ridiculous limits and you need to mail in a form if you're not in SG, which then will be ignored if you don't call them every other hour. Fee 312 US$, that's ~0.2%, including all fees. I'd not recommend them after this crappy experience.

Edited July 11, 2013 by MadMac

[jombom]

It's fairly straightforward. Ask your bank in Spore to send the money to Thailand in original currency, and your bank in Thailand will convert at the TT rate. There is little or no advantage in holding a foreign currency account in Thailand, except in unusual circumstances. The TT rate rate is given daily by Bank of Thailand --- just google ''Counter rate bot'' and it is shown for many currencies. Costs about 30 USD almost without limits.

[MadMac]

I tend to disagree here. It gives a fair amount of flexibility if you can choose the time of exchange, even on a daily basis, as banks adjust their rates every couple of hours. I had the ladies at UOB calling and checking back and forth to get me the best rate that was not listed at the normal TT.

There is little or no advantage in holding a foreign currency account in Thailand, except in unusual circumstances.

[yoshiwara]

I've just transferred 150kUS$ from Standard Chartered SG to UOB TH. Hell of a nitemare to get them doing so, ridiculous limits and you need to mail in a form if you're not in SG, which then will be ignored if you don't call them every other hour. Fee 312 US$, that's ~0.2%, including all fees. I'd not recommend them after this crappy experience.

Is your conclusion that the problem lies primarily with either or both of these banks or with the Singapore banks in general?

[MadMac]

I've just transferred 150kUS$ from Standard Chartered SG to UOB TH. Hell of a nitemare to get them doing so, ridiculous limits and you need to mail in a form if you're not in SG, which then will be ignored if you don't call them every other hour. Fee 312 US$, that's ~0.2%, including all fees. I'd not recommend them after this crappy experience.

Is your conclusion that the problem lies primarily with either or both of these banks or with the Singapore banks in general?

The problem is with the SG bank, that is SC. I had on the other hand a very good experience with UOB, both in TH and SG, whereas UOB TH managed to close a fixed deposit in UOB SG and transfer the money over. SC, after I asked if I could go to a local branch, just declined.

I've also tried in the past to open a Bangkok Bank account in SG for money transfer to TH. These guys are even worse, complete waste of time.

So I would recommend UOB in SG and in TH.

[yoshiwara]

I've just transferred 150kUS$ from Standard Chartered SG to UOB TH. Hell of a nitemare to get them doing so, ridiculous limits and you need to mail in a form if you're not in SG, which then will be ignored if you don't call them every other hour. Fee 312 US$, that's ~0.2%, including all fees. I'd not recommend them after this crappy experience.

Is your conclusion that the problem lies primarily with either or both of these banks or with the Singapore banks in general?

The problem is with the SG bank, that is SC. I had on the other hand a very good experience with UOB, both in TH and SG, whereas UOB TH managed to close a fixed deposit in UOB SG and transfer the money over. SC, after I asked if I could go to a local branch, just declined.

I've also tried in the past to open a Bangkok Bank account in SG for money transfer to TH. These guys are even worse, complete waste of time.

So I would recommend UOB in SG and in TH.

Good stuff. If one opens an account with UOB in Thailand and wants to personally open a UOB account in SG, do you think this will help (ie the account in TH) if one doesn't have a prior address in SG? Edited July 11, 2013 by yoshiwara

[Soutpeel]

I've just transferred 150kUS$ from Standard Chartered SG to UOB TH. Hell of a nitemare to get them doing so, ridiculous limits and you need to mail in a form if you're not in SG, which then will be ignored if you don't call them every other hour. Fee 312 US$, that's ~0.2%, including all fees. I'd not recommend them after this crappy experience.

Is your conclusion that the problem lies primarily with either or both of these banks or with the Singapore banks in general?

The problem is with the SG bank, that is SC. I had on the other hand a very good experience with UOB, both in TH and SG, whereas UOB TH managed to close a fixed deposit in UOB SG and transfer the money over. SC, after I asked if I could go to a local branch, just declined.

I've also tried in the past to open a Bangkok Bank account in SG for money transfer to TH. These guys are even worse, complete waste of time.

So I would recommend UOB in SG and in TH.

Good stuff. If one opens an account with UOB in Thailand and wants to personally open a UOB account in SG, do you think this will help (ie the account in TH) if one doesn't have a prior address in SG?

"Local banks" in Singapore will typically not open an account for someone who is not "resident" or has a presence in Singapore

International banks in Singapore ie the Citibank, HSBC, SC, etc will open one without any form of "residence" or presence in Singapore.

Having a Thai account with the same bank may help, but will not replace any of the local requirements you may have to meet.

Although these banks all have the same name on the door, you will find their "operational policys" can be very different dependent on which country you are in.

Very simple example related to Citi bank Sing vs Thailand....ATM pin number in Singapore, 6 digits, Thailand is 4 digits....one would expect that all banks in the Citigroup would operate the same way.but they dont

If one has a "Premier" account ie HSBC or "Gold account" ie Citibank... opening addtional accounts in other countries is a relatively painless operation based on my experience...just tell them what you want to do and they will set everything up for you

[Cloggie]

Thanks Madmac for your information so far, very helpfull!

[Cloggie]

Answer from HSBC Singapore:

If you are debiting from your HSBC Singapore account in foreign currency account in the same currency, the charges are:
Commission 0.125% (min. S$30, max. S$200) + Cost of cable S$35 + Commission in lieu of foreign exchange 0.125% (min. S$50, max. S$500)

The Telegraphic transfer charges quoted here are not inclusive of the overseas paying bank’s charges.

The maximum transfer amount per day is S$50,000 or S$25,000 via PhoneBanking and OnlineBanking respectively. There is no limit for instructions submitted at branch or via mail.