Warning - double bank charges on money transfers

[Isan Farang]

I bank with SCB here and NAB in Australia, Nab charge me $22 and i get another charge from not sure who of $35 , Nab tells me it receiving bank SCB say not so, . I thing cheaper to use credit card and ATM

Then go ask SCB for the Credit Advice Receipt, this will show who has pulled the $35.

[Pib]

I bank with SCB here and NAB in Australia, Nab charge me $22 and i get another charge from not sure who of $35 , Nab tells me it receiving bank SCB say not so, . I thing cheaper to use credit card and ATM

International funds transfer fees must be one of the highest profit generating fees for some banksters...a real cash cow for them...and it gives more milk (fees/profit) by providing vague information or misinformation to the customers, like blaming it on the receiving bank. SCB's inward remittance fee is 0.25% (Bt300 min, Bt500 max).

[hugh2121]

First I'm wondering why you allow your Jersey bank to make transfers for you. If you go to www.ukforex.co.uk and register with them you can make a free transfer or debit card transfer to them from your Jersey bank. UK Forex will change it into THB at a far better rate than any UK (or Jersey) bank. They will then transfer your THB to your nominated Thai bank totally free of any charges. I bank with Krung Sri and recently transferred £7,000. I think they charge a straight 0.2% of the amount received with a maximum charge of 500THB.

Edited June 8, 2014 by hugh2121

[meatboy]

GeorgeO. I am sorry you are wrong. The receiving Thai Bank does make a charge upon receiving funds, usually it's between

200-500 thai baht dependent upon the amount sent. One poster mentioned the percentage. This is certainly the case with the Bank that's under discussion here.

..well, gentlemen, regardless of whether you insist that Bangkok Bank is applying a charge for receiving the funds, the absolute fact is that in mid-May, I was quoted a total of THB 291,655 for a transfer of £5,500 from HSBC using the UK exchange rate.

Having declined the UK rate, and insisted that the funds were transferred in Sterling, the amount that I received into my Bangkok Bank account was THB 297,160 (THB 5,505 baht more) with no indication of any additional receiving bank charges; of course, if there were additional receiving bank charges, then the exchange rate gain was even more impressive.

The gain roughly equates to £1.00 = 53.02 vs 54.02, for the UK rate vis-a-vis the Sterling transfer ... almost 1 baht on every 50 baht = a 2% gain...!!

As I have already mentioned, the transfer fee from HSBC is now £4:00, regardless of the amount, so if anyone is looking for an extremely cheap way of transferring funds, here it is...!!

every one who says that bkk.bank don't take a charge is wrong,wrong,wrong,you think just because it doesn't show on your bank book they don't levy a 200-500fee but they dooooooooooooooooooooo.and one other for you to work out how do you know that you are getting the rate on offer when it reaches Thailand.i knew what day I had some money arriving in Thailand and kept check on the exchange rate[tt] every hr.it ranged from eg.43.14 to 43.70 throughout the day guess what rate I got 43.14 that was before they took their fee.since then I only have substancial amounts sent so that when it arrives I get a call from headquarters and have always got a better rate than whats on offer.last time I received a call when the rate showing at the time 49.12 I got 49,19 it might not seem much but on a 100k.sterling that's 7,000bht.

and yes I changed my bank.

[MMarlow]

We should all be very grateful that Thai Visa clearly has so many experienced bankers amongst it's members. The varying information provided on the international banking system is invaluable.

The bottom line is that those are the charges made by banks doing international transfers and the only way to avoid them is to not do the transfers. If you want to make use of the banking system (which costs banks money to operate) then expect to pay for it, to expect otherwise is just daft. No commercial business anywhere provides services without charge, banks or not.

[Pib]

We should all be very grateful that Thai Visa clearly has so many experienced bankers amongst it's members. The varying information provided on the international banking system is invaluable.

The bottom line is that those are the charges made by banks doing international transfers and the only way to avoid them is to not do the transfers. If you want to make use of the banking system (which cos ts banks money to operate) then expect to pay for it, to expect otherwise is just daft. No commercial business anywhere provides services without charge, banks or not.

I don't think anyone is saying international transfers don't cost the bank some amount to accomplish, but instead saying some banks charge VERY high international transfer fees in comparison to other banks...and also some banks are vague or misleading about the fees they do charge--especially correspondent bank fees.

But in those cases where some banks charge a LOT more than other banks, people just need to vote with their feet and change bank accounts and/or maybe complain to govt authorities/politicians about the high fees.

[Isan Farang]

First I'm wondering why you allow your Jersey bank to make transfers for you. If you go to www.ukforex.co.uk and register with them you can make a free transfer or debit card transfer to them from your Jersey bank. UK Forex will change it into THB at a far better rate than any UK (or Jersey) bank. They will then transfer your THB to your nominated Thai bank totally free of any charges. I bank with Krung Sri and recently transferred £7,000. I think they charge a straight 0.2% of the amount received with a maximum charge of 500THB.

I do not have my funds converted to Baht by HSBC, i send in USD and have Kasikorn do the conversion. Are the E/R given by UK Forex on par with what i will receive when converted in Thailand ?

You mentioned you just sent 7000 GBP, i assume you had the 7k GBP converted to Baht at the UK Forex E/R, what rate did they give you ?

HSBC Jersey have no free transfer so this is no gain

For safety reasons my HSBC debit card has a max amount that can be pulled, so i would need to make more frequent transfers

[vaultdweller0013]

There is a new internet money transfer company(same people that started Skype and PayPal) that has a very good rate for international transfers. https://transferwise.com I plan to use them the next time I make a large transfer from Singapore to Bangkok. They say their price is 90% cheaper than the banks. I'm currently getting raped on international transfers and it is actually cheaper for me to get 5 withdrawals of 20,000 Baht at an ATM than it is to transfer 100,000 Baht from Singapore!

Open up Citibank accounts at both ends and transfer between them for free. Or, open up a UOB account in Singapore and use UOB ATMs in Thailand for free.

[Daniel Boon]

I sent a ATM card over; transfer money into account (fortnightly) Missus draws out, cost A$6.50 and exchange rate is OK

[loseless]

Check for the best deals at moneysupermarket.co.uk. Often new websites such as hifx.com offer more competitive exchange rates and zero fees (or small fees). I'm surprised that the banks are continuing to levy such high charges and that more people are not using these new services. Prices for transfers will continue to go down in the future as more innovative online services flourish.

[loseless]

Check for the best deals at moneysupermarket.co.uk. Often new websites such as hifx.com offer more competitive exchange rates and zero fees (or small fees). I'm surprised that the banks are continuing to levy such high charges and that more people are not using these new services. Prices for transfers will continue to go down in the future as more innovative online services flourish.

[horstthaivisa]

Your bank outside Thailand (Jersey) must have a schedule of prices and so do have all Banks in Thailand. This Schedule of Prices is public visible in each bank all over the world and can be found on their webistes too. I am German and I send regularly money from my bank account in Germany to my saving account in Thailand to finance holiday and over winter stays. My German bank charges to my account in Germany a fixed fee (Euro 15,00 up to transfer sums of Euro 12.500,00) as mentioned in their schulde of prices. The bank in Thailand (SCB) charges a service fee of 0,25 p.c. on the converted incoming Baht amount to be directly deducted before crediting the net amount to my saving account, but minimum is Baht 300 and maximum is Baht 500 as also fixed in their schedule of prices. This system only works when giving following instructions in the money transfer order to my bank in Germany: Domestic fees (in Germany) to be charged to my German account and foreign fees to be charged by the foreign money receiving bank (in Thailand) on my saving account in Thailand. You should verify which bank did charge you extra Pound 20 and claim for compensation credit if this is not complying with their schedule of prices.

[GeorgeO]

I, on the other hand, have just experienced a significant reduction in bank charges for transfers from the UK to Thailand.

For transferring funds from HSBC (UK) to Bangkok Bank, the sending bank (HSBC) used to charge me £17.00, but I believe the Ombudsman has been applying pressure to the UK banks, so this was recently reduced to just £4.00. Yes, £4.00, even if I am transferring £10,000 ... difficult to believe I know.

Furthermore, Bangkok Bank do not levy any charge for receiving the funds. I always ensure that the funds are transferred in Sterling, as I find I get a much better exchange rate at the receiving bank than if I were to accept the sending bank exchange rate.

Given the transfer is being made from Jersey, I would think the UK Bank ombudsman could apply ant pressure - Jersey is not in the UK.

I made no mention of Jersey. I was offering my recent experience of a transfer from the UK to Thailand...!!

[Liquorice]

Correspondent bank charge would have been made in UK rather than Thailand and is the route your home bank uses to transfer the funds. The charge in Thailand is only a fee of between 200-500 baht for the exchange service based on a fee of 1/4% on foreign remitted currency. Are you sure funds were not converted to baht prior to sending to Thailand in this case? Suspect that may be the reason for large additional change. Thailand would not be charging a fee in pounds.

My bank called me yesterday after I e-mailed them. Money was sent in Pounds Sterling. I agree with what you say that a Thai bank would not be charging Sterling, but my bank insisted it was a charge levied by the Thai bank.

I'm with same Bank (Bangkok) and was also charged an extra £20 through my account.

My UK bank have a standard charge of £25 for any International transfer. Previously I was only charged approx. 200 baht by the Bank of B for conversion of sterling to baht.

It would seem they have now levied an extra charge of £20.

I'll be taking the matter up with the bank and if this is to be the norm for the future, then I'll be changing banks.

They should be grateful we are investing thousands, millions of baht with them. Not the way to treat foreign investors.

[lopburi3]

Do not believe they have changed the fee for conversion at Bangkok Bank (it is the same for all banks in Thailand). I used the US ACH transfer system last week and there was no change. I suspect your home bank is using a different path to transfer the money.

Home bank - no fee

Bangkok Bank NY - $5 fee

Exchange rate 32.5 baht per USD

Bangkok Bank exchange fee - 200 baht

[Liquorice]

I just spent 2hours at my Bangkok bank branch.

They make no charges for transfers other than for exchanging the currency.

Their maximum charge for any amount is 500 baht.

Transfers from the UK go through an intermediate bank (HSBC)

It would appear that HSBC have now started charging £20 as a correspondence charge.

Bangkok bank are not responsible.

Bangkok bank suggested I do International transfers from the UK to Thailand through their BB branch in London using either the Faster payments method or BACS.

Cuts out Intermediary banks and the transfer charges are lower.

No charges from your UK bank as it's not an International transfer.

Lower charges by BB in London to transfer to Thailand.

For anyone who has a UK bank A/C doing transfers to a Bangkok bank A/C, you may find this link very useful.

Transfer money from UK to Thailand.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/personalbanking/dailybanking/transferingfunds/transferringintothailand/receivingfundsfromuk/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUK.aspx

[wileycoyote]

Useful posting

[mercman24]

as to Bangkok Bank charges i recently visted their site and there wer to Charges one at £15 and one at £20 for two different transactione but the same outcome basically

[mercman24]

maybe of some use boys and girls i costed out the rates for TODAY: BANGKOK BANK TRANSFER UK - VASU exchange booth in BKK and UK FOREX ; on £3000 UK FOREX WAS WAY ON TOP (in GB pounds) B/BANK was £40 more (yes £40 0n £3000? ) and the VASU booth (where i go when in BKK) was £10-66 more, in BAHT terms it was FOREX - 163,482 - VASU - 162,900, AND B/BANK - A PALTRY 161,280 SO FOREX HERE I COME

[Liquorice]

as to Bangkok Bank charges i recently visted their site and there wer to Charges one at £15 and one at £20 for two different transactione but the same outcome basically

The £15 transfer fee is for using the Faster Payments option which can take 3 days.

The £20 transfer fee is for using the BACS option which is the following day.

[Isan Farang]

as to Bangkok Bank charges i recently visted their site and there wer to Charges one at £15 and one at £20 for two different transactione but the same outcome basically

The £15 transfer fee is for using the Faster Payments option which can take 3 days.

The £20 transfer fee is for using the BACS option which is the following day.

Just checked the BB website the way i read is the 15 & 20 GBP charge has nothing to do with the Fast Payments or BACS charges. Any charges for the UK transfer is between yourself and the sending bank. These are the options used to get the funds sent to BB London

After BB receive the funds they will be in your account in Thailand the next working day. The 15 & 20 GBP charges deducted by BB is dependent on currency sent, THB or GBP

1. What is Faster Payments Service?

Faster Payments Service helps UK member banks make fast electronic payments between member institutions. Customers can transfer funds by phone or online banking immediately, or make regular same-day standing order payments on bank working days.

2. What is BACS?

BACS (Bankers Automated Clearing Services) is a cost effective and secure UK nationwide electronic payment system which involves a three-day process.

[Jonmarleesco]

Correspondent bank charges usually apply to USD transfers because the TT is sent via a US bank, which deducts an additional, and unspecified fee, for doing very little, if anything. Not for the first time, I have seen two lots of external bank fees skimmed off the transferred amount. I have also experienced it with a GBP transfer, despite the fact that the correspondent bank system isn't a feature of GBP transfers. But I would be surprised if it is traceable to the Thai bank; much more likely it was initiated from the Jersey end; though possibly sent via a UK-based Thai bank.

[Jonmarleesco]

I just spent 2hours at my Bangkok bank branch.

They make no charges for transfers other than for exchanging the currency.

Their maximum charge for any amount is 500 baht.

Transfers from the UK go through an intermediate bank (HSBC)

It would appear that HSBC have now started charging £20 as a correspondence charge.

Bangkok bank are not responsible.

Bangkok bank suggested I do International transfers from the UK to Thailand through their BB branch in London using either the Faster payments method or BACS.

Cuts out Intermediary banks and the transfer charges are lower.

No charges from your UK bank as it's not an International transfer.

Lower charges by BB in London to transfer to Thailand.

For anyone who has a UK bank A/C doing transfers to a Bangkok bank A/C, you may find this link very useful.

Transfer money from UK to Thailand.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/personalbanking/dailybanking/transferingfunds/transferringintothailand/receivingfundsfromuk/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUK.aspx

I've been charged in the past, an additional fee for a TT sent via BBL in London, to BBL here. And BBL, in common with other Thai banks, do charge a recipient fee for TTs to personal accounts, around B200, or so.

And BACs are for Interbank transfers within the UK, not for international payments.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Jonmarleesco

[puck2]

as to Bangkok Bank charges i recently visted their site and there wer to Charges one at £15 and one at £20 for two different transactione but the same outcome basically

The £15 transfer fee is for using the Faster Payments option which can take 3 days.

The £20 transfer fee is for using the BACS option which is the following day.

Your fellow countrymen will be thankful for your postings and tips concerning London-BKK-Bank-transfers.

But isn't it vice versa. (Hope I don't make you angry by citing your mentioned URL in # 110)

"What is the difference between the Faster Payments Service and BACS?

Faster Payment will reach our London Branch within two hours. BACS takes three days to reach our London Branch."

Edited June 9, 2014 by puck2

[puck2]

There are lots of usefull and correct postings in this thread. Making a little bit like a recap (out of my viewpoint) I would like to thank especially

#7 @Lopburi (different bank fees abroad and in Thailand)

#14 @Pib (explaininmg correspondent bank fees)

#33 @Pib (i.a. explaining Thai bank fees)

#65 @Pib (Thai interbank transfer rates)

#97 @Pib (do the banks deserve high transfer fees?)

#20 @Naam ("lying" = untrustworthy banks)

#25 @Gsxrnz (fees for correspondent banks)

#27 @wooloomooloo (good example for correspondent bank fees)

#34+69 @fxe1200 (transfer fees in the country of the sender's bank account)

#52 @SunsetT (i.a. clearing the fees by "transaction print out")

#95 @meatboy (MAYBE: high transfers get a little bit of a better "buying rate")

(sorry, if I forgot one/some other important posts).

1. This threads concerns SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) money transfers into Thailand. SWIFT is not a bank, it's a worldwide (money) transaction system, mainly for banks, brokers ... .

When you order a money transfer from your foreign bank account this system is used in general. You may think this money will run through your national central bank. No, only in a few cases, in communist China for example.

There are banks with connections to different foreign banks, with the result that these banks may not charge the already mentioned correspondet bank fees (=cbf). I guess Bangkok Bank London will not charge this fee for a tranfer from GB to Th. I just see it confirmed by post '106 from @Faz.

But if the money goes to a Thai bank without such a connection, you'll have to pay the cbf. I guess in most cases a cbf will be charged.

Then it happens what we don't like. You dont see the cbf in your account, the transfered amount is deducted by the cbf-fee. Only if you ask for a transaction print out (advice for inward remittance) you will be surprised by that charge.

When you fulfill the SWIFT-form you are asked about who should pay the fees:

BEN - debit the receiver's bank account for all fees.

SHARE - the customer in the foreign country will be debited by fees of his bank, the Thai banks debit the account of the receiver in Thailand for their Thai fees.

OUR - debit all fees in the account of your foreign bank account.

But Thailand doesn't adhere to these SWIFT-rules. If you say OUR (=debit all fees on my GB-account) the Thai banks will book another Thai fee. This will explain some problems reported here by members. But I don't have any knowledge about BEN.

2. Hold in mind that the fees of the banks in your home country vary from each other. This means if you want the cheapest fees for the whole money transfer you must select the bank with the cheapest foreign fees, only a rule of thumb and everybody should check if it's wothwhile (f.e. not in the same city and so on).

3. We got some advices by @jayeff - #84 - and by @Artist - #82 - for using new and cheaper money companies. To judge about the better results could be a little bit too early. Additionally, they are not set ups in all our foreign countries (???).

4. Some information came across. Be sceptical towards information by bank staff, but not only concerning Thai staff. You need some knowledge or information about banking.

5. To the OP

I guess that your "double bank charges" (here the cbf) exist since the beginning of your transfers. Maybe now you've got the transaction print out, as I mentioned above. Probably they did it for all money transfers, even in the past. So nothing new. You didn't see it before because it didn't appear as a single booking in your account. Only an idea.

Edited June 9, 2014 by puck2

[SunsetT]

reply to sunset t : NOT SURE IF MY DEPOSIT ACOUNT ALLOWS TRANSFERS, BUT IS IT POSIBLE TO OPEN A CURRENT ACCOUNT, AS I AM NOW IN THE UK, ?? just wanted to get some money over there to "season" for when i apply to go full time in October, sorry about the CAPS, type to dam fast, and too lazy to change , he he

U could try to open a Thai current account via internet, nothing is impossible for Thailand. Phone your Thai bank, branch or head office, and try to get someone who speaks English to ask. They might accept a 'verified' emailed copy of your ID, which normally must be shown at the branch. But u would need to give a Thai address. Thinking about it, again as its Thailand, u might well be able to transfer to your deposit account. All u need is the national SWIFT code for your Thai bank, which u can Google, your branch and account #. Get all the info u can off the net and go into your UK bank and ask if the info is sufficient. Thai banks dont have IBAN #/codes which u need in Europe. Thats why u need the branch location or full address if there is more than one branch in the Thai city or town. All info. should be on the net.

Good Luck.

[mercman24]

THANKS SUNSET T, YEP FOREXUK JUST WANT THE SWIFT CODE, my lady friend in BKK checked with the bank and they said no problem,( i thought this was done to stop money laundering) that is why you had to have a Thai address, still no probs (hopefully)

[JacChang]

I just checked the websites given for international transfers such as Western Union and other forex websites given here.

The exchange rate is 2% in their favor. Some may see that 0.20 as nothing, but it's huge. If I transfer 300,000 regularly, that's like 6,000 THB right there. I rather pay the fees imposed by banks and etc.

Exchange rate is always priority before anything else. Fees are an honest way of doing business whether you like it or not. It's better than those companies advertising low or free transfers, then they hit you with lower exchange rates.

Compare exchange rate first, then decide if the fees are worth it. Most of the time, they are.

Edited: I would like to add, I use superrich exchange rates as they offer the best. Then I compare how other banking institutions deviate from them. And for those new people, it is also a good time to let you know. Superrich offers the best exchange rates in Thailand, in case you were searching and comparing where to change your money. They have websites with rates you can compare to.

Edited June 10, 2014 by JacChang

[Dario]

To Maejo Man: "Bangkok Bank in Bangkok have never charged me for recieving funds." Wrong. They charge you every single transfer with a minimum of 200 Baht.

To JacChang: "Bangkok Bank charges no fees for receiving." Completely wrong.

To clear up any misunderstandings: AFAIK, no bank in the world works for free when it comes to international bank transfers. I am a Bangkok Bank customer since about 28 years and presently BBL charges as follows (already since years):

Charge fee from beneficiary: 0.25% of the transfer value (minimum 200 Baht, maximum 500 Baht)

Note You will not receive the full amount of funds

as Bangkok Bank will deduct a fee prior to depositing

funds into your account.

You can check this out here.

The more, when you initiate your transfer from a foreign bank and indicate that you want to split charges between sending and receiving bank, BBL will charge you half of the sending banks transfer charges. For an example: my Swiss bank charges me CHF 10.--, I opt for splitting, so my Swiss bank charges me CHF 5.-- and BBL the same in Thai Baht.

As my late dad used to say: there is no such thing as a free meal in this world.

[Dario]

You can check this out here.

Sorry, wrong link, here is the good one