The more money you bring with you when you come to "Fun City" the more fun you will have.

There is no restriction to the amount of foreign currency visitors can bring into Thailand and take out of the country. But there is restriction on the amount of cash money you can bring into Thailand. Currently it is $10,000.

Do NOT change your currency to Thai baht before you depart your country. You will find a more competitive exchange rate here in Thailand. As soon as you enter the arrival lounge at the Bangkok airport you will be able to cash in your travelers cheques or cash at the Money Exchanger counter. You will also get a good exchange rate at the money changers in Pattaya.

Cheap secure way to transfer money overseas.

Thai Currency

The monetary unit in Thailand is the Baht. A baht is divided into 100 satang. The following Thai coins and notes are currently in use:

Thai Coins:

25 satang

50 satang

1 Baht

2 Baht

5 Baht

10 Baht

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Thai Bank Notes:

The Thai bank notes are visually recognizable by their color and width as follows; 1,000 baht (gray), 100 baht (red), 500 baht (purple), 50 baht (blue), and 20 baht (green). All notes are the same height(73 mm) allowing them to fit snugly into most wallets. They vary in width.

Pass your mouse pointer over the bank notes above to view the other side of each note. Notice each Thai bank note has an image of the King of Thailand.

Major foreign currencies can be exchanged for Thai baht with banks and authorized money changers. Please note that Northern Ireland and Scottish bank notes can not be exchanged.

Exchange Rates:

The Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank list exchange rates and update them several times each day except the weekends. Click on a banner below to go to one of the banks and view the current exchange rate.

Pattaya Bar Girls Report will direct you to the two exchange services which give the best known exchange rates in Pattaya. There is a limit to the amount of Thai baht that can be taken out of Thailand without prior approval from the Bank of Thailand. The current limit is 50,000 baht.

Credit Cards

Major credit cards are also widely accepted in Pattaya. The most popular credit card in the retail market is Visa. Some small establishments do not accept American Express especially Petrol Stations. If smaller Thai shops do accept American Express credit cards then they will usually want to add a service charge of around 3% to your transaction. Most Caltex service stations accept American Express. I have both Visa and American Express. It pays to have a back up.

Credit Card Fraud in Thailand

Credit card fraud is still alive and ripping in Thailand I know, having been a victim two times in the last three years. Usually the data is electronically stolen while you are making a transaction. A few days later your card account could show transactions for a few thousand pounds at Harrods in London or some other destination around the globe. In my case my Visa card was attacked.

The fraud squad from my bank were efficient. The card was cancelled for "unusual behavior" the same day as the transactions appeared. (I haven't been to Harrods since 1978. Even then I spent only thirty pounds). A new credit card was delivered to me in Pattaya by courier. It took just three days. A week or so later I filled in a form and faxed it to the fraud squad. My account was credited the following month.

Sometimes it is impossible to control the need for an extra 2,000 baht in Pattaya late at night, but it is safe policy to make your Pattaya ATM withdrawals during banking hours, at a machine attached to a Bank.

This way, if there is a problem, for example, the machine gets hungry and eats your card, then you can walk right into the bank and seek assistance. Remember do not display any anger.

The end of the month is pay day for most Thais and you will see lines of people at the hole in the wall. There are more than 60 million people in Thailand. Some ATM machines just run out of money. Read 115 more tips in

Buy Thai Money from Best Exchange Service in Pattaya

When you need to buy Thai money in Pattaya you will find an abundance of banks and money exchange booths along Beach Road and Second Road from South Pattaya, including Walking Street, all the way to Na Kluea. That stretch of road is about six kilometers long.

To get the best exchange rate in Pattaya you could just take a walk along any of the above mentioned roads until you are satisfied you have found the best selling price for Thai Baht. But save your feet and just do a little bit of walking because the money exchange service that I am about to recommend is quite well represented in most areas of Pattaya meaning South Pattaya, Central Pattaya, North Pattaya and Na Kluea.

The name of the best money exchange service where you will get the best exchange rate is "T.T. Currency Exchange". The service is usually housed in a bright orange coloured booth about three meters square with the money buying rates clearly displayed on cardboard cards stuck to the glass windows of the booth. There are several "T.T. Currency Exchange" booths along Beach Road and Second Road.

Currency Rate Display Signs.

For a person with normal eyesight these display cards are easy to read from a distance of around 10 to 15 meters. For example the money rates can easily be read as you drive by in a car, travel past in a Baht bus taxi or even as a passenger on the back of a motorbike taxi. There may be slight variances with the latter depending on the driver's riding habit. You know; up the side walk, down the steps over the median strip and back along the gutter.

The currency rate signs have an orange band across the top with the abbreviation for the currency's country of origin printed in black romanised upper case letters. Usually there are three letters such as "AUD" for Australian dollar, "RUB" for Russian ruble, "GBP" for pound sterling, CNY for Chinese Yuan and "USD" for American dollars. Sorry if you don't see your country's currency here but there is just not enough page space to reference all of them. Below the country name is the rate of exchange printed in black on a white background.

Some of the other exchange rate service booths are not as diligent about making it easy for the customer to see what their offer is. The signs are smaller and some just have a rack inside the booth which the customer cannot really read until he/she is a meter or so from the booth.

Cheap secure way to transfer money overseas.

Next Best Money Exchange Rate in Pattaya

To get a quick comparison of Thai money exchange rates you could call this telephone number 038 420 079 and ask what the exchange rate is to buy Thai money. That is the phone number of a company called "Bank Gold" located in a soi off South Pattaya Road about eighty meters inland from Third Road and South Pattaya Road intersection. The soi is the entrance to Rungland Village and there is a large Rungland Village sign at the entrance to the soi.

Another obvious landmark for this soi is The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) building located across South Pattaya Road directly opposite. The shop is approximately 30 meters inside the soi on the left as you enter from South Pattaya Road.

"Bank Gold" has been in the money exchange business for many years. If you are nearby you could visit "Bank Gold" and buy your Thai Baht there. Usually this service offers the second best rate for buying Thai money. Their rate might be around 0.02 less than "T.T. Currency Exchange" which doesn't amount to much when you are buying small amounts of Thai Baht. "Bank Gold" shop front is painted red. Above the entrance is the storefront sign "Bank Gold" printed in three dimensional gold letters about 80 center meters high.

General banking hours in Thailand are Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Links to 18 Thai Banks