How to handle monthly re-payments from Thailand

paz_89 · 21 June 2015 at 9:24PM

I will be moving to Thailand in August but still have a Barclaycard credit card with 3000k to pay off. I have currently been making monthly payments from my UK account, but from August my salary will be paid into a Thai account. Will I be charged a fee for doing my monthly credit card payments from an international account?

CKhalvashi · 21 June 2015 at 9:32PM

Cheapest will probably be through a specialist agency (we use Transferwise in our company), however you'll need to keep a UK account for this.

You can usually arrange for statements to be sent to a foreign address, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

grumbler · 21 June 2015 at 9:54PM

paz_89 wrote: »

I will be moving to Thailand in August but still have a Barclaycard credit card with 3000k to pay off. I have currently been making monthly payments from my UK account, but from August my salary will be paid into a Thai account. Will I be charged a fee for doing my monthly credit card payments from an international account?

If you make payments from your foreign account directly to the CC company you'll be charged:

international bank transfer fee,
currency conversion fee - either there or here, depending on what currency you make the payment in (expect to pay ~3%).

However, when paying to a CC by a bank transfer you need a special reference that can be a problem if it's an international transfer.

It will be easier and simpler if you keep a current account in UK:

https://www.fxcompared.com/money-transfer/Thailand-UK?amount=20000&aDir=0&bType=1&ref=filter

http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-UK/20000-THB

Possibly, you can make debit card payments using your local debit card - make this sure with your CC company. Expect to pay ~3% for currency conversion.

Anthorn · 21 June 2015 at 10:15PM

For payments originating in Thailand, Barclaycard quote a Swift payment from a USD account.

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/business/existing-customers/how-to-make-a-payment

chattychappy · 22 June 2015 at 11:48AM

No doubt this is something the huge expat community will have experience of. But in the meantime, keep a current account in the UK "loaded" with some money so you can meet immediate requirements.

I lived in Saigon 15 years ago for a while and transferred money to my UK account and made payments from there. Internet banking (not to mention the terrible internet connection in Vietnam) was more primitive then, but I got by OK.

IF you get really stuck, one way is to make small balance transfers from one card to another to meet minimum payments. This is, of course, no way to borrow. But if you get locked out of other methods, it can dig you out of a hole as a backup payment method. You can usually do this by phone. I did this when I couldn't access my current account for a while. The charges involved were minimal.

Enjoy Thailand. My only regret is I can't get back there until next month at the earliest.

SuperAllyB · 22 June 2015 at 1:29PM

If i had 3m debt on a credit card, and had the chance to go abroad, i think i'd stay there and try to avoid paying it off!

vics199 · 4 July 2015 at 3:50AM

I live in New Zealand and am paying off lots of UK debt still and a mortgage. each pay day I make one international transaction through online banking from my NZ bank account to my British bank account. The first time you do this you will need the international/SWIFT code for your British account which should be at the top of your bank statement. Each time you will be charged by your foreign account and by your British account and you get whatever the exchange rate is that day. It will tell you at the time of making the payment. My british and NZ banks charge me approx £12 each per transaction meaning each month it costs me £24 total in fees.

Whatever you do, don't pay your bills individually from a foreign account as you will have to pay the £24 fee every time.

Hope this was helpful.

[Deleted User] · 4 July 2015 at 7:50AM

You have a three million pound balance on a Credit Card? :eek:

bigadaj · 4 July 2015 at 9:36AM

vics199 wrote: »

I live in New Zealand and am paying off lots of UK debt still and a mortgage. each pay day I make one international transaction through online banking from my NZ bank account to my British bank account. The first time you do this you will need the international/SWIFT code for your British account which should be at the top of your bank statement. Each time you will be charged by your foreign account and by your British account and you get whatever the exchange rate is that day. It will tell you at the time of making the payment. My british and NZ banks charge me approx £12 each per transaction meaning each month it costs me £24 total in fees.

Whatever you do, don't pay your bills individually from a foreign account as you will have to pay the £24 fee every time.

Hope this was helpful.

Have you tried doing this through the money brokers like hifx, fees will be lower and exchange rates ar elikley to be better.

grumbler · 4 July 2015 at 9:54AM

vics199 wrote: »

...It will tell you at the time of making the payment.

This means your NZ bank makes the conversion.

My british and NZ banks charge me approx £12 each per transaction meaning each month it costs me £24 total in fees.

You are unlucky as not all UK banks charge for incoming foreign £ transfers.

https://www.fxcompared.com/money-transfer/New%20Zealand-UK?amount=2000&aDir=0&bType=1&ref=filter

How to handle monthly re-payments from Thailand

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