Smart Transfer

[Governor]

I am trying a new method to send cash back to Thailand, as I feel Western Union is a tad pricy though convenient.

I signed up for Smart Transfer at the recent Thai festival in Battersea Park. You are given two cards, one to take to an agent in the UK and pay in cash to load up a visa account with the second card being used to draw the funds instantly from any atm that accepts visa.

It seems a simple idea but I wonder if there is anything I have missed. You pay a fee to load up the card and £2.60 for each withdrawal so I suppose it is only cost effective if you can draw sufficient funds out in one go.

I suppose the questions I am really asking are;

1 – Has anyone else heard of or used Smart Transfer

2 – Does anyone know what is the maximum you can draw out of an atm in any single transaction in Thailand?

I apologise it this subject has been covered elsewhere.

Cheers

[Thai-Spy]

I am trying a new method to send cash back to Thailand, as I feel Western Union is a tad pricy though convenient.

...

It seems a simple idea but I wonder if there is anything I have missed. You pay a fee to load up the card and £2.60 for each withdrawal so I suppose it is only cost effective if you can draw sufficient funds out in one go.

Western Union is not all that convenient if you consider that most (or all?) of their agent locations seem to close at 20h00 sharp.

To really analyze if Smart is a practical alternative you'll need to know their effective exchange rate in addition to their fees.

[samran]

1) Are they registered with the FSA? What financial credibilty do they have.

2) what is the exchange rate you get?

Nationwide to me seems the best way of doing it to be perfectly honest.

[Governor]

1) Are they registered with the FSA? What financial credibilty do they have.

2) what is the exchange rate you get?

Nationwide to me seems the best way of doing it to be perfectly honest.

I'm not sure if they are rigistered with the FSA as they are actually a bank based in Latvia, I realise that this in itself could cause a risk.

The exchange rate is clearly important, I know that Western Union is pretty poor, and I asked them when I opened the account. They only replied that their rate is competitive but they would say that, I will try it it with a hundred quid when the second card hets to my home in Thailand to see what it's like.

I undersand that Nationwide is a good alternative so I suppose I will have to open up an account with them eventually.

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