Sending $AUD500k to a thai bank....

[croberts688]

Gday

For various reasons I have to move my life savings of $500k aussie to a thai bank account- ie out of Australia. If you can offer your opinion on any or all of the questions below it would be much appreciated:

1. I read that Thai banks do not offer any protection against fraud etc. For a large amount of money like this, which thai bank do you recommend? I need one that has good online system (with robust security features i.e. security token or sms notification) and that has an account that can offer high rate of interest. I want to live off the monthly interest whilst residing in LOS.

2. I've read through other posts on this website and understand thats its not wise to have an ATM card on an account that has substantial funds in it. Is it still safe to have for example, 2 accounts that are linked to each other?

3. Should I split the money up between 2 different banks to reduce the risk?

4. Are you a farang thats had large amount like this in a thai bank for some time. Have you heard any horror stories regarding fraud? What were the circumstances?

5. I remember reading a year ago that I should keep proof of funds transferred into thailand in case I need to move it out again at a future date. Is a copy of the original IMT form sufficient proof?

6. From research that I've done I have learnt that its best to remit the money in $AUD to Thailand (ie do not do an IMT with a bank in oz that converts the money to thai baht in oz and then sends thai baht to LOS. (like Citibank who does it this way and are the only bank to offer ''free IMT's''!) Do all banks in Thailand accept AUD$ when an IMT is sent from abroad to LOS in aussie dollars?

I appreciate any advice on any of these matters. Question 1 is the most important to me as I don't want to lose my hard earned cash. Would it be prudent to open a bank that has International links ie Citibank or HSBC in bkk if its possible- instead of one of the thai banks? Have any of you done this? What if one of the Thai banks goes belly up?

cheers

[dabhand]

Unless you have an absolute need to have the funds in a Thai bank, I would think your best option would be to look at transferring the funds to a bank in Singapore (or other reputable offshore location). You should then be able to keep the funds in AUD (or any other major currency).

If you do transfer to a Thai bank, keeping it in AUD (or other major currency) to protect against currency risk, should be seriously considered.

Given the current uncertainty in Thailand having your life savings here (in any currency) may not be a good idea.

Can only suggest you tread carefully and review all options - interest rates / taxes / currency risk / location of bank / balance protection policies - as you appear to be doing, before you take the plunge.

[meatboy]

first of all.you need a thai bank account.preferable siam comm.bank.trans.in aud.by swift transfer,to your thai bank and most important declare where the money came from and whats it for.you will get T.T.rate and on arrival at the bank because its a large amount you will get a call from banks headquarters offing a better rate.

now the difficult part,you will have to find a bank that offers a good fixed rate 3%+ is fair at the moment term 12-15months.

you will need proof of residence,visa status,thai drivers licence,and a tax id.registration no would also be help full.

if your lucky to find an account that pays interest monthly as that is what you want,you will pay tax on the interest 15% of which you can claim back up to 30,000bht.if you have no other income in Thailand your personel allowance is around 150,000bht.so on the amount your changing you will pay tax on around 300,000bht.if you go to their website www.rd.go.th its all there.

as I said you must say what the funds are for,then when the trans.is done the bank will give you a certificate of the trans.which you must keep safe as if you wanted to take the money out of Thailand you have the proof of where it came from.

as for putting it in different banks my choice would be siam commercial.

just a little more advice don't tell the wife or the inlaws .

[inzman]

Don't bring the money to Thailand, very shady banking system. Open accounts in Singapore and honk kong. Spread the money around, lessen the risk!

[Naam]

most important declare where the money came from...

sorry meatboy but i [not so] humbly beg to differ. there's no such thing like declaring "where the money came from".

[Suradit69]

Don't bring the money to Thailand, very shady banking system. Open accounts in Singapore and honk kong. Spread the money around, lessen the risk!

The banking system is not shady and where exactly is "honk kong?"

It would probably be best to maintain the account in AUD or USD or Euros unless one actually needs to have the whole amount available in baht. The O/P is choosing a time to shift out of the AUD when its value against other currencies is down quite a bit, so he might want to stick with the AUD until it's on the rise again.

[ozsamurai]

Have a look a Citibank NA Thailand... I know others are going to bag it, but do your research first

Oz

[Paul888]

I have nothing bad to say about Thai banks, at least the ones I use (Kasikorn and Krungsri) but it is basic common sense to not put all your eggs in one unregulated basket....especially such large eggs.

If you really have to move the money out of Australia, then surely you would be better advised to move some here and some there ie not all to the same bank, and to be even safer not all to the same country, at least to until you understand the banking system more. It really doesn't pay to let people know exactly what you have and where it is.

[Cylon]

Hey Mate,you wanna buy some rice ? have I got a deal for you.

[poweratradio]

I am a Canadian and was advised by my Bank (ScotiaBank) currently owner of 49% of the Thai bank Thanachart Bank who own Commercial Bank Of Siam. It was suggested even though this ownership does not intertwine these banks as they remain stand alone; the security is in keeping with Canadian standards. Perhaps your Aus. bank has an international bank arm as well.

ATMs are as risky here in Thailand as in any locations not using chip technology. Be on the lok out for added magreaders or double swiping by clerks all normal cautions anywhere.

[CaptHaddock]

I hope the OP understands that he does not have a right to live in Thailand and he does not have a right to take his money out of Thailand. Unless he achieves permanent residency or citizenship he will be in Thailand on some sort of annually renewed visa. Thai immigration may decide not to renew his visa at any time. We don't hear about this happening often, but it is a risk. Any transfer of money out of the country larger than 20k USD requires the permission of the Bank of Thailand, which it may decide not to grant. So, although the risk is probably not high, there is a chance that he could be forced to leave Thailand at some point without being able to take his money with him.

In my opinion, it is not prudent to move your life savings into Thailand.

[MMarlow]

Any transfer of money out of the country larger than 20k USD requires the permission of the Bank of Thailand, which it may decide not to grant.

As long as he can provide evidence that it originated outside of Thailand that is a just formality that his retail bank here would deal with, in normal circumstances it will not be an issue at all. Assuming that he has internet banking even if he was forced to leave the country, which would be extremely unlikely unless he was doing something wrong, he would still have access to his funds whether he was in Thailand or not.

Edited February 9, 2014 by MMarlow

[meatboy]

Don't bring the money to Thailand, very shady banking system. Open accounts in Singapore and honk kong. Spread the money around, lessen the risk!

the op wants to live off the interest in Thailand,so to minamise bank charges and trans fees.he needs the money here.

I would sugest he holds back ex.amount enough to live on for the first year and open up some fixed term accs.12-15 month

[CaptHaddock]

It's just a formality until it's not just a formality. At any time the BOT can decide to enforce capital transfer rules strictly. If they did so, he might be able to access his money from outside Thailand via an online bank account, but he could only spend the money in Thailand in that case.

I don't know how likely this scenario is, but I do know that the amount of risk that I am willing to take of being separated from my money in this way is zero. I would rather accept exchange rate risk. If the dollar were to drop too much in value I might not be able to afford to remain in Thailand, but I would not be broke.

Keep in mind we are discussing possible currency controls in a country that is suddenly facing discussion of the possibility of splitting apart into two countries. So, it is not necessarily so easy to judge what is really low-risk in such an environment.

Any transfer of money out of the country larger than 20k USD requires the permission of the Bank of Thailand, which it may decide not to grant.

As long as he can provide evidence that it originated outside of Thailand that is a just formality that his retail bank here would deal with, in normal circumstances it will not be an issue at all. Assuming that he has internet banking even if he was forced to leave the country, which would be extremely unlikely unless he was doing something wrong, he would still have access to his funds whether he was in Thailand or not.

[MrWorldwide]

I only have one question - is honk kong anything like Donkey Kong ?

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give that advice a -15.

[meatboy]

most important declare where the money came from...

sorry meatboy but i [not so] humbly beg to differ. there's no such thing like declaring "where the money came from".

maybe it was because it was the wife that had it transferred from her acc.in the uk,she did declare how she came about such a fair amount[6mill.bht] she was also asked when it arrived how she got it.

no it wasn't me that gave it to her.i don't have any ill-gotten gains.

[Naam]

most important declare where the money came from...

sorry meatboy but i [not so] humbly beg to differ. there's no such thing like declaring "where the money came from".

maybe it was because it was the wife that had it transferred from her acc.in the uk,she did declare how she came about such a fair amount[6mill.bht] she was also asked when it arrived how she got it.

no it wasn't me that gave it to her.i don't have any ill-gotten gains.

actually that question is asked nowadays always when you open an account outside of Thailand depositing a substantial amount of cash and/or assets. never had a problem in Thailand when i transferred rather substantial amounts for land and constructing a home or buying expensive cars.

[SheungWan]

He could send the money to Hong Kong bank account in AUD and keep it in an AUD account and put it on time deposit in AUD if he wants to.

[Soutpeel]

My advice, if this is your lifes savings, put it somewhere a bit more stable...eg Singapore and keep a small account day to day account in Thailand

[walrus]

It's not a good idea, unless you plan to spend it all in Thailand. It can be difficult to get permission to take it back out of Thailand, should you ever need to. If you must go ahead, ensure that you send the money in foreign currency, not in Baht, and talk to your bank beforehand so that you get a certificate of inwards remittance on arrival which should in theory make it possible to withdraw the money later. But I would suggest you open an account with someone like HSBC in Hong Kong, who can offer a multicurrency account in a much more flexible environment,

[CeeBee]

With the widely anticipated ongoing depreciation of the AUD it may not be a such a good idea to keep the amount transferred, wherever that may be, in the Australian currency.

[advancebooking]

Its noted that in the following url the worlds safest banks in Asia:

http://sbr.com.sg/financial-services/news/dbs-beats-ocbc-uob-worlds-safest-banks-in-asia

there are no Thailand banks listed !!!!