What’s the Cheapest Method to Send Money to Thailand?

What will happen if you wire $1000 USD from San Francisco to a relative in Thailand? How much will you get charged?

1. If you use Travelex, you will lose $123 due to massive hidden conversion rates, the biggest loss despite having 0 upfront charge.
2. Using banks will generally cost around $25 to $40, with $10 to $20 hidden exchange rates, which is still not good.
3. While Transfast and TransferWise have upfront cost, they have none or very minimal hidden conversion rates–which makes them the cheapest option!

These numbers speak for themselves. So take note, always check the hidden conversion rates and not the upfront fee. Some banks and online money transfer service entice people by offering zero service charge, yet they more than make up the cost by using ridiculous hidden exchange rates.

Below are tables that contain the most popular options for sending money to Thailand, their upfront rates and their hidden exchange rates. Also, this our 28th post on sending money to other countries. If you want to check out the rest of the post, here are the links: Philippines, Brazil, Australia, Kenya, Mexico, Macedonia, Poland, Egypt, Romania, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Bolivia, Serbia, Pakistan, Colombia, Morocco, Chile and Turkey.

Table 1: Sending $1000 from the US to Thailand

Transfer method	Fees to send $1000 USD	Hidden conversion cost	Total fees	Time for the transfer to arrive
Transfast	$5	$0	$5	1-3 days
OFX (previously USForex)*	$0	$7.5	$7.5	1-2 days
TransferWise	$15	$0	$15	1-2 days
Ria Money Transfer (slow)	$5	$23	$28	3-5 days
1st Contact Forex	$10	$19	$29	1-3 days
WorldRemit	$5	$25	$30	1-3 days
Xpress Money	$17	$20	$37	3-5 days
Ria Money Transfer (fast)	$15	$23	$38	Minutes
Skrill	$10	$40	$50	3-5 days
MoneyGram (slow)	$5	$51	$56	1-3 days
Western Union (slow)	$5	$53	$58	1-3 days
Wire transfer	$25-40	$10-20	$35-60	3-5 days
Western Union (fast)	$10	$53	$63	Minutes
MoneyGram (fast)	$20	$51	$71	Minutes
MoneyMoveIT	$5	$114	$119	1-3 days
Travelex	$0	$123	$123	3-5 days

Note:

• Minimum transfer of $500 for OFX (previously USForex).

Table 2: Sending £1000 from the UK to Thailand

Transfer method	Fees to send £1000 GBP	Hidden conversion cost	Total fees	Time for the transfer to arrive
UKForex*	£0	£7.5	£7.5	1-2 days
TransferWise	£15	£0	£15	1-2 days
Azimo	£1	£20	£21	1-3 days
WorldRemit	£4	£23	£27	1-3 days
Western Union	£15	£16	£31	Minutes
1st Contact Forex	£15	£17	£32	1-3 days
Exchange4free	£0	£37	£37	3-5 days
Skrill	£8	£40	£48	3-5 days
Xpress Money	£30	£23	£53	3-5 days
Wire transfer	£15-25	£10-30	£25-55	3-5 days
Travelex	£0	£61	£61	3-5 days
MoneyGram	£27	£43	£70	Minutes

Note:

• Minimum transfer of £500 for UKForex.

Table 3: Sending $1000 from the Canada to Thailand

Transfer method	Fees to send $1000 CAD	Hidden conversion cost	Total fees	Time for the transfer to arrive
CanadianForex*	$0	$7.5	$7.5	1-2 days
TransferWise	$15	$0	$15	1-2 days
WorldRemit*	$5	$27	$32	1-3 days
Xpress Money	$16	$21	$37	3-5 days
1st Contact Forex	15	$23	$38	1-3 days
Exchange4free	$0	$40	$40	3-5 days
Transfast	$5	$37	$42	1-2 days
Skrill	$29	$40	$69	3-5 days
Western Union	$30	$42	$72	Minutes
Wire transfer	$25-40	$20-30	$45-75	3-5 days
MoneyGram	$50	$44	$94	Minutes
Travelex	$0	$127	$127	3-5 days

Note:

• Worldremit can only send 995 CAD from Canada to Thailand.
• Minimum transfer of $500 for CanadianForex.

Table 4: Sending €1000 from the Western Europe (Euro currency countries such as Germany, France, Italy) to the Thailand

Transfer method	Fees to send $1000 CAD	Hidden conversion cost	Total fees	Time for the transfer to arrive
UKForex*	€0	€7.5	€7.5	1-2 days
TransferWise	€15	€0	€15	1-2 days
1st Contact Forex	€5	€19	€24	1-3 days
WorldRemit	€5	€24	€29	1-3 days
Azimo	€3	€31	€34	1-3 days
Western Union	€5	€30	€35	1-2 days
Exchange4free	€0	€40	€40	3-5 days
MoneyGram	€10	€39	€49	Minutes
Skrill	€10	€40	€50	3-5 days
Xpress Money	€28	€25	€53	3-5 days
Wire transfer	€20-35	€20-40	€40-75	3-5 days
Travelex	€0	€101	€101	3-5 days

Note:

• Minimum transfer of €500 for UKForex.

Table 5: Sending $1000 from the Australia to Thailand

Transfer method	Fees to send $1000 AUD	Hidden conversion cost	Total fees	Time for the transfer to arrive
OFX (previously OzForex)*	$0	$7.5	$7.5	1-2 days
TransferWise	$15	$0	$15	1-2 days
WorldRemit	$5	$24	$29	1-3 days
1st Contact Forex	$15	$18	$33	1-3 days
Exchange4free	$0	$40	$40	3-5 days
Western Union (slow)	$10	$39	$49	4 days
Skrill	$10	$40	$50	3-5 days
Fast Remit	$10	$59	$69	2-3 days
MoneyGram	$35	$42	$77	Minutes
Travelex	$0	$80	$80	3-5 days
Xpress Money	$60	$32	$92	3-5 days
Wire transfer	$25-35	$30-60	$55-95	3-5 days
Western Union (fast)	$70	$44	$114	Minutes

Note:

• Minimum transfer of $500 for OFX (previously OzForex).