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[derekhhh]

Hello,
I've visited many banks, as well as Western Union, in an attempt to see the cheapest way to send about $200 USD to America each month.  So far, SIAM bank is the cheapest when I use a money gram.

Does anyone know of any cheaper alternative?  IF I use SIAM I still have to pay a fee (abou 600-1000 thb) and suffer from the exchange rate they set up.
Thanks for the help

[surangw]

derekhhh, on 2009-11-06 07:28:27, said:

Hello,
I've visited many banks, as well as Western Union, in an attempt to see the cheapest way to send about $200 USD to America each month.  So far, SIAM bank is the cheapest when I use a money gram.

Does anyone know of any cheaper alternative?  IF I use SIAM I still have to pay a fee (abou 600-1000 thb) and suffer from the exchange rate they set up.
Thanks for the help

  

us an atm card,  deposite it in the account and pull it out with the card wherever it is.

[puyaidon]

Cheapest way is find a friend here in Thailand who has a checking account in the states, give him the Thai money, he gives you a check in dollars, send the check.  Under Check 2000 rules, as soon as the check hits a bank, it clears from that bank.  Clearing is less than 24 hours.  No more post-dating checks, no more kiting checks so all you need is a friend and go from there.  Leaves out the banks here and their charges.  Sounds like it is not correct but have known several people that have done it and I have also.  

I did it for years for a Brit who did web work for web pages in the states.  He gave me a bunch of checks, I deposited them, and when they cleared the bank, gave him the money.  He trusted me and I never let him down.  By the way, one check costs $25 to process, takes up to 3 months, so he found a better and cheaper way with me.  Some of his checks were in amount less than $25 so you do the math.

Edited by puyaidon, 2009-11-07 05:24:54.

[ericthai]

open a saving account and send the ATM card to the USA for withdrawal or wire the money from the saving account, wire fee is 500 baht.  Western union is expensive and poor exchange rate.

[ericthai]

puyaidon, on 2009-11-07 06:19:08, said:

Cheapest way is find a friend here in Thailand who has a checking account in the states, give him the Thai money, he gives you a check in dollars, send the check.  Under Check 2000 rules, as soon as the check hits a bank, it clears from that bank.  Clearing is less than 24 hours.  No more post-dating checks, no more kiting checks so all you need is a friend and go from there.  Leaves out the banks here and their charges.  Sounds like it is not correct but have known several people that have done it and I have also.  

I did it for years for a Brit who did web work for web pages in the states.  He gave me a bunch of checks, I deposited them, and when they cleared the bank, gave him the money.  He trusted me and I never let him down.  By the way, one check costs $25 to process, takes up to 3 months, so he found a better and cheaper way with me.  Some of his checks were in amount less than $25 so you do the math.

The $25 fee was from a Thai bank or USA?  i have had checks from the US processed here in Thailand with my Thai bank and they  only took 30 days to clear. Never had a charge from my US bank to process a US check, they have charged me $10 to receive a wire transfer. What bank do you use?

[derekhhh]

It seems this is a bit of trouble for me.. like sending my atm card to America.. then I assume I would have someone withdraw money using it there, right?  What if I need to use it here again?  And I am not positive that that would work for my mother who would be using the card.


I am thinking that I'm better off just using a Moneygram each month.  For Siam bank its about 600 bahr for my amount I send, then the exchange rate is about 33 sth baht.  I've tried Western Union like I said, and also TMB bank- both have such poor exchange rates when you try this.

But is it also possible to just first exchange your baht for USD in a place that offers a top exchange rate, and THEN use Western Union for transferring the money?  I'm not sure if that is how it could work.
Thanks

[ericthai]

I travel between the US and Thailand all the time and use my Thai ATM card in the US no problem. What yo do is open another account just for your mom to use the ATM, this is the cheapest way. Using western union is more expensive than the banks, even if you do send US dollars.

[whackojacko]

Just give the money to me and I will deliver it personally when I am in the USA - no problem.

[Lost in LOS]

i have an account with BofA and pay all bills on the internet, free.

[derekhhh]

Lost in LOS, on 2009-11-08 13:41:29, said:

i have an account with BofA and pay all bills on the internet, free.

Ok, and how do you get your Thai baht, which my company gives me each month, into your Bank of America account in order to pay the bills?
Thanks

[Gary A]

I have a Citibank account in the US. They have a bill pay feature that is free. I pay my credit cards and any other bills in the US free.