Wire transfer to Thailand

[reflectionx]

What is the best bank to transfer large amount to from Canada? Transferwise is too expensive for such amount. 

 

I remember 10 years ago we used Bangkok bank as we could keep the money in CAD for as long as wanted and decide on which day to covert to THB.

 

Is this still the case? If not, which bank is the best for such a transaction at the moment?

 

thanks

[CharlieH]

Wrong forum.

 

MOVED to Banking

[Brierley]

There are plenty of good banks in Thailand and you'll get lots of different answers based on who you ask. Which bank you transfer to depends on which bank you have an account with! Almost all the Thai banks offer multi-currency accounts that allow you to hold funds in the currency that you remit to the account. Financially they are not the best deal, especially if you don't convert all the money to Thai Baht. Personally I use UOB which is of Singaporean origin. Bangkok Bank is well known for producing Immigration friendly paperwork on request. Interest rate wise and product wise, they are all about the same, most people will have their favorite however.

[Peterw42]

its still possible to open a foreign currency account, enquire at most Thai banks.

All the banks advertise their daily foreign exchange rates for TT , there probably wont be much difference between banks and rates can vary a couple of times a day. At 10am bangkok bank may have a slightly better rate, at 3pm Kasicorn may have a better ratee, but usually only a couple of satang difference.

I think you will find transferwise and similar a better rate and fees than the banks, but less so with larger amounts.

If you dont have a Thai bank account, it may come down to which bank will let you open an account. you don't often have a choice, if there are 5 banks in town and only one will open an account, that's your bank.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Peterw42

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, reflectionx said:

Transferwise is too expensive for such amount. 

Are you sure you did the whole math?

The fees look huge but compare the exchange rates and in the end look what ends on your Thai Baht account.

 

TT exchange rate at Bangkok Bank now: 24.5025

Exchange rate at WISE: 24.8423

 

Assume transfer of 80000 CAD:

WISE will pay 1972444 THB.

Using Bangkok Bank exchange rate makes 1960416 THB.

So even WITHOUT taking into account the wire transfer fees (your bank, intermediate banks plus 500 Baht for Bangkok Bank), WISE is still better.

Edited April 21, 2021 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

Or more simple:

for the maximum that can be transferred (equiv of 2 million Baht) , the fee of WISE is 0.75%.

The exchange rate of Bangkok Bank is about 1.3% worse than the one that WISE uses.

Edited April 21, 2021 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

All the banks advertise their daily foreign exchange rates for TT , there probably wont be much difference between banks and rates can vary a couple of times a day.

Just made the effort to lookup a few.

Bad rate at Krungsri (Bank of Ayutthaya).

 

That would make a big loose on 80000 CAD (~2 million Baht).

BKB:      24.50250
KBank:    24.52967
UOB:      24.59500
SCB:      24.52875
Krungsri: 24.46364

 

WISE at this moment: 24.8424.

Edited April 21, 2021 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, Brierley said:

Financially they are not the best deal, especially if you don't convert all the money to Thai Baht.

There seem to be quite significant fees for the accounts?

[Peterw42]

13 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Just made the effort to lookup a few.

Bad rate at Krungsri (Bank of Ayutthaya).

 

That would make a big loose on 80000 CAD (~2 million Baht).

BKB:      24.50250
KBank:    24.52967
UOB:      24.59500
SCB:      24.52875
Krungsri: 24.46364

 

WISE at this moment: 24.8424.

Yes some difference in rates but this afternoon one will be up, one will be down etc. I dont know that one is always consistently higher ta the others.

[KhunBENQ]

1 minute ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes some difference in rates but this afternoon one will be up, one will be down etc. I dont know that one is always consistently higher ta the others.

Sure and with WISE the rates change every other minute. Hitting the button at the right moment is the key. Have your glass bowl at hand.

Yesterday I was quite successful with my Euro transfer.

At least not outperformed since then.

And that's only my monthly pension income.

Would be a bit more nervous with upper 5 digits.

[CharlieH]

1 minute ago, KhunBENQ said:

Sure and with WISE the rates change every other minute. Hitting the button at the right moment is the key. Have your glass bowl at hand.

Yesterday I was quite successful with my Euro transfer.

At least not outperformed since then.

And that's only my monthly pension income.

Would be a bit more nervous with upper 5 digits.

The other thing that I like with Wise is the speed ! Did a transfer Monday (shouldve waited and got 0.5 baht more!)and it was in the account in 3 seconds! Saves alot of stress sometimes worryi g when and IF it will arrive by other means

[Peterw42]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

The other thing that I like with Wise is the speed ! Did a transfer Monday (shouldve waited and got 0.5 baht more!)and it was in the account in 3 seconds! Saves alot of stress sometimes worryi g when and IF it will arrive by other means

I move money from Australia just doing normal SWIFT transfers, so long as both banks are open for business, its an instant transfer. i think you will find the same for wise, transfer on a Sunday, nothing will happen till Monday.

[Peterw42]

10 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Sure and with WISE the rates change every other minute. Hitting the button at the right moment is the key. Have your glass bowl at hand.

Yesterday I was quite successful with my Euro transfer.

At least not outperformed since then.

And that's only my monthly pension income.

Would be a bit more nervous with upper 5 digits.

Why not open a foreign currency account here in Thailand, Your money is in Thailand and you are way less subject to exchange variations.. You change to baht as required or when the rate is up.

[KannikaP]

34 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

The other thing that I like with Wise is the speed ! Did a transfer Monday (shouldve waited and got 0.5 baht more!)and it was in the account in 3 seconds! Saves alot of stress sometimes worryi g when and IF it will arrive by other means

Did you put the reason for transfer as for long term stay in Thailand please?

Last week someone said that it made a difference.

[CharlieH]

2 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Did you put the reason for transfer as for long term stay in Thailand please?

Last week someone said that it made a difference.

Yes I did. I also moved it to Kasikorn, which I believe is the bank they use too.

[KhunBENQ]

57 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Why not open a foreign currency account here in Thailand, Your money is in Thailand and you are way less subject to exchange variations.. You change to baht as required or when the rate is up.

I don't get the point.

I have a small amount of Euros left over (fill up my WISE account) and can transfer them in an instant when the rate is good (and better than at the Thai bank).

 

And still I have no clue what these foreign currency accounts cost in fees?

Edited April 21, 2021 by KhunBENQ

[hotandsticky]

56 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Why not open a foreign currency account here in Thailand, Your money is in Thailand and you are way less subject to exchange variations.. You change to baht as required or when the rate is up.

 

 

It is more expensive.

 

 

I did just that until I discovered (Transfer)Wise.

 

Rates are much better and the net receipts higher, despite the charges, and I can transfer outside banking hours.

[Peterw42]

5 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

I don't get the point.

I have a small amount of Euros left over (fill up my WISE account) and can transfer them in an instant when the rate is good (and better than at the Thai bank).

 

And still I have no clue what these foreign currency accounts cost in fees?

Aren't you subject to transferring a minimum of funds each month, no matter how low the exchange rate gets ? if you are bringing in 65k (equivalent) each month and the exchange rate takes a dive, you then have no choice, if its the 29th of the month and you still haven't transferred, you are stuck with that rate.

I suppose if your immigration requirements are covered and you are just transferring random amounts of spending money, yes you have a choice to wait for the rate to improve etc.

I have never checked the fees, but haven't noted anything outrageous being deducted.

[KannikaP]

13 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Aren't you subject to transferring a minimum of funds each month, no matter how low the exchange rate gets ? if you are bringing in 65k (equivalent) each month and the exchange rate takes a dive, you then have no choice, if its the 29th of the month and you still haven't transferred, you are stuck with that rate.

I suppose if your immigration requirements are covered and you are just transferring random amounts of spending money, yes you have a choice to wait for the rate to improve etc.

I have never checked the fees, but haven't noted anything outrageous being deducted.

A much better idea would be to make your transfer date on say 1st of each month giving plenty of time for any delays or bank holidays. If using Wise, you can 'build up' your THB balance during the month keeping an eye on the rate, say THB 65/4 per week if that's what you need for IO.

[Brierley]

2 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

There seem to be quite significant fees for the accounts?

Yes, there is an annual fee with many of these accounts. The really problem is the cost of transferring the funds back home as foreign currency, assuming they are not converted to THB in Thailand.

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, Brierley said:

Yes, there is an annual fee with many of these accounts. The really problem is the cost of transferring the funds back home as foreign currency, assuming they are not converted to THB in Thailand.

I have a GBP account with Bangkok Bnak, which I use for my Immigration 800k. As far a I can see, there are no charges, and I actually get interest each year, not much though.

I shall not be transferring any of it back to UK.

[Brierley]

15 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I have a GBP account with Bangkok Bnak, which I use for my Immigration 800k. As far a I can see, there are no charges, and I actually get interest each year, not much though.

I shall not be transferring any of it back to UK.

As said, if you keep the funds here and convert them to THB, the account can be worthwhile, if you don't and you want to repatriate them, you will pay heavily. 

 

The last time I held a foreign currency account in Thailand  was a few years ago so things may have changed. A few years ago the banks levied an annual holding fee on the account which was an incentive to convert the currency to THB.

[KhunBENQ]

6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Aren't you subject to transferring a minimum of funds each month, no matter how low the exchange rate gets ?

Separate topic.

I would still get an income confirmation from the embassy in charge and still have 800k+ Baht in Thai banks (for retirement extension). There is good reason for me not to drain the remaining Baht savings.

[reflectionx]

Anyone used OFX? Their rates for large amount are ridiculously good compared to the rest of the pack.

[grin]

1 hour ago, reflectionx said:

Anyone used OFX? Their rates for large amount are ridiculously good compared to the rest of the pack.

I used OFX for years before switching to TransferWise (Wise). Every time I have compared the USD/THB rates Wise has been better. I also maintain an account with InstaReM. Their fees are less than Wise but their USD/THB transfers take longer than Wise.

[AlfHuy]

I just sent money from my UK Wise account to pay for my Health Insurance in Thailand.

Money should be available in 5 hours and was send directly to insurance company.

 

Delivered via: local bank transfer

Banking partner: Deemoney

 

First time I see that Deemoney is involved.