Transferring money out of Thailand: Seven ways to send your Thai funds overseas

You have probably noticed that sending money out of Thailand isn’t as straightforward as sending it in. Services like Wise or XE work only one way: from overseas to Thailand. This is because the Bank of Thailand has strict regulations on currency outflow.

Despite the limitations, there are still several good options for sending money overseas, and the process has become easier in recent years.

The seven options are:

1. Bank transfer
2. DeeMoney
3. Western Union & MoneyGram
4. Cryptocurrency
5. Cash conversion (physical cash)
6. Paypal
7. Skrill

Fundamentally, you can expect a flat fee for transferring funds plus a currency conversion spread (whatever banks mark up on top of the rate they are getting). Some banks also can’t guarantee the recipient will receive the full amount.

Bottom line

Your mileage may vary depending on your bank in Thailand. Personally, I’ve had a good experience with Kasikorn Bank and SCB. Also, note that you can only do international transfers during business hours.

Below I included specific information for two most popular options:

1.1 Kasikorn Bank (KBank)

50+ destinations and 25 currencies

You can do international transfers easily and conveniently from KBank’s mobile application without any upfront paperwork.

Bear in mind that you may be required to submit some documents later when you reach a certain threshold, as was in my case. If that happens, you will just need to submit the requested documents (it will most likely be a work permit and a payslip). Your transfers will be reenabled within three business days.

1.2 Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)

17 currencies

2. DeeMoney

DeeMoney is a dedicated Thai remittance service. It allows you to send your Thai funds to numerous countries through their website or when visiting one of their branches. 

Registration

As with banks, a one-time document registration is required before you can use the service (when I registered, they requested a copy of my passport, work permit and a selfie). It may take a few business days to get approved, but the process is pretty straightforward.

Lead time

Next or same day for countries where DeeMoney Next is available.

3-5 business days for the remaining countries. 

Sending limit

Their website says the transfer limit is 800,000 THB per day. There’s apparently no limit if sending money via any of our DeeMoney branches.

Fees & exchange rates

DeeMoney touts better exchange rates than banks, but in my experience, that’s not always the case. Some days, you will find banks with better rates, so it’s worth checking before you make a transaction.

The service charges a flat fee of 133.75 THB (125 THB + 7% VAT); recipients get the total amount sent.

Bottom line

Besides the occasional exchange rate hick-ups, DeeMoney also has a couple of weird quirks. One of them is somewhat sloppy forms. For example, setting up a recipient for a USD transfer requires a US state in the address. However, DeeMoney happily accepts a different country (for example, you can select New York as a state and the UK as a country). Also, my country (Slovakia) is missing from the list of nationalities (it’s still missing despite me already emailing their support twice).

3. Western Union & MoneyGram

Western Union and MoneyGram are other established & widespread remittance services in Thailand. Western Union offers a lot of flexibility in sending (credit/debit card, direct debit, QR code, or pay cash in-store) and receiving money (bank transfer, get cash in-store). With MoneyGram, you can only make payments in-store.

Registration

To use the services online, you must first create an account. When making a payment in person, you will need to complete the money form, show your passport and provide the recipient’s information. Upon payment, you will receive a tracking number.

Lead time

Immediate transfers for cash.

1-3 business days for most bank transfers.

Sending limit

There’s a limit of 250,000 THB for online transfers with Western Union, but you can make multiple transactions per day. MoneyGram’s sending limits are dependent on the country where you are transferring your money.

Fees & exchange rates

The fees are relative to the amount sent. But in general, they are higher than those of the previous two options (bank transfer and DeeMoney).

Western Union also charges an extra fee for payments with a credit card. The exchange rates are not the best in the industry either.

Bottom line

With the increasing speed of previously mentioned services, the advantage of using Western Union and MoneyGram is slowly disappearing. Higher fees and a fairly low sending limit make it most suitable for occasional transfers or if you don’t have a local bank account in Thailand.

4. Cryptocurrency

If you understand and know how to use cryptocurrencies, converting them into another currency is a viable option. You can exchange your Thai funds into a stable coin, such as USDT (pegged to the US dollar) and sell that amount to another trader in your desired currency.

There’s no paperwork, and the entire process can be done online, but there are also drawbacks – it can take some time, and the funds could lose value. Since the conversion process requires you to sell your cryptocurrency of choice to another trader, the sale could take anywhere from a few minutes to days. During this time, the value of your cryptocurrency can significantly change (for the better or worse).

With Thailand introducing more restrictions on cryptocurrencies, potential capital gains tax on your proceeds and other legal barriers when sending money to the US, the process can get even trickier over time.

Fees

N/A.

Lead time

From minutes to more than a day.

Limit

N/A.

5. Cash conversion

Converting and carrying physical cash is slightly less conventional these days. Still, it’s the most cost-effective way to take money out of Thailand when you have to travel to the destination anyway. Because of its physical nature, it’s ideal for one-off or infrequent transactions.

Local currency exchanges, especially SuperRich, offer excellent exchange rates with no extra fees. The obvious downside is the inconvenience of carrying physical cash on you and the potential problems at customs when the carried amount exceeds a certain threshold. You will just need to bring your passport to the exchange.

Fees

No service fee when paying with cash (just the currency spread); however, there’s a 2.5% fee when paying with a credit card.

Lead time

However long it takes for you to convert cash at one of their many branches and get to your destination.

Sending limit

800,000 THB per passport per day.

6. Skrill

Fees

Skrill charges two types of fees – one for making the payment (0-2.99%; paying with a debit card is free, but paying with a credit card incurs a fee) and an exchange rate markup (up to 4.99%).

Whilst cheaper than PayPal, it’s still one of the most expensive options.

Lead time

Debit and credit cards are the quickest methods, as payments typically arrive in the recipient’s account the same day. If you opt for a bank transfer, it can take anywhere between two and five days for the money to arrive.

Sending limit

On their website, they only list limits for transactions inside the US.

7. PayPal

Fees

PayPal charges 4% for most currencies, making it the most expensive option on the list

Lead time

Instant transfers arrive in minutes (subject to a fee); standard transfers take 1 – 5 business days

Sending limit

Individual transactions limited at 10,000 USD or equivalent

Value comparison

You may be asking which method is most cost-efficient. As previously mentioned, it depends on your individual circumstances and what resources you have access to. But when we compare all options head to head, this is how they stack up: