Bank foreign currency exchange rates...this one is VERY..

There is a simple method to getting money from the US to Thailand cheaply for Americans.

(1) Open an account with HSBC in the US. It can be done online from Thailand. Please don't tell me it can't be done; I did it myself a year ago.

(2) Open an account at Bangkok Bank in Thailand.

(3) Send money online yourself from HSBC to Bangkok Bank in New York City. You will use your Thailand Bangkok Bank account number. The money will be forwarded to your bank in Thailand.

(4) Fees: HSBC charges a flat $3.00 fee for the 'domestic transfer' to Bangkok Bank in NYC. Bangkok Bank in NYC charges a flat fee of $5.00 for a transfer up to $2,000.00; from $2,000 - $50,000 they charge a flat fee of $10.00. On the receiving end in Thailand, Bangkok Bank charges a fee of one-quarter of one percent on the money coming in; with a minimum charge of baht 200 and a maximum charge of baht 500.

Here is an example of a recent xfer I did and the fees involved:

Sent: $10,600 USD
Fees US side: HSBC $3.00 + Bangkok Bank $10.00 = $13 USD total fees
(*Note: the US Bangkok Bank fee is taken from the amount sent.....of course)
Fees Thai side: $10,590 x 33.89 = 358,895.1 baht
358,895.1 X .0025 = 897.24 baht (so we use the max of 500 baht for the fee)
which leaves a deposit of: 358,895.1 - 500 = 358,395.1 baht (for the wife to spend of course )
Total fee Thai side is: 500 baht or USD $14.75

Total fees for the send: $27.75 USD
so.......you can see that 28 bucks on a percentage basis of money sent is extremely small. I know guys that pay $45 'wire transfer fees' to send amounts like $2000 Or....heaven forbid.......Western Union fees.....let's don't go there......

also........I limit my sends to a few a year in order to save on the xfer fees.....yes I can be a Cheap Charlie sometimes......

Hope this helps.......no need to keep getting hammered by high xfer fees.

LDB what are the account fees at HSBC in the US?

A few years ago when I was working in Beijing, I decided to open an account with HSBC in Hong Kong.

The (then) minimum deposit was RMB500, which was gone within about 3 months, all eaten up in fees - from memory, because I failed to maintain a certain amount in the account.

Needless to say, the account was quickly closed by me

As far as transfers now are concerned, I have gone from ATM withdrawals to a single monthly transfer from my Oz bank (Westpac), to Kasikorn here. Cost is A$20 (US$14) at the Oz end, and about TBH500 here.

Jack, I keep $1,500 or more in the account and have never been charged a fee (except when I do a transfer to Thailand).

Thank you LoveDaBlues, Your information is very clear and easy to understand, Hope this helps a lot who are getting money from the US to Thailand. Explanation on currency rates between US and baht is simply good.