ATM withdrawal fees both at home and Thailand

[smedly]

Have not made an ATM withdrawal for a very long time but found out the hard way recently and it was shocking (UK Nationwide)

(Max ATM withdrawal limit from home bank 500 sterling)

 

Usage of the ATM in Thailand 225baht (about 6 pounds sterling)

 

Foreign transaction fee on home bank account 10 pounds sterling

 

so one ATM withdrawal costs near enough 16 pounds sterling - that is <deleted> shocking

 

won't be doing that again ?

 

 

[BEVUP]

I have a BB account but if I was to use my Assie card then this would be how it looks

 

1 - $1000 limit

 

2 - 225 bht Thai side = $ 10

 

3 - Transaction fee on Auss side ( A while back but sure it was $30 )  = 700 bht 

 

So roughly $40 from Aussies Gov bank 

[dabhand]

For UK cards have found the Halifax Clarity card to be more economic, but can be difficult to obtain if based outside UK. If used at ATMs only get charged the Bt220 fee (or Bt150 at AEON machines). No fx fees. Don't know if they can be used at bank counters to avoid the Bt220 fee, but may also be subject to a local bank fee for such a service.

 

Best bet, though, has to be  Transferwise direct to a local Thai bank. Many topics on the subject.

[smedly]

22 minutes ago, dabhand said:

For UK cards have found the Halifax Clarity card to be more economic, but can be difficult to obtain if based outside UK. If used at ATMs only get charged the Bt220 fee (or Bt150 at AEON machines). No fx fees. Don't know if they can be used at bank counters to avoid the Bt220 fee, but may also be subject to a local bank fee for such a service.

 

Best bet, though, has to be  Transferwise direct to a local Thai bank. Many topics on the subject.

Yes, like I said haven't used ATM for years, just shocked at the charges, my passport is being renewed right now which is why I was unable to withdraw transferred funds from Bank, I have over 1mill in Thai bank

[johng]

If you can find one apparently Bank of China ATM's are the only one left in Thailand that dont charge the transaction fee.

[dundas]

I cannot avoid the Thai Bank's ATM charge, but I do avoid the foreign ATM charge that my main Australian bank would add on if they could. I use an Australian Citibank transaction card which has no forex charges on foreign ATM withdrawals. And I always make sure the withdrawal is in Thai Baht, and not in my home currency. I have another card I use for purchases, which is also free of forex charges. More recently, I've started bringing cash to Thailand, exchanging it at the best possible rate after I arrive (ie, not at the airport), and then banking the proceeds into a local Thai bank account. 

[Pib]

The fees should not have been a shock as the foreign transaction fee of around 2% charged by Nationwide is clearly posted on their website and the Bt220 fee charged by Thai ATMs always appears on the ATM screen which a person must accept to continue the transaction. 

 

I"m not saying the fees are not high; I'm just saying the fees shouldn't have been a shock...a surprise.  

 

 

 

 

[luckyluke]

"ie, notat the airport"

 

Exchange boths at the lowest level of Suvarnabhumi, are among the best of the country.

[mekko]

7 hours ago, johng said:

If you can find one apparently Bank of China ATM's are the only one left in Thailand that dont charge the transaction fee.

Where does one exist? 

[mekko]

8 hours ago, dabhand said:

For UK cards have found the Halifax Clarity card to be more economic, but can be difficult to obtain if based outside UK. If used at ATMs only get charged the Bt220 fee (or Bt150 at AEON machines). No fx fees. Don't know if they can be used at bank counters to avoid the Bt220 fee, but may also be subject to a local bank fee for such a service.

 

Best bet, though, has to be  Transferwise direct to a local Thai bank. Many topics on the subject.

On clarity, you get charged interest from day 1 on atm withdrawls, so you have prepay the credit card to cover the amount, in addition I believe the payments go toward the least interest first, so it would wipe out 56day interest free period if you had other purchases on it. 

Transferwise to local bank is hard to beat. 

 

At least Thailand is winning at 1 thing - The most expensive ATM machines in the world! (aside from a tiny tiny few private run machines at niche festival events in the US ) - a great advertisement for TAT

Edited June 7, 2018 by mekko

[topt]

8 hours ago, smedly said:

my passport is being renewed right now which is why I was unable to withdraw transferred funds from Bank

No Thai ATM card at all?

[dabhand]

16 minutes ago, mekko said:

On clarity, you get charged interest from day 1 on atm withdrawls, so you have prepay the credit card to cover the amount, in addition I believe the payments go toward the least interest first, so it would wipe out 56day interest free period if you had other purchases on it. 

Transferwise to local bank is hard to beat. 

 

At least Thailand is winning at 1 thing - The most expensive ATM machines in the world! (aside from a tiny tiny few private run machines at niche festival events in the US ) - a great advertisement for TAT

No, clarity card payments go against balances charged at the highest interest rate first.

So if you do have other purchases on the card, rather than prepay, a payment a day or two after you have taken the cash will ensure the payment is offset correctly. If any misallocation, easy enough to check the statement and raise a complaint.

I tend not to use my clarity card for other purchases - have other UK cards for that. Easy, then, to keep it free for overseas cash withdrawals and is especially useful in non UK locations other than Thailand, if no other access to local cash.

 

Useful if funds are needed on an immediate basis but, as stated, Transferwise is the way to go in Thailand.

[smedly]

7 hours ago, topt said:

No Thai ATM card at all?

shit never thought of  that 

[topt]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

shit never thought of  that 

Was a genuine question as one of my accounts does not have one but some people may be even more paranoid...........

[theusedversion]

Not the UK but in the US you can get a Charles Schwab account that refunds all foreign ATM fees at the end of the month and no foreign currency exchange fee. No fees or limits on the account. Recommended for anyone that travels. I'm sure there's something similar in the UK if you look around.

[suzannegoh]

2 minutes ago, theusedversion said:

Not the UK but in the US you can get a Charles Schwab account that refunds all foreign ATM fees at the end of the month and no foreign currency exchange fee. No fees or limits on the account. Recommended for anyone that travels. I'm sure there's something similar in the UK if you look around.

Yes, for Americans that is a good option - it's generally the cheapest way to bring money into Thailand. Fidelity has a similar deal.  It doesn't sound as though Europeans have similar options though.

[1FinickyOne]

Sure, they should build & buy the machines, keep them stocked and maintained daily so you can have funds 24/7 wherever you are - -  - and then they need a complaint department to deal with your issues of susing the service and not asking how much first... 

[wump]

1 hour ago, suzannegoh said:

Yes, for Americans that is a good option - it's generally the cheapest way to bring money into Thailand. Fidelity has a similar deal.  It doesn't sound as though Europeans have similar options though.

Plenty of foreign transaction fee free banks in Germany. You just pay the 220 Baht. There is still one bank refunding them which cannot be named.

[4MyEgo]

On 6/7/2018 at 4:11 PM, smedly said:

Yes, like I said haven't used ATM for years, just shocked at the charges, my passport is being renewed right now which is why I was unable to withdraw transferred funds from Bank, I have over 1mill in Thai bank

Perhaps you go in and see the bank where you have your mil and get an ATM card, just enquire as to the annual fee, usually 300 baht and costs to withdraw outside your Amphur, usually 25 baht per transaction or deposit, silly rules, and stores do charge you for buying their product with your debit card (your own money).

 

If you have an ING Bank in your country, ING doesn't charge international or ATM fees, local or international if you deposit $1,000 a month from an external account and make 5 transactions in a calendar month, i.e. they will reimburse you the charges, a little tricky though as you have to have the $1,000 and the 5 transactions done the month before to get the reimbursement in the month you are making the withdrawal.

[GeKoSc]

Hi fellows you should change your banks........My ATM cost is = 0 because my bank in the USA does not charge any ATM cost and instead pays me back the local ATM fee....

[hawksway]

Nationwide's ATM fees only apply to those who do not have their "Plus" account. If you are living abroad, make sure to ask them to send you Terms and Conditions

[james1995]

I have a Fidelity atm that refunds ALL fees.  It is a wonderful little card.  I get a better conversion rate than crisp $100 bills.

[smedly]

5 hours ago, hawksway said:

Nationwide's ATM fees only apply to those who do not have their "Plus" account. If you are living abroad, make sure to ask them to send you Terms and Conditions

without looking into it but I assume the account you are talking about has a fee

 

going back to my OP, I have not used my UK ATM card here for a very long time, and I will be avoiding it for a very long time, I have funds here in Thailand that I cannot use because my passport is under renewal, I was just sharing my recent experience using a UK ATM card here - 16 quid is shocking, I am sure there are many here on pensions paying similar amounts  on their monthly transfers - getting seriously shafted  

 

My point was ……………………….well read my OP

 

IMO they are taking the piss, I do transfers here twice a year of about 10k sterling through Bangkok bank in London and that works great, I would not like to be relying on a UK ATM card with those sort of charges

 

anyway my point was made

[smedly]

10 hours ago, kenk24 said:

Sure, they should build & buy the machines, keep them stocked and maintained daily so you can have funds 24/7 wherever you are - -  - and then they need a complaint department to deal with your issues of susing the service and not asking how much first... 

I have a large amount of money invested in both my UK bank and my Thailand bank, you are obviously happy to pay the fees - I am old enough to remember when banks offered incentives for your business (money) - I can even go back far enough to when I was paid in cash...…...wouldn't that really (deleted) them up if people decided (which is their right) to be paid in cash - that would be interesting, I am surprised it didn't happen in 2008 but then nobody was calling for that option......but they should have been

[smedly]

10 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Perhaps you go in and see the bank where you have your mil and get an ATM card

don't want ATM card, thefts from bank accounts in Thailand have been generally associated with "Thai" ATM cards, if you don't have one then ………………….

 

we generally trust banks in the west to be secure, if you think Thailand banks and their employees especially in IT can be trusted then …… up to you

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

I have a large amount of money invested in both my UK bank and my Thailand bank, you are obviously happy to pay the fees - I am old enough to remember when banks offered incentives for your business (money) - I can even go back far enough to when I was paid in cash...…...wouldn't that really (deleted) them up if people decided (which is their right) to be paid in cash - that would be interesting, I am surprised it didn't happen in 2008 but then nobody was calling for that option......but they should have been

and yes, I am old enough too to remember being here when it took 2 months to get a letter - there was no email etc and phone was expensive - there was not cash available everywhere you went through a hole in the wall... we used traveler checks which were far less convenient... and had a price too... convenience costs and yes, people pay for it having decided it was worthwhile... 

[owenm]

With any international card you are charged currently 220bt for an ATM withdrawal in Thailand through any bank. With my Australian Virgin Global Rewards multi currency card I'm charged $1.95 for the Australian fee, and can have the AU$ moved on the card to one of 10 currencies including the Thai bt. If you take out $AU1000 (23,000bt) in one withdrawal transaction works out at 1% total fee.. But if you withdraw small amounts can be expensive at up to 10% in fees. Bangkok Bank enables withdrawal of 25k bt, some other banks 20-30k.. But at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports sometimes their max withdrawal is 10-15k on foreign card, but still with the 220bt fee. Expensive.. Withdraw max 25-30k and economical, but small amounts can be very expensive.. 

[rickudon]

The fees the OP was charged are actually pretty typical for a normal UK debit card. Many are indeed higher! If you do ever intend using a card outside of the UK you should always research the best one for you (easy to do, site like money saving expert have best foreign use cards listed). A card like the Clarity card is very good and competitive against any other way of transfering money unless you are transferring thousands of GBP (But need to payoff card promptly).

 

Interbank transfers are also usually expensive. Up to 20 GBP a go, receiving bank fee and a lacklustre exchange rate. Need to transfer a lot to be worthwhile, not a sensible way of getting your monthly income. I make a couple of ATM withdrawals a month on Clarity and the better exchange rate pays for the ATM fee.

 

But of course it is like the predator/prey relationship, if the bank doesn't get there pound of flesh because we find a way of avoiding fees, be assured they will find a way of making up for it. 

[CanuckThai]

My Canadian account (ATM card) has no withdrawal fees foreign or domestic.  If I have to use my canuck card, I get stung with the instant +/-220 baht at a Thai ATM, but nothing else.

[GeKoSc]

On 6/10/2018 at 2:55 AM, smedly said:

without looking into it but I assume the account you are talking about has a fee

 

going back to my OP, I have not used my UK ATM card here for a very long time, and I will be avoiding it for a very long time, I have funds here in Thailand that I cannot use because my passport is under renewal, I was just sharing my recent experience using a UK ATM card here - 16 quid is shocking, I am sure there are many here on pensions paying similar amounts  on their monthly transfers - getting seriously shafted  

 

My point was ……………………….well read my OP

 

IMO they are taking the piss, I do transfers here twice a year of about 10k sterling through Bangkok bank in London and that works great, I would not like to be relying on a UK ATM card with those sort of charges

 

anyway my point was made

My account in the USA is with a Discount Broker and has no fees neither I have to pay a credit card fee. Of course this benefits are only if you have a considerable deposit in your account...