The short answer

Inside Thailand, transfers are free in bank apps and by PromptPay. Money arriving from South Africa costs your South African bank's fee — R175 flat at Capitec, a percentage plus a SWIFT fee at the big banks — and usually 0.25% at the Thai end, between ฿200 and ฿500. Sending money home costs from about ฿300 in a Thai bank app, plus a receiving fee at your South African bank.

The fee that matters most is the one that isn't called a fee: the exchange rate. A bank that converts your rand 3% below the mid-market rate takes R300 of every R10,000 — far more than any Thai bank charge. For larger sums, an FX specialist such as Vita Capital usually costs a fraction of that.

Every kind of transfer, and what it costs

The ways money moves for most South Africans in Thailand, and the typical cost of each in 2026.

South African fees from Capitec (from 1 March 2026), Standard Bank (Forex Pricing Guide 2026) and Absa (Wise ZA, September 2026); Thai fees from Bangkok Bank, SCB and Krungsri published tariffs. At ฿2.04 = R1. Fees vary by bank and change — check the current tariff before a large transfer.

Moving money within Thailand: free, with limits

Thai banks stopped charging for transfers through their apps and internet banking in 2018, and PromptPay — the national instant-payment system — made it possible to send money to a phone number or ID number at any bank. Today it's simply how Thailand pays: rent, school fees, a plumber, a dinner bill split between friends.

• App transfers are free between accounts at any Thai bank, and arrive in seconds, day or night.
• PromptPay and Thai QR payments are free for customers paying shops, landlords and each other.
• Branch transfers can cost a little — counter transfers to another bank, cashier's cheques and some ATM transfers carry small fees.
• Bill payments are usually free in the app; paying at 7-Eleven costs a small service fee.
• Daily limits apply. Each bank sets limits on app transfers, which you can usually raise — with a face scan.

The catch for foreigners is the security checks the Bank of Thailand has rolled out against scams. At SCB, for example, from 20 June 2026 foreign customers are asked for face recognition on transfers of ฿50,000 or more, each time daily transfers reach ฿200,000, when installing the app on a new phone and when raising transfer limits. If your face isn't registered, you'll need to visit a branch with your passport and passbook before you can move larger sums — so do it before you need to pay a deposit or a car.

What South African banks charge to send

Published fees for an international payment made online or in the app. The exchange-rate margin comes on top.

Capitec bank charges (from 1 March 2026); Standard Bank Forex Pricing Guide 2026 (effective 1 January 2026); Absa as summarised by Wise (30 September 2026). Branch fees are higher.

What Thai banks charge to receive money from abroad

When an international SWIFT transfer arrives, the Thai bank deducts a fee before crediting your account. The structure is similar across the major banks: a percentage, with a minimum and a cap.

Bangkok Bank, SCB SWIFT inward page and Krungsri individual remittance tariff effective 1 July 2026. At ฿2.04 = R1.

How the fees add up on small and large transfers

Because of fixed fees, minimums and caps, the fees hit small transfers hardest and barely register on large ones.

That's why lots of small transfers are the costliest way to move money into Thailand. Send once a month rather than every week, and for spending money while you visit, a low-fee South African card at a Thai ATM may cost less than a transfer.

Three other Thai charges are worth knowing about:

• Re-transfers. If money arrives at one Thai bank and is passed on to another, there can be an extra fee.
• Enquiries and corrections. If a transfer is stuck or the details are wrong, tracing or amending it costs money — Krungsri lists ฿500 (about R245) per case. Getting the name, account number and SWIFT code right first time avoids it.
• Foreign-currency accounts. Money credited to a foreign-currency deposit (FCD) account avoids conversion on arrival, but withdrawals from it can carry a commission — and Thai FCD accounts don't hold rand.

Our guide to what to do when an international transfer is delayed explains how to trace a payment without paying for more enquiries than you need.

The hidden fee: the exchange rate

Every time rand becomes baht, someone sets the rate. The mid-market rate — the one on Google and Reuters — is the midpoint between buying and selling prices on the currency markets. Banks convert at their own rate, and the gap is a charge, even when the transfer is advertised with a low fee.

South African banks don't publish their margins on international payments, so the only way to see the cost is to compare the baht that will arrive with the mid-market amount. On R10,000, every 1% is R100; on a ฿800,000 visa deposit (about R392,000), every 1% is nearly R4,000.

The other question is how the money is converted:

SHA, OUR and BEN: who pays the charges

Every SWIFT transfer has a charging option, often hidden in a drop-down menu. It decides who pays the fees along the way:

Sending from Thailand, "OUR" costs real money: Bangkok Bank's app charges ฿1,050 (about R515) with the overseas charges included, against ฿300 (about R147) without, and Krungsri's tariff adds an extra "Charge Our" fee. Even then, Thai banks warn that some foreign banks may still deduct a fee.

The cheapest ways to move money between South Africa and Thailand

For larger sums, get a specialist quote; for regular smaller transfers, a flat-fee bank keeps the cost down; and at the Thai end, two banks used to receiving money from abroad.

Sending money home to South Africa

Sooner or later most South Africans need to send money the other way: to family, to pay a South African bill or bond, or to move savings home. Thailand has exchange controls, so the rules are a little stricter than you might expect, but for ordinary purposes it's straightforward.

Bangkok Bank lets foreigners send money abroad from its mobile app without applying in advance or registering the recipient. Permitted purposes for foreigners include repatriating income, education, travel, personal use, goods, services and gifts, and the bank says no supporting documents are needed to declare the purpose — though it may ask for more information. The fee is ฿300 per transfer (normally ฿400) if you pay only Bangkok Bank's charge, or ฿1,050 (normally ฿1,150) to cover the foreign bank's fees too. Transfers run from 08:30 to 17:00 on business days, up to ฿2,000,000 a day.

Krungsri's tariff from 1 July 2026 lists ฿350 per outward transfer through its app or online banking and ฿500 at the counter, with separate SWIFT and "Charge Our" fees and a ฿500 charge for amendments or cancellations.

At the South African end, your bank charges to receive the payment — R100 flat at Capitec; 0.5% (minimum R165, maximum R622) plus R143 online at Standard Bank — and will ask you to make a Balance of Payments declaration before crediting it. Give the sender your account number and your bank's SWIFT code (Capitec's is CABLZAJJ) — South African banks don't use IBANs — and your name exactly as on your ID.

The cost of sending ฿50,000 home

About R24,500 — a typical one-off transfer home. Bank fees at both ends; the exchange-rate margin comes on top.

Bangkok Bank international funds transfer via mobile banking; Krungsri individual remittance tariff effective 1 July 2026; Capitec bank charges (from 1 March 2026); Standard Bank Forex Pricing Guide 2026 (online inward fees). At ฿2.04 = R1.

Large transfers: allowances, property, visas and the FET form

For a condo purchase, a retirement-visa deposit or a big move of savings, the percentages matter less and the paperwork matters more.

1. Check your allowance. Up to R2 million a calendar year can go abroad under the single discretionary allowance; above that, you need SARS approval first.
2. Tell your Thai bank before the money leaves. Ask what rate it will apply to foreign currency on arrival and what it needs from you.
3. Send in the right form. For a condo, the money must arrive from abroad in foreign currency — check with your lawyer and the bank how they need it sent.
4. State the purpose clearly at both ends — the reason you choose in your South African app, and a reference such as "purchase of condominium unit".
5. Expect questions from USD 50,000. SCB asks for supporting documents and a Foreign Currency Transaction Form on inward transfers from USD 50,000 or equivalent.
6. Ask for the FET form or credit advice. It proves the money came from abroad — essential for registering a condo and useful if you ever send the money home.
7. Get a quote. On R1 million, a 1% better rate is R10,000.

Our guide to Thai bank accounts for property buyers covers the condo rules and SARS approval in detail, and Thai bank accounts for retirees explains how to move a visa deposit.

Four real-life examples

All examples are illustrations at ฿2.04 = R1 on 22 October 2026. Your bank's exact fees and rate on the day will differ.

Nine ways to pay less

• Compare the baht that arrive, not the fee. It's the only number that captures the rate.
• Use a flat-fee bank for regular transfers — R175 at Capitec beats a percentage on most amounts.
• Get a specialist quote for anything large: deposits, property, lump sums.
• Send fewer, larger transfers so fixed fees and minimums are spread over more money.
• Get the details right first time — name exactly as on the account, account number and SWIFT code. Corrections cost ฿500 at some banks.
• Use the app, not the counter, at both ends.
• Choose SHA unless you need an exact amount — "OUR" can cost three times as much from Thailand.
• Keep money in baht for spending in Thailand so you're not converting back and forth.
• Register your face at the branch so large transfers don't get stuck behind security checks.

One other cost is worth planning for: if you're tax resident in Thailand, foreign income you bring into the country may be taxable under the rules in force since 2024 — and SARS may have its own view. It doesn't change the transfer fee, but it can change how and when you move money; worth discussing before you set up regular transfers.

Protecting the money once it's here

Once your money is in Thailand, the bigger risks are scams and the unexpected. Scammers posing as bank staff, police or couriers target foreigners, and a few minutes' pressure can empty an account that free instant transfers make easy to drain. Never move money because someone on the phone tells you to, never share an OTP, and never install an app a caller sends you. Our guide to protecting yourself from payment scams covers the warning signs.

The unexpected is usually a hospital bill. Treatment at Thailand's private hospitals is excellent but not cheap, South African medical aid generally doesn't cover you here, and wiring money from home in a hurry is the most expensive way to pay. Good health or travel insurance means the money question is settled before the emergency.

How we researched this guide

We took the South African fees from the banks' own published pages — Capitec's bank charges (from 1 March 2026) and Standard Bank's Forex Pricing Guide 2026 — and Wise's September 2026 summary of Absa's fees; the Thai receiving and sending fees from Bangkok Bank's mobile international transfer page, SCB's SWIFT inward page and Krungsri's individual remittance tariff effective 1 July 2026; and SCB's face recognition rules from its published page. Fees change, and banks run promotions; always check the current tariff before a large transfer. Checked 22 October 2026. This guide is general information, not financial advice.