Travelers Cheques (Canadian)

[gilligan]

Hello everyone.

I just got off of the telephone with my bank here in Canada.

I'm planning on moving to Thailand this summer and I wanted to bring travelers cheques with me as I have done the last 10 years.

My bank manager told me that the bank no longer receives any travelers cheques due to the fact that "it is more and more difficult to cash them".

I have never had any issues at all in the past.

I missed my annual trip last year to Thailand so maybe things have changed.

Does anyone know if the currency operators are now having issues with travelers cheques?

Also, for any Canadian expats, what is the best/cheapest/safest way to access my Canadian funds while living in Thailand?

ATM, wire transfers both have fees that seem high (I think ATM fees on the Canadian side are about $5 per transaction plus the Thai fees...).

I just met a Thai man who owns a restaurant not far from me and I am planning on speaking with him to get his advice as well.

Thanks in advance

(Also thanks to TV for providing us with this avenue for information. It has truly been so helpful with helping me plan for my move!!!!)

[Pib]

The Thai bank cashing fee is now Bt153 per cheque as of about a year ago; before that it was Bt33 per cheque. So if bringing travelers cheques get big denomination cheques versus say 100 dollar cheques to minimize the fee impact.

On a 100 CAD travelers cheque a Bt153 fee amounts to a 6% fee....the Thai bank keeps almost 6% of of your cheque and gives you 94% of it back in baht...a Big Ouch for you but a Big Smile for the Thai banksters. On a 500 CAD cheque the Bt153 cashing fee amounts to a 1.2% fee...a smaller Ouch for you but still nice grin for the banksters.

[Rooo]

Moved to Banking Forum.

[gilligan]

hey pib,

thanks for the info.

i was going to try to bring $500 denominations. The bank actually told me that they are not getting any new travelers cheques and are only finishing off the cheques that they have in stock.

have they said why the big jump in fees? Fraud?

[Pib]

Why the big increase in fees? Most likely the desire to increase fees primarily on tourists/farangs since that's about the only ones who would use travelers cheques. Tourists are easy targets and expect to get screwed on many costs while on vacation...and of course this also ends up financially biting in the butt most farangs who live in Thailand. Also, I expect "paper products" like travelers cheques are just falling out of favor with the public in general since it's so easy to slide your debit/credit cad worldwide to get money....in days gone by ATM access was much less available on a worldwide basis...but now ATM access is really, really wide spread and easy pretty much anywhere you go in the world...and maybe the banksters can make more off ATM fees.

A similar thing has happened on foreign cards when used in ATM...the fee use to be Bt150...but now it's Bt180....even AEON ATMs who didn't charge any fee has went to Bt150.. And many of the Thai banks ATMs limit ATM max withdrawal per transaction to Bt20K (approx 770 CAD) which use to be Bt30K before. So if your foreign card say allows 1,000 CAD per day this means you would need to incur two Bt150 to Bt180 fees to draw your daily max. Now some Thai banks do allow Bt25K per day like Bangkok Bank....and some like TMB and Krungsri allow Bt30K. Banksters like increased fees...it's a source of joy for them. Keep in mind I'm only talking ATM fees on the Thai end and not any foreign transaction fees your Canadian" card-issuing bank" may (probably) charges to heap on top of the Thai bank ATM fee.

You can avoid the Thai bank foreign card ATM fee by doing a counter/teller withdrawal up to whatever daily amount your card-issuing bank allows...but some Thai bank branches will not accept a debt card for a counter withdrawal but it seems all will for a credit card....but keep in mind almost all credit cards carry a 3% cash advance fee which is what occurs (i.e,. cash advance) during a counter withdrawal...and don't forget the foreign transaction fee your card-issuing bank also probably charges (1 to 3% is common).

Edited April 13, 2015 by Pib

[JusMe]

Forget using travellers' cheques completely - they're an outdated and very expensive way of carrying money.

I've used my Canadian Western Bank ATM card for number of years, and it's very efficient. Cdn$3.00 per transaction, plus the Thai 180 baht fee, so it's best to get a maximum from the ATM and then deposit for safety in a Thai bank, and use their ATM card for regular withdrawals.

Depending on the logo on the back of the Canadian ATM card, you may or may not be able to do the counter withdrawal. Mine couldn't so I only had the option of the Thai ATM. I wouldn't use a credit card for cash withdrawal at all, as there's not only the additional fee but the immediate application of interest charges.

[gilligan]

thanks guys.

i'm also looking at western union as an option to have money sent to me.

the fee seems reasonable (i think). on $5000 there is a $100 charge (2%).

my concern would be the exchange rate the western union would use.

note that this option (western union) would be used for receiving money from business ventures in canada and not for accessing money that is currently in my account.

does anyone have input on western union (i see plenty of thai girls using their services, lol)?

[Forkinhades]

This is what I Do.

Once a Thai bank account is set up.

I transfer money online using HiFX, Anything up to £100,000 incurs a cost of £9. Your excange rate will be about 0.8% difference from the market.

More importantly my money is in a UK bank, and I can transfer as and when I am ready.

[gilligan]

thanks fork,

i will see if it available in canada.

i think (though i may be wrong) that europe has more options than us canuks.

don't even get me started about our telecomunication fees, lol

[gilligan]

mmmm, it looks like hifx is available in canada, but....

my luck, it is not available in 1 province in canada.... the one that i live in, lol.

i'll keep looking:)

[lovelomsak]

I used to use travellers cheques but advise now to stay away from them.They are now difficult to cash and expensive to cash.

[gilligan]

Hey lovelomsak

I am pretty sure that I will be avoiding travelers cheques. I am starting to feel like an old fart since I always likes using them, lol.

[Pib]

Hey lovelomsak

I am pretty sure that I will be avoiding travelers cheques. I am starting to feel like an old fart since I always likes using them, lol.

Travelers cheques "use" to be a very good way to take money on a trip to Thailand and if a person could get them issued for free/at low cost.. It's definitely a "safe" way to bring money, the exchange rate is only an approx 0.1 baht/CAD (around 0.4%) less exchange rate than the TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers (but wire transfers usually have sending and receiving fees totaling more than 0.4%...probably closer to 1% in many cases if using SWIFT), and if you didn't spend all the travelers cheques just take them home and deposit them back into your bank account usually with no fee vs converting unspent baht at an exchange rate loss back to home country currency....or just donating the left over baht to the lust of your vacation.

But now with a Bt153 cashing fee per cheque it's harder in making economical sense especially "if" you also pay a fee on the home country end to get them issued but I know in the U.S. at least their are still lots of credit unions and some banks that will still issue them free. I don't expect the Thai banksters care the high fee is reducing the number of travelers cheques being cashed because the banksters are offseting that fee loss with higher foreign card ATM use fee. By the way, the Bt153 fee consists of a Bt150 bank fee plus the Bt3 govt stamp duty...before it was Bt30 plus the Bt3 govt stamp duty....the five fold fee increase is purely due to the banks increasing their portion of the fee.

So, if coming over with BIG denomination cheques, you got them issued free, you get an exchange rate that is almost 1% higher than the exchange rate for Notes, and you don't have a no foreign transaction fee debit card that also reimburses ATM fees like the Schwab card or a few others, then using travelers cheques is still OK if you don't mind the wait in the bank as they copy each cheque and usually make a call to confirm the cheques serial numbers/validity.

Had friend visit mid last year, told her if she was going to bring travelers cheques as usual then bring big denominations due to the Bt153 fee, the wife told her three times over a couple months of trip planning. What did the friend do...showed up with 100 USD cheques as usual and the error of her ways did not sink in until she went and cashed the travelers cheques and that fee amounted to approx 5% of each cheque being left with the Thai bank....her brain was still on autopilot thinking only a Bt33 fee would apply. She complained for the next few days...complained about the high cashing fee and her own stupidity as she had been warned three times how to minimize the fee.

Even if you don't bring travelers cheques this time there will probably be other reasons to still make you feel like an ol' fart. I sure know plenty of things make me feel like an ol' fart.

[gilligan]

Hey pib,

Seeing as I will be living in Thailand shortly, I better get used to "tit" and not get too upset over the 5 fold increase in fees, lol.

I am looking into other ways including wire transfers, western union and other ways.

I have been learning that what be OK for my American and European friends may not work for Canadians.

[Pib]

If you can try to set yourself up with the best debit and credit card for use "outside of Canada", as in does "not" charge a foreign transaction fee. You may be wondering why I also recommend a no foreign transaction fee "credit" card. Well, bringing money into Thailand to buy stuff is going to incur fees in getting the money into Thailand like your home country bank wire transfer sending fee and the Thai bank receiving fee. But if you have a no foreign transaction fee credit card to pay for many of your store buys, vehicle fuel, etc., that can cut down greatly how much money you need to bring into and keep in Thailand for your day to day living expenses.

As a U.S. citizen I'm lucking in having credit cards like Capital One Visa/Mastercard credit cards just for example which do not charge a foreign transaction fee and they also give 1.5% cash back or rewards points. I use my credit cards almost on a daily basis here in/around Bangkok just like I was still in the U.S....allows me to reduce greatly the amount of money I need to bring into Thailand.

And of course the benefit of having a no foreign transaction fee debit card like the Schwab card just for example which also reimburses ATM fees makes getting money easy and fee free.

I don't have a clue what no foreign transaction fee debit and credit cards may be available to Canadian citizens, but whatever may be available it's much easier to get such cards while you are still a resident of your home country....after you leave and maybe no longer have a permanent residence/address in Canada it's probably going to get much harder for you to get the cards/open new accounts.

All too often cards we have and use while living in our home country work just fine/are fee free, but when using the cards outside the home country the cards' foreign transaction fee and/or no ATM fee reimbursement makes their use much less desirable.

In closing, don't forget to have a expat friendly bank account(s) which allows you to easily wire funds via ibanking....once again, some banks/credit unions are fine for home country use but not so great when living outside the home country. Study your current bank and card accounts and see what fees and conditions apply for foreign use. Get your bank, debit, and credit card accounts in order (i.e., expat friendly, no or low foreign transaction fees) "before" you move to Thailand...you'll thank yourself and have a lot less financial headaches.

[gilligan]

Thanks pib I will look into it. I'm curious though, how are your credit cards when it comes to the foreign exchange rates that they charge?

[Pib]

You get the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate minus any foreign transaction fee the card may carry. I only use credit and debit cards that have a zero foreign transaction fee. The exchange rate for Visa and Mastercard is found at their exchange rate pages.

Visa: Link

Mastercard: Link

The Visa/Mastercard exchange rates will be pretty close to the TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers which is about the best exchange rate the common man can get....the TT Rate is higher than the Traveler Cheque rate and the Travelers Cheques rate is higher than Notes rates. But for Travelers Cheques you have that Bt153 cashing fee that effectively lowers your exchange rate....big time on small denomination cheques and less so on large denomination cheques.

Example: CAD/THB exchange rate compared for 10 Apr/Friday for zero foreign transaction fee card: Visa: 25.76. Mastercard: 25.50 Bangkok Bank TT Rate: 25.59. Bangkok Bank Travelers Cheque: 25.53. As you see from the example the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate are pretty close to the TT Buying Rate on on this particular day the Visa exchange rate was higher. Usually the Visa rate is a little better than the Mastercard rate.

I have not wired any funds to Thailand for day-to-day living expenses (or for anything) in approx 4 years...ever since I got my U.S. no foreign transaction fee debit and credit cards. Maybe you can find some issued by Canadian banks/companies...or some Canadians listening in will identify some banks/companies. Good luck.

[gilligan]

thanks,

the closer i get to departure date the more i realize how much more there is to take care of.

any canucks out their who live in thailand that have some info?

[Tongdee]

thanks guys.

i'm also looking at western union as an option to have money sent to me.

the fee seems reasonable (i think). on $5000 there is a $100 charge (2%).

my concern would be the exchange rate the western union would use.

note that this option (western union) would be used for receiving money from business ventures in canada and not for accessing money that is currently in my account.

does anyone have input on western union (i see plenty of thai girls using their services, lol)?

I purchased a western union money transfer of $1000 canadian from a western union outlet in Vancouver Canada to be picked up by my brother in Edmonton Canada a year ago the day before returning to Thailand.

The credit should have arrived instantly for pickup the next day. There was no indication that anything was amiss at the time of purchase. E-mailed the numbers to my brother for the pickup.

He told me that the bank said the numbers were no good. Sent them again. He was told the same thing by his bank. I was dealing with this from Thailand.

Western union in Thailand had zero access to the transaction & put me onto their regional Headquarters in China.

China couldnt do anything either after putting me on hold forever but did find me the number in Canada.

When I was finally able to get appropriate personage on the phone after bieng put on hold again multiple times they told me that they cancelled the transaction

and would not give me a reason for having done so.

I had arranged another method for getting this essential payment to my brother. But was now out $1000 canadian. Western union phone personel said theyd look into it & to call back in a week.

That done they told me they had cut me a cheque and wanted an address to mail this cheque to. Oh good not only would that take roughly 6 weeks

( if the delivery times of other mail I have received is anything to go by )& be questionable about delivery at all. That is not what I had purchased and a mailed check is incredibly much a pain to deal with.

I asked them to wire the money to me in Thailand as a wire money transfer is what I had Legally purchased Thier response was no cannot

cheque already made out decision made cannot be changed. I asked them to mail the cheque to one of thier offices in Chiang Rai. No cannot.

Me: mail it to

General delivery Chiang Rai main post office. No cannot need your address. Me: I am traveling around Thailand & surounding Countries I don't know where I will be next week much less next month.

Put your supervisor on the phone Was placed on hold until my battery died

If that is the kind of service you want by all means use Western Union

I still have a bundle of amex cheques in $100s I refuse to cash at the extorsionate rates the Thai banksters now charge.

ATMs here spit out Thai Baht from my Canadian bank as fast or faster than Canadian currency comes out of ATMs in canada...

If you have a positive balance on your Visa /Mastercard account I am told that is the cheapest way to transfer funds.