ATM card confiscation and possible alternatives?

[FritsSikkink]

4 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I am reasonably sure that I cannot use a Bangkok Bank debit card to access funds from my American account. 

I am reasonably sure you can move money into the Bangkok Bank account without paying excessive fees or are you afraid for tax purposes?

[Raindancer]

26 minutes ago, Korat Kiwi said:

I seem to remember that they haven't set up a system for Thailand as yet.  However you may be able to apply from a home country address (Brother, sister etc) Then get them to post it across. 

 

I applied for my Wise account/card when back in NZ.  Only took about 10 days to arrive. 

 

It's the only card I use now. 

How can you possibly use a card issued for use and registered in NZ and then use it  in Thailand, where it isn't authorised?

 

 

[Hamus Yaigh]

2 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

Losing. a debit card is a nightmare because of the length of time that it takes to get here and the only other option is expensive wire transfers.  All suggestions appreciated.

Why are you using foreign debit cards in Thai ATM machines when you already have a Bangkok Bank account? Use Thai cards or go cardless in Thailand seems simpler all around? That's worked well for me for as long as I remember at least?

[Felton Jarvis]

4 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

I am reasonably sure you can move money into the Bangkok Bank account without paying excessive fees or are you afraid for tax purposes?

Taxes are not part of the problem.  At least not yet.  No one knows whether they will be subject to Thai taxes or not.  The usual slipshod Thai way of lawmaking.

[Felton Jarvis]

1 minute ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Why are you using foreign debit cards in Thai ATM machines when you already have a Bangkok Bank account? Use Thai cards or go cardless in Thailand seems simpler all around? That's worked well for me for as long as I remember at least?

Most all of my money is kept in America, where it's safe. I cannot set up automatic credit card payments here. 

[JayClay]

5 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

Most all of my money is kept in America, where it's safe. I cannot set up automatic credit card payments here. 

 

That doesn't answer the question.

 

Keep your money in America where it's safe and use it to pay off your credit cards.

 

Make a transfer each month using Wise or your bank's own international remittance service to cover your expenses for the next 30 days. This is what almost everybody else here does.

 

You will save on ATM fees, and you will not have to worry about having to pay express fees and wait for replacement cards.

Edited March 12 by JayClay

[Crossy]

I'm a bit confused as to what transactions you are making at a local ATM. Can you do anything other than get cash out?

 

I assume you have on-line access to your US banking system where you can make your necessary payments to your credit-cards?

 

For your local cash requirements transfer from your US bank to your BKK Bank account and then use card or cardless withdrawal to get your money.

 

I don't recall the last time my UK bank cards went anywhere near a Thai ATM.

[Korat Kiwi]

9 minutes ago, Raindancer said:

How can you possibly use a card issued for use and registered in NZ and then use it  in Thailand, where it isn't authorised?

 

 

It's a debit card.  No different from any debit card in your home country. 

 

And pray tell, why can't you use those cards in Thailand? 

[Felton Jarvis]

12 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I'm a bit confused as to what transactions you are making at a local ATM. Can you do anything other than get cash out?

 

I assume you have on-line access to your US banking system where you can make your necessary payments to your credit-cards?

 

For your local cash requirements transfer from your US bank to your BKK Bank account and then use card or cardless withdrawal to get your money.

 

I don't recall the last time my UK bank cards went anywhere near a Thai ATM.

I DO have online access to my credit union account. Wire transfers cost 40 USD. In addition to local fees, the bank also charges a fee for debit card transfers which esceed three transactions a month. They are totally inept and really don't give a damn about their overseas customers. I doubt that I am the only one.  They also want complex Docusign arrangements which do not accept foreign addresses.  I nearly always have to talk to a manager instead of a telemarketing turd who does not even know about the basic rules of international transfers. Average waiting time for overseas calls is between 30 minutes and an hour.

Edited March 12 by Felton Jarvis
clarity

[JayClay]

1 minute ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I DO have online access to my credit union account. Wire transfers cost 40 USD. In addition to local fees, the bank also charges a fee for debit card transfers which three transactions a month. They are totally inept and really don't give a damn about their overseas customers. I doubt that I am the only one.  They also want complex Docusign arrangements which do not accept foreign addresses.  I nearly always have to talk to a manager instead of a telemarketing turd who does not even know about the basic rules of international transfers. Average waiting time for overseas calls is between 30 minutes and an hour.

 

So use wize or another intermediary service.

[Crossy]

1 minute ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I DO have online access to my credit union account. Wire transfers cost 40 USD. In addition to local fees, the bank also charges a fee for debit card transfers which three transactions a month. They are totally inept and really don't give a damn about their overseas customers. I doubt that I am the only one.  They also want complex Docusign arrangements which do not accept foreign addresses.  I nearly always have to talk to a manager instead of a telemarketing turd who does not even know about the basic rules of international transfers. Average waiting time for overseas calls is between 30 minutes and an hour.

 

Sounds like it's time to change your US banking arrangements.

 

I'm a Brit so no personal recommendations, but Charles Schwab seems to be popular with other members.

 

Then you have to fun of opening a new account remotely

[impulse]

Like several other responders here, my solution was to minimize the use of my US debit cards in Thailand's ATMs. Not because they're any worse, but because of the time lag if something bad happens.  

 

I keep my "walking around" money in my K-Bank account, using that ATM/debit card in Thailand.  Every few months when I need to top up the account, I use my US bank debit card outside in an ATM outside an open bank branch, suck it up and pay the 220 baht per transaction fee.  That has dual purpose.  1) I only pay the 220 baht fee a few times a year and 2) because it's a rare action, it's not too inconvenient to wait for the bank to be open.  That way, if the ATM eats my card, I can go inside and ask for help.

 

Of course, that's a luddite solution with no need for WISE or other zoomy solutions, or opening up any additional accounts.

 

[NanLaew]

I have an account with a US federal credit union that was great for US domestic banking, with exceptionally good domestic loan, mortgage and domestic savings interest rates.

 

It was absolutely useless for living overseas for the precise same reasons as the OP has recently expounded, ie. high transfer fees through not having a corresponding bank anywhere outside the US and limits on the amount of overseas ATM transactions. Since I am probably their ONLY member living overseas, I didn't see much point in complaining and use a regular bank for international US$ transactions instead.

 

If the OP is visiting the US any time in the future, he should open an account with a regular bank if only to have a backup to the CU account.

[Hamus Yaigh]

58 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

Most all of my money is kept in America, where it's safe. I cannot set up automatic credit card payments here. 

You said you were losing foreign cards at Thai ATMs and asked for solutions. Send the money from your US banks to your Bangkok Bank and use Thai ATM cards or cardless? What's wrong with that idea? You won't need to stick a foreign card in a Thai ATM again.

Edited March 12 by Hamus Yaigh

[Olmate]

2 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I only keep a local account so that my agent can use it for my yearly Extension of Stay. She supplies the required cash and then withdraws it

Same here but you can use it for everyday deposit and withdrawals, its your account not your agents.You seem to have a problem with every suggested option? 

[Raindancer]

55 minutes ago, Korat Kiwi said:

It's a debit card.  No different from any debit card in your home country. 

 

And pray tell, why can't you use those cards in Thailand? 

I wasn't talking about using debit cards in my home country.

I was asking how it was possible to use a NZ wise registered debit card in Thailand.

But thank you for clarifying.  

[dddave]

2 hours ago, cdemundo said:

I use a Credit Union in the USA for most of my banking business.

I t seems that banks outside the US and US Credit Unions are mutually a mystery to each other.

I have found that I can't explain one to the other, they are in different worlds.

 

I have a Charles Schwab Investor Checking account with ATM card that I have used for about 20 years in Thailand.

ATM fees are credited each month, so no fees for ATM use.

Never had any problem with ATM grabbing my card and never had the card refused by any bank.

Once, maybe 15 years ago, had two fraudulent withdrawals in Thailand. Schwab credited right away and it never happened again.

 

I am pretty sure you can still open an account online from anywhere.

Verifying this will be left as an exercise for the student.

 

I was also going to suggest OP open a Charles Schwab account next time in US.  He could continue to pay bills automatically with his CU account but transfer funds to the CS account for Thailand use.  I've never had my CS card eaten by an ATM here but mine did expire last year.  They expressed me a new card in 4 days.  CS customer service is the best anywhere.

[JimTripper]

I opened a second account at my usa bank just to get a backup debit card. Pretty easy to do online.

[Upnotover]

7 minutes ago, Raindancer said:

I was asking how it was possible to use a NZ wise registered debit card in Thailand.

That's the whole point of a Wise account, including it's debit card.

[Korat Kiwi]

29 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

That's the whole point of a Wise account, including it's debit card.

It's an account/card that you can do many things with. 

 

It can be registered in your home country and you can open different currency accounts within it. 

 

Therefore when I want thb I just transfer x amount of NZ$ to my thb account.  I can then either use eftpos when buying things in Thailand or use an ATM to get cash. 

 

You will get hit with a 220thb fee at the ATM. 

 

It's so easy to use/set up and you pay less fees. 

[riclag]

4 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I have a bank account with Bangkok Bank but I can't use it for making payments to American credit cards. This is not a matter of forgetting my card, the machines failed to return the card in all cases.

Your depositing money through your card to pay your CC card Company and the atm doesn’t return your card , right?

Edited March 12 by riclag

[Felton Jarvis]

44 minutes ago, riclag said:

Your depositing money through your card to pay your CC card Company and the atm doesn’t return your card , right?

That is incorrect, READ what I wrote. The money goes directly into my credit union account from Social Security, Alabama Teacher's Retirement and a TIAA annuity. The payments to my credit card accounts were set up online. There was NO "deposit" from Thailand.    I access money for living expenses with my credit union debit card.

Edited March 12 by Felton Jarvis

[riclag]

2 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

That is incorrect, READ what I wrote. The money goes directly into my credit union account from Social Security, Alabama Teacher's Retirement and a TIAA annuity. The payments to my credit card accounts were set up online. There was NO "deposit" from Thailand.    I access money for living expenses with my credit union debit card.

Gotcha ! 

Thanks

Hope you get it sorted! 

Edited March 12 by riclag

[CartagenaWarlock]

7 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Instead of doing your withdrawal from ATM, go to Bangkok bank branch and do a “cash advance” at the teller.  I have done this many times and I got the same exchange rate as the ATM and no additional fees.

Not for cash advances using CC but for ATM withdrawals using debit cards. I tried this at three banks, and they asked me to punch my pin, and a charge was levied. Of course, my bank will refund any ATM charges worldwide, but I wanted to check this feature as many members have posted here. It's useless for me to line up for a bank teller; instead, I now use ATMs and CCs exclusively.

Edited March 12 by CartagenaWarlock

[Felton Jarvis]

On 3/12/2024 at 5:03 PM, CartagenaWarlock said:

Not for cash advances using CC but for ATM withdrawals using debit cards. I tried this at three banks, and they asked me to punch my pin, and a charge was levied. Of course, my bank will refund any ATM charges worldwide, but I wanted to check this feature as many members have posted here. It's useless for me to line up for a bank teller; instead, I now use ATMs and CCs exclusively.

My credit union provided a way out of this debacle. After speaking to a Manager, they are sending me TWO debit cards. Only one will be active at a time, but if I lose one, I can activate the other with a phone call or an email. Apparently, my situation was unique enough that they made an exception to the way they usually issue these cards. As long as I can have a spare in reserve, I should be okay.