Request regarding TT Currency Exchange

[newalaan2]

Just a request to anyone presently in Pattaya who might be passing any of the many TT Currency exchange shops today/tomorrow, who could post the updated £poundSterling to Baht showing there with the approximate time they noted it. It would be a great help for me to compare all my various rate levels here in UK to the 'real world' rate level in Pattaya.It will allow me to consider how best to convert my Sterling to Baht for/during next week's visit to Thailand. When changing £1-2,000 at a time, even small fluctuations can make a difference.

Great timing (again) for a visit! ha! Last trip in June I was getting Bt52 to £ the day before the Brexit vote and I was due to change another £2,000 but held off in the 'expectation' of a Brexit remain outcome and increase in the rate...well that decision cost me as it fell to Bt47! Now the prospect of an even worse rate than that!

Any replies would be appreciated.

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[arsenal]

I suggest you leave your pounds/sterling at home because they're virtually worthless and instead bring old clothes, furniture and general bric a brac with a view to implementing a new barter system.

[Old git]

I think I've said this before, but the most efficient way to change sums of £1k+ is (I think..):

1) Open an account with the Bangkok Bank. You'll need your passport and an obliging Thai who will let you use their address. It takes about twenty minutes and you get your bank book and ATM card there and then. (Other banks are a bit fussier)

2) Open an account with SAT Worldwide or one of the other specialist currency transfer outfits. These people are not competitive for small sums but they generally work on the basis of giving you the quoted exchange rate that you see on the BBC etc. - less a fee which is their only profit.

3) You buy your Thai baht through them, you BACS them the sterling and they send the THB to your BB account.

4) You then draw your cash from BB ATMs, and there are no fees deducted.

[fountainhall]

With the volatility in sterling, I really question the value of finding out exchange rates in Pattaya today, tomorrow or whenever considering there may be a major difference upwards or downwards by the time you get here. Old git's advice is great because the bank to bank rate on the amounts you are changing are way better than those at the currency exchange booths. But you're still taking a risk on little or no change in value by the time you open the account. Why not split the difference? Get half in Baht at the best rate you can find in the UK and then either open an account here next week or bring sterling and cash it.

[Uranus]

Are you really bringing Sterling in cash?

[latintopxxx]

if a few cents makes such a huge difference then perhaps financially one should just remain at home.....

[Nirish guy]

Are you really bringing Sterling in cash?

Sometimes not the worst idea, I've done it myself over the years a few times and at least you know what you've got - as half times Ive also loaded cards and filled my atm bank account only to be hit with ridiculous charges or more annoyingly the card companies putting a stop on your card ( even after notifying them of your travel dates) meaning you have to fuck around trying to ring them to get the block lifted etc. So whilst carrying a few grand about with you it's also not just as mad as it sounds, I tend to do a bit of both now actually - and thats after years of trying various methods.

And before anyone starts about opening bank accounts and finding a willing Thai address holder etc etc - all totally impractical for most ordinary short term travellers, especially if you tend to visit more than Thailand as a destination - a bundle of hard cash still works just fine I find - and it's also a very handy way of getting rid of a bundle of hard "cash" should one still be lucky enough to come across such a rarity in todays business world !

[fountainhall]

Are you really bringing Sterling in cash?

Not sterling but a ton of ¥! When I worked in Japan I was paid mostly in ¥ into a Japanese bank account. I wanted the cash I did not need in my Hong Kong account. Transferring cash bank to bank out of Japan at that time was a very expensive exercise. So every few months I'd take ¥2 million or more with me to Hong Kong.

Once, though, I could have had a major problem. I had to stopover in Seoul for a couple of days en route. As I was leaving, the metal strips in the notes triggered the security alarm! I was aware that South Korea had currency controls. I had declared the ¥ on arrival and so had the paperwork to export it - thankfully!

[scottish-guy]

... As I was leaving, the metal strips in the notes triggered the security alarm!

I've told you before to stop keeping your money in your underwear

[fountainhall]

Scottish, I was only trying to be polite. It's the metal underwear that triggered the alarm. My boyfriend insisted on a chastity belt