UK pension paid to Thai bank

[bobroper]

For those that are contemplating having their UK government pension paid into their Thai bank.

I have today arranged with the International Pensions Centre (IPC) in the UK to have my pension paid into Bank of Ayudhya.

The money will be paid, in my case every four weeks, to Citibank UK and then on to Bangkok Bank in Bangkok and finally to your specified Thai bank account.

If your pension was received today the exchange rate applicable at the time of me calling IPC was 49.880 to the £ sterling. My bank would charge 0.25% on receipt of funds.

This morning, I withdraw B12,900 from an ATM, including the B150 bank charge and my UK bank fee, the final exchange rate was 47.12. A difference of B2.76, i.e. B276 for every £100.

What I don't know is, do Citibank UK/Bangkok Bank, the corresponding banks, make any charge for this transaction. I believe the answer is no, but perhaps somebody who already has their pension paid into their Thai bank can enlighten me.

If indeed the answer is that none of the above banks make a charge then it's quite a saving.

[cardholder]

The exchange rate and costs are very fair. Certainly far better than drawing out of a UK bank with an ATM card.

Do people still do that ?

[i claudius]

I have my pension paid into my British bank ,if i want money i get it out of the metro bank account ,via an aeon machine with no charges from either of them.

[davidthai]

I have my UK Pension transferred from International Pensions in UK to Thailand via Citi bank into my Thai bank account and there are no charges for any of this , they send evry 4th Thursday of the month and i usually receive 2/3 days later into my Siam bank account unless the date falls on a public holidays in Thailand or UK

[prodriver]

Transferred free of charge from the UK.....just be aware that it is converted into Thai Baht before it is sent.

[cardholder]

Transferred free of charge from the UK.....just be aware that it is converted into Thai Baht before it is sent.

But i think the rate is acceptably close to what people refer to as the "offshore rate".

[Pib]

Transferred free of charge from the UK.....just be aware that it is converted into Thai Baht before it is sent.

But i think the rate is acceptably close to what people refer to as the "offshore rate".

Wouldn't surprise me that the UK bank's baht exchange rate is approx. 2 to 3% lower than the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks....that would be 40 to 60 pounds on a 2000 pounds transfer. And the receiving Thai bank is still probably going to apply the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) currency receipt fee...even when they don't have to convert the incoming funds to baht. Never let a bank convert to baht before sending....a sure way to get a significantly lower exchange rate. Yea, the sending bank may not charge any additional fees...they don't have to because they probably milked you good on the exchange rate.

[bobroper]

Thanks for the responses.

I believe there is no question that transferring your UK pension to a Thai bank creates additional monies than by using a British debit card over here to withdraw pension money. Even using an aeon ATM with no charges, overall you still gain by the pension to Thai bank method.

Cheers

[i claudius]

Thanks for the responses.

I believe there is no question that transferring your UK pension to a Thai bank creates additional monies than by using a British debit card over here to withdraw pension money. Even using an aeon ATM with no charges, overall you still gain by the pension to Thai bank method.

Cheers

no you wont i have friends who have tried both methods.

[Pib]

Thanks for the responses.

I believe there is no question that transferring your UK pension to a Thai bank creates additional monies than by using a British debit card over here to withdraw pension money. Even using an aeon ATM with no charges, overall you still gain by the pension to Thai bank method.

Cheers

All depends on associated fees. If your debit card has a foreign transaction fee say of 2 to 3%, which is common, then you effectively get a 2 to 3% lower exchange rate when the dust settles. But don't worry that 2-3% did go for a good cause---that is, your home country bank profits.

No foreign transaction fee debit cards do exist which means you get the full Visa/MasterCard exchange rate which is plus or minus a few stang of the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks for wire transfers....get the money immediately in your hand with no fees versus waiting one, two or more business days with some fees for a wire transfer to post to your Thai bank account. Sure, the debit card will have some daily withdrawal limit probably around Bt30K, but unless you are sending more than Bt30K per day (that's some high living) then that daily withdrawal limit is more than enough for day-to-day living expenses. Withdraw Bt30K each day for a few days, deposit that money in your Thai bank account, and you now have enough money to cover a month's worth of expenses. But the key here is to have a bank account that provides a no foreign transaction fee debit card.

It all depends on the associated fees whether a periodic wire transfer or a debit card is cheaper...and it going to vary from individual-to-individual depending on the fees charged by a person's home country bank account/debit card. Some banks/cards are no or low fee types; others are high fee types. Hopefully some UK folks can recommend such accounts/cards. And please, please don't piss your money away by allowing the Sending bank to convert to baht before sending....chances are high the home country bank will give a significantly lower exchange rate than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate.

[jollyposty]

The exchange rate and costs are very fair. Certainly far better than drawing out of a UK bank with an ATM card.

Do people still do that ?

yes they do I know a 67 y/o who does but I end up going blue in the face trying to change he's ways so it's up to him

[BrianCR]

My UK pension, goes City Bank, to KBank Bangkok with a fee of 150 baht to transfer it to my account in Chang Rai. However this month it's gone up considerably from last month which, (last month) was the first increase for about 12 months! I hope the Thai Baht keeps falling and the Pound keeps going, going, GOING!!!

By the way it's 13 payments per year!

Edited August 23, 2013 by BrianCR

[dave2]

re

For those that are contemplating having their UK government pension paid into their Thai bank.

I have today arranged with the International Pensions Centre

is this form you download and print

from there really 24 pages ?

cheers .. dave2

[delboy]

My UK State pension has been paid directly into my Bangkok Bank account every 4 weeks for the past 2 years. It arrives on time with no deduction by Bangkok Bank, and the exchange rate is slightly lower than the Bangkok TT rate for that day. For example, last Friday the exchange rate I got for the transfer was 49.26 compared to the Bangkok Bank TT rate of 49.49.

It is certainly more convenient than letting it build up in the UK and then paying a transfer fee, or using an ATM, getting a really bad exchange rate, and probably paying a fee.

[bobroper]

My UK State pension has been paid directly into my Bangkok Bank account every 4 weeks for the past 2 years. It arrives on time with no deduction by Bangkok Bank, and the exchange rate is slightly lower than the Bangkok TT rate for that day. For example, last Friday the exchange rate I got for the transfer was 49.26 compared to the Bangkok Bank TT rate of 49.49.

It is certainly more convenient than letting it build up in the UK and then paying a transfer fee, or using an ATM, getting a really bad exchange rate, and probably paying a fee.

Cheers for that delboy......sounds good to me.

My bank being Bank of Ayudhya it's just another hop over from Bangkok bank with no charges involved and also the conversion to Thai baht is a fair exchange rates, slightly below the TT rate with my bank charging 0.25% on receipt of funds.