Worldfirst.Com vs Swift Transfer Of GBP To Thailand

[Jip99]

This subject has been done before but I wanted a back-up to my current method of transfer via HSBC. I signed up for World First so I could make some 'live' comparisons.

Today I instructed a transfer of £2,000 from HSBC and late this morning Kasikorn bank credited me with 103,301 Baht, representing a 'net' rate of 51.65

At the same time I logged into World First and was offered a rate 50.9913 - there would also have been Thai bank charges to be deducted.

[gamini]

I think you would have paid some commiision and bank rates if you send with World First. I always get GBP sent from my UK bank direct to my SCB

no commision and no charges

[geezer2]

I think you would have paid some commiision and bank rates if you send with World First. I always get GBP sent from my UK bank direct to my SCB

no commision and no charges

what bank do you use in the UK

[Surasak]

I think you would have paid some commiision and bank rates if you send with World First. I always get GBP sent from my UK bank direct to my SCB

no commision and no charges

what bank do you use in the UK

I would be interested to know the answer to that one as I am unaware of any bank or buikding society which does not make charges using SWIFT transfers.

[MW72]

I had a different experience. I tranferred £1,000 via the RBS to my Bangkok Bank account. I did the same with the Post Office and with World First. World First was by far the best. The worst was RBS. I received around THB 1,000 less than World First with the Post Office being around THB 500 less.

The more you transfer with World First the better the rate. It is worth mentioning that RBS charged me £20 for the transaction. PO and WF do not charge so I actually tranferred £1,020 through WF and PO to get an equal comparison.

[i claudius]

Just transfered cash from nationwide yesterday arrived this morning 51.65

[Bountyhuntr]

Just transfered cash from nationwide yesterday arrived this morning 51.65

fee?

[nudger]

Nationwide transfers

Be careful transferring from Nationwide, Fee is £20. Twice I have transferred from them to my Bangkok Bank Sterling account only to have my sterling converted to Baht by Nationwide's intermediary bank and then converted back again to Sterling

Cost me a lot of time discussing with Nationwide to get compensated

Edited October 7, 2014 by nudger

[Bountyhuntr]

I use to send with WU with no fees and a -1.5 thb less rate, which worked out cheaper than my bank.

Just checked WU now and it seems they charge a £4.90 fee, however if you send over £1000 you get 51.95 exchange rate - pretty decent.

EDIT: WU seemed to give you different rates on the method you pay.....

Edited October 7, 2014 by liamstevens111

[gamini]

I think you would have paid some commiision and bank rates if you send with World First. I always get GBP sent from my UK bank direct to my SCB

no commision and no charges

what bank do you use in the UK

Royal Westminster. When I said no charges I did not include the normal bank fee of GBP15 this is for any amount sent, There is no commissions and SBC Thailand doesnot charge anything

[Jaggg88]

Just transfered cash from nationwide yesterday arrived this morning 51.65

fee?

Its been a number of years since I transferred from Nationwide but the standard Swift charge was £20 - I expect it has increased since then. I called in HSBC (Manchester UK) to enquire about their new charges and was informed they now charge only £4 Swift transfer worldwide or free to another HSBC a/c. I bank with First Direct (part of HSBC) but they still charge £25 Swift worldwide but only £4 for Europe.

I transfer for free onto my Caxton FX Visa debit Card (upto £5000) and withdraw from ATMs. The max you can draw is £200 per day per card (I have 2 cards) but you are now stung with the ATM fees. The exchange rate is quite good - I got 51TBH last week - and the ATM fee is the only charge. Before Aeon ATMs started charging the whole process was free. You can load your card online or by text and you don't need a Thai bank account, so its a good short term solution.

[roblee100]

World First or GRP give you the best rates, World First to Bangkok bank there are no sending/ receiving fees (under 150k) and the rate is more generous the more you send (obviously.)

Royal Westminster must be a new bank...

[i claudius]

Just transfered cash from nationwide yesterday arrived this morning 51.65

fee?[/quote

20 pounds actually just checked got 51 84 to the pound

[Bountyhuntr]

Just transfered cash from nationwide yesterday arrived this morning 51.65

fee?[/quote

20 pounds actually just checked got 51 84 to the pound

Yeah better of using Western Union...save yourself £15.

Has anybody got experience of getting credit card payments out here? Western Union only give 51 for using credit card, and for £1500 would lose 1500 baht, £30.

I'll look into world first

[Bountyhuntr]

World First is not good at all.

Exchange rate of 50.5 for £400 and 51 for £1400 and you're unable to make the payment with your credit card in UK.

Western Union charges £4.90 as of recently but can get an exchange rate of 52 with £1400 with no other fees. Works out a lot better with an extra 1300 baht

Edited October 8, 2014 by liamstevens111

[meatboy]

I think you would have paid some commiision and bank rates if you send with World First. I always get GBP sent from my UK bank direct to my SCB

no commision and no charges

what bank do you use in the UK

Royal Westminster. When I said no charges I did not include the normal bank fee of GBP15 this is for any amount sent, There is no commissions and SBC Thailand doesnot charge anything

how do you know that scb bank doesnt charge anything.

[meatboy]

this is for jip99.

6oct.you trans.2,000gbp.via hsbc-kasikorn bank and recieved a rate of 51.65.

so kasikorn must have taken arround 200bht.for service.which is never showed in your pass book.

on the 6th.oct over 4 rounds at kasikorn bank the TT.rates were as follows.this is how i check unless i get a call from the bank.

round one =51.72.

round two =51.80.

round three=51.84.

round four = 51.85.

but still they used one of the two lowest rates for that day.i know its not much but the difference helps to pay your trans.

for me its a big diff.as i only trans.my yearly exs.once a yr.and yes it did happen to me,i got the lowest rate of the day,so unless you ask for a record of the time it arived at your bank in thailand they can do what they want.

and what did i do.closed my acc.

[meatboy]

I had a different experience. I tranferred £1,000 via the RBS to my Bangkok Bank account. I did the same with the Post Office and with World First. World First was by far the best. The worst was RBS. I received around THB 1,000 less than World First with the Post Office being around THB 500 less.

The more you transfer with World First the better the rate. It is worth mentioning that RBS charged me £20 for the transaction. PO and WF do not charge so I actually tranferred £1,020 through WF and PO to get an equal comparison.

i am baffled by your comparison,i have trans.with rbs.for 20yrs.and always send sterling and recieve TTrate.

as you say world-first gave you a better rate and dont charge,reminds me of the indian co.that did this and went bust with a lot of people loosing their money.

today i checked the TT rate scb.bank and world first and found world first were in fact 30satang more.which leeds me to think how can they do it,as offshore rate cannot beat onshore rate in thailand anymore.

[The Fat Controller]

I phoned Worldfirst last week to get their actual rate so I could compare with a Nationwide SWIFT transfer in Sterling to a SCB account.

I need to transfer £40,000 in the next few weeks, so this is the amount they quoted for.

The difference between the WF rate and the SCB TT rate was 0.09, in favour of SCB

Therefore I would receive 3600 more (before fees) using NW/SWIFT/SCB

Fees would be 500 Baht at SCB and £20 (1050 baht or so) from NW

NB. Just about all Thai banks charge fees for incoming SWIFT transfers, normally 0.25% (Min 200, Max 500 Baht)

Better off by 2050 Baht using SWIFT !

Worldfirst have subsequently phoned me back and offered to try and match the SCB TT rate when I am ready to make the transfer,so we shall see what transpires next week.

PS The Worldfirst rate is NOT shown on their website, that is just the mid-market interbank rate, you MUST phone to get their exact spot rate, be careful about that folks.

Edited October 9, 2014 by The Fat Controller

[meatboy]

I phoned Worldfirst last week to get their actual rate so I could compare with a Nationwide SWIFT transfer in Sterling to a SCB account.

I need to transfer £40,000 in the next few weeks, so this is the amount they quoted for.

The difference between the WF rate and the SCB TT rate was 0.09, in favour of SCB

Therefore I would receive 3600 more (before fees) using NW/SWIFT/SCB

Fees would be 500 Baht at SCB and £20 (1050 baht or so) from NW

NB. Just about all Thai banks charge fees for incoming SWIFT transfers, normally 0.25% (Min 200, Max 500 Baht)

Better off by 2050 Baht using SWIFT !

Worldfirst have subsequently phoned me back and offered to try and match the SCB TT rate when I am ready to make the transfer,so we shall see what transpires next week.

PS The Worldfirst rate is NOT shown on their website, that is just the mid-market interbank rate, you MUST phone to get their exact spot rate, be careful about that folks.

i use scb bank for my once a yr.tranfers,transfering 40k.gbp.you should get a call when it arrives here and they will offer you a better rate than TT.so if its a next day trans keep your eye on the rate.we had 16 and 12 satang better twice.

[The Fat Controller]

Once Worldfirst have your number, expect a few calls, they just called me.

For comparison, at the time of the call

WF website interbank midpoint rate (the only one you can see there) 52.517

Rate quoted on the phone 52.05

SCB TT Rate 52.09625 (which went to 52.19625 3 minutes after the call)

[Jip99]

this is for jip99.

6oct.you trans.2,000gbp.via hsbc-kasikorn bank and recieved a rate of 51.65.

so kasikorn must have taken arround 200bht.for service.which is never showed in your pass book.

on the 6th.oct over 4 rounds at kasikorn bank the TT.rates were as follows.this is how i check unless i get a call from the bank.

round one =51.72.

round two =51.80.

round three=51.84.

round four = 51.85.

but still they used one of the two lowest rates for that day.i know its not much but the difference helps to pay your trans.

for me its a big diff.as i only trans.my yearly exs.once a yr.and yes it did happen to me,i got the lowest rate of the day,so unless you ask for a record of the time it arived at your bank in thailand they can do what they want.

and what did i do.closed my acc.

I instructed the transfer at 07.30 Thai time, it arrived just before Midday. Well, to be more accurate, it hit my account just before Midday because I receive a sms message when the funds are credited.

Kasikorn are not stupid, I am pretty certain that I would get the lowest rate of the day SO FAR when my funds come in. KBank charge 0.25% (max 500 Baht) + 0.1% + 20 Baht to transfer from Bangkok.

When I transferred via Halifax Bank (£9.50) it took 3 days and I also picked up a correspondent bank charge of approx 500 Baht.

By coincidence I am transferring £2,000 tomorrow. World First have given me a rate of 52 so I have agreed to give them a try. It gives me a chance to see exactly how long it takes and exactly what charges KBank take for this 'clean inward payment'.

[meatboy]

this is for jip99.

6oct.you trans.2,000gbp.via hsbc-kasikorn bank and recieved a rate of 51.65.

so kasikorn must have taken arround 200bht.for service.which is never showed in your pass book.

on the 6th.oct over 4 rounds at kasikorn bank the TT.rates were as follows.this is how i check unless i get a call from the bank.

round one =51.72.

round two =51.80.

round three=51.84.

round four = 51.85.

but still they used one of the two lowest rates for that day.i know its not much but the difference helps to pay your trans.

for me its a big diff.as i only trans.my yearly exs.once a yr.and yes it did happen to me,i got the lowest rate of the day,so unless you ask for a record of the time it arived at your bank in thailand they can do what they want.

and what did i do.closed my acc.

I instructed the transfer at 07.30 Thai time, it arrived just before Midday. Well, to be more accurate, it hit my account just before Midday because I receive a sms message when the funds are credited.

Kasikorn are not stupid, I am pretty certain that I would get the lowest rate of the day SO FAR when my funds come in. KBank charge 0.25% (max 500 Baht) + 0.1% + 20 Baht to transfer from Bangkok.

When I transferred via Halifax Bank (£9.50) it took 3 days and I also picked up a correspondent bank charge of approx 500 Baht.

By coincidence I am transferring £2,000 tomorrow. World First have given me a rate of 52 so I have agreed to give them a try. It gives me a chance to see exactly how long it takes and exactly what charges KBank take for this 'clean inward payment'.

i dont understand those bank charges by kasikorn,scb and bkkb have only ever taken a charge of 200bht-500bht.

when its been a large amount they always tell me the rate and that is what i get.

you have been offered a rate of 52,did you check the tt.rate on offer.

for over 3yrs.i used to send large amounts[house purchase] through a currency dealer,but 2yrs.ago the rate was arround 50-75satang less than TT rate,they explained that they cannot beat onshore rates.how i found this out was the wife sold a property in the uk.and wanted the money trans.to thailand even being over 100k.gbp i couldnt get a rate nowhere near the onshore rate.but as you are only trans.a small amount the diff.might only be 1-2k.bht less than thai rate.

oh do you check the rates of other banks,i am lucky we have a mall where all the banks are together so its easy only takes 5minutes to check rates.over the past i have found bkkb.are the best for cash,and scb.for sterling trans.TT.rate.

[meatboy]

jip99 says he done the transaction at 07.30 thai time and it arrived in my bank acc.before miday.

that is fantastic how did they do it,07.30 is 1.30 am.in the uk.and miday is 6am.yet they [worldfirst] dont open till 8am and close 10pm.

[The Fat Controller]

Wife called SCB yesterday to tell them a transfer was coming and they agreed to hold the funds before making the conversion to THB and to call her when it arrived.

I submitted the Nationwide SWIFT form at 1600 yesterday.

She got a call from SCB around 1500 Thai time today, the TT rate was 51.80125, she asked for the best rate they could do as she has been a customer for a very long time, they improved it a little to 51.83

Just looked at today's SCB TT Rates, Best = 51.8175 Worst = 51.55125

So, just by asking she achieved a rate better than it had been all day.

Also, as the transfer was over the equivalent of US$ 50,000 she had to go into her branch to sign a foreign exchange transfer form.

[meatboy]

Wife called SCB yesterday to tell them a transfer was coming and they agreed to hold the funds before making the conversion to THB and to call her when it arrived.

I submitted the Nationwide SWIFT form at 1600 yesterday.

She got a call from SCB around 1500 Thai time today, the TT rate was 51.80125, she asked for the best rate they could do as she has been a customer for a very long time, they improved it a little to 51.83

Just looked at today's SCB TT Rates, Best = 51.8175 Worst = 51.55125

So, just by asking she achieved a rate better than it had been all day.

Also, as the transfer was over the equivalent of US$ 50,000 she had to go into her branch to sign a foreign exchange transfer form.

well done F.C.every little helps,and scb.certainly DOOOOOOOOOO.

make sure you keep that form safe.