banking charges

[flipper2222222]

hi list,

I am making international money transfers from Australia to Thailand,

have tried, my bank , western union, XE and every time the receiving Thai bank takes a fee of between 500-600 Baht, even though western union and XE and transferring Thai Baht.

Does anyone know how to avoid this 500 baht fee?

I am finding out if there is any charge to receive from pay pal. but the transactions times are long for this type of transaction so would prefer to avoid.

city bank might be an option as they have branches in both Australia and Thailand but they want a minimum 100,000 baht deposit to open the account in Thailand so this is not a preferred option either.

Anyone have any other ideas?

cheers

[lopburi3]

Thai bank fee is 1/4 of one percent in the range 200 baht minimum to 500 baht max on transfers - there is no other Thai bank change - and there is no extra fee for conversion from foreign currency (and in almost all cases the net result will be better - much better in some cases).

The normal method for transfer is Swift and there will be a charge by foreign bank (varies in amount quite a bit) and another by the foreign correspondent bank with connection to Thailand but normally this is a good method if transferring larger amounts.

[BobTH]

Also watch the exchange rate you are getting, the banks will typically give better rates than paypal. If you are transferring a fairly large amount the exchange rate difference can be very substantial. Also it is preferred to transfer the money in your home countries currency then have it exchanged to Thai baht on the receiving end.

[allane]

I have used Bangkok Bank for years. I have the currency changed on the Thai end, so they make money on that. But there is no fee as such, for receiving funds.

[ripstanley]

I was transferring money from Australia using Ozforex (now renamed OFX). I was transferring to my SCB account. I found out by contacting the SCB that Ozforex send to Bangkok Bank and then they transfer to SCB. I transferred 100,079.60 baht from Australia. Bangkok bank then charged 401.20 baht to transfer to SCB.

SCB then charged me 100 baht "Commission baht net" and 100 baht "Inter region transfer".

The exchange rate I was given from Ozfoex was better then if I transferred A$ and exchanged in Thailand.

I now just transfer to my Bangkok bank account.

[Pib]

I have used Bangkok Bank for years. I have the currency changed on the Thai end, so they make money on that. But there is no fee as such, for receiving funds.

Yes, Bangkok Bank does charge a receiving fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max). The fee is deducted before the funds are posted to your account and does not appear on your passbook or ibanking...this fools some folks into thinking no fee was applied. From the Bangkok Bank website:

You receive the TT Buying Rate for the incoming transfer, the fee is subtracted, and then the remaining is posted to your account. Unless you calculate the fee and add it back in to the posted amount you will never get your math to match the actual TT Buying Rate given and posted on the Bangkok Bank website. But you can setup your account for free "International Remittance SMS" and in that SMS you get when the funds are posted to your account it will tell you the amount received, the exchange rate given, the receiving fee applied, and the amount/time posting to your account.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Pib

[timber]

I use TMB and just write a check to myself out of my foreign account. Takes about a month for the money to transfer. The exchange rate

seems to be OK. No fees under the no fee account. I think it costs 500 B a year and you are allowed something like 17 transactions a month

or something like that.

[keeniau96]

Like others I have found the Bangkok Bank transfer method to be quick, simple and cheaper than any other I have looked at. Pib has good suggestion re finding the actual transfer cost, however, I just looked at my account there and cannot find the entry for setting the free "International Remittance SMS".

[Pib]

Like others I have found the Bangkok Bank transfer method to be quick, simple and cheaper than any other I have looked at. Pib has good suggestion re finding the actual transfer cost, however, I just looked at my account there and cannot find the entry for setting the free "International Remittance SMS".

The specific name is SMS Remittance Alert. More info at the bank's website.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/SMSAlerts/Pages/SMSRemittanceAlert.aspx

[namello]

PayPal charges you a 'hidden' fee of 2.5% in the form of an inflated exchange rate. That's on top of any charges they officially display.

[Pib]

PayPal charges you a 'hidden' fee of 2.5% in the form of an inflated exchange rate. That's on top of any charges they officially display.

That's what many PayPal users missed/don't understand. Instead they get hypnotized where it says no or low fees, but fail to understand the PayPal exchange rate is several percent lower than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate, Forex rate, no foreign transaction fee Visa/Mastercard rate, etc. PayPal or Western Union eat your lunch in their lower exchange rate.

[flipper2222222]

I was just given a good tip via a private message so won't reveal who.

here is a link that might eliminate the receiving bank fee as the last part of the money transfer send is sent via a local transfer

https://transferwise.com

good rate too

anyone else use this?

[manfredtillmann]

I was just given a good tip via a private message so won't reveal who.

here is a link that might eliminate the receiving bank fee as the last part of the money transfer send is sent via a local transfer

https://transferwise.com

good rate too

anyone else use this?

always looking for a better way myself.

just checked out your link, their x-change rate sure beats hifex or ofx, and with both of those you will also incur non - disclosed charges you'll only know about if you sit down and do your maths.

will certainly give transferwise a trial and report back. thank you (and the anonymous donor) for the link.

[Pib]

Quite a few other threads/post onThaiVisa talking transferwise. A search will provide some posts of those who have already tried/are using transferwise.

[manfredtillmann]

so, this is what happened:

signed up to them,had to scan the picture page of my passport - almost the same as everyone else. i did not need to verify my australian address, a mayor issue with 'the others'.

did a 'deal' on friday night, got a exchange sum far better than any of 'the others'.

i transferred the funds sunday afternoon by internet banking and received confirmation of receipt of funds on tuesday morning. the exchange rate was different from what my 'deal' was so it seems the rate upon receipt of funds is the one that applies for the deal. this is different from 'the others' but worked in my favor this time.

i was informed the money should arrive in my account on 18/01 but it was there today, 14/01. the exact amount, no fees deducted. i am with KTB and my previous transactions with 'the others' have attracted fee deductions of up to thb 650 from KTB and up to the same amount from unspecified culprits.

summary: i like their service, speed, honesty.

i am worried about methods of resolving potential problems. they are not a bank, they are a business. i received emails of them offering large rewards for recommendations - and it is probably that very reason why i would not.