Sending GBP to Thai Bank

[Anon999]

Just SWIFT wire it in GBP, conversion is automatic at current market rate when it arrives.

Cost : between 10 and 20 pound per transfer.

Normally £25 - £35 depending on the bank and which end you want other charges applied. Nationwide Swift tfr is £25.

I would only use a FX trader for amounts of <£6,000 otherwise it's more cost effective to tfr GBP from you bank. For example if the rate quoted by an FX trader is 1baht < the Thai bank exchange rate you're talking about 35,000 baht!

Edited October 6, 2013 by Anon999

[Naam]

Couple of months?

This will surely not count!

The reporting is about single transactions.

But I would have to dig deep to find even more detailed rules (amount over time).

Its all comparable to reporting obligation in European countries.

From Germany to Thailand you have to declare transactions over 12500 Euro.

And there is absolutely no reason to worry.

If its your money, if its "clean": no problem.

Its all about money laundring etc.

from Germany to Thailand you don't have to declare anything when you transfer any amount. i use my two German accounts several times a year when i feel i hold too much cash in one single bank to spread the risk. never made any declaration and was never asked to make a declaration. for statistic purposes the banks report bulk amounts monthly of incoming and outgoing transfers to the "Statistische Bundesamt" without specifiying customers' names.

[Naam]

For amounts over 50000 US Dollar equivalent a report/declaration has to be written for the BOT (Bank of Thailand) and signed by the recipient.

35000 GBP is above this limit.

Its a formal thing, but the money will not be released before the report.

http://www.bot.or.th/English/ForeignExchangeRegulations/FXRegulation/Pages/ExchangeControlLaw.aspx

Any person purchasing, selling, depositing, or withdrawing foreign currencies with an authorized bank in an amount of USD 50,000 or above shall be required to report such foreign exchange transactions to the authorized bank in the form as prescribed by the Competent Officer.

This is interesting. What if I you to do multiple transfers of say $30,000 each over a period of a couple of months and the total is way above $50,000.

Does this still count I wonder ?

what part of "cash only, not transfers" is it you don't understand?

[Naam]

Wrong, for cash the limit for declaration is even lower at 20000 USD.

Not only stated on the BOT website but also clearly displayed at Suvarnabhumi.

What is the source of your information which conflicts with the statements of the Bank of Thailand, July 2013 (as linked and quoted above)?

my source is my practiced experience and you should read the BoT regulations again.

the $20k value of foreign currency refers to cash "into and out of Thailand" and the limit for cash transactions of foreign currency (notes and coins) "is value $10k a day".

Any person purchasing, selling, depositing, or withdrawing foreign currencies with an authorized bank in an amount of USD 50,000 or above shall be required to report such foreign exchange transactions to the authorized bank in the form as prescribed by the Competent Officer.

ir epeat: the reporting regulation refers to cash and not to incoming transfers!

[BuriramRes]

When I was sending money to Thailand for the payment of my property I simply loaded it onto my credit card (assuming you do not have outstandings on the card) then go to the bank & within the bank withdraw 999999THB per transactions until the required amount is achieved. That way, your bank does the conversion & no fees are payable.

[socrates28]

When I was sending money to Thailand for the payment of my property I simply loaded it onto my credit card (assuming you do not have outstandings on the card) then go to the bank & within the bank withdraw 999999THB per transactions until the required amount is achieved. That way, your bank does the conversion & no fees are payable.

And of course there would be no security check (taking 30-40 minutes) by your bank in the UK for such a large transaction made abroad - especially in Thailand

And I am sure you meant debit card and not credit card - as a credit card would be even worse than a debit card

Also as others have mentioned you need some kind of paper trail showing that the money was sent for the purchase of a property

And once you have the cash in your hands in Thailand - what do you do with it?

This advice is so wrong on so many levels

[flyingdoc]

Seems to me eminently sensible to have the same Bank dealing with funds both in the U.K and in LOS !

That way not only can the origin be proved, but any Thai regulations can be explained or checked on in the U.K., before transmitting funds.

[chiang mai]

When I was sending money to Thailand for the payment of my property I simply loaded it onto my credit card (assuming you do not have outstandings on the card) then go to the bank & within the bank withdraw 999999THB per transactions until the required amount is achieved. That way, your bank does the conversion & no fees are payable.

Soemthing smells fishy here!

How did you get your Foriegn Exchange Transaction form, needed by the Land Office to prove the funds cam from outside Thailand?

And even though your card was in credit, you were still making a cash advance so a charge would still be levied.

And the effective rate of exchange was how much?

[petermik]

Halifax online transfer is £9.50 for amounts up to £50,000

And £9.50 intermediary bank charges

My Kasikorn Bank charges 300-500 baht yes but Halifax,s £9.50 is the lowest UK Bank transfer charge as far as I am aware- ALL Thai bank,s add a fee on top.

[nong38]

This thread is a recurring one, would the mods consider pinning some imformation about transferring money into Thailand?

[tingtong]

All I say is think again.

Best do it by swift transfer in GBP so it gets exchanged in Los

I think that the question the OP is asking, is this a better way to do it than using a currency trading company? Which gives a better exchange rate?

I, too, am interested in the answer.

the bank is a per se currency trading company

i believe that mentioned SWIFT transfer the best and easiest way to send/convert such larger sum safely.

[topt]

All I say is think again.

Best do it by swift transfer in GBP so it gets exchanged in Los

I think that the question the OP is asking, is this a better way to do it than using a currency trading company? Which gives a better exchange rate?

I, too, am interested in the answer.

the bank is a per se currency trading company

i believe that mentioned SWIFT transfer the best and easiest way to send/convert such larger sum safely.

I think this thread is also running in the business section......?

Anyway I agree the easiest/safest way is as tt mentions above.

However using a currency broker like HiFX or whoever could (note could) work out better if you are able to agree a rate as good as the TT rate as you would save on the transfer fees - HiFx charge none and refund any fees taken by the receiving bank. (or did when I last used them).

It is a judgement call on how you see the rate moving when you transfer - and if you trust the Forex company.....

[Naam]

Soemthing smells fishy here!

How did you get your Foriegn Exchange Transaction form, needed by the Land Office to prove the funds cam from outside Thailand?

And even though your card was in credit, you were still making a cash advance so a charge would still be levied.

And the effective rate of exchange was how much?

-nothing fishy really.

-Thai banks are issuing on demand that statement when foreign currency was exchanged to Thai Baht and it applies also to foreign currency cash. a transfer is not mandatory.

-there's no cash advance charge if you keep of positive cash balance on your CC account. of course not all banks / credit card companies are willing to comply. i am using this method since 1981.

[chiang mai]

Soemthing smells fishy here!

How did you get your Foriegn Exchange Transaction form, needed by the Land Office to prove the funds cam from outside Thailand?

And even though your card was in credit, you were still making a cash advance so a charge would still be levied.

And the effective rate of exchange was how much?

-nothing fishy really.

-Thai banks are issuing on demand that statement when foreign currency was exchanged to Thai Baht and it applies also to foreign currency cash. a transfer is not mandatory.

-there's no cash advance charge if you keep of positive cash balance on your CC account. of course not all banks / credit card companies are willing to comply. i am using this method since 1981.

Thanks for that, I've learned something new!

[socrates28]

Halifax online transfer is £9.50 for amounts up to £50,000

And £9.50 intermediary bank charges

My Kasikorn Bank charges 300-500 baht yes but Halifax,s £9.50 is the lowest UK Bank transfer charge as far as I am aware- ALL Thai bank,s add a fee on top.

There is ANOTHER £9.50 charge in between by the INTERMEDIARY BANK the Thai Bank is the RECEIVING bank

So its £9.50 + another £9.50 plus 300-500 baht in Thailand

Just reminding everyone

[bifftastic]

Halifax online transfer is £9.50 for amounts up to £50,000

And £9.50 intermediary bank charges

Just the one £9.50 charge whenever I do that (every 4 weeks for the last 3 years).

[socrates28]

Halifax online transfer is £9.50 for amounts up to £50,000

And £9.50 intermediary bank charges

Just the one £9.50 charge whenever I do that (every 4 weeks for the last 3 years).

Perhaps the intermediary bank has the same correspondent bank (intermediary bank) as the receiving bank - perhaps because you are just looking at the final amount you do not see the other charge (if its a different correspondent bank)

When you send with Halifax they send you a confirmation which shows the other charge - check it next time

Taken from Halifax Website:

The transferred money will reach the country you’re sending it to within two working

days. The funds will often have to go through two banks in that country, including:

•

The beneficiary bank – this holds the account you’re sending the money to

•

The correspondent bank – this is a receiving bank in the same country that is

involved in processing the transaction.

First, the money goes to the correspondent bank. Once there, it is subject to local

banking practices and any differences in time zones.

The money is then sent on to the beneficiary bank. How quickly this happens depends

on a few factors such as the day and time it arrives at the correspondent bank.

[bifftastic]

It may be that Bangkok Bank (which is where I'm sending the money to) would be the correspondent bank.

I keep all the records of the transfers from my Halifax account, and there's only ever the one charge shown.

BB do their usual sliding scale between ฿300-฿500 but it's difficult to work out exactly what they charge due to the fluctuations in the exchange rate.

However, there has never been any notification of an additional £9.50 from the Halifax. I've just looked at the last few records of my most recent transfers.

AFAIK it goes from Halifax to Bangkok Bank (in Bangkok) and then on to my account (also with Bangkok Bank) in Chiang Rai.

Sent on a Wednesday morning, always arrives on Friday evening (UK time). Once, and only once, it arrived in an hour and a half!

[Maestro]

I believe you will find that the banks act as BOT's agent in this respect and that it is they who notify BOT, not the customer.

Correct. Upon request, the beneficiary of the transfer can get a copy of the FETF from his bank.

The form does have a line for the customer (beneficiary) to sign at the bottom left but I don't know if banks really get it signed by the customer. When I asked for the form in 2006 at my Bank of Ayudhya branch I was first told I had no right to it, I insisted that the branch manager call head office for information and then I got it about a week later, with the bank having signed on both lines, for the customer and for the financial institution. Haven't had an incoming remittance qualifying for the FETF since then and instead I just get the bank's unsigned computer printout of the credit advice or credit receipt, whichever they call it.

[socrates28]

It may be that Bangkok Bank (which is where I'm sending the money to) would be the correspondent bank.

I keep all the records of the transfers from my Halifax account, and there's only ever the one charge shown.

BB do their usual sliding scale between ฿300-฿500 but it's difficult to work out exactly what they charge due to the fluctuations in the exchange rate.

However, there has never been any notification of an additional £9.50 from the Halifax. I've just looked at the last few records of my most recent transfers.

AFAIK it goes from Halifax to Bangkok Bank (in Bangkok) and then on to my account (also with Bangkok Bank) in Chiang Rai.

Sent on a Wednesday morning, always arrives on Friday evening (UK time). Once, and only once, it arrived in an hour and a half!

And that explains exactly why you have no charge as BB is indeed the correspondent bank

But as you can imagine for MOST of us it is not easy (but not impossible) to get a BB Bank Account without a permanent address

So for those that do not bank with them and send money to Thailand via Halifax (online) @ £9.50 then there will be another £9.50 charge levied in between

[bifftastic]

Ah, I see

Thanks for the clarification.

[genghis15]

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

I will use Bangkok Bank in London.

Cheers

[jor]

All I say is think again.

Best do it by swift transfer in GBP so it gets exchanged in Los

I think that the question the OP is asking, is this a better way to do it than using a currency trading company? Which gives a better exchange rate?

I, too, am interested in the answer.

the bank is a per se currency trading company

i believe that mentioned SWIFT transfer the best and easiest way to send/convert such larger sum safely.

This long thread has turned into a repetition of posts advising the use of a SWIFT transfer bank to bank for funds.

This may be the simplest way to do it but does it give a better exchange rate than using a specialist currency trading company???

This, I believe, is what the OP was asking.

[meatboy]

All I say is think again.

Best do it by swift transfer in GBP so it gets exchanged in Los

I think that the question the OP is asking, is this a better way to do it than using a currency trading company? Which gives a better exchange rate?

I, too, am interested in the answer.

the bank is a per se currency trading company

i believe that mentioned SWIFT transfer the best and easiest way to send/convert such larger sum safely.

This long thread has turned into a repetition of posts advising the use of a SWIFT transfer bank to bank for funds.

This may be the simplest way to do it but does it give a better exchange rate than using a specialist currency trading company???

This, I believe, is what the OP was asking.

i used to use a currency dealer in the uk.i can tell you, you wont get a better rate than if you send it in sterling to your thai bank yourself.

[topt]

All I say is think again.

Best do it by swift transfer in GBP so it gets exchanged in Los

I think that the question the OP is asking, is this a better way to do it than using a currency trading company? Which gives a better exchange rate?

I, too, am interested in the answer.

the bank is a per se currency trading company

i believe that mentioned SWIFT transfer the best and easiest way to send/convert such larger sum safely.

This long thread has turned into a repetition of posts advising the use of a SWIFT transfer bank to bank for funds.

This may be the simplest way to do it but does it give a better exchange rate than using a specialist currency trading company???

This, I believe, is what the OP was asking.

I answered you before in post #42......