Alan Hall’s Tips: Currency Rates
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Meet PFM International, Managing Director, Alan Hall with some helpful advice for Expats in Thailand.
The weak British pound and American dollar have given some serious headaches to British and American expats. A long-term expat has less to worry about as these fluctuations will balance out over the years and have little to no effect on them.
However, if you need to send large amounts of cash from your home country, consider using methods other than your bank, who may offer unfavourable rates. This article from Times Online gives an excellent overview of the money transfer services available.
Since April 2009 Thai banks have been levying a 150THB charge on ATM withdrawals from foreign accounts.
Alan’s top tip: Go into the bank itself with your passport and make a withdrawal from the teller in person. There will be no charge… (Some banks will not be able to do this; Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn can and will)
More Tips from Alan Hall coming soon…
Call +66 (0)8-1764-3048 to speak to him direct for free, no obligation advice based on over 25 years of experience.
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Grrrrreat tip! Any idea why they started this ‘fine’ on us poor farangs here in Chiang Mai? Silly question I guess…TMB charge you even when you go to the teller – they call it ‘fastcash’ or something, minimum 5000THB max 20,000THB with a 150THB fee. I’ll be heading into K bank or Bangkok bank on Nimmanhaemin – they don’t even blink – I guess they’re used to it!
Glad the tip was helpful. If you’re withdrawing from your account on a regular basis it might be easier to open an account here in Thailand and have money transferred into it as a lump sum. I think overall Bangkok bank provide an excellent service.
Best Regards,
Alan