Q: Transfer Money (high amount) into Thailand

[Swiss1960]

Situation: Am about to retire in few months and will transfer money to Thailand in excess of CHF50'000 / US$ 50'000. Reason is that in Thailand I can get interest on the money and what ever that interest currently is, it is more than zero which I will get in Switzerland. Now my questions to the specialists in this forum:

1) I read in earlier (older) threads that when talking with your Thai bank, you might get better exchange rates than T/T exchange rate. Is this still true, is it worth a try?

2) I read on other threads that for amounts higher than US$50'000, one has to fill out the " Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF)" for the transfer. Questions about that form:Do I need to fill it out with the bank BEFORE or AFTER the transfer?

3) Later on, I might (or might not) use part of the money for purchase of a Condo. I see on the form that the reason for transferring money to Thailand must be mentioned on the FETF section 4. Can I have multiple reasons there (i.e. "Purchase of Condo" and "Living Expenses" or would that have to be two different forms?

4) For the Condo part, do I need to already have a contract for the condo or can I just buy the condo later? Since of course, I do not yet know the price, that might prove a little tricky in the future, if I sent not enough money.

5) If I do NOT mention the Condo part but only "living expenses", can I still use the money sent later on for condo purchase, since the FETF shows that the money came from abroad'

Thank you in advance for your help.

[meatboy]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

[Swiss1960]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

Thank you very much. Yes, will most probably be in Thailand when I do the transfer and thus, I will go into the branch office and announce the transfer beforehand and discuss the rates.

[Dario]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Dario

[Naam]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

if you want a certificate for buying real estate you have to specify exactly what part of the amount is for that purpose and what part is for living expenses. best is to mention "purchase of real estate" which does not prevent that the money is used for any other purpose. this is also not only done verbally but the sending bank usually requires and mentions the purpose under "remarks".

swiss1960

there's also no requirement to fill out any form, neither for USD 50k nor for USD 250k.

note:

those who have transferred CHF and converted them into THB recently because they didn't get any interest on CHF are crying bitterly

let's hope you will not regret your decision in a few months. lifting the cap by the Swiss National Bank makes in my [not so] humble view CHF again a sought after commodity in the future.

[Naam]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

Thank you very much. Yes, will most probably be in Thailand when I do the transfer and thus, I will go into the branch office and announce the transfer beforehand and discuss the rates.

you can neither discuss or negotiate exchange rates in a branch office nor in the head office before the amount has actually arrived in Thailand.

[Dario]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

Thank you very much. Yes, will most probably be in Thailand when I do the transfer and thus, I will go into the branch office and announce the transfer beforehand and discuss the rates.

With CurrencyFair you are able to negotiate the rate, you can set the rate ou want. Once the rate you want is matched, the transfer goes trough. Good when you have time on yur side.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Dario

[Swiss1960]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

if you want a certificate for buying real estate you have to specify exactly what part of the amount is for that purpose and what part is for living expenses. best is to mention "purchase of real estate" which does not prevent that the money is used for any other purpose. this is also not only done verbally but the sending bank usually requires and mentions the purpose under "remarks".

swiss1960

there's also no requirement to fill out any form, neither for USD 50k nor for USD 250k.

note:

those who have transferred CHF and converted them into THB recently because they didn't get any interest on CHF are crying bitterly

let's hope you will not regret your decision in a few months. lifting the cap by the Swiss National Bank makes in my [not so] humble view CHF again a sought after commodity in the future.

Thank you Naam

Since I already have 2 accounts in two different banks, I will probably split the money and use one account for living and one account for purchase... also give a bit more security for losses based on possible bank bankruptcy (I know... only 1 Mio THB is insured per customer per bank..).

When you say, no form is needed, I assume you mean for the transfer, but that the " Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF)" would still have to be filled out after the money arrived, in order to prove that the money came from abroad?

With regards to the SNB action, this was very obviously coming, just the time and the way it was done was pretty surprising for the markets... but the foreign currency accounts of the SNB did grow and grow and grow... the exchange rate was around 1.20nn for much to long already... so the sustainability was really just a question of time... and when the European Central court announced that the ECB is allowed to purchase government bonds and since Mr. Draghi is expected to announce that next Thursday, the majority of the opinions I did read from financial "gurus" is now that the Swiss National Bank decided to limit the damage by waving the exchange rate before the ECB starts to print even more Euros which the big players in the market would like to deposit in Switzerland...

For me, I still have few months to go and can wait with the transfer, thus I will closely monitor the exchange rates for CHF / USD / EUR to THB for some time before I decide about huge transfers. I personally assume that in the future, the USD/CHF exchange rate will have a much bigger influence for the CHF/THB exchange rate than during the last years with the fixed rate to the Euro. The thing is however, since the strenght of the CHF will have pretty negative influence for our exports (55-60% to the Euro zone, 15-20% to the US), the Swiss economy might dearly suffer over the next months and years and therefore, I assume that this year might be the best year for some time to come to profit from a strong Swiss Franc exchange rate.

Just my 5 cents and my (really) humble opinion

[Swiss1960]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

Dario

Might be worth for smaller amounts, but what if you need the " Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF)" from the Thai Bank to either buy property or later take the money back out of Thailand? That might prove difficult, when the origination of the money is "obscured" by a middle man broker like currencyfair or any other. I rather lose few satang and have a Swiss Bank - Thai Bank transfer that is clearly evidenced for the amounts I have in mind (which will be in the millions Baht wise).

[Naam]

FETF

the Thai bank will do that for you on demand.

when the European Central court announced that the ECB is allowed to purchase government bonds and since Mr. Draghi is expected to announce that next Thursday, the majority of the opinions I did read from financial "gurus" is now that the Swiss National Bank decided to limit the damage by waving the exchange rate...

correct, but let's be more precise and say "the SNB waved the €-peg"

[Swiss1960]

when the European Central court announced that the ECB is allowed to purchase government bonds and since Mr. Draghi is expected to announce that next Thursday, the majority of the opinions I did read from financial "gurus" is now that the Swiss National Bank decided to limit the damage by waving the exchange rate...

correct, but let's be more precise and say "the SNB waved the €-peg"

Just reading now... UBS just issued a statement that they expect the 2015 economy growth to drop from previously expected 1.8% to only 0.5%...

[AyG]

(I know... only 1 Mio THB is insured per customer per bank..).

Then you know wrong. It's currently 50 million. The amount may or may not be reduced in the future. Current plans are to reduce to 25 million, then 1 million, but that may well not actually happen.

[Robert24]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

well currencyfair gives you a CHF/THB rate of 32.1 right now which is about 500Bp away from the market. I wouldn't call this a good rate. Maybe the fees are low but the margin of 500 Bp is like daylight robbery.

My bank takes 20 bp margin + 20 CHF fee which is ok to me. And I have no worries about any credit risk of an intermediary I have no clue about.

[fletchsmile]

Nice timing for a lump sum transfer of CHF into THB

For the transfer, SWIFT/TT is easiest and will give one of the best rates.

If you have a personal relationship manager, then worth giving them a call to let them know what you're doing, and to specifically ask them to watch out for it, and try and get you a better rate. Often the bank will call you anyway. Not always though, so the heads up is worth it. Then ask when you get the call.

If you don't have priority/ prestige banking or equivalent in Thailand now is the time to ask about it - at most banks here it's around $100k in assets with them. Get yourself a dedicated RM who can take away some of the hassles, and get the right one you'd be asking them direct instead of here on TV Seriously that level of cash is worth talking to your bank about instead of being simply in the mass market retail segment.

On your SWIFT transfer form, if filling in manually write in it is for the purchase of property. If someone else is filling it in, make sure they sate it. The way I see it, there is no harm not using it for property. You can always say you changed your mind or it fell through etc. To be honest no-one follows up on that, and never seen anyone have an issue with that way round. On the other hand if you don't state it is all for property and later change your mind and want to use it for property you will have an issue. I've seen cases of that first hand.

I also usually state it is a "transfer of capital" or "transfer from capital", to make it clear I am not remitting any form of income. Again there is no downside to putting that. On the other hand income brought into Thailand is technically taxable/ captured by the tax system, if you're tax resident here and transfer it in the year it is received. Unlikely anything comes of it, but you never know.

You don't need to have a specific property lined up. In fact I know of people who've used a document that is several years old. They mainly just want to see the money came from overseas, which is a general rule for foreigners purchasing say a condo in their name. Saying for living expenses could cause you problems if you try to use later for property, as when buying they will want to see the FX paperwork. I've seen first hand in the past where people have had problems with the land registry by not stating it's for property.

So:

1) You put on the SWIFT/TT form it is for property purchase when sending form your overseas bank

2) make sure your Thai bank then gives you the paperwork when it is received in Thailand and it states property on it. They give you the FETF you mention. Check you get it from your Thai bank and check it's correct. Should happen automatically, but even Thai bank staff occasionally forget, have a lapse in procedures or make mistakes Then keep it safely and don't lose it! Not the end of the world if you do, but it will be hassle.

Cheers

Fletch

Edited January 16, 2015 by fletchsmile

[Swiss1960]

Fletch: Great and comprihensive answer, thanks a lot. I put you on my Christmas present list together with Naam

[Naam]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

well currencyfair gives you a CHF/THB rate of 32.1 right now which is about 500Bp away from the market. I wouldn't call this a good rate. Maybe the fees are low but the margin of 500 Bp is like daylight robbery.

My bank takes 20 bp margin + 20 CHF fee which is ok to me. And I have no worries about any credit risk of an intermediary I have no clue about.

[Dario]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

well currencyfair gives you a CHF/THB rate of 32.1 right now which is about 500Bp away from the market. I wouldn't call this a good rate. Maybe the fees are low but the margin of 500 Bp is like daylight robbery.

My bank takes 20 bp margin + 20 CHF fee which is ok to me. And I have no worries about any credit risk of an intermediary I have no clue about.

For some reason - I don't know which - CurrencyFair hasn't adjusted the CHF rate yet. Yeterday, before the SNB took the move, the rate was 32.26 and it hasn't changed the whole day. I will transfer with them early next month nd I know it'll be the best choice. By then their rate which is now on Yahoo about 38.20 will be adjusted.

[Swiss1960]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

well currencyfair gives you a CHF/THB rate of 32.1 right now which is about 500Bp away from the market. I wouldn't call this a good rate. Maybe the fees are low but the margin of 500 Bp is like daylight robbery.

My bank takes 20 bp margin + 20 CHF fee which is ok to me. And I have no worries about any credit risk of an intermediary I have no clue about.

For some reason - I don't know which - CurrencyFair hasn't adjusted the CHF rate yet. Yeterday, before the SNB took the move, the rate was 32.26 and it hasn't changed the whole day. I will transfer with them early next month nd I know it'll be the best choice. By then their rate which is now on Yahoo about 38.20 will be adjusted.

Well Dario... if you are still trusting that site which needs days or more to adjust an exchange rate for the good of their customers... I would never ever give just 1 CHF to them... just think why they do not adjust the rates on time... might be that they just do not have the funds for the adjustments, too many open positions and not enough money to satisfy the existing customers orders... are you sure they will still be in business "early next month"?

[gk10002000]

I don't mean to trivialize $50,000 USD. But I caution you how fast that can be spent. I only say that because I get the sense from your posts that you think this is a very large amount. It is quite easy to spend that in not many years.

[Swiss1960]

I don't mean to trivialize $50,000 USD. But I caution you how fast that can be spent. I only say that because I get the sense from your posts that you think this is a very large amount. It is quite easy to spend that in not many years.

Not sure whether you want to address me with your comment? But since I introduced that amount... I only mentioned it, since this is the lower limit for filling out the " Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF)" in order to have prove of the money coming in from abroad.

For me, 50'000 CHF (today 58'000 US$ or 1.9Mio THB) is what I assume to be sufficient for 2y of (my style) living in Thailand

[Pib]

You can still get a Foriegn Exchange Letter Vs Certificate from your Thai bank for lesser amounts. The letter says basically the same thing as the certificate.

[Dario]

Hi,

you're an extremely lucky man that you haven't already transferred your money! You surely know that the SNB (Swiss National Bank) has yesterday abandoned the CHF 1.20 minimum rate to the Euro.This has given a nice effect for the Swiss pensioners living outside of Switzerland. In Thailand, this morning the CHF opened at 37.99 (SCB) which is an increase of about 19%!!! That's a nice New Year's present.

For your transfer you can use CurrencyFair http://currencyfair.com. They have better rates than most banks and a transfer of CHF of any amount costs you net only 10.-- CHF. No cost at all from your Thai bank. Only about 4 days ago I wanted to transfer 1'500 CHF with another company called TransferWise. The transfer didn't go through because TW experienced some problems with their Thai partner. Am I lucky! I would have gotten around 48'000 Bat vs. about 56-57'000 Baht today.

well currencyfair gives you a CHF/THB rate of 32.1 right now which is about 500Bp away from the market. I wouldn't call this a good rate. Maybe the fees are low but the margin of 500 Bp is like daylight robbery.

My bank takes 20 bp margin + 20 CHF fee which is ok to me. And I have no worries about any credit risk of an intermediary I have no clue about.

For some reason - I don't know which - CurrencyFair hasn't adjusted the CHF rate yet. Yeterday, before the SNB took the move, the rate was 32.26 and it hasn't changed the whole day. I will transfer with them early next month nd I know it'll be the best choice. By then their rate which is now on Yahoo about 38.20 will be adjusted.

Well Dario... if you are still trusting that site which needs days or more to adjust an exchange rate for the good of their customers... I would never ever give just 1 CHF to them... just think why they do not adjust the rates on time... might be that they just do not have the funds for the adjustments, too many open positions and not enough money to satisfy the existing customers orders... are you sure they will still be in business "early next month"?

Yes, sounds very logical. Guess, I just make a transfer the normal way. That way I'm sure the money will arrive, made it a zillion times already. Anyway, I have asked CurrencyFair why they haven't adjusted. I'm pretty curious to know what reason they give ...

Edited January 17, 2015 by Dario

[AveToros]

If I go through a broker such as HiFX, how does this affect the FETF?

I am transferring 250k GBP.

[Langsuan Man]

You are going to get hit at the Thai end with their minimum 200 THB up to 500 THB maximum transfer fee, not matter what service you use. You might not see it but it is going to be in there somewhere

Not much in the scheme of things but don't forget about it since in smaller transfers it can add up, especially if you transfer often

[arnestockholm]

I would try to contact siampayment they have a very good service and great price for transfer into Thailand. If you send them an email they even maybe provide a free test transfer.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Swiss1960]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

if you want a certificate for buying real estate you have to specify exactly what part of the amount is for that purpose and what part is for living expenses. best is to mention "purchase of real estate" which does not prevent that the money is used for any other purpose. this is also not only done verbally but the sending bank usually requires and mentions the purpose under "remarks".

swiss1960

there's also no requirement to fill out any form, neither for USD 50k nor for USD 250k.

note:

those who have transferred CHF and converted them into THB recently because they didn't get any interest on CHF are crying bitterly

let's hope you will not regret your decision in a few months. lifting the cap by the Swiss National Bank makes in my [not so] humble view CHF again a sought after commodity in the future.

Thought I am giving an update on what I did, with example dates:

• Initiated a transfer from my Swiss bank to SCB on day1 with transaction date day2. Amount in excess of CHF50K
• received a call from SCB local branch (where I opened my account) on day3 to let me know that they have the transaction pending (minus CHF5 transfer fee charged by my Swiss bank)
• was asked for the reason of transfer (living expense vs. property purchase) and was informed that if I do not yet have a contract, they will post the money as living expense (my Swiss transfer mentions "property purchase / living expense"), BUT that once I have a contract, I can go to the local branch and change the reason from "living" to "purchase" at any time.
• was informed about the exchange rate AND given the option to hold the transaction for up to 365 days until I find an exchange rate that I am more happy with
• exchange rate offered was from day2 when the money actually arrived in Thailand
• was informed that within a month time, I need to show up at the local branch to sign the " Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF)".

Completely happy with that service, and specially happy with the option to hold and wait for better rates for up to one year. I assume - but need to find out - that I would probably not get any interest until conversion date, so this probably would be a mixed calculation to do (how much interest do I lose and by how much, the exchange rate would need to go up for me to make a win)

[topt]

are you in thailand for the trans? if yes.

1 you will get a call from the receiving bank offering a better rate than TT.last time we had 12satang.

2 yes you will need to say what the money is for and say its your savings, on transfer instructions.

3 just say future condo purchase and living exs.

that will be sufficient.

4 you will need to go into your recieving bank in thailand when the transfer is completed and they will give you a certificate stating that you transfered the money from ? and what it was for,make sure you keep it in case you want to trans.back out.

if you want a certificate for buying real estate you have to specify exactly what part of the amount is for that purpose and what part is for living expenses. best is to mention "purchase of real estate" which does not prevent that the money is used for any other purpose. this is also not only done verbally but the sending bank usually requires and mentions the purpose under "remarks".

swiss1960

there's also no requirement to fill out any form, neither for USD 50k nor for USD 250k.

note:

those who have transferred CHF and converted them into THB recently because they didn't get any interest on CHF are crying bitterly

let's hope you will not regret your decision in a few months. lifting the cap by the Swiss National Bank makes in my [not so] humble view CHF again a sought after commodity in the future.

Thought I am giving an update on what I did, with example dates:

• Initiated a transfer from my Swiss bank to SCB on day1 with transaction date day2. Amount in excess of CHF50K
• received a call from SCB local branch (where I opened my account) on day3 to let me know that they have the transaction pending (minus CHF5 transfer fee charged by my Swiss bank)
• was asked for the reason of transfer (living expense vs. property purchase) and was informed that if I do not yet have a contract, they will post the money as living expense (my Swiss transfer mentions "property purchase / living expense"), BUT that once I have a contract, I can go to the local branch and change the reason from "living" to "purchase" at any time.
• was informed about the exchange rate AND given the option to hold the transaction for up to 365 days until I find an exchange rate that I am more happy with
• exchange rate offered was from day2 when the money actually arrived in Thailand
• was informed that within a month time, I need to show up at the local branch to sign the " Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF)".

Completely happy with that service, and specially happy with the option to hold and wait for better rates for up to one year. I assume - but need to find out - that I would probably not get any interest until conversion date, so this probably would be a mixed calculation to do (how much interest do I lose and by how much, the exchange rate would need to go up for me to make a win)

It may not be important to you now but I would just reiterate Naam's and Fletchsmile's comments about reason for transfer. If for some reason you wanted to remit the money back in the future I don't think they will allow it if it has come in as "Living Expenses". Easier just to say Potential property purchase or Investment to leave things open. That has never really been queried by SCB head office when they have asked me.

[Langsuan Man]

Yes, always state that incoming funds are for possible property purchase, that way you are covered. Nothing requires that it be used for property purchase but this covers you in any event

[Searat7]

I am American....living in Bangkok most of the year and might buy the condo I have rented for the past 2 years. To do this I would need money from USA having a bank there transfer dollars to my FX account at Bangkok Bank. One of my USA banks does not make international transfers and the other two want you sitting in front of their desks although I am able to transfer $10,000 or less from bank websites. Has anyone else had this problem before ? Solution ?

[topt]

I am American....living in Bangkok most of the year and might buy the condo I have rented for the past 2 years. To do this I would need money from USA having a bank there transfer dollars to my FX account at Bangkok Bank. One of my USA banks does not make international transfers and the other two want you sitting in front of their desks although I am able to transfer $10,000 or less from bank websites. Has anyone else had this problem before ? Solution ?

I faced a similar issue with a UK bank some years ago. I was able to talk to my branch manager on the phone, explain the issue and solve it by sending a written letter of authority explaining what was required. Fortunately I had enough time to get the letter to him. I then rang him when I needed it to be actioned. Some bank may accept a faxed instruction and some banks.....well YMMV.