How to get my money to Thailand from the US?

[zierf1]

Considering the difficulties of getting my money out of the world's largest police state(USA), how do American expats get money into Thailand? I'd like to do a wire transfer into a Thai bank account but I think it's too risky. They could seize it and demand that I "prove" that it's not illegal(which could freeze the money for months/years?). Taking more than a few thousand dollars through the airport is also too risky. $10,000(or even less) seems to be the amount when the police state goes into overdrive and you get all kinds of unwanted attention/freezes on bank accounts/suspended wire transfer abilities, etc. How can I get money into Thailand safely and without unwanted attention from these thugs? I wonder if you withdrawal more than $10,000 from an atm would they suspend your atm card now? How sad I can't even trust my own government with my own legitimately earned money anymore. I'm wondering if the USA has a defacto capital controls in place now. Wouldn't surprise me if that was the case.

[NeverSure]

You can stop bashing your country any time now. That law of $10K has been there since I was a banker in the early 1970's and it applies only to cash. If you withdraw $10K or more cash from a bank there's a simple form you fill out but you get the cash on the spot. You can withdraw $9,999 every day with no form.

The law doesn't apply to bank transfers, checks, etc. Only cash.

So why don't you start over in a tone which would cause an American to want to help you?

Cheers

[Langsuan Man]

You can stop bashing your country any time now. That law of $10K has been there since I was a banker in the early 1970's and it applies only to cash. If you withdraw $10K or more cash from a bank there's a simple form you fill out but you get the cash on the spot. You can withdraw $9,999 every day with no form.

The law doesn't apply to bank transfers, checks, etc. Only cash.

So why don't you start over in a tone which would cause an American to want to help you?

Cheers

He obviously does not want any advice or information, he is just trolling , since there are literally dozen of threads here about how to transfer money from the USA to Thailand

Most notable being

Banking For Americans In Thailand 101

here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/483106-banking-for-americans-in-thailand-101/

[new2here]

.... You can withdraw $9,999 every day with no form.

That's true, but I'd remember that 18 USC 1956 also makes it a federal crime to structure transactions with the intent to evade FinCen and/or other legal reporting mandates.

[jerojero]

USA Forex.com

[Gonsalviz]

You can stop bashing your country any time now. That law of $10K has been there since I was a banker in the early 1970's and it applies only to cash. If you withdraw $10K or more cash from a bank there's a simple form you fill out but you get the cash on the spot. You can withdraw $9,999 every day with no form.

The law doesn't apply to bank transfers, checks, etc. Only cash.

So why don't you start over in a tone which would cause an American to want to help you?

Cheers

Well banker, it does now. Anytime you move more than $10,000 you will be asked a myriad of questions. Everytime I transfer money to Thailand, no matter the amount I am asked what it is for.

While the OP sounds a bit paranoid, he is correct.

[NeverSure]

You can stop bashing your country any time now. That law of $10K has been there since I was a banker in the early 1970's and it applies only to cash. If you withdraw $10K or more cash from a bank there's a simple form you fill out but you get the cash on the spot. You can withdraw $9,999 every day with no form.

The law doesn't apply to bank transfers, checks, etc. Only cash.

So why don't you start over in a tone which would cause an American to want to help you?

Cheers

Well banker, it does now. Anytime you move more than $10,000 you will be asked a myriad of questions. Everytime I transfer money to Thailand, no matter the amount I am asked what it is for.

While the OP sounds a bit paranoid, he is correct.

The OP starts out paranoid, and he's not correct. The rest of us transfer money but he is off the wall about calling it too risky due to the government.

[2fishin2]

The amount is 20,000 to hand carry into Thailand. Setup a Bangkok bank account and you can transfer money directly from US to BKK account no questions asked. In the US if you conduct a cash transaction in a bank, you are required to fill out IRS forms. Just keep your transactions lower than 10000 you will have no problems. And yes I have done this all.

[thrilled]

The most you can legally out of the U.S. Without customs paper work is $10,000 .Me and my mate carry $10,000 A

Piece and everything goes smooth.For security don't say you have money on you.Just be careful you'll be fine.

[TacoHell]

My Bank, Harris Bank in the USA you need only to fill out a form, fax or email to the wire dept, they give a unique code to use. After that you can transfer millions of dollars out if you want, not questions asked. (Edited to say you first must have a wire agreement with them, but can do over the phone and by email documents)

Receiving here, bangkok bank they might hold the funds on larger amounts and you just go to the bank and tell them what its for. making something up if you want, buying a house, or condo etc. I told them before on an amount of $90,000 USD it was for spending money. They don't really care just something has to go on the form. Get a copy of the incoming transaction and keep it safe which will come in handy if you ever need to transfer out of Thailand.

Even then, a bigger amount, I did it all online and just had to email another form to BKK bank with the reason. I said buying goods, no proof needed. The wire dept at bangkok bank and Krungsri are very professional, speak perfect English and not the same as the blank stares and inept service you get sometimes at the bank branches.

Edited April 11, 2015 by TacoHell

[2fishin2]

The most you can legally out of the U.S. Without customs paper work is $10,000 .Me and my mate carry $10,000 A

Piece and everything goes smooth.For security don't say you have money on you.Just be careful you'll be fine.

You can being 20,000 US into Thailand without declaring. Bring more ok just declare and again no problem.

And you are incorrect, you can take as much money out as you like.

As I said earlier if you take out 10,000 or more out of a US financial organization you have to fill out a currency transaction report (CTR) which is nothing more than saying you took out the money. Have done it several times over the years, means nothing at all to us.

[craigt3365]

I routinely transfer amounts in excess of 20k from the US via the internet. Never had a question asked. Never had a problem. Hand carrying large amounts of cash to/from any country in the world is subject to a variety of local laws. Thailand is no exception.

As mentioned above, this thread has lots of great info:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/483106-banking-for-americans-in-thailand-101/

Considering the wording of the OP, best to close this topic.

Topic Closed.