Best way to transfer money from my US bank?

[jst]

I have US bank accounts connected to my debit cards. The Thai bank ATMs give a low rate of exchange when you draw out money(as low as 30% when the exchange rate is at 36+).I am losing so much money plus I must pay transaction fees!

Internatioal Bank wires will cost about $50 or more! That's a lot of baht. I live in Pattaya. Any better solutions?

[steven100]

Don't trust the banks or anyone your not sure of ... I can get your money here in a couple of days all in cash in a suitcase ..

[phetphet]

Maybe have a look at Transferwise https://transferwise.com

[Pib]

The Thai banks "do not" give low exchange rates by 30%...don't know how you could reach such a percentage unless you withdrawing small amounts where any fees could make up a significant percentage while also accepting a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) transaction (more on than below) and/or your card-issuing bank applies healthy foreign transaction fees with no local ATM fee reimbursement.

Assuming you don't accept a DCC transaction, Thai bank ATMs use the card-network (i.e., Visa/Mastercard/AmEx/Union Pay/etc) exchange rate which is plus or minus a few stang of the Thai bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers which is about the best rate the common man can get. In fact, the card-network exchange rate is quite often better than the TT Buying Rate.

Now when you slide your card into the Thai bank ATM if may offer you a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) transaction although they will not call it that (often happens for Mastercard logo cards)...the ATM will call it Bank Rate, Home Rate, or some other warm and fuzzy name. But the end result is it means you will not get the Thai bank exchange rate which will be 3 to 4% lower than the card network rate "before any foreign transaction fees your home country card-issuing bank may apply." Decline the DCC option and continue on to get the card network rate.

Most (not all) card-issuing banks charge a 1 to 3% foreign transaction fee plus maybe a flat fee of $3 to $5. And of course it your card does not reimburse the ATM Bt200 foreign card fee that effectively lowers your exchange rate. Assuming you decline a possible DCC offer, the blame for a low exchange rate lies with the fees charged by your home country card-issuing bank and not the Thai ATM. And remember if fees are involved and you are withdrawing small amounts, then any fees could then make it appear your are getting a really low exchange rate.

But there are no foreign transaction fee debit cards out there that also reimburse ATM like the Schwab card that been mentioned in many posts...I have one...works great...full Visa exchange rate...0% fees...reimburses ATM fees. So, if the exchange rate was 36 baht per USD that exactly what you get with no fees out of pocket.

Since you have some U.S. bank accounts which I expect offer free/low cost ACH ibanking transfers, just get a Bangkok Bank account and then you can use a low cost ACH transfer from the great majority of U.S. banks to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank account....much cheaper than using an international wire/SWIFT transfers. More info here: Link.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Pib

[ukrules]

Do a wire transfer in US Dollars, you will get the current market rate when the money arrives in your Thai account.

Some banks in the US overcharge customers for a normal routine SWIFT transfer which is the international 'wire' service they will use.

They do this because they can get away with it and most personal account customers don't send money abroad on a regular basis. I suggest you change your bank or perhaps upgrade your account to one with cheaper fees due of this.

I do an international wire every month from the UK and it costs the equivalent of about $15, my bank doesn't overcharge me and I get something very close to the true exchange rate when the money arrives in my Thai account.

[lopburi3]

Believe OP means as low as 30 baht per USD when exchange rate is currently over 36 per USD; rather than "30%"

[Pib]

Believe OP means as low as 30 baht per USD when exchange rate is currently over 36 per USD; rather than "30%"

If so that equates to 17% in exchange rate loss...still way too high unless DCC, card fees, and/or small amount withdrawals are occurring.

[gk10002000]

That low of a rate does not make sense. If the bank/ATM you used did that, then go to a different bank. ATM exchange rates are very close if not better than cash exchange rates so something seems out of kilter. And if you do withdraw money, make sure you use the ATMs that allow 30 k baht at a time and not 25 or 20 k baht. There are fees charged of I think 150 baht now that are un avoidable, but some US banks and others will rebate such fees. I am told Schwab rebates them. Etrade rebates all US based transaction fees but I believe they no longer rebate foreign ATM transaction fees.

[4evermaat]

Pib summed it up. The ATM gives the visa/MC rate, which mirrors the TT rates that you would get from wire or other electronic funds transfer. Easy way to check rates USD to THB here

Say you pull $100 usd and pay $5 per transaction fee + 3% ($3) + 200 baht on thai side (appx $6). So that is $14 or 14% of $100.

A $1,000 withdraw with same fee structure: $5 + 3% ($30) + 200Bt ($6) = $41 or 4.1% of $1,000.

At today's rates of appx 36Bt/$ the max pull is ~$555 (20,000B atm), ~$694 (25,000B atm), ~$833. (30,000B atm).

$555 fees: $5 + 3% ($16.5) + 200Bt ($6) = $27.5 or 5% of $555.

$694 fees: $5 + 3% ($20.82) + 200Bt ($6) = $31.82 or 4.6% of $694.

$833 fees: $5 + 3% ($25) + 200Bt ($6) = $36 or 4.3% of $833.

Now of course you would have declined DCC or else i can see the NET withdraw amount decrease another 10%+.

If you have a 0-1% foreign transaction fee and/or partial/full reimbursement of 3rd party atm fees, then your atm pulls are significantly cheaper. Usually military and federal govt-affiliated banks/credit unions are usually fee-friendly when it comes to foreign transactons and ach.

The other options are ACH/ETF to bangkok bank acct, wire transfer, or private money exchanger like TransferWise. With wire, make sure you select option to cover all fees when sending.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx has fees for ach option.

ACH might be cheaper in most cases, until you get over a certain amt like $10,000. Can you wait 2-4 business days for ACH vs same/next biz day of wire transfer (with a decent bank) vs 24/7 immediacy of ATM?

Edited January 24, 2016 by 4evermaat

[Rob13]

I use my debit card. I get about 1 point below what the bank gives for a cash exchange and i pay 200 baht in ATM charges.It's not bad when you factor in the convenience. The trick is to withdrawal large amounts a possible to keep the fees down. I haven't heard of any bank giving a 30 baht exchange rate, so i'm not sure what the 30% is about

Edited January 24, 2016 by Rob13

[TheAppletons]

Methinks the OP doesn't understand DCC and that's why he's getting such low exchange rates.

[Rob13]

Maybe just a case of bad math skills

[Gonsalviz]

Open a Thai bank account and send it swift code.

[Pib]

Open a Thai bank account and send it swift code.

But like the OP said,"International Bank wires will cost about $50 or more! That's a lot of baht."

[DogNo1]

If you can get a no-foreign-transaction-fee Visa card and do an over-the-counter cash advance at Bangkok Bank, you will get the Visa rate with no charges whatsoever. Of course, you must pay the amount that you will withdraw to your bank a day or two before to avoid being charged interest on the advanced amount.

[jst]

Thanks to all who took the time to give such thorough responses. I will certainly look into these options.

[gbob]

That low of a rate does not make sense. If the bank/ATM you used did that, then go to a different bank. ATM exchange rates are very close if not better than cash exchange rates so something seems out of kilter. And if you do withdraw money, make sure you use the ATMs that allow 30 k baht at a time and not 25 or 20 k baht. There are fees charged of I think 150 baht now that are un avoidable, but some US banks and others will rebate such fees. I am told Schwab rebates them. Etrade rebates all US based transaction fees but I believe they no longer rebate foreign ATM transaction fees.

Which ATMs in Thailand allow withdrawal of 30 k baht at one time?

[Pib]

Krungsri and TMB.