Moving my money from US to Thailand

[Guest]

I am not sure why you do not get your Visa straightened away State side. I got my non immigrant O via the Portland Consulate .. start to finish .. 6 days via FedEx.

I brought a stack of American express travelers checks, and as you know, they often give abetter rate than actual green backs.

Still have a gew thgousdand laying around in case of emergency, or if I go back to the states.

They have appreciated in value about 15% ... sitting in a drawer.

Lastly .. not sure about SBC, but Krugsri and Bangkok bank do not have city specific charges. Anywhere in the Kingdom, on one of their machines .. no charge.

[MaeJoMTB]

Thanks for the responses. This will probably be a one time transfer for now. Will have to reevaluate in 10 years or so when I can qualify for SS, but this one time, just gotta get funds over there now to start.

Reckon we will just go with the SWIFT, as the Schwaub idea won't work. To get the extension on the visa, we have to do the 800k Baht bank account thing. Don't wanna try doing that with an account in the US.

What about the other question: If her SCB account was opened in Bangkok, is there a fee if she withdraws cash, say in a Chiang Mai SCB location?

Thanks again,

Michael

you can't use her bank account for your visa or extension.

[perdido]

Bringing money into Thailand is easy. Taking it back out gets lots of questions. There are variable fees within Thailand (same bank, same province, different bank, different province etc). For international fees it seems to be a fixed rate for a given institution from my own experience, usually about USD$15 no matter what the amount. Personally I choose amounts below the $10,000 threshold to avoid questioning or time delays, but if sending more than that per transaction would be more efficient. Conversion rates I'm not familiar with, but do recall when I first got here with GBP paper money, the exchange rate in person was better than forex, which raised an eyebrow, but I just moved swiftly on.

...was thinking of bringing in 6K in GBPs and 6K in Travel cheques, for 3 months stay ( holiday ), what do you reckon?

[Jingthing]

Bangkok Bank NYC is a commercial bank. It is not a place for regular people to open accounts. The ACH transfer thing just flows through there to people's THAI Bangkok Bank accounts. The last post's wording implied a suggestion to open up a Bangkok Bank NYC account. Nope.

[movsrus]

Bangkok bank has a branch in the USA you could deposit there and transfer here. I use Forex they give me a quote and I book at that price. If your wife is Thai you get away with a 400,000 bahts (marriage visa but a lot of strings attached) in the bank if she is foreign you must also provide 800,000 for her total deposit 1,600,000 bahts. Being an American you should read up on a bill called FATCA and how it will affect you. It comes into full force in 2018. Also I had an American friend just move here and a money manager in the USA advised him to move ALL his money to Thailand and I concur I think a currency shitstorm is coming. I think you can make a template of what is happening in Greece and see it come to other countries in the next 5 years. If China boxes the USA into a corner by becoming a currency of last resort look out. A lot of countries including my own is "gunning" for the USA probing for weaknesses. Its a dog eat dog world. If your heavily in debt your vunnerable.

Don't bring all your money into Thailand. If push comes to shove the Thais may institute currency controls and it could be very difficult to get you money out of here. FATCA is a pain in the ass but only if you exceed the limitations of $75K at any one time or $50k at the end of the year. If you want to move your money, go to Singapore and open a dollar account there and keep the bulk of your funds there only transferring into Thailand what you need at the time. You can also have a checking account in the US and write a check on that then deposit it to your Thai account. It will take a couple weeks to clear but if you don't need the money ASAP then it is a good way to transfer money. Beware of currency fluctuation in the interim between the time you write your check and when it is deposited to your account in Thailand but unless things really go to shit here it should not be a significant concern.

[elgenon]

I think your wife is thinking about Thai banks. if you open an account in one city and withdrawal in another there is a fee. No such fee in America.

If you want to bring money in bring a check made out to Bangkok Bank. OPen an account in Thailand and you get access to your money in 3 days. You also get proof of bringing it in so taking it out is no problem.

[1FinickyOne]

to answer your question about bank branches here - - I had a Bkk Bank account in Bkk - but could not use branches outside of Bkk to make free deposits. It was like having a money transfer. So, think of each separate branch as a separate business…

Not knowing how big your lump sum is - but money transfers go easily. Find out the swift code of your bank here and identify the branch and account and have the money wired. Kasikorn has always been excellent for this - the money arriving within 12-14 hours. mostly due to time zones, having to call USA at night here, and wait until morning for the funds to arrive… the fees in USA will depend somewhat on the amount wired… and if over 2 million baht here, you will likely have forms to fill out on this end.

[fitnesspm]

Paypal, I believe there is no fees

Edited July 4, 2015 by fitnesspm

[Pib]

Bangkok bank has a branch in the USA you could deposit there and transfer here. I use Forex they give me a quote and I book at that price. If your wife is Thai you get away with a 400,000 bahts (marriage visa but a lot of strings attached) in the bank if she is foreign you must also provide 800,000 for her total deposit 1,600,000 bahts. Being an American you should read up on a bill called FATCA and how it will affect you. It comes into full force in 2018. Also I had an American friend just move here and a money manager in the USA advised him to move ALL his money to Thailand and I concur I think a currency shitstorm is coming. I think you can make a template of what is happening in Greece and see it come to other countries in the next 5 years. If China boxes the USA into a corner by becoming a currency of last resort look out. A lot of countries including my own is "gunning" for the USA probing for weaknesses. Its a dog eat dog world. If your heavily in debt your vunnerable.

Don't bring all your money into Thailand. If push comes to shove the Thais may institute currency controls and it could be very difficult to get you money out of here. FATCA is a pain in the ass but only if you exceed the limitations of $75K at any one time or $50k at the end of the year. If you want to move your money, go to Singapore and open a dollar account there and keep the bulk of your funds there only transferring into Thailand what you need at the time. You can also have a checking account in the US and write a check on that then deposit it to your Thai account. It will take a couple weeks to clear but if you don't need the money ASAP then it is a good way to transfer money. Beware of currency fluctuation in the interim between the time you write your check and when it is deposited to your account in Thailand but unless things really go to shit here it should not be a significant concern.

You are confusing federal tax return reporting requirements for certain taxpayers with FBAR reporting requirements. See this IRS webpage for a summary/comparison of the tax return Form 8938 and FBAR FinCen114 reporting triggers levels. Day and night differences between the two.

P.S. specifically what is a pain in the ass regarding FATCA? Filing a FBAR sure isn't no more....and I expect few folks are affected by the tax return/Form 8938 requirements since they are so high.

[Mike45]

What kind of check was that? Bank check? Personal?

[Mike45]

You will find that most banks will convert the US$ to Baht. If you have a USA $ account in Thailand you can transfer it to that account.

I noticed you stated US$xk do you mean 10,000 if so just take it in cash with you, do not transfer it. If you not going to Thailand yet then keep hold of it as it will strengthen more to the Baht.

What kind of check was that? Bank check? Personal?

That cleared BKK Bank in three days?

[csabo]

Chase charges $40 for a wire. Done.

Transfer in dollars. Takes a few days.

Yes the are small fees when using Thai ATMs outside your Thai hometown. 12-30baht I think.

When you are here get the BKK Bank account and then no more $40 transfers. Then transfer from BKB to another bank with a more user friendly app like KTB which is awesome in many ways. Rates today were 33.77 tb to 1 usd at XE. Jump on the high rate now. Highs are often followed by dips.

Edited July 4, 2015 by csabo

[thrilled]

Americans need only to go to their embassy and "declare" their monthly income and they will receive a notarized statement from the embassy which is then provided to Thai immigration. No real need to have the 800K (or the lesser marriage amount) in any bank here in Thailand.

If that is the only real reason you want to move a big chunk of change to Thailand you really don't need to do it.

I've lived here for years with the "retirement' visa and have one little 'ol account here with maybe 10K baht in it and all of the rest of my money stays in the States. That Charles Schwab account is a wonderful thing.

Happy 4th of July!

Schwab International Banking is free.

. If you do A wire transfer with Schwab it's $25 or A little over 800 baht.If you use your Schwab bank card then your right,no ATM fees.

[jjablonsky]

Just don't do it

[anono2223]

Wow. Thanks for all the responses. The suggestions cover the whole gamut of possibilities.

From 'just don't do it' (extremely helpful...heh heh)

to 'leave your money in the US'

to 'move money to Singapore and access it there as needed'

to 'move it all to Thailand'

and even a few more different ideas.

There were some that question what amount we are transferring, I was vague about that in my earlier posts. The actual amount is going to be somewhere around $100k USD. I spent 2 years in the Kingdom from 2005 to 2007, and at that time, I had no intention of ever returning. But my Thai wife convinced me that he wanted to see the US, despite my attempts to dissuade her of that desire.

We spent the last 8 years here living the 'American Dream' and she now agrees with me that we want to live out our lives in Thailand. We have the above savings, along with some other money already in Thai banks.

We will have no income (at this time, perhaps when I qualify for SS in 8 years or so, we will have to tackle that then), so keeping US bank accounts is unnecessary. Once we move the money over, there won't be any more, at least for the next 8 years.

The general consensus seems to be that SWIFT transfers do work, with a fee of about $45 plus whatever the Thai bank charges to receive it ( possibly a max of 500 baht). Just make sure the money isn't converted until it gets in country.

I see the wisdom in getting an account at BKK if there were going to be multiple transfers over the next few years, but that is not the case. This is a one-time transfer. Even so, looks like even ACH transfers to BKK can charge up to $25 in fees, not a significant saving over SWIFT.

As far as the member that warned of the Thai pastime of 'sucking money from the Farang', well, my Thai wife and I have been married for 8 years, and I am familiar with a few of the Thai cultural idiosyncrasies, money being one of them.

Regarding my wife setting up a business, she is a bit younger than me, and wants something to do. I am okay with that, and she spent the last 8 years working here with me and deserves to do what she wants with part of our cash. She has my complete blessing and support on that.

What else? Hmmm. Yes, I am getting my NonImm O-A here in the states. Just waiting of the Leprosy and TB clearance.....heh heh.

I am sure there is more to say, but this post is too long already. Thank you so much to everyone, the suggestions and ideas presented here are valuable and very much appreciated. They have really given us things to consider.

Michael and Ta

[Thailand J]

ai yayaya...a money manager adviced to dump US dollars ? fire him.

[Mike45]

Wow. Thanks for all the responses. The suggestions cover the whole gamut of possibilities.

From 'just don't do it' (extremely helpful...heh heh)

to 'leave your money in the US'

to 'move money to Singapore and access it there as needed'

to 'move it all to Thailand'

and even a few more different ideas.

There were some that question what amount we are transferring, I was vague about that in my earlier posts. The actual amount is going to be somewhere around $100k USD. I spent 2 years in the Kingdom from 2005 to 2007, and at that time, I had no intention of ever returning. But my Thai wife convinced me that he wanted to see the US, despite my attempts to dissuade her of that desire.

We spent the last 8 years here living the 'American Dream' and she now agrees with me that we want to live out our lives in Thailand. We have the above savings, along with some other money already in Thai banks.

We will have no income (at this time, perhaps when I qualify for SS in 8 years or so, we will have to tackle that then), so keeping US bank accounts is unnecessary. Once we move the money over, there won't be any more, at least for the next 8 years.

The general consensus seems to be that SWIFT transfers do work, with a fee of about $45 plus whatever the Thai bank charges to receive it ( possibly a max of 500 baht). Just make sure the money isn't converted until it gets in country.

I see the wisdom in getting an account at BKK if there were going to be multiple transfers over the next few years, but that is not the case. This is a one-time transfer. Even so, looks like even ACH transfers to BKK can charge up to $25 in fees, not a significant saving over SWIFT.

As far as the member that warned of the Thai pastime of 'sucking money from the Farang', well, my Thai wife and I have been married for 8 years, and I am familiar with a few of the Thai cultural idiosyncrasies, money being one of them.

Regarding my wife setting up a business, she is a bit younger than me, and wants something to do. I am okay with that, and she spent the last 8 years working here with me and deserves to do what she wants with part of our cash. She has my complete blessing and support on that.

What else? Hmmm. Yes, I am getting my NonImm O-A here in the states. Just waiting of the Leprosy and TB clearance.....heh heh.

I am sure there is more to say, but this post is too long already. Thank you so much to everyone, the suggestions and ideas presented here are valuable and very much appreciated. They have really given us things to consider.

Michael and Ta

Michael, The Pariot Act can make it very difficult for an American to open a USA bank account from outside the USA. I suggest you keep an account open there with easy, free ATM access for your future Social Security income.

I also have a concern that 100k isn't enough for 8 years but I'm sure you've planned that out.

Happy 4th!

[Mike45]

Does your bank do internet banking ? Do they work with POP Money

You can transfer money this way with a very small fee.

I use Usbank to do this with there external transfer system.

You can open account with Bangkok Bank when you get here.

You can also bring a cashiers check with you, I brought $20,000 it takes about 3 weeks to clear.

I just deposited a check into my BKK account. BKK now uses Bank America to clear checks and it took 3 days.

Jeffrey

I'd like to know more about the check you deposited. Was there a fee? Was it a personal check?

I'd love to be able to write out a personal check once a month for my monthly expenses.

[mrfaroukh]

I don't know how much money you want to transfer but I would not transfer all my money. You never know what happen and if you really like to stay here all your life. I always transfer enough money to use for few months at a time. Yes I have to pay almost 1200 Baht in transfer charges but it worth it. My money is safer in my country. And if ever your credit or debit card from Thailand is misused then you don't loose much.

If you do transfer all your money then open one bank account to just keep your money in it without any credit or debit card attached to it. Then open another account for your daily use and have a debit card for it.

I don't think you can open an account in Thailand while you still in USA, so once you are in Thailand open an account and transfer money directly to your account and you will get the best rate that way.

[Pinot]

Americans need only to go to their embassy and "declare" their monthly income and they will receive a notarized statement from the embassy which is then provided to Thai immigration. No real need to have the 800K (or the lesser marriage amount) in any bank here in Thailand.

If that is the only real reason you want to move a big chunk of change to Thailand you really don't need to do it.

I've lived here for years with the "retirement' visa and have one little 'ol account here with maybe 10K baht in it and all of the rest of my money stays in the States. That Charles Schwab account is a wonderful thing.

Happy 4th of July!

Schwab International Banking is free.

I agree Schwab is the only way to fly and do yourself a favor and leave the money in the US. I live here on ATM withdrawals which by the way is limited to 15000 baht out of the machine from Schwab and I think it's $1000/day. You can also go into the bank and get as much as you want with a cash card and passport. It's good to have a Skype account to communicate with the bank.

It's pretty simple really. I would make Schwab work.

[Pinot]

Wow. Thanks for all the responses. The suggestions cover the whole gamut of possibilities.

From 'just don't do it' (extremely helpful...heh heh)

to 'leave your money in the US'

to 'move money to Singapore and access it there as needed'

to 'move it all to Thailand'

and even a few more different ideas.

There were some that question what amount we are transferring, I was vague about that in my earlier posts. The actual amount is going to be somewhere around $100k USD. I spent 2 years in the Kingdom from 2005 to 2007, and at that time, I had no intention of ever returning. But my Thai wife convinced me that he wanted to see the US, despite my attempts to dissuade her of that desire.

We spent the last 8 years here living the 'American Dream' and she now agrees with me that we want to live out our lives in Thailand. We have the above savings, along with some other money already in Thai banks.

We will have no income (at this time, perhaps when I qualify for SS in 8 years or so, we will have to tackle that then), so keeping US bank accounts is unnecessary. Once we move the money over, there won't be any more, at least for the next 8 years.

The general consensus seems to be that SWIFT transfers do work, with a fee of about $45 plus whatever the Thai bank charges to receive it ( possibly a max of 500 baht). Just make sure the money isn't converted until it gets in country.

I see the wisdom in getting an account at BKK if there were going to be multiple transfers over the next few years, but that is not the case. This is a one-time transfer. Even so, looks like even ACH transfers to BKK can charge up to $25 in fees, not a significant saving over SWIFT.

As far as the member that warned of the Thai pastime of 'sucking money from the Farang', well, my Thai wife and I have been married for 8 years, and I am familiar with a few of the Thai cultural idiosyncrasies, money being one of them.

Regarding my wife setting up a business, she is a bit younger than me, and wants something to do. I am okay with that, and she spent the last 8 years working here with me and deserves to do what she wants with part of our cash. She has my complete blessing and support on that.

What else? Hmmm. Yes, I am getting my NonImm O-A here in the states. Just waiting of the Leprosy and TB clearance.....heh heh.

I am sure there is more to say, but this post is too long already. Thank you so much to everyone, the suggestions and ideas presented here are valuable and very much appreciated. They have really given us things to consider.

Michael and Ta

$100,000 for 8 years, huh? Get used to Hamburger Helper (without the hamburger).

[anono2223]

$100,000 for 8 years, huh? Get used to Hamburger Helper (without the hamburger).

Heh heh. Very helpful. And spot on topic....

Thanks so much.

Michael

[Loptr]

Given that the topic is moving $$$ from the US to a Thai bank account, I have used various methods but the ACH transfer via a Bank of Bangkok account in New York seems to be the least painful for me...

I also have Schwab accounts and use a debit card to extract funds via an ATM when necessary... No transaction or international fees...

As for the side-bar discussion on where is best to keep your funds, I used to be in the camp of leaving my funds in the US and only transferring what is necessary for living expenses as an expat... In the last couple years, I have begun moving assets offshore from US banking to jurisdictions where banks are actually solvent... When you consider that US banks hold deposits of over $23 trillion USD and the FDIC is only funded to roughly $63 billion USD, coupled with the fact that US banks have now leveraged deposits by a factor of 97-to-1, along with the current health of the US economy and banking sector, I am not comfortable leaving all my eggs in the USD basket... 2008 was not that long ago, but it appears everyone has forgotten the crisis created by the banks and wall street pimps in the US... Not me...

One tidbit many are not aware of is the fact that as a depositor in US banks, you are making an unsecured loan to the bank... You deposits are no longer yours, you are loaning your $$$ to the bank... Couple this with the castration of the Dodd-Frank Bill and the banksters can use YOUR deposits in their hair-brained investments schemes... And if they lose it, good luck getting it back...

http://allnewspipeline.com/Surprise_Surprise_Did_You_Know.php

[fred Kubasa]

My Thai wife's SCB account was opened in Pattaya and, as she is frequently in Ubon, I transfer from my SCB acct. to hers with no charges.

[phuketandsee]

Are you nuts? (I know madman is in your handle)

Why would you transfer a lot of funds to Thailand right now? The way things are going here you could really regret this. Keep the bulk in the US and transfer enough each month to live on.

[Pib]

Americans need only to go to their embassy and "declare" their monthly income and they will receive a notarized statement from the embassy which is then provided to Thai immigration. No real need to have the 800K (or the lesser marriage amount) in any bank here in Thailand.

If that is the only real reason you want to move a big chunk of change to Thailand you really don't need to do it.

I've lived here for years with the "retirement' visa and have one little 'ol account here with maybe 10K baht in it and all of the rest of my money stays in the States. That Charles Schwab account is a wonderful thing.

Happy 4th of July!

Schwab International Banking is free.

I agree Schwab is the only way to fly and do yourself a favor and leave the money in the US. I live here on ATM withdrawals which by the way is limited to 15000 baht out of the machine from Schwab and I think it's $1000/day. You can also go into the bank and get as much as you want with a cash card and passport. It's good to have a Skype account to communicate with the bank.

It's pretty simple really. I would make Schwab work.

Assuming your are talking a Schwab debit card issued by Schwab Bank (U.S.) (i.e., the checking account you automatically must sign up for when opening a U.S. Schwab brokerage account) versus Schwab International which has different limits, the daily ATM or counter withdrawal limit is $1,000. I expect you can call Schwab in advance to get that raised temporarily. Then again I heard of other folks have their debit card linked to the brokerage acct vs checking account and supposedly can get much higher counter withdrawals.

At Thai ATMs such as TMB and Krungsri they dispense up to B30K per transaction...and I think CIMB may be Bt30K also. Other Thai banks/AEON range from Bt20-25K per withdrawal.

The limits set by Schwab and Thai banks/AEON are unrelated...a person must avoid exceeding either for a successful transaction.

Edited July 5, 2015 by Pib

[Bruce404]

From experience over the last year, USAA Federal Savings Bank will do SWIFT transfers to Siam Commercial Bank (and presumably all other international banks affiliated with the SWIFT system) for $45, regardless of amount. But they refuse to accept a written form, submitted either by airmail or by attachment via secure messaging within their website. Instead, USAA requires a phone call from the client (by telephone or Skype if overseas at the time) to initiate a SWIFT transfer, which introduces the possibility of error by the USAA agent writing down the details, and even repeating them back verbally to the client. (In my case, they misspelled the street address of the Thai account owner (me in this case), so not so serious this time. But I refuse to do any further SWIFT transactions with them under such unprofessional practice of not accepting written instructions, particularly when dealing with 5-digit amounts.)

The next time I used Schwab for a fixed charge of $25 from a brokerage account. This was much better, even though they cannot do it directly from a "Schwab Bank" account -- you have to (easily) move one's funds first to one's linked brokerage account. The nice thing about Schwab was that I was able to prepare the .pdf form while in Thailand and avoid the delay of airmailing a printed form to the USA.

I simply inserted my signature image into the file with Adobe Acrobat (using its "stamp" feature, although one could also just sign a printed-out page, scan it, and attach it as a second attachment upload), and transmitted the forms via Schwab's secure messaging with its file-attachment feature.

Schwab uses a key-chain "fob" device ("Symantec VIP", same as Paypal.com) they mail to your U.S. account address that generates a new random number every 30 seconds, that they use to confirm your identity when logging in to their secure system. Even if someone has stolen your userID and usual password, without the random number they cannot get into the account. Nice thing is that this one Symantec fob can be registered with and used with both Schwab and Paypal and likely other outfits in future.

I recall submitting the attachments to Schwab on a Friday evening, Thailand time, and on Monday was called spontaneously by the SCB foreign exchange office in Bangkok that they had received it and would be depositing it into my designated account. I did not try to do research comparing the exchange rates that other Thai banks might have offered, but I doubt if the difference would have been worth the hassle of shopping around, and opening multiple accounts at different Thai banks.

A good place to compare current and archived bank exchange rates is here: http://daytodaydata.net/, but the rates do not apply at booths at the BKK airport (according to TripAdvisor.com), and may be worse on ACH "domestic" funds transferred via a U.S. branch of the Thai bank, as someone mentioned above.

Years ago, SCB did allow ACH transfers into its "correspondent" account (was once #10939775) at Citibank in New York City, for further transfer to an SCB customer's account in Thailand, as Bangkok Bank does still. But I think no longer. It might be nice if they did, as long as the exchange rate they would give by that route would be competitive.

PS. SCB does charge B15 (~US 45¢) when withdrawing cash with an account debit card at one of their ATM machines in a Thai region different from where the account's branch is located. Not such a big deal if you are taking out a few thousand or more at a time.

PPS. I think it is safer for such SWIFT transfers from the USA to go to one's own account in Thailand, or to a trusted relative's, so that one can easily verify online, or otherwise, that the transfer was successfully effected. Also, if you are buying a condominium or expect someday to take out currency assets from Thailand, you should ask the sending bank to put the "purpose" of the SWIFT transfer in the field of that name on the form, and get your Thai bank to complete and sign a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form for you to keep, as well as a printout for you of the incoming transfer details that they have in their system, for future reference and proof that you did indeed bring in the funds. Staff in many branches will have no idea what you are talking about, so just patiently and politely get them to call the bank's foreign exchange ("Forex", "Inward Department" for SCB) office at their headquarters in Bangkok to explain to them what you are asking for.

Edited July 5, 2015 by Bruce404

[anono2223]

Are you nuts? (I know madman is in your handle)

Why would you transfer a lot of funds to Thailand right now? The way things are going here you could really regret this. Keep the bulk in the US and transfer enough each month to live on.

This and other similar posts are confusing. Many inferring doom and gloom. Never bring a large amount of money into the country. Leave it in US and move it as you need it.

But I cannot find any threads in a search of anyone saying they lost all their money, or how much they regret ever bringing over their cash.

And all of you, I assume, continue to live in country, at least semi-permanently. Where is the risk? Thailand is where I am going to live out my life. I have been there before, now ready the make it as permanent as I can. I am done with the US. I have had enough. I don't want to leave money here. I don't want to leave anything. Ready to finish what life I have left somewhere wonderful with my wife.

Please, if there is a genuine reason to not move a chunk of money over, be specific.

Thank you

Michael

[Thailand J]

I did some reseach and found out that the Charles Schwab ATM card exchange rate has a .25% fee charged by Visa, so it is not really " free".

That is $25 for every $10,000, one should take this into account when comparing this method to others.

as to the question where to leave your asset, the question to me is not why move money toThailand, but why not leave it in USA.

You may have your own reason to move all your money into Thailand then go ahead. Exchange rate fluactiontion may hurt you just as much as it may help you in the future, but I dont see the dollar collapsing soon.

US is far from Greece, 1/3 of US debt is from foreign nations, China being the biggest creditor holds about 7%, is that large enough to worry or joke about? may be. Why would China rock the boat? They need the mass market in US just as the US is addicted to their cheap goods.

This is the wrong time to sell US dollars- we have fully recovered from the 2008/2009 crisis and the interest rate is about to rise making the currency more valuable to hold. US companies are lean and more efficient after post crisis cut backs and will continue to be profitable. Above all that the US has an efficient and capable Federal reserve system . Hang on to your dollars and US stocks.

[anono2223]

Phew. Lots of information. Thanks to all that gave useful replies. Thank you very much.

SWIFT

ACH to Bangkok Bank (don't have account here, so not usable at this time)

Forex (a little better than transferwise)

Transferwise

Schwab International Account (perhaps best if leaving money in US, xferring as needed later)

Others....(PayPal, Bitcoin, Postal Service, etc., none I would consider)

Lots of choices, lots of differences. Leads me to one, single question about a SWIFT transfer, for say, $10kUSD.

Lets just say I walk into my local Chase branch and tell them I want to transfer $10,045 to a specific account in the Thai SCB bank.

Chase says, 'Great! The fee is $45USD'.

I tell them I want to transfer it in USD, do not convert to Baht, let SCB to that when it gets there.

Chase says, 'Great! The fee is still $45USD'.

I ask, are there any other fees regarding the transfer? Intermediate bank fees, etc?

Chase says. 'Nope.'

So I ask, 'Are you telling me that once processed, SCB will receive $10,000USD? by wire'

Chase says, 'Our fee is $45USD'

If this is the case, then $45USD is .45% of $10k. This obviously cannot be the case, as almost all SWIFT transfer threads quote 2-3% in fees ($200-$300USD). They talk about exchange rate adjustments, but if SCB T/T rate is, say 33.66 (todays rate), where is the exchange rate adjustment? If SCB gets $10,000USD and uses the T/T rate of 33.66 to convert it, I just don't see where the 'other fees' of which some folks speak are taken from the transfer. Even factoring in the $500 'wire receiving fee' by SCB, this only results in a total fee of about $60USD, or 0.6%.

Here is what I get using above information for SWIFT, and then using Transferwise and Forex websites for a $10kUSD move to Thailand:

335,085.30 Baht SWIFT ($9955 X 33.66 - 500)(Subtracted 500 Baht receiving wire fee)

332.450.47 Baht Transferwise (using transfer calculator on webpage) https://transferwise.com/landing/internationalLandingPages?internationalPageUrl=us

333,179.00 Baht Forex (using Customer Rates - This Is What You Get page) http://www.usforex.com/customer-rates

SWIFT wins. By about 2KBaht, or somewhere about $60. Plus SWIFT is by far fastest and easiest.

Obviously, I am missing something, so please educate me.

Thank you,

Michael