Exchange Rates Shock - Maybe I Was Too Naive!

[mallmagician]

Well,

I'm arriving in Chaing Mai Sunday night, and thought I would shop around the "commission free" foreign exchange places for the best rate. I thought they would vary by a few points here or there, but generally be 70-point-something to the £.

I already have a Nationwide Flex Account that charges pretty much the actual exchange rate with no hidden extra for ATM withdrawels. I just wanted the cash to pay my room up front at the Viangbua Mansions upon arrival. As I am limited per day on ATM withdrawels, I thought I'd head to the high street exchanges!

I checked 3. M&S, POST OFFICE & Thomas Cook.

Long story short, I could get "commission free" foreign currency from all of them. However, when compared against the actual amount I would get from an ATM for the £600 I wanted to change, the results were frankly shocking!

Roughly, I could get 42,000BAHT from an ATM for £600 with my Nationwide Card.

The amounts I would get with the other 3 for the same £600 meant there were hidden charges (in their poor exchange rate) of between £25 and £77!!!!!!

WHAT A RIP OFF! I am not overly surprised about maybe Thomas Cook, or even M&S, but the Post Office?? Crooks!

Was I really that naive?

I hate to think how much I lost when I went to Thomas Cook with £2000 before my last trip to Thailand.

I am now off to send a love letter to Nationwide.

Phil

[george]

Bangkok Bank is quoting 68.95 for the British Pound today. That is the official rate for notes.

Baht to the Pound

[Rinrada]

Well,

I'm arriving in Chaing Mai Sunday night, and thought I would shop around the "commission free" foreign exchange places for the best rate. I thought they would vary by a few points here or there, but generally be 70-point-something to the £.

I already have a Nationwide Flex Account that charges pretty much the actual exchange rate with no hidden extra for ATM withdrawels. I just wanted the cash to pay my room up front at the Viangbua Mansions upon arrival. As I am limited per day on ATM withdrawels, I thought I'd head to the high street exchanges!

I checked 3. M&S, POST OFFICE & Thomas Cook.

Long story short, I could get "commission free" foreign currency from all of them. However, when compared against the actual amount I would get from an ATM for the £600 I wanted to change, the results were frankly shocking!

Roughly, I could get 42,000BAHT from an ATM for £600 with my Nationwide Card.

The amounts I would get with the other 3 for the same £600 meant there were hidden charges (in their poor exchange rate) of between £25 and £77!!!!!!

WHAT A RIP OFF! I am not overly surprised about maybe Thomas Cook, or even M&S, but the Post Office?? Crooks!

Was I really that naive?

I hate to think how much I lost when I went to Thomas Cook with £2000 before my last trip to Thailand.

I am now off to send a love letter to Nationwide.

Phil

Well Done...another convert...

Over the years i have worked out that the other Mafia companies ...(Banks is too polite a word for them) rip you off @between £6 and £15 per £100 on these nasty wee exchange rates and like the 5 bt buses in Patti ...so many people dont actuallly seem to mind it......all cowboy millionaires... like paying double...

There should be a BIG sign at the Airport saying......never mind prob.cant read anyway....

....MPR....

Just checked OANDA.....going back OOP again......

Monday, June 26, 2006

1 British Pound = 70.17094 Thai Baht

1 Thai Baht (THB) = 0.01425 British Pound (GBP)

Median price = 69.58689 / 70.17094 (bid/ask)

[Guest endure]

Well,

I'm arriving in Chaing Mai Sunday night, and thought I would shop around the "commission free" foreign exchange places for the best rate. I thought they would vary by a few points here or there, but generally be 70-point-something to the £.

I already have a Nationwide Flex Account that charges pretty much the actual exchange rate with no hidden extra for ATM withdrawels. I just wanted the cash to pay my room up front at the Viangbua Mansions upon arrival. As I am limited per day on ATM withdrawels, I thought I'd head to the high street exchanges!

I checked 3. M&S, POST OFFICE & Thomas Cook.

You must NEVER NEVER NEVER buy large amounts of foreign currency in the UK. You'll find that even if you buy Baht from Nationwide you'll only get 63.25 to the £ today. If you buy foreign currency in the UK (or in any country for that matter) you are introducing another layer of business that needs to make a profit.

If you're willing to pick your money up at the airport you can buy online from Travelex (https://www.travelex.co.uk/personal/moneynet.asp?content=mn) who will give you 67bt today.

If you ever transfer money into Thailand from the UK you must ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS insist that he transfer is done in sterling NOT Baht otherwise you'll be getting 63 instead of 70 again. If you want some sterling Traveller's Cheques Nationwide do the best deal. They only charge £3.50 for Special Delivery.

[mallmagician]

Regardless of Travelex or even nationwide the best deal is Nationwide account in the UK with your money in it! No fees, no hidden extras, just pure actual exchange. The order you can do on Nationwides site is different, they use Travelex for that, so is not related to their FlexAccount rate.

Take it from me, if you have UK Sterling, stick it in a Nationwide Flex Account, and use it from the ATM!! SOoooooo much cheaper.

Thanks for all the tips though. You are all right in your own ways. Some ways are cheaper than others, but I firmly believe the FlexAccount is a godsend to all of us!!

Dear Nationwide,

I love you so much,

My past girlfriends have been so hard on my wallet,

But you,

Oh you Nationwide,

Are the saviour of money, exchange, and relations with banks.

Nationwide, I love you!

I'm not as mad as you all think!!! Phil

[dob310870]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

[SamSipEt]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

Try asking how much your UK bank charges to transfer money to Thailand. You will probably find that it is fixed amount so if you transfer 100 or 10,000 the charge remains the same. As mentioned in a previous post only ever send Sterling (but ask what the exchnage rate is just out of interest). Should take less than a week and no risk of carrying large amounts of cash about.

[Rinrada]

Hows the old Viangbua going ?

We stayed there on last trip and although very comfy i thought it was a bit far out.

Queen V was about the nearest boozer (not counting the gay bars)just inside the walls at Chiang Puik.

Also no Pool but handy for the seven 11 opposite and seem to remember it has an ATM...

Bit of Info From Nationwide....

Question..

How do I transfer money from Nationwide to another account using a SWIFT payment (Overseas Transfer)?

Answer

You will need to complete a SWIFT (Overseas Transfer) payment form which you can find on the Internet Bank. You will need to print out the form, complete it and post it to us. The address is automatically printed on the form for you.

To print the form:

Sign On to the Internet Bank

Select your FlexAccount to transfer the money

Select other services

Select Transfer Overseas using SWIFT under the heading Financial Transactions.

The funds will be received in the beneficiary account so please ensure all the receiving bank details are complete.

Charges

Charges Funds to clear ..SWIFT £20 Up to 5 working days

Rates

Nationwide uses an Agent Bank to process Outgoing SWIFT payments on our behalf. As part of this arrangement the Agent provides Nationwide with exchange rates on a daily basis to enable us to process currency payments.

The exchange rate given to us by our Agent is a commercial rate, which is set in the morning from the InterBank rate (national rate for financial institutions). These rates are fixed rates for the day up to a certain value, depending on the currency being sent.

If a currency being sent is over the stated value then our agent will provide us with another rate. This rate is obtained on the live market. The exchange rate could be higher or lower than the fixed rate depending on where the market is, at the time we buy the currency

and ...

today rates on OANDA....

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

1 British Pound = 69.98070 Thai Baht

1 Thai Baht (THB) = 0.01429 British Pound (GBP

[dob310870]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

Try asking how much your UK bank charges to transfer money to Thailand. You will probably find that it is fixed amount so if you transfer 100 or 10,000 the charge remains the same. As mentioned in a previous post only ever send Sterling (but ask what the exchnage rate is just out of interest). Should take less than a week and no risk of carrying large amounts of cash about.

Thanks SamSipEt, I have already asked my bank, it cost £20 to transfer money but can be unreliable and take quite a long time. I am not comfortable sending money out there without being there or being there and waiting for money to appear in my bank. Again, hypothetically, would I get the best deal if I just took GBP with me? Do they charge commission for pure cash exchanges?

[soap]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

Try asking how much your UK bank charges to transfer money to Thailand. You will probably find that it is fixed amount so if you transfer 100 or 10,000 the charge remains the same. As mentioned in a previous post only ever send Sterling (but ask what the exchnage rate is just out of interest). Should take less than a week and no risk of carrying large amounts of cash about.

i think you will find that the uk banks charge to transfer money into thailand

and the thai banks will also charge to deposit the money into your account.

if its five grand or under take a chance.

otherwise the only difference between thomas cook and dick turpin is

dick turpin had the decency to wear a mask

[dob310870]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

Try asking how much your UK bank charges to transfer money to Thailand. You will probably find that it is fixed amount so if you transfer 100 or 10,000 the charge remains the same. As mentioned in a previous post only ever send Sterling (but ask what the exchnage rate is just out of interest). Should take less than a week and no risk of carrying large amounts of cash about.

i think you will find that the uk banks charge to transfer money into thailand

and the thai banks will also charge to deposit the money into your account.

if its five grand or under take a chance.

otherwise the only difference between thomas cook and dick turpin is

dick turpin had the decency to wear a mask

Thanks. It will still cost less to take cash than to change money in the UK or take travellers cheques, am I right?

[Soju]

Here's a link to Bangkok Bank's currency exchange rates.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank/Pe...tes/default.htm

All banks have pretty much the same rates. Last time I checked, travelers cheques got the same rate as a wire transfer (TT), except that with travelers cheques they charge 30 baht per cheque, and for a wire transfer there is a fee, probably something like 1,000 Baht per transfer, though not exactly sure on the exact amount and whether it varies from bank to bank or customer to customer.

The rates you see are only offered during normal banking hours. After hours, the rates for cash go way down, but stay the same for travelers cheques, at least that's been my experience.

So you will need to calculate how much your bank charges you for travelers cheques, and how much they charge you to do a wire transfer, and decide which is best for you: cash, travelers cheques, or wire transfer. If the amount is substantial, almost certainly cash will be the worst choice unless your bank has very high fees for travelers cheques. Many people swear by their ATM cards, but I've not found them to be a good deal. You'll need to check precisely on that if you consider that route, but beware that often banks will mislead you as to what the exact exchange rate is on ATM cards.

Edit: Sorry, I just checked SCB's website at

https://www.scbbusiness.com/exchange/bk-txtexchange.htm

and the rate for travelers cheques is the same as the "export sight bill", not the same as for TT. It's still a much better rate though than cash.

Edited July 11, 2006 by Soju

[ThaiPauly]

When I transfer money to Thailand from my Offshore HSBC Account it is done in Baht.

I fax them the request after checking heir headline price that day.

They then call me and tell me the best rate they can do.

Sometimes it may be 2 baht less, and I say that is not acceptable..go back to your treasury department and ask again..they then normally come back with a better rate (between.5 and 1 baht more) and tell me exaxctly how much I will be receiving from the whole transction..and that is what arrives in my bank.

There is of course a 30GBP service charge, so I tend to do it in large lumps

TP

[SamSipEt]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

Try asking how much your UK bank charges to transfer money to Thailand. You will probably find that it is fixed amount so if you transfer 100 or 10,000 the charge remains the same. As mentioned in a previous post only ever send Sterling (but ask what the exchnage rate is just out of interest). Should take less than a week and no risk of carrying large amounts of cash about.

Thanks SamSipEt, I have already asked my bank, it cost £20 to transfer money but can be unreliable and take quite a long time. I am not comfortable sending money out there without being there or being there and waiting for money to appear in my bank. Again, hypothetically, would I get the best deal if I just took GBP with me? Do they charge commission for pure cash exchanges?

I would be wary of carrying large amounts of currency around with me for all of the obvious reasons. Have you considered just bringing some cash but leaving a completed transfer form with a friend to send to your bank when you ask them to do it? I've never had any problems sending money into my Thai bank account and it's taken between 30 hours and 4 days to arrive and is arranged by me simply telephoning my UK bank and requesting the transfer.

[dob310870]

I have a quick question about exchanging currency. Hypothetically, would it be better to take only sterling (good old GBP notes) into Thailand and exchange it in a bank? Would I get the daily exchange rate, without any commission? I have a Thai bank account to deposit my currency into immediately and a card to withdraw it at my leisure. I am arriving later in the year and want to know what is the best thing, financially, to do. The amount of money involved means that 3 or so Baht would make quite a difference. I know that there are risks with carrying a lot of cash but, if one is prepared to take a little risk, it means the difference between A/C and a fan cooled room.

Try asking how much your UK bank charges to transfer money to Thailand. You will probably find that it is fixed amount so if you transfer 100 or 10,000 the charge remains the same. As mentioned in a previous post only ever send Sterling (but ask what the exchnage rate is just out of interest). Should take less than a week and no risk of carrying large amounts of cash about.

Thanks SamSipEt, I have already asked my bank, it cost £20 to transfer money but can be unreliable and take quite a long time. I am not comfortable sending money out there without being there or being there and waiting for money to appear in my bank. Again, hypothetically, would I get the best deal if I just took GBP with me? Do they charge commission for pure cash exchanges?

I would be wary of carrying large amounts of currency around with me for all of the obvious reasons. Have you considered just bringing some cash but leaving a completed transfer form with a friend to send to your bank when you ask them to do it? I've never had any problems sending money into my Thai bank account and it's taken between 30 hours and 4 days to arrive and is arranged by me simply telephoning my UK bank and requesting the transfer.

Thanks all. I think that we may have gotten away from the original question. All I really want to know is: If I go into a bank in Thailand (where I have a bank account) with a £20 note, would I get more Baht for it than a £20 travellers cheque? I just want to know the difference between the two. I will probably do a transfer in the future, but I just wanted to know this. If there is anyone in Thailand at the moment, maybe they could answer the question for me. Thanks for all your help.

[Guest endure]

Thanks all. I think that we may have gotten away from the original question. All I really want to know is: If I go into a bank in Thailand (where I have a bank account) with a £20 note, would I get more Baht for it than a £20 travellers cheque? I just want to know the difference between the two. I will probably do a transfer in the future, but I just wanted to know this. If there is anyone in Thailand at the moment, maybe they could answer the question for me. Thanks for all your help.

Today's rates at Siam Commercial Bank are 69.405bt/£ for traveller's cheques and 68.8375bt/£ for notes. There's also a 30bt charge for traveller's cheques.

https://www.scbbusiness.com/exchange/bk-txtexchange.htm

[Charma]

I've always found the exchange rate for cash in Thailand to be far better than anything in the UK. In fact it is often not far off what I would get with a reasonably large transfer (purchase) from my bank account. This includes the counters at the airport and the auto-exchange machines. A good place to check the mid market rates is http://www.xe.com/ucc/. You can then compare all the options and work out which is best for you. I've heard some people are using paypal, which I have not tried yet. Would be interested to know of anyone's experience with it.