Thailand - Thai Baht - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - Thai Baht

The Thai baht is subdivided into 100 satang.

The baht is termed an ‘exotic’ currency, which means that there is far less participation in the market for baht than in the market for more established currencies, such as euros or U.S. dollars. For this reason, the price paid to change your money into or from baht (the price being equivalent to the market bid-ask spread) is far higher relative to the amount of money being changed than it would otherwise be.

Thailand’s central bank manage the baht’s value under a ‘managed float’ regime, which means that the bank will intervene at times in the foreign exchange market to reduce what it sees as excessive volatility in the currency and to maintain national competitiveness, i.e. the bank will at times weaken the currency to boost demand for Thailand’s exports.

As an exotic currency, the baht is considered riskier than currencies from major developed nations, which means that its value will fall against the FX majors (especially JPY, USD, CHF, GBP and EUR) during periods of economic uncertainty or when global geopolitical risk is elevated, or during bouts of high market volatility.

Historically, the baht’s lowest valuation against the US dollar came in January 1998 when USD/THB reached 55.50. It's all-time high occurred in July 1981 when USD/THB fell to just 20.36. Since 2005, USD/THB has traded between 28.56 and 42.19.

THB News, Forecasts and Trends

The Thai Baht has risen 4% so far this year against the US dollar due to greenback weakness, this won't help with the hoped for tourism lead recovery of the Thai economy post virus.

NAB told Bloomberg TV that it sees a recovery in Asian currencies in the 2nd half of 2020 if the coronavirus comes under control.

In 2018 tourism contributed around 20 percent of Thailand's total GDP, so the dramatic impact to tourism from the coronavirus pandemic is expected to plunge Thailand into a recession.

Recent years have been extremely kind to the baht and 2019 has been no exception. The Thai baht has been the best performing currency in Asia for 2019, the baht rose to a 6-year high against the US dollar (฿30.66) and to a 10-year high against the Australian dollar (฿21.35), as well as to long-term highs against a host of other major currencies.

The baht has previously being supported by Thailand’s large current-account surplus and has benefited from speculation that Thai stocks will soon be assigned a larger weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets index, which would result in significant amounts of foreign capital entering Thailand.

The above interactive chart shows the USD to THB exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Thailand

In between the busy cities and scattered towns of Thailand is the rural heartland, which is a mix of rice paddies, tropical forests and villages living the farming lifestyle. In the north, the forests surround tall blue mountains scattered with shining waterfalls. In the south, scraggy limestone cliffs rise up from the cultivated landscape like ancient towers.

Travel tips for Thailand.

The official currency of Thailand is the Thai BAHT (pronounced - baaht). ATMs are everywhere and usually reliable, most Thai banks now charge a 200 baht fee per withdrawal when you use their ATMs with a foreign card.

Thailand is a very popular and safe place to travel to, but still always use common sense. Depending on the type of hotel, try not to leave credit cards, passports, and other valuables lying around your room when you are not there. Instead use the room safe, or the hotel main safe. If you want to store your cards there while out shopping (shopping is considered a national pastime) you could get a Travel Card before flying in to ease your mind.

Another good reason to get a Prepaid Travel Card is that credit card fraud exists in Thailand, as in any other country.  If you must pay by credit card, don't let your card out of your sight. Watch as its used, and double check the purchase amount and currency, before signing or entering your pin number.

Be prepared to pay more than locals for many tourist attractions have two rates, where there can often be a rate for locals and a larger rate for tourists. Many tourists head to Thailand for its lovely beaches, just know that Thai beaches do not have lifeguards so try to stay in sight on other people, check all the signs, and avoid swimming on deserted beaches. Drink bottled water, its cold and cheap and since it can be hot all the time in Thailand have some on you at all times to avoid dehydration.

How do I travel in Thailand?

Taxis are available everywhere, just when getting in make sure the meter is set to THB 35 to avoid being made to pay extra.Getting around in Tuc-Tuc's is part of the experience but can get annoying as the driver may often try to take you to shops on the way. Just negotiate a fare before jumping in, don't pay until you arrive, and be prepared to jump out and take another one if they go to a shop and refuse to leave until you check it out or buy something.

Trains and buses to get around the country in Thailand can be an experience, but due to the travel times and budget, many recommend flying everywhere. Flights within Thailand are relatively cheap, and it may not be worth spending valuable vacation days traveling by bus or train. By way of example, the train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok is about 12 hours, and the train down to Phuket (close to Phuket, but then you have to take another bus) is another 8 hours, so it will take about 20 to 24 hours of travel time from Chiang Mai to Phuket. Or you can take a 2 hour direct flight on Thai Air Asia for less than $60.

Travel money for Thailand

Save money and time by Ordering your Thai Baht online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the THB cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.

Another popular option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate, but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.

For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to Pay in Thai Baht otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.

Sending money to Thailand

When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Thailand you need to start with finding out the latest Thai Baht exchange rate for foreign-transfers, which can be very different to the wholesale rate.

Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Thailand

When sending money to Thailand it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :

1. Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
2. You specify the local or Thai Baht amount you want to transfer
3. Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
4. Once your funds are received by the provider the converted THB amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Thailand.

Use the above Send to Thai Baht calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Thai Baht deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!