Foreign cheque into Thai bank account

[Khun Han]

Anyone know If a cheque issued by a UK bank can be paid by the payee into their Thai bank account? And, if so, what are the fees and how long for it to clear? Cheers.

[Pib]

Most Thai bank accept foreign cheques with a fee of around Bt300 and it usually takes 3 to 6 weeks before the cheque will be cleared and funds made available in the person's account.

[OccamsRazor]

Most Thai bank accept foreign cheques with a fee of around Bt300 and it usually takes 3 to 6 weeks before the cheque will be cleared and funds made available in the person's account.

That mirrors my experience also.

[burgerking]

Deposit into Bangkok Bank... 200 baht fee, clears in around a week.

[Khun Han]

Thanks guys. What was the rate of currency exchange like? Anywhere near the inter-bank rate?

[thai3]

so this is cheaper than doing a normal transfer, just write yourself a cheque, must be a catch somewhere, exchange rate?

[wisheewashee]

Mine got rejected because it was under a hundred pounds . Kasikornbank 400bht

[thai3]

could you write yourself one out for 3.000 pounds?

[Pib]

Thanks guys. What was the rate of currency exchange like? Anywhere near the inter-bank rate?

You should get the bank's Sight Bill/Cheques Buying Rate which will be approx 0.15 GBP less that the bank's TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers. Example: Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate at the moment in time is 51.76 baht/GBP and the Sight Bill Rate 51.63.

[LazySlipper]

could you write yourself one out for 3.000 pounds?

This is an excellent question.

Will the Thai banks change a personal check from abroad?

Could save me a lot on ATM fees.

Anyone ever do it?

[Pib]

could you write yourself one out for 3.000 pounds?

This is an excellent question.

Will the Thai banks change a personal check from abroad?

Could save me a lot on ATM fees.

Anyone ever do it?

Do a search on ThaiVisa...you pull up quite a few posts of people who do this. The major down side is needing to wait around 3 to 6 weeks (maybe a little faster sometimes) for the cheque to clear and funds be made available to you bank account (which also means you'll need a Thai bank account). And two minor down sides of slightly lower exchange rate and a fee of around Bt300. But if currently using a debit card with a foreign transaction fee (3% is common) you would probably still be better off fee-wise...you'll be donating less to the banksters. A lot will depend on your particular bank branch as to whether they want to mess with a foreign cheque or just say No Can Do or refer you to a larger branch or another bank. But if you get into a regular schedule of writing a cheque, say every month but needing to wait a month for the cheque to clear, then you still have money being made available monthly....almost like receiving an automatic wire transfer each month or doing a monthly ATM withdrawal.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Pib

[orientalist]

I do this a couple of times a year at K-Bank for sums of £2000 or £3000. The fee is US$10 for some reason. They tell you it will clear in 40-45 days, although I had one clear in about 30 days. You won't know which day's rate applies, unfortunately.

[LazySlipper]

Thank you Pib. You read my mind to a T.

[thai3]

so it's the time to clear that's the problem, took a Thai bank 140 days once for them to set up a direct debit for the internet bill

[Khun Han]

could you write yourself one out for 3.000 pounds?

The cheque's an insurance payout made out to a Thai relative.

[Maybole]

could you write yourself one out for 3.000 pounds?

This is an excellent question.

Will the Thai banks change a personal check from abroad?

Could save me a lot on ATM fees.

Anyone ever do it?

[Maybole]

My late friend Ray Ford used to pay a personal checque drawn on hes UK account into SCB in Chiangmai and get credit for most of it until it cleared. Clearance usually took about 4 weeks.

[Maybole]

My late friend Ray Ford used to pay a personal checque drawn on his UK account into SCB in Chiangmai and get credit for most of it until it cleared. Clearance usually took about 4 weeks.

[ballbreaker]

I deposited personal checks in the past and bank always said it would take up to 45 days before it appeared in my account. In my case it always took 30-45 days to appear in my account. I stopped because the checks cleared my US account within 7 days but took another 3-4 weeks to show up in my Thai bank account.

[LazySlipper]

Today I went to Bangkok Bank because I have an INCOME TAX REFUND CHECK from the gvt of Canada to cash in. I was told that it would cost 360 bht. BUT get this... they were also going to charge me 150.00 canadian (4000 bht more or less) to clear the check. They said personal checks were 360 bht but not this kind (income tax refund) check issued by the fracking gvt...

Does that make any sense? Sure as H--- seems someone is greasing his her pocket. Anyone have any experience with this or is this just the bkk bank's policy that I went to.

Any input appreciated.

[Pib]

Sounds right on the fee for the personal check as Bangkok Bank fees is 10 USD plus a 3 baht stamp duty...considering the exchange rate is a little over 35 right now that comes out real close to 360 baht.

I expect they incur additional fees in collecting a govt check. Instead of being able to go directly to a person's bank for collection of a personal check/a check issued by a bank, I bet they have to use an intermediary bank (which comes with a fee) to collect a govt check issued by a govt treasury department. Will not be surprised in the least if other Thai banks don't charge about the same for a foreign govt check. And it may be driven by the country they need to go to in order to collect.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Pib

[marko kok prong]

I have done this with premium bond cheques from the uk,about 6 weeks to clear,however an American friend yesterday told me he gets his us pension paid into his bank in the Usa,and then writes a personal cheque and put's in the bank,yesterday they told him they were not accepting foriegn cheques,this is the Krung Thai bank,has any one else heard about this,as it is a worry as i am expecting some matured bond cheques soon.

[Khun Han]

^Odd that! My Thai relative's bank is Krung Thai. They called in this afternoon to check about this after I read your post and told them. The bank said it's fine, will take about a month to clear, and will cost a few hundred baht.

Maybe who has issued the cheque is the problem, as per discussions by others in this thread?

[Guest]

As to the question of the efficacy of writing yourself a check...and waiting 6 weeks.

Here is a wager I will happily take.

Find the LOWEST exchange rate in that time span .. that is what you will get.

The BANK sets the rate and ... what a coincidence! it "just happens" to be at the LOW point.

Locking in the best spread ... you bet the banks are all smiles and don't need "high fees"

[fishbrando]

One possible alternative: if you still have a UK bank account, many banks have mobile check deposit where you take a photo of the check with your phone and it gets deposited in your account. Then you can withdraw though the ATM or do a wire transfer, etc.

[shepsel]

I used to deposit my personal Canadian cheque written to myself in my Bangkok Bank account. It used to cost US$10 to deposit the cheque and I would receive the money in less than 30 days. Then all of a sudden things changed. I was charged US$75 for this service by Bangkok Bank. It seems that the Bank of Nova Scotia is no longer the corresponding bank, and The Toronto Dominion Bank replaced them along with a hefty US$ service charge to clear a cheque.

I don't know what it is like for personal cheques from other countries but this is the heads up whats happening on depositing cheques from Canada.

[loong]

I have regularly paid cheques drawn on my UK bank into Kasikorn.

You can only pay them into the branch that holds your account.

Somebody there needs to know how to process it.

I had a problem the other year when they told me that it cannot be done. I told them that I had done it many times at that branch,

but they were adamant. The person that usually dealt with it had moved to another branch.

I checked with the local main branch and they told me to go back and tell the bank to telephone them.

It was sorted eventually, but a lot of faffing about.

Used to clear in 3 to 4 weeks, but the last 2 years has taken 6-7 weeks.

Exchange rate is the rate on the day that the money arrives in Thailand.

Charge is equivalent of 10 USD

[ChrisKC]

I have received a cheque to my Thai address from the UK Inland Revenue worth about GBP11 (B500). Non-negotiable, so effectively, given costs of depositing to my bank, not worth the bother. Am I right?

[Pib]

I have received a cheque to my Thai address from the UK Inland Revenue worth about GBP11 (B500). Non-negotiable, so effectively, given costs of depositing to my bank, not worth the bother. Am I right?

Pretty much...at a minimum the cashing charge would be around 10 USD (approx Bt360). That leaves you with around Bt140, but I'm sure the bank could find some fee to add-on to also get that Bt140 if you ask. Banksters are just that way.

[LawrenceN]

We once had a US Government check, a tax refund. Bangkok Bank accepted it, no fee and funds immediately available. We go to KBank to write personal checks, lower fees.