How can I transfer money to Thailand?
I'm in Thailand for 6 months. I already spent all the cash I brought over (not much) and I can refill from an ATM. I have enough money, but what is really bugging me is the horrendous fees for using ATMs. It's $5 to use an ATM anywhere, + a rather poor exchange rate. I tried opening an account at a bank but that seems impossible with a tourist visa alone.
Best Answer
Here's an approach that may or may not work, depending on the type of credit card you have and their rules.
What you need is a credit card that will allow you to put the balance into credit, has high limits for cash advances, has low or minimum foreign exchange fee, and low or capped cash advance fees.
First, with internet banking, put the credit card into credit (if they allow you to). Just a card you don't have any balance on or use for any other purpose.
Then, go inside a bank and ask for a large cash withdrawal (enough to keep you going for a long while, but within the card limit). The amount available in a branch should be larger than at an ATM (you can find out from the credit card company beforehand). Expect good identity checking.
(if you can't put the card in credit beforehand, pay it off right away, same day if possible).
Possible fees include the currency exchange (you're already paying), plus maybe cash advance fees. If the cash advance fees are capped then for a large amount this could work out cheaper, you'll have to run the numbers beforehand. For some cards, there are no cash advance fees if it comes out of the credit balance. Check.
Another approach is to use a debit card often for small transactions, and take the maximum cashback each time, if that is available there. Assuming of course the debit card does not have a foreign per-transaction fee!
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What is the best way to transfer money to Thailand?
The cheapest way to send money to Thailand will almost always be to make a transfer to a bank account in Thailand via a specialized online money transfer operator, which you can pay by debit card or local bank transfer.How do I transfer money to a Thai bank account?
Send money from your bank account to another bank account in Thailand using these steps:How much can you transfer to Thailand?
The good news is that Thailand does not usually limit bank-to-bank transfers. Limits usually do apply to cross-border cash currency transfers. This limit is usually \u0e3f50,000 THB ($1,600 USD).How can I transfer a large amount of money to Thailand?
Depending on your needs and where your funds are, there are different ways to move money into Thailand.Easily Send Money to Thailand...from Anywhere!
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Answer 2
If you don't have access to a local credit card (know a local person) then I have found myself to be out of luck. I simply withdraw large amounts each time, once per month maximum. So 6 times for 6 months, will cost you $30.
But that is cheaper than wire transfer charges anyway, which often is 3%+ on top of whatever they charge for currency conversion.
In my experience it is easier to withdraw larger sums and bite the sour apple than any other solution I've found. Apart from bringing larger sums of cash from the origin country.
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