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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 the 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 2018, $1,859,000,000 in remittances was sent from the US to Thailand. The total worldwide is over 5 Billion USD. Other top sending countries were Germany, Australia, UK, and Sweden. (Source)

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

We all know banks are generally a rip-off when it comes to sending money, but hiding your money under a mattress isn't exactly a safe bet these days – not that it ever has been.

This sucks: because they have us like a puppet on a string; free to slap on big fees and unfair exchange rates when we want to transfer money.

When you sit back and think about it, it's the strangest thing: You are charged to withdraw your own money!

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

There is a solution, and I'll get to that in a moment. But first let's look at how the fees rack up.

The 4 Pain Points of Transferring Money to Thailand

1: Transfer Fee

The SWIFT transfer fee can be anywhere from £10-25 / $15-30. If you make regular transfers, say two a month, that's going to run you near on £250 / $320 a year!

And we're nowhere near done with fees yet. Read on.

2: Receiving Fee

After the transfer fee, you get hit by the receiving bank for another amount of about the same. Most banks such as Bangkok Bank charge a maximum of 500 Baht.

So you've already paid twice to transfer your own money, and that's without the currency conversion charge.

3: Currency Conversion Charge

Out of the three fees, this is the evil one.

Most people presume you get the mid-market transfer rate. This is the one you see on XE .com. But then you do the math and realize that you've been shortchanged, massively!

In the world's currency markets, traders define the rates at which they are willing to “buy” or “sell” a specific currency. The mid-market rate is simply the midpoint between demand and supply for a currency, and because of that, it changes all the time.

But that's as technical as you need to get. The most important thing to know is that the mid-market rate is considered the fairest exchange rate possible. The mid-market rate isn't a secret either. Its the rate you will find on independent sources such as Google, XE and Yahoo Finance.

Unfortunately it's not the rate they pass onto you.

It's one of the ways they can hide the true amount they're charging. Most banks take the mid-market rate and apply a margin on top, without being transparent. So you have no idea how much they're over charging you by.

By hiding their charge in the exchange rate offered to you, banks make huge profits at your expense, and you're none the wiser.

money-transfer-comparison

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 choosing to convert to Thai Baht at their source bank instead of at the Thai end.

Remember: This means 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 “mid-market rate”.

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

4: Transfer Times

So, you've had your pockets skimmed on all fronts.

You have 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. That's a real kick in the teeth.

Hell, sometimes it takes as long as 5-7 days!

Like It or 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 too expensive, but good if you need cash wired immediately. 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 (where I'm from).

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

=> Enter TransferWise to Save You Money

Seriously, I have waited years for this. You can now transfer money to Thailand with ZERO bank charges, get the Mid Market Rate currency conversion and only pay a small fee.

Typically that fee, on £1,000 is 0.35%.

I know, it's hard to believe, but I'm doing it and so now are hundreds of readers of TheThailandLife.

Check this out:

Here is the rate I got from TransferWise on 13th May, 2019 on 1,000 GBP:

transferwise-payment-comparison

Yes I know, the Pound (£) is weak and getting weaker.

But now look at the bank transfer rates of four high-street banks. TransferWise beats them both, comfortably.

The exchange rate is lower and the fees are higher.

transferwise-bank-comparison

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

Unbelievable, right? The overall TransferWise rate is actually slightly better!

transferwise-mid-market-rates

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

But that's not all: I only paid a £6.81 fee. Usually, my bank (Nationwide) charges £20. Plus I'd have to pay 500 Baht (£12) to my receiving bank in Thailand.

So altogether, with the favorable exchange rate, I saved over £50 with TransferWise over transferring with my bank!

Sending USD to Thailand

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

transferwise-bank-comparisons

The dollar isn't very strong against the Baht at the moment, but again, the TransferWise rate is better than the market rate on Xe.com (below).

Usually the rate is the same or slightly better, but note that rates change by the second at times in the market. You can also check Reuters for comparison.

transferwise-US-mid-market-rates

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/$1,000. Click that text link back there < to get the free gift.

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.

How Does TransferWise Make Sending Money to Thailand so Cheap?

Well, with investment in the company 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 very quick.

My first transfer completed within 48 hours; 2-3 days quicker than my bank.

There are readers in the comments section who've received their money to Thailand within 24 hours.

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

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 bigger amounts it could take longer.

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

Here's a Quick Benefits Summary

TransferWise was founded on the principle that people deserve transparency, fairness and better value when it comes to their money. I think the large majority of us would agree with this principle and have waited a long time for a service like this.

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

> Click here to make your first transfer

Boy does it feel good to avoid those bank fees!

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      • Frankbank says

        Thanks, but I am not quite clear on what you mean because the company is in California and even though I come from California and have a Citibank account there, because I am in Thailand Paypal charges $35 to put it in that account but doesn't charge extra to send it to my Bangkok Bank account. But that isn't a problem because I don't need to put it in my U.S. bank account anyway since I live here. So it seems that Paypal knows I am in Thailand.But you mean that if I delete my BB and Citibank accounts from Paypal then I can just give them this borderless bank account number and they won't care where I live ?
        Reply

        • TheThailandLife says

          You can route money from PayPal to Bangkok Bank; it gets sent to Bangkok Bank in the US and then forwarded to your account in Thailand. That's fine. I'd keep doing that as it is really efficient.Transferwise is a different service. It is a service for sending money to Thailand and other countries from a domestic bank account. It's a money transfer service.Transferwise Borderless is another service. It is an account that you can have money of different currencies paid into. You can convert currencies inside the account, transfer money to other banks, and have a debit card that enables you to spend money too. Have a read of the review and that will tell you all you need to know.
          Reply

          • Frankbank says

            I don't know what you mean about Bangkok Bank in the U.S. It is in Thailand. Anyway, as you know , paypal takes out their fee every time you take some money out.So of course it is efficient.You said: " You can convert currencies inside the account". Right. The U.S. company pays Dollars into Paypal and then PP sends it in Thai Baht to my BB acount.So you are saying I can't use the Borderless account with Paypal after all ? I don't understand.
            Reply

            • TheThailandLife says

              Hi, I'm not sure what question you were asking me in the first place. This post is about Transferwise, which is a money transfer service for sending money from your bank account back home to Thailand or any other country.I read your first message about having your salary paid into your PayPal account by your online teaching companies, which doesn't have anything to do with the Transferwise service. Bangkok Bank is in Thailand, but when you send money to your Bangkok Bank in Thailand via PayPal it is first routed through the Bangkok Bank in the US. That is how it works. It's good. I do that too.I sent you the link to read my post about the Borderless account in case you were looking for other bank account options 9I thought you were confusing the standard TW service with the Borderless account service. If you have any questions on it, please ask them over on the Borderless post, as I don't want to confuse the two services. If not, no worries :)
              Reply

            • Max says

              The problem with PayPal is their fees. They charge you for everything and in the end it will be quite expensive. If you still have a bank account in the US, can't you get your salaries paid straight into that account or via PayPal? Then open a TransferWise account and transfer the money into your thai bank account? Using PayPal is not the smartest way to transfer money around the world. A lots of fees and terrible exchange rates.
              Reply

  2. Munnster says

    Peter - Due to your recommendation of Transferwise, I have been using it for my transfers and all I can say is thank you! It is easy to use, the money gets there fast and the fees are reasonable. Again, thank you!
    Reply

    • Max says

      I have used TW since 2017, and imo the time for the money to arrive depends on which transfer option you chose. If going for the Low cost transfer option the money will never arrive in 30 minutes, but if using the Fast transfer option, then it's not unusual. But the timing has to be perfect. The money isn't transferred the normal way like a foreign transfer. It's just a domestic transfer bank to bank or in your case maybe even from a TW-account at K-Bank. K-Bank is one of TW's partner banks in Thailand.
      Reply

  4. John Blake Jr. says

    I'm transferring larger amounts, such as 20-thousand Euro from my European to my Thai (where I'm living) account from time to time. For this kind of transaction CurrencyFair is recommended instead of Transferwise, which may be the better choice for smaller amounts. Any comments?
    Reply

    • Max says

      You won't get rid of banking fees when using CurrencyFair,right? And the exchange rate is not guaranteed as it is when using TW. I'm not so sure you get more money in the receiving account compared to a transfer using TW, especially when using the balance transfer option.
      Reply

    • James E says

      I'm not sure CurrencyFair has been discussed here before. Like others they make their money off an artificial spread - they claim a 0.4% premium. When I just looked (US$20K) CF were higher than TransferWise by 0.56%. So you'd have to keep an eye on that to make sure you are getting a more favorable rate for each transaction. I ran into a similar issue with Western Union where they can (and do) manipulate the rate. Bottom line is that CF, on the $20K transfer, nets 623,775THB while TW would net 621,043THB, a significant amount but only 0.15% on a large transfer like this. The net exchange rate is 31.188THB/USD for CF and 31.052 for TW. So, yes, that's a nice dinner out. But... There's always a "but"... A CF transfer is a two-step process: first you transfer your money from your bank into your CF account and then they transfer the money out of your CF account to your Thai bank. It's not like TW's one-and-done process. Plus CF specifically warns: "You should be aware that the exchange rate can go up or down between the time you set up the transaction and when the money arrives into your CurrencyFair account and the exchange occurs." They have another option they call a "Top Up" where you transfer money into your CF account and then wait to see if the exchange rate is one you want and then trigger the transfer. This, although unstated, is where CF gets another slice of your money: you're basically providing them with a 0% loan on 20-Large. Their mechanism is similar to TW's Borderless Account (only without the ATM card). Advertised transfer times are similar to TW's. Using TW I have had several transfers where the money showed up in my BKK Bank account before it left my US account. (I love it when the float is in my favor.) That can't happen with CF's model. CF's apparent advantage remains even at smaller US$2K transfers. I guess your best course of action is to give them a try and see if the 2K-Baht difference is worth the additional hassle. CF does seem to have a pretty good help/FAQ system. There is one MAJOR drawback I found for non-EU/SEPA countries: Getting your money into your CF account requires an international bank transfer. So, UK and EU probably good, everywhere else in the world significantly less so. If you try it please report back!
      Reply

      • Max says

        CF's transfers are like normal bank to bank transfers, it means you will have to pay at least a receiving fee to your Thai bank. TW don't transfer money from abroad, they do it locally. It's not smart to use the fast transfer option (it seems you do) if you want the lowest total fee possible. When using the low cost transfer or even better,the balance transfer you transfer money to TW's local bank account which in most countries is free. My money always arrive ~2pm the next day when initiating the transfer the day before Mon-Thu. Who needs the money the same day? I'm after the lowest total fee, that's why I use TW, together with a guaranteed exchange rate. With all fees from start to finish, I don't think CF will be cheaper and the need to Top up to cover for a maybe lower exchange rate over let's say a weekend is imo stupid. A lot of people don't even know that receiving fees are hidden, Thai banks don't have to show them. Even if it's "just" 200-500 baht per transfer, think about it in a longer term. I compared 1 year of transfers using TW with a friend of mine who does it old school = swift transfers. He got about ฿23,000 less than what I got because of a lower exchange rate (TT buy) and both sending and receiving fees. This was only 1 year.
        Reply

        • preesy chepuce says

          I've been using TW for a while now, as does my wife, and I have both personal and business accounts with cards. Other similar ones: Azimo, CurrenciesDirect, OFX, FairFX, ToFX, HiFX, MoneyCorp, don't have cards which is less useful. It's handy to be able to just use the card in shops and restaurants, but some shops like 7-11, aren't as user-friendly with cards as others. Even with Thai bank cards 7 has thresholds that others don't have. The QR codes seem to be handy, have to be linked to a phone and Thai account.I try to do the sums on TW, but I don't know whether converting to THB is a good idea or not. Normally I only do small amounts because the GBP - THB rate has been so awful since the Brexit vote. I've paid in GBP in a shop with a TW card, and it doesn't seem to cost any different than if I'd paid with THB, but I guess if you did it a lot, the spot exchange rates would build up.I want to try sending a large amount, several thousand, from UK to Thailand via TW, so now it matters more. They have a guide, but it still isn't entirely clear. Not all Thai banks are equal, and I don't know the diff between procedures in Bangkok Bank, SCB, Kasikorn, KrungThai, and KrungSri etc... I thought there was an effective maximum of £5000 per transfer before some alarm is triggered in the UK. It seems like it's a £1000 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-comply-with-eu-payments-regulationIt sounds like the low cost transfer and funds for long term stay are the best options.
          Reply

          • Max says

            The sum you're allowed to transfer abroad depends on banking rules and regulations in your home country and in the EU. But even within the EU the limit you're allowed to send abroad without the need to report the transfer and show the reason for the transfer differs. I have done a few 'high' number transfers, but always below the limit,it was about £15,000 the last time I did it. When using TW and the 'Low cost transfer'-option, the same rules apply even if the first leg is a domestic transfer. Some countries especially the US are totally paranoid when it comes to sending money abroad. They think every single transfer is about money laundering. Some thai banks branches refuses to open new accounts to US citizens because of the extra paperwork involved. Strange but true. If £5,000 is the limit (I think it sounds low) before raising an eyebrow, that's 199,680 THB now. Which bank you send the money to in Thailand doesn't matter, they go by the same regulations. The thing that will be different is how the transfer shows up in the account/bank book. Sometimes it's better to go old school and do a swift transfer if it's important that the transfer shows up as international/foreign. The higher sum you transfer using TW, the higher fee. Banks at home usually have a low fixed sending fee and the exchange rate will be the TT buy. The receiving fee will be a maximum 500 THB.
            Reply

  5. ray goodwin says

    I finally took your advise and used transferwise. I wish I had done so a decade ago. Not only is it far less expensive but also fast. Plus now I know exactly how much the recipient will receive and when. Thanks for the info. Ray.
    Reply

      • wachirapranee tesprasit says

        I'm in Thailand I would like to complete a transaction for receiving winnings, grants, funds with fellow sponsors, or funds that I have counted through tranferwise. Individual account, not for profit I want to receive money by direct bank transfer, bank account in Thailand.
        Reply

        • JamesE says

          If you’re looking to receive foreign source transfers into your Thai bank account you don’t need to do anything other than provide your bank account number and name to the people sending you money using TransferWise. It works similar to PromptPay but based on your actual bank details rather than your mobile number. To be safe you may want to open a second account to isolate your incoming transfers from your regular account.
          Reply

  6. Terrence Barker says

    I have 2 friends who transfer money via transferwise to Thailand both say its quick and cheap also you get a very good exchange rate my friend has received money as quick as 30mins i am going to start to use them my friend will get a fee for introducing me. TERRY
    Reply

    • Max says

      If you're using the Fast transfer option it's really fast,but the fee is higher. When using the Low cost transfer option, the money normally arrives next day (unless it's a weekend or Thai holiday) which imo is fast enough,and with a lower fee.
      Reply

  7. Gus says

    TransferWise seems to be ok for smaller sums of money transferred but as the transfer fee is around 1% (ACH) for US to Thailand transfer the incentive dissipates at for larger sums, say anything over 5000 USD.
    Reply

    • James E says

      When doing this calculation make sure you take the buy/sell spread of the receiving bank into account as well as TW's decreasing fee structure. For example BKK Bank is selling Baht at 0.6% less than the TW mid-market rate. The TW transfer would cost US$102.44 and net you THB315,781.65 on US$10,000 with a mid-market rate of 31.905. So, an effective exchange rate of 31.578. The same transfer going from Bank of America would cost about $60 in fees and have a set exchange rate of 31.72 (if BKK Bank did the conversion) for a net of THB315,296.80 or an effective exchange rate of 31.53. Even worse, if I let BOA do the conversion, the net exchange rate is down around 29.79. But then they're nice enough not to charge me for the transfer... It is true that there is a convergence of effective rates as the transfer amount gets bigger but it's a much larger figure than $5K. The transfer limit is 2 megaBaht. TW does this transfer at an effective rate of 31.692 whereas the SWIFT transfer would be about 31.71.
      Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi Ken, set up a Transferwise account by clicking here. You can then send money directly to her bank account. It will work out much cheaper than using a bank as you will get a better currency conversion rate and there will be no receiving fee for her to pay (usually 500 Baht).
      Reply

  9. Dan says

    One issue I've heard with using TW is that transfers to Thai Banks (let's use Bangkok Bank) show up as a direct deposit. The problem is that for extensions of stay based on retirement/marriage, Thai Immigration wants bank statements to show international transfer, proving the money came in from abroad. The direct deposit entry from TW doesn't show the funds came in from abroad, so Immigration won't accept your bank statements.
    Reply

    • Max says

      I don't know where you got your info but it's not correct. There's nothing called "direct deposit". TW has 3 partner banks in Thailand, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank and Thai Military Bank. When sending money you have to chose a reason for the transfer. For the money to show up as an international transfer (FTT in the bank book at Bangkok Bank) you MUST chose "Funds for long term stay in Thailand". This will only work when banking with one of the 3 partner banks. If banking with other Thai banks,the transfer will show up as an "Interbank Transfer" = a domestic transfer. I have used TW since 2017 and I'm banking with Bangkok Bank. I never have problems,and my transfers shows up as foreign/international. When using the monthly income method this is important,but less important than it was a year ago. Immigration has learned that transfers don't show up the same way at every bank and with same bank codes, and only people from the US,UK and Australia needs bank statements.
      Reply

      • Ian says

        Does anyone know what a international transfer shows up as in a Kasikorn bankbook using "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" Mines showing up as code TRN and teller MCL00001+It was my first transaction with Tranferwise and i expected a different codeThanks
        Reply

          • Ian says

            Just got off phone to Transferwise support, explained what was happening and asked if they could tag my future transactions as coming internationally. I explained about using "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" reason. They're going to look into it and should reply in 2-3 working days.
            Reply

              • Ian says

                Just received this reply from support at Tranferwise, hope this helps.Hi Ian,I'm reaching out to you regarding your call yesterday, about foreign payments to Thailand.TransferWise isn’t authorised by the Bank of Thailand to issue FET forms. It’s because of how we work: when you send money with us, we use our Thai banking partners to send out your money locally. It doesn’t cross any borders, so it doesn’t show up as a foreign transaction.So you need to ask for a FET form from our bank partner. You can check which bank this is on your transfer receipt. To find it: Go to the transfer in the Activity section of your TransferWise account Click View transfer details Click Download PDF receipt Go to the second page to find banking partner detailsIf the transfer was sent out by Bangkok Bank and the recipient (you) has an account with them, the recipient needs to go to their branch of Bangkok Bank with: their Bangkok Bank Savings Passbook, or a statement showing the transaction their passport the agreement of the purchase of a condominium, if buying property with the moneyIf the transfer was sent out by Bangkok Bank and the recipient doesn’t have an account with them, they’ll need to reach out to Bangkok Bank’s head office at 333 Silom Road Bangrak with: credit receipt of the specific bank transaction their passport the agreement of the purchase of a condominium, if buying property with the moneyOnce Bangkok Bank has checked these documents, they’ll issue a confirmation letter to the recipient. They can then use this to prove that the money came from abroad. Bangkok Bank charges a 100 THB fee for the FET letter.If the transfer was sent out by Kasikorn Bank, the recipient needs to go to their nearest Kasikorn Bank International Trade centre. They’ll need to bring: their Bank Savings Passbook or statement showing the transaction their passport their visa (if applicable) Kasikorn Bank may charge an administration fee.Please be advised that, sometimes, we might send your transfer through a different banking partner who can’t provide a FET. This might be because of a technical issue, or some other unforeseen event. If you know you definitely need a FET, it’s best that you send a SWIFT transfer with your bank this time. SWIFT is a more expensive method, because it’s not a local transfer. But it does mean you'll be able to prove that the money came from abroad.Hope this helps. But should you have further questions, let us know.Best regards, EszterTransferWise
                Reply

                • Max says

                  That explanation is BS. The girl doesn't know what she's talking about. The reason "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" was created in July last year just because of the need for transfers to show up as foreign when banking with one of TW's partner banks. (This is well known by people living in Thailand and using TW monthly.) It has nothing to do with buying property in Thailand. She's right about the transfers being local, but that's why TW created the reason above. I have used TW since 2017 and I'm banking with Bangkok Bank. My transfers shows up as foreign/international in the bank book = FTT and also online. I would make another call to TW and ask to talk to someone with more knowledge about transfers to Thailand and also tell them to tag your account for future transfers.
                  Reply

                  • Ian says

                    Having sent another email to Tranferwise because weekend and call centre not open, this was my latest reply. Feels like i'm getting somewhere now. Hope this helps others.We are aware of the issue you mentioned as there was an update from 1st June 2019 since Kasikorn bank transfers are no longer shown as foreign transfers in recipient bank details.Transferwise has been doing domestic local transfers in Thailand, however we received feedback from our customers that Bangkok Bank (BBL) & Kasikorn Bank (Kbank) are capable of showing their transfers as international transfers if we are sending BBL to BBL or Kbank to Kbank.Out of goodwill, we will still help our customers to route their payments via their desired payout partners but please advised it cannot be guaranteed 100% that it will always work due to numerous reasons.We can make the necessary changes on your profile to ensure we will route your transfers via your requested bank but please remember if it happens to be re-routed during one or another transfer, we won't be able to cancel the completed transfer.Please reply back to this email and let us know which bank in this case you wish to be routed.Thanks in advance, Barbara from Transferwise
                    Reply

              • Max says

                Norman is not correct about transfers to K-Bank always showing up as domestic. Why would they? I transferred money to my K-Bank account about a week ago, and it showed up as international. It depends on how you transfer the money. For example,a transfer using swift will always show up as international and also when using a few other methods, while some will show up as domestic/interbank transfers. If using TW, it's best to contact TW and tell them to tag the account to K-Bank. That makes the transfer to go straight to K-Bank instead of TW using one of their other two banking partners for the last leg. You shall also use the correct reason for the transfer: "Funds for long term stay in Thailand". I do actually think that TW-transfers works best with Bangkok Bank if it's really important that the transfers shows up as international/foreign. If they don't, you can always get credit advices for those transfers from the bank, and also print out the pdf-receipts that comes with every TW-transfer.
                Reply

        • Norman says

          You must take TW receipt to kbank and request a credit advice for your international transfer.Immigration will require this credit advice document as proof of your transfer being international funds transfer
          Reply

          • Max says

            You don't send Baht to Thailand using TW. You send British Pounds which will get exchanged to THB by TW using the so called Mid-market rate (which is good). There will be no sending fees or receiving fees. You only pay TW's fee and you'll see the exact total fee (and the guaranteed rate) when you initiate the transfer. The reason there are no receiving fee is the way TW transfers the money to the receiving account. They just transfer the money locally = a domestic transfer. Hence, not a real international transfer. Choose the "Low cost transfer"-option to get the lowest fee. That transfer takes 24 hours the most,unless it's a weekend or Thai holiday. Send money Mon-Thursday. "Fast transfer" will be faster but with a slightly higher fee,but who needs money in 1-2 hours? I don't.
            Reply

        • Max says

          Anthony, if you need your transfers to show up as foreign/international when using the money for 1 year extensions at Immigration, then there are a few things to think about, otherwise they will show up as domestic transfers, for example "Interbank Transfer" at Bangkok Bank, other banks uses other terminology for the same thing.
          Reply

      • Anthony Handley says

        Brilliant information much appreciated I'm looking into making the monthly transfers 40,000 baht pm so that at the end of my next 1 year Non-Immigrant O visa I can apply for a one year extension based on marriage. We won't actually be married initially but by the time I have to apply for the extention we will be so I'm assuming that they will accept 40k baht pm? Can you also confirm that when you receive your money into Bangkok Bank there are ZERO charges because I was told by them that I would be charged because I am a farang. I already use Transfer Wise its brilliant but always currently send to my girlfriend to avoid bank charges at receiving end Bangkok Bank but this article and some comments suggest you don't get ANY charges at the receiving end Bangkok Bank. I am a little confused as obviously I want to avoid around 350 baht charges pm based on sending 40k baht pm. I never realised the importance of the "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" great information 👍🏼🙏🏼
        Reply

        • Max Fredriksson says

          You can change the reason (marriage) for the 1 year extension 30 days before the current permission to stay expires. You need 12 months of 40k deposits shown as foreign/international or 400k in the bank 2 months prior to the application. Don't believe anything that banks tells you about receiving money using TW. They don't have a clue. There are never any receiving fees when using TW. That's because of the way TW transfers the money. They are just moving the money inside Thailand, hence no receiving fee. When sending money from abroad using swift, the receiving fee is 0.25% with a minimum fee of 200 baht and a maximum fee of 500 baht It means up to 80,000 baht cost 200 baht. Every customer,Thai or farang pays that receiving fee, but it's hidden. You can't see it anywhere. When using TW,you must choose the correct transfer option, for example, one is "Low cost transfer" to avoid a sending fee. When using that transfer option Mon-Thu, the money arrives next day about 2pm.
          Reply

        • James E says

          I use TW into BKK Bank and have never had a charge. That's not to say that the rules won't change (or haven't changed) without warning. If you do the 40K/mo and can show via bank statement/bank letter that the funds came from overseas then no problem. You should do the 40K/mo for a year unless you have a way to prove the income is ongoing.
          Reply

          • Max says

            There aren't any changes regarding receiving fees. TW's deposits into our accounts are local transfers from their own accounts. I have used TW since 2017, and my transfers always shows up as International = FTT in the bank book. You just have to do it the correct way.
            Reply

      • preesy chepuce says

        That is a nuisance. I was thinking about transferring 400k to KrungThai, thinking that because it's a government bank that it would show FTT.I guess that you can't really use a joint Bangkok bank account, so you have to set up your own Bangkok Bank, TMB, or Kasikorn.Getting paid locally over 40k/mo into KrungThai maybe won't matter, as it doesn't need to show as international anyway.
        Reply

        • Max says

          If you need Transferwise- transfers to show up as international/foreign you can't bank with Krungthai. Those TW- transfers will always show up as domestic transfers/interbank transfers. If using the money in the bank method for Immigration, you must have an account in your name only.
          Reply

    • John Blake Jr. says

      There is no such thing - promise! An extension of retirement visa is easy (compared to OA Visa, when you are working). You need the copy of ALL pages of your Thai Bank Book, not less than 4 months back, incl. a transaction the same day you apply for the visa and a letter of the bank confirming that your account was within the required limits all the time (> 400,000 B; or 800,000 B if not married to a Thai).
      Reply

      • Max says

        Since March 1 2019 you need either a 12 months bank statement or copies of your bank book 12 months back (if the local immigration office allows it), and the bank book has to be updated every month. And the bank letter only shows that the account belongs to you, nothing else.
        Reply

  10. JP says

    I’ve used TransferWise for a few years to send funds from the U.S. to my Bangkok Bank account. I do transfers with the TW app on my phone. It takes less than 60 seconds to initiate a transfer. Once in awhile a transfer will take 4 to 5 days, but it’s often one or two days. Last Monday I initiated a transfer at 09:00 am and the money was in my BB by 10:00 pm the same day! That was record time for me! And no, BKK Bank does not charge me a receiving fee.
    Reply

    • Max says

      The reason you're not paying a receiving fee is the transfer option you chosed. If you for any reason transfer USD using swift or wire,then your thai bank will charge you a minimum fee of ฿200. But,the receiving fee is hidden, you can't see it online as a transaction or in the bank book. I know loads of people who thought they didn't pay any receiving fee,but when they did the math they realized they did.
      Reply

    • Martin1 says

      JP --Bangkok Bank has a subsidiary in the US! (I think in New York).Someone told me that it is possible to send money to that branch, and it will be remitted to Thailand for free. You might want to contact that branch.
      Reply

    • Max says

      You can not send money out of Thailand using TW. But if banking with K-Bank you can transfer money to 24 countries using the K+ app. Maybe Australia is one of those countries. Just click on Transfer>International Transfer. You can only use this function during business days 8:30am-6pm.
      Reply

      • James E says

        Western Union also supports electronic money transfer out of Thailand. Kasikorn is on their direct debit list. The current quote is 1.00 THB = 0.0489604 AUD with a 115THB fee. Always compare exchange rates and fees to find the best deal.
        Reply

      • Max says

        "Kbank charge a fee of 1500thb for each transaction." What are you talking about? A 1500 baht fee for the credit advise? There's no need for a work permit, this guy already has an account. Showing the source of the transfer is one thing, but not a problem to get a proof of the source. When TW tags his profile,his transfers will show up as international,just as mine do at Bangkok Bank.
        Reply

  12. Tony Flynn says

    Regarding bank fees, I don't know what uk banks you are referring to but my bank"The halifax" charges a flat rate of £9.00 when sending abroad. It dosen't matter what the amount is, I've been sending money to my partner in Thailand in drips and draps for the best part of 2 years and the rate hasn't changed, The only thing is the charge at the other end [Thai Bank).
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi Tom, you pay that fee and take a hit on the currency conversion because you won't get the mid-market rate. Banks and other providers all set their own rates. You also pay 500 Baht at the Thai receiving bank.
      Reply

    • Max says

      You get the TT buy rate when transferring money using your bank + a receiving fee of 0.25%,with a minimum of ฿200 and a maximum of ฿500. Using TW you get the mid-market rate,which is better than the TT buy and no receiving fee. You're just paying TW's fee. The rate is also guaranteed. The transfer normally arrives next day unless it's a weekend.
      Reply

  13. Mike Atkinson says

    I have a TransferWise account already and considering to try it, having read your article. I would like to know how you can so sure that the receiving Bank in Thailand doesn't deduct their charges (which are up to THB 1000 per transfer from previous experience). Even when I tick the box "sender pays all charges'" on the HSBC transfer request my recipient still gets the incoming fee deducted everytime.Look forward to inputBest regards Mike
    Reply

    • James E says

      TW doesn't work the same way. It comes into your Thai bank (I use BKK Bank) as a direct deposit not a wire transfer. If you're using a major bank you should have no problem. If you're concerned just do a small transfer first (almost everybody does) so you can see the mechanism at work.
      Reply

    • Max says

      There are no receiving fees when sending money using TW. If you're using the 'Low cost transfer' option,meaning you make a local transfer from your bank account to a local TW account, then if local transfers at your bank are free, you're not even paying a senders fee. You'll see the total TW fee when you chose the amount you want to send and the rate is guaranteed. The maximum receiving fee in Thailand is ฿500,by the way. That sum has been the same for years.
      Reply

        • James E says

          Are you sure you're using the "low cost" option that Max mentions and not the wire transfer (SWIFT) option? From the US I have several different funding/transfer options each with its own fee structure both through TW and at BKK Bank. Only the wire transfer triggers a receiving fee.
          Reply

          • Max says

            Don't confuse a transfer from the US with the rest of the world. Blame US banks/the government for being paranoid. That's why there are sometimes better choises than TW when sending money from the US. There are no "Low cost transfer"" when sending USD. You choose ACH,wire transfer or swift. Depending on the choise, you pay more or less fees. When using wire or swift it's almost like a normal bank to bank transfer. The "Low cost transfer" option means in my case, I transfer money to a local TW account,which is free, and then TW does the rest.My money will arrive next day. The "Fast transfer option" means that TW pulls money out of my account and deposit money into my Thai bank account. It happens almost instantly and that's the reason for a bit higher TW fee. It doesn't matter which option I use, there's NEVER a receiving fee. US banking regulations forbids the use of TW the way it's supposed to be used. So,don't blame TW,blame US for being paranoid. I have used TW since 2017 and it always works like a charm and no sending fees to my home bank or receiving fees to my Thai bank. If you change the sending currency from USD to another currency, you'll see the differences in transfer options and fees.
            Reply

            • James E says

              Max, No. Those are not the options for sending USD. They are: ACH, Wire (same as SWIFT), Debit, and Credit. ACH is the US' "low-cost option" and the "fast-option" because there is only one way (ACH) to do an electronic transfer in the US. (Excluding from the discussion the fact that *all* bank transactions are electronic...) My transfers arrive the next day. The rate is 1.225% on US$1K as opposed to 1.175% for sending 1K Euros using fast transfer or 0.768% using the low-cost option. So, yes, it is cheaper to send Euros but "paranoia" is not one of the reasons. Different banking systems have different rules and TW treats different currencies differently (2.6% fee for JPY, e.g.). What we have to pay is merely a legacy of where our money comes/came from.
              Reply

              • Max says

                You have to read better. I didn't mention every way to send money from the US,I mentioned 2 options where receiving fees may occur,that's wire and swift. This is only when sending USD, not other currencies.
                Reply

        • Max says

          That's not true because a TW transfer is not same as a normal swift transfer bank to bank. It's more like a domestic deposit and those are free. When sending money using TW,you always see the exact amount you will receive. You better ask your wife how she figured out the 500 baht fee. FYI, the receiving fee for a swift transfer is 0.25% with a minimum of 200 baht and a maximum of 500 baht.
          Reply

        • Steve Ginn says

          Your bank will charge you to transfer the money and you will get slugged a fee to transfer the money to Thai baht. Avoid this method at all costs. Just use TW to transfer from Australia to a bank here. Kasikorn charges NOTHING extra. Other banks may do.
          Reply

    • Max says

      When withdrawing money from a Thai ATM using a card from Australia the rate is the so called TT buy rate. On top of that you normally pay a fee to your bank back home + 220 baht to the Thai bank. If you really need to use an ATM, always withdraw as much as you can. When using TransferWise, you get the so called mid-market rate which is better than the TT buy rate. You pay a fee to TW, but due to the better exchange rate and no receiving fee to the Thai bank you'll get more money in the end. When using the "Low cost transfer" option, you transfer money yourself from your bank back home to a local TW account, then TW takes over and you'll get your money next day in your Thai bank account. If domestic transfers are free,that means you don't pay any sending fee either,just the TW fee. When you start the transfer the mid-market rate is guaranteed.
      Reply

  16. James E says

    So, I've done a couple of transfers using Western Union's no-fee transfer. They've gone without a hitch but, as I've said in earlier posts, take substantially longer than a TW transfer. My concern was that the fee-free transfer was introduced with a better-than-expected rate to lure in new customers at which point the rate would be lowered so they start increasing their profits - it is Western Union after all. This is starting to happen. On my last transfer the difference was about US$3 - 4 in WU's favor. Basically a free beer or two. On the transfer I'm looking at now that difference has dropped to about 40THB on a US$1,000 transfer. 40 Baht is not worth waiting around for WU to finish a transfer. BUT... it's never easy and TW has an interesting feature that I haven't seen before (nor mentioned here): trend pricing. Right now they are pricing transfers at 31.51 THB/US$1 with a little green arrow showing that the trend is upward. At the same time the mid-market rate was showing 31.49 everywhere. A bit later the MM rate popped up to 31.51 and TW's rate went up to 31.52. Seems they're taking the mid-market rate and pricing in what the algorithm thinks is going to happen going forward. Fun stuff, huh?
    Reply

  17. RM says

    I use the Transfer card in Thailand all the time. it works like a debit card with no transaction fees for almost all purchases except withdrawals from ATMs. I have also transferred cash to other countries and in some cases the transfer time has only been about 20mins. I only hope they keep the fees low.
    Reply

      • James E says

        I see Max is back on form. I was worried for a while. The TW card, Max, is like a pile of mini-transfers that happen in real-time. So your Borderless Account could be in Euros but every time you make a purchase it does a transfer to Baht at the current prevailing TW rates but without the per-transfer fees. We can argue about the rationale of even using a debit/ATM card in this manner due to the potential to get your main account hacked, but the use of said card, IMHO, as a transfer vehicle is perfectly acceptable to talk about in terms of transferring other currencies into Baht.
        Reply

        • Max says

          FYI: The TW Debit card is not issued in Thailand.When living here officially, you can't obtain the card. Understand? Hence, it's not an alternative to the normal TW-transfers or your WU-transfers. You and the guy with the TW-card are just tourists,nothing else.
          Reply

          • James E says

            Oh, SNAP! Max. "Tourists". That's harsh. I guess you're just angry you couldn't plan far enough ahead to take advantage of things that hadn't been thought of yet. But, being tourists and all, we should probably bend down to your superior knowledge and go back to writing checks or spending more than we need to on transfers. I mean it's got to be worth it to live someplace "officially", right? Really, who wouldn't want to give up living all over to be stuck in a one-bedroom on the outskirts of Pattaya?
            Reply

            • preesy chepuce says

              I don't think Max means the word "Tourist" as some kind insult, it's a technical description - you can only have and use the TW card as a tourist or other temporary visitor, because it has to be issued to you in your home country to your home address where you have residency.I don't know why people are so sensitive about being called "tourists" or why they feel somehow lower status than people who are "permanent residents", these are legal terms that affect money issues, like transferring cash and tax.You will note that having a WP will get you different things than being retired in Thailand or being a tourist or other category of vistor. This is all parallel to ones residency status.
              Reply

              • Max says

                People who aren't living in Thailand officially will never understand terms like "tourist","retired" or "permanent resident". I don't actually see any major differences anymore between having a wp or being retired if we're talking banking issues.Several thai banks officicial requirements for foreigners to open accounts changed last year for some strange reason, which did it more problematic to open accounts even for people with a wp. I have more than one account in two banks at the moment and had a couple more earlier,but I cancelled those when I moved to another province. You just need to know how to open an account at a bank that works best with Immigration. In my case, that's Bangkok Bank ~80 meters from my Immigration office and 5 min from my condo. The other account at Kasikorn Bank I use for monthly expenses incl bills etc etc. K-Bank issues a proper Visa which works worldwide while Bangkok Banks MasterCard is connected to TPN = Thai Payment Network. That makes the card useless sometime online.
                Reply

  21. Greg says

    We are in the U.S. and have a friend in Nakhonpathom (73170). We were planning to send him around 1500 baht (we already purchased the notes) for his birthday via USPS for a cost of about $25 (with tracking), Fed Ex and UPS are around $100. Better late then never, but now I read that sending paper currency to someone in Thailand seems to have only a 25% chance, or so, of actually arriving. Is that accurate? Should we just take our chances? Thank you, Greg
    Reply

      • Max says

        They have to register at TransferWise in their name with an account of their own. Normally you're sending money to yourself when using TW. If it's just about one transfer it's better go old school using a normal swift bank to bank. As you said,sending cash is not very smart.
        Reply

      • Greg says

        Next time I’ll go right to Transferwise but I’ve already ordered & received the baht notes from our local bank and now have no other use for them. So at this point I guess I just need to know what the chances are of a document-size envelope containing a birthday card and a few 500 baht notes, sent the via the postal system from the U.S, actually arriving intact at its destination in Nakhonpathom. Is the postal system in Thailand reliable when it comes to handling deliveries from the U.S. ?
        Reply

        • TheThailandLife says

          With no trackable information or insurance it's anyone's guess. I'd be inclined to hide it inside something. I've never sent money but have sent gifts to my sister in law and niece by standard post - all have arrived.
          Reply

        • Max says

          Thailand Post is more reliable than US Mail. Don't send it the cheapest way,though,it needs to be trackable. But don't go for the most expensive service. it's quite expensive. When transferring money from the US to Thailand once or twice a year,you don't need to chase the best exchange rate. That's for regular transfers,like a monthly pension. The easiest way to do it is via Western Union. They have offices everywhere in the US. You can send money to a recipient without an account just using his/her name. You'll get a reference number which you give to the recipient. In Thailand he/she goes to the nearest Bangkok Bank branch,shows them the reference number + the passport and gets the money. Easy and fast. I'm using TransferWise (since 2017) monthly because I want the best exchange rate when transferring my pension. Using it once or twice a year instead of WU is in my opinion unnecessary. You have already lost money when you bought baht in the US,and you also have to pay for the trackable service. Using for example UPS is not cheap. It doesn't matter how you transfer money in the future,you won't break even.
          Reply

    • Max says

      If it's important that the transfers shows up as foreign in the bank book,when using the >65k monthly method as a retiree, then Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank and Thai Military Bank are the banks you need to use. These are TW's partner banks in Thailand. If using another thai bank, then the transfers will show up as domestic.
      Reply

  23. TonyT says

    I have been using Transferwise for over 2 years without having one drama. In fact it used to take two days to come through but lately it takes less than 1 day. I transfer from Nat in Australia to Bangkok Bank - I think these banks have a banking agreement (forget what they call it) and since Transferwise started using Chase Bank the time is even less. My last transfer was from ANZ to BKB, ordered late about 1.30pm Thai time & it arrived next day at 9:00am. I could not believe it. I never bother to study the conversion rate as it is always very good. I started off with a small transfer to be sure but no worry now, they have more than proven themselves. Just enter your numbers once & each time you can just select the "My payee" & the amount when transferring your AUD, it is so easy.
    Reply

  24. James E says

    I just saw an ad for Western Union's 0% fee for international bank - bank transfers. I figured it had a catch but I was unable to find one. It actually worked out better than Transferwise. For example: US$600 was quoted at 17985.66THB on Western Union and 17,871.15THB on Transferwise. TW did give the mid-market rate (30.2) but had a US$8.24 (1.37%) fee. WU had no fee but used a discounted FX rate of 29.9761. It has all of the major Thai banks, A tone of smaller banks, and international banks as transfer destinations. Only downside I can see is that the default source information is your bank login info (the same as InstaRem but not through a third-party) which I refuse to do, but they also allow a manual bank account entry that protects your privacy a bit more. I don't have any transfer plans until next month but wanted to post this in case anybody was moving money sooner. I'll update once I do my first transfer. Of course there's big negative for a lot of you. And - bonus - you can send money from Thailand. There are more fees (115THB +/-) and the discount is worse (0.53 compared to 0.22 on the spread) but it works for bank - bank transfers.
    Reply

    • Max says

      I have read about this at Thai Visa Forum and also here. The total fee according to a poster is higher than when using TransferWise, depending on which bank you have in Thailand. You might have to pay fees to two banks. Plus, I don't believe in 'no fees' and discounted exchange rates.
      Reply

      • James E says

        This is why I want to do a small test first. There's no mention of receiving bank fees. No fees required at my bank as it's an electronic withdrawal. BUT if it shows up with an FT coding it might be worth it to pay a bit more.
        Reply

          • James E says

            Typically, a company will asterisk things like that with a "Your bank may impose additional fees" caveat or similar as a CYA for when things end up costing more than the customer expects. I can't find anything like that in their disclaimers. I'll report back when I do my transfer.
            Reply

            • James E says

              Okay, I initiated the Western Union test transfer today and learned a couple of things. First - The "Your bank may impose additional fees warning" does show up on the last page authorizing the transfer. Sneaky. Second - despite setting up your bank manually you are still required to use the PayWithMyBank 3rd party service. I checked their terms and privacy policy and it seems pretty well thought out and tighter than the Plaid service used by InstaREM. 3rd - Western Union is cheaper than Transferwise. About US$2.25 less on a US$100 transfer and about US$15 less on a US$1,000 transfer. I'm now waiting for the transaction to hit my bank and show up in Bangkok. That's it for now.
              Reply

        • James E says

          Just a quick follow-up. I did a larger transaction with Western Union (not large, but just larger...) than my first test. Took the same amount of time - 6 Thai business days - and I saved roughly 40% over Transferwise. If you need the money NOW, then, clearly, TW is the way to go. If you can wait a week, then, free beer. I did contact TW about WU undercutting them and was told "Transferwise is always looking to reduce its fees" so maybe we can have cheaper and still fast transfers in the future.
          Reply

          • Max says

            You transfer money from a US bank account to a Thai bank account,right? If using WU in Europe and transfer from a bank account or via a debit card to a Thai bank account, you have to pay either a local standard fee to the sending bank or a debit card withdrawal fee on top of the €2.90 which is the WU fee. Then I guess the receiving fee will be 200 Baht. These fees together are more expensive than doing a bank to bank transfer using swift,and much more expensive than a TW-transfer. The only way for WU to transfer money from the US to Thailand as cheap as you claim,is a fee discount. Using WU from Europe is not an option unless you make a very good deal with your bank.
            Reply

            • James E says

              Right Max, US bank. There was that earlier thread about WU from Finland charging fees that weren't charged in the US. I haven't checked all over but WU is currently offering fee-free service in the US and UK. They make their money on a discounted rate but the total is (currently) a better deal than Transferwise. The fees in the Euro Zone may be coming from some Gov't anti-competition regulations to level the playing field for EU-based banks.
              Reply

              • Max says

                The fees within the EU are there because of the way WU transfers the money. They are not moving the money like a bank the way TW does it. If using Bank Transfer I have to pay the standard fee to my bank + €2.90. If using Credit/Debit Card I have to pay a withdrawal fee to my bank + €2.90. On top of that 200 baht receiving fee. Only if you're agreement with your bank gives you free card withdrawals then the total fee will be lower than with TW. In your case you get a discount or even free transfers. Why would TW compete with that? So, WU is not an option for me and for many others in Europe.
                Reply

    • James E says

      Okay. The test is complete. Here's what I found out. First, timing. I initiated the transfer on Sunday, the money came out of my bank on Monday and was deposited in BKK Bank on Friday. So, slower than TW has been lately. Second, fees. There were no fees associated with the transaction either by Western Union or (sorry, Max) Bangkok Bank. The amount promised by WU exactly matched the amount deposited. Third, exchange rate. The rate from WU was 29.9563/US$ when TW's mid market rate was 3.14. WU saved me a few dollars on the transfer compared to what TW minus fees would have been. I think this is a diminishing return benefit as the saving decrease (due to TW's fee structure) with larger transfers. Fourth, classification. For about the past 9 months or so BKK Bank has been classifying TW transfers as domestic, regardless of origin, and labeling them "Transfer from Account at Other Bank". The WU transfer was labeled "AUTO" and described as "WESTERN UNION". I'm not sure if this would be an issue or help in showing that the transfer came from overseas. Might still be stuck with a bank letter and copy of receipts for proof. So, all-in-all, it worked well, saved me a few bucks compared to TW, and went quickly enough. Plus WU gives you the option to send money out of Thailand, although this takes a separate account. That's all for now, folks.
      Reply

      • TheThailandLife says

        Great work James! Thank you for keeping us updated. Considering the time it takes and the fact that the few dollars saving diminishes as the transfer gets larger it probably isn't worth a switch, but good to know there is an alternative. It's good news on the re-labelling of transfers by Transferwise.
        Reply

        • James E says

          I think the biggest benefit is that there is now some realistic pressure from a global financial company to keep TW's fees in line. Competition is a good thing. It'll be interesting to see WU messes with their exchange rate as the service matures.
          Reply

          • Max says

            Why would TW "mess" with the exchange rates? They always give you the mid-market rate, which is always better than the TT buy which is the rate banks are using. If it wasn't for TW, there wouldn't be any good alternatives (read competitors) when transferring money, especially from the US. Have you thought about that? I'm from Europe (within the EU),and we don't have any problems with paranoid banking authorities who thinks 'everybody' are involved in money laundering. Hence, easier and faster transfers.
            Reply

            • James E says

              RTFP, Max. I said "WU messes". They may be putting an anomalously high sell rate to build a clientele and then slowly adjusting it downward to boost the profitability of the transfers. Since they set the spread, they control the terms. I agree, TW is the fastest. I've had money show up in Thailand while it was still in my bank at home. But they've been sliding their fees up and it's good to have competition regardless of the idiosyncrasies of the service. WU is a much more formidable competitor than InstaREM or the others and having two low-priced, yet reliable, competing services should help the whole industry.
              Reply

            • James E says

              So here's what I mean. Friday's Mid-Market (TW) rate was 30.235 and their effective rate was 29.864 (net of fees on US1,000) At the same time BKK Bank was quoting 29.84 (on US1,000 best rate, not including transfer fee of 200-500THB) and WU was quoting 30.03 (again on US$1,000, no fees). This gives WU an advantage as their effective rate is higher than TW's by 0.166. This would enable them to lower their rate by up to 0.16 and still be cheaper than TW. So, my guess is that they've artificially raised their rate to get a client base built and then will bring it back to be *just* better than TW.
              Reply

      • Max says

        "So, slower than TW has been lately" I would say much slower,my TW transfers always arrive within 24 hours,and I'm using the Low cost transfer. My transfers are ALWAYS international transfers with the bank code FTT in my bank book. When banking with Bangkok Bank or even K-Bank and using the correct reason for transfer, "Funds for long term stay in Thailand", the transfers shows up as international. This is a well known fact among TW-users (I've used them since 2017). So, either you're banking with wrong bank in Thailand,or, you're choosing wrong reason for transfer (or a combination of both). Otherwise,the transfers would show up the way you want it.
        Reply

        • James E says

          Ahhh.. You play your cards close, don't you Max? I had never considered that the *reason* for the transfer could affect the type code. Another experiment. I don't long-stay in Thailand so I've been using Travel and Living Expenses as the reason. This used to give me FTT but last year changed to IB (TW into BKK Bank). I'll have to play around with this. New experiment!
          Reply

          • Max says

            I must have replied to your post earlier. The reason "General monthly living expenses" is supposed to be used when sending money to let's say a gf. Then the bank code doesn't matter. TW created the reason "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" in July 2019 (I think) especially for expats from the US,UK and Australia when the bank code really matters because of the non-existent income letter. You understand? If you don't stay here long term and never do annual extensions,then you can use the reason you used earlier. You probably get the bank code "Interbank Transfer".
            Reply

  25. Jeff Proulx says

    Today, I paid to learn a lesson: I have been using Transferwise for 3 years now to transfer money from Canada without any problem. A few months ago, TW started raising their fees for transfers from Canada to Thailand so I decided to test another supplier (XE.com) this week to transfer a large amount from Canada as they had a better exchange rate than TW when I checked last Friday. The result? Though I had saved about $15 CAD on $20k by using XE.com, the amount that was deposited in my Kasikorn bank account was missing 750 baht. I called and the bank informed me that Bangkok Bank had pocketed 650 baht and that Kasikorn themselves had then pocketed another 100 baht as that was using a system called "BHATNET" instead of the regular thai bank direct payment (see page 19 here for fee details: https://kasikornbank.com/en/rate/fee/ChargesDoc/FeesforInternationalTradeProducts-en.pdf).I was mad when I heard this as this is more expensive than a regular transfer through a Canadian bank (Scotiabank = $15 CAD) with no Thai bank deduction.To make sure that TW was still the best, a few minutes ago (while writing this post in fact), I decided to initiate another transfer from my TransferWise Borderless account in THB just to see if Kasikorn would deduct 100 baht again. The answer is no! The amount that TW shows when you start a transfer on TW really is what you get when it arrives in Thailand!Transferwise is definitely/still the best funds transfer service from Canada after testing out 4-5 and I am now in the process of closing down the XE.com account that I had opened just a few weeks ago.I hope this experience helps someone else.
    Reply

  26. anthony godfrey akhurst says

    I have lived in Thailand now for the last 10 years and have my pensions paid into my thai bank accounts from the uk is there a way that the sender of my pensions can use this service so I don't loose out thank you.
    Reply

    • TonyT says

      If you still travel back to the UK or you can open a UK account to have your pension paid into then you can use Transferwise. I get an Aussie pension paid into an Aussie bank account. After each payment I simply use Transferwise to send money from myself in Aussie to my bank account in Thailand. However it used to depend which bank you send it to in Thailand as to how long it takes. I have a BKB account here & lately it will come through the same day, like send it before the Aussie bank closes (about 1pm Thai time & it will arrive in 2 or 3 hours. Having said that, as I described in another post, my transfer got lost for 2 days & I had to go searching at BKB & Kasikorn Bank & notifying Transferwise in the UK before it magically appeared in my bank account as an "Adjustment".
      Reply

        • TonyT says

          No Max, I do not now have an account in a UK bank. I am Australian so why should I. I cannot believe there are so many navel gazers around worrying about saving 10 Baht. The important thing is: (a) Getting a fast transfer (b) Getting a fair conversion rate (c) Not having to pay high bank fees TW does all of that. I do not care if another way saves me an additional baht or two, Get a life guys!
          Reply

  27. Pertti Suominen says

    I used Transfer Wise today and the money from Finland showed up on my Thai account under TWO MINUTES ! BTW Opened a bank account (Bangkok Bank / Lamphun) with a SETV (Single Entry Tourist Visa). Documents: Thai drivers license, Passport, copies of Residence Certificate and Lease contract. Took about twenty minutes.
    Reply

  28. Max says

    Hi,Thanks for the lovely and useful page in how to transfer money to Thailand. You mentioned the use of the convenient transfer wise. What if you need to transfer money from Canada to Thailand, transfer wise does not offer this option as far as i know......regards
    Reply

  30. Mike says

    Departing in 2 weeks for a much needed, long-term, return visit to Thailand. Amn’t planning to open a bank account (visa exempt). Is there a TransferWise option available where no bank account is held in Thailand? Great article, btw. Well written. Clear.
    Reply

  31. Steve says

    Hello I wonder how to make a transfer from france to thailand for condominium purchase reason. I already used transferwise and when it comes to high amounts 10000EUR+, they let me do a transfer to a german bank which then transfers it to the thai bank. That works well, but thepurchasename has to bethecondominium name to show clearly the purchase reason. Problem is that in order to use transferwise and the intermediate bank, i get a purchase name from TW so that the bank knows the purpose...but that does not show the condo purchase any more. What to do to change this? Any idea? Thx in advance if someone got solution
    Reply

    • Max says

      I think you have to talk to TW about this on the phone. Because of banking regulations there's sometimes problems when sending large sums overseas. TW are not allowed to withdraw large sums directly from your home bank,that's why you transfer the money to a TW account in Europe,then they transfer the money to Thailand. Give them a call and explain the situation. If it doesn't work,you might have to transfer the money by swift old school.
      Reply

  32. SALEH ALRIFAI says

    Hi, I try to transfer euro, with Transferwise, from my account in Spain to my foreign currency account in Kasikorn Bank. The application ask for the IBAN code, but in Kasikorn they told me that they dont have this code , only Swift code!!!! Can i make the transfer in Euro with Swift code only? Thak you very much
    Reply

    • James E says

      Nope. Home account is in your local currency. Thai account is in Baht. FX occurs (at least once) during the transfer but you only see the mid-market rate from your home bank to THB. There is a fee, but it's modest compared to most alternatives.
      Reply

  36. Scott says

    I just done a transfer from Australia to Thailand, its 9pm here and it only took 6 minutes to reach the bank from when i started the tranfer. 2 mimutes for me to send and 4 minutes for them to send. Im not kidding, it usually takes a day but 6 minutes what the hell?
    Reply

  38. Philip says

    I tried TransferWise for the first time yesterday. The registration process was easy and I transferred 1,000 UKP really just to test the system. The rate I got was very competitive and I was amazed when the money arrived in my Thai account within half an hour. Normally, it takes about one week.However, there is one BIG problem because of the way TransferWise works.The SMS notification from my bank said I had received a transfer from KBNK, which I assume is Kasikorn Bank in Thailand. I just called my bank's call centre (SCB) and asked them for details of the transfer. They confirmed that is was just a local transfer and NOT an international transfer.As we all know, foreign Embassies in Thailand have stopped issuing letters verifying income from abroad but Thai immigration will now accept statements from Thai banks provided there is evidence that money deposited comes from abroad. TransferWise transfers do not come from abroad because TransferWise bypasses the SWIFT system.When you do a transfer the money from your home bank account goes to the TransferWise office in your country. They then contact their office in Thailand, which organises a transfer from their Thai bank account to your Thai bank account.Doing it this way is very fast and keeps costs down, but it doesn't provide the crucial piece of information for Thai immigration. It's just a local transfer, not an international transfer.If you don't have the required lump sum in a Thai bank account and need to show immigration that you have the required monthly income from abroad, then TransferWise isn't going to work.
    Reply

    • Max says

      You can call TW (or email them) and tell them to tag your transfers. Then your transfers will go straight to K-Bank and you must choose correct reason for each transfer: Funds for long term stay in Thailand. Then your transfers should show up as foreign transfers = FTT in your bank book.
      Reply

  39. jim j fox says

    Transferwise is the best, have used them many times to transfer my UK pension to Aus. BKK Bank is also far better than Krungsri where I was given the Third Degree of Interrogation. Rubbish bank!Planning 3/6 mths in Thailand next year so will transfer the required amount to BKK Bank to get the visa. Used to have the 'Retirement Visa' but hardly worth the bother, for me.
    Reply

  40. Fabio says

    I opened an account with Krungsri in Bangkok in January this year (As I travel in TH 4 to 5 times a year). I was making many transfer into it using transferwise, But then in HuaHin I forgot to get my card out the ATM (as in TH the card get returned as last) and lost my card.Went in Branch and asked for a new card and my account was registered with a phone number that I did not recognized and ask them to change.Got a new card and from that moment on I could not make any transfer into my KMA account. I called the customer service and got told that non residents cannot make payments into a Thai account. But I have managed to send £50 into (17XX THB) it and that was it... I tried £200 then £300 then £100 and all keeps on getting sent back to me :-( What could it be?
    Reply

  41. James E says

    A couple of things. First, I did a TW transfer yesterday US Pacific time and the money was in my BKK Bank account this morning Bangkok time. So about a 12 hour wait. Second, The transfer does NOT show up as an international transfer as it has in the past. Instead it shows as a "Transfer from Account at Other Bank". I'll be in BKK in ten days so I can get my bank book updated and see if the transaction code has changed. So far they've all been FT; hopefully they haven't changed.
    Reply

      • James E says

        Hey Max. It didn't. According to TW: "Bangkok Bank is still capable of showing these as international transfers.  You will want to reach out to the branch where your account is maintained, and ask them for a Confirmation Letter of International Funds Transfer. They may ask you to provide the following: 1) Bangkok Bank Savings Passbook or Statement showing the specific transaction 2) Passport of Recipient 3) Agreement of the purchase of Condominium (for purchasing accommodation purposes)." (#3 would also include appropriate visa proof if you needed to document the transfer for immigration.) This agrees with the mechanism TW uses for transfers: the money never leaves the country, only the numbers do. The problem is that now proving the source of the funds becomes problematic as the two Thai documents - a bank book and a letter from a bank - will disagree.
        Reply

  42. carl clark-darby says

    You could also open a Thai account in UK(assuming that's where you are from) with the Bankok Bank in Aldgate EC3 London and save transferring and use their international ATM cards to save on fees,no need for an account here Michael.
    Reply

    • James E says

      This is interesting as the New York branch does not support deposit accounts for non-rich customers... You would still get screwed by the buy-sell spread when you deposited into your BKK Bank account. This is what Transferwise avoids and is the source of much of the savings. Also, I couldn't find any information on this "international ATM card" on BKK Bank's website. Do you have a link to an info page for it?
      Reply

    • Fabio says

      Did actually opened your account in UK Michael? Or you opened it in TH? I've heard that it's quite hard to open a current account in TH for non resident.I have mine opened but it's so limited to what I can do with it. I cannot use it not even to top up my True-H mobile pre paid SIM. P.S. That it's not so much of a problems, since I use my Transferwise card for it
      Reply

      • Max says

        What bank do you use in Thailand? I have never heard about a limited account.Bangkok Bank requires a reference from an embassy or a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. If having a account like yours, then it's totally useless.
        Reply

  43. Richard says

    Thanks for this TheThailandLife, Just wanted to make a add that I just used this service to send to my Kasikorn Bank and received the exact amount stated, and it literally took under 15 minutes to appear in my Kasikorn Bank (I have the Kasikorn App on my phone already). Sent GBP to Baht from my Natwest account.
    Reply

  44. Michael Stevens says

    Hi, I'm going to be in Thailand for five months. Do I need a Thai bank account to use Transferwise? Or can I use it if I go into any bank in Thailand and ask them to take the transfer for me as a service and pay me the cash over the counter? If not, how do I open a Thai bank account and what Thai bank do you recommend? Thanks for your help. Mick
    Reply

    • Rob says

      Hi Michael, Not certain of which bank is the best but I use Bangkok Bank over the last 6+ years and no issues. Until recently I would have said " Instarem " were the most economical but a new kid on the block ( to me at least ) "Skril" has edged ahead. The latter has alternative to banks but have not researched " Skril " as yet. Hope this is of assistance.
      Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Yes, you do need a bank account to transfer the money to. I too use Bangkok Bank. Based on reader feedback and personal experience, Transferwise is by far the quickest and most reliable service.
      Reply

      • Michael Stevens says

        Thanks for your feedback and help. So I get to Thailand and go to a branch of Bangkok Bank and ask them to give me an account. What do they need from me for me to do that? In other words is it straight forward and easy? And once I've got an account am I using ATM's or going into branches to get cash? Thanks again. Mick
        Reply

    • James E says

      You could also use TW's Borderless account (TTL has a post about it) and use the ATM that comes with the account. You'd get TW's current exchange rate but be stuck with a local ATM fee. Depends on how much you'll need at any one time, too. I know Thai banks (I use BBK Bank too) allow an unseemly maximum daily withdrawal. I'm not sure what TW's max is.
      Reply

  46. David Anthony (Tony) Evans says

    Having just been caught out by the problems with TransferWise over the 1/2/3 July where many International transfers all seemed to be coded as Local Transfers and not good for Immigration visa extension purposes. I have made a second transfer using the SWIFT system baht 2000 less compared to Transferwise. My question to you Do you know any way to return the original baht received back to the UK bank to avoid duplicate transfers. The banks will only do this I believe if you earn money here and pay taxes. Seems strange you cannot transfer your own money back to your UK bank
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi David, this is not an problem, TW transfers usually show as local, which is why it may not be applicable for those who require proof of a Foreign Exchange Transfer. Can't you do a SWIFT transfer back to the UK?
      Reply

      • Max says

        TW transfers money through 3 banks in Thailand,Bangkok Bank,Kasikorn Bank and now also Thai Military Bank. If you have another Thai bank, transfers will always be shown as domestic transfers=Interbank Transfer. If you're using one of the 3 banks mentioned above and you need it to be a international transfer=FTT,you can call TW,and they can tag your transfers to one of those 3 banks. TW knows about this and recently added a new reason for the transfer,"Funds for long term stay in Thailand". This reason together with the tag will make the transfers show up as an international transfer.
        Reply

  47. Mike Utumapu says

    Hi Thanks for all the great info, so I'm from Australia (kiwi) and wanting to send money over regularly in your opinion this is still the easiest and less bank fees available. I did recently send via western union and was effortless and quick but noticed transfer fee was $6au the exchange rate was lower than the bank or maybe I didn't see what they took out at Thai end. I'm not real up too date with sending money to Thailand. Thanks again I've enjoyed your blogs. Mike
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hey Mike, yes Transferwise is quick once set up and competitive in terms of fees vs the banks. It's good for regular transfers and I'm still using it to transfer money from my UK bank account to my Thai bank account which is held with Bangkok Bank.
      Reply

        • James E says

          Well, they probably would have based their European operation in London if you hadn't started the whole Brexit thing... :) I started the account opening procedure and it's rather cumbersome (in the US). You strt the process by initiating a transfer. You fill out basic information about you and then detailed information about the recipient at the destination - Name, address in Thailand, bank details. Then you provide detailed information about you - driver's license and address - to prove you're who you say you are. Then you wait. This is where I am now. The only thing that caught my eye so far is that they appear to be using SWIFT for the transfer. Also, so far they haven't asked me about my originating bank. That means I'll have to go through an account verification (micro-deposits from the customer service rep I spoke with) after my person is verified as real. I'll update as I know more. For US$ transfers it's a flat 0.5% fee which gives it an edge over Transferwise on smaller denomination transfers.
          Reply

            • James E says

              I've been looking at reviews of both TW and InstaReM and it's interesting how they differ. For TW the complaints are almost exclusively from business clients whose accounts have been suspended. For IR it's all from individuals whose transfers were initiated and didn't go through so their money was in limbo. Several of the comments seem to indicate that if the rate went against IR after the transfer was started then it just didn't finish. On the Play Store probably 90% of the recent reviews are for this problem and are of one-star.
              Reply

              • Rob says

                James, found that Instarem is not interested in commercial transfers generally whilst TW via "Borderless Account " expedite painlessly enough. Instarem whilst a little convoluted with their rego process have been fine on transactions. All my transactions are originally in AUD. Regards
                Reply

                • James E says

                  Three days since applying for my InstaReM account and not a peep. This is all before they spend another week verifying my account with micro-deposits. I could go online and have a credit card applied for and approved in about 3 minutes. Clearly, InstaReM is not ready for the big leagues yet. I still think it's good to have a TW alternative waiting in the wings both for the downward pressure of fees it provides and as a way to expatriate more money in the same time should western civilization collapse, as predicted, within the next few years. I'll comment more as (if?) things progress.
                  Reply

                  • Rob C says

                    Hi James, read your travails with Instarem. I have the belief that often time it comes down to the operative handling your case - it took me a very much longer time to get TW's requirements sorted out and numerous conversations - Cheers
                    Reply

                    • James E says

                      InstaRem approved my account today so I continued on with my transfer. It got really uncomfortable really quickly. First, InstaReM uses a third-party developer - Plaid - for their US ACH/Direct Debit processing. Plaid uses your login credentials to your bank to allow you to start the transaction but it does so from within InstaReM's website (Plaid is just an API). They do so with a pop-up login screen that looks like it might be from your bank but isn't. I'm sorry, but nobody gets my credentials other than my bank. It's just not worth the risk. Clearly, InstaReM's fee advantage is coming from using a least-cost (for them) option for accessing your financial accounts. It's just not worth the risk. That being said, InstaReM does have an option for directly paying them out of your account. You set up the transaction and then go to your bank's website and fund the transaction. This is more secure but - per InstaReM anyway - adds a few days to the time it takes to complete the transfer. It also adds an extra step and potential for error.

                • James E says

                  I received an email from InstaReM today (Day 4) asking: 1. What countries would you like to transfer money to? 2. Reason for Transfers. 3. Relationship with the Beneficiaries. Since the application process requires you to input the receiving end of the transaction first all of these question were already answered.
                  Reply

                  • James E says

                    Since I'm not one to just let questions go unanswered I attempted a transfer with InstaReM using their direct deposit method and I was less than impressed. While this allowed me not to spread my bank login credentials all over the dark web, it also didn't work right out of the box. First, using my banks ACH (direct deposit out) facility I got an error stating that there was a verification error with the payee. (I also was surprised to learn that my bank charges 3% for an ACH out transaction which kind of squirrels the deal right out of the box.) I then tried setting them up as a payee using my bank's electronic bill pay facility which shot up all sorts of red flags. First, Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB), with whom InstaReM has its banking relationship in the US, is not known to my bank as a destination for payments. This means, at best, my bank could MAIL InstaRem a check to CFSB. Upon further investigation CFSB seems to consist mostly of a network of ATMs in clusters around New York and vicinity and exactly one - yes, one - physical branch located in Queens. Not the paragon of community finance I was expecting. Anyway, I'm sure I could make this work - with TW's new rate structure I'd save even more. But Queens??? Really?
                    Reply

                    • TheThailandLife says

                      It just sounds like the infrastructure isn't there yet. I'd rather pay slightly more for a reputable, hassle free service. Money transfer isn't something you want uncertainty around.

  51. sidney leonard says

    Peter,I registered with Transferwise and attempted a trial transfer of $10, but when I entered all the required Bangkok Bank, (where my wife and I have a joint savings account) information I got the message "we cannot currently accept payments to this recipient."Do you know if Bangkok Bank allows transfers from USA via Transferwise, and, if so, do you know of others who use Transferwise for Bangkok and are pleased with their service?Thank you,Sid Leonard
    Reply

    • James E says

      I use TW into BKK Bank all the time. A couple things to look for in addition to the account number issue TTL mentions are: 1) The names on the account have to match exactly the names of the recipient on the transfer. Same spelling, same order, same language.; and, 2) verify that the BKK bank account can accept incoming transfers. (Although that's the account I've got so should be no problem.) I've also got a feeling that the small size of the transfer may be causing an issue as well. Scammers often use small-denomination transactions to test if a particular path works. Maybe BKK Bank's security software is blocking the transfer?
      Reply

  52. L. rees says

    I have been sending money to Thailand for 8 years and tried banks and online banks. For a long time I used Xendpay and transferred several million bahts using them. However I had a problem with them and stopped using them and switched to Transferwise. They are the best online bank you can get at this time. But for a quick transfer always do the deal Monday to Thursday.
    Reply

  54. Sam Williams says

    I have used Transferwise several times, at first they were quite slow, nearly a week. I find normally 3- days is the average, however I have had a transfer in under 2 hours! They seem to be good to deal with and show you how your transfer is progressing and let you know when it has arrived.
    Reply

  57. JONATHAN BOOTH says

    I use TransferWise all the time and have for over a year now. It's great but:Don't transfer on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday - they are not a 24x7 organisation and work by matching cash required here to cash transfers in the other direction (so no cash actually moves except for a local transfer to your local account). Since they don't work weekends you won't get your money until the following Monday/Tuesday. I once waited over 5 working days to get 1,000 from the UK.On the other hand, I have transferred 1,000 from the UK early Friday morning Thai time and received it by 5:00 PM same day! It just depends on your luck if they can match THB and GBP transfer requests.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      The offices are open 9-5 Mon-Fri but the service still runs because it is in an automated system. The issue is with the country you are sending it to and whether their system is operating over the weekend.This is from their FAQ:Not all countries have banking systems that work on weekends or holidays. Our delivery times factor in banking hours of the country you’re sending money to.But in some parts of the world, banks stop processing transfers early on Fridays.That means, if your money’s due to arrive on Friday, it may not show in your recipient’s account until the next working day. We’re working to find out which banks do this, and make our delivery estimates more accurate in the process.So technically a transfer should never take more than 3 working days. I agree though, for maximum efficiency send Mon-Thurs. I also just read that they are working on making transfers instant, where possible of course.
      Reply

    • Max says

      The transfer time depends on the type of transfer. Quick transfers are <24 hours,often just a few hours. A "Low cost transfer" arrives normally next day Monday-Thursday. But NEVER forget the membership number on the transfer.
      Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      What do you mean? You want to try to draw money from your bank in the US via a Thai bank? You can't do this without a debit/credit card to use in an ATM. You'll have to have someone back home wire you cash via Western Union. Transferwise will only work if you have access to an account.
      Reply

    • James E says

      Have you talked to Chase? They have a Bangkok office at 20 อาคาร บุปผจิต ชั้น G N Sathon Rd, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand. Easy to get to by BTS+MRT. Also, if you still have a credit card you could use that in an ATM or bank and get a cash advance.
      Reply

    • Murray A says

      This happened to me a number of years ago, and I had to get a friend back in Canada to wire me some money through Western Union, which have offices everywhere. That does work well, and saved my bacon on that occasion.Another option, if you have your banking information, would be to wire yourself some money online. If you can access your Chase account, there should be a provision to wire yourself funds to Western Union.Good luck! I know it's not fun to be going through.
      Reply

  60. B. Kane says

    While I really like Transferwise. Be forewarned that money sent to Thailand to meet immigration standards through Transferwise, may not be adequate. Some transfers may not show up as Foreign Transactions. That being said, you may do 11 transfers that show up as Foreign Transactions (FTT) but that 12th one may show up as a local transfer. (ACH). That would void all of your transfers and not meet the requirements for immigration. Basically, you will not meet the requirements for your extension of stay.
    Reply

  61. Murray says

    I've been living in Thailand for just shy of 5 years, and making those monthly transfers from my Canadian bank to my K-Bank account does hurt. Banking fees plus exchange rate. So this article really grabbed my attention. However, after exploring the TransferWise, I used their website calculator to see what I would be receiving in Thailand using them, compared to what I got on this months transfer using my Canadian bank. The difference was a rather insignificant 300 baht.Now any savings is nice, but the problem is that I would still have to get my money from my Canadian account into my TransferWise account first, and my Canadian bank would ding me extra for that. So Transfer Wise would safe me a small money on the transfer, but I'd get dinged by my bank for moving the money from my Canadian bank account into my TransferWise account that would undoubtedly exceed the 300 baht TransferWise says that they would save me. I fail to see how this would be a good thing.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      I'm not sure why your saving is so low, how are you working this out? I just ran the numbers on transferring £1,000 from my bank account through Transferwise to my BKK bank and I'd save £42 - that's 2,000 ($55) Baht. On £10,000 I'd save over £300! I transfer the money to Transferwise from my bank at no fee. Why would your bank charge you for ding the money transfer to Transferwise?
      Reply

      • Murray A says

        Thanks, I thought this would require a sort of double-transfer. A friend here just used Transferwise after I mentioned it to him, and he said it worked great, and he saved money. I will definitely look at this again, and give it a try.
        Reply

    • JP says

      Not sure how it works in Canada, but I guess it is not far from what we have in the UK. You do not ask your bank to transfer money. Yes, this is costly. You pay TWise with a debit card linked to your account (credit card has a higher fee). Or, if you are on some internet-access account, I guess that you have the possibility to pay TWise directly from your account. TWise has also (maybe a bit complicated, but if all the above fail) a debit card account that you can start: put some money (little is ok) in any currency you want, and you'll receive a debit card that is loaded with the money you put on it. But... you can use the money from your debit card to send abroad as well. So if all the above fail for some reason, you could send money from your TWise debit card account, by simply transferring money to your recipient.
      Reply

    • Max says

      You're sending money to a Thai bank account using TW,not to a TW account. Why would your bank charge you extra for the transfer? Domestic transfers are normally free. If you use the "Low cost transfer"option,then you transfer money manually to a domestic TW account in Canada. Then TW transfer the money to your Thai bank account.
      Reply

      • Murray A says

        Thanks, I've used TW twice now, and it works great! My fear of being double charged was just my misunderstanding the process.The first transfer took a bit of setting up, but the 2nd transfer took all of 5 minutes. Super easy!
        Reply

  62. Bob Ferguson says

    I am getting myself ready to go for the Thailand life and will be sending or taking a large sum of money. I am retired in Australia and will be getting my pension sent over too. What is the best way to do this? So far I like what I’m reading about here. Thank you for a great blog, much needed. Bob.
    Reply

  63. MJ says

    Trying to get set up to transfer $ for renewal of retirement visa. I will transfer from the U.S. to Kasikorn Bank as well. One concern I have is that I have read that when doing transfers with TW, it is not showing that the transfer is coming from outside the country & apparently I have to show that the $ is coming from outside the country for the retirement visa renewal. Is that true? As anyone else run into this?
    Reply

    • James E says

      When I use TW to send money to my BKK bank account it says: ""International Transfer". However, the disclaimer provided states: "The Transfer Reference is provided by the sender. The bank is not responsible for its content or appropriateness."So, if TW does the same with Kasikorn you should get the same message. Maybe somebody with K-bank can weigh in.
      Reply

  65. Mike says

    Just signed up for TransferWise. Trying to send money for the first time. When I get to account number there is something about an IBAN. Never heard of this or how to find it. Also heard something about SWIFT. Never heard of that either. The bank I'm trying to send to is Kasikorn. Any info would be appreciated.
    Reply

    • James E says

      Where are you trying to send from? And how did you tell TW you wanted to send your money? IBAN is your International Bank Account Number which is a derivative of your regular account number and bank name. Some banks participate and some do not (mine doesn't). SWIFT is the global system for bank transfers, you'd use SWIFT if you were transferring by wire. A lot depends on your location and how connected your bank is. If you can pay bills electronically (direct payment) and receive direct deposits you shouldn't need either IBAN or SWIFT.
      Reply

      • Mike says

        Thank you very much for the reply and info. I'm sending from the US to my GF's account at Kasikorn. I did not use the Wire option to send. I have online banking here in the states with bill payment and direct deposit. But have never done anything internationally. I just entered her account number without an IBAN or SWIFT attached to it. The transfer is still pending. It said she will receive the transfer in 6 days. A lot longer than I thought it would take with TW.
        Reply

        • James E says

          TTL's correct, I've had transfers go through - money in my Thai account - before the money came out of my US account. Since it's your first time they may add some buffer so you're not disappointed. Plus, if I remember correctly you'll have to do some validation of micro-deposits on the source account to prove it's yours. With the US TW can always do an ACH-out which doesn't add anything to the cost of the transfer.
          Reply

            • Mike says

              More info on my transfer. Set up my ACH transfer on the 5th. I was verified on the 5th as well. Sending only $20 US as a test case. I received an email saying TW received my money today the 11th. My account also shows this. The email states that my GF will receive the money on the 12th. That is 8 days for $20 to reach Thailand! Is this normal? I'm very disappointed with TW. Western Union is ridiculous. But at least the money gets there the same day.
              Reply

              • TheThailandLife says

                The first time you send it may take longer due to the test deposits, but generally a transfer takes 48 hours. I've had them same day. If the transfer is absolutely desperate and you need it there same day then by all means use WU.
                Reply

                • Mike says

                  Yes it appears that was the case. Happy to report that i sent a second larger amount (ACH) and it got to Thailand in 10 hours 4 minutes. Can't complain about that! I will be moving there very soon and hoping to have the same success. Thanks again for the replies!
                  Reply

    • JP says

      To send money abroad in general, you do need to know about IBAN as a minimum. Most banks use that. The number usually appears on the bank statement. Kasikorn uses this as well. The IBAN is made of numbers for the bank itself, the branch, then the full account number. I've used TransferWise from UK to transfer to Thai account, with IBAN, and usually the transfer takes between 2 to 8 hours, depending on the time and the day I do the transfer. I can do that even from teh mobile phone with the TW app. And the fees are pretty low and rates very good.
      Reply

    • James E says

      When my transfers show up in my BKK Bank account they are labeled: "International Transfer". However, the disclaimer provided states: "The Transfer Reference is provided by the sender. The bank is not responsible for its content or appropriateness."So the answer to your question (at BKK Bank, anyway) is both Yes! and Maybe Not.
      Reply

    • James E says

      P.S. - Being able to provide documentation of both the beginning and end of the transfer and that the numbers and dates match(-ish) should constitute proof. I'm not sure if the TransferWise origination confirmation would need to be translated though.
      Reply

    • Dave says

      Hi Jan,I have the same issue as you. Did you do it? I know the only bank it's remotely possible with is Bangkok bank. For other Thai banks it will show up as an internal transfer... I have Bangkok bank and could provide proof of bank transfer on UK end. If it then shows as an international transfer on my Bangkok bank statement, I don't see a problem.Please let me know if you have any info. Many thanks
      Reply

      • MaxPower says

        Are you sure that's the only cost? I suspect TransferWise is charging 3.4% and still flagging it as essentially a "cash advance" (so the credit card is going to slam the customer on that: zero grace period, the higher cash advance APR%, etc.).
        Reply

        • James E says

          I got a reply bank from TW today. It should show as a purchase and not a cash advance. Here's the text: "It should be an online purchase, not a cash advance. With each card payment we send our Merchant Category Code (MCC) to the customer's bank so they could decide how to charge this transfer. Our MCC is 4829. We are not forwarding the merchants a categorization which would lead them to think we deal with cash (but rather an online purchase). The decision of how to categorize and charge the payment is entirely the bank's decision. If this happens to you, you need to ask your bank why our MCC was assigned to the cash advance/cash withdrawal category, and which parameters we met for them to make that choice. Also ask them to refund your money as we are an electronic money company and we do not deal with cash at all. "
          Reply

          • Max Power says

            Thanks for doing that research.Sadly, it looks like TransferWise is either deceiving you, or they don't know what they're talking about. The MCC 4829 is flagged as "Money Orders - Wire Transfer." It's considered a "cash equivalent transaction" by most banks. The answer that TransferWise is "an electronic money company and" they "do not deal with cash at all" is a bit disingenuous. Just because it's not paper currency doesn't mean it's not money.Of course, each bank is different. I've read a lot about this and it seems that some people manage to slip wire transfers, etc., under the radar and get them considered "purchases" for the purposes of fees/APR. But those seem to be the exception.For more info, check this article out. It explains a bit better than I have: https://www.creditcardinsider.com/blog/can-you-buy-a-money-order-with-a-credit-card/
            Reply

            • James E says

              And I think that's exactly why there would be no cash advance fee. You're not getting cash from the credit card you're using the CC to buy a money order - an agreement from the vendor to pay someone, essentially a service - from a third-party vendor. This would be unlike going to your bank and funding a wire transfer with your CC which is using your CC to buy money. The cash advance rules would kick in only if you were the recipient. The article link you posted says " purchase will be coded as a cash advance." There is no merchant code for a "cash advance" in the MCC tables (https://www.dm.usda.gov/procurement/card/card_x/mcc.pdf) only for "Manual Cash Disbursment [sic]" (codes 6610 and 6611). PayPal works the same way. I can send money to a friend using my credit card and, other than PayPal's heinous fees, will not get a cash advance hit against my CC. Now, it may be that some money order/transfer places are coding the transaction as a cash disbursement but, if so, that may be because there's a cut of the fee for them. As you say, it could be bank specific as to how they handle it but, given that everything goes through some kind of central clearing house, I would think not. Only one way to find out...
              Reply

              • Max Power says

                I appreciate the thought you've put into that, and a part of me wishes cash equivalent transactions (e.g., money orders and wire transfers) were handled that way by credit card companies. Sadly, they're not.The key here isn't whether there's actual physical currency changing hands in the purchase, it's whether or not what you're buying is a cash *equivalent.* For example, let's assume you're right and MCC 4829 "purchases" are handled by your credit card company as run-of-the-mill purchases. That means you'd be able to max out your credit card on things that are easily convertible back into cash and then pop that cash into your bank account. Weeks later, you'd spend that cash to pay your credit card bill (if you pay in full, no interest), and voila. You just got an interest free loan. If you're smart, you put the money in a nice interest-bearing account and you also racked up a ton of rewards points/miles. You only had to pay the money order fee or wire transfer fee.You should read a few articles/blogs on "churning." It's basically people regularly applying for credit cards with sign-up rewards (e.g., get $500 if you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days), paying them off, and repeating the process. I'm hardly a pro (I dabbled a bit, but I only used the cards for purchases I'd otherwise have made anyway), but some people are really intense about it and have to find ways to artificially spend money (and then recover it). They've had to resort to things like buying gold coins, etc., in order to find the closest substitute for a cash-convertible purchase. That's because the overwhelming majority of credit card companies (it's on them, not the merchant) are going to code cash-equivalent transactions to prevent this kind of abuse. (Also, many merchants selling things like money orders aren't going to accept credit cards given the swipe fees they're stuck paying, which reduce or exceed whatever fee/spread they're charging the customer.)The bottom line is that if cash-equivalent transactions are being considered purchases, I could quit my job right now and live off cycling through my ~$90,000 in available credit (and starting to open new accounts and churn) just like I've outlined above. Sadly, it just doesn't work that way.
                Reply

                • Max Power says

                  I forgot to add: I'm not dismissing your experiences. It's possible some outlier credit cards companies / banks are behind the curve and might miss a transaction now and then. And maybe PayPal isn't flagged as cash equivalent (seems like it should be). I'm just saying that, broadly speaking, those sorts of transactions are going to interpreted by your credit card company not as purchases, but as cash advances.
                  Reply

                • James E says

                  Hey Max, "It's basically people regularly applying for credit cards with sign-up rewards (e.g., get $500 if you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days), paying them off, and repeating the process. I'm hardly a pro (I dabbled a bit, but I only used the cards for purchases I'd otherwise have made anyway)..." I do this regularly along with opening checking/savings accounts that I'm never going to use. I make about $2 Grand a year in cash and travel rewards. I, like you, have only done it for purchases I was already planning on making but now you've gone ahead and made me curious whether all the limits are defined. I was planning on sending some travel funds via Transferwise soon. I think I'll do a test with $100 just to see what happens.
                  Reply

    • Lo Chan says

      Basically there is an extra cost and it is written what thw cost is, when TW ask you to choose which method you are using to pay for your transfer ( at least that is the case if you are transferring money oversea from is Australia)
      Reply

      • Max says

        What do you mean by extra cost? You choose from Easy transfer or Low cost transfer. That's the only cost you pay. You don't normally pay anything to your bank back home because it will be domestic transfer,and there's no receiving cost in Thailand.
        Reply

  68. JPB says

    I've been sending money to Thailand regularly 9almost every month) for 3 years now, and have tried many (including banks) and yes TransferWise seems the best for exchange rate, fees and transfer time, typically 24 hours, although a few times it took up to 3 days. Now TransferWise has started also a 'cash' debit card (visa) that you can load with the currency you want. I tried it last time I went to Thailand, loaded about 10,000 baht: exchange rate and fees are identical to the transfer ones, and then you can use the card in Thailand, in baht: no other fees etc... as long as you still have cash on it. It takes a few hours to load more baht on it if you want/need. The only trick you need to be careful is that as the card is from the country you are (UK for me), some outlets where you pay with your card, will automatically charge you in your national currency (GBP for me)... so careful and make sure that they charge in bahts.
    Reply

  70. James E says

    I just ran across a new (??) money transfer service from an online ad on The BKK Post that seems to be primarily geared to getting money out of Thailand. It's called DeeMoney (https://www.dee.money) and, at first glance anyway, looks like it might be interesting. As I'm writing this the Spot Rate is 33.08THB/US$ and DeeMoney is selling US$ for 33.06THB. Their transfer fee is 150THB to most of the currencies they support. Drawbacks seem to be that the service is outbound only and that you have to visit one of their four branches to set up an account. It also appears that it's a cash transaction at the Thailand end. (Which to my crime-novel mindset smacks of money laundering but, hey, who am I to judge.Anyway, until Transferwise gets its ducks lined up, this may be a cost-effective way of getting money out of Thailand.
    Reply

    • JP says

      Mary-Ann, apologies... a very late answer... but it may help others. Cashing in a cheque in foreign currency, anywhere in the world is a costly exercise. Unless your bank has facility to open a foreign currency account, and you have a regular arrival of these cheques in foreign currency, you're bound to pay hefty charges. HSBC in the UK is charging anything between 10 to 20£ for each transaction. The 'trick' is that, usually, it is per transaction, not per number of cheques. So if you receive a few cheques, wait to have enough before you send them to your bank.
      Reply

  73. Tony Evans says

    TransferWise is an excellent product, reasonable exchange rates and low costs also very fast. I transfer from my UK bank to transferwise London and then usually the money transferred from Travelwise Bangkok bank to my Thai Kasikorn Bank next day. The problem for me is that the transfer in my Thai bank book does not indicate it is an International transfer as is comes from Bangkok. It is marked as a smart credit and I am not sure Immigration police will accept it as an International transfer. If not I may not be able to use this service. Any others have this problem and is there a solution
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      The only issue I know of is with the purchase of a condo whereby you need an FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form) to prove the transaction came from abroad. I had someone comment that they weren’t able to get the FET because the transfer didn’t show where the money had come from.I thought immigration just needed to see the balance in the Thai bank account and wouldn’t be concerned with the exact method of transfer?
      Reply

  75. Paul says

    If you use a nationwide credit card to buy product you get the best rate going. I have just spent 22000 baht on a medical bill. The mid point rate at the time was 42,7 to the pound I actually got charged 42.35 with nor fees either in Thailand or UK. Secondly if you have a flex plus Nationwide account you can transfer 150,000 Baht a day and the only charge is 200 baht charged by Thai bank with nothing charged by Nationwide. On top of this the average mid range price is only reduced by a maximum of 0.4 average.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      I have a Nationwide Credit Card and a Flex Plus account. The Flex Plus account costs me £13 per month, plus the charge for payments made overseas, or foreign currency payments within the UK, made through SWIFT is £20 per time. Then I have to pay 500 Baht to receive the money to my Thai bank account.Transferwise consistently saves me between £30 and £50 on money transfers.The Nationwide Credit card is usually a decent rate, but it's the Visa rate, not the mid-market rate. The 0 commission is good.
      Reply

  77. Andreas Wolter says

    When using TransferWise I can not get a FET from the target bank in Bangkok (Siam). They could not trace the money. In the Transfer confirmation from Transferwise it only shows to what bank the money is sent. But not from where! The money comes from my account but actually they came fro, Bangkok Bank. Because someone in Bangkok send the same amount in the opposit direction so the money from Bangkok Bank went to my Siam bank. That I could not show in my documents from transferWise. So, no FET in case I would like to send money back to the homecountry later on of I change my mind and sell house and go back to home country. So I must pay tax on that if I can´t proof that the money comes from my home country in the first place.
    Reply

  80. RichardA_BK says

    Based on the description of how Transferwise operates, it seems they have found a way to legalize the gray market money transfer system that I saw used for transfers between mainland China and Hong Kong when I lived in HK. It was the system that facilitated a large part of Hong Kong's economy, considering how difficult the mainland China government made it to send money out of China, no matter how legitimate a reason there was. As I remember, the two governments tried to end the system, because it can be used to facilitate money laundering and tax evasion, but had to relent when the cut in money flows caused temporary economic problems.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      TransferWise uses a simple, secure swap based on a peer-to-peer system. If someone wants to convert their pounds to euros, TransferWise’s technology finds someone who wants to transfer money in the opposite direction (euros into pounds)The system automatically matches the currency flows at the real mid-market exchange rate and then pays out from the local euro or pound account, meaning the money never actually moves across borders. Doing things this way means customers can avoid traditional banking fees and you don’t lose money by transferring at an unfair rate.
      Reply

  81. James E says

    Hi,I've been using TransferWise for a couple of years now and had a question about how other people are using it. My typical transfer is pretty low - usually in the 10K - 30K Baht range for which I pay +/- 1.25%. But - and this leads to my question - the exchange rate for the Baht fluctuates so if I did the exchange today I'd get 33.26 THB/US$. But if I waited for a pop to 33.67 or so - my exchange essentially becomes free. I, being a cheapskate and all, find some appeal in a free dinner or massage but was wondering if I might be paying a bit too much attention to the details.So what do you think?: A Poll1) What's an "Exchange Rate"? I just transfer the money when I need it.2) I follow the overall trend of the rate but you can never hit the best rate so why try.3) As in #2 but I'll do a bigger transfer early in a downward trend but hold off as long as I can in an uptrend.4) FREE DINNER!!!??? Count me in.Thanks for your votes and ideas!
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      A bit of 2 and 3: I try to do transfers at a time when the rate is favourable. I tend to track the Dollar against the Pound, so when I hear that the Pound has strengthened it generally will have against the Baht too. So I'll check the rate and do an exchange then.
      Reply

  83. Elizabeth Dickinson says

    We are travelling to Australia and staying for two months holiday. We want to apply for a 90 day visa to Thailand whilst still in the U.K. can you apply for this visa and state what date you want it to run from?
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      You can't get 90 days unless you are visiting for something other than tourism. You can get a 60 day tourist visa, single entry or multiple entry. The multiple entry will last for six months, but you can only stay for 60 days at a time. If it is just 90 days that you need, get a single entry tourist Visa, which you can then extend for a further 30 days at immigration for 1900 Baht. For further information on visas please visit this page and leave your comments there: https://www.thethailandlife.com/thai-visa-requirements
      Reply

  84. Ian says

    I am another advocate of Transferwise. I regularly transfer money from the UK to my account at Bangkok Bank, to an account I have in Portugal, and more recently from the Portuguese account back to the UK. In my opinion Transferwise cannot be beaten with regard to exchange rates, amount and visibility of charges, and speed of transfer (funds frequently arrive before the estimated date). Easy to use app or website, which also allows you to monitor the status of the transaction.I once had a situation where the transfer to Bangkok Bank was delayed presumably because they couldn't match with currency going the other way. But I was kept informed and the funds arrived 1 day late as advised.Excellent system and service.
    Reply

  85. Grasshopper says

    My bank only charges me $40 USA money to transfer any amount. Transferwire is wanting to charge nearly $70 for the transfer, not including the ACH charge of $12 dollars. I could NOT recommend this, if you are transferring a large amount of money. I will say... the exchange rate matches XE and is much better than my receiving bank. But, the difference in exchange rate doesn't make up for their fee. Better to use the bank to bank transfer. My bank in Thailand is Bank of Bangkok and they don't charge me for receiving the wire transfer. Their exchange rate is horrible compared to transferwise. Today, transferwise 31.58, vs BKK bank 31.16. Again, even with the bad rate, it costs me less to do it from my bank in US to my bank in Thailand. For example, 10K is $30 less to use my bank to bkk bank for the transfer. Maybe cheaper if you are moving small amounts of money, but then your yearly figure for transferring is a lot more. I spend $80 a year, do two transfers when the THB rate is up of course.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi Grasshopper, on 10k you would SAVE 2.6k. I reached out to Transferwise with your example and they did the math:Unfortunately, banks charge hidden fees in the exchange rate, which is something the user also mentions in the comment you sent through. We encounter situations like these all the time, because customers don't actually know how much banks charge in hidden fees.In this case, the exchange rate markup is 1.35% (31.58 TransferWise vs 31.16 Bangkok bank). I've done the quick math with the details from the comment and with the 1.35% markup, the customer actually incurs $175 fees ($40 fees + $134 markup) on $10,000 transfer to THB. With TransferWise they would receive 2.6k more THB than they would with the bank, which in fact makes TransferWise cheaper. Please see details below.amount USD FX Fee FX markup Total fee Received THB TW $10,000.00 31.58 $101.00 0 $101.00 312,610.42 bank $10,000.00 31.16 $40.00 $134.79 $174.79 310,353.60The fee should be subtracted from the FROM currency, which is USD in this case. So the calculation would be: ($10,000 - $101 (TransferWise fee + ACH)) x 31.58 = 312,610.42 THB ($10,000 - $174.79 (fee + FX markup)) x 31.16 = 310,353.60 THB
      Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  87. JC says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

      • James E says

        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

      • James E says

        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

        • TheThailandLife says

          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

          • Andreas says

            It is not possible to get an FET with TransferWise. I have tried. The receiving bank will not issue that. In my case the money came from Bangkok Bank to my bank Siam. So no international transaction and because of that no FET.
            Reply

      • farah says

        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

        • TheThailandLife says

          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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  92. Jethro says

    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

  93. Farah says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  95. James E says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  96. James E says

    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: 31.162Transferwise - $187.15 including a $3.83 fee at an exchange rate of 32.73THB/1US$ Effective exchange rate: 32.06In 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: 31.76Transferwise - $1,853.51 including a $20.33 fee at an exchange rate of 32.73THB/1US$ Effective exchange rate: 32.37In 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

  97. Andreas Wolter says

    Dear JaroFor 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

  98. Jaro Kovaricek says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  99. Captorx says

    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

    • Patrick says

      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

  102. Mac says

    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

  105. Rich says

    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

  106. Birgitt says

    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

  108. Ken says

    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

    • James E says

      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

  110. Mike Fitzgerald says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  111. James says

    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

  112. Mrs Karen Fuller says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  113. Mike Metcalfe says

    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

  114. Charles weber says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  115. John Stagg says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  117. Kerry says

    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

  118. Sharron says

    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

    • Paul says

      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

  120. Robert Heatley says

    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 AU8.00Second 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

  121. Thomas says

    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

  122. NStar says

    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

  123. Ken Foster says

    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

  126. ade says

    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

  127. Lele says

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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  129. Baz Collings says

    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??ThankyouBaz Collings
    Reply

  130. peter says

    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

  131. Mark says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  134. Shayne says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  136. ally says

    Hi there, thanks for this. So to avoid the atm fees when withdrawing cash, I assume its because you transfer the money from your bank in country of origin to thai bank account, then use thai atm card with no fees?
    Reply

  137. Kirk says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  144. Mohan says

    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

  145. Paul Underwood says

    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

  148. Elias says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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: $ 46.58The 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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  152. paengfun says

    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

    • TheThailandLife says

      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

  154. Shannon says

    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

  155. herbert says

    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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