transferring $ out of thailand

[Time Traveller]

I tried to send about $5000 US dollars (cash) by transfer from Bangkok Bank to my foreign bank account outside of Thailand. They told me there is a regulation against this and I would need to exchange dollars into baht then exchange back into dollars again to be allowed to send it. I thought this was a joke since to do that would lose about $140 based on the buy/sell exchange rate spread

Has anyone else tried to send dollars from a Thai bank to a foreign bank? Can it be done without having to convert into baht first?

Edited February 2, 2015 by Time Traveller

[topt]

My guess is you would need to have it in a Foreign Currency deposit account but there would still be a charge - see here for fees and other info for Bangkok Bank as an example -

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Accounts/ForeignCurrencyAccount/Pages/FCDFees.aspx

[Cheesekraft]

I use bitcoin for this and it costs ~$0.06 + 0.5% for conversion back to USD

[Time Traveller]

I use bitcoin for this and it costs ~$0.06 + 0.5% for conversion back to USD

Thks anyway, but I have no understanding of what bitcoin is, it's value against the $ is too volatile for me to even consider changing money into and thirdly it's illegal in Thailand.

[JMWPACIFIC]

Do you have the USD's already in a USD account here? If so, there should be no problem and only incur a transfer fee.

[simoncnx]

Do you have the USD's already in a USD account here? If so, there should be no problem and only incur a transfer fee.

[simoncnx]

Can you read? The OP said cash! !!!

[Gutterboy]

This is pretty standard procedure in my experience. Expect to spend at least an hour in the bank every time. If you have paypal this is a better option - the fees are high but stress levels remain low.

Or you could always FEDEX it!

Good luck.

[chicowoodduck]

I have an account with SCB and make a wire transfer all the time......small fee. Why not just hang on to the cash and take it back with you????

Just a sidebar....I have my accounts linked so transfer money all the time via the Internet route....?

[Dustdevil]

I have an account with SCB and make a wire transfer all the time......small fee. Why not just hang on to the cash and take it back with you????

Just a sidebar....I have my accounts linked so transfer money all the time via the Internet route....?

Yes. As far as entering the U.S.is concerned, there's no penalty or customs excise for bringing $5000 into the country. You'd probably just have to declare it. Not sure about other countries.

[EPICFAIL]

Can you read? The OP said cash! !!!

Hey Pizza Man:

I'll help you out since English must be your second language. The definition of cash (Merriam-Webster) includes:

1: Ready money

2: Money or its equivalent (as a check) paid for goods or services at the time of purchase or delivery.

Thus, one can say "I have $500USD cash in a bank account" or "I want to buy that car with cash. I'll write you a check."

Vi ses snart!

[ttthailand]

Don't you require a work permit ? They want to see where the money came from. That is my understanding , is that correct ?

[Alwyn]

I've transferred money out of Thailand easily enough. I wish I had thought of it earlier! I opened a Paypal account which is linked to my Bangkok bank account. Loaded up Paypal and sent it to another Paypal account in the UK (my daughter). Easy, online and instant.

[Time Traveller]

Ok just to clarify a few points.

Transferring money from a THB bank account in Thailand or using THB cash is not a problem. It's very simple, you don't need a work permit. That's not what I wanted to do.

I had USD cash (banknotes) that I carried into Thailand in December. This is the money I wanted to transfer because I had no need for it in Thailand. No it wasn't declared because it was less than the reportable limit.

At Bangkok Bank (Head Office) they replied they can not transfer unless the money is denominated in Baht, then they (using their own exchange rates) will convert it to dollars for the transfer.

Effectively it just means you are forced to exchange the money using the banks exchange rates then exchange it back again at the same time and to the same starting currency when it's not needed to be exchanged at all.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced this problem but now concede that it probably can't be done, so I'll keep my USD bank notes for the next time I travel and use THB to do transfer instead

But it is kind of crazy

Edited February 3, 2015 by Time Traveller

[timendres]

Ok just to clarify a few points.

Transferring money from a THB bank account in Thailand or using THB cash is not a problem. It's very simple, you don't need a work permit. That's not what I wanted to do.

I had USD cash (banknotes) that I carried into Thailand in December. This is the money I wanted to transfer because I had no need for it in Thailand. No it wasn't declared because it was less than the reportable limit.

At Bangkok Bank (Head Office) they replied they can not transfer unless the money is denominated in Baht, then they (using their own exchange rates) will convert it to dollars for the transfer.

Effectively it just means you are forced to exchange the money using the banks exchange rates then exchange it back again at the same time and to the same starting currency when it's not needed to be exchanged at all.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced this problem but now concede that it probably can't be done, so I'll keep my USD bank notes for the next time I travel and use THB to do transfer instead

But it is kind of crazy

Have you looked into Western Union? Their fees may be high, but I believe they will take the cash.

[jimky]

Pretty sure western union won't take the USD bills either. I had a friend in Canada with USD bills needing to Western Union USD to US. Western Union in Canada doesn't take USD bills. He had to change to Canadian and then use their exchange rate to change to US. Still worth checking with them but I suspect it will be the same here too.

At Bangkok Bank it is super easy to transfer from your THB currency bank account with them in USD to US banks for up to the $20k limit. They give you rate right there and shows as withdrawal in bank book. I've done $19.5k transfers with no serious paperwork needed and cost comes to about 0.7%.

But when have the money in USD bills I'm not sure what can do.

[JMWPACIFIC]

Can you read? The OP said cash! !!!

Excuse me mate for a mistake. Take a breath, you'll live longer!

[skiller]

I use bitcoin for this and it costs ~$0.06 + 0.5% for conversion back to USD

Not bad. How is he getting the bitcoins in THL?

[Swiss1960]

Ok just to clarify a few points.

Transferring money from a THB bank account in Thailand or using THB cash is not a problem. It's very simple, you don't need a work permit. That's not what I wanted to do.

I had USD cash (banknotes) that I carried into Thailand in December. This is the money I wanted to transfer because I had no need for it in Thailand. No it wasn't declared because it was less than the reportable limit.

At Bangkok Bank (Head Office) they replied they can not transfer unless the money is denominated in Baht, then they (using their own exchange rates) will convert it to dollars for the transfer.

Effectively it just means you are forced to exchange the money using the banks exchange rates then exchange it back again at the same time and to the same starting currency when it's not needed to be exchanged at all.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced this problem but now concede that it probably can't be done, so I'll keep my USD bank notes for the next time I travel and use THB to do transfer instead

But it is kind of crazy

well, now that you have explained your problem, it is clear why the bank can not do it... swift transfers required two bank accounts to send from and to send to. Since your Thai account (send from) is in THB, the bank COULD send US$ to your foreign account, but they can only charge your account in THB, therefore using either their internal exchange rate or send THB and let your foreign bank to the exchange. And since you have US$ bills in your hand, they would first have to move it into your THB account, again using their internal exchange rate.

what you would LIKE to do is that Bangkok Bank lets you use your THB account as a foreign currency US$ account for this single transaction... that idea is kind of crazy...

[Time Traveller]

Ok just to clarify a few points.

Transferring money from a THB bank account in Thailand or using THB cash is not a problem. It's very simple, you don't need a work permit. That's not what I wanted to do.

I had USD cash (banknotes) that I carried into Thailand in December. This is the money I wanted to transfer because I had no need for it in Thailand. No it wasn't declared because it was less than the reportable limit.

At Bangkok Bank (Head Office) they replied they can not transfer unless the money is denominated in Baht, then they (using their own exchange rates) will convert it to dollars for the transfer.

Effectively it just means you are forced to exchange the money using the banks exchange rates then exchange it back again at the same time and to the same starting currency when it's not needed to be exchanged at all.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced this problem but now concede that it probably can't be done, so I'll keep my USD bank notes for the next time I travel and use THB to do transfer instead

But it is kind of crazy

well, now that you have explained your problem, it is clear why the bank can not do it... swift transfers required two bank accounts to send from and to send to. Since your Thai account (send from) is in THB, the bank COULD send US$ to your foreign account, but they can only charge your account in THB, therefore using either their internal exchange rate or send THB and let your foreign bank to the exchange. And since you have US$ bills in your hand, they would first have to move it into your THB account, again using their internal exchange rate.

what you would LIKE to do is that Bangkok Bank lets you use your THB account as a foreign currency US$ account for this single transaction... that idea is kind of crazy...

No I want the bank to accept my USD bank notes. Then wire USD from their omnibus account to the foreign account like they do every day. You do not need your own bank account at the sending bank to do SWIFT transfers. The bank even said they would accept Cash, but only Thai Baht notes. So any other currency bank notes had to exchanged into baht first, then they would exchange to USD for the transfer..

Edited February 4, 2015 by Time Traveller

[Foozool]

Pay that $140 and save yourself lots of headache and time.

[Cheesekraft]

I use bitcoin for this and it costs ~$0.06 + 0.5% for conversion back to USD

Thks anyway, but I have no understanding of what bitcoin is, it's value against the $ is too volatile for me to even consider changing money into and thirdly it's illegal in Thailand.

its pretty easy to use, you can learn with a very small amount of money, for a great life-changing experience. Anyways, it is not illegal in Thailand it was declared legal recently after some confusion. You don't need to hold any bitcoin yourself, you can just use it to transfer money, instantly buy back USD and then you would not notice any volatility. There are exchanges in thailand or you can use localbitcoins or a variety of other options, look at the bitcoin.org site if you want some more info.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Cheesekraft

[Pib]

"....for a great life-changing experience..." The last time that occurred for me financially was when I got my first no foreign transaction fee debt card that also reimburses ATM fees. Not sure bitcoins would give me the same thrill.

[Cheesekraft]

"....for a great life-changing experience..." The last time that occurred for me financially was when I got my first no foreign transaction fee debt card that also reimburses ATM fees. Not sure bitcoins would give me the same thrill.

that was a game changer for me as well with Etrade over BOA. btc is a whole new level, just look at people transferring hundreds of millions of dollars without paying a cent for it, received instantly 24/7 across the world with BTC (or a fraction of a cent for the same costs) without needing an account.