What are the costs and exchange rates associated with transferring money from the USA to Thailand?

I am just curious to know would you rather let the local bank (Krungsri) does the dynamic currency conversion

Or you better say no to that option and let Charles Schwab does the exchange rate?

I was trying to find exchange rate for Schwab but I could not find it.

I use Wise regularly and go for the 'manual bank transfer ' option. Cheaper and usually in my bank before I exit the app. This screen shot is different to anything I've seen before!

The exchange rate is about the same and if using Wise to transfer under 50k the funds usually arrive in seconds on weekdays but can be delayed on weekends due to banking hours, I guess. Also, for purposes of verifying monthly transfers for retirement extension Immigration only accepts bank statement. Wise transfers directly to Kasikorn Bank so bank statement of Wise transfers are available. ATM withdrawls are not accepted by Immigration. At least, that's been my experience.

There are a several bank credit cards that don't have foreign transaction fees and reimburse. I used my Chase card last summer with Krungsri ATM. Verified I was getting the mid point of their buy/sell rate which was extremely close to the wise rate. It was a very convenient method.

I also paid restaurants and hotels with my credit card. So in addition to essentially the same transaction cost as a wise transfer, I was scoring CC award points that I used for hundreds of dollars back. 😎

In terms of transfer times, Wise does not take money from your home country bank account and transfer it to Thailand. Instead, it finds local, matching transactions in the two countries, and matches them up. This process takes longer. In general, the larger the amount, the longer it takes.

Western Union is 2.99 USD for transfer from Debit Card to deposit to Thailand Debit Card. About a minute to show up in Thai bank account.

Your numbers are a bit off.

For , the Visa rate (which is what Schwab uses) was 34.91, so the $865.65 cost that you mentioned was inclusive of the 220 baht fee (which is refunded at the end of the month, not at the time of the transaction). The actual net cost for your 30k baht was $859.35.

As for Wise's various funding methods, I don't think wires and SWIFT transfers are instantaneous (by their nature, not because of Wise). They also usually involve a fee from your sending bank, plus additional forms or paperwork. ACH wasn't on the list of options? That would usually be cheapest (a little over a dollar for 30k baht), and would be immediate.

If you open an account with Wise you can transfer in free with ACH, so it eliminates these incoming fees entirely, you don't even get charged the "ACH fee". You transfer to the ACH details they give for the account and then do the transfer from within Wise. Most/many US banks do free ACH including I think Schwab.

Having said that, a Schwab card which is zero forex markup and reimburses the Thai-side ATM fee, usually actually does work out very slightly cheaper than Wise. Sometimes not, but usually. It's very close. This is specifically if you have a zero-fee card, most regular cards charge far more for ATM (3%+$5 is typical) and don't refund the Thai-side fee.

If you subtract the $3.52 wire fee from $869.17 (which you wouldn't be paying if you had a Wise account) you get $865.65 which is exactly what you got with Schwab. You might even get a smidge better with Wise in that circumstance as they give you a VERY slightly better rate for a transfer from Wise account, compared to external.

Wise also gives you the paper trail of the incoming bank transfer which many people need, and allows larger amounts and not having to traipse to an ATM. But a Schwab card is absolutely economical and competitive with Wise if you want cash.

@Jack ********

isn't the credit option the same as swift and debit but arrives in seconds not 10 hours?

I’m the lucky one, I get my US disability government check direct deposit to Bangkok bank , no fees on either bank

FYI, you can not use the debit card option if the card is from a US bank.

Thanks for the info!

Does an American bank charge you for domestic transfers?