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How to Send Money to Thailand With No Bank Fees & Save Over $75 per Transaction

Transferring money to Thailand from your home country, be it the US, Canada, Australia, or UK, has been a pain point for just about every expat at one time or another. But we all have to do it.

The scale of it is huge.

In 2013, $4,124,000,000 in remittances were sent to Thailand from other countries, of which US, Germany, Australia, UK, and Sweden were the biggest senders.

You can bet your bottom dollar a huge amount of that was expats funding their Thai bank accounts, and of course sending money to Thai partners.

We all know banks are a scam, but hiding your money under a mattress isn't exactly a safe bet these days, not that it has ever been. So because they have you by the short and curlys, they are free to slap on big fees when you want to transfer money.

In short, it sucks.

You are charged to withdraw your own money!

Okay, so you are abroad, you expect to pay a small fee, but not for them to make a big profit out of it. And believe me, they do…

The 4 Pain Points of Transferring Money to Thailand

1: Transfer Fee

The SWIFT transfer fee can be anywhere from £10-25, or $15-30. If you do regular transfers, say two a month, that's going to run you near on £250 a year! And we're nowhere near done with fees yet. Read on.

2: Receiving Fee

After the transfer fee, you get hit on the other end by the receiving bank for another amount of about the same. Bangkok Bank, for example, charge 500 Baht. So you've already paid twice to transfer your own money.

3: Currency Conversion Charge

But here's the nasty one.

Most people presume you get the regular transfer rate. You know, the one you see on XE .com. It's called the “market rate”. But then you do the math and realise that you've been shortchanged, massively!

You can offset the loss slightly by choosing to send money in your home currency. But many people sending money to Thailand make the mistake of converting to Thai Baht at their source bank instead of at the Thai end.

This will see you lose even more money, because your bank steals a nice chunk of cash on their own exchange rate – a rate they set themselves, not the “market rate”.

That said, the Thai bank will still convert your currency to Thai Baht at their own rate and make a enough for a meal out, but they won't squeeze your pockets as hard as your sending bank  (your bank back home).

4: Transfer Times

So, you've had your pockets skimmed on all fronts. You paid two transfer fees, and a currency conversion charge. But even after they've dipped their finger in your honeypot multiple times, the banks still can't promise the money will be there within 48 hours. Hell, sometimes it's as long as 5-7 days!

Like It, Lump It, Or…

Sending money to Thailand is expensive, but what other option do you have except the bank?

You could carry money through customs, but then how often do you fly home to be able to do that?

To be honest, I hate carrying a ton of money around with me. It's just not safe.

Western Union is just silly expensive, and PayPal steals 3.5% on a transfer and charges up to 4% currency conversion fees. Yes, I said up to 4%! It's 3% for the UK.

Well, as you probably guessed, the point of this post is to reveal that there is a solution, thank Buddha!

>> Enter Transferwise

Seriously, I have waited years for this, and I was so skeptical I didn't believe it was possible at first.

But now you can transfer money to Thailand with ZERO bank charges, get the MARKET RATE currency conversion and only pay a 1% fee.

I know, it's hard to believe. But I'm doing it and so now are most of my readers.

And here's the proof:

Check this out: Here is the rate I got from Transferwise on October 18, 2017 on 1,000 GBP:

transferwise-comparison

Yes I know, the Pound is weak as hell.

But now look at the bank transfer rates of two high-street banks. Transferwise beats them both, comfortably. I dread to think what some of the others were:

transferwise comparison

Now look at the market rate for the same time of day on XE.com.

Unbelievable, right? The Transferwise rate is actually slightly better!

transferwise exchange rate

So: not only did I get a better rate than my bank, I got a better rate than XE. com, which is the market rate.

But that's not all: I only paid a £7.46 fee. Usually, my bank (Nationwide) charges £20. Plus I'd have to pay 500 Baht (£11) to my receiving bank in Thailand.

So altogether, with the favourable exchange rate, I saved over £50 with Transferwise over transferring through my bank!

For my friends from the USA, here's how things sized up in dollars:

transferwise comparison

Again, the Transferwise rate is better than the market rate below!

transferwise exchange rate

I was so over the moon with my transfer that I popped off an email to them and asked if I could get more information so I could blog here about it (see below on how it works).

They wrote back and offered to give my readers a free transfer up to 1,000 GBP (only for the first transaction though).

Banks could charge you up to 5% in hidden costs when sending money to any bank account abroad. TransferWise is up to 8x cheaper. It's only fair.

But How Does Transferwise Make Sending Money to Thailand so Cheap?

Well, with backing from the likes of Richard Branson, I guess anything is possible. But actually it's quite genius.

Once you initiate the transfer, Transferwise searches for other people doing a transfer from the location you are sending to, and effectively swaps the currency.

Of course, money transfers being as frequent as they are, this means there's usually several matchers available, making the process damn quick. My first one completed within 48 hours.

The process is completed by making several individual conversions using effective market exchange rates work in your favour.

In other words, different parts of the transfer can be converted using different exchange rates. Normally it takes a day or two to process conversions. For big amounts it could take longer.

Here's a cool video that explains how it works:

Here's a Quick Benefits Summary:

  1. No home country bank fee.
  2. No receiving country bank fee.
  3. Market rate currency conversion, or better!
  4. Fast transfer, especially on amounts below 5k. 48-72 hours.
  5. Once you're comfortable with the system, can use the iOS or Android app for transfers on the fly.

>> Click here to get your free transfer (up to £1,000 or $1,000)

It feels good to avoid those bank fees!

Last Updated on

Comments Sort by : newest | oldest

    • Hi Sid, All comments are moderated before publishing because I get a lot of spam email with people advertising things or posting links to fraudulent websites. I have a spam filter but sometimes these things get through. also had incidents in the past where I have gone to sleep and woken up and seen comments on subject matters that could get me into trouble for having them published on my blog. I don’t currently see any comments awaiting moderation. if it’s something you need an answer to quickly please go to the contact page and semi-an email and I’ll get back to as soon as I can: https://www.thethailandlife.com/about-me-thailand-blog/contact

      Reply

  2. Keep in mind when comparing exchange rates that not always are you comparing same same things. They is a Nominal Exchange Rate (NER) and Real Exchange Rate (RER). Nominal Exchange Rate is the relative price of the currency of 2 countries. Or, It is the price of foreign currency in terms of domestic currency. Real Exchange Rate sometimes called as the terms of trade is the relative price of the goods of 2 countries. It tells us the rate at which we can trade the goods of one country for the goods of other country.

    Many times these are factored into the exchange along with differences between international exchange rates and domestic exchange rates.

    Reply

    • Very true: The important thing to remember is that there is only one real exchange rate. Sometimes this is called the mid-market rate, interbank rate and spot rate amongst other things.

      The real exchange rate is the mid-point between the BUY and SELL rates on the global currency markets and it constantly fluctuates. It’s the rate you find on Reuters, Google, finance.yahoo.com, etc. and the rate that TransferWise uses.

      Reply

    • It’s a good question: The system automatically matches the currency flows at the real mid-market exchange rate (as you would find in newspapers or at xe.com) and then pays out from the local currency account, meaning the money never actually moves across borders – so there is no receiving fee due.

      Reply

      • I never bothered to look until your question but at my home (outgoing bank) the transaction is shown as a “Payment”. However, BKK Bank is showing the receipt as an “International Transfer” in both English and Thai. BKK Bank does have a disclaimer that “The Transfer Reference is provided by the sender. The bank is not responsible for its content or appropriateness.” So, it would appear that TW is describing it as an International Transfer for proof that the money came from overseas while at the same time moving the money around in-country to get around the transfer fee. I hope the bank(s) don’t wise up.

        Reply

      • Based on my understanding of how Transferwise works I also suspect that there wouldn’t be an FET possible as the receiving bank does not get the funds from a foreign source. If you’re transferring Pounds, say, your transaction might go through Euros, Dollars, Renminbi and who knows what else before it ends up as Baht. But the final transfer will be in the local currency. This article kind of explains it…

        Reply

        • Exactly. The rule is that the money must be sent by Telegraphic Transfer, with a document identifying the name of the purchaser.

          Alternatively, it is possible for the buyer to ask a third party to transfer the money to buy the property.

          In theory TW is the third party, and you receive email confirmation from them to say they have sent the money, which can be shown to the bank.

          The law also states that the purchaser has to include in the transfer instructions that the purpose of this money is to buy a condominium unit. This condition is also met, because when you send money to Thailand with Transferwise you include a description of what the money is for.

          Thai bank staff often don’t know the rules of their own bank, let alone the law. If I came up against this issue I’d probably just pay a few K Baht to go to the bank with a lawyer to get it sorted.

          It’s also worth noting that: In order to obtain a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, the amount of money must be above US$50,000; lesser amounts require the purchaser to obtain a bank certificate from the bank.

          Reply

      • My receiving bank, Kbank doesn’t want to issue the FET as it says it was a local transfer. (I had sent it via a remittance co in Singapore called GPL, cost about S$700, exchange ,bank charges, etc) They say they can’t give me FET. So 2 million plus (S$100K) has been sent but no one is willing to give me the documentation except for what I have that shows the funds came from Singapore. Not a FET form. Now trying to contact the land transfer office to see if that receipt will work. It has been a terrible experience buying in Thailand. I recommend renting. Dealing with the bank tellers has been a nightmare. Forget about land of smiles. It is a land of insults. The Kbank officer saw the GPL receipt but she shouts CANNOT, and then accuses me of “working in Thailand”.

        Reply

        • Hi Farah, please see my answer to James earlier as I addressed a few of the points in that comment. A good friend of mine runs a business in Thailand and while he loves living her he says his one annoyance is banking and the endless bureaucracy that comes with completing transactions that should be very straight forward.

          Reply

    • Transferwise only accepts deposits via local bank transfer, debit or credit card (in selected currencies), SWIFT international transfer and in the U.S. via ACH Debit or Domestic Wire.

      They don’t accept cash deposits, or cheques, and don’t have cash kiosks or ties with any other companies (e.g. post offices) who would accept cash deposits or cheques.

      Reply

  7. As one of the other posters said, I “stumbled” onto TransferWise, and have never looked back.

    When I transferred dosh through the Halifax, I was getting extortionate exchange rates, a huge bank fee to send it, and another fee for Bangkok bank to receive it.

    I save about £20 to £30 every transfer, and I heartily endorse everything that’s said in the article.

    Good exchange rates, fees of about £2.00 and lightning fast transfers – I did a transfer on a Friday night at about 22.00, and it was in the Bangkok bank account at 16.00 Saturday!

    Not only that, when you open an account on their website, you have full visibility of all your transfers, a list of all your recipients, and an extremely easy process to actually do the transfer.

    Yup, they are good and I recommend them!! 🙂

    Reply

  8. We are buying a condo and had to transfer 100K. Transferwise max is only $1000. We sent it from a remittance company and it wasn’t cheap. Now we have problems as the transfer does not show as it has come from abroad. Kbank sees it as local transfer and we can’t get a tor tor 3! We have to register at the land office and although the receipt shows the money came from overseas but as we don’t have an FX form signed from a Thai company we have issues! The company which did it from my country says the document they have given us is all they can do. Any bright ideas?

    Reply

    • Hi Farah, Transferwise limits are much higher than that:

      Private individual – $50,000 per day and $250,000 per year
      Business – $250,000 per day and $1,000,000 per year.

      I’m assuming you used Western Union or similar right? In that case, go to them and ask for a copy of the transaction record. This will show the money coming into Thailand via them and into your account. The bank should then issue the FET for you. If not, go to a lawyer and bite the bullet to pay 2-5k to get them to sort it.

      Reply

  10. Transferwise is getting faster.

    I sent a transfer from my bank in the States to BKK Bank on the evening (Pacific Time) of 8-Jan. First off I got a rate that was marginally higher than the FX rate being reported at the time (32.255 vs 32.250). I submitted the transfer at about 04:00GMT on 9-Jan, I got confirmation of the transfer at 10:14GMT on 9-Jan, and it hit my account in Bangkok at 06:04GMT on 10-Jan. Total elapsed time 26:04. Freaking amazing. It takes longer to send money between my accounts in the States.

    Reply

    • That’s super fast, much more so than SWIFT payments in the UK. I assume that the more people who use the service the faster it will become, as there will be more money flowing back and forth to facilitate other transfers.

      Reply

  11. Hi,
    I just stumbled upon a Transferwise competitor called World Remit from an article about the founder on the BBC. While a very similar concept they still play with the conversion rate to their advantage.

    For example right now to send 6,000THB from the US to my bank in Thailand would cost:

    World Remit – $192.53 including a $3.99 fee at an exchange rate of 31.82THB/1US$ Effective exchange rate: 31.162

    Transferwise – $187.15 including a $3.83 fee at an exchange rate of 32.73THB/1US$ Effective exchange rate: 32.06

    In this case Transferwise is better by about 3%.

    For 60,000THB the cost is:

    World Remit – $1,889.37 including a $3.99 fee at an exchange rate of 31.82THB/1US$ Effective exchange rate: 31.76

    Transferwise – $1,853.51 including a $20.33 fee at an exchange rate of 32.73THB/1US$ Effective exchange rate: 32.37

    In this case Transferwise is better by a bit less than 2%.

    As I write this the Baht is trading at 32.75 to the dollar.

    So Transferwise still wins but World Remit is a reasonable second place when compared to other options. Transferwise still has a significantly deeper level of support for different currencies (although still no THB-out).

    Reply

  12. Dear Jaro

    For me sending from Sweden the limit was 2 mill THB. But I could make more than one payment I think the same day. I did it 3 days later without problem and anything went well.
    You can check our XE Exchange also. They also transfer money. I did not check them out myself.
    Andreas

    Reply

  13. Hello. I am planing to move to Thailand from Australia. That involves selling my house here and buying one in Thailand and rather huge sums of money needed to be transferred. Is there any limit on the money transfer and are there any specific problems to face?

    Reply

    • None at all. I’m using the service regularly and the company is rapidly expanding, with offices in Australia, London, NY, Singapore, Tokyo and other major cities. A reader I spoke to over email this past week transferred around 60k Euros for a condo deposit and it went through very quickly. They are also launching a borderless bank account feature which I can’t wait to get!

      Reply

  14. Hi
    I want to send a larger sum money for buying a home in Thailand. How does it work? In my country Sweden, I will have to show were the money comes from.
    To the Swedish Tax agency.
    That is no problem they comes from my savings. But what happen in the other end? How will my girlfriends bank react on that if there comes
    3500 000 THB to that bank? Do they report that to the Thai Tax agency?
    And if that is so, do I get a receipt or something from you so she can show from were the money comes (from my bank in Sweden)?

    Reply

    • When buying any Condo or House in a foreigner’s name, The money has to be transferred into your Thai bank account in foreign currency and exchanged in Thailand, As an F.E.T (Foreign exchange transfer) form supplied by the Bank or maybe another banking enterprise has to be provided when signing the property deeds. You could bring the money in in cash and declare it at customs, but I would not advise that. If you did however you could exchange at Superrich whom I have talked to with a higher rate than advertised by agreement. I believe that they can also issue an FET form. I have not seen any requirement to justify where funds have come from in the country of origin, such as the UK which I am familiar with. However your country may have different regulations which you will have to clarify yourself. You will have to have a Thai bank account which cannot be opened with a tourist visa, although I have heard of exceptions. The process of purchasing a property in Thailand with all the necessary paperwork in place is simple but may take several hours to a day at the land department. It is wise to instruct a lawyer to act on your behalf o a trustworthy knowledgable land agent you are familiar with. All information on what is required for the purchase can be found online. You will require a residency certificate from the Thai Embassy in Thai as a requirement of the transfer. This certificate can be gotten expensively from your own Embassy but will need to be translated into Thai. Not advisable. It is free from the Thai Immigration but they may state a fee or not as the case may be. You will have to have an address to send the residency certificate to. A year’s visa is required for the certificate and transfer.

      Reply

  17. I just discovered Transferwise after using paypal so long, and the main 2 pains are their hidden fee on the exchange with paypal and the 5-7 day wait for money to arrive.
    Is Transferwise faster on the sending to arrival window into my current account in Thailand. This is my biggest bug bear …the wait from offshore money to come in, especially when it overlaps the Thai holidays.

    Reply

    • My experience is usually within 48 hours, maximum 72. I’d happily wait longer though because the exchange rate is always favourable with TW. I feel your pain with PayPal. I’m scared to look at how much I pay them in fees each year!

      Reply

      • Not true: We don’t ever check your credit eligibility, we simply check the personal details that are available there. This will not register on any database as a credit check. It will register that we have checked your personal information and will not affect your credit rating or credit history in any way.

        Reply

  20. Oh,l how I wish we could still get ฿54+ To a pound. Pics are old!

    TransferWise is usually the same or better than taking cash to the exchange kiosk. Last transfer I made took all of 20hours to reach the Bank of BKK from Nationwide. No fuss, no hassle just quick and accurate.

    Reply

  21. Thank you- i ve used transferwise- best rate – was great to pay deposit rent in advance- for cash pick up- as I dont have a thai bank account I found worldremit.. still not the best rate but better than western union . Or do you have a better option? It has to be a cash pick up – thanks

    Reply

  23. Please advise urgently if it is possible to transfer GBP from a UK bank account to a GBP Thai bank account (Foreign Currency Deposit account). The system doesn’t seem to provide for this and I am unable to find any reference or FAQ.

    Reply

    • Ken,
      If your FCD account is with a bank that has a branch in the UK you should be able to do the transfer directly from your bank to the branch in the UK. I know BKK Bank have this capability here in the US through their New York branch and in the UK through their London branch. I imaging some of the other large Thai banks have a similar facility.

      Reply

  25. Hi Peter
    I think there has been a reaction to TransferWise etc. My UK bank First Direct/HSBC has just offered ‘free’ international transfers to Thai bank accounts [and virtually all International Bank Transfers] They used to charge £25 per transaction……now Free if done online or £4 if done by phone.
    Of course I do not know how much my [as yet unopened] Thai bank a/c in CM will charge, but it seems like a good move all round for the transfer scene!
    Excellent blog.
    Thank you
    Mike

    Reply

    • Hi Mike, is that on all types of accounts or just selected customers? I can’t find any literature on that. My banks Halifax and Nationwide are still charging. You will still get charged a minimum of 500 Baht by the receiving bank though, so Transferwise is still cheaper (depending on the amount 🙂

      Reply

  26. I just went to do a transfer from US$ into THB and found that Transferwise’s fee structure has changed a bit. It is now a fixed amount US$2.00 + 1% of the amount converted (net of fees). So a US$200 transfer yields ฿ 6,559.50 with a fee of US$3.96. This replaces the old fee structure where smaller <฿ 6,000.00 transfers incurred a penalty and it was a flat rate (1.2%? if I remember correctly) after that. Now it looks like the fees range from about 3% for a US$100 transfer decreasing to 1.2% at a US$1,000 transfer. It continues decreasing asymptotically approaching 1% for very large transfers. (Actually, I just checked, it will get to 1% (at US$20,000 from rounding… ))

    Reply

  27. My husband and I are on a retirement extn living in Thailand and are required to show funds coming into our joint thai bank account from abroad. If we opted for Transferwiz the funds would come in thai baht and may create a problem for our retirement extension.

    Reply

    • I can’t see how. Any transfer to your Thai bank account from a foreign account will be converted to Thai Baht when it reaches the receiving bank. Some people even opt to convert to Thai Baht at the source bank so that it is sent in Thai Baht (not advisable because you get a better rate from the receiving back). Transferwise acts in the same way. The money will appear in your bank as Thai Baht. The amount required for your extension is calculated in Thai Baht, not foreign currency. For example, you need 800k Baht in a Thai bank account to secure your retirement visa/extension of.

      Reply

  28. Why are many banks in Thailand reluctant to open bank accounts for farangs with a Marriage Visa. My wife bank account is with Krungsri but they will not let me open an account with them or even add my name to my wife’s account. My account is with Kasikorn Bank but they have closed their Bank in Muangsamsip and I now have to go to Ubon which is 55 Kilometers away. I have a pension and some savings but not enough for a Retirement visa only a Marriage Visa.

    Reply

  29. Hi ! Tx for all this useful info!
    One more question : is Thailand joining the AEOI agreement ?
    Is there a limit to the amount i can expatriate to another country from my new account in Thailand ?

    Reply

    • Thailand has not announced plans to join the AEOI agreement, so exchange of information on bank accounts and tax affairs isn’t currently a standard process. There will be no limit on transfers from your Thai account to another country, as far as I know.

      Reply

  30. Hi Peter,
    Your blog is most informative as an Australian who lived for a short time in Britain I can only say”British is best”I am 69 years young and want to live permanently in Thailand I am on the Australian aged pension however will only have about $4000 to bring to Thailand.If I open a Bangkok bank account would Australian authorities know about it ? I am thinking of doing a teaching course in Thailand however if the Australian government found out I was working I would lose my pension also I would have no address in Australia anymore.I have heard you must produce a bank statement at the beginning of each year showing you have
    $40,000 Australian in your account and prove you have a monthly income of $640 to retire in Thailand I would like to live in either Bangkok or Pattaya what sort of rents would I have to pay for a One or two bedroom apartment?
    Thank you in anticipation of our reply.lwas previously in the fashion business and had some unusually style clothes made for myself which most people like so I would like to get a fashion men’s range made under my name.

    Reply

    • No, these currencies have not been added yet. You can send money to India from other countries but not from India to Thailand. On the home page there is a dropdown box where you select the country. All the available countries are listed there.

      Reply

  32. Wow! I read your blog and decided to try it out.i transferred an initial AUD 1000 on Tuesday, thinking I would get it by Friday. I was notified that I would probably get it Monday, as my bank was slow to transfer. Today is Thursday, and it just arrived in my bank in Thailand! Better rate than the banks, and a very low charge,around $8+ instead of the usual $20. Thanks for posting about this!

    Reply

  33. I am looking into the move over maybe Chiang Mai at this stage,living of my old age pension, and the 800,000 to show in an aus bank till I can set up a Thai account. So dose anyone how it work;s Then can I get it transferred in to my Thai bank account in AUD $. using TransferWise which from what I can see on line seem;s to be the best. Thank;s for any help.

    Reply

    • I was able to open an account at a branch of the Bangkok Bank in Chiang Mai with an initial deposit of 1000 Thai Baht and presenting only a UK passport with a 30 day visa exemption entry stamp. However, what they ask for in the way of documentation, visas etc depends on the manager of the particular branch and possibly on your nationality (I have heard that it can be very difficult for US citizens to open an account)

      Reply

  35. Being the sceptic I am, I did a transfer from our Australian bank to our Thai bank at the same time as going through TransferWise to our Thai bank.

    First point: The Australian bank charged AU18.00 for the transfer.
    TransferWise charged AU8.00

    Second point: The Australian bank gave an exchange-rate of 24.3350.
    TransferWise gave an exchange-rate of 25.5764.

    Third point: The Australian bank gave no notification on how long the transfer would take to arrive in our Thai bank.
    TransferWise gave a date of when it would be in our account in Thailand.

    My conclusion is, use TransferWise!

    Well done TheThailandLife for putting us on to TransferWise

    Reply

  36. Hello. A lot of good information being shared. Greatly appreciated. While your talking about the Banks, I didn’t see anything mentioned regarding Thai ATM’s. Just curious, do they have a Max Amount that can be withdrawn daily and what is the Fee Charged per withdrawal. Appreciate any information you can share. Thanks. Thomas

    Reply

  37. I just did my first Transferwise transfer from the USA to Thailand…..WOW!

    Quite the savings and fast! Great rate-better than Super Rich and I dont have to carry cash…..better than any other method out there..hands down…

    Reply

  38. Last year, I transferred GBP 10,000 from Santander Isle of Man to my Bangkok Bank FCD (GBP) account. Although not paying for FX conversions, I was charged GBP 25 SWIFT fee, GBP 45 for clearing bank fees (?) and approx GBP 12 receiving bank fees. If my math is correct, that totals GBP 82. I think these charges suck and banks are licensed crooks, but using Transferwise with their 1% service charge, I would actually be paying GBP100!? So I guess it depends on the amount transferred.

    Reply

  41. Transferwise all the way for me. I haven’t done that much research and figures aren’t my strong point but this just makes sense in theory and practice – it works. I use the app and that works really well. I send and receive. Why let the banks fleece you…that irritates the hell out of me. BTW – TheThailandlife is such a great resource my friend, very much appreciated. Thanks Ade.

    Reply

  42. I just took a look and the rate they are providing is no better than XE.com

    That was a big disappointment.

    I would rather carry money through custom and get better rates at the local exchange kioks. There are many of those in Bangkok along the MRT.

    Reply

    • You are missing the point. That is why Transferwise is so great, because it uses market rates like XE.com does. You would never get the market rate that XE shows on a bank transfer. You certainly will not get a better rate in an exchange booth in Bangkok. Sure, you might save a small fee amount, but for those living in Thailand or living abroad who want to safely transfer money to and from, there is nothing better than Transferwise. I have tried every method.

      Reply

  44. Hi, Transferwise looks great for sending money from say Uk to Thailand.
    I am going to Thailand for 1 month at the end of March to meet up with my Thai girlfriend, instead of using the ATM machines could I use Transferwise to send money to my girlfriends bank account and she could withdraw cash on my behalf, thus avoiding the 200b charge everytime??

    Thankyou

    Baz Collings

    Reply

  45. Had many problems with transferring with swift due to Thai banks. Once they held onto the money until the rate dropped (should have been the rate when they got it) before putting it in my account, lost me 40k baht. Another time they charged me again for the transfer fee when the sending bank had already done so. Now I use transferwise, you know exactly what you will get, the exchange rate and when it will be in your account. Thai banks may look modern, but the attitudes and practices are still ‘Thai’.

    Reply

  46. First of great site thank you, I’ve used direct transfer from Australia $15 no matter the amount, western union similar amount, now use TransferWise since start of this year, keeping the amounts to a few hundred Australian dollars it costs $4 and takes about 7 days

    Reply

    • The fee is included, so you won’t pay that fee on top. If you work it out, even with the fee, the exchange rate is still better than what the bank would give you. Plus you avoid the bank charge to send the money. If you send a small amount in USD, say less than 3k in one go, the fee is almost zero.

      Reply

  49. Thank you for the post, so very easy to do, I was paying $30 Aust for every transfer regardless of amount, plus the banks give you there crappy exchange rate not the going rate. Example last month I transfers money the bank exchange was 23.50 plus a $30 fee.
    With transfere wise exchange was 26.10 plus a $4 fee , thank you it has annoyed the crap out of me for a while.

    Reply

    • Yes, they are starting to lower their fees, so hopefully 2017 will bring even more savings. I just had an email from them about lowering their rates as of 15th December for sending US to the UK.

      It is now 0.85% on the first $10,000 you send, and 0.6% on amounts over the first $10,000.

      I quote: These drops are partly due to cost savings we’re able to make as our revolution gains momentum. And that, in turn, is thanks to you sharing TransferWise with your friends and family.

      The more we are, the stronger we are, and the closer we get to money without borders.

      So the more people who use the service to send money to Thailand, the more likely we are to see rate drops.

      Reply

  52. Very happy to have come across this option thanks so much for posting! Have been living in Thailand for just over 2 months and have been seeking ways of avoiding the exorbitant ATM fees here, as well as avoiding prohibitive spreads charged by banks. Your solution will save us hundreds of dollars in fees each year.

    Reply

    • They haven’t added Baht to the transfer list yet, but what you can do is register your interest to send Baht. Select ‘other’ from the currency drop-down list on the homepage and it will let you enter your email address to be notified when they add Baht to the list. Hopefully it won’t be too long!

      Reply

  59. Hi – this is great. Simply superb rates. No bank fees. However I work in Thailand as foreigner and need to send money out FROM Thailand to my home country.

    I note that TransferWise does not support THB as sending currency. Is there any other website/service that you recommend for ppl like me? Thanks much.

    Reply

  60. Thank you for the information on Transferwise. I set up an account a few months ago and have saved a fortune. Currently it is good to bear in mind that the saving goes toward partly offsetting the low GDP rate.
    Thankyou again.

    Reply

  63. Hi, is the offer through the link still valid?
    I’m entering USD to THB and I have to pay a fee ranging from 1.5% to 7%(!), depending on the amount. It looks like amounts over $500 are charged 1.5%. For under $100 the fee is probably higher than Paypal.

    Reply

    • Hi Elas, the link is still valid.

      You would only pay 1% on that amount. PayPal is the most expensive option in all cases. Even if you already have USD in your PayPal account and route them through to Bangkok Bank in the US, who then forward the funds to Thailand, you will still get a low conversion rate in Thailand from Bangkok Bank, 33-34.

      With Transferwise you get the real market rate.

      I did a test on $1000 and I see the following:

      Real exchange rate guaranteed: ฿35.3400
      You’ll save: $ 46.58

      The bank would have given you a lower rate of ฿34.1031 and stolen on the currency conversion.

      In addition to your bank’s charge, which is usually 10-20$, you would have lost $46.58 on a $1,000 transaction.

      On $100 you would save $15.

      Reply

    • It did to me at first because I’d waited so long for a service where you can send money to Thailand and avoid bank and currency conversion fees. Now I’m using this service regularly and it’s great. Super fast and really cost-efficient.

      Reply

  67. My friend (Australian) visit BKK 4-6 weeks a time for business meeting or stop over to change the flight to another country.

    He would like to open bank account in BKK, have been to a few bank but they refuse as he doesn’t have work permit in Thailand.

    Can you please advise, the bank name that foreigner can open saving account

    Reply

    • If he has a business visa then he can open a bank account no problem. Try Bangkok Bank at The Exchange Tower in Asoke, Bangkok. Take his ID card, passport, proof of address in Thailand, and visa information.

      Reply

  69. My dad wants to send me some money for my birthday from Ireland to my bank in Thailand. I’m teaching in Bangkok. He wants to know if the receiving bank will change a fee. Please let me know. Thanks in advance. Shannon x

    Reply

  70. My wife just called me to say the money had got to Thailand. Took less than 2 days. I sent $500 and got a rate of just over 54.3, no bank fees or currency conversion fees. Thanks for that link to the free transfer. Great service that is going to save me a lot of money this year.

    Reply

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