For many travelers to Bangkok, Thailand, one of the first questions they have when they arrive is which bank has the best exchange rates for exchanging currencies.
We can help with that.
After a decade of living in Thailand, and exchanging dollars for baht at various banks around Bangkok, the only bank I use to exchange currency through now is Siam Commercial Bank (SCB).
Consistently offering the highest exchange rate, if you are bringing a large amount of cash into Thailand, you will often get more for your money at Siam Commercial.
Why you should shop around for the best Thailand exchange rates
First of all, never buy Thai baht outside Thailand and bring it with you. Not unless you want a very poor exchange rate.
Look at today’s exchange rates, for instance.
While Bangkok Bank is offering 30.07 per dollar, and Krung Thai only paying 29.56 baht per dollar, Siam Commercial is offering 30.27.
While that might not seem like much, if you’re bringing through $1,000 via ATM, you’ll get 30,070 baht from Bangkok Bank, only 29,560 baht from Krung Thai, but 30,270 from Siam Commercial.
The difference between Bangkok Bank’s rate and Siam Commercial’s is 200 baht. In Bangkok, that can buy you a lunch and a beer, depending on where you eat.
The difference between Krung Thai’s advertised rate and Siam Commercial’s is 710 baht, or………lunch, a beer, a taxi ride home and, depending on what you buy, one day’s worth of grocery shopping.
Getting the best rate at a bank in Bangkok then gives you a lot more buying power.
While, of course, you should check every bank’s exchange rates before committing, we recommend Siam Commercial Bank for consistently having the highest exchange rates in Bangkok.
If you want the absolute best rate for money exchange, however, you can get that by heading to a money exchange booth instead.
In most cases, we recommend SuperRich — and no, we don’t earn any kind of commission from them, we have just used them for years and have always been happy with the result.
