New Bangkok Bank Debit Card

[siamcrut]

I’m planing a round trip in Europe in October and I am curious, if the new debit card from Bangkok Bank does work on ATM in Germany, Austria and Italy?

The old one did. Now they do use China Union pay, are they compatible in Europe?

I’m NOT talking about credit cards (Visa or Master card)! So far I didn’t get a straightforward answer from any of the girls sitting behind the counter...

Any useful info or recent personal experience!

Thank you!

 

[Oxx]

No chance.  Useless even within Thailand.

 

Change bank.

[siamcrut]

Thanks m8!
But what I can’t understand is what are those 1000 Chinese tourists do when they travel to Europe?

[siamcrut]

Useless in Thailand? Why?
I use them at Shell, Ptt, Central, Homepro aso. But I have to put the PIN myself in.

[HampiK]

Outside of Asia I found in US a few places mainly Vegas where Union pay already accepted. In Europe I never saw an UnionPay sign.

 

I would guess in a few years it's maybe good usable in Europe too.. but at the moment hmmmmmmmm

[Oxx]

5 minutes ago, siamcrut said:

Useless in Thailand? Why?

 

Discussed elsewhere on this site extensively.  See 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=site%3Awww.thaivisa.com%2Fforum%2F+bangkok+bank+visa+debit+union+pay&oq=site%3Awww.thaivisa.com%2Fforum%2F+bangkok+bank+visa+debit+union+pay&

[siamcrut]

Ok thank you for the link. What I still don’t understand today is, what’s the goal of the company to make a decision like that.

Maybe the Chinese are the majority shareholder of Bangkok Bank now?

...anyway.

 

[Oxx]

I don't think the Chinese are majority shareholders (for list of major shareholders see https://www.set.or.th/set/companyholder.do?symbol=BBL&ssoPageId=6&language=en&country=US ).

 

However, it is basically run by a Thai-Chinese family, the Sophonpanichs, which might explain the pro-Chinese leaning.

[Jimbo]

I saw signs all over Prague recently advertising union Pay


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[helloagain]

Go and ask your bank or phone and ask for gods sake. Yellow bank krungsri works in uk

[streetlite]

Can't even use this card for online purchases.

[4MyEgo]

I don't understand why you don't ask for a visa debit card, its money used from your account and you can use it overseas and make online purchasers, but it has to have the visa logo on it, not that I have one from Krungsi as they are out of my local town and I don't want to pay ATM charges when using their out of town ATM machines.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2018 by 4MyEgo

[Kerryd]

I was looking into the Interac network the other day and was surprised to see that they are apparently partnered with "UnionPay" so my Bangkok Bank ATM card should be usable in Canada at least and I've had no problem using it anywhere in Thailand (but haven't trued using it outside of the country yet). My old Bangkok Bank card used to work almost everywhere.
This site tells you the different countries you should be able to use the "UnionPay" ATM card in (as long as the ATM machine has the same "UnionPay" symbol on it as is on your card).

http://www.unionpayintl.com/en/serviceCenter/cardUsingInstructions/813.shtml

Edited August 22, 2018 by Kerryd

[PETERTHEEATER]

I just returned from Europe and was (at last!) successful in getting money from a BARCLAYS BANK ATM. No other ATM of any bank including those in main tourist areas even those showing the 'Linked-i' logo would dispense cash.

 

For POS transactions, I never tried.

 

In a run-down backstreet in Naples outside a worn-out branch of the Bank of Nowhere the dusty ATM happily gave me cash! Bangkok Bank foreign ATM withdrawals appear as 100 ThB per transaction.

[55Jay]

A lot of feedback on this card suggests it is Hit or Miss. 

 

Probably a prudent move to get something more reliable before you go, unless you have other card options in your wallet already.

[jgarbo]

21 hours ago, Oxx said:

No chance.  Useless even within Thailand.

 

Change bank.

My new BBL Debit card worked everywhere, so far. BBL dropped VISA due to high fees. Haven't been to Europe lately but a quick search should help. Ain't the internet wunnerful...

http://www.unionpayintl.com/en/mediaCenter/newsCenter/companyNews/1673.shtml

[yardrunner]

I am off to the UK in a month and had the same Query and as i still have an account with Santander UK i rang them and their answer, they will work at Santander ATM's in the UK but you could have a problem finding a merchant that will accept them so would expect them to work in other bank's ATM's

[phutoie2]

19 minutes ago, jgarbo said:

My new BBL Debit card worked everywhere, so far. BBL dropped VISA due to high fees. Haven't been to Europe lately but a quick search should help. Ain't the internet wunnerful...

http://www.unionpayintl.com/en/mediaCenter/newsCenter/companyNews/1673.shtml

Doesn't work with Lazada, booking.com,  and linking your Line account . A garage I use locally does now have UP signs displayed,  every time I ask, get the standard "cannot".  "Maybe tomorrow my friend",   to use a good Greek saying.

[Lola Bear]

No will not work . I went into the bank today for a new card and asked the staff this question as offered the new card. They told me can only be used in Thailand .

[Burma Bill]

You could have big problems in the EU. I have had recent problems with my Bangkok Bank Visa Debit Card when I tried to increase my spending limit via the 1333 telephone system. It kept rejecting the request and after several hours in consultation with my branch of Bangkok Bank, including I hour of the Manager's time trying to process the same request, we got nowhere and he suggested I had a new UnionPay debit card. I rejected this as I had previously had one for a short period which I ditched after several problems trying to use it within Thailand and Cambodia. When I asked for a replacement VISA Debit Card the Manager told me "BANGKOK BANK NO LONGER ISSUES VISA DEBIT CARDS. I went across the road and opened another account with KRUNGSRI BANK who were happy to issue me with a new VISA Debit Card. I know VISA and MASTERCARD Debit Cards are also issued by KRUNGTHAI, SCB and KASIKORN Banks - check their websites.  I strongly suggest you ditch your UnionPay (Chinese) debit card like I did especially if you intend travelling back to the EU. For reference UnionPay debit cards are NOT ACCEPTED by the British Embassy and its agencies. 

[Russell17au]

The UK, Australian, New Zealand Embassies in Thailand will not accept Union Pay cards because they are having problems with them. I opened an account at Kosikorn today and got a Visa Debit card that is acceptable everywhere, so I am still keeping my BKK account but if I need to I can simply transfer money to the Korsikorn account. I would suggest that you open a second account that has a Visa/Mastercard Debit card just to be on the safe side until this Union Pay business gets sorted out.

[stevenl]

22 minutes ago, Lola Bear said:

No will not work . I went into the bank today for a new card and asked the staff this question as offered the new card. They told me can only be used in Thailand .

I would not trust the knowledge of basic bank employees on this.

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, helloagain said:

Go and ask your bank or phone and ask for gods sake. Yellow bank krungsri works in uk

 

Read what the OP wrote before posting for gods sake:

So far I didn’t get a straightforward answer from any of the girls sitting behind the counter...

[digger70]

22 hours ago, siamcrut said:

Useless in Thailand? Why?
I use them at Shell, Ptt, Central, Homepro aso. But I have to put the PIN myself in.

That's right that's the Whole Idea so nobody can get you're card and sign for it (most times the don't check the signature) like the Visa cards here. There are more places now who are getting the Card machines that take the Union card with their 6 number PIN number because the Older machines only could Read a 4 number PIN     

PS    Don't let the checkout person put in the PIN ,,,,, They tried that on me, I said no ,,,,,Can't Trust Anyone,,,,

Edited August 22, 2018 by digger70

[Russell17au]

21 minutes ago, digger70 said:

That's right that's the Whole Idea so nobody can get you're card and sign for it (most times the don't check the signature) like the Visa cards here. There are more places now who are getting the Card machines that take the Union card with their 6 number PIN number because the Older machines only could Read a 4 number PIN     

PS    Don't let the checkout person put in the PIN ,,,,, They tried that on me, I said no ,,,,,Can't Trust Anyone,,,,

The standard Visa Debit card from Korsikon Bank is a 6 pin number and it works everywhere on every machine. The problem appears to be with the actual Union Pay itself.

[digger70]

1 hour ago, Russell17au said:

The standard Visa Debit card from Korsikon Bank is a 6 pin number and it works everywhere on every machine. The problem appears to be with the actual Union Pay itself.

I didn't know that, I can use a  Bangkok Union card at places that have the Updated Machines the older machines didn't work with the Union cards ,,,,, So I don't  know Why,,,,    

[Russell17au]

8 minutes ago, digger70 said:

I didn't know that, I can use a  Bangkok Union card at places that have the Updated Machines the older machines didn't work with the Union cards ,,,,, So I don't  know Why,,,,    

The older machines will only read Visa or Mastercard cards and not Union Pay. It has nothing to do with the pin numbers being 4 or 6 digit. It is with the reading of the chip or the magnetic strip because it all comes down to the actual card number. Some places you go to as soon as you put the first 4 digits of the card number in the machine it will tell you if it is a Visa Card or Mastercard so it must be a coding in the actual card numbers. The older machines will only read Visa cards or Mastercards numbers and it is going to take a long time to change over all the machines in the world so that they will read Union Pay cards. My advice would be that if you have a Union Pay card then open another bank account that has either Visa or Mastercards until all machines are changed.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, Russell17au said:

The UK, Australian, New Zealand Embassies in Thailand will not accept Union Pay cards because they are having problems with them. I opened an account at Kosikorn today and got a Visa Debit card that is acceptable everywhere, so I am still keeping my BKK account but if I need to I can simply transfer money to the Korsikorn account. I would suggest that you open a second account that has a Visa/Mastercard Debit card just to be on the safe side until this Union Pay business gets sorted out.

Good solution for those who have existing Bangkok Bank accounts but need the old VISA debit flexibility. Can you tell us what the Kasikorn Bank in KK needed from you to open the new account? Most banks appear to be enforcing the need for a Work Permit.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

I would not trust the knowledge of basic bank employees on this.

Especially when posts have been made earlier in this thread with real world experience of certain UK bank ATM's accepting them.

 

I think UnionPay is a work in progress and by this time next year, maybe even sooner, the problems will have mostly disappeared.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re BKK Bank, from my dealings with them, they ARE still issuing and have available their traditional VISA debit cards.  I say this in part because, I got one just recently (a month or two back) when my old one expired after many years.

 

However, someone seeking a new VISA debit card from BKK Bank may have to do some work and cajoling and persuading to get one, as according to my source, each branch only has a very small number of the VISA debit cards that they're able to request per month from the main BKKB HQ. And it may well be that your local branch is trying to preserve their quota for someone else other than you!

 

And I'll just add, before I finally was able to cajole a new VISA card out of BKKB with the help of a friendly manager, I was told straight to my face by a half dozen or so different BKKB staff members in different places that the bank was simply no longer issuing the VISA debit cards anymore -- which obviously is simply not true.