Transferring money from UK to Thailand

[Mover1]

Hi,

 

Can anyone tell me the best way to transfer money from my account in the UK into my account in Thailand please?

 

Thanks!

[Jiu-Jitsu]

https://www.xendpay.com/

 

But don't be a cheap Charlie.

 

Part owned by London's deputy Mayor.
 

[MJP]

I use Transferwise.

 

Very reliable, cheap and instant.

 

https://transferwise.com/

[ThaiKneeTim]

I've been using Western Union for a few years, the cost has just come downdown £2 to £2.90. The only time there was a problem they refunded the fee.

I've looked at several options, even opening an account with Bangkok Bank in London, but none have been cheaper than WU.

I was surprised that Bangkok Bank wanted me to pay the hefty SWIFT fee since they probably benefited from having sterling deposits to pass on to Thai buyers wanting to trade with the UK. 

I used SWIFT once through my own bank and paid an outrageous fee for my money to disappear for two or three weeks before emerging in my Thai bank account. Never again! 

[Boycie]

Western Union the cheapest  I always thought that they were the most expensive?

 

What exchange rate do they give you when you transfer? The same as the Thai banks that day or a few baht per £ less?

 

Halifax charge £9.50 (send in £'s not Baht)

[beaufoy]

There are specialized currency traders if you are bringing over more than 500gbp, otherwise Ulster Bank/RBS/halifax will send the money in sterling if you insist, and you will get a good exchange rate with your thai bank changing it from sterling to baht

[DUS]

Transferwise is also my recommendation.....

[pumpjack]

send 1000 pounds from uk to thailand and compare the two below -

 

www.xendpay.com  gives reciever  -   44.741.37  thai baht

 

www.transferwise.com  gives reciever  -    44.295.85   thai baht.

 

go figure  !

[Mover1]

Thanks for all the answers here everyone, thats really helpful. It leads me to another question:

 

I have an account with Kasikorn Bank here in Thailand, so whats the most i can receive on money transferred there compared to xendpay or transferwise? The Kasikorn exchange rate is: http://www.kasikornbank.com/EN/RatesAndFees/ForeignExchange/Pages/ForeignExchange.aspx but can anyone tell me which rate applies if an amount is paid directly into my account with them from my bank in England  - Either Lloyds, Barclays, or from a Halifax credit card http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/landing/cards/clarity-card-all/?so=MSE_Halifax_Clarity_1&WT.mc_id=MSE_Halifax_Clarity_1&WT.tsrc=MSE) 

 

I'm just trying to get an exact figure on say £1000 or £10,000 as an example.

 

Cheers,

Mover1

[topt]

4 hours ago, Mover1 said:

Thanks for all the answers here everyone, thats really helpful. It leads me to another question:

 

I have an account with Kasikorn Bank here in Thailand, so whats the most i can receive on money transferred there compared to xendpay or transferwise? The Kasikorn exchange rate is: http://www.kasikornbank.com/EN/RatesAndFees/ForeignExchange/Pages/ForeignExchange.aspx but can anyone tell me which rate applies if an amount is paid directly into my account with them from my bank in England  - Either Lloyds, Barclays, or from a Halifax credit card http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/landing/cards/clarity-card-all/?so=MSE_Halifax_Clarity_1&WT.mc_id=MSE_Halifax_Clarity_1&WT.tsrc=MSE) 

 

I'm just trying to get an exact figure on say £1000 or £10,000 as an example.

 

Cheers,

Mover1

Buying rate Telex Transfer as long as you make sure you have it sent from your UK account in GBP. The rate normally changes multiple times per day and will depend on when your transfer reaches Thailand and when your bank actually credits it.

 

You normally pay 200-500 baht at the Thai end for receipt based on a %age with minimum 200 and maximum 500 baht (SCB I think now min 300 but could not find the Kasikorn charges although most of the Thai banks are similar).

 

Plus whatever your UK bank charges you and any intermediary/correspondent bank fees if any......... 

 

According to the links you posted you get a better exchange rate with the Clarity Card but the Kasikorn site exchange rate is as of Thursday as Friday was a holiday and it was not updated.

[Pib]

You would use the TT Buying Rate which is the rate using for incoming international transfers, whether the funds arrive in a foreign currency or Thai baht.   The charge to receive incoming international transfers is 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max)....this fee is applied before the incoming funds are posted to your account and does not appear anywhere which fools a lot of people into thinking no fee was applied.   This fee is typical for Thai banks although it varies a little among the banks.

 

Keep in mind your sending bank and whatever correspondent/intermediary bank it may use to get the funds to your Thai bank account may also charge a fee that may be sliced off before the funds arriving your Thai bank.   If by chance your Sending bank uses another Thai bank as it's correspondent bank before relaying the funds to "your" Thai bank, then that Thai correspondent bank might accomplish the currency conversion and maybe charge a fee...if that happens then your Thai bank receives the funds as baht as a "domestic" transfer which means no 0.25% fee charged by your bank.

 

BE SURE to send the funds as foreign currency (e.g., pounds)...if you let your Sending bank accomplish the conversion the Sending bank conversion rate is usually around 3% lower/worst than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate.  When you allow your Sending bank to convert it's basically an indirect (and healthly) fee they earn due  to a lower exchange rate.

 

Above addresses bank to bank transfers; not funds transfers from services like transferwise, etc., as those funds transfer services usually have partner in the receiving country which receive/convert the funds and then do a domestic transfer to your bank.   Just be sure to look at the "entire" fee structure which includes the exchange rate given and various fees.    A no, low fee transfer service may have a lower exchange which is basically an indirect fee.   

[Mover1]

Wow, this seems like such a complicated issue after reading your replies topt & Pib - thanks for taking the time to write them in detail. 

 

I think i'll try all the options transferring £1000 at a time and see which works out the cheapest & least hassle, then report back with the findings. 

 

Thanks for all the replies and advice so far 

[Jiu-Jitsu]

The cheapest may possibly be if you bank with HSBC and you send online in Pounds. Then will be between XendPay and Halifax(sent online in £s). Then Transferwise.

[Pib]

One other thing, your Sending bank will probably have a vague transfer/sending question about how the you want any fees paid/shared.

 

Unless you need the entire sending amount to arrive on the receiving end like making a payment for an exact amount, be sure to select the "SHA/Shared" fees method where  you pay the Sending fees and the Beneficiary on the receiving end (which could be you if sending to your account) pays the remaining fees like the receiving fee.  Otherwise, you may experience higher, duplicate, and/or delayed fees.  

 

Plenty of posts on ThaiVisa where the Thai receiving bank had to send a fee payment request back to the Sending bank since the sender instructed the "OUR" method (all charges borne by the remitter).  When the receiving bank gets such an instruction it's not uncommon for them to charge a higher fee do to extra work involved in requesting payment than if you had just let them apply their normal receiving fee/the beneficiary pays that fee.

 

Just for example, review Q&A of this Standard Chartered Bank document where it talks the various methods to share (or not share) any associated fees.

https://www.sc.com/en/resources/global-en/pdf/FAQs/Payment_Instructions_FAQ.pdf

 

It's kinda like learning to ride  bike....it seems really hard at first, but after you learn you wonder why you ever thought it was so hard.  Just takes some effort in understanding and not falling for banksters vague terms geared to generate higher fees/profits for them at your expense.   Plus, different banks have different fees, may or may not need to use a correspondent/intermediary bank, etc.

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by Pib

[personchester]

Since you don't know the transfer procedure go and ask your Thai bank for the input procedure and then inform you UK bank about the Thai bank input procedure. 

 

It is no problem to transfer money from your UK bank to your bank in Thailand.

[steve73]

With xendpay you can see exactly how many baht you will get before you even send them the GBP... and their rate is usually about 1.5% better than Kasikorn will give you.

 

I sent some on the 22nd June and got 51.2... by the time it arrived Kasikorn would have only given me about 44. 

 

You do need to register/confirm ID & address though or you're limited to just 900GBP, but you can scan/email the necessary documents 

 

edit.. Kasikorn don't make any charge to receive funds sent in Baht, and when you send GBP you typically get their lowest rate of the week it take to get credited.

Edited August 15, 2016 by steve73

[bark]

If you transfer more then 20,000 USD ( I think , around this amount), the bank must report it to Government.

Just transfer UK bank to Thai Bank. Get a Thai friend to talk to the Thai bank. He can give you a better rate, if she is nice to him. Box of cheap chocolates works very well. I always get the Prime rate from my bank. Be nice, it works.

[ThaiPauly]

When I transfer funds from HSBC in Jersey to my SCB account here I get a call from SBC saying whet they are prepared to give me.

 

But I have found these rates to be negotiable, they may start off at 46 I say why not 47? , so we compromise at 46.5.

 

It's always worth being an Oliver Twist and asking for more

[hatewaitin]

On 8/11/2016 at 3:34 AM, MJP said:

I use Transferwise.

 

Very reliable, cheap and instant.

 

https://transferwise.com/

I use the same, I find them quicker than most. Good exchange rate and a fee that is very reasonable.

[anglesea]

worldfirst.com a British company I have found the best in transferring money from my Australian bank account to my Thai Kasikorn bank account.

 

Excellent exchange rate and no fee id amount is above $AUD10,000 and I think in the UK 500 pounds.  Always relaible and takes about 3 days.

 

Using my own bank results in a terrible exchange rate and fees

 

Western Union charge a fee and give a poor exchange rate

[MJP]

On 13/08/2016 at 5:58 AM, pumpjack said:

send 1000 pounds from uk to thailand and compare the two below -

 

www.xendpay.com  gives reciever  -   44.741.37  thai baht

 

www.transferwise.com  gives reciever  -    44.295.85   thai baht.

 

go figure  !

 

Thanks for the tip on xendpay.

[bazza40]

Make sure you transfer in the currency of your country of origin, NEVER in Thai baht. Otherwise you'll be the victim of Dynamic Currency Conversion ( DCC ), a euphemism used by all banks to describe legalised theft.

[hobobo]

On Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 0:57 PM, Boycie said:

Western Union the cheapest  I always thought that they were the most expensive?

 

What exchange rate do they give you when you transfer? The same as the Thai banks that day or a few baht per £ less?

 

Halifax charge £9.50 (send in £'s not Baht)

HSBC charge £4.00 for transfers up to £10,000 at a time

[Caps]

3 minutes ago, hobobo said:

HSBC charge £4.00 for transfers up to £10,000 at a time

The £4.00 is the online banking charge, if you do over the phone or in Branch it is either £30 or £35 .  I use it every month at the moment.  I send to SCB and the money goes through HSBC Thailand Commercial Bank who take another £16.  When I enquired why, they said that they don't have a direct agreement with SCB 

[Pib]

Good example of an correspondent/intermediary bank which in this case happens to be part of the HSBC family and within Thailand, but usually when a sending bank must use a correspondent/intermediary bank it's outside the country you are sending to.   Although having the parent's name HSBC Thailand Commercial Bank is operated/licensed under Thailand laws and Bank of Thailand regulations so it pretty much a separate business unit from the parent company.

 

Many banks do not have to use correspondent/intermediary banks based on their in-house international transfer capability and/or their sending fee will include in middle man bank the funds must go through.  Getting the funds into the inbox so to speak of the receiving bank is totally up to the Sending bank arrangement/capability.

 

Also a good example of examining all the costs/fees in a transfer which could include the sending fee, correspondent/intermediary bank fee, receiving bank fee, and the exchange rate.

 

Does HSBC Thailand Commercial Bank do the currency conversion at their rate or do they just pass the funds along after slicing off their fee and let SCB do the conversion at their rate?

 

[UKJASE]

Xendpay dont look so good to me, as you have to pay a 1% flat fee, and the rate is 44.396, compared to kasikorn's TT rate of 44.311.

 

If you sent 10,000 pound, you would have to pay 1%, or 100 pounds.

 

Whereas send from Halifax in UK, pay 9.50 GBP flat rate.

You would get in your Kasikorn account - 443,110 baht less 500 incoming fee - 442,610

Sending using Xendpay into your kasikorn - 443,960 baht less 500 incoming - 443,460

 

But you would have paid 10,100 GBP, and only 10,009.50 GBP using halifax

 

So with Xendpay, you have received 850 baht more, but paid 90 pounds more

[UKJASE]

with transferwise, as of now, for 10,000 pounds, you would get - 440,838.26 baht........  a little less than the best route of the two above, Halifax > Kasikorn

[Dene16]

Some very strange  answers here 

I have never used western union because it is common knowledge that they have an extremely poor interest rate. this is the first person ever giving them praise. 

i have used my bank (lloyds) sending GBP to Bangkok bank which normally has the better tt rate but it take 4 working days so 6 if it goes over a weekend and you do not know what exchange rate you will get

Lately i have been using Transferwise as you know exactly what will be received the other end plus it arrives in 3 or normally 4 days but that includes any time over a weekend so if sent Friday it arrives on Monday. they also tell you when it has arrived (but not always)

I do not know about Xendpay but looks like i will have to give them a try. I am not sure what UKJASE is talking about as they inform you as to the amount the recipient will receive, which is better then Transferwise  

This year i tried to get a Kaiskorn bank account, however even though i wanted to deposit 800,000 baht they refused me point blank without a work permit as did 2 other banks

[Jiu-Jitsu]

5 hours ago, MJP said:

 

Thanks for the tip on xendpay.

 

You mean the tip in post #2?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

4 hours ago, UKJASE said:

Xendpay dont look so good to me, as you have to pay a 1% flat fee, and the rate is 44.396, compared to kasikorn's TT rate of 44.311.

 

If you sent 10,000 pound, you would have to pay 1%, or 100 pounds.

 

Whereas send from Halifax in UK, pay 9.50 GBP flat rate.

You would get in your Kasikorn account - 443,110 baht less 500 incoming fee - 442,610

Sending using Xendpay into your kasikorn - 443,960 baht less 500 incoming - 443,460

 

But you would have paid 10,100 GBP, and only 10,009.50 GBP using halifax

 

So with Xendpay, you have received 850 baht more, but paid 90 pounds more

 

 

You seem to be making it up as you go along. I don't see the 1% flat fee. What they state is  PAY WHAT YOU WANT