Maybe We Don't Travel

[GWMinUS]

Yes, all the Money Transfer Services make a profit on the Exchange Rate. I have given up on trying to compare them...

Sending to the Philippines I use MoneyGram and WorldRemit. Usually I transfer from my Debit Card and then Cash is "instantly" available to my guy at one of the Pawn Shops. The fee is USD4-5. Only MoneyGram will make transfers to GCASH, that is the Mobile E-Wallet. The fee is USD1. But my guy must have a GCASH account. There are no fees charged to the Receiver.

I do not use Western Union or PayPal or their ZOOM Transfer Service...

[anddy]

6 hours ago, GWMinUS said:

Yes, all the Money Transfer Services make a profit on the Exchange Rate. I have given up on trying to compare them...

Technically, that is untrue, as Transferwise does not make a profit on the FX. Of course all money transfer services make a profit somehow (= cost to the user), and comparing them can be a nightmare. Like others here, I've been using Transferwise for some time now and I like their transparency. They give you a superb rate that is not obtainable in the market even in theory, i.e. the mid market rate, and charge a clearly stated fee in %, which I happen to find reasonable. 

Giving up to compare will just cost you money, though I can understand the frustrations, and the value of convenience of the familiar transfer channels.

[Guest]

I agree with Andy.   Transferwise genuinely does offer mid-market rates, combined with a fully transparent & very reasonable fee.  

One can easily lose up to 20% by choosing the wrong foreign exchange option, so it's worth the time spent comparing.   

Once I've found a competitive option, then I just check future transactions v XE just to make sure nothing has slipped. 

[daydreamer]

On 8/10/2020 at 5:44 AM, JimmyJoe said:

I don't know a good solution to send money to a boy I am sponsoring. He's fallen on hard times due to Covid and I like him very much anyway. But he's not Thai and has no bank account. Western union transfers are expensive and I can't use transferwise as he has no bank account. Does anyone know of another method?

I have been using World Remit to send money to a friend in Bangkok since the pandemic has put so many people out of work.  I like World Remit, as it allows you to send a cash pick up at a bank, no bank account required.  It also allows you the choice of several different banks to pick up the money.  My friend said he had a slight problem with a teller at one bank, so the next time I sent him money, I just chose a different bank.  And the money is available at any branch of each bank. 

The boy only needs to show his ID and the transaction number which they will send by SMS to his phone, or you can email him the transaction number.  Very easy, and I think I paid $3.99 to transfer the funds, and he pays no fee on his end.  The exchange rate is fair, and they send you an email telling you exactly how much is available for pick up.  The money is usually available within 20 minutes of the time it is sent.

[anddy]

Wasn't really aware of World Remit. Seems like it works similar to Western Union. Out of interest, I compared their fees and rates for sending an amount of EUR 100 (actually the quoted fee is the same for eur 1000, so %age-wise becomes less the more you send):

WR: fee EUR 0.99, fx rate 35.435

WU: fee EUR 3.90, fx rate 34.899

XE.com rate at the time of this comparison: 36.50

So the hidden fx fee for WR is 3%, for WU it is 4.6% confirming it's image as being expensive. Good to know for future reference, thanks @daydreamer

 

[spoon]

1 hour ago, anddy said:

Wasn't really aware of World Remit. Seems like it works similar to Western Union. Out of interest, I compared their fees and rates for sending an amount of EUR 100 (actually the quoted fee is the same for eur 1000, so %age-wise becomes less the more you send):

WR: fee EUR 0.99, fx rate 35.435

WU: fee EUR 3.90, fx rate 34.899

XE.com rate at the time of this comparison: 36.50

So the hidden fx fee for WR is 3%, for WU it is 4.6% confirming it's image as being expensive. Good to know for future reference, thanks @daydreamer

 

Seems like world remit is a cheaper option to send money to boy who dont have bank acc. Otherwise, transferwise is cheaper.

[Guest]

I have tried to persuade some Lao boys to open a bank account in Thailand, without success.  

Some boys said you need a work permit, but I managed to open a bank account, admittedly a few years ago.  The first branch said no, the second branch opened an account.   None of them took up my suggestion to try every bank in town. 

If I were renting my ass out and anticipating rapidly declining earnings within 10 years, I'd be looking for bank accounts, stock broker accounts etc.

 

As for money collection services, on another forum, someone mentioned a money collection service from Australia to Cambodia which cost less than 2%.   Considering it's transfer, currency exchange AND a collection facility, that seemed reasonable to me.  Some people like to kid themselves they have a good deal by not looking at some of the charges, but I think this guy was switched on.   I checked his forex rate v the historical XE data & it was good.    Although I think he was sending a few hundred AUD.

 

 

 

[CurtisD]

I check with Bangkok Guy on his experience with Paypal to see if there was anything at his end I was not aware of.

He gets the amount I send in his Paypal account in full the next day. 

But, transfer from his Paypal account to his bank account takes several days.

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, z909 said:

If I were renting my ass out and anticipating rapidly declining earnings within 10 years, I'd be looking for bank accounts, stock broker accounts etc.

 

if you were of their age and had only their schooling , chances are you would not. Many of them did not have a chance to see much money, even less to learn how to manage it and only bank they know is mattress and only broker account they encounter is debt ledger in local grocery store.

But some of then to their credit are learning fast. Some guys I hired over years showed me proudly houses they built and pick up trucks they bought and rented out for  a good use. 

[10tazione]

20 hours ago, z909 said:

If I were renting my ass out and anticipating rapidly declining earnings within 10 years, I'd be looking for bank accounts, stock broker accounts etc.

How would you explain to the tax office where all that money is coming from and not paying taxes and not having a work permit?
How would you explain to the immigration office how you deposit cash on a bank account whilst (eventually) not being officially in Thailand?

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, 10tazione said:

How would you explain to the tax office where all that money is coming from and not paying taxes and not having a work permit?
How would you explain to the immigration office how you deposit cash on a bank account whilst (eventually) not being officially in Thailand?

Good points.

Although the revenue profile is slightly different, I've never had any questions about my Thai bank account from the Thai tax office.   

The address linked to the account was written down on a scrap of paper when I opened the account & I have not been to that address for years.   So it's not like sending the tax enforcement team around would work.

Finally, to be on the safe side, I guess they could deposit no more than the Thai tax allowance in the account each year (60,000).   

I very much see the tax efficiency of cash based transactions, but if attempting to save for the future, having a big pile of cash in a rented room is not secure.

 

Finally, most of them are officially in Thailand, as they have the stamps in their passport to prove it.   So depositing money would be perfectly OK.  Explaining how they obtained it would be slightly more difficult.