Bangkok Bank International Money Transfer

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Mike

I recently wrote about how to send money to Thailand. In that post I compared international bank transfers with private foreign exchange company transfers. Since that date I have discovered another even more cost effective method if you have a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand using a Bangkok Bank International Money Transfer.

Because the Bangkok Bank has international branches in several major cities around the globe including the UK(London) and US(New York) it is possible to save money on international transfers using their services.

In the UK for example they charge £20 for the transferring Sterling from London to Bangkok. In Bangkok a fee of between 200-500 Baht is charged to receive the funds and  then transfer them to your BB account in Thailand.  In fact I only recently discovered this charge that is made in Thailand since it does not show on a bank statement. The advantage from this method of transfer is that you get the TT rate of exchange(higher) for your Sterling in Thailand.

So how does this compare to my own UK bank HSBC and HIFX the FX company I have used recently.

If we take £1000 as an arbitary figure minus the charges levied, this is how the three companies stack up at todays exchange rate:

HIFX: 45,999 Baht(No extra charges and HIFX will refund the 200 Baht levied by Bangkok Bank-but you have to pay it first and reclaim from the company by providing statement). So with the refund that’s 46,189 Baht.

HSBC:46,180 Baht(Includes deduction of £25 SWIFT charge and 200 Baht receiving fee at BKK Bank in Thailand)

Bangkok Bank(London) 46,418 Baht(Includes £20 deduction for SWIFT charge and 200 Baht receiving fee in Thailand)

So that a 238 Baht difference on £1000, or 2380 Baht on £10,000 or 23,800 Baht on £100,000! Now in fairness to HIFX I should point out that you will get a better rate with larger transfers, not quite as good as the TT rate but quite close and they will eventually refund the charges made in Thailand.

Now I agree the saving is minimal on £1000,  but its still a saving, however if you are moving a large sum to say buy a property or some other investment then it soon adds to the cost.

Overall it seems the Bangkok Bank has the advantage when it comes to International money transfers to Thailand from the UK.  However remember you need a Bangkok Bank account to take advantage of the slightly better rates.

Now I am unsure if any other Thai banks have international branches in the UK or US, research suggests not, but they may operate in other Asian countries like Singapore for example. There may also be other UK banks that charge less to make a SWIFT payment like some of the old building societies.

If you know any please share them here.

Related posts:

  1. Opening a Bank Account in Thailand
  2. How to Send Money to Thailand
  3. 12 hours in Bangkok
  4. Four Top Bangkok Hotels
  5. Travel Guide Bangkok to Hua Hin
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  • http://www.I-nomad.com I-nomad

    Hi Mike,
    Unfortunately my country Holland, doesn’t have a Bangkok bank and only a representative office of HSBC.
    After my Dutch ABN-Amro bankcard broke back in April, I found a way to receive money to my Kasikorn account trough Paypal. It will cost 5 Euro to send any amount, the exchange rate is not the best, but better than ATM’s and for amounts up to 1500 Euro it takes 1 working week to receive it here.
    See also:
    http://i-nomad-life.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-transfer-money-from-abroad-using.html
    In the mean time I have two Dutch bankcards one of which I keep in the safe just in case..

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      I-Nomad I’m afraid I hate PayPal with a vengeance for lots of reasons. That said if it was your only way forward then so be it. I think a lot depends on personal circumstances. I am fixed here so I am always looking for ways to get a better deal. Especially with the current poor exchange rates.

  • Lloyd

    Bangkok Banks transfer fees are not fixed or capped and can vary from as little as 150 baht, the minimum charge for foreign transactions to many thousands, the most I have seen was 3240 Baht for a 3.2 Million Baht transaction into the account holders reciprocal account, I have heard of charges several times that but have not seen it first hand. The £20 GBP fee charged in the UK is a standard CHAPS fee charged by most UK banks, soon to be FSA regulated.

    HiFx’s current market rate varies considerably, as does all rates published by Forex traders, depending on the client, the curreny paid transaction and the amount being purchased. For instance I transfered 4.6 Million baht into Thailand on the 11th October at a rate of 48.723 with no fees, the rate I was offered 10 minutes ago for 1000 GBP on a GBPTHB pair was 47.7318.

    If I was to walk into Kasikorn bank and withdraw 1000 GBP, or the Thai baht equivalent, I would get rate around about 46.45 with no charges if depositing the funds directly into my wifes account, my bank no longer charges fees for the first 5 Visa debit withdrawls I do per month outside of the UK.

    FYI I am actually back writing front office FX trading software for a UK bank, things are surprisingly volitile so you just never know what will happen!

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Lloyd, does FSA regulation mean transfer fees will be fixed? I just tried HIFX at £1000 and was offered 45.960. I am obviously with the wrong outfit.

      Volatility? that sounds like I am about to get stung again ;-)

      • Lloyd

        I recommended HiFX and I will stand by that, if the rate you are being offered is not what you expect then ask why your rate is different to the current BID/ASK rates being streamed!

        You are not alone, its ‘yin and yang’, one person looses someone else gains, mai pen rai!

        If you were to always win, or have things how you wished it to be life would offer no challenges ;-)

        • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

          Lloyd, I have no beef with HIFX its just that the rate for spot trades seems about 1-1.5 baht lower than TT rates here in Thailand. Given their margin is supposed to be 0-1% it seems a bit off.

          That said I agree about the challenge and I thank you for your insight which over the months has certainly made me more aware and willing to shop around.

      • Lloyd

        Sorry, yes certain transaction fees that once required ‘user’ intervention, like CHAPS transfers, will fall under new proposed regulations. Banks are charging fees for something that you ‘could’ do online for free if they opened up their systems.

        Alas I am not a retail bank programmer so I have no idea why said systems are not readily available.

        • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

          Lloyd thanks, so if I understand correctly, this could all be done electronically from MY desktop and the banks just make money. Seems ridiculous that I can electronically seem money within the UK for free but not internationally.

  • http://www.danploy.com/diary.htm DanPloy

    Hi Mike: There are no Thai banks in Singapore but you can negotiate a decent rate in the Golden Mile complex, especially for larger sums, (for transfers from Singapore to Thailand).

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Dan yes thanks. I mentioned Singapore because I seem to remember UOB(I think) is linked with the island nation, perhaps I’m wrong, or they are a Singapore Bank that operates in Thailand?

      • http://www.danploy.com/diary.htm DanPloy

        I am pretty sure UOB is a Singapore bank, it certainly has a lot of branches in Singapore. I was with DBS bank in Singapore but they have nothing in Thailand as far as I know. In any case was better to use the Golden mile facilities.