Latest developments and discussion of recent events in the Ukraine War

[William C F Pierce]

On 5/6/2022 at 9:43 AM, RichardColeman said:

I have a bank account in the UK with a big horsie

 

What colour horsie was it? Was it a Green, Purple Martian Pink.

[mtls2005]

14 hours ago, SunsetT said:

So you are saying that it is the (mid-market) exchange rate offered by my home bank that issues the card?

 

I am, I now realize, using the term "Mid-market" incorrectly.

 

I should have stuck with "the Visa or MC rate".

 

The exchange rate is determined by Visa or Mastercard. Your home bank may charge additional fees. Check their terms and conditions for your ATM Debit card or your credit card.

 

14 hours ago, SunsetT said:

I find it difficult to believe that the Thai receiving bank does not charge a fee, probably %age wise for this.

I think your initial response is typical. Most of us had the same reaction when we first heard about this method years ago. Definitely strikes one as too good to be true, at first anyway.

 

They don't charge YOU a fee, you do not pay a fee (assuming your home bank does not charge a fee).

 

The bank(s) here have relationships with Visa and Mastercard, so they need to honor those when dealing with all customers, unless they negotiated a carve-out. 

 

14 hours ago, SunsetT said:

Is your info. based on personal experience please, i.e., have you checked the rates and charges for transfers that you have personally made?

I'll admit that I only did this once (many years ago when this option was first raised here), at my Bangkok Bank branch (a larger one, with  foreign remittance desk), just to see if it worked. I obtained 30,000 baht, my limit is $2,500, using my U.S.-based Visa-embossed ATM Debit Card. I paid no fees, and obtained the Visa rate for that day. I took the cash, then redeposited it at the branch's CDM. I didn't want to confuse the bank employee.

 

But there have been gazillions of other, more detailed first-hand reports here over the years, and a search will yield those details. I'd encourage you to seek those out where they are explained way better than I could ever do.

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by mtls2005

[4MyEgo]

On 5/6/2022 at 2:38 PM, zeekgarcia said:

A friend told me earlier this week, they went to their usual bank which is the bank that uses the dark blue color signage in a Big C location and they told them that as of May 1, they can no longer do a cash advance/over counter withdraw.

I have to ask, is there any particular reason you, or your friend don't have a Thai bank account ?

 

I find it much easier and cost effective to transfer one large sum annually, preferably when the exchange rate is a good one, (no control over that), all about timing.

 

Once the finds are in my Thai account, I use my Thai debit card to withdrawal the funds I require and put it away in a "safe" place, until I need to top up again as I usually do a lot of internet internet purchases which are also very cost effective as opposed to using my fuel to drive to the store and pay more for those products.

 

Got to be one step ahead of the game, however if there is a reason you cannot obtain a Thai bank account and debit card here, please share the reason with us, e.g. I don't know if times have changed but I got mine yonks ago without a hassle and pay 200 baht per year for the card.

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by 4MyEgo

[zeekgarcia]

On 5/8/2022 at 1:54 AM, 4MyEgo said:

I have to ask, is there any particular reason you, or your friend don't have a Thai bank account ?

 

I find it much easier and cost effective to transfer one large sum annually, preferably when the exchange rate is a good one, (no control over that), all about timing.

 

Once the finds are in my Thai account, I use my Thai debit card to withdrawal the funds I require and put it away in a "safe" place, until I need to top up again as I usually do a lot of internet internet purchases which are also very cost effective as opposed to using my fuel to drive to the store and pay more for those products.

 

Got to be one step ahead of the game, however if there is a reason you cannot obtain a Thai bank account and debit card here, please share the reason with us, e.g. I don't know if times have changed but I got mine yonks ago without a hassle and pay 200 baht per year for the card.

 

Simple why pay fees when you can do a cash advance with your foreign debt card for free.

[zeekgarcia]

About a week ago I went to the same bank as my friend but to a different branch and was able to do a cash advance using my foreign visa debt card with no problems.

So based on my friend's experience it seems like the two bank branches mentioned in the OP at Big C Mae Hia have colluded together at least on that day to not do cash advances.

 

[4MyEgo]

5 minutes ago, zeekgarcia said:

Simple why pay fees when you can do a cash advance with your foreign debt card for free.

Cash advance with your foreign debit card for free, hmmm, sounds good, however from my understanding, banks usually charge a fee for the cash advance, as does the bank you are withdrawing the money from, e.g. ATM, and usually the exchange rate you are given is lower.

 

The above said, be interested to know which foreign debt card you are using and how you get to avoid paying any fees, sounds far too good to be true IMO.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The issue of fees associated with over-the-counter cash advances has gotten a bit muddier over time...

 

1. In the past, I don't think any Thai banks used to charge their OWN fee for someone wanting to use a foreign debit or credit card to do a cash advance/counter withdrawal. But in more recent times, some of the Thai banks (not all or probably not even most) HAVE started adding a fee for that service. So you have to pay attention and/or check with the bank you want to use to be safe and sure.

 

2. Then on the home country bank end of things, it really depends on whether you're wanting to use a credit card or a debit card. Most of the time, a debit card is going to be the better bet... because....

 

In the U.S. and probably the UK too, most credit cards have a specific extra fee for using them to obtain cash advances, regardless of whether domestic or foreign. For U.S. credit cards, that often can be something like $10 minimum and 3 or 4% of the amount withdrawn, whichever is larger. That's even if you pay off the advance balance right away...

 

Now, there are a relatively few U.S. credit cards that DO NOT have any cash advance fees, but those are relatively rare. And most of the credit cards issued by the U.S. mega banks like BofA, Citi, Wells Fargo, etc. are going to have specific cash advance fees. Check your card's fees disclosure.

 

Then on the debit card side of things, AFAIK, most U.S. issued VISA or MC debit cards DO NOT have any specific added fees associated with doing a counter withdrawal/cash advance, whether foreign or domestic.

 

But just the same as with credit cards, you still need to check and be aware of whether your bank is separately charging a foreign currency conversion fee on any/all transactions done outside your home country... Again, most U.S. major banks do charge FCFs of anywhere from 1 to 3 percent or more... A few -- such as Schwab, Fidelity and certain Capital One debit cards -- don't charge any.

 

So in general, the best bet overall is likely be a cash advance here done with a VISA or MC debit card that has no cash advance fee and no foreign currency fee (or at most 1%)  done at a Thai bank branch that doesn't charge its own fee for cash advances.

 

PS- Over time, I've noticed that some U.S. banks tend to play a bit of a game of semantics when it comes to discussing whether their cards have foreign currency conversion fees.  You ask the bank, and they will swear, no, WE don't charge any FCF... or maybe they do... But then you press, and check further, and you discover that while the bank may not charge their own fee, they do pass along the 1% FCF that VISA and MC have made a standard part of their cards. So there's the potential to be easily misled by your bank.

 

[treetops]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

In the U.S. and probably the UK too, most credit cards have a specific extra fee for using them to obtain cash advances, regardless of whether domestic or foreign. For U.S. credit cards, that often can be something like $10 minimum and 3 or 4% of the amount withdrawn, whichever is larger. That's even if you pay off the advance balance right away...

The UK has a selection of debit and credit cards with no fees for overseas/foreign currrency use.  Used over the counter, with no Thai bank fee, this appears to be among the best ways to get cash in Thailand.  Beats Wise to a Thai account cost wise but has the drawback of needing easy access to a friendly branch rather than the 24 hours available ATMs.

[FritsSikkink]

On 5/6/2022 at 1:14 PM, zeekgarcia said:

 even though I have done a cash advance using a debit card many times at the dark blue color bank in this same location but so far none this month. And my friends speak good Thai.

There is no cash advance when using a debit card, it gets deducted straight away.

[gamb00ler]

On 5/21/2022 at 2:52 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

12 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

There is no cash advance when using a debit card, it gets deducted straight away.

Unfortunately your post is inaccurate for most readers of this thread.  The audience here is almost exclusively interested in getting access to their funds from a foreign country’s banks or ATMs.   Because those transactions are international, VISA and MasterCard networks add fees.  Most home country banks pass those fees onto the customer and add their own fees.  Only a few banks/brokers do not.

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by gamb00ler

[zeekgarcia]

On 5/21/2022 at 8:46 PM, FritsSikkink said:

There is no cash advance when using a debit card, it gets deducted straight away.

The banks call it a cash advance here even though your are using a debit card and it gets instantly deducted from your international bank account

[zeekgarcia]

On 5/21/2022 at 4:46 AM, 4MyEgo said:

Cash advance with your foreign debit card for free, hmmm, sounds good, however from my understanding, banks usually charge a fee for the cash advance, as does the bank you are withdrawing the money from, e.g. ATM, and usually the exchange rate you are given is lower.

 

The above said, be interested to know which foreign debt card you are using and how you get to avoid paying any fees, sounds far too good to be true IMO.

See TallGuyJohninBKK post on May 21 after your post because he did a great job explaining the details.

Edited May 31, 2022 by zeekgarcia

[zeekgarcia]

Went to the same bank branch as my friend did, to try to do a cash advance there and they told me they were told to stop doing cash advances for people with a debit card but they can do them for credit cards.

So not sure if invidual bank branches are like franchises or not? 

Because this branch told me I can go to another branch and use a debit card for a cash advance but I cannot do it at this branch.

Edited May 31, 2022 by zeekgarcia

[gamb00ler]

On 5/21/2022 at 11:38 AM, zeekgarcia said:

Simple why pay fees when you can do a cash advance with your foreign debt card for free.

I pay very close to zero fees to Thai banks.  I opened account with small cash deposit.  I do cash advances at teller with zero fees and very competitive exchange rates.  I deposit the proceeds to my Thai bank for easy access via mobile app.  After that I subsequently carry almost no cash.

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, zeekgarcia said:

See TallGuyJohninBKK post on May 21 after your post because he did a great job explaining the details.

For the over the over the counter withdrawals I have used Krungsri Bank once or twice many years ago and the over the counter transaction using my debit card had no fees attached on either side, Krungsri Bank or my bank where I obtained the debit card from.

 

The above said, one of the Krungsri Bank staff at one of the branches upon my enquiry said 3% charge, I said no, I am using my debit card, not credit card, that went straight over the top, so I let it go and went to another Krungsri Bank and they confirmed no fee, up to 150,000 baht over the counter limit.

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, zeekgarcia said:

Went to the same bank branch as my friend did, to try to do a cash advance there and they told me they were told to stop doing cash advances for people with a debit card but they can do them for credit cards.

So not sure if invidual bank branches are like franchises or not? 

Because this branch told me I can go to another branch and use a debit card for a cash advance but I cannot do it at this branch.

Sounds like they don't want to do it if there are not making any money on it.

 

I would check out Krungsri Bank and see how you go, they are the only one that I knew that don't charge for over the counter withdrawals of up to 150,000 baht, that said, it also depends on how up to speed the staff are, as mention in the post above, one staff member wanted to charge me 3% but that is for a credit card charge, but wasn't having a bar of it so I moved onto another Krungsri Branch and they confirmed no fee for debit card up to 150,000 baht over the counter transaction.

 

This was a few years back, so don't know if the same still applies, but worth looking into.

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by 4MyEgo

[fdsa]

On 5/21/2022 at 11:46 AM, 4MyEgo said:

Cash advance with your foreign debit card for free, hmmm, sounds good, however from my understanding, banks usually charge a fee for the cash advance, as does the bank you are withdrawing the money from, e.g. ATM, and usually the exchange rate you are given is lower.

AFAIK the exchange rate is equal or better than the cash withdrawal from the ATM, also AFAIR the fee is 200 THB regardless of the amount withdrawn which is more preferrable than 200 THB per 20k/30k in ATM.

So withdrawing 90K will cost you 200 THB at the cashier and 600+ THB in ATM.

 

On 5/21/2022 at 2:52 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

In the U.S. and probably the UK too, most credit cards have a specific extra fee for using them to obtain cash advances, regardless of whether domestic or foreign. For U.S. credit cards, that often can be something like $10 minimum and 3 or 4% of the amount withdrawn, whichever is larger. That's even if you pay off the advance balance right away...

Exactly, and not only in US/UK. My credit card has an extra fee for cash withdrawal, but 0% for payments online or offline, and the cash withdrawal in the bank is processed as "purchase" rather than "cash withdrawal" thus zero fees.

At least it was like this a year ago in Krungsri, last time I've tried.

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by fdsa

[JimmyJ]

I strictly use ATM's for cash and withdraw from US banks.

 

There are a few US financial institutions which refund foreign ATM fees.

 

Costs me nothing to withdraw.

[zeekgarcia]

On 5/31/2022 at 9:31 PM, JimmyJ said:

I strictly use ATM's for cash and withdraw from US banks.

 

There are a few US financial institutions which refund foreign ATM fees.

 

Costs me nothing to withdraw.

But the question is do the US banks have some back-office secret limit where if you start costing them a lot of money in regards to them refunding foreign atm fees, will they cut you off. 

So since a cash advance is free or at least cheaper for a US bank than them refunding foreign atm fees, why take chances?