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Transferwise Now Available For Baht Transactions


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Looks good to me. $US to Baht, 1% of dollar amount. Exchange rate looks like changing physical dollar rate. So, it looks a bit better than the Bangkok Bank international transfer service. I just tried it and now I'm waiting to see if I will get any incoming bank fees. Looks good for UK people.

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I use Transferwise a lot for receiving small payments from the Eurozone and elsewhere in the UK. It works well and is cheap. It looks like a good option for smaller transfers to here also. For larger transfers to here I would stick with my bank which makes no charge for SWIFT payments.

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Looks good to me. $US to Baht fee is 1% of dollar amount. Exchange rate looks like the same as the physical dollar rate. So, it looks a bit better than the Bangkok Bank international transfer service. I just tried it and now I'm waiting to see if I will get any incoming bank fees. Looks good for UK people.

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I checked with them online to transfer $3000 from U.S.. to Thailand bank account.Exchange rate was slightly better than BB, fee was quoted at $30.Would take up to 6 days to be received at my bank. I passed...

Lefty

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I checked with them online to transfer $3000 from U.S.. to Thailand bank account.Exchange rate was slightly better than BB, fee was quoted at $30.Would take up to 6 days to be received at my bank. I passed...

Lefty...

Below is a cut and paste from their web page regarding transfer from the U.S with 1% being the fee most folks would probably experience for most common amounts. And below weblink provides the details of transfers from the U.S. And don't forget you still have the Thai bank currency receiving fee in the Bt200 to Bt500 ballpark to add on.

https://transferwise.com/support/customer/portal/articles/1663578-sending-money-from-the-usa

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Regarding Travelwise's exchange rate they say it's the mid-market rate...sometimes referred to as the spot rate or even the interbank rate. Hopefully they are telling the complete truth on that and not selecting some mid-market rate source that is different from ones like XE.com quote. Looking at the mid-market rate at this time on XE.com the baht/USD rate is 32.83. And looking at the "average" Thai bank TT Buying Rate it's 32.76. These two rates are very close...it's basically going to boil down to associated fee impact.

Sending $2,000 via Travelwise using their exchange rate of 32.83 gets you Bt65,660 arriving the Thai bank inbox. Cost $20 plus the Thai bank receiving fee of Bt200 (approx $6) so a person would have total fees of $26. The Thai bank subtracts the Bt200 fee before posting to your account so you end up with Bt65,460. But let's compensate for that $20 sending fee by subtracting Bt656 (using mid market rate) which effectively gives Bt64,804 considering fee impact.

Sending $2,000 via Bangkok Bank New York via ACH to your Bangkok Bank account using the Thai bank average interchange rate of 32.76 (Bangkok Bank rate may be a little better or worst than the average rate) and considering the Bangkok Bank NY branch slices off $5 of the $2,000 flowing them this results in $1,995 arriving your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank before final Bt200 receiving fee...with that fee application and posting you end up with Bt65,156 with all fees considered.

So, if you are a U.S. person and have a Bangkok Bank account then using the ACH transfer method via routing thru their NY branch is a better deal by Bt352 (approaching $11 better)...and the typical total transfer time is 2 to 4 business days. Most U.S. banks do not charge an ACH sending fee so you shouldn't see any additive fees...some banks like Bank of America do charge a $3 ACH sending fee for a 3 business day transfer.

Now if you don't have a Bankgok Bank account but use another Thai bank this means your U.S. sending bank must use a pricey SWIFT transfer since Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability. Then depending on your bank's SWIFT sending fee (average U.S. SWIFT fee is approx $35) Travelwise could be a better deal...you would need to price it out as everybody has different home country banks with different fees and people have different Thai banks with their fees (but that Thai bank fee should just be in the Bt200 to Bt500 ballpark).

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I checked with them online to transfer $3000 from U.S.. to Thailand bank account.Exchange rate was slightly better than BB, fee was quoted at $30.Would take up to 6 days to be received at my bank. I passed...

Lefty...

Below is a cut and paste from their web page regarding transfer from the U.S with 1% being the fee most folks would probably experience for most common amounts. And below weblink provides the details of transfers from the U.S. And don't forget you still have the Thai bank currency receiving fee in the Bt200 to Bt500 ballpark to add on.

Anyone sending funds from the UK or the Eurozone to Thailand via Transferwise would not be subject to those extra charges. It should be just their standard 1% (with a minimum of 1EUR or 1GBP). The actual rate applied (before the charge) is very close to the interbank rate, and this can be checked on their website. The timescale from Europe is 4 working days (that may be a maximum).

So for most people in Europe Transferwise should beat their bank, though it will depend on the exact charge their bank makes for SWIFT transfers (mine makes no charge).

Transferwise cant be blamed for the strange practices of US banks.

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I checked with them online to transfer $3000 from U.S.. to Thailand bank account.Exchange rate was slightly better than BB, fee was quoted at $30.Would take up to 6 days to be received at my bank. I passed...

Lefty...

Below is a cut and paste from their web page regarding transfer from the U.S with 1% being the fee most folks would probably experience for most common amounts. And below weblink provides the details of transfers from the U.S. And don't forget you still have the Thai bank currency receiving fee in the Bt200 to Bt500 ballpark to add on.

Anyone sending funds from the UK or the Eurozone to Thailand via Transferwise would not be subject to those extra charges. It should be just their standard 1% (with a minimum of 1EUR or 1GBP). The actual rate applied (before the charge) is very close to the interbank rate, and this can be checked on their website. The timescale from Europe is 4 working days (that may be a maximum).

So for most people in Europe Transferwise should beat their bank, though it will depend on the exact charge their bank makes for SWIFT transfers (mine makes no charge).

Transferwise cant be blamed for the strange practices of US banks.

Not sure what you mean by additional charges unless you are talking the Thai bank receiving fee of Bt200-500 or just additional costs Transferwise experiences with transfers from the US. But if talking the Thai bank receiving fee and if a person does incur that fee with a Transferwise transfer that fee would not be reflected on a person's Thai bank account because the Thai bank applies that fee before posting to your account which can make it look like no fee was applied. Would also make the Transferwise exchange rate effectively a little lower from what its website said you got....but the same applies for a typical international transfer from a foreign bank.

Now, if Transferwise is sending the funds to an account it owns in Thailand and then doing a domestic transfer from that account to a person's Thai bank account to complete the transfer then there would not be any Thai bank receiving fee. However, at the same time the Transferwise talks about an additional 6GBP/6EUR charge on top of the 0.5% fee if they must use SWIFT. I'm just not sure from the Transferwise web site exactly how the complete transfer cycle is handled for Thai baht.

And actually the Transferwise basic fee for sending from EURO or GBP is 0.5% vs 1% if I understand the Transferwise website correclty...they are using a different pricing model for the U.S. Expect they are incurring some additional costs in the U.S. to get the money sent out like probably having to use/pay a correspondent/intermediary bank...hard telling. And as mentioned earlier there may be an additional 6GBP/6EUR fee on top of the 0.5% if Transferwise must use SWIFT to get the transfer from the European area to Thailand. They don't seem to mention such an additional fee for transfers from the U.S....maybe that fee is why a 1% fee applies for the U.S. vs 0.5% for the European area.

See below snapshots on Transferwise pricing for transfers from the European part of the world. And yea, Transferwise appears to be a better deal than transferring from most European banks when fees and exchange rate is fully considered...and much, much better if someone was letting their Sending bank convert to baht before sending. But that 6GPB/6EUR additional fee on top of the 0.5% fee still may be part of the fee structure which would probably bring the true costs to around 1%.

A person just needs to "fully evaluate/priceout" all the fees to include those that may be hidden somewhat. So many times we see posts where people just quote the exchange rate they got but they don't address any or all associated fees, which as mentioned fees can be somewhat hidden sometimes fooling people somewhat on the total fee structure...sometimes folks just don't pickup on all fees as they get too engrossed in exchange rate and/or only one major fee that is very upfront. Preaching to the choir I know.

P.S. My previous post kept saying Travelwise versus Transferwise....don't know why I had Travelwise on the brain...I'll blame it on Chang beer.

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I use Moneycorps. They charge 8UKP per transfer. Transferwise say bank charges = 49.51 UKP. However Moneycorps will send 239,537 THB for 5K UKP (inc 8UKP). Transferwise will give you 246,354. Sounds good to me.

Please can you let me how this would work for the following.

My USD account is with HSBC in Jersey, am I correct that I would need to make a transfer from my HSBC account to Moneycorps or Transferwise account in the UK.

After Moneycorps or Transferwise receive the funds they will change to Thai Baht and then send to my Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.

This would mean I will need to pay 3 charges ?

1. Transfer fee from HSBC Jersey to Moneycorps or Transferwise

2. Transfer fee from Moneycorps to Thailand (Bangkok Bank)

3. Charges by Bangkok Bank

At present HSBC Jersey charge me $50 for a TT to my Thai account. I have the money sent in USD and is converted by Bangkok Bank. The exchange rate shown by Moneycorps & Transferwise seems so be a lot higher than the rate given by Bangkok Bank

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Not sure what you mean by additional charges unless you are talking the Thai bank receiving fee of Bt200-500 or just additional costs Transferwise experiences with transfers from the US. But if talking the Thai bank receiving fee and if a person does incur that fee with a Transferwise transfer that fee would not be reflected on a person's Thai bank account because the Thai bank applies that fee before posting to your account which can make it look like no fee was applied. Would also make the Transferwise exchange rate effectively a little lower from what its website said you got....but the same applies for a typical international transfer from a foreign bank.

Now, if Transferwise is sending the funds to an account it owns in Thailand and then doing a domestic transfer from that account to a person's Thai bank account to complete the transfer then there would not be any Thai bank receiving fee. However, at the same time the Transferwise talks about an additional 6GBP/6EUR charge on top of the 0.5% fee if they must use SWIFT. I'm just not sure from the Transferwise web site exactly how the complete transfer cycle is handled for Thai baht.

And actually the Transferwise basic fee for sending from EURO or GBP is 0.5% vs 1% if I understand the Transferwise website correclty...they are using a different pricing model for the U.S. Expect they are incurring some additional costs in the U.S. to get the money sent out like probably having to use/pay a correspondent/intermediary bank...hard telling. And as mentioned earlier there may be an additional 6GBP/6EUR fee on top of the 0.5% if Transferwise must use SWIFT to get the transfer from the European area to Thailand. They don't seem to mention such an additional fee for transfers from the U.S....maybe that fee is why a 1% fee applies for the U.S. vs 0.5% for the European area.

As far as I know transfers from Europe to here are converted to THB by Transferwise, and so no receiving fee should be applicable. I must remember to test this on a small transfer at some point, just to find out.

The only fee that Transferwise apply to transfers I have received in Europe was their standard 1%. They do have a minimum charge of 1 EUR or 1 GBP though, for transfers below 100EUR or 100GBP. Even so it's very good value compared to the likes of PayPal for example, who charge recipient fees (if you withdraw cash) and international fees as well as applying a poor exchange rate.

I think someone did once send me a small GBP payment via Transferwise using their US debit card for payment, and as far as I know neither they nor I paid Transferwise any fees for this (apart from the standard 1%).

Transfers from the US do seem to attract a lot more fees, which vary according to the system used, and this all seems to be down to the complexity of the US banking system.

Transferwise certainly gets my vote for small amounts and would probably get it also for larger amounts if my bank didnt do SWIFT transfers for free.

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I use Moneycorps. They charge 8UKP per transfer. Transferwise say bank charges = 49.51 UKP. However Moneycorps will send 239,537 THB for 5K UKP (inc 8UKP). Transferwise will give you 246,354. Sounds good to me.

Please can you let me how this would work for the following.

My USD account is with HSBC in Jersey, am I correct that I would need to make a transfer from my HSBC account to Moneycorps or Transferwise account in the UK.

After Moneycorps or Transferwise receive the funds they will change to Thai Baht and then send to my Bangkok Bank account in Thailand.

This would mean I will need to pay 3 charges ?

1. Transfer fee from HSBC Jersey to Moneycorps or Transferwise

2. Transfer fee from Moneycorps to Thailand (Bangkok Bank)

3. Charges by Bangkok Bank

At present HSBC Jersey charge me $50 for a TT to my Thai account. I have the money sent in USD and is converted by Bangkok Bank. The exchange rate shown by Moneycorps & Transferwise seems so be a lot higher than the rate given by Bangkok Bank

I transfer my money from RBoS to Moneycorp - no charge. I pay 8 UKP to transfer baht to my BKK bank account. There is no other charge as the transfer is in baht & becomes merely a deposit. The difference is in rates; Transferwise are giving me 7000 baht more after they've taken their 1%. After reading about it here I decided to go with them rather than my usual Moneycorp. I found the signing on quick & easy by uploading passport copy + proof of address. I am scheduled to receive my money on Thursday.

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As far as I know transfers from Europe to here are converted to THB by Transferwise, and so no receiving fee should be applicable. I must remember to test this on a small transfer at some point, just to find out.

As far as I know, the typical Thai bank 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500) for an incoming international transfer is a funds receipt fee, which means it applies whether the currency arrives as a foreign currency or already converted to baht. I've seen some banks describe it as a "funds receipt and/or conversion fee," which means the fee gets applied whether they have to convert the funds or not...just receiving the funds triggers the fee.

Below is how Bangkok Bank describes the fee and note how they say "receive an overseas funds transfer" which just means "funds" of any variety...USD, GBP, EUR, or even THB. And in the fee description it makes note that this fee will be applied before posting to your account which means no fee is reflected on your account which can fool a person into thinking no fee was applied but it most indeed was. Also creates confusion for the sender because he can't get the exchange rate quoted to him by the sending bank/transfer company to match the conversion rate his receiving math gives him...seems to be a couple hundred baht worth of exchange rate missing somewhere.

And the Thai bank would also like to do the funds conversion for you because they'll make a little through their exchange rate spread plus the receiving fee already discussed. But if the funds arrive in THB already they still get the receiving fee. Thai banks just don't receive international transfers for free.

Now if a funds transfer company like Transferwise actually sends the money to their own Thai bank account and then does a domestic transfer to complete the transfer then above Bt200-500 fee would not apply, but I expect the funds transfer company has already worked that into their pricing.

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Edited by Pib
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Now if a funds transfer company like Transferwise actually sends the money to their own Thai bank account and then does a domestic transfer to complete the transfer then above Bt200-500 fee would not apply, but I expect the funds transfer company has already worked that into their pricing.

I understood their system to work that way, hence my comment. It isn't exactly clear on their website.

Probably the only way to know for certain will be to try it, and perhaps mikebell will report back when he has received his transfer?

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As far as I know transfers from Europe to here are converted to THB by Transferwise, and so no receiving fee should be applicable. I must remember to test this on a small transfer at some point, just to find out.

As far as I know, the typical Thai bank 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500) for an incoming international transfer is a funds receipt fee, which means it applies whether the currency arrives as a foreign currency or already converted to baht. I've seen some banks describe it as a "funds receipt and/or conversion fee," which means the fee gets applied whether they have to convert the funds or not...just receiving the funds triggers the fee.

Below is how Bangkok Bank describes the fee and note how they say "receive an overseas funds transfer" which just means "funds" of any variety...USD, GBP, EUR, or even THB. And in the fee description it makes note that this fee will be applied before posting to your account which means no fee is reflected on your account which can fool a person into thinking no fee was applied but it most indeed was. Also creates confusion for the sender because he can't get the exchange rate quoted to him by the sending bank/transfer company to match the conversion rate his receiving math gives him...seems to be a couple hundred baht worth of exchange rate missing somewhere.

And the Thai bank would also like to do the funds conversion for you because they'll make a little through their exchange rate spread plus the receiving fee already discussed. But if the funds arrive in THB already they still get the receiving fee. Thai banks just don't receive international transfers for free.

Now if a funds transfer company like Transferwise actually sends the money to their own Thai bank account and then does a domestic transfer to complete the transfer then above Bt200-500 fee would not apply, but I expect the funds transfer company has already worked that into their pricing.

attachicon.gifCapture.JPG

It states on their website that Thai baht transfers are local transfers, so no receiving fee.

https://transferwise.com/support/customer/en/portal/articles/1569835

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Now if a funds transfer company like Transferwise actually sends the money to their own Thai bank account and then does a domestic transfer to complete the transfer then above Bt200-500 fee would not apply, but I expect the funds transfer company has already worked that into their pricing.

I understood their system to work that way, hence my comment. It isn't exactly clear on their website.

Probably the only way to know for certain will be to try it, and perhaps mikebell will report back when he has received his transfer?

The World waits with bated breath. Just got an email from Transferwise to say they've received my 5K UKP (sent last night) & I should have my money by Wednesday by noon GMT. They quote 246,045.16 as the likely sum. When it's in, I will check if there's any BKK fee & spread the word. For the same transfer (4992 + 8 UKP fee) Moneycorp are saying 241,246.89.

I get 4798.28 more with Transferwise.

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It states on their website that Thai baht transfers are local transfers, so no receiving fee.

https://transferwise.com/support/customer/en/portal/articles/1569835

So it does. Didn't see that when I looked.

That makes it very suitable indeed for the sort of small transfers that are often very expensive to make (condo common fees etc.).

Edited by KittenKong
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Also made my first transfer from Switzerland to Thailand today about 11:30 local Swiss time. I was told I will get my money in my Thai bank this Thursday (like everyone who transferred today, I guess) at about 3 PM GMT. Will report back to this forum.

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Also made my first transfer from Switzerland to Thailand today about 11:30 local Swiss time. I was told I will get my money in my Thai bank this Thursday (like everyone who transferred today, I guess) at about 3 PM GMT. Will report back to this forum.

I received an email from Transferwise last night. They wrote to me:

Hello Dario,
I'm writing you regarding your recent payment to Thailand with TransferWise.
I am very sorry to announce you that unfortunately, due to a technical issue with our THB partner, we won't be able to proceed with the payment and we will have to cancel it.
Also, we'll have to temporarily close our service to Thailand, hopefully soon we will be able to support transfers to Thailand again, even though it'd be hard to give you a time frame just yet.
If you've sent the funds to us already, could you please get back via email to us providing us with your bank account from where the funds come from, so that we can refund the full amount back to you?
I'm terribly sorry for the hassle and please accept my deepest apologizes.
To make it up somehow we've added 3 payments up to 3,000 GBP (and equivalent in other currencies) on your TransferWise account. So that your next 3 payments up to that amount will be totally free of charge.
Once again, please accept my apologizes,
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Best regards
Raffaele Baccomo ⁞ TransferWise Customer Support
I checked on their website. THB on the receiving end has been removed. Sad news, hopefully not for long.
In the meantime, does anyone know of a good alternative?
Edited by Dario
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I am in the same boat as Dario. I received the exact same email. I am very concerned that they are asking me to send my banking details.

'If you've sent the funds to us already, could you please get back via email to us providing us with your bank account from where the funds come from, so that we can refund the full amount back to you?'

I am worried that I am being scammed and they've taken my 5000 pounds?

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I am worried that I am being scammed and they've taken my 5000 pounds?

I doubt it, as long as the email actually came from them.

As far as I can see they just want to be sure that they are returning your money to the right account, which seems normal.

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I am in the same boat as Dario. I received the exact same email. I am very concerned that they are asking me to send my banking details.

'If you've sent the funds to us already, could you please get back via email to us providing us with your bank account from where the funds come from, so that we can refund the full amount back to you?'

I am worried that I am being scammed and they've taken my 5000 pounds?

I wouldn't have any worries about being scammed. Yesterday after my transfer I had the same thoughts. But after doing enough research on the Internet about Transferwise I don't worry anymore. I sent them my bank details already and I'm sure in a day or two I'll have my money back.

The system which Transferwise employs is changing the way money is going to be moved around in the near future. It is a fantastic idea to get your pension from overseas into Thailand with practically no transfer cost. Once we'll be able to transfer money out of Thailand it'll be great for me. Money generated in the SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand) can be easily transferred to another country.

mikebell don't worry. You'll get your 5000 pounds back.

TW doesn't know if you have transferred the money already or not. In my case I have sent my transfer yesterday before the cut-off time of 12:00 midday. TW will receive my transfer only today. They already have my bank details, so if they make the return transfer today, I'll have my money back theoretically by tomorrow.

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Now if a funds transfer company like Transferwise actually sends the money to their own Thai bank account and then does a domestic transfer to complete the transfer then above Bt200-500 fee would not apply, but I expect the funds transfer company has already worked that into their pricing.

I understood their system to work that way, hence my comment. It isn't exactly clear on their website.

Probably the only way to know for certain will be to try it, and perhaps mikebell will report back when he has received his transfer?

The World waits with bated breath. Just got an email from Transferwise to say they've received my 5K UKP (sent last night) & I should have my money by Wednesday by noon GMT. They quote 246,045.16 as the likely sum. When it's in, I will check if there's any BKK fee & spread the word. For the same transfer (4992 + 8 UKP fee) Moneycorp are saying 241,246.89.

I get 4798.28 more with Transferwise.

Mike, now probably your best partner is https://azimo.com. Today, Tuesday January 13 at 09:19 they quote for 5'000 pounds 245'560.50 THB. Not bad at all, when you now can't do it with Transferwise.

Edited by Dario
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I am in the same boat as Dario. I received the exact same email. I am very concerned that they are asking me to send my banking details.

'If you've sent the funds to us already, could you please get back via email to us providing us with your bank account from where the funds come from, so that we can refund the full amount back to you?'

I am worried that I am being scammed and they've taken my 5000 pounds?

myself i wouldnt use anyone in the uk.who is not covered by THE FSA.THE FINANCIAL SERVICE AUTHORITY.

all i can find is that transferwise are governed by.FCA. FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY.

who are independant and are nothing to do with the uk.gov.

there is a referance from sir richard branson though, so lets hope you get your money back.

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Thanks, Dario for tip about 'azimo' - it looks better than my Moneycorp deal. I will wait to see if/when I get my money back from Transferwise.

There's another one: https://www.currencyfair.com/ regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. For a 1'500 CHF transfer to Thailand I would be deducted 10 CHF commission vs. 7.5 CHF with Transferwise. Plus transferwise waves my first fee. Pretty good! You might have a look at it. It might be that Azimo is better, but for me not possible to send CHF.

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Now if a funds transfer company like Transferwise actually sends the money to their own Thai bank account and then does a domestic transfer to complete the transfer then above Bt200-500 fee would not apply, but I expect the funds transfer company has already worked that into their pricing.

I understood their system to work that way, hence my comment. It isn't exactly clear on their website.

Probably the only way to know for certain will be to try it, and perhaps mikebell will report back when he has received his transfer?

The World waits with bated breath. Just got an email from Transferwise to say they've received my 5K UKP (sent last night) & I should have my money by Wednesday by noon GMT. They quote 246,045.16 as the likely sum. When it's in, I will check if there's any BKK fee & spread the word. For the same transfer (4992 + 8 UKP fee) Moneycorp are saying 241,246.89.

I get 4798.28 more with Transferwise.

Hey, CurrencyFair would send you right now 247,153.50 Baht NET. What are you waiting for? I'll go ahead with them, once my money is back from Transferwise.

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They are definitely cheaper for transferring larger amounts. If you send 10'000 GBP, all you get deducted is 7.00 GBP! Good deal I'd say!

Edited by Dario
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