Thai Money
Thai Money
The currency of
Thailand is the Baht, which consists of 100 satangs. Coins include the
25 satang, 50 satang, 1 Baht, 2 Baht 5 Baht and 10 Baht pieces. Paper money is
used for larger denominations and is colour coded as well as being in
different sizes for different denominations - the larger the
denomination the larger the size. 10’s are brown, 20’s green, 50’s blue,
100’s red and 500 Baht notes are purple, and the 1000 Baht notes are
grey.
Exchange
The exchange rate of the
Baht against other currencies floats and may change daily. At the moment
the Baht has an exchange rate of between 29 and 30 Baht to the Dollar
(2011) but the general feeling is that currency exchange rates are no
longer as sure as previous years. The best exchange rate I personally have found is HERE and very close to MBK. I have found they normally give between 2% - 3% more than the commercial banks. Maybe not so significant if you are changing small amounts, but big savings when you start looking at big money exchanges.
Money can be exchanged at commercial banks, at currency exchange services of these banks and at authorized moneychangers. Rates vary slightly from bank to bank. On Sukhumvit Road, in Bangkok a number of currency exchange services are accommodated in transformed caravan trailers.
Many hotels double as authorized moneychangers though their rates are usually not as advantageous as those of banks or independent authorized moneychangers. A small number of independent authorized moneychangers offer better rates than banks.
Banks
Banks are normally open
from 9:30-15:30 Monday to Friday except holidays. Currency exchange
services of banks have varying office hours but most are open between
8:30-22:00 every day. The authorized money exchange counters of hotels
often change 24 hours a day.Bank staff often
speaks English so communication in main branches is seldom a problem.
Many but not all bank forms are in English as well as in Thai.
Traveller Cheques
The rate is higher for traveller cheques but
there is an 8 Baht commission and duty on each cheque cashed so larger
denominations save money.Exchange
Control
Foreign visitors may freely bring in foreign
banknotes or other types of foreign money. Upon leaving Thailand, a
foreign tourist may take out foreign means of payment, which he brought
in with him. However, there is a limit on foreign notes or coins to a
maximum equivalent of 10,000 US Dollars unless the visitor has declared
a higher amount upon arrival. Attempts to take amounts higher
than 10,000 US Dollars out of the country without having them declared
upon arrival can lead to arrest, confiscation of the excess amount
involved and/or prosecution.
No restriction on the amount of Thai currency that may be brought into the country. A person travelling to Thailand’s bordering countries and to other countries may take out local currency up to Baht 100,000 and Baht 50,000 respectively without authorization... Foreign tourists are freely allowed to take out gold ornaments."
We recommend that card holders pay cash while shopping in small shops or
keep close watch as it has been known for shop owners to make out extra
slips, thus getting more money out of you, than your original paymentCredit cards are
widely accepted in Thailand and most businesses display stickers for the
cards they accept. Shops will sometimes add an additional charge
of 3 to 5 percent when a client pays with his card.
Cash advances of up to 200 US Dollars a day can be obtained from some branches of the Thai Farmers Bank on Visa cards.
Some credit cards will get advances but only as traveller cheques. It’s more convenient to go to a credit card representative office if you need an advance. Money remittances from abroad are normally no problem in Thailand.Remittances are most conveniently directed to saving accounts. Theoretically, they can be made in one of three forms: either as normal postal remittance, as telegraphic remittance or as SWIFT remittance. In practice, however, they are either telegraphic or most commonly SWIFT - not because Thai banks do not accept postal remittances but because many banks in the West do not offer normal postal remittances anymore.
SWIFT is the abbreviation for Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication and charges are supposed to be lower than other
telegraphic transfer charges.
There are in any case only minimal charges for the recipients of
telegraphic or SWIFT money transfers in Thailand. However, charges can
be considerable for the sender.
Thai banks process the telegraphic or Swift money transfer within one or
two days. This differs considerably from experiences in other countries,
where money remitted through the SWIFT system or telegraphically has
often been available only after around two weeks.
To avoid that such things happening, one may choose a few safeguards.
One is, to have remittances sent only to the head offices of banks or
only to larger banks, as these are likely to be more familiar with the
procedures than smaller ones.
A further very effective measure which, however, entails additional
costs is to have the sender not only make the telegraphic remittance but
to send a fax of the remittance order to the recipient of the money (not
his or her bank). If a fax of the accepted remittance order can be
shown, the receiving bank cannot claim that the money maybe hasn’t been
sent yet. Another reliable means is to telex the information.
The exchange rate applied is considerably better than the one available for cash. It is the same rate used for letters of credit and other forms of international payment.
Remittances can also be directed to Dollar accounts where they are then
credited in Dollars.
Bank Accounts
Foreign visitors can open savings accounts without any problem. Cheque
accounts are only available to residents. However, cheques drawn on Thai
banks and issued to a certain person can be deposited in that person’s
savings account without any problem. They are generally cleared within a
day. Cheques drawn on foreign banks can take up to three months for
clearing.
Foreigners can open a foreign currency account with any commercial bank
in Thailand. The government, on the maintenance of, and withdrawal from
the account, imposes no restrictions, as long as the funds originate
from abroad. However, banks apply their own varying rules for accounts
in foreign currencies (in most cases US Dollars).
Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)
Now widespread, ATM machines are all over Thailand. As foreign tourists cannot open cheque accounts, access to
the Automatic Teller Machines system is limited to Thais and foreign
residents. However they can be used with your credit card for cash
advances (look for the appropriate logo), & most work on the Delta or
Cirrus systems as well.
Safe Deposit Boxes
Safe deposit boxes are in long demand and short supply and rates are
often higher than in other countries. Nearly all banks and bank branches
grant safe deposit boxes only to clients who also maintain accounts.
Some banks even demand that initially, a client who gets a safe deposit
box also keeps a considerable positive balance on his account for a
specified time period. This varies from bank to bank. Safe deposit boxes
can be rented for short or long periods of time.
