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ATM Exchange Rate Fee

Thomas T

By Thomas T
in Thailand Travel Forum

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Thomas T Newbie

Thomas T

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Posted

The ATM fee seems to be fixed at 220 THB.

 

But there is an additional exchange rate surcharge for ATM.  I read that it could be up to 12%.

 

Does anyone know which bank has the lowest surcharge rate?

 

I know people recommending bringing cash.

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torturedsole Gold Member

torturedsole

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I believe you are talking about DCC, aka dynamic currency conversion.  Nothing dynamic about it other than bending you over to shaft you at the press of a wrong button.  When presented with this option at the ATM then you need to decline the DCC rate which, by default, provides the prevailing f/x rate of either MasterCard, Visa or Amex.  

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Thomas T Newbie

Thomas T

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1 hour ago, torturedsole said:

The OP doesn't appear to be querying the ATM fee.  

 

Correct.  Looking for bank ATM with the lowest exchange rate surchage fee.

 

Every ATM will have the standard 220 THB for non-Thai ATM/debit card.  There is no way around that. 

tonray Ruby Member

tonray

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, Thomas T said:

 

Correct.  Looking for bank ATM with the lowest exchange rate surchage fee.

 

Every ATM will have the standard 220 THB for non-Thai ATM/debit card.  There is no way around that. 

You need to look up the TT rate for the bank you are using. But most banks are very close so it matters little And always decline the conversion, which means that you will get the published TT rate. (TT= Telegraphic Transfer)

Edited by tonray
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4MyEgo Diamond Member

4MyEgo

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4 hours ago, Thomas T said:

The ATM fee seems to be fixed at 220 THB.

If you have a Thai account here, sign up with Transferwise, problem sorted.

 

If you are not entitled to open an account here, bring cash, forget the ATM's !

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scubascuba3 Star Member

scubascuba3

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Posted
50 minutes ago, Thomas T said:

 

Correct.  Looking for bank ATM with the lowest exchange rate surchage fee.

 

Every ATM will have the standard 220 THB for non-Thai ATM/debit card.  There is no way around that. 

They are all bad, finding out the % they charge will be difficult. Best to find out what exchange rate and charges your own bank charges. Often it's Mastercard\visa +2% or more. This is still likely to be better than the ATM rate offered so decline that

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Peterw42 Platinum Member

Peterw42

Posted
Posted

OP, its not like one bank has a higher or lower fee, they all have varying exchange rates. After you decline the dynamic exchange rate (change to you home currency now) the next screen shows the current rate for the transaction. At that point you can note the rate then cancel the transaction, repeat the process in a different ATM and choose the best rate. 

Often the rates are similar across all ATMs, sometimes they vary.

Thomas T Newbie

Thomas T

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2 hours ago, baansgr said:

The additional surcharge is from the card issuer...ask your bank what the charge is.

No, my card does't charge a transaction fee.   Many cards do charge a 2% to 3% and that would be on top of the Thai bank's surcharge fee question that I am asking. 

 

 

Yellowtail Star Member

Yellowtail

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, torturedsole said:

The OP doesn't appear to be querying the ATM fee.  

Although the OP does appear to be misinformed...

Yellowtail Star Member

Yellowtail

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

They are all bad, finding out the % they charge will be difficult. Best to find out what exchange rate and charges your own bank charges. Often it's Mastercard\visa +2% or more. This is still likely to be better than the ATM rate offered so decline that

It is easy to figure out what rate they are charging. Just check what you get against the XE rate is at the time you make the transaction. 

 

Some ATM cards do not charge fees AND reimburse fees charged by the foreign bank.

 

 

scubascuba3 Star Member

scubascuba3

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

It is easy to figure out what rate they are charging. Just check what you get against the XE rate is at the time you make the transaction. 

 

Some ATM cards do not charge fees AND reimburse fees charged by the foreign bank.

 

 

Not really that won't pin down whether it was Mastercard, Visa, interbank, other. Usually it's easy, just ask your bank or look online

treetops Platinum Member

treetops

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Thomas T said:

No, my card does't charge a transaction fee.   Many cards do charge a 2% to 3% and that would be on top of the Thai bank's surcharge fee question that I am asking.

In that case all ATMs will be the same as long as you do not allow the ATM to do the currency conversion.  Decline their nice offer and conversion will be done by Mastercard/Visa dependant on your card and will be much better than otherwise.

 

Mastercard is reportedly slightly better than Visa, but not worth worrying over.

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Thomas T Newbie

Thomas T

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1 hour ago, treetops said:

In that case all ATMs will be the same as long as you do not allow the ATM to do the currency conversion.  Decline their nice offer and conversion will be done by Mastercard/Visa dependant on your card and will be much better than otherwise.

 

Mastercard is reportedly slightly better than Visa, but not worth worrying over.

I think I totally get it now. Declining the conversion is the key and let Visa use their rate.

 

The conversion is with the jacked up fees. 

 

Thanks a bunch!

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torturedsole Gold Member

torturedsole

Posted
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On 6/26/2020 at 3:34 AM, Thomas T said:

No, my card does't charge a transaction fee.   Many cards do charge a 2% to 3% and that would be on top of the Thai bank's surcharge fee question that I am asking.

I have quite a few credit cards for domestic UK use but my main credit card for international travels is the Halifax Clarity credit card [MasterCard].  I carry the rest of the cards for back up, just in case.  

 

I don't draw funds from the ATM on the Halifax card as I have a Bangkok Bank account.  But both are useful in their own ways.

 

I regularly send money over to my Bangkok Bank account from UK and draw cash, when required, with no charges.  But for larger purchases in LOS then I pay on the Halifax Clarity.  

torturedsole Gold Member

torturedsole

Posted
Posted
On 6/26/2020 at 12:57 AM, baansgr said:

The additional surcharge is from the card issuer...ask your bank what the charge is.

Not at all.  The additional charge comes from the bank's ATM that you use but this can be negated by declining the DCC rate.  

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McArie Apprentice Member

McArie

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 hours ago, torturedsole said:

my main credit card for international travels is the Halifax Clarity credit card [MasterCard].  I carry the rest of the cards for back up, just in case.  

 

Same here. The Halifax Clarity cc is really good for me - no extra fees + good exchange rates. Even if I draw cash abroad (extremely rare e.g. regular funds delay, etc) so long I pay that money back on the cc say, within 1-3 days later, the interest is really negligible.

 

But as many mentioned here, do decline option to convert your money to THB when shown on the screen.

 

Make sure you select the language you understand on the ATM options menu, and do read carefully the information on the screen before proceeding and selecting "yes" button. This may sound bit silly of an advice, but we all are prone to errors, particularly when the ATM's screens are cluttered with information, badly lit, short screen time and in a busy environment...

Edited by McArie
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Eindhoven Platinum Member

Eindhoven

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, torturedsole said:

I have quite a few credit cards for domestic UK use but my main credit card for international travels is the Halifax Clarity credit card [MasterCard].  I carry the rest of the cards for back up, just in case.  

 

I don't draw funds from the ATM on the Halifax card as I have a Bangkok Bank account.  But both are useful in their own ways.

 

I regularly send money over to my Bangkok Bank account from UK and draw cash, when required, with no charges.  But for larger purchases in LOS then I pay on the Halifax Clarity.  

 

It's actually cheaper to take a cash advance over the counter with the Clarity, to then put the cash into the Bangkok Bank account, than it is to send it over from the U.K.

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