International money transfers

[buksida]

Yes, but it is 0.00X percent - nowhere near the spread banks and the likes of Paypal charges. I know TW offers a good service but just pointing out that there are other options.

[pitsch]

As I read a lot about Transferwise in this forum I made the following test:
On the same day (March 13th) I transferd 10000 CHF via Transferwise to my Kasikorn account and 10000 CHF directly from the Swiss Bank (Postfinance) as I did always before.

The Results:

Transferwise:
53.29 CHF transfer fee
31.42493 exchange rate
no fees from Kasikorn
amount received 5 hours after order. 312565.71 THB

From Swiss Bank:
2 CHF transfer fee
31.1789 exchange rate from Kasikorn
500 THB fee from Kasikorn
amount received 36 hours after order: 311226.62 THB

So I received 1340 Baht more from Transferwise (about 0.4%)

not so much as I expected, because the transfer fee is rather high.

[HHTel]

I transferred gbp last week and got 42 plus (which differed from the banks by 1 baht) Arrived in one hour.
In effect, I received over 10,000 baht more than if I'd gone with the bank.
Their fee is dependent on currency. GBP to THB for example is around half a percent.
One of the pluses is that you know what the exchange rate is when you order the transfer. It's guaranteed at time of order and not depending on when it arrives as with the banks.
Technically, money is not transferred country to country but paid out by Transferwise local operator.

Just to add, if the bank takes so long, there's a chance that the exchange rate will be higher or lower than the guaranteed exchange rate from Transferwise. In the Swiss case, the CHF had improved by the time it hit the bank here which makes the transferwise rate much closer. It could have gone the other way. Timing!!

[pitsch]

Yes, thats true. In the case of transfer from the bank the money was changed to Baht one day later, where the exchange rate had risen.

[StevePIraq]

Today I transferred a substantial sum out of Ting Tong Land via Bangkok Bank.

I printed out my documentation to prove I had at some time brought the money in, this was not needed. I had to complete one form stating amount to be transferred, my details, recipient details and tick one of four boxes at the bottom relating to what the transfer was for, I ticked education. Not required to show my passport, bank book or card, no copies of any documentation required. I was advised as long as I had sufficient funds there is no problem.
Signed the form and out in 5 minutes.

[handdrummer]

Today I transferred a substantial sum out of Ting Tong Land via Bangkok Bank.

I printed out my documentation to prove I had at some time brought the money in, this was not needed. I had to complete one form stating amount to be transferred, my details, recipient details and tick one of four boxes at the bottom relating to what the transfer was for, I ticked education. Not required to show my passport, bank book or card, no copies of any documentation required. I was advised as long as I had sufficient funds there is no problem.
Signed the form and out in 5 minutes.

Sounds like if someone knew your acct. #, they could walk in and transfer money out your acct.

[buksida]

What would you describe as a 'substantial amount'? And what branch of BKK Bank?

It would be useful to know what banks will allow farangs to send large chunks overseas with no documentation or proof of ID whatsoever.

[StevePIraq]

Today I transferred a substantial sum out of Ting Tong Land via Bangkok Bank.

I printed out my documentation to prove I had at some time brought the money in, this was not needed. I had to complete one form stating amount to be transferred, my details, recipient details and tick one of four boxes at the bottom relating to what the transfer was for, I ticked education. Not required to show my passport, bank book or card, no copies of any documentation required. I was advised as long as I had sufficient funds there is no problem.
Signed the form and out in 5 minutes.

Sounds like if someone knew your acct. #, they could walk in and transfer money out your acct.

Good point.

[StevePIraq]

What would you describe as a 'substantial amount'? And what branch of BKK Bank?

It would be useful to know what banks will allow farangs to send large chunks overseas with no documentation or proof of ID whatsoever.

The amount is my business, but it was over 1m. Bangkok Bank 29 Phestkasem Road, Hua Hin.

I have also previously posted on this matter that Kasikorn and Ayuthaya have never requested me to show source of the funds, just a simple form to fill in, however I did have to show passport and bank book. With both of those banks it was well over 1m that was transferred and it was no problem.

[J.J.B.]

When I attempted to transfer 7.25M THB from Kasikorn in MV I was told it was not possible without going to BKK with reams of paperwork and evidence going back to 2011, when I bought the money in. I’m sure different bank staff on different days will do wildly different things. The rules for transferring money out of Thailand are written down (for Kasikorn, at least) but perhaps it’s no surprise that how they are implemented differ by the hour. If you need to get money out, taking one person’s way of doing it over another—in my experience—will not get you very far.

I did have to make a special trip to a branch in BKK and spent over 4 hours being grilled and having my paperwork scrutinised although they did, eventually, do the transfer. The money had arrived in my UK bank before I got back to my hotel room.

[handdrummer]

It's difficult to know if the national disease is stupidity or insanity.

[StevePIraq]

It really is a problem, Thailand just does not want foreigners to take their money out of Thailand. It's so frustrating.
I have been looking for a long time at a cost effective way to transfer out of Thailand and there is no way other than the banks.
I may have been lucky with my transfers, maybe I wore the right colour shirt, had a nice smile, went in at the right time of day before the teller got fed up with customers. Who knows, but it has worked for me quite easily in Hua Hin. The most I sent out in one hit was 3m via yellow bank with no problems. In the last 9 months I have sent a lot out after selling my house and land. I still have some way to go but will get there in the end. Now the issue is to get enough dollars to take out in cash, you are allowed US$20k, above that you can take what you wish as long as you declare it at customs, at both end of your flight.

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/TH-Tha ... etails.htm

[buksida]

I have been looking for a long time at a cost effective way to transfer out of Thailand and there is no way other than the banks.

There are other ways and they have been posted on this thread.

[handdrummer]

What would be the problem with declaring the amount over 20k? Does customs charge a fee if it's over that amount?

[Spitfire]

From what I'm aware of, to transfer out of Thailand then this is a good site and has a license plus probably beats your local high street banks here...especially for larger amounts and for business.

https://www.dee.money

Requirements aren't that hard to meet either.