Why Are You Even Here? The Surprising Attitudes of Some Expats in Thailand

[mja1906]

My sister in the U.S wants to transfer approx 16,000usd to our Kasikorn acc. It's to help with the downpayment of a house.

She is thinking of using forex.com as they have good rates, and fee free for transfers > 5k usd

Today I went to Kasikorn and asked how much the receiving fees would be . I didn't get a clear answer !

The bank lady said that, it depends - If the sender opts to pay for the transfer fees at the time of sending the $$, then I will not get charged any fees, however there maybe a slight loss, and this is due to rate differences.

However, I'm not necessarily convinced this is true

In the past, I've had people abroad send me smaller amounts (approx 10,000thb), I'm not sure if they opted to pay the fees or not, but around 200-500bt was always deducted. Sometimes, once the money hits Thailand, it goes through an intermediary bank then to Kasikorn (if the sending bank doesn't do direct dealings with Kasikorn)

So basically, Kasikorn can't tell me how much will be deducted from a 16k usd transfer in, she said to ask the sender/sending institution in USA. I doubt they will know either, I reckon they will say 'they can't tell what happens on the Thailand side'. So it's like going round in circles

Anyone have any experience about this? Or have used forex.com to send money to Thailand?

P.S I assume there are no legal incoming restrictions on transferring this kind of foreign currency into Thailand?

[Pib]

On the receiving end Thai banks charge 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) currency receipt/conversion fee. So purely on the Thai bank receiving end the worst case cost would be Bt500.

Now "do not" blame the Thai receiving bank for any sending fees your home country Sending bank and its intermediary/correspondent will charge. The receiving bank has absolutely no control or visibility over that...they can only tell you how much money arrived their inbox and the exchange rate they gave you for that amount "assuming" it arrives in a foreign currency...if it arrives already converted to baht by your sending/correspondent bank then the Thai bank only has the currency receipt fee to apply...no money conversion to do. Don't blame the receiving bank for a low exchange rate if allowing the Sending/western bank to convert the money...a western bank will give a lower exchange rate than a Thai bank. Be sure not to allow the Sending bank to convert to baht....let the Thai bank convert to baht.

A lot of people blame Thai banks for "missing money/high fees" or "low exchange rate" when the missing money is fees charged by the Sending/Intermediary bank and a lower exchange rate given by the Sending/Intermediary bank if allowing them to convert the currency. Maybe an analogy would be, Don't blame the mailman (Thai bank) for the lower than expect check amount delivered to your mailbox (Thai bank account).

[mja1906]

Please don't jump the gun. I'm not blaming Thai banks, I understand there are fees to be paid, I'm fine with this, I'm just trying to figure out beforehand how much those fees will be , so I can prepare accordingly. I think its a simple and fair request.

Are the fees fixed , or is it as a % of amount sent? Is there indeed a maximum rate of 500bt? If its only 500bt that is fine, but if its a % of 16,000usd then it's going to be more

I am just trying to figure out how much it will cost, so I can figure out, if forex.com will be cheaper than a usa bank/ swift transfer.

[Pib]

They first apply the 0.25% portion of the formula...it that 0.25% works out to less than Bt200 they charge the Bt200 min charge....if it's more than Bt500 they charge the Bt500 max charge....if it comes out to say Bt323 then that is the charge. Summary: the Thai bank currency receipt/conversion fee will be in the Bt200 to Bt500 range.

$16,000 say at Bt32/USD equals Bt512,000. 0.25% of Bt512,000 is Bt1,280 which is more than the Bt500 max charge; therefore the charge will be Bt500 (approx $16.63)

Any other money that appears to be missing (i.e., didn't arrive the Thai bank inbox) is fees sliced off by the Sending/Intermediary bank. Your Sending bank may not need to use an intermediary/correspondent bank...if so, their Sending fee plus the Thai bank receiving fee would be the total fees. Typically a Sending bank charges a SWIFT fee of around $20 to $50...that fee is charged separate from the amount sent. However, if they must use an intermediary/correspondent bank that bank may "slice-off" part of that $16K as it flows through them....let's say they slice-off $10...then $15,990 arrives the Thai bank for currency conversion. Be sure to send in U.S. dollars; don't let the sending bank do the conversion as you get a lower rate than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming transfers.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Pib

[Pib]

As FYI regarding the Thai bank currency receipt/conversion fee finding the fee on some Thai bank websites can be challenging, for some it's easy, for some you have to call. But the Bank of Thailand collects a variety of fee info from Thai banks and lists them on BOT webpages. At this BOT webpage you can see the currency receipt/conversion fees charged by "most" Thai banks....you'll see that 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) is used by most with a few opting for some flat fee in the Bt200 to Bt500 range. Google Translate is your friend at above webpage.

[gk10002000]

If not in a hurry, has anybody lately tried just depositing a check? Sure I expect two weeks or so for it to clear, but I wonder what the exchange rate or fees will be?

[Pib]

I've never cashed a personal check at a Thai bank, but from many other posts it will take 3 to 6 weeks to clear, a bank fee of approx Bt300/10USD will apply, and you'll get the sight bill/travelers cheque exchange rate which is 0.1 to 0.2baht/USD less than the TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Pib