fed up with bank fees

[bedbugy]

i have the optsion of changeing my payment of my private railway pension

at the moment it gets paid into nationwide b c uk

then i go to atm pay 180 bhat to contiue

nationwide sting me almost 7 pounds

my new option is get paid into citybank bangkok then onto bangkok bank

does anyone know the fees these banks charge

maybe it will be less of a rip-off from the banks

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Why go to an ATM? Withdraw over the counter. Better still, apply for a card that charges no fees at all and use that to withdraw over the counter(cash advance).

[claffey]

If you manage your transactions you only have to pay bank fees of about 10 pounds per month! That's actually quite cheap.Think of it as a 10 pound monthly bill to send your money around the world. We have less rent and bills to pay here than in the UK so keep it in perspective..My water bill is three pounds a month here. Waterbill in UK: 50 pounds a month.TV LICENE FEE UK 12 pounds a month..Heating 90 pounds...the list goes on.

If you get a debit card you can pay in supermarkets with it and save on the 180 baht ATM fee.

Its also cheaper to withdraw from ATM with debit...

[GaryB1263]

I ended up with Schwab International Banking. 100% refund of all atm fees.

[steve187]

Nationwide used to be free, but everyone got on the band wagan and they started to charge a high fee, you need a different account and send via swift, as posted its about £10.00, i hear HSBC charge less than this, or there are some prepay cards you could load up free online in the UK and use cheap at ATM in Thailand.

[daveAustin]

Op, any chance of SWIFTing funds over once a year to a Thai bank account or you depend on this money month-on-month?

If you manage your transactions you only have to pay bank fees of about 10 pounds per month! That's actually quite cheap.Think of it as a 10 pound monthly bill to send your money around the world. We have less rent and bills to pay here than in the UK so keep it in perspective..My water bill is three pounds a month here. Waterbill in UK: 50 pounds a month.TV LICENE FEE UK 12 pounds a month..Heating 90 pounds...the list goes on.

Indeed, keep it in perspective; people earn like 5-10x more over there... conveniently not mentioned by those who champion how 'cheap' Muang Thai is. Bring over earned UK money and live (not work) here, then yes it's different.

[CharlieH]

Moved to banking forum

[bendejo]

I used to use Citibank, then they started charging fees even at their own ATMs outside of the US. It's been a few years, but they used to charge a bit for transfers to other banks; whenever I had to move money I'd initiate it at the other bank because it would always be free. Screw 'em!

[rak sa_ngop]

Buy some bank shares. HSBC currently has a yield of about 5.0 pc. Then have the satisfaction of knowing that you are making money out of other people paying ridiculous bank charges!

[Anthony5]

Op, any chance of SWIFTing funds over once a year to a Thai bank account or you depend on this money month-on-month?

If you manage your transactions you only have to pay bank fees of about 10 pounds per month! That's actually quite cheap.Think of it as a 10 pound monthly bill to send your money around the world. We have less rent and bills to pay here than in the UK so keep it in perspective..My water bill is three pounds a month here. Waterbill in UK: 50 pounds a month.TV LICENE FEE UK 12 pounds a month..Heating 90 pounds...the list goes on.

Indeed, keep it in perspective; people earn like 5-10x more over there... conveniently not mentioned by those who champion how 'cheap' Muang Thai is. Bring over earned UK money and live (not work) here, then yes it's different.

You guys sound sooo apologist.

When the day comes, and it will come to a bank account near you soon, that the government roams all your saving above a certain amount, you probably will also find an excuse to justify it.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Op, any chance of SWIFTing funds over once a year to a Thai bank account or you depend on this money month-on-month?

If you manage your transactions you only have to pay bank fees of about 10 pounds per month! That's actually quite cheap.Think of it as a 10 pound monthly bill to send your money around the world. We have less rent and bills to pay here than in the UK so keep it in perspective..My water bill is three pounds a month here. Waterbill in UK: 50 pounds a month.TV LICENE FEE UK 12 pounds a month..Heating 90 pounds...the list goes on.

Indeed, keep it in perspective; people earn like 5-10x more over there... conveniently not mentioned by those who champion how 'cheap' Muang Thai is. Bring over earned UK money and live (not work) here, then yes it's different.

You guys sound sooo apologist.

When the day comes, and it will come to a bank account near you soon, that the government roams all your saving above a certain amount, you probably will also find an excuse to justify it.

Thailands bank insurance is much better than most countries (many don't have any). The US bank insurance fund is about $ 53 bn strong but covers $ 19 tn deposits. A recent US law change made taxpayers liable for US banks derivative losses (in a case of a meltdown). Most western countries have passed bail-in laws, there is no such laws here. Western banks are exposed to $1,5 qaudrillion in casino bets/derivatives that will blowup sooner or later and then the bail-ins will follow.

[maswov]

Not sure about the fees for what you ask but another option is to continue deposits as they are, open an account at BKK Bank then set up a bank link to BKK Bank in UK using the routing number there and your account number here and ACH money whenever you need it. Maximum charge will vary depending on how much you transfer but will never exceed 500 baht.

[Moonlover]

Hello Bedbugy.

I think I'm in a good position to advise you on this because I have my feet in both camps simultaneously.

I have one small pension paid into my NBS account in UK which I cannot change. And I concur with you on their charges. It costs me nearly 10 GBP to draw the maximum allowed of 500 GBP via an ATM. A SWIFT transfer costs a flat fee of 20 GBP. So the break even point would be a transfer of 1,000 GBP.

By contrast I have both my state and my military pensions paid directly into my account here with Krungsri. The total charge for this service is only around 6 GBP per month. So yes, I am definitely better off having direct payments. Add in the fact that I get free banking with Krungsri, a good exchange rate and the convenience factor, this is by far, my preferred option.

Hoping you make a wise decision. Best wishes.

[loong]

I haven't done it for a couple of years, so not aware if things have changed. I pay a cheque from my British bank into my Thai bank account.

Pros

Total cost about 300 Baht (equivalent of $10)

Cons

Can be quite time consuming in the bank

Can take between 3 and 6 weeks to clear

You get the exchange rate as it is on the day the money is transferred to Thailand. So no control at all.

[KunMatt]

Go into an SCB bank with your UK bank's Debit card and passport and ask for a "Cash Advance". No fees on either end.

[Jaggg88]

Nationwide used to be free, but everyone got on the band wagan and they started to charge a high fee, you need a different account and send via swift, as posted its about £10.00, i hear HSBC charge less than this, or there are some prepay cards you could load up free online in the UK and use cheap at ATM in Thailand.

HSBC only charge £4 for swift transfers or free to another HSBC a/c anywhere in the world, but unfortunately HSBC don't offer retail banking in Thailand. I also bank with Nationwide and what I do is transfer money to my Caxton FX International debit card (other prepay cards are available) for free via the internet or simple text message and then use that card for purchases. I get a much better exchange rate than the Nationwide BS give me if I use their card. It still costs 180bht at ATMs and the limit is 10000 bht a day but if you get 2 cards for the same account (a one off £10 fee for the second card) you can get 10000 bht for each card per day. This works for me as I'm not full time in Thailand but when I retire I will transfer my banking business to HSBC and open a local bank account unless some other cheaper option materializes between now and then.

[sattahipchris]

Go into an SCB bank with your UK bank's Debit card and passport and ask for a "Cash Advance". No fees on either end.

In Pattaya and Sattahip the SCB have in several different branches refused to allow me to withdraw money on a Nationwide debit card "saying it is not allowed by their head office,

Incidently I have tried varies money transfer companies tend to be a poor rate and a a charge at both ends. HSBC with a special card pay convert at well undeer the exchange rate. The best I've found is Nationwide Flex Plus

[yardrunner]

I have all my pensions paid in to my Santander UK account and to transfer to Thailand send money to the BKK Bank London who forward it to my BKK Bank account in Thailand one fee to pay on transfer and nothing else to pay, check on BKK bank website for full details

[elgordo38]

Op, any chance of SWIFTing funds over once a year to a Thai bank account or you depend on this money month-on-month?

If you manage your transactions you only have to pay bank fees of about 10 pounds per month! That's actually quite cheap.Think of it as a 10 pound monthly bill to send your money around the world. We have less rent and bills to pay here than in the UK so keep it in perspective..My water bill is three pounds a month here. Waterbill in UK: 50 pounds a month.TV LICENE FEE UK 12 pounds a month..Heating 90 pounds...the list goes on.

Indeed, keep it in perspective; people earn like 5-10x more over there... conveniently not mentioned by those who champion how 'cheap' Muang Thai is. Bring over earned UK money and live (not work) here, then yes it's different.

You guys sound sooo apologist.

When the day comes, and it will come to a bank account near you soon, that the government roams all your saving above a certain amount, you probably will also find an excuse to justify it.

Thailands bank insurance is much better than most countries (many don't have any). The US bank insurance fund is about $ 53 bn strong but covers $ 19 tn deposits. A recent US law change made taxpayers liable for US banks derivative losses (in a case of a meltdown). Most western countries have passed bail-in laws, there is no such laws here. Western banks are exposed to $1,5 qaudrillion in casino bets/derivatives that will blowup sooner or later and then the bail-ins will follow.

Banks are no better than the carpetbaggers that roamed the South after the civil war. They now have a new partner the government who of course is not protecting us and our money. Banks still play Russian Roulette with our savings. The big difference now is that when they loose we pay.

[meltingpot2015]

Nationwide used to be free, but everyone got on the band wagan and they started to charge a high fee, you need a different account and send via swift, as posted its about £10.00, i hear HSBC charge less than this, or there are some prepay cards you could load up free online in the UK and use cheap at ATM in Thailand.

HSBC only charge £4 for swift transfers or free to another HSBC a/c anywhere in the world, but unfortunately HSBC don't offer retail banking in Thailand. I also bank with Nationwide and what I do is transfer money to my Caxton FX International debit card (other prepay cards are available) for free via the internet or simple text message and then use that card for purchases. I get a much better exchange rate than the Nationwide BS give me if I use their card. It still costs 180bht at ATMs and the limit is 10000 bht a day but if you get 2 cards for the same account (a one off £10 fee for the second card) you can get 10000 bht for each card per day. This works for me as I'm not full time in Thailand but when I retire I will transfer my banking business to HSBC and open a local bank account unless some other cheaper option materializes between now and then.

Jaggg88: "HSBC only charge £4 for swift transfers or free to another HSBC a/c anywhere in the world,...". HSBC charged 9GBP for a SWIFT transfer from my HSBC Bank Account (HSBC standard current account is called "Bank Account", maybe the charge is less for premier accounts) to National Australia Bank (NAB) Current Account.

Steve187: "Nationwide used to be free, but everyone got on the band wagan and they started to charge a high fee, you need a different account and send via swift, as posted its about £10.00, i hear HSBC charge less than this, ..." - Yes, HSBC was 9GBP.

Had a bad experience with the transfer. The transfer did not go through properly. Contacted HSBC's tracking service. Paid the 25 GBP trace fee, but HSBC was unable to trace the money. After a lot of e-messages, phone calls, they agreed to refund the trace fee. I have since found the rate offered by HSBC is not great anyway. Used Caxton Fastpay recently without any issues to transfer from UK Bank to Australian Bank. Have also used hifxonline without any issues. (they charge 9GBP, but the rate is good, so best used for transferring large sums). Both these companies have dedicated support teams, and when you do a transfer online, you are updated throughout the transfer process. Their telephone support lines are really good. So they are more specialist in this area.

Edited February 25, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[csabo]

I ended up with Schwab International Banking. 100% refund of all atm fees.

Brits can use that??

[jbaldwin]

I also bank with Nationwide. I agree that withdrawing at an ATM is not a sensible way of bringing money here. Their Select credit card has no fixed exchange loading or any other charges for purchases so I used my credit wherever a can. For thing I need to pay in cash a make SWIFT transfers of at least GBP5,000 at a time.

[Tony125]

I used to use Citibank, then they started charging fees even at their own ATMs outside of the US. It's been a few years, but they used to charge a bit for transfers to other banks; whenever I had to move money I'd initiate it at the other bank because it would always be free. Screw 'em!

If you have a gold account at a Citi bank in USA you won't be charged fees for taking money from ATM overseas. Baring that if you open a Citi Bank account with 100,000 baht at branch across from Asok station you can make transfers of funds or take money from USA accounts with no fees charged.

[meltingpot2015]

I also bank with Nationwide. I agree that withdrawing at an ATM is not a sensible way of bringing money here. Their Select credit card has no fixed exchange loading or any other charges for purchases so I used my credit wherever a can. For thing I need to pay in cash a make SWIFT transfers of at least GBP5,000 at a time.

Is fixed exchange loading always bad (when it comes to the conversion rate)?

[farangmick]

Immediately close your Nationwide account. Like many other people I opened an account with them for the free ATM withdrawals worldwide. Now they are expensive. Also their procedures for foreign transfers are stuck in the 20th century.

Open an account in England with a bank that deals directly with the one you wish to use in Thailand and cut out the midleman. For example, all money through SWIFT from my English bank goes through Siam Commercial. When I sent money to my wife before I retired, Siam charged about £20 a time to pass it on to her Krung Thai account. Now I just get money sent to my Siam account when needed with a quick phone call. Always get the money sent in sterling and say that you only want to pay your UK bank charges, otherwise they might add quite a few quid for assumed Thai bank charges.

[BB24]

Agree about getting a bank in UK that does not charge to do international transfer in pounds to Thailand - that is the first part of your solution. Second is getting a big safe bank here - Bangkok or SCB IMO. I use SCB. I transfer the money over when needed via my home Bank via TT using Swift code in home currency for a max charge of 500baht from the SCB to do the currency conversion. SCB does the currency conversion fine and their rates are up there - not the absolute best but a rip off. Then I can withdraw the money as needed from any SCB ATM for nothing. Obviously dont do the international transfer for small amounts, as to take it out from an ATM here is only 180 baht for up to 20,000 baht (plus whatever fee your UK bank charges). IMO dont bother finding a UK bank that doesnt charge for you to use any ATM in Thailand - everyone finds out and then jumps on board - and next thing you know they charge fees - plus they never have the best exchange rates to begin with anyway - and the Thai bank also charges for using their ATM on top of the UK fees anyway. One more thing - when you do it this way (larger TT transfers) you can 'ride out' the exchange rates fluctuations a lot better. People seem to overlook that if you transfer over a larger amount - say 1000 pounds - at 50.25 the total baht before fees is 50,250 versus 501,250 at 51.25 (an additional 1000 baht) - worth waiting for rates to be higher. I have a 'target' exchange rate and when the rate reaches that amount, I then make a TT transfer if needed/wanted, and avoid doing transfers if below that amount. Not much good if you are living week to week I know, but if you can hold on a little it is worth it when it goes up. The pound is pretty good at the moment (over 50) whereas it was 45 only 2 years ago - but it was up to 54 in July last year. http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

[SheungWan]

Op, any chance of SWIFTing funds over once a year to a Thai bank account or you depend on this money month-on-month?

If you manage your transactions you only have to pay bank fees of about 10 pounds per month! That's actually quite cheap.Think of it as a 10 pound monthly bill to send your money around the world. We have less rent and bills to pay here than in the UK so keep it in perspective..My water bill is three pounds a month here. Waterbill in UK: 50 pounds a month.TV LICENE FEE UK 12 pounds a month..Heating 90 pounds...the list goes on.

Indeed, keep it in perspective; people earn like 5-10x more over there... conveniently not mentioned by those who champion how 'cheap' Muang Thai is. Bring over earned UK money and live (not work) here, then yes it's different.

You guys sound sooo apologist.

When the day comes, and it will come to a bank account near you soon, that the government roams all your saving above a certain amount, you probably will also find an excuse to justify it.

The Peoples Popular Front For The Liberation of ATM Machines and the Life of Brian.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Not sure about the fees for what you ask but another option is to continue deposits as they are, open an account at BKK Bank then set up a bank link to BKK Bank in UK using the routing number there and your account number here and ACH money whenever you need it. Maximum charge will vary depending on how much you transfer but will never exceed 500 baht.

You fail to mention the 1000 baht(£20) charged by Bangkok Bank to send and the additional monies to receive.

[meltingpot2015]

Agree about getting a bank in UK that does not charge to do international transfer in pounds to Thailand - that is the first part of your solution. Second is getting a big safe bank here - Bangkok or SCB IMO. I use SCB. I transfer the money over when needed via my home Bank via TT using Swift code in home currency for a max charge of 500baht from the SCB to do the currency conversion. SCB does the currency conversion fine and their rates are up there - not the absolute best but a rip off. Then I can withdraw the money as needed from any SCB ATM for nothing. Obviously dont do the international transfer for small amounts, as to take it out from an ATM here is only 180 baht for up to 20,000 baht (plus whatever fee your UK bank charges). IMO dont bother finding a UK bank that doesnt charge for you to use any ATM in Thailand - everyone finds out and then jumps on board - and next thing you know they charge fees - plus they never have the best exchange rates to begin with anyway - and the Thai bank also charges for using their ATM on top of the UK fees anyway. One more thing - when you do it this way (larger TT transfers) you can 'ride out' the exchange rates fluctuations a lot better. People seem to overlook that if you transfer over a larger amount - say 1000 pounds - at 50.25 the total baht before fees is 50,250 versus 501,250 at 51.25 (an additional 1000 baht) - worth waiting for rates to be higher. I have a 'target' exchange rate and when the rate reaches that amount, I then make a TT transfer if needed/wanted, and avoid doing transfers if below that amount. Not much good if you are living week to week I know, but if you can hold on a little it is worth it when it goes up. The pound is pretty good at the moment (over 50) whereas it was 45 only 2 years ago - but it was up to 54 in July last year. http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

"The pound is pretty good at the moment (over 50)" - Does your home bank offer the same rate as oanda.com. For large sums (around 1000 GBP)

the bank rate is going to be around the oanda.com rate isnt' it?.

Who do you bank with in the UK.

Attached screenprints: One at the top is from online money transfer agent - HiFxOnline, the one below is the rate conversion from Oanda.com

[Tassie Norm]

My Oz Government pension is paid into my SCB account using my local bank's SWIFT code.Pension arrives in Baht. HOWEVER, some time ago I queried whether there were local charges/fees even though no such items show up on my on-line bank statement. A helpful employee could not answer but she rang Bangkok and I subsequently spoke with an English speaking Thai.Yes, local charges, no, do not show on bank statement. He subsequently emailed three documents covering a 3-monthly period. Two fees. The first was an amount, percentage based on the funds received. The second was a flat amount (175B) to send the funds from Bangkok to my provincial bank branch. A little odd I reckon. That's banks though -screw you anyway they can. Similarly, when I transfer extra funds from Oz the same occurs. In these instances as I contract to buy Thai baht (thru' a very good mob - Ozforex) I know exactly what I should be receiving. Simple comparison between what was sent and what I receive in my account shows the fees. An example - amount sent 177,407 less amount received showed fees of 463.52.