thai banks

[jgarty38 0]

hi all, I am told here in uk I can have my state pension paid into a thai bank but only with a sterling cheque. Will I see any problems with this in thailand?

[Eneukman 1]

  hi all, I am told here in uk I can have my state pension paid into a thai bank but only with a sterling cheque.  Will I see any problems with this in thailand?

I can see a few problems here.

 

1. If a cheque is being sent there is potential for the it to be delayed, lost or worse stolen in the post. If a cheque does go missing or is fraudulently cashed, it will be a lot harder to deal with from Thailand than if you were in the UK.

 

2. If you try to pay a sterling cheque into a bank account in Thailand it will take several weeks for the funds to be cleared and available for withdrawal.

 

3.Fluctuation in exchange rates - though this is unavoidable to a certain extent.

 

I am retiring to LOS later this year and whilst it is several years yet before I can get my state pension, I can claim my employment pension from June. My intention is to have it paid into my UK bank account (the Nationwide Building Society). I have opened an account with Nationwide International, which is based in the Isle of Man and they have telephone banking facilities where you can nominate accounts to which you want money sent or transferred from. With my account, I have to give 60 days notice though in emergencies I can once each year request the sum of £10,000 to be remitted without the need to give any notice. Of course, I can forego 60 days interest and have larger sums sent immediately.

 

Most, if not all, UK banks will have offices offshore offering similar facilities. Incidentally, I will be maintaining a correspondence address in the UK to which bank statements etc will be sent.

 

I would suggest that you aim to proceed somewhere along the above lines and would strongly recommend against having cheques posted to you in Thailand.

 

Hope this is of help to you.

 

Alan