Thai Baht

[daveduke007]

(mardhi @ Apr. 22 2007,18:56) I was talking to a guy last week who tried to change NEW 20 pound notes and got knocked back.    However I have no real idea, other than talk to me if you have a problem when your here Dave

Cheers
Mardhi

Cheers mardhi

[Guest]

If you are worried about continued appreciation then you might try opening a brokerage account and wire funds to the account. They will convert at the onshore rate then request a withdrawl before you leave and pick up the check at the brokerage office.

[PigDogg]

Walso, How does one open up a brokerage account?

I went to a Bangkok Bank branch today and inquired about opening an account. Not that I need an account, but thought it mght be a good idea to have a small existing account.

I was told I could not open a bank account with just a tourist visa. They said regulations have changed. Is this so or just a communication breakdown?

[Road Runner]

Hello PD,

For a short while I had a Foreign Currency account with the Bangkok Bank.  You only needed a tourist visa to open that  -  but it was about 2 years ago so things could well have changed.

I had to go to the Silom branch (head office) to open it and to do any business.  It was such a hassle (it used to take more than an hour sometimes just to get some money!) that I closed it.

I went over to using a debit card from a UK building society  -  I think you call them savings and loan in the US.  I pay no fees when I use it abroad and the exchange rate is pretty close to what I would get from an exchange booth.

RR.


PS. From experience most of the Bangkok bank staff in Bangkok seem to be almost clueless about anything to do with falangs.  Only the staff in the Silom branch had any idea and they were all very slow.

The branch in Herself's home town on the other hand are really good and treat us nearly like royalty.

[Snick]

Bangkok Banks are the worst -- it is unbelievable how incompetent they are. There is no concept of customer service, they have no idea how to use their own services, and they always tell you the wrong thing.

Back to the issue at hand, legally you cannot open a bank account with a tourist visa, but many branches do it anyhow.

As to currency trading, the whole offshore/domestic rate fiasco was caused by the currency controls enacted a few months to curb currency speculation. i.e. You are talking about doing exactly what the Thai authorities are trying to stop. Unless you are an experienced FX trader don't even think about trying to 'play' the Baht.

I have found that an ATM card, that doesn't charge fees, gives the best exchange rate. Better then cash or travelers checks. If you need a lot of money use a wire transfer BUT make sure the amount is UNDER the limit imposed by the currency controls ( Otherwise they will sequester 30% and HOLD IT for 1 year ).

[Guest]

(PigDogg @ Apr. 26 2007,17:27) Walso, How does one open up a brokerage account?

I went to a Bangkok Bank branch today and inquired about opening an account. Not that I need an account, but thought it mght be a good idea to have a small existing account.

I was told I could not open a bank account with just a tourist visa. They said regulations have changed. Is this so or just a communication breakdown?

I opened a brokerage account with Seamico Securities. Pretty painless procedure. They are detail oriented but after dealing with brokerage houses around the world nothing out of the ordinary. They give you free research which is not very good but you can get free research with any brokerage house.

Kim Eng is another. The forms are available online to download and print.

I figure if I wire funds over and buy a couple of large cap stocks I get 3-5% div. yields while already having funds in the so there is less of a worry about currency appreciation.

I am not looking to make a ton of money in the market. Just enough to pay for some fun in Bangkok.

[Skinhound]

In typical Thai fashion, the policy on giving farangs bank accounts varies. Over the course of several months, I wandered into a lot of different banks in Bangkok and was refused a bank account in the absence of a work permit.

Then one day just walked into Siam Commercial Bank at Victory Monument and a nice lady set me up with a Savings account and gave me an ATM card on the spot.

Even gave me a free umbrella

Keep your passport on you when you walk around (in the daytime I mean...when the banks are open...not the bars) you'll need it if you happen to get lucky and find bank staff willing to give you an account.

If you needed to return with your passport later, you might find that the policy changed when that particuar staff member left for the day.

[PigDogg]

Guinness Atkinson's take on the baht published in December.


Baht (from December)

[newwriter]

(Snick @ Apr. 26 2007,20:13) Bangkok Banks are the worst -- it is unbelievable how incompetent they are. There is no concept of customer service, they have no idea how to use their own services, and they always tell you the wrong thing.

Back to the issue at hand, legally you cannot open a bank account with a tourist visa, but many branches do it anyhow.

As to currency trading, the whole offshore/domestic rate fiasco was caused by the currency controls enacted a few months to curb currency speculation. i.e. You are talking about doing exactly what the Thai authorities are trying to stop. Unless you are an experienced FX trader don't even think about trying to 'play' the Baht.

I have found that an ATM card, that doesn't charge fees, gives the best exchange rate. Better then cash or travelers checks. If you need a lot of money use a wire transfer BUT make sure the amount is UNDER the limit imposed by the currency controls ( Otherwise they will sequester 30% and HOLD IT for 1 year ).

Spot on Snick.

As somebody who travels a lot, a card (either debit, or credit linked to an account) that does not charge fees on foreign ATM transactions is undoubtedly the most efficient way to get cash when overseas.

The exchange rate is competitive and the need to carry large piles of money or the hassle of purchasing traveller's cheques goes away.

[rxpharm]

Lifting of 30% reserve requirement on short term capital inflows was announced Monday March 3/08 by the Bank of Thailand.

While it was stated it should not have an impact on the Baht exchange rate, the Baht has strengthened against the USD. Rates today from Bankgok Bank buy rate 31.15 and sell rate 31.78, and against the Euro buy rate 48.00 and sell rate 49.04.

If things keep going this way it may eventually go back to the old rates before the Asian financial crisis of 1 USD: 25 Baht.

[TTChang]

Rate has moved badly for us Brits too.   I was getting close to 70 baht for my   £ last year via the ATM - this week only 62  

[daveduke007]

Tell me about it , western union worse

[rossco]

UK Pound has taken a beating - seems to be more linked to the US Dollar than the Euro.

Best rate I have found is transferring UK sterling from the UK bank (In Pounds) to Thai bank. They receive in UKP and the rate at conversion has always been the best.

I learnt this from agencies involved in selling Condos here. When I was moving here I used one of these Forex brokers - they were the worst.

Western Union is a total rip off - the exchange rates are poor and the charges are crazy BUT it is convenient for smaller sums of money.

UK based credit/debit/bank cards - I only recently noticed that in some places the Baht is converted on the actual credit card slip so you do not wait for your statement to find out what the rate was.