Natwest, current A/C to Krungthai, savings A/C. (Chiang Mai branch)

[intel4004]

For people wanting to send money to Thailand by bank transfer (sometimes called a "wire transfer" or a "swift transfer" or a "telegraphic transfer"), in order to get the onshore rate, the money must be sent in foreign currency and converted "onshore". The best way to do that is to specify the "correspondent bank" details to the sending bank. The "correspondent bank" is an intermediary bank that sits between the sending bank and the receiving bank and the details comprise of 1. the bank name & address, 2. swift code and 3. the receiving bank's account number with the correspondent bank; and the details will be available from the receiving bank if you ask. If you don't specify the correspondent bank details, or if you are vague about whether you are sending baht or foreign currency, then the sending bank could easily convert it at the offshore rate (since they are located offshore from thailand) and send the baht to thailand. It is normal banking practice in the UK to do this.

I'm a bit unsure about all of this not having done a transfer before. I want to tranfer about £500 from a Natwest current account to my Krungthai savings account here. If I use an ATM I will incur the following charges:

• Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2, maximum £5), so £5 here
• Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction, and £13.75 here

Total charges £18.75 plus an uncompetitive exchange rate.

From reading above quoted post an alternative is to do a swift transfer in sterling to Thailand where it is converted to BHT. The bit below loses me, Some people say they haven't needed to specify the correspondent bank. Who are they? How do I find out their details?

The best way to do that is to specify the "correspondent bank" details to the sending bank. The "correspondent bank" is an intermediary bank that sits between the sending bank and the receiving bank

What charges am I likely to face doing a swift transfer and am I right in believing the exchange rate will be a lot more competitive than doing it the ATM way?

Will the exchange rate being the going Krungthai rate?

In the off chance someone from Chiang Mai is reading this can anyone suggest a branch of Krungthai I can go to where someone can converse in english as I've been to the shopping mall branches in Chiang Mai and they are not too comfortable speaking english.

Thanks

[draftvader]

Funny that. I've just been looking into this myself using either HSBC or Nationwide (didn't check Natwest). HSBC list a £4 fee for non-HSBC accounts but are not the most competitive with their exchange rates when making ATM withdrawals so I can't imagine them being good on international transfers. Nationwide, who have a history of competitive exchange rates, were straight up about a £20 fee for SWIFT transfers!!! Naturally this makes transfer at £500 and under counter-productive as they take 1-6 working days and, potentially, more expensive.

You did forget the B180 charged by the ATM here too for your ATM calculations!

I suspect that, after the hassle of setting it up and waiting, you may find that there is just a few £ in it at this volume. If you are getting into the £1000+ area and regularity then I guess that setting it up and timing your transactions for the delay will be worth your time.

[intel4004]

OMG just checked the fees on the Natest website:

NatWest fee £22.00 (for 2-4 business days)

Foreign bank handling fee £12.50

You will be debited £534.50

Sending STERLING GBP 500.00 Our current exchange rate 1.00 Pounds Sterling GBP = 1.0000000 STERLING GBP

Thats crazy ATM seems almost better better

[intel4004]

Funny that. I've just been looking into this myself using either HSBC or Nationwide (didn't check Natwest). HSBC list a £4 fee for non-HSBC accounts but are not the most competitive with their exchange rates when making ATM withdrawals so I can't imagine them being good on international transfers. Nationwide, who have a history of competitive exchange rates, were straight up about a £20 fee for SWIFT transfers!!! Naturally this makes transfer at £500 and under counter-productive as they take 1-6 working days and, potentially, more expensive.

You did forget the B180 charged by the ATM here too for your ATM calculations!

I suspect that, after the hassle of setting it up and waiting, you may find that there is just a few £ in it at this volume. If you are getting into the £1000+ area and regularity then I guess that setting it up and timing your transactions for the delay will be worth your time.

You are right, amounts of what I am sending and the hassle its simply not worth it just have to use my ATM card and bite the bullet grrrr!

[draftvader]

Funny that. I've just been looking into this myself using either HSBC or Nationwide (didn't check Natwest). HSBC list a £4 fee for non-HSBC accounts but are not the most competitive with their exchange rates when making ATM withdrawals so I can't imagine them being good on international transfers. Nationwide, who have a history of competitive exchange rates, were straight up about a £20 fee for SWIFT transfers!!! Naturally this makes transfer at £500 and under counter-productive as they take 1-6 working days and, potentially, more expensive.

You did forget the B180 charged by the ATM here too for your ATM calculations!

I suspect that, after the hassle of setting it up and waiting, you may find that there is just a few £ in it at this volume. If you are getting into the £1000+ area and regularity then I guess that setting it up and timing your transactions for the delay will be worth your time.

You are right, amounts of what I am sending and the hassle its simply not worth it just have to use my ATM card and bite the bullet grrrr!

Yes. I think that's the harsh truth. Luckily for us it is rare that we need to bring money in from abroad as we can live comfortably on my wife's wage on a month-month basis.

[intel4004]

I wonder Is it possible to use my UK debit visa to withdraw sterling here in thailand at my thai bank and if so I wonder what they charge for this.

My ATM fees are:

Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2, maximum £5)

Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction.

But my bank says:

If you elect for the transaction to be converted into Sterling at the point of sale or withdrawal, we will not charge a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee, however the transaction handler may charge you a separate fee.

Edited August 21, 2014 by intel4004

[draftvader]

I wonder Is it possible to use my UK debit visa to withdraw sterling here in thailand at my thai bank and if so I wonder what they charge for this.

My ATM fees are:

Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2, maximum £5)

Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction.

But my bank says:

If you elect for the transaction to be converted into Sterling at the point of sale or withdrawal, we will not charge a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee, however the transaction handler may charge you a separate fee.

As far as I understand you would still be withdrawing THB here but they would convert here at the local rate. It is then down to the differences between your bank's exchange rates and the local bank here. This will also though get you around the B180 ATM fee though.

[salavan]

Funny that. I've just been looking into this myself using either HSBC or Nationwide (didn't check Natwest). HSBC list a £4 fee for non-HSBC accounts but are not the most competitive with their exchange rates when making ATM withdrawals so I can't imagine them being good on international transfers. Nationwide, who have a history of competitive exchange rates, were straight up about a £20 fee for SWIFT transfers!!! Naturally this makes transfer at £500 and under counter-productive as they take 1-6 working days and, potentially, more expensive.

You did forget the B180 charged by the ATM here too for your ATM calculations!

I suspect that, after the hassle of setting it up and waiting, you may find that there is just a few £ in it at this volume. If you are getting into the £1000+ area and regularity then I guess that setting it up and timing your transactions for the delay will be worth your time.

be careful of nationwide they use a intermeditry correspoding bank which they dont tell you about, their charge is 20 pounds but the correspoding bank that they use will also charge you as well.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

The best to use for this kind of Transfer is Halifax Bank. They charge £9.50 via Online banking. The others are just terrible.

Get yourself a decent bank account for goodness sake.

Why people stick with these awful banks, goodness knows.

N&P BS Gold Classic(recommended) and Cumberland BS Plus have fee free debit cards.

Alternatively, get a Halifax Clarity and use that for your spending.

Keep up!

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I wonder Is it possible to use my UK debit visa to withdraw sterling here in thailand at my thai bank and if so I wonder what they charge for this.

My ATM fees are:

Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2, maximum £5)

Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction.

But my bank says:

If you elect for the transaction to be converted into Sterling at the point of sale or withdrawal, we will not charge a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee, however the transaction handler may charge you a separate fee.

As far as I understand you would still be withdrawing THB here but they would convert here at the local rate. It is then down to the differences between your bank's exchange rates and the local bank here. This will also though get you around the B180 ATM fee though.

What on earth....??!! This is just sillyness.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I wonder Is it possible to use my UK debit visa to withdraw sterling here in thailand at my thai bank and if so I wonder what they charge for this.

My ATM fees are:

Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2, maximum £5)

Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction.

But my bank says:

If you elect for the transaction to be converted into Sterling at the point of sale or withdrawal, we will not charge a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee, however the transaction handler may charge you a separate fee.

Of course not....what are you thinking?

What might happen it that you may be asked, at the ATM or POS if you would like to be billed in your home currency. Then the local bank will do the currency conversion at an equally poor rate(usually more than the 2.75% that your bank will charge) and then present the bill to your bank in Pounds. So your bank won't charge 2.75%, but the Thai bank will charge 3 to 4%. Your bank will still charge a Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2, maximum £5)

So forget about that idea. Just get a better bank account or a Halifax Clarity. Failing that, you can even get a Kalixa Pay Prepaid Mastercard.

Other options include Western Union online which can net you a half decent rate if you are transferring a relatively large amount. The catch is that for the first two transfers, you are limited as to the amount that you can send.

So it's best to do a couple of minimum transfers firstly. Then you can do transfers that will net you a higher rate, of say £1000.

There are many options open to you.

[Surasak]

Currently Nationwide charge £25.00 on a SWIFT transfer. They use HSBC as the intermediery bank with the total charge still being £25.00. However, be very careful because other charges have mysteriosly come at a later date and can be a further £20.00 Again, ONE month later another £20.00 has been known to be charged. Nationwide insist these extra charges are from the receiving bank, but when checking this, it is found not to be the case. I am refering here to a transfer from Nationwide to Bangkok Bank. The dispute is now in the hands of the UK Financial and Banking Ombudsman. Be warned!!!

[intel4004]

I ended up using my UK debit card in an ATM as all I wanted was about £600. Whatever method I used the fees were going to be about the same.

[draftvader]

Depressing when you think about it but with these instant transactions I guess the banks feel that they are losing their money making opportunities compared to the 3-5 days needed for international transfers. I just wish there was a bank that treated their customers with respect. At least my Thai banks (K Bank and SCB) have fairly logical and modular charges. They also won't allow me to go overdrawn...which was last true in England 20 years ago. Gotta love Zopa and Funding Circle for my savings...just wish somebody would make a 0 profit bank.

[personchester]

Depressing when you think about it but with these instant transactions I guess the banks feel that they are losing their money making opportunities compared to the 3-5 days needed for international transfers. I just wish there was a bank that treated their customers with respect. At least my Thai banks (K Bank and SCB) have fairly logical and modular charges. They also won't allow me to go overdrawn...which was last true in England 20 years ago. Gotta love Zopa and Funding Circle for my savings...just wish somebody would make a 0 profit bank.

When printing > K Bank < which bank are you referring to ...

K Bank could mean ... Krungthai Bank - (KTB) or Kasikorn Bank - (KASI) .

[draftvader]

Depressing when you think about it but with these instant transactions I guess the banks feel that they are losing their money making opportunities compared to the 3-5 days needed for international transfers. I just wish there was a bank that treated their customers with respect. At least my Thai banks (K Bank and SCB) have fairly logical and modular charges. They also won't allow me to go overdrawn...which was last true in England 20 years ago. Gotta love Zopa and Funding Circle for my savings...just wish somebody would make a 0 profit bank.

When printing > K Bank < which bank are you referring to ...

K Bank could mean ... Krungthai Bank - (KTB) or Kasikorn Bank - (KASI) .

Sorry, fair point. I believe that Kasikorn actually use K-Bank as part of their naming strategy. It is Kasikorn.

[sandmike]

2 thoughts to ponder ....

UKForex will transfer from UK to Thailand at a better baht rate than Bangkok bank, and charge £7.00 for a transfer up to £3,000, above that there is no charge. Setting up an account can be a bit of a pain, but I think it is worth the effort.

Bangkok Bank allows you to transfer from the UK to a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand by routing through their London branch and charge £20.00, you can elect to transfer in pounds or baht. You transfer from your UK bank to a Bangkok bank account in London (free transfer for me from RBS) which then routes your payment to your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand. Instructions are on the Bangkok bank website, and it worked perfectly for me.

Obviously the second option won't work for the OP, but just to let you know.

Hope this helps someone.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

2 thoughts to ponder ....

UKForex will transfer from UK to Thailand at a better baht rate than Bangkok bank, and charge £7.00 for a transfer up to £3,000, above that there is no charge. Setting up an account can be a bit of a pain, but I think it is worth the effort.

Bangkok Bank allows you to transfer from the UK to a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand by routing through their London branch and charge £20.00, you can elect to transfer in pounds or baht. You transfer from your UK bank to a Bangkok bank account in London (free transfer for me from RBS) which then routes your payment to your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand. Instructions are on the Bangkok bank website, and it worked perfectly for me.

Obviously the second option won't work for the OP, but just to let you know.

Hope this helps someone.

What is their current 'customer rate' for £1000?

[sandmike]

Jiu Jitsu

Current rates available from the respective websites ... select the TT rate for Bangkok Bank.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Jiu Jitsu

Current rates available from the respective websites ... select the TT rate for Bangkok Bank.

Don't make it up as you go along. UK Forex rates are here What have they to do with Bangkok Bank's TT rate? In most cases, UK Forex's rate is much less.

For £1000; UK Forex rate 50.7293 + £7. Bangkok Bank TT: 51.37750 Western Union: 50.97 after all fees.

UK Forex never quite hits the TT rate, no matter how much you transfer.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Jiu-Jitsu