Wire Transfer From The Us

[Smithson]

I'm having cash sent from the US, the US banks will give a poor exchange rate so last time my customer requested the exchange from US$ to Baht be done in Thailand.

But the bank (Soveriegn bank) did the exchange in the US and sent Baht to Thailand. The rate was 36.4 to the $ and this was the start of April.

I'm now having around 5k sent over. How can my customer guarantee the bank will follow his request and send $?

Thanks!

[kudroz]

If you want the exchange to occur at your Bank's FX rate - your customer need to send USD to you and it will be exchanged in THB by your bank automatically if your account is in THB.

[Smithson]

If you want the exchange to occur at your Bank's FX rate - your customer need to send USD to you and it will be exchanged in THB by your bank automatically if your account is in THB.

Thanks for the reply.

This is what he tried to do last time, instructing them to make sure $ were sent. Nonetheless they sent $.

How can he ensure that the bank doesn't do the exchange themselves, considering the poor rate they give I would be guessing they can make a nice little profit, so they might prefer to do the exchange themselves.

What can he do/say to guarantee the bank will send $?

Thanks

[kudroz]

Well as far as I know, if he instruct his Bank to send a USD amount - I can't see why his Bank would do the FX. If It would be me, I would call my Bank and get in touch with the international wire department and ask the route details of the wire to know exactly what happened.

Maybe he is telling his bank that we wants to send "the equivalent of $5,000.00 USD to a bank in Thailand" or it can be the clerk is inexperienced with international wire transfers.

The other thing I can think of, is maybe when the international wire department receives the instructions, they transfer the amount into the currency of the account (maybe he writes on the wire form that your account is in THB?). I would make sure that the wire form indicates that the beneficiary account is in USD so his Bank don't do any FX.

Your best bet might be to open a USD account here in Thailand and have the money wired into your USD account - and then you just transfer it over your THB account.

[OldAsiaHand]

Well as far as I know, if he instruct his Bank to send a USD amount - I can't see why his Bank would do the FX. If It would be me, I would call my Bank and get in touch with the international wire....

I agree. In more than twenty years I have never had a bank transfer any currency other than the one I instructed them to transfer. If this bank did, they violated your instructions and scammed you pure and simple. Go get 'em.

[SamuiRes]

I'm having cash sent from the US, the US banks will give a poor exchange rate so last time my customer requested the exchange from US$ to Baht be done in Thailand.

But the bank (Soveriegn bank) did the exchange in the US and sent Baht to Thailand. The rate was 36.4 to the $ and this was the start of April.

I'm now having around 5k sent over. How can my customer guarantee the bank will follow his request and send $?

Thanks!

The first thing I would recommend is that your Client gives written instructions to the bank that the transfer is to be made in US Dollars and NOT Thai Baht. Then if they do anything different he has a claim against them. One of my Clients had the same problem with his UK Bank and we were able to provide evidence of the exchange rate here on the same day which he took to the bank and received compensation from them for the loss on exchange.

The other thing you need to do on receipt of the funds is to apply through your bank for the Foreign Exchange Transfer Certificate which is only issued on funds being recieved in Thailand in foreign currency and only in excess of $20,000. This will make the repatriation of funds at a later date a great deal simpler. Funds received in Thai Baht will no get this Certificate.

You are correct in that the exchange rate in Thailand is always, in my experience of many transfers, much better that overseas.

The other thing we recommend to clients is to split the charges as the recipient bank charges here are again always less than overseas.

[Smithson]

Well as far as I know, if he instruct his Bank to send a USD amount - I can't see why his Bank would do the FX. If It would be me, I would call my Bank and get in touch with the international wire department and ask the route details of the wire to know exactly what happened.

Maybe he is telling his bank that we wants to send "the equivalent of $5,000.00 USD to a bank in Thailand" or it can be the clerk is inexperienced with international wire transfers.

He has instructed his bank to send US$, however they send Baht. I'm guessing considering the rates, they make a nice little profit, so there's an incentive.

All our dealings are in US$, he didn't even know what the Baht was until I told him.

I've got the documentation from BB and it shows Baht as being sent (BB charged 200B for receiving)

Any idea what written instructions should say and how to get the bank to acknowledge/keep some sort of record of these instructions?

[naka]

I always tell my bank to transfer in original currency.

They always comply with my wishes.

Answer - Dump your bank.

Naka.

[Smithson]

I always tell my bank to transfer in original currency.

They always comply with my wishes.

Answer - Dump your bank.

Naka.

Problem is it's not my bank, it's my customers.

[Smithson]

I'm having cash sent from the US, the US banks will give a poor exchange rate so last time my customer requested the exchange from US$ to Baht be done in Thailand.

But the bank (Soveriegn bank) did the exchange in the US and sent Baht to Thailand. The rate was 36.4 to the $ and this was the start of April.

I'm now having around 5k sent over. How can my customer guarantee the bank will follow his request and send $?

Thanks!

The first thing I would recommend is that your Client gives written instructions to the bank that the transfer is to be made in US Dollars and NOT Thai Baht. Then if they do anything different he has a claim against them. One of my Clients had the same problem with his UK Bank and we were able to provide evidence of the exchange rate here on the same day which he took to the bank and received compensation from them for the loss on exchange.

The other thing you need to do on receipt of the funds is to apply through your bank for the Foreign Exchange Transfer Certificate which is only issued on funds being recieved in Thailand in foreign currency and only in excess of $20,000. This will make the repatriation of funds at a later date a great deal simpler. Funds received in Thai Baht will no get this Certificate.

You are correct in that the exchange rate in Thailand is always, in my experience of many transfers, much better that overseas.

The other thing we recommend to clients is to split the charges as the recipient bank charges here are again always less than overseas.

Regarding the written instructions to the bank, is something like this OK:

I wish to send the amount of US Dollars XXXX to the following account in Thailand:

Account details

This amount is to be sent in US Dollars and the currency exchange to Thai Baht is to be done by the receiving bank in Thailand.

Under no circumstances is the currency exchange to be done in the United Satates.

[astral]

Well as far as I know, if he instruct his Bank to send a USD amount - I can't see why his Bank would do the FX. If It would be me, I would call my Bank and get in touch with the international wire....

I agree. In more than twenty years I have never had a bank transfer any currency other than the one I instructed them to transfer. If this bank did, they violated your instructions and scammed you pure and simple. Go get 'em.

Kick up a stink, and make sure your instruction is explicit "to send dollars and the exchange will be dealt with in Thailand".

Then they have no room to wriggle and screw you.

I had this problem with my UK bank.

They apologised and refunded the exchange difference.!!

[SamuiRes]

Regarding the written instructions to the bank, is something like this OK:

I wish to send the amount of US Dollars XXXX to the following account in Thailand:

Account details

This amount is to be sent in US Dollars and the currency exchange to Thai Baht is to be done by the receiving bank in Thailand.

Under no circumstances is the currency exchange to be done in the United Satates.

Seems clear enough to me and if you can get them to acknowledge receipt of the instruction so much the better.

It would seem to me that any instruction to transfer funds overseas would have to be in writing anyway - I cannot see a bank accepting verbal instructions to do so. There must therefore be evidence at the originating bank which can be checked and that will either show they were given the wrong instruction by the client or did not carry out his instructions.

[Sophon]

Your best bet might be to open a USD account here in Thailand and have the money wired into your USD account - and then you just transfer it over your THB account.

That would just exasperate the problem.

Sending bank doesn't know or care what currency receiving account is held in, if they send THB now they would still do so. When the money is received in Thailand the Thai bank would have to exchange the THB back to USD in order to credit the USD account, and finally the OP would have to exchange it back into THB, when he wanted to use it.

The result would be three exchanges, each of which costing the OP money.

Sophon

[lopburi3]

If he does it in the bank there should be a form he fills out and checks what currency to use. Perhaps they are helping him and he just signs?

If he does by phone a recording is made.

If he does by fax it should be indicated on the instructions.

I have never heard of anyone having a problem if they really tell the bank what to do. He is probably only telling the amount in $ and not saying or indicating that $ should be sent.

[kudroz]

Your best bet might be to open a USD account here in Thailand and have the money wired into your USD account - and then you just transfer it over your THB account.

That would just exasperate the problem.

Sending bank doesn't know or care what currency receiving account is held in, if they send THB now they would still do so. When the money is received in Thailand the Thai bank would have to exchange the THB back to USD in order to credit the USD account, and finally the OP would have to exchange it back into THB, when he wanted to use it.

The result would be three exchanges, each of which costing the OP money.

Sophon

That's absolutely incorrect. When sending money through the SWIFT system - it indicates automatically under which currency is the beneficiary bank account. Therefore it was my assumption that the international wire department while seeing that the beneficiary account's was in THB, they were doing the FX themselves.

[chiangmaiapple]

I'm having cash sent from the US, the US banks will give a poor exchange rate so last time my customer requested the exchange from US$ to Baht be done in Thailand.

But the bank (Soveriegn bank) did the exchange in the US and sent Baht to Thailand. The rate was 36.4 to the $ and this was the start of April.

I'm now having around 5k sent over. How can my customer guarantee the bank will follow his request and send $?

Thanks!

I just needed to get $110,000 from the US to Thailand. I simply wrote a personal check for that amount. It took 3 weeks to clear and the exchange rate was done on the day it was deposited into my Thai bank account. The rate was higher than I normally get at the bank. And I saved the $40 wire transfer fee. Check with the bank to be sure that they can work with personal checks and ask how long it will take to clear the check.

Edited April 30, 2006 by chiangmaiapple

[lopburi3]

The rate of a wire transfer is also higher than cash. There is usually a hefty check charge (that you probably did not have to pay because of the amount you cashed). Then the delay, and if anything went wrong a longer delay. And no entry in your account to make immigration happy if you need that proof.

[Smithson]

He understands the problem and has been trying to help me, the last time he sent cash he took an email I'd sent him to help him explain, I think the bank must be able to make a bit of cash by doing the exchange themselves.