Thanks for your help. Can't find reliable recent info on this.

There is no hsbc retail banking in Thailand, no atm's.

I also confirm userabcd's comment.

 

Using ATM's for withdrawing cash on UK cards is not the smart way to go.

HSBC sold its Thailand consumer banking business to Krungsri / Bank of Ayudhya 9 years ago.

(As a side note, Citibank also recently announced Krungsri as the successful bidder for their Thailand consumer banking business).

Although HSBC did close down their consumer banking arm, there are (or were a couple of years ago) two ATMs on the ground floor of their HQ, south of Lumpini Park. 

2 hours ago, Gaccha said:

Although HSBC did close down their consumer banking arm, there are (or were a couple of years ago) two ATMs on the ground floor of their HQ, south of Lumpini Park. 

Can someone confirm the two ATMs are still there?

Thanks to everyone for replies. I do not plan to get money with the card. It is a replacement card and I only need to stick it into an HSBC ATM and check my balance in order to activate it.

I checked Google maps. Many angry reviews report no ATM at the former head office in years, as noted in one month-old review. You can check the reviews yourself.

A recent google reviewer indicates that there's no more ATM's at the head office building in Rama 4.

50 minutes ago, david_je said:

Can someone confirm the two ATMs are still there?

Thanks to everyone for replies. I do not plan to get money with the card. It is a replacement card and I only need to stick it into an HSBC ATM and check my balance in order to activate it.

Is your account not set up for online banking? (I assume your card is HSBC UK). It's fairly simple to set up on a phone call, you'll need a couple of passwords, one to register your device and one for your account. I received a replacement card this week, a simple click on the right box was all I needed to activate it.

That ship sailed long time ago

3 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

I also confirm userabcd's comment.

 

Using ATM's for withdrawing cash on UK cards is not the smart way to go.

Why is it "not a smart way to go" ?

55 minutes ago, Eff1n2ret said:

Is your account not set up for online banking? (I assume your card is HSBC UK). It's fairly simple to set up on a phone call, you'll need a couple of passwords, one to register your device and one for your account. I received a replacement card this week, a simple click on the right box was all I needed to activate it.

Mine is HSBC Hong Kong. They activated it over the phone yesterday, but said I still need to stick it in an ATM to complete the process. But now I see that I can also use any ATM that has "UnionPay", does not have to be an HSBC ATM apparently. Do you make transactions with your card on UnionPay machines? Are they readily available in Bangkok?

Thanks.

Nearly all the major bank ATMs in Bangkok have Union Pay capability. You will see the Union Pay logo on the ATMs alongside the Visa and MasterCard logo's.

It's on their website:

 

3 hours ago, david_je said:

Do you make transactions with your card on UnionPay machines? Are they readily available in Bangkok?

Sorry, can't help you with that, I've never used my HSBC credit card in an ATM, only to make online purchases, mostly on Amazon UK and US (Kindle downloads etc). I fear the card may be little used in future as Amazon will soon no longer accept UK Visa cards.

4 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Why is it "not a smart way to go" ?

Because you get a poor exchange rate, plus other charges and fees!

13 minutes ago, Troy Tempest said:

Because you get a poor exchange rate, plus other charges and fees!

You get the Visa/MasterCard exchange rate. But, yes the other fees can mount up, especially with the relatively low maximum withdrawal limits.

12 hours ago, JayClay said:

You get the Visa/MasterCard exchange rate. But, yes the other fees can mount up, especially with the relatively low maximum withdrawal limits.

My last ATM withdrawal using my Mastercard debit card gave me a rate of 41.5 bt to the £ when the rate was 44.5. This, on top of the 220 bt (£5) ATM fee makes the using of overseas ATM card's the equivalent of chucking your baht in the klong.

33 minutes ago, Red Forever said:

My last ATM withdrawal using my Mastercard debit card gave me a rate of 41.5 bt to the £ when the rate was 44.5. This, on top of the 220 bt (£5) ATM fee makes the using of overseas ATM card's the equivalent of chucking your baht in the klong.

Did you get a rate of 41.5? Or were you given the master card rate, with an additional fee imposed by your bank?

 

In the UK, at least, banks have to list fees separately and are no longer allowed to hide them in the exchange rate. There are banks around that charge 0 fees on foreign ATM withdrawals, but that 220bt fee is pretty much unavoidable.

9 hours ago, Red Forever said:

My last ATM withdrawal using my Mastercard debit card gave me a rate of 41.5 bt to the £ when the rate was 44.5.

Sounds like you accepted the rate offered by the ATM.  When asked this question always say no and you'll get the true Mastercard rate, which would have been close to the 44.5 you mention.

 

Look up Dynamic Currency Conversion for an explanation of how the ATM owner just robbed you, if indeed that is what happened.

33 minutes ago, treetops said:

Sounds like you accepted the rate offered by the ATM.  When asked this question always say no and you'll get the true Mastercard rate, which would have been close to the 44.5 you mention.

 

Look up Dynamic Currency Conversion for an explanation of how the ATM owner just robbed you, if indeed that is what happened.

duse you'll only get the true MC rate if your bank/financial institution doesn't add fees on top, which most do.

Their HQ is at Uchuliang building on Rama IV road and last I was in there, no more ATM machines were available. It's just corporate banking on ground floor, and their offices above. No HSBC ATM inside their corporate office nor anywhere else in that building. Only Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn on ground floor, if I remember correctly.

NEVER EVER seen hsbc atms in thailand !!!!

Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn ATMs are all linked to Union Pay. Most all ATMs in Thailand are. 

On 12/30/2021 at 9:34 AM, hotandsticky said:

Using ATM's for withdrawing cash on UK cards is not the smart way to go.

Unless, of course, that's the way he wants to do it.   What's it got to do with anyone else to decide whether it is "smart" or how he chooses to access his cash? 

On 12/30/2021 at 12:14 PM, david_je said:

Can someone confirm the two ATMs are still there?

Thanks to everyone for replies. I do not plan to get money with the card. It is a replacement card and I only need to stick it into an HSBC ATM and check my balance in order to activate it.

    Why not get it from the horse's mouth?  +66 02-614-4000...I'm sure that they would tell you rather than relying on a lot of maybes, used-to-bes and guesses!

20 hours ago, treetops said:

Sounds like you accepted the rate offered by the ATM.  When asked this question always say no and you'll get the true Mastercard rate, which would have been close to the 44.5 you mention.

 

Look up Dynamic Currency Conversion for an explanation of how the ATM owner just robbed you, if indeed that is what happened.

Look up the Dynamic Currency Conversion for an explanation of how the ATM owner gave him the choice! It didn't force him to make the "wrong" choice if, indeed, that is what happened.

8 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It didn't force him to make the "wrong" choice!

Neither did it, I assume, educate him about the consequences of his choice.

 

Dynamic currency conversion is a scam on a corporate level, nothing else. If there was ever a chance, no matter how remote, that you'd be saving money compared to using your own bank, then you could argue that it has some kind of merit, and the choice is at least some times in the consumer interest.

 

The fact is choosing to pay in your "home currency" using DCC will always end up costing you more. So obviously nobody who knew the risks would ever do it. It's therefore an attempt to persuade somebody to pay more for a product or service than they need to. If that's not a textbook definition of a scam, then I don't know what is.

On 12/30/2021 at 12:14 PM, david_je said:

Can someone confirm the two ATMs are still there?

Thanks to everyone for replies. I do not plan to get money with the card. It is a replacement card and I only need to stick it into an HSBC ATM and check my balance in order to activate it.

My new HSBC Debit Card self-activates upon (any) first transaction or 30 days from issue. Explained in form cover leaflet.Why HSBC ATM needed?

18 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Unless, of course, that's the way he wants to do it.   What's it got to do with anyone else to decide whether it is "smart" or how he chooses to access his cash? 

Smart is smart. Only an idiot would suggest obtaining Baht in that way.

 

Are you suggesting he should?