Is this a good idea or not?

[bazza40]

Much simpler to buy her gold to a designated value at one of the ubiquitous gold shops in Thailand. She will then pawn it for cash in emergencies.

[georgemandm]

Look for a girlfriend that isn't in the "business". Unemployement in Thailand is 0.7%, she must be one of the only ones that can't find a job.

How do you know 0.7% unemployment in thailand , ok the thai government tells you so ok good then how do they know if not paying out unemployment to people

[sanuk711]

I use Paypal and it works a treat. Money there in 30 seconds, no fees if payable to a friend or family !

Yes I do the same with my kids in Oz---& if you open up a account here connected to your PayPal---then she joins paypal also, ..... no exchange rate rip off....as stated no fees for sending money.

[Daniel Ingalls]

Bad idea!, keep your money safe and in your own name. Girl friends come and go.

[bazza40]

Don't any of the posters have a , Chaplain, Minister or Priest.

Only if they are brainwashed or brain-damaged.

[NanLaew]

I use Paypal and it works a treat. Money there in 30 seconds, no fees if payable to a friend or family !

Yes I do the same with my kids in Oz---& if you open up a account here connected to your PayPal---then she joins paypal also, ..... no exchange rate rip off....as stated no fees for sending money.

When I was courting the fabulously talented, incredibly beautiful and amazingly young (soon to be) Mrs NL, I has a second PayPal debit MasterCard linked to my US account issued in her name. This allowed her to purchase (among other things) air tickets so we could meet up pretty much anyplace for holidays between my scattergun work assignments. The cards have daily ATM withdrawal caps as well as limits on daily purchases that only I can change. The funds on the PayPal account automatically top-up from my US bank when I spend/draw beyond the limits using my card whereas her card does not.

After we got married, I got us both Caxton fx debit Visa cards from the UK. Same idea in that it allows her to access funds for travel and emergencies but only I have the ability to refill the kitty.

The big benefit is the requirement from some (most?) airlines that the credit card used online to pay for a booking needs to be presented at check-in. Her bookings are always made on her card.

[trihent]

Bank choice is very very important in regards to US banks. My wife and children use a small regional bank (Ohio) which disregards the SS#

[ericthai]

I am still in BKK for a few days so opening a bank account is possible. However, I'm a little unclear about how the SWIFT process. My bank tells me there is a $35.00 fee for an international wire transfer as well as an up to 4 day delay. Am I missing something about how all of this works?

No you are not missing anything. SWIFT transfer fees for international sending range anywhere from $25-$50 depending on the bank and amount being sent. It will take between 2-4 days, depending on the time of the day and when your local bank does their transfers and when the main branch does their transfers. Also the bank in Thailand will charge a receiving fee, last time Bangkok bank charged me 500B.

Using a Debit card is a good idea, but as another poster stated you will get hit with a local ATM fee of 150B, then whatever other charges your bank in the USA hits you with. Exchange rate is typically fairly close to index.

over the years i have transferred money to myself via SWIFT, Western Union and withdraws via ATM. Depending on the amount being sent will determine the best way to get/send money. Small amount best to use a Debit, but for larger amounts SWIFT if you can wait. If in a rush then western Union, but their exchange rates are about 2 baht less per dollar. Their fee i believe for Thailand is only $5 or $10..

if you are going to go the bank route one thing you need to do is check with your bank in the USA to make sure they have no restrictions for Thailand. My one bank in the USA is a credit Union and they have Thailand has a high risk for fraud so max i can withdraw from the ATM at one time is only $50, i can make multiple withdraws but only $50 at a time. Also my credit card issued from that bank will not allow any purchases in Thailand. I only have an issue with my one bank.

If I were you and you are only going to send small amounts occasionally I would do the bank account. That will be easier for her and you. You can do an online transfer to that account immediately and she can go to just about any ATM. If western union she will need to go to an agent, take ID have the transaction code all that crap. If SWIFT, she will need to wait until it hits her bank so either calling the bank to check the account each day or checking via the ATM.

Good Luck!!

[ericthai]

I use Paypal and it works a treat. Money there in 30 seconds, no fees if payable to a friend or family !

Really? i tried paypal and had two accounts. One linked with my thai bank and one linked with my US account. i would send money from my US paypal to my Paypal linked to my Thai bank the transfer to paypal was prompt, but it would take 5-7 days to transfer the money from paypal to my thai bank account for me to have access to the cash. Maybe i did something wrong? how long for you to get the cash from your paypal to your bank account?

[Pib]

I use Paypal and it works a treat. Money there in 30 seconds, no fees if payable to a friend or family !

That's true as long as there is no money conversion occurs...but when any money conversion must occur like in an international transfer USD to THB, EUR to THB, GBP to THB, etc., you get the PayPal exchange rate that is several percent lower than the TT Buying Rate used for wire transfers, card network (ie., Visa/Mastercard/AmEx) no foreign transaction fee exchange rate, etc. Yes, sir, no upfront PayPal direct fee but they make their money through their indirect fee called a lower exchange rate.

[humqdpf]

Clear instructions:

Find a bank in Thailand that will let you do internet banking. Open two accounts at that bank. Get ATM cards for both.

Use one account for yourself in Thailand - and you use that account to feed the second account that you reserve for your lady - this works whether you transfer money occasionally too your lady or on standing order (regular transfer every month). Give your lady the ATM card for the second account.

You only need to send funds once in a while to your first Thailand account - that keeps the fees low. Internet banking means that you can transfer funds from one account in the Thai bank to the account for which your lady friend has an ATM card.

Opening an account for your Thai lady in the USA only works if she will be in the USA - in Thailand, she will incur fees every time she withdraws on a USA card.

[ScarpoFongness4U]

Incredible....

[BngkkB]

A USA atm card to use in Thailand for emergencies at 1000 baht a hit? Hmm let's see, 150 Thai service charge is 15%. Then there is the international service charge on your end say another 10% minimum then the hit on the exchange say 4%. Almost 30% fees on a $30.00 withdrawal.

How about you open a Bangkok Bang account in her name and put 10,000 baht in it in case of emergency. I do believe you said 1000 baht in case things get tight? That is 10 tights. Then you can send money to her Bangkok Bank account from your US account via their NYC branch with out the SWIFT fees because your doing an ich domestic transfer within the state's about $3.00. It takes a few days but if you move 10,000 at a time that is about 1% and you can see how well she manages the 10,000 at a time. If it's gone in a week, that would tell you something. Also sign the Bangkok Bank account up for online banking and you can see when and where the money is taken out. If it's 3,000 at a time at 2:00 am then you may want to reconsider the next refill?

Just a thought.

(all numbers are approximations)

[bbbbooboo]

Lol ....in thailand the word "emergency"(requiring extra funds) can have many meanings

[smotherb]

She ain't got a job...?

Biggest outlay is rent, you pay the rent then her job money is her own.........

The problem here transam, which I am sure you know, is that many Thai gfs have no skills worth earning a decent living at a decent job. Usually, the farang bf does not want her working in the bars. However, how much money and for what was not what the OP was asking.

I believe the OP is wondering about any repercussions from giving her a debit card associated with his bank accounts. I used a similar method with my son while he was in university. He had an account associated with mine and I could transfer whatever amount of money, whenever I wanted to his account. As long as that is the only account to which she has access, I see no problems, but I did check it with my banker.

[sir charles IV]

Why do u ask a question when u already confirm the answer.