Changing bahts to dollars - any limitations?

[maxnov]

Are there any limits on how many bahts I can exchange to dollars? For example, I want to exchange about 10'000$ - would that be fine?

[siam2007]

not sure if there is any limit (but I believe bringing in more than 10K $ would have had to be declared at customs when entering the country) but what you could do is to go to two different places to exchange your money, for example to the main branches of the original superrich near Ratchaprasong, and the superrich copycat just a few meters down another soi. If you xchange 5.000 each, should not be a problem

[THAIJAMES]

If you are exchanging inside the country (not through customs):

 

There is a daily limit of 750,000 baht per passport.  If you bring a friend's passport with you you can exchange 1.5 million per day.

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2016 by THAIJAMES

[Naam]

3 hours ago, THAIJAMES said:

If you are exchanging inside the country (not through customs):

 

There is a daily limit of 750,000 baht per passport.  If you bring a friend's passport with you you can exchange 1.5 million per day.

 

no limit at my bank (SCB) debiting my Baht account and receiving Dollars or EURos either in cash or in my forex accounts (minus 1%).

[Naam]

21 hours ago, siam2007 said:

not sure if there is any limit (but I believe bringing in more than 10K $ would have had to be declared at customs when entering the country) but what you could do is to go to two different places to exchange your money, for example to the main branches of the original superrich near Ratchaprasong, and the superrich copycat just a few meters down another soi. If you xchange 5.000 each, should not be a problem

-the OP wants to change Baht to Dollars, not vice versa.

-the declaration limit bringing foreign currency is value 20,000 US-Dollars.

[THAIJAMES]

1 hour ago, Naam said:

no limit at my bank (SCB) debiting my Baht account and receiving Dollars or EURos either in cash or in my forex accounts (minus 1%).

 

Sorry,  I should have said that this is the limit at money changers like Superrich.

It is a thai regulation in order to prevent money laundering.

Edited November 2, 2016 by THAIJAMES

[Naam]

1 hour ago, THAIJAMES said:

 

Sorry,  I should have said that this is the limit at money changers like Superrich.

It is a thai regulation in order to prevent money laundering.

makes sense and that's the reason why there is no problem carrying out the exchange within your bank.

[blackcab]

Giving Thai Baht and getting 10,000 USD - no problem at all.

 

Super Rich or Vasu won't even blink at that.

[55Jay]

Love to have one of those counterfeit testing pens handy if receiving dollars here.  My credit union branch overseas used to swipe all US currency we got from the local money changer. 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2016 by 55Jay

[THAIJAMES]

On 11/2/2016 at 6:12 AM, THAIJAMES said:

If you are exchanging inside the country (not through customs):

 

There is a daily limit of 750,000 baht per passport.  If you bring a friend's passport with you you can exchange 1.5 million per day.

 

 

 

 

Sorry, the figure is actually 800,000 baht per passport when using money changers (that follow the rules).

Edited November 4, 2016 by THAIJAMES

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

19 hours ago, 55Jay said:

Love to have one of those counterfeit testing pens handy if receiving dollars here.  My credit union branch overseas used to swipe all US currency we got from the local money changer. 

 

 

I have exchanged money at Super Rich many times and not once I have had a problem. This includes USD, Euro, Yen, NZD, SGD, Won, HKD and Ringgit. If you go to a shady guy up a small soi to exchange money you are asking for it, but guys like Super are safe. 

[jacksam]

I changed $30,000aud at super rich chitlom and they didn't bat an eye.

As for bringing amounts out of au, you declare anything over 10k which is simple form. An outward DEC card used to be checked by passport control. That's not done anymore. Not sure how other countries work. 

[alex8912]

19 minutes ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

I have exchanged money at Super Rich many times and not once I have had a problem. This includes USD, Euro, Yen, NZD, SGD, Won, HKD and Ringgit. If you go to a shady guy up a small soi to exchange money you are asking for it, but guys like Super are safe. 

Don't know why so many mentions of super rich. Every time I exchange money at x one surawong or the exchange on Paya Thai outside MBK near Cultural Center the super rich has a worse exchange rate. Every single time it's worse and not 2 or 3 baht worse. I've seen it 10 or 15 baht worse for $100 bills many times. 

[jacksam]

10 or 15 baht worse???.... Pull the other one

[55Jay]

42 minutes ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

I have exchanged money at Super Rich many times and not once I have had a problem. This includes USD, Euro, Yen, NZD, SGD, Won, HKD and Ringgit. If you go to a shady guy up a small soi to exchange money you are asking for it, but guys like Super are safe. 

I didn't mention Super Rich.  I also wouldn't make sweeping statements like "guys like_____ are safe".   Thailand is a growing source of counterfeit money in SE Asia, and OECD ranks it #4 as a "hub" for pirated/counterfeit products; China being #1. 

 

Not discounting your or anyone's experiences here, but the money tester pen is not an unreasonable suggestion if obtaining Dollars here, especially large sums, wherein you, the recipient, becomes complicit in a crime when you walk out the door.  In the US, for example, an unwitting person would be arrested, banged up and charged, but could avoid serious penalty if the State determines there was no knowledge and criminal intent to defraud.  Would rather avoid that process, not forgetting all that "money" you once had, gets incinerated.   

 

Run that scenario in reverse, as a farang in the Thai legal system.  No thanks.

[gandalf12]

From what I remember the limit is $20000 above that you need BoT  approval. It may well be that you also need to declare it on entry if it is brought in as cash

Edited November 4, 2016 by gandalf12

[12DrinkMore]

22 hours ago, 55Jay said:

Love to have one of those counterfeit testing pens handy if receiving dollars here.  My credit union branch overseas used to swipe all US currency we got from the local money changer. 

 

They are not particularly good, weeding out only the counterfeit notes produced on normal paper, for example laser photocopies.

 

You can even make your own using iodine, do a search.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

5 hours ago, alex8912 said:

Don't know why so many mentions of super rich. Every time I exchange money at x one surawong or the exchange on Paya Thai outside MBK near Cultural Center the super rich has a worse exchange rate. Every single time it's worse and not 2 or 3 baht worse. I've seen it 10 or 15 baht worse for $100 bills many times. 

There are more than one Super Rich the original one is in Bangkok. The others are not the real deal and offer worse exchange rates. But do as you wish as its your money and time to do as you want. 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

5 hours ago, 55Jay said:

I didn't mention Super Rich.  I also wouldn't make sweeping statements like "guys like_____ are safe".   Thailand is a growing source of counterfeit money in SE Asia, and OECD ranks it #4 as a "hub" for pirated/counterfeit products; China being #1. 

 

Not discounting your or anyone's experiences here, but the money tester pen is not an unreasonable suggestion if obtaining Dollars here, especially large sums, wherein you, the recipient, becomes complicit in a crime when you walk out the door.  In the US, for example, an unwitting person would be arrested, banged up and charged, but could avoid serious penalty if the State determines there was no knowledge and criminal intent to defraud.  Would rather avoid that process, not forgetting all that "money" you once had, gets incinerated.   

 

Run that scenario in reverse, as a farang in the Thai legal system.  No thanks.

How many people you know have been given false notes in Thailand? How many have you read about ? What I have read about is foreigners trying to exchange fake notes they brought into the country here and getting caught. The issue about IP is much more complicated than a rating. The problem started in the early 2000's when Thailand under the rules of the WTO rules excluded certain medicine from IP protection. The big pharma companies complained but Thailand continued to legally manufacture the generics. The next year Thailand appeared in the TIP's list as an evil IP infringer. Everything in the world is not always as it seems. 

[55Jay]

4 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

How many people you know have been given false notes in Thailand? How many have you read about ? What I have read about is foreigners trying to exchange fake notes they brought into the country here and getting caught. The issue about IP is much more complicated than a rating. The problem started in the early 2000's when Thailand under the rules of the WTO rules excluded certain medicine from IP protection. The big pharma companies complained but Thailand continued to legally manufacture the generics. The next year Thailand appeared in the TIP's list as an evil IP infringer. Everything in the world is not always as it seems. 

All I said originally is, if it were me changing Baht to Dollars here, I would like to have one of these pens.  If you think it's an over-the-top suggestion and there's little to no worries, then up to you.  No problem.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

1 hour ago, 55Jay said:

All I said originally is, if it were me changing Baht to Dollars here, I would like to have one of these pens.  If you think it's an over-the-top suggestion and there's little to no worries, then up to you.  No problem.

Its your money and your time. These pens are suspect in their ability to identify real quality fakes. If you have the foreign exchange slips you receive when exchanging money you will be able to prove that you did not produce counterfeit notes but bought them, which in most countries would be enough for you not go to jail. Enjoy your search and please post for us your first counterfeit note you  got from a bank or reputable money changer like Super Rich. Seeing is believing they say.

[blackcab]

2 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

If you have the foreign exchange slips you receive when exchanging money you will be able to prove that you did not produce counterfeit notes but bought them...

 

Super Rich and Vasu don't give you slips when you exchange. With Super Rich you get a piece of printed calculator roll. I can't exactly remember hat Vasu give.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

14 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

Super Rich and Vasu don't give you slips when you exchange. With Super Rich you get a piece of printed calculator roll. I can't exactly remember hat Vasu give.

If you ask for one you get one if you don't ask you don't get.

[55Jay]

12 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

Its your money and your time. These pens are suspect in their ability to identify real quality fakes. If you have the foreign exchange slips you receive when exchanging money you will be able to prove that you did not produce counterfeit notes but bought them, which in most countries would be enough for you not go to jail. Enjoy your search and please post for us your first counterfeit note you  got from a bank or reputable money changer like Super Rich. Seeing is believing they say.

I'm not a hand wringing Nervous Nellie about this,  so you might as well abandon the strategy of conflating what I said, in order to calibrate it.

 

Knowing what I know now, which ain't much in comparison to some, but nevertheless, in the unlikely event I had to use a money changer these days, I would be "that guy" on Youtube trying to get updated on how to spot the latest counterfeits.  And who would take another minute at the counter performing hopeless layman's due diligence.   Pen.  No pen.  Whatever.  You might characterize this as unreasonable and unnecessary.   Up to you. 

 

Mind you, however, money changers performed due diligence when accepting bills from me many years ago - I'm sure they are far more adept at it than I am.  100% though?  90?  Whaddya reckon?  Are they being unreasonable?  What compels them to inspect the bills THEY receive?  Do you think your argument about odds and reputations, would be persuasive to them? 

 

End of the day, reputations are dubious reassurances.   It's business, nothing personal.  Not suggesting this should take over one's life, just be mindful about the potential and try to take reasonable measures.