What is the best way to transfer funds to Thailand for visa purposes and minimize costs?

@Jonathan ********

you know what I will give it a try and I appreciate the answer and I don't hold you to anything I just hope that it's as good as it sounds!! It's nice seeing expats help each other over here I truly appreciate it!!!

@Michael *****

I hear ya any more questions pm me think that's enuf banking talk for me on a public discussion board :) also make sure u xfr in usd

@John-Paul *****

800,000, not 80

@Craig *******

okay... I get it 800K is the figure posted. So I missed the extra zero. May I be drawn and quartered. But why he isn't just talking to his bank here or BKK Bank in NY or an agent ... well there is an idea

@John-Paul *****

Because the fees are high for such a transaction

@Craig *******

really.... have not found that to be always true.

@Casey *****

ok. You are correct. I normally take a Large amount of $$ every year or so. Still enough to pay plane ticket , even compared to WISE.

Most people don't feel comfortable carrying Large amounts of ,$$

@Tara *******

I live here and transfer about 100,000 every month. Sometimes there are promotions from other sites but at the end of the day we’re talking dollars not worth the time.

And I looked. Bloomberg spot price THBUSD is the same as Wise price.

Could you save $5? Maybe, but what is your time worth?

Welcome!

@James ******

Correct moon soon😂😂

@René *******

its wrong but you must have a adress paper written of your Embassy then it work, can not refuse! Many many in my group did it. And a recommendation go to a Bangkok Bank with international department.

@Nick ***********

I can understand your story here, but certainly not a common experience with agents

@Todd ********

who dont what?

@Nick ***********

they don’t all have problems afterward. The agent visas are just fine for the most part. I can understand your experience, but mine presented absolutely no issues at all. And have at least 20 friends using or used same agency.

@William ***************

I had a number of problems. Maybe because my office is difficult but I could not buy a car or get a driving license because they would not issue me with cert of residence without a lot of inconvenience. They would not transfer my stamp into new passport, I had to go to Bangkok. I was even warned at bkk that I should get my Visa stamp myself next time which I did. The only thing I did not have a problem with was 90 day report. Even tm30 was a nightmare.

@Eric ****

last I saw agent costs about 55k for no fund retirement visa. That's 7%, not factoring in that you can go down to 400k for a period. Also forces you to use the agent year after year vs switching to monthly income method.

@Alistair *********

the cost is about 15k annually to renew your visa via

@Thai *****************************

@Alistair *********

it costs 30k or less.try nan services pattaya.say Robbie sent you.....

@Alistair *********

you need to find another agent. Cost is 25,000 Bhat for a No FUND visa. Ads 4500 if you want multiple. And to renew the 2nd time it’s 12,000 + 4500 optional.

@Alistair *********

And you can store the 800K in a time deposit account here too. So it will earn a minimal interest.

@Steve ****

yes thai accounts allow you to keep dollars but like carlito below my post says, "there may be hidden cost" for withdrawing dollars. From a Bangkok bank website: Thai banks allow non-residents to keep US dollars in a Foreign Currency Deposit (FCD) Account. An FCD Account for Non-Residents is for foreigners who would like to hold incoming foreign funds without needing to immediately convert them to baht or for those living in Thailand who want to convert and save their Thai earnings in a foreign currency. You can open an FCD Account for Non-Residents in a Savings, Fixed Deposit or Current Account with the minimum initial deposit at USD1,000, or the equivalent in another currency

I might add that you can open one of these accounts with just a tourist visa. I found that bangkokbank charges 1% to deposit and 1% to withdraw in dollar notes. But your mileage may vary with other banks.

@Michael ********

app like Wise , or remitly, etc.

@John *********

Maybe for USD. Wise want to give me very high fees with Euro and CHFR.

@Marc *******

almost 200 usd in fees for 800,000 baht transfer

@John *********

Maybe for USD it's ok.

But for Swiss Franks they want way too much fees.

@Marc *******

don’t focus solely on the ‘fee’. It’s the exchange rate with the banks where you lose

@Tara *******

no problem

@Nick ***********

that’s awesome mate. Big difference! Nicely done

@Todd ********

thanks for the feedback if a little sharp at the end… I haven’t tried Wise as I was happy with Remitly. The rates do look slightly better. Is the service instant normally? I send Singapore to Thailand. Also with Remitly I went through a fairly extensive KYC (ID proof) to get the top tier. Does the same process apply at Wise?

@Nick ***********

I think u are doing the right thing really, comparing. At some point the ride will shift inevitably. I have a good buddy who swore by Remitly but a quick check of his last 10 transactions showed all would have been cheaper with Wise. So I gotta remember to keep verifying also.

Sorry, I can’t remember the extent of KYC with Wise. Been a long time. But someone here should know!

The is instant for many with the caveat that is absolutely depends on the originating nation, the destination nation and the method of sending within Wise that affects the time. Seconds up to 24 hours for the vast majority

@Todd ********

ok! I have downloaded so will try the next transaction and see how it works out.

@Nick ***********

great! let us know! I will try to remember to do the same!

@Alan ********

thats a good answer if you don’t understand the basics of finance. Giving up 2.5% or worse per transaction on just a million baht means the cost to you is 250k annually. Thats just being stupid. There are smart ways to minimize the damage

@Alan ********

the difference can be as much as 30k on an 800k transaction. You might be happy to waste money, but most aren't.

@Alistair *********

Indeed. We were mislead by the commonwealth bank in 2019. We transferred AUD$ through them and approx. $3000 eaten up in ’fees’.

@Jae ******

OUCH! that's theft

@Greg *******

Yeah, we were less than happy and of course the bank couldn't care less. Live and learn...

@Bam ****

Congratulations mate. That's awesome.

@John *********

Depends on the bank apparently. Mine is one of the restricted ones, as is my wife's.

Thomas Robert Peter Ashworth Bangkok Bank … i transferred £25k,

not good for you to say this applies everywhere in Thailand as this is totally incorrect & misleading

@Russell **********

My humblest apologies for my most grievous error.

@Raymond *****************

I understand, but the international locations cannot transfer between countries. Bangkok bank in new York, Citibank in Thailand (had a few advantages for Americans but is being sold to a thai bank). Some banks have multi-currency accounts (Krungsri Boarding Card), but there will be a cost to get your currency into Baht.

@Robert *********

So, what can be a solution for this issue, curious myself

@Robert *******

you're right, it is only around $20 difference. But just pointing out Wise fees are not "high", they are actually lower than what you pay using SWIFT. You said $75 maximum total for both ends but the real number is $170, over double that. While Wise is $152. It's just a matter of being aware of the total cost. SWIFT used be cheaper for larger amounts and if you had a US bank that charged $40 or less for the wire it would be in this case too, some people get free wires (although there's a risk of a correspondent bank charge in that case).

@Robert *******

it’s not a small exchange rate variance. It’s huge. And costs you significant money each time. Cost is much more than the actual ‘fee’.

You can use Krungsri for over 50k baht transactions now. You need to get photo taken at a branch and on file

@Rob***

you still pay the exchange then, it just delays it.

@Robert *******

do they charge a teller transaction fee to give you dollars?

@Tara *******

I have found wise to always give good rate. Maybe not vey best but always good.

@Todd ********

you're right, you can, but anything more than 5000 usd they charge fees no cheaper than a SWIFT transfer, because they are using SWIFT. So for that kind of money, you're better off doing a wire from your bank

@Jackie **********

the fee isn’t the issue. It’s the exchange rate. Still far better off using Wise. Your actual fee will be ‘higher’, but you receive more money in your bank on completion of the transaction. Wise wins. I’m sure the day when come when someone does this better than Wise, but at present, they win

@Todd ********

interesting point. Wise gives you the rate up front, whereas a swift transfer is going to use the rate advertised on your thai bank's website on the day and hour it arrives at your thai bank. And those rates are usually crappy, not to mention it is impossible to predict the day and hour it will arrive. Usually, when I've done a swift transfer over 25K USD, I got a call from bangkok bank when it arrived and I was able to beg for a rate maybe 5bps higher than their advertised rate. But it was still crap.

@Jackie **********

yes, that’s the problem. You are right that the fee appears lower with the bank. But in reality, you lose even more on the bad exchange rate. Can be as high as 2% difference. So you lose an additional $200 USD on a $10k exchange on top of the fee

@Steve ******

Where? All the most popular and apparently best exchange rates are lower than wise right now. Of course it is the balance between exchange rate and fees so for large amounts like this may possibly work out less - by my super quick calculations it's pretty much same same so fair enough I guess. More important though is meeting the requirements both visa wise and legally so still think it's the worst idea on this thread.

@Kirstin ******

Anywhere. You'll get a better exchange rate in Thailand than you would in your home country or transferring the money. I agree about the visa requirements but the simplest way to overcome that is to get the Non Imm O in your home country before you leave, much easier! Then bring the 800k with you and bank it for the 1 year extention of stay. Job done!

@Steve ******

well that's just untrue but up to you

@Kirstin ******

But it's not untrue though is it!

@Steve ******

well super rich and others are at 33.95 and wise is at 34.05 so yes it is. Granted the fees might wipe or equalise the savings and yes it is cheaper than doing it in the home country. But it is not the best exchange rate as claimed. Think we've covered most of the aspects now anyway 👍

@Kir****

you need to factor in the % fee Wise charges, after you add that the likes of SuperRich are cheaper. It's not such a big difference that I think it makes sense to carry it in cash never mind go shopping for immigration offices that accept cash but it is true that Super Rich has better rates than Wise. But they don't do the transfer bit.

Wise, $25k = 845,311

SuperRich @33.95 = 848,750

@Kirstin ******

ummm do you understand FOREX??? If not let me know

@Jeremy *******

Sober up.

@Andy ********

you do realize the exchange rate changes every hour, minute and day…sp if you bring it you have time to exchange it

@Jeremy *******

the only office I know of that doesn't require it is Phuket

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

well there you go...problem solved and you don't pay any fees

@Jeremy *******

you cannot pick and choose which immigration office you use

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

yes you can…all you have to do is have a hotel reservation in that area…it’s that easy

@Jeremy *******

Many long term visas require rental contract.

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

that’s simple to get as well…you act as if everything in Thailand is so so complicated…

@Jeremy *******

fly to a different city to stay in a hotel for a night just to get a visa because you wanted to carry money in????? Jesus​christ.... Just transfer the funds like a normal person, instead of making things complicated man