The best way to transfer money to Thailand so that you can get Thai Baht is now extremely easy thanks to the latest disruptive financial companies proving why Banks are ripping you off.
If you want more bang for your baht when moving money to Thailand, choosing the wrong option could end up costly.
Despite banks and other foreign currency exchange services pledging zero commissions or low charge transfers, they are still marking up their exchange rates to make a profit out of your transaction.
For someone putting down the deposit on a home or regularly transferring funds, such as pension payments, from the UK to Thailand, this can add up to a significant amount of cash.
Banks are the most popular way to switch cash between countries – handling maybe eight of 10 transfers.
The charges are often scaled depending on the amount of cash transferred.
How the numbers work out
NatWest Bank, for example, charges up to £22 a transfer regardless of the amount.
Today’s sell rate with the bank for the Thai Baht is 49.3441 and the buy rate is 59.4017.
Looking at a specialist foreign currency transfer bureau can give big savings over a bank transfer.
One firm, TransferWise, will send money from the UK to Thailand with a fee of £14.82 for £1,000 as 53,238.63 baht. The fee scales depending on the number of baht transferred.
With NatWest, the same transfer sees £1,000 turned into 49344.10 baht with a fee of £22.
Somewhere along the way, 3,895 baht disappears into the money transfer system – that’s £65.57.
TransferWise is a relatively new service and bases exchange rates on Reuters mid-market rate rather than an arbitrary internal rate set by a bank.
Cheaper fees and better exchange rates
Expats and travellers making transfers can carry out the process online once they have a TransferWise account.
Once the account is registered, log in, type the transfer details into the online app and the cash is switched out of your bank into the money exchange system.
Generally, within 24 hours, the money will arrive in the destination account.
“We are regulated as a financial firm in the UK and have customer service in English, Spanish and German by phone and email,” said a company spokesman.
“Our aim is to provide a fair and transparent foreign currency exchange service worldwide without any hidden fees or other charges that many banks and financial institutions impose even though they say they are a zero commission service,” said a spokesman for the company.
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