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Should I convert US dollars to Baht before transferring to my Thai bank account or send USD directly?

Wise Banking Money Transfer Expat Finance Thailand Banking Visa and Immigration Currency Exchange Rates International Transfers Expats in Thailand

Jul 14, 2025

15 hours ago

Robert ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Ok-  I have a question for all my Wise Banking American ex-Pats:

When I'm moving money from my Wells Fargo to wise and then Wise to a Thai bank account should I exchange the funds to Baht and then deposit them s Baht to the Thai bank account?

Does that make sense?  Or just do a USD dorectly into my Thai bank account?

Which one will give me  better rate?

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user is seeking advice on whether to convert USD to Baht via Wise before depositing into a Thai bank account or to simply transfer USD directly. The responses indicate varied approaches: some prefer transferring USD directly for efficiency, while others suggest converting to Baht for potentially better rates at the time of transfer. Concerns about using Wise for holding funds (due to lack of FDIC insurance) and the effectiveness of using other services like Remitly are also discussed.

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Mike ********

I keep US and Thai balances. Wait for good rates to convert, while earning 3.9% interest in the mean time. The rate is good enough to reduce the fees.

7 hours ago

Ralph *******

@Mike *******

You get 3.9% interest on your Wise balance?

4 hours ago

Reply to

Ralph *******

Simon *******

Right now if I transfer from the UK to Bangkok bank transfers are taking about 6 hours if done Monday to Thursday, of done Friday to Sunday it takes until Monday to get to your account. Best to do transfers Mon to Thurs.

9 hours ago

Wannikea *********

It's a bit cheaper to send to your Wise acct and then manually choose to convert the funds at your preferred rate, then send to your Thai bank, also it tends to be a faster transfer. YMMV. Regardless, sending directly to your Thai bank is pretty seamless.

9 hours ago

Robert **************

Yes you can send it directly from one account to another

10 hours ago

Matthew *********

Don't use wise, use remitly. It's american company with lower fees than wise and the money is transfer in less than a minute. So many people have problems with wise. Some people have had their money frozen from wise and wise takes too long to transfer. I have an attorney friend in bangkok, he was so glad I told him about remitly

11 hours ago

Todd *********

@Matthew ********

use Remitly if you are angry at your own money. You always get a worse exchange rate. They charge ‘lower fees’ to prey on the financially uneducated. It’s a good strategy

6 hours ago

Robby ************

@Matthew ********

but lower rate about 200 baht on 50.000 baht conversion

7 hours ago

Reply to

Robby ************

Robert ********

I have THB and USD account in wise. I seem to never use the USD one anymore. It is simpler to transfer it into the THB account where it is converted automatically and the exchange rate is good.

11 hours ago

Robert ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Robert *******

and then move it to your bank?

11 hours ago

Robert ********

@Robert *******

move it to Bangkok bank account

10 hours ago

Reply to

Robert ********

Jeremy ********

Always go with your banks exchange rate

12 hours ago

Todd *********

@Jeremy *******

that…. Is hilarious. Ummm - no. Do NOT do this

6 hours ago

Jeremy ********

@Todd ********

not sure what you’re saying

I get a better rate with my home bank than overseas banks

ATM’s other…only exception is super rich when I hand over $100 notes

6 hours ago

Reply to

Jeremy ********

Wannikea *********

@Jeremy *******

certainly not the American banks rate. Just let Wise do the conversion.

9 hours ago

Jeremy ********

@Wannikea ********

absolutisms never end well

99.9% of the time the USA/other countries bank uses a better exchange rate than the rate of the receiving bank

I’ve used this algorithm all over the world and it’s worked for me

9 hours ago

Wannikea *********

@Jeremy *******

we are talking Thai bank rates vs the center of the capitalist universe banks. There isn't a hope in hell that those US banks are gonna give a better rate.

8 hours ago

Jeremy ********

@Wannikea ********

I get better rates

8 hours ago

Reply to

Jeremy ********

Mark ********

I use wise and WF, I exchange to baht via wise. then to my thai acct. I leave money in my wise acct. I am not worried about losing it. I suppose it could happen but it is only a couple thousand dollars.

12 hours ago

Gabriel ********

I also use wf in the USA….for transfers under 10k usd I just do bank-to-bank transfers into my Thai accounts using SWIFT codes…some will say that the exchange rate loss is too great to do this…in my 20 years of living in bkk and after having tried every conceivable method this one works best for me….a Schwab account is another good way of chipping away at foreign bank fees

13 hours ago

Brandon ************

@Gabriel *******

Schwabb is great for traveling. And if you pull out the maximum 30,000 baht from a Thai ATM occasionally, good for that too.

13 hours ago

Gabriel ********

@Brandon ***********

exactly what I do although as cash becomes less and less convenient 30k can take an awful long time to spend lol

13 hours ago

Reply to

Gabriel ********

Lynnette *******

Send to wise and wise send to Thai account? Not heard of that. I just add recipient bank and amount in my home currency and it gets sent.

14 hours ago

Willy *******

@Lynnette ******

I always use Wise like that. First I send SEPA payment from my bank account to Wise. And when it arrives I sen it to my Thailand bank. I choose this method because I can better identify where money is going if problems.

9 hours ago

Lynnette *******

@Willy ******

never done that, my recipient is the bank in Thailand and that's where the money goes. Not sure how sending it to Wise and then they send it on afterwards makes sense.

5 hours ago

Willy *******

@Lynnette ******

I think it's very convenient in SEPA area (free and instant) and I can better control if there is problems. And I don't need to link my bankaccount to Wise. Just my Bangkok Bank to my reciepent so not need to add account details again.

5 hours ago

Reply to

Willy *******

Brandon ************

Just directly send the USD to your Thai bank account and let Wise do the conversion. What some people do is transfer the USD to their Wise account, and then convert it to baht when they like the exchange rate, but I would never do this. Wise is not a real bank and your money is not FDIC insured while there. You should never leave money in Wise or in any technology financial company. Just use the service for transfers.

15 hours ago

Peter **********

@Brandon ***********

I keep (some) money in Wise and use their card on Lazada, Shopee and such. That saves me the cost of transferring to Thailand.

10 hours ago

Brandon ************

@Peter *********

I just use my foreign credit card

9 hours ago

Reply to

Brandon ************

Robert ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Brandon ***********

I bank on both coasts. And my business banker has been good to me. It's a marriage of convenience but I also use credit unions for my local banking. I'm not excited about Thai banks... which one do you recommend using?

13 hours ago

Brandon ************

@Robert *******

Which Thai bank? I would recommend Kasikorn. For the US you should get a Schwabb account, because they will refund your ATM fees worldwide. Great for pulling money out when you're traveling.

13 hours ago

Chris *******

USAA also refunds foreign ATM fees. I also recommend KK bank in Thailand

11 hours ago

Reply to

Chris *******

Mike ***********

@Brandon ***********

just transfer from bank to bank and skip wise

14 hours ago

Brandon ************

@Mike **********

There's a breakeven point, especially when talking about large dollar amounts, where it makes sense to do a wire transfer. But for smaller amounts like under $5000 it's generally better to use Wise. Each bank will have different points where it does and does not make sense so it's an individual decision.

14 hours ago

Mike ***********

@Brandon ***********

I’ve never looked into wise. I probably should b

14 hours ago

Brandon ************

@Mike **********

the best part of Wise is that you'll know the exact dollar amount you're sending and the exact baht amount you'll receive, with the fees and exchange rate broken out separately for you to see.

The problem with wire transfers (and many other services) is that you won't know exactly how much baht you'll receive until they receive the money and do the conversation at whatever rate they decide on and then subtract any fees.

14 hours ago

Robert ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Brandon ***********

and I know Wells Fargo is going to screw me on the conversion rate already.

13 hours ago

Tony **********

@Robert *******

send in USD, Thai bank will give you better rate. I find the break even point for me it's about ฿150k. More than that, sending by wire is cheaper.

Pe ****

Eye?

Tony **********

fat fingers. Wire

Brandon ************

NEVER let your American bank do the exchange. They'll ask you if you want to send USD or Thai Baht. Always send USD and let the Thai bank do the exchange when they receive the USD.

13 hours ago

Mike ***********

@Robert *******

left those guys years ago when they screwed every customer they had. Now just credit union

13 hours ago

Mike ***********

@Brandon ***********

I will have to look into wise. Thanks. I know my bank charges $30 to wire transfer international.

13 hours ago

Robert ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Mike **********