Best way to send money to Thailand

[danlrob 6]

What is the best way to send money to Thailand.  I will be sending direct to a bank account.  Unfortunately my credit Union will not do foreign transfers.  Western Union takes 4 days to complete the transfer.  Is there another service that is faster?

 

Thank you

[Love To Teach 161]

Use Moneygram. It's cheaper. They are inside WalMart and are easily picked up.

[danlrob 6]

16 hours ago, Love To Teach said:

Use Moneygram. It's cheaper. They are inside WalMart and are easily picked up.

Moneygram does not allow me to send direct to a bank account.

[Love To Teach 161]

He can pick it up at any Moneygram place. And they are all over the world.

[PedroDaGr8 245]

I have used Transferwise to send to money to Thailand before, to reimburse my girl a couple tickets she purchased for me. On $200, my fee was $3.96 and on top of that the exchange rate was significantly better than almost any other service. The money arrived quite quickly as well, in a few days, right into her bank account.

 

For example: 

If you send $1000, the fee is $11.88 and your recipient will receive 33704.77 THB in their bank account at an exchange rate of 34.11 THB per US$.

 

In comparison, with MoneyGram they would have a fee of $4.99 but their exchange rate is much worse. Meaning that your recipient would only receive 31.855.40 THB and they have to go pick it up.

 

EDIT: I just noticed that I can post a link that will give your first transfer fee free if you want. I didn't want to include it in this thread as it is a referral link and I didn't want you to think I was recommending them to get a kick back. I just have been really happy with their service.

Edited July 7, 2017 by PedroDaGr8

[PedroDaGr8 245]

10 minutes ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

 

 

For example: 

If you send $1000, the fee is $11.88 and your recipient will receive 33704.77 THB in their bank account at an exchange rate of 34.11 THB per US$.

 

In comparison, with MoneyGram they would have a fee of $4.99 but their exchange rate is much worse. Meaning that your recipient would only receive 31.855.40 THB and they have to go pick it up.

 

 

Damn it, can't edit anymore.

 

I was looking at MoneyGram closer and they are an even worse deal. They charge you $1004.99 to send $1000 (unlike most other services which deduct it from your $1000). This means that if you send $1000, the ACTUAL amount your recipient would receive is 31696.44 THB, over 2000 THB less. 

[sd3fan 17]

I've used several before I found Transferwise but it is by far the best I've found.  Takes about 3-4 business days for transfer to complete but much better exchange rate and lower fees than MoneyGram and Western Union.  Never had a problem with them and have been using them for quiet a while now.

[narakthisud 174]

Seconding everyone else's experience with Transferwise! I just transferred USD $300 to my mother-in-law and got a very good exchange rate plus it cost about $5 to send the money directly to her bank account via SWIFT. I also wanted to mention that my in-laws live in rural Isaan and don't often go to the bank so this made it very easy for them and I felt safe knowing that the money went directly where it was supposed to go!

[BS1982 13]

I can vouch for TransferWise as well. I’ve used Western Union and TransferWise and  TW is much cheaper and faster. TransferWise provides the best exchange rate I’ve found. 

[John951 54]

PayPal?

[ThyJourney 3]

On 7/6/2017 at 11:54 AM, danlrob said:

What is the best way to send money to Thailand.  I will be sending direct to a bank account.  Unfortunately my credit Union will not do foreign transfers.  Western Union takes 4 days to complete the transfer.  Is there another service that is faster?

 

Thank you

Create an online Bank of America Account and/or Paypal. 

[narakthisud 174]

On 3/20/2018 at 10:08 PM, John951 said:

PayPal?

I haven't used PayPal so I can't speak to their fees and/or rates. If the recipient (family/friends) are tech-savvy, I'm betting this is the easiest route. For those who aren't as tech-savvy, TransferWise (and other similar services) is great since the money arrives directly in their account.

[Dimonis 0]

If the amount is small I use TransferWise. If I am sending a lot and Transferwise projects the fee will be more than $45 I use a wire transfer from my bank instead as that is there fee.

 

I've heard there is some way to use Bangkok Bank as they have a branch in New York but I havent explored it yet. I did open an account with them in Thailand a few weeks ago when I was there for work and to visit the wife's family.

[JoelThai 313]

On 9/18/2018 at 6:31 PM, Dimonis said:

I've heard there is some way to use Bangkok Bank as they have a branch in New York but I havent explored it yet. I did open an account with them in Thailand a few weeks ago when I was there for work and to visit the wife's family.

 

This might shed more light on this method, although I have no personal experience in doing so...

 

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Transfers/Transferring-Into-Thailand/Transfer-money-from-US-to-Thailand-via-Bangkok-Bank-NewYork-branch

[DanielPlainview 368]

Depending on how much you want to send, and how quickly/often you need money there, there is a no cost option.....but it's not really a "transfer".  Open a Charles Schwab checking account, and get the ATM card.  You must have a US address to qualify, but they will send the ATM card to Thailand if you request it upon opening the account.   I was in Bkk and got the card, but I could just have easily sent it to our address there for my fiancee. 

I think you can pull the equivalent of $1000 per day, and the exchange rate is MUCH better than I've rec'd doing a wire transfer to my SCB account, and there is zero foreign transaction fees.  (Ally by contrast is 1% and I've seen as high as 3%)   And although every bank in Thailand now charges $6 each time you use a foreign ATM card (except for the super premium accounts like Citigold) Schwab reimburses the ATM fees anywhere in the world.  I'm not aware of any bank ATM cards that offer that feature.   When I'm back in US, my fiancee keeps the card there, so if I need to get money to her, I do a free domestic transfer from my bank to Schwab, and she can go get the cash.

Unlike the NOA2, I rec'd my Schwab card (in Thailand) about 10 days after I submitted the application.   Works great in our situation.