Paypal money transfer

[Anthony5]

I have a Paypal account in my home country linked to a bank account.

Since I live in Thailand, Paypal has requested that I open a second Paypal account linked to a Thai Bank account, so according to them it's legal to have 2 accounts linked to different bank accounts.

If I now was to put a large amount of Euros in my European Paypal account, can I transfer those Euros to my Thai Paypal account without charges?

[WaywardWind]

I think so.

I have a US PayPal inked to my US bank account, and a Thai PayPal linked to my Bangkok Bank account here. I normally just use ATMs for my cash needs, but sometimes have to top up the Bangkok Bank account to pay for purchases, etc. I simply go to my US PayPal, send money to my Thai PayPal, and then withdraw the funds from the Thai PayPal to the Bangkok Bank. The most I have ever done is $1,300, and the US PayPal fee was minimal - around $6.00.

Their exchange rate could use some work, though - it is quite low.

[Anthony5]

I think so.

I have a US PayPal inked to my US bank account, and a Thai PayPal linked to my Bangkok Bank account here. I normally just use ATMs for my cash needs, but sometimes have to top up the Bangkok Bank account to pay for purchases, etc. I simply go to my US PayPal, send money to my Thai PayPal, and then withdraw the funds from the Thai PayPal to the Bangkok Bank. The most I have ever done is $1,300, and the US PayPal fee was minimal - around $6.00.

Their exchange rate could use some work, though - it is quite low.

So you sent Thai Baht to your Thai Paypal account?

My intention is to send Euro to my Thai Paypal account, then use the exchange rate from the Thai bank to take it out.

[WaywardWind]

I think so.

I have a US PayPal inked to my US bank account, and a Thai PayPal linked to my Bangkok Bank account here. I normally just use ATMs for my cash needs, but sometimes have to top up the Bangkok Bank account to pay for purchases, etc. I simply go to my US PayPal, send money to my Thai PayPal, and then withdraw the funds from the Thai PayPal to the Bangkok Bank. The most I have ever done is $1,300, and the US PayPal fee was minimal - around $6.00.

Their exchange rate could use some work, though - it is quite low.

So you sent Thai Baht to your Thai Paypal account?

My intention is to send Euro to my Thai Paypal account, then use the exchange rate from the Thai bank to take it out.

I send USD from US PayPal to the Thai PayPal, and it shows up as USD received, and my Thai PayPal account shows the amount in both currencies; however, the amount shown in THB is a low exchange rate, and that is what winds up in my Bangkok Bank account as that is the type of account that I have there.

I don't have a USD account here in Thailand, so I don't know what would happen if I were to withdraw in USD to a Bangkok Bank foreign currency account.

Edited June 21, 2015 by WaywardWind

[Anthony5]

I think so.

I have a US PayPal inked to my US bank account, and a Thai PayPal linked to my Bangkok Bank account here. I normally just use ATMs for my cash needs, but sometimes have to top up the Bangkok Bank account to pay for purchases, etc. I simply go to my US PayPal, send money to my Thai PayPal, and then withdraw the funds from the Thai PayPal to the Bangkok Bank. The most I have ever done is $1,300, and the US PayPal fee was minimal - around $6.00.

Their exchange rate could use some work, though - it is quite low.

So you sent Thai Baht to your Thai Paypal account?

My intention is to send Euro to my Thai Paypal account, then use the exchange rate from the Thai bank to take it out.

I send USD from US PayPal to the Thai PayPal, and it shows up as USD received, and my Thai PayPal account shows the amount in both currencies; however, the amount shown in THB is a low exchange rate, and that is what winds up in my Bangkok Bank account as that is the type of account that I have there.

I don't have a USD account here in Thailand, so I don't know what would happen if I were to withdraw in USD to a Bangkok Bank foreign currency account.

If you make a payment in a foreign currency you have the option to use the Paypal exchange rate or the exchange rate of your credit card. I'm not sure if you can use the exchange rate of your bank though.

So I assume when withdrawing USD from your Paypal account in Thailand, you could use the same procedure and choose to use the exchange rate from Bangkok bank.

[WaywardWind]

If you make a payment in a foreign currency you have the option to use the Paypal exchange rate or the exchange rate of your credit card. I'm not sure if you can use the exchange rate of your bank though.

So I assume when withdrawing USD from your Paypal account in Thailand, you could use the same procedure and choose to use the exchange rate from Bangkok bank.

I just went back and checked the last recent time I did a transfer. It was for $100 which makes it easy to show the transaction.

US PayPal to Thai PayPal was for $100, and that is what showed up in my Thai PP Account. When I withdrew $100 in USD to Bangkok Bank, (I saw no option for choosing the currency to use) the exchange rate was just 32.1 THB to the USD. so I showed a deposit of 3210 THB in my BB bank account; the buy rate for USD at BB at that time was 33.44, so the PayPal exchange rate was low. Not a big deal when I am transferring only $100, but when I transfer larger amounts, it can be somewhat painful.

[Gutterboy]

PP is a great way to send small amounts (few hundred dollars) out of Thailand. The alternative is to wait about 2 hours in the bank while they try to figure out how to do an international transfer.

Unfortunately the fees and exchange rates with PP are not very favourable, so for larger amounts it's usually worth the headache of wasting a half day in the bank.

[does]

If you ask Paypal, they would tell you.

[recycler]

I'm looking at Bitcoin as an alternative, you transfer from your foreign bank to you Bitcoin wallet and from there to your Thai account or the other way around.

[TechnikaIII]

I'm using Citibank in Australia, which is linked to a Paypal account. The funds I withdraw when in Thailand are in THB, from the Citi ATM in BKK. But I am only using the funds that are in the bank account. I would move funds from the Paypal (if needed) to the bank first. From Citi to Citi, I have never experienced a fee being charged.

Paypal have their own cards, don't they? But I remember being warned about using their credit card. Use their Debit card only. However, you can then circumvent your bank altogether, paying the 180 THB per cash withdrawal when using a Thai bank, plus whatever PP will charge. The exchange rates vary from bank to bank.

Remember, banks are there to make money. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

[Adeeos]

I think so.

I have a US PayPal inked to my US bank account, and a Thai PayPal linked to my Bangkok Bank account here. I normally just use ATMs for my cash needs, but sometimes have to top up the Bangkok Bank account to pay for purchases, etc. I simply go to my US PayPal, send money to my Thai PayPal, and then withdraw the funds from the Thai PayPal to the Bangkok Bank. The most I have ever done is $1,300, and the US PayPal fee was minimal - around $6.00.

Their exchange rate could use some work, though - it is quite low.

So you sent Thai Baht to your Thai Paypal account?

My intention is to send Euro to my Thai Paypal account, then use the exchange rate from the Thai bank to take it out.

It

Yes,, you can,, The amount will show in your Thai PP account, as Euro's,, (or USD if that's what was sent, etc).. it's converted by PP into Baht, when you withdrawl to your Thai bank linked to your Thai PP account,,, I get sent USD to my Thai PP account, I then withdrawl to my Thai Bank, liked to it,, it claims 5-7 days,, It's usually 6-7 days,,,, It should make no difference, if it's me, Bob, Joe, or YOU sending $$ into the the Thai PP account,,

[Josh88]

I think so.

I have a US PayPal inked to my US bank account, and a Thai PayPal linked to my Bangkok Bank account here. I normally just use ATMs for my cash needs, but sometimes have to top up the Bangkok Bank account to pay for purchases, etc. I simply go to my US PayPal, send money to my Thai PayPal, and then withdraw the funds from the Thai PayPal to the Bangkok Bank. The most I have ever done is $1,300, and the US PayPal fee was minimal - around $6.00.

Their exchange rate could use some work, though - it is quite low.

So you sent Thai Baht to your Thai Paypal account?

My intention is to send Euro to my Thai Paypal account, then use the exchange rate from the Thai bank to take it out.

I send USD from US PayPal to the Thai PayPal, and it shows up as USD received, and my Thai PayPal account shows the amount in both currencies; however, the amount shown in THB is a low exchange rate, and that is what winds up in my Bangkok Bank account as that is the type of account that I have there.

I don't have a USD account here in Thailand, so I don't know what would happen if I were to withdraw in USD to a Bangkok Bank foreign currency account.

If you make a payment in a foreign currency you have the option to use the Paypal exchange rate or the exchange rate of your credit card. I'm not sure if you can use the exchange rate of your bank though.

So I assume when withdrawing USD from your Paypal account in Thailand, you could use the same procedure and choose to use the exchange rate from Bangkok bank.

I'm not sure if what you're describing is possible, transferring the funds without exchanging to THB, and then using your card's exchange rate when withdrawing from a Thai bank. Can anyone confirm that it is?

If you do exchange from your native currency to THB through PayPal, just be aware that their exchange rate on average is about 2.5% lower than the 'real' rate. As others pointed out, not a big deal for smaller transactions, but if you get into the thousands of dollars/euros then it quickly becomes expensive. It's deceiving because the fees they list range from nothing to $5, but in reality you may be losing a lot of money with their exchange rate.

[technologybytes]

I am not sure if the rules have changed, but previously to have 2 accounts one had to be a business account/or premier and one had to be a personal account. I was a breach of the rules to have 2 personal accounts, or 2 premier accounts. Things may have changed but be careful, if the advice from paypal was wrong (and it frequently is) then it won't matter that you dd what they advised.

Never put more in PayPal than you are prepared to lose access to for say 3-6 months, it's good for buying stuff but it is NOT a bank.

[CNXTim]

The guys who wrote Skype and later sold it have recently launched a new online service,.

You will need to check how it works for you and that your source and target countries are up and running;

https://transferwise.com/

[Suradit69]

PP is a great way to send small amounts (few hundred dollars) out of Thailand. The alternative is to wait about 2 hours in the bank while they try to figure out how to do an international transfer.

Unfortunately the fees and exchange rates with PP are not very favourable, so for larger amounts it's usually worth the headache of wasting a half day in the bank.

"The alternative is to wait about 2 hours in the bank..."

" wasting a half day in the bank. "

It shouldn't take two hours and if 2 hours amounts to half of your day, it's not the bank that's having problems figuring things out.

[Rv Hawee]

You can dot it, i already do it several time.

You don't have "taxt" except the paypal's one around 11 bath i think and then their exchange rate is lower than the normal bank. You may also have to pays a fee for sending money from your account to PP account in deutch bank. (If you ask from PP to take from your bank account it's might be free, not the opposite)

At the end, you need ebout 2 and 1/2 weeks to make the full transfert Bank to euroPP then to TH PP and finally your thai bank account.

For 450 € I transferred last month, it was like i had to paid about 22 € of tax or exchange conversion and wait around 18 days .... With my bank; it would had cost me 57 € for the same sum received in 3 days .... so do your math first !

Now, if you are british and because Bangkok Bank had a british annex, like in the US, it might be different and maybe almost free (I m not sure about this last point, i try to find info about it)

But do your math first !

[volstateguy]

I have two PayPal accounts to transfer US dollars from my bank account here? If you use the PayPal link "send money to family or friends" the charge is .5% so $5 on $1000. The exchange rate is automatic once it hits the PayPal account linked to my thai bank account and is about .9 baht lower than the rate I shown on XE. When I transfer funds they are immediately available in the PayPal account linked to my Thai account and normally takes about a week to withdraw to my account.

[Gutterboy]

PP is a great way to send small amounts (few hundred dollars) out of Thailand. The alternative is to wait about 2 hours in the bank while they try to figure out how to do an international transfer.

Unfortunately the fees and exchange rates with PP are not very favourable, so for larger amounts it's usually worth the headache of wasting a half day in the bank.

"The alternative is to wait about 2 hours in the bank..."

" wasting a half day in the bank. "

It shouldn't take two hours and if 2 hours amounts to half of your day, it's not the bank that's having problems figuring things out.

There's always one isn't there..

Ok slight exaggeration, forgive me, but it really does take them an obscenely long time. I have personally waited 2 hours for Kasikorn to figure out this extraordinary transaction on one occasion. To be fair, the usual average is about 45 minutes but if you have to factor in driving, parking, etc as well then it really does amount to a large chunk out of your day.

Hence the helpful advice to use PayPal for small amounts to avoid this headache.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Gutterboy

[phycokiller]

I'm looking at Bitcoin as an alternative, you transfer from your foreign bank to you Bitcoin wallet and from there to your Thai account or the other way around.

this is the easiest and quickest way

[thailandforumaddict]

Paypal is not famous for doing anything without fee...

[pattayasnowman]

Do you need a Thai Credit Card to open a Thai PayPal account attached to your Thai Bank or is the Debit Card that the Thai Bank issues sufficient ?

[SaintLouisBlues]

My intention is to send Euro to my Thai Paypal account, then use the exchange rate from the Thai bank to take it out.

That's not how it works. You send money (in your home currency) to your Thai PayPal account. You then choose to withdraw from your PayPal account to your Thai bank account. PayPal make the conversion at their rate; your bank just receives a deposit in Thai baht. I do this at least monthly. The exchange rate isn't too bad but it's nothing like you might get at, say, Super Rich or even your bank. However the fees PayPal charge to send money for "family support" - effectively what it is (or something like that), that's the reason you give for sending the money - are pennies compared to the wire transfer fees your home country bank would charge. You also don't pay your Thai bank 200 baht (or whatever they charge these days) for the incoming wire transfer

I find the transfer to my offshore PayPal account is instantaneous; withdrawing from my Thai PayPal account to my Thai bank account is 4 to 5 working days

Edited June 22, 2015 by SaintLouisBlues

[Anthony5]

Thanks all for your input and advice, but it actually confirms what I was afraid of.

There is no charge for the transfer, but you only can withdraw to the Thai account using Paypal unfavorable exchange rate which may be fine for small transfers, but not in this case which would involve thousands of Euros.

I found on Google a guy who tried to link the Paypal account to a foreign currency account, in an attempt to bypass any exchange,. but Paypal wouldn't link a foreign currency account.

If anyone finds a way so that I can withdraw Euro to Thai Baht using the bank's or credit card's exchange rate, please let me know.

[Anthony5]

The guys who wrote Skype and later sold it have recently launched a new online service,.

You will need to check how it works for you and that your source and target countries are up and running;

https://transferwise.com/

I checked out TransferWise, and they are indeed very cheap to send money from Europe to Thailand, you will save a considerable amount on a transfer compared to your home country bank.

Unfortunately they can not send Euro to Euro or USD to USD, which means you send a currency and receive Thai Baht period.

However their exchange rates and fees are extremely good.

People who want to transfer money from home to Thailand should check them out. Before you complete the transfer you get informed about the exact amount you will receive.

[Jonathon]

One can almost guarantee that with PayPal the fees are a rip-off unless you are prepared to wait for your money. There are far better services about.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

However their exchange rates and fees are extremely good.

People who want to transfer money from home to Thailand should check them out. Before you complete the transfer you get informed about the exact amount you will receive.

It looks from their website that they're charging a 1.5% fee to send funds into Thai baht, with a minimum fee of 100 baht regardless.

Their website lists fees for both the sending currency and the receiving currency, and seems to indicate the higher of the two will be the fee charged for any particular exchange. In the case of THB, the 1.5% fee for sending to THB is among the highest on their list of currencies.

https://transferwise.com/support/customer/en/portal/articles/1570084

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'm not sure I clearly or fully understand their fees chart above, so I tried to do some quick comparisons on sending U.S. $ to Thai baht using their system vs. making VISA debit card ATM withdrawals here in Thailand:

For obtaining $1000 baht, the current VISA debit card exchange rate (assuming no foreign currency fee on the card) for U.S. $ to Thai baht is 33.534. Meaning you'd get 33,534 baht for your $1000 (also assuming your card supported $1000 withdrawals), minus a 180 baht single withdrawal Thai bank ATM fee, you'd net 33,354 baht.

Using Transferwise to send the same $1000, their website says you would receive 33,210 baht as of when I did the request on their site, or 144 baht less.

(In real life, the figures would be a bit different, because the maximum amount Thai bank ATMs will dispense per withdrawal right now is 30,000. But the pricing differential would remain pretty much similar).

------------------------------------

For a $5000 request, the current VISA rate would yield 167,670 baht. If you did 5 separate ATM withdrawals and paid a 180 baht fee for each, that would total 900 baht in fees, and thus would reduce your net to 166,770 baht.

Using Transferwise to send the same $5000, their website says you would receive 166,062 baht as of when I did the request on their system, or 708 baht less. And even if you added in a sixth 180 baht fee to make up for the Thai ATM withdrawal limit being 30K per, the Transferwise transaction would still net 528 baht less.

-------------------------

So, the above calculations, as I said, assume the U.S. debit card has no foreign currency fee, while some cards do have FCFs. But my calculation also assumes that the cardholder is paying the 180 baht Thai bank ATM fees out of their pocket, while some cards reimburse other banks ATM fees. So I chose the middle ground assumption of no FCF but still paying the Thai bank ATM fees.

Edited June 23, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Anthony5]

One can almost guarantee that with PayPal the fees are a rip-off unless you are prepared to wait for your money. There are far better services about.

It would be appreciated if you named those far better services.

[Anthony5]

I'm not sure I clearly or fully understand their fees chart above, so I tried to do some quick comparisons on sending U.S. $ to Thai baht using their system vs. making VISA debit card ATM withdrawals here in Thailand:

For obtaining $1000 baht, the current VISA debit card exchange rate (assuming no foreign currency fee on the card) for U.S. $ to Thai baht is 33.534. Meaning you'd get 33,534 baht for your $1000 (also assuming your card supported $1000 withdrawals), minus a 180 baht single withdrawal Thai bank ATM fee, you'd net 33,354 baht.

Using Transferwise to send the same $1000, their website says you would receive 33,210 baht as of when I did the request on their site, or 144 baht less.

(In real life, the figures would be a bit different, because the maximum amount Thai bank ATMs will dispense per withdrawal right now is 30,000. But the pricing differential would remain pretty much similar).

------------------------------------

For a $5000 request, the current VISA rate would yield 167,670 baht. If you did 5 separate ATM withdrawals and paid a 180 baht fee for each, that would total 900 baht in fees, and thus would reduce your net to 166,770 baht.

Using Transferwise to send the same $5000, their website says you would receive 166,062 baht as of when I did the request on their system, or 708 baht less. And even if you added in a sixth 180 baht fee to make up for the Thai ATM withdrawal limit being 30K per, the Transferwise transaction would still net 528 baht less.

-------------------------

So, the above calculations, as I said, assume the U.S. debit card has no foreign currency fee, while some cards do have FCFs. But my calculation also assumes that the cardholder is paying the 180 baht Thai bank ATM fees out of their pocket, while some cards reimburse other banks ATM fees. So I chose the middle ground assumption of no FCF but still paying the Thai bank ATM fees.

But the reality is that most, if not all cards, have a 1.5% exchange fee, and some cards may even charge more.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

But the reality is that most, if not all cards, have a 1.5% exchange fee, and some cards may even charge more.

It all comes down to what home country bank/banks a person is using, and what their home country offers in terms of the available banking choices.

Most U.S. banks, for example, do charge foreign currency exchange fees. But by choosing my U.S. banks wisely from an expat perspective, all of the U.S. cards I use here have no foreign currency fee or reimburse their fees at months end.

Re Transferwise, a person would need to evaluate the economics of using their available home country debit cards (and any associated fees) vs. what Transferwise offers for the particular currency exchange set they're planning to do.

There's also another alternative comparison that could be done, comparing Transferwise to someone using a home country debit card that has let's say a 1.5% FCF, but using it for Thai bank counter withdrawals, and thus paying no Thai ATM fees.

Or in addition, for US and UK folks, comparing Transferwise with using BKK Bank's own internal international funds transfer facility from those two countries, which usually is pretty economical especially as the sent amounts get larger.

My overall point is, Transferwise might be a good deal in some situations, but there are other situations where it isn't necessarily a good deal. It's going to vary from individual situation to situation.

Edited June 23, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK