Right.

This paypal thing with adding a Thai bank account seems to be popping up and as far as I understand it you can pretty much use the system to transfer money between countries at good rates.

I also understand that the system can be a pain in the @rse if not set up and used correctly.

So my situation is:

- Located in Thailand and earning a salary here.

- Accounts in Thailand, UK and Australia

- Credit Cards in all three countries as well

Sometimes it is in my interest to shift funds between any three of these places. Can Paypal help me?

What are the pitfalls? Should I set the paypal account up in Thailand, Australia or the UK?

BUMP!!!!

Really, can nobody answer this?

Right.

This paypal thing with adding a Thai bank account seems to be popping up and as far as I understand it you can pretty much use the system to transfer money between countries at good rates.

I also understand that the system can be a pain in the @rse if not set up and used correctly.

So my situation is:

- Located in Thailand and earning a salary here.

- Accounts in Thailand, UK and Australia

- Credit Cards in all three countries as well

Sometimes it is in my interest to shift funds between any three of these places. Can Paypal help me?

What are the pitfalls? Should I set the paypal account up in Thailand, Australia or the UK?

You can move your funds between different Paypal accounts - but realise that they charge you for it, the buggers! 4% i think it is.

In addition to their fee they do the currency conversions at a very unfavorable exchange rate, about 2% below the interbank rate. That means you will lose at least 5% if you transfer money from bank uk -> paypal uk -> paypal th -> bank th. For smaller amounts that is still ok but above 20000 Baht a swift transfer will be less expensive.

So yes, you can do that if you think it makes sense in your situation.

Cheers, thanks for the replies.

Is it best to set up the account in the UK, or here in Thailand, or does that not really matter?

I suppose its where you want to "Park" the money the most to avoid the conversion and transfer fees.

If your aim is to transfer from UK to TH then you will need 2 paypal accounts, 1 in UK and 1 in TH. UK paypal accounts can have attached bank accounts in UK and US, Thai paypal accounts can have bank accounts in TH and US. The only way to move your funds between these 2 accouts is via the send money function which will involve fees. If you also have a US bank accont then you are better off.

Is it best to set up the account in the UK, or here in Thailand, or does that not really matter?