USD MasterCard to Thai saving account

[Davai]

Hello everyone 

 

I would like to check if there is a possibility too transfer funds from my Foreign USD MasterCard to my Kassikorn Bank saving account ?

 

Reason is I want to avoid the ATM withdrawals fees 

Edited December 16, 2017 by Davai

[beachproperty]

Yes you can ...you will avoid ATM fees but you also will incur fees from MC for "cash advance", "currency conversion currency fee" And possibly other fees!

Edited December 16, 2017 by beachproperty

[ubonjoe]

I don't think you could do a direct transfer to your account. You would have to go the bank and get a cash advance from your card and deposit it in your account.

[Davai]

Every month withdraw USD from my foreign debit Mastercard from Thai ATM they charges me 240 Baht per transaction 

 

But when I use card at Big C of retail stores there is only the currency exchange and no ATM charges 

 

I'm goingn to try transferring money to my Thai bank account from my Foreign debit mastercard 

[RichCor]

2 hours ago, Davai said:

is a possibility too transfer funds from my Foreign USD MasterCard to my Kassikorn Bank saving account

I suggest taking a look at opening an account with Schwab. Their Schwab One / Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Debit Card has no foreign transaction fees, and as they have no ATMs of their own they reimburse the fee. 

 

 High Yield Investor Checking account.

1. Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using your Visa debit card wherever it is accepted. ATM fee rebates do not apply to any fees other than those assessed for using an ATM to withdraw cash from your Schwab Bank account. Schwab Bank makes its best effort to identify those ATM fees eligible for rebate, based on information it receives from Visa and ATM operators. In the event that you have not received a rebate for a fee that you believe is eligible, please call a Schwab Bank Client Service Specialist for assistance at 888-403-9000. Schwab Bank reserves the right to modify or discontinue the ATM fee rebate at any time.

4. All ATM fees reimbursed at the end of the month.

5. Limited number of ATM rebates per statement period.

 

[Langsuan Man]

18 hours ago, Davai said:

 

I'm goingn to try transferring money to my Thai bank account from my Foreign debit mastercard 

Try is the operative word here but then again you asked and we told you it can't be done but go ahead and try anyway

[chicowoodduck]

You could be like my neighbor....has his own ATM in his room, no charge for a withdrawl, just reaches under his bed and BINGO....cash in hand....woo, woo...???

[silent]

On 12/16/2017 at 4:47 PM, Davai said:

Every month withdraw USD from my foreign debit Mastercard from Thai ATM they charges me 240 Baht per transaction 

 

But when I use card at Big C of retail stores there is only the currency exchange and no ATM charges 

 

I'm goingn to try transferring money to my Thai bank account from my Foreign debit mastercard 

Word of caution if afterwards consideration is given to purchasing expensive items with MC at Big C to return for cash

 

10 minutes ago, chicowoodduck said:

You could be like my neighbor....has his own ATM in his room, no charge for a withdrawl, just reaches under his bed and BINGO....cash in hand....woo, woo...???

 Where did you say you live?

[david555]

With Skrill.com mastercard you can witdraw to Thai bank after verified as your account...as i did in past times loading skrill prepaid mastercard  by my E.U. bank and witdraw to Kk..but transfer costs & exchange fees..can see/check on their website..skrill.com

[david555]

2 hours ago, silent said:

 

 

 

 Where did you say you live?

And when & where  you drink bar/ gogo/golfing times...??

Edited December 18, 2017 by david555

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

What the OP wants to do certainly can be done, in a manner of speaking.

 

With a U.S. debit card, it's called doing a counter withdrawal at a Thai bank. Walk in, go to the counter, give the teller your U.S. debit card, and ask for a withdrawal of XXXXXX baht against the card.  Then, take the cash and deposit it into the Thai bank account of your choice.  Counter withdrawals in Thailand generally have no ATM fee, though you have to be careful about some banks like SCB will give a lower exchange rate for those kinds of transactions. Also, you need to make sure the amount you're requesting is within the daily/24 hour cash withdrawal limit for your card.

 

There are, however, two limitations to that kind of approach here.

 

1. Some Thai bank branches either won't do that kind of transaction and will direct the person to their ATMs instead, and/or, the bank tellers don't know how to properly run than kind of transaction through their card swiping machines, and it ends up getting denied because they didn't process it correctly.

 

2. For the transaction to be econiomical, you want to make sure that the U.S. debit card you're using doesn't charge a foreign currency conversion fee, or at worst, a 1% FCF. And, you want to make sure your U.S. debit card doesn't charge any counter withdrawal/cash advance fees as well. Unlike credit cards that do typicically charge those fees, U.S. debit cards generally don't have them. But you always have to make sure, because there are a few debit cards that do.

 

[Davai]

I have found a solution,  I convert my USD money from my foreign mastercard and visa to Bitcoins. Once I have it in my wallet I then withdraw it locally in Thailand with my neighbour :) or someone who wants bitcoins 

[JimGant]

Quote

I'm going to try transferring money to my Thai bank account from my Foreign debit mastercard 

Easy. Just use TransferWise. You can use your debit card, bank account, or credit card as the source of funds (the latter, however, has some hefty extra fees).

 

I tried this the other day, out of curiosity -- plus they give you a freebie for the first $1000 transferred. Gave them my debit card data (easier to cancel if hacked, vice giving bank account data), amount to transfer, and my Bangkok Bank account number. Enter. Email an hour later said money was in their Wells Fargo account in California. A day (25 hours) later, the money was in my Bangkok Bank account, using the guaranteed interbank rate they quoted me (which was, as normal, higher than either the TT or Visa rates). Absolutely no fees either end (again, this was a freebie, so next time I'll be charged a front end fee of 1%, plus 2$ -- but no back end fee, normally 200-500 baht).

 

Had the money not reached Wells Fargo in 24 hours (it took 2), then the guaranteed rate would have shifted to the current interbank (mid) rate -- probably a slim scenario (and maybe fortuitous, depending on direction of dollar......)

 

In my experience, most debit/ATM cards still charge at least a 1% foreign transaction fee (FTF). A few, like Schwab, don't -- and this, along with ATM fee reimbursement, make that option the best way to get your money to Thailand (at least for smaller amounts, unless you like hitting the ATM machine 15 times plus per session). Some of these banks, like USAA, no longer charge an FTF on credit card purchases -- but have maintained their 1% on debit/ATM transactions. This is my situation with USAA.

 

But your debit card action (as was mine) with TransferWise is the same as a domestic transaction, whereby your debited money ends up in their Wells Fargo account -- but with no 1% FTF. But, as they then charge you 1% to "send" this money to your Thai bank account, it turns out to be a wash -- with the added attraction that you have a better exchange rate (Interbank) than with an ATM transaction, plus no 220 baht ATM fee. Thus, if you need a few thousand bucks in baht -- and can wait a day or two -- use TransferWise. Otherwise, if time challenged, pay the premium for plugging that debit/ATM card into a Thai ATM machine.

 

As said, getting a Schwab debit/ATM card is the best way to get walking around money in Thailand (we're talking Yanks, of course). Larger amounts are probably best dealt with via ACH thru Bangkok Bank New York, as their fixed rates, particularly with very large sums, approximate Schwab rates (with no multiple hits required at the ATM machine -- although a counter transaction, if allowed, could alleviate this). And, if the dollar is north when you send that large amount, serendipity (but if south....oh well).

 

TransferWise, because of its percentage vice fixed rate structure, doesn't work out for large sums. But, per the OP, it's fine for smaller sums, particularly if your bank is not Bangkok Bank. And, as said, if you don't have a debit card, you can use TransferWise with a credit card -- for an extra charge. But, since you do probably have a home bank account with which to attach your TransferWise exchange with, going the credit card route doesn't sound too good.

Edited December 21, 2017 by JimGant