Citibank ATMs in Bangkok?

[david_je]

Is there still a Citibank ATM at Asoke intersection where I can withdraw cash using my US-issued Citibank ATM card? Where exactly is it? Any other locations in Bangkok? Is exchange rate okay?

And what is I use my card with non-Citi ATM?

Thanks.

 

[JohnnyBD]

3 hours ago, david_je said:

Is there still a Citibank ATM at Asoke intersection where I can withdraw cash using my US-issued Citibank ATM card? Where exactly is it? Any other locations in Bangkok? Is exchange rate okay?

And what is I use my card with non-Citi ATM?

Thanks.

Citibank Thailand was taken over by UOB earlier this year, around April, so there are no more Citibank ATMs as far as I know. I was a Citibank TH customer, and all my accounts were transferred over to UOB. However, you can probably use your US-issued Citibank ATM debit card in any ATM machine in Thailand. There is normally a 220B transaction fee when using an ATM in Thailand. Also, just a word of advice, select the "NO, continue without conversion" button so the ATM does not charge you 5.50% to make the conversion to THB. This will allow your US bank to make the conversion to THB. Hope that helps.

Edited Tuesday at 12:02 PM by JohnnyBD

[gamb00ler]

2 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

This will allow your US bank to make the conversion to THB

A small correction on this.  For ATM withdrawals, purchases and cash advances on debit and credit cards, the actual foreign exchange rate is set by Visa and MasterCard, not the issuing banks.  They do the exchange and then bill your home country bank in its own currency.

 

The rates Visa and Mastercard use can be found at:

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

 

To get the correct rate remember to convert from the currency you withdrew from the ATM to your home currency.... not vice versa.

You may also have to adjust the fee percentage per your card's terms and conditions.

Edited Tuesday at 02:16 PM by gamb00ler

[JohnnyBD]

21 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

A small correction on this.  For ATM withdrawals, purchases and cash advances on debit and credit cards, the actual foreign exchange rate is set by Visa and MasterCard, not the issuing banks.  They do the exchange and then bill your home country bank in its own currency.

 

The rates Visa and Mastercard use can be found at:

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

 

To get the correct rate remember to convert from the currency you withdrew from the ATM to your home currency.... not vice versa.

You may also have to adjust the fee percentage per your card's terms and conditions.

My US Chase bank debit card must not use those Visa & MC rates. I can get about 34.30 THB right now with my Chase debit card at the SCB ATM in my building. I tested it many times and it's usually .30 to .35 THB less than the spot rate.

 

I just checked the Visa rate and it's showing 33.6667 THB. This must have some kind of addtional markup which I do not have to pay with my Chase debit card.

20000 THB = 594.058812 USD

% Mark-up over European Central Bank Rate = 2.65

1 THB = 0.029703 USD

1 USD = 33.666700 THB

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:35 PM by JohnnyBD

[gamb00ler]

11 minutes ago, JohnnyBD said:

My US Chase bank debit card must not use those Visa & MC rates. I can get about 34.30 THB right now with my Chase debit card at the SCB ATM in my building. I tested it many times and it's usually .30 to .35 THB less than the spot rate.

 

I just checked the Visa rate and it's showing 33.6667 THB. This must have some kind of addtional markup which I do not have to pay with my Chase debit card.

20000 THB = 594.058812 USD

% Mark-up over European Central Bank Rate = 2.65

1 THB = 0.029703 USD

1 USD = 33.666700 THB

 

What do you put in the "Bank fee" field"?

 

The difference is due to that fee.

 

Here's what I get when I specify the bank fee is 0%:

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:46 PM by gamb00ler

[gamb00ler]

I only use debit cards that have NO foreign transaction fees.

All Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards use the same exchange rates.  The differing results are due to the different foreign transaction fees that the issuing banks add on.  Some of those fees are as high as 3%.  Some are 0.

 

Visa and Mastercard set the rates once per day (Tue to Sat) at around 7AM Thai time.

Edited Tuesday at 02:52 PM by gamb00ler

[JohnnyBD]

14 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

What do you put in the "Bank fee" field"?

 

The difference is due to that fee.

 

Here's what I get when I specify the bank fee is 0%:

 

Ok. That's what I did wrong.  My US Chase debit card has no foreign transaction fee also, so I should have put zero in the mark-up field.

Thanks for showing me.

Edited Tuesday at 02:59 PM by JohnnyBD

[bamnutsak]

11 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

The differing results are due to the different foreign transaction fees

 

11 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

Ok. That's what I did wrong. 

 

 

People often forget to factor in the 220 THB local ATM fee when calculating the overall resulting "rate". So if you took 20,000 THB away from the ATM it was actually 20,220 THB (in USD at the daily visa/mc rate).

 

This assumes that your bank does NOT reimburse this fee as do Fidelity, Schwab and a few others. No clue if Citi-US does.

 

 

[JohnnyBD]

27 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

People often forget to factor in the 220 THB local ATM fee when calculating the overall resulting "rate". So if you took 20,000 THB away from the ATM it was actually 20,220 THB (in USD at the daily visa/mc rate).

 

This assumes that your bank does NOT reimburse this fee as do Fidelity, Schwab and a few others. No clue if Citi-US does.

Yes, the 220B fee is an extra for many people. I'm fortunate in that Chase Bank reimburses the 220B fees for me due to my relationship level with them.

Edited Wednesday at 02:46 AM by JohnnyBD

[bamnutsak]

12 minutes ago, JohnnyBD said:

Yes, the 220B fee is an extra for many people. I'm fortunate in that Chase Bank reimburses me for the 220B fees, due to my relationship level with them.

 

 

So why are you looking for a Citi ATM? You can use ANY ATM.

Edited Wednesday at 02:47 AM by bamnutsak

[JohnnyBD]

5 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

So why are you looking for a Chase ATM? You can use ANY ATM.

I am not looking for a Chase ATM. You misread. The OP was looking for a Citibank ATM, and I replied to him that Citibank was taken over by UOB, so there are no more Citibank ATMs.

Edited Wednesday at 02:52 AM by JohnnyBD

[bamnutsak]

Yes, I had Chase on the brain. But what was the reason for the OP to search out a Citi ATM in the first post?

 

They can use any ATM.

Edited Wednesday at 02:52 AM by bamnutsak

[JohnnyBD]

2 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Yes, I had Chase on the brain. But what was the reason for the OP to search out a Citi ATM in the first post?

 

They can use any ATM.

I'm not sure why he was inquiring about the Citibank ATMs, but I suspect it was to avoid the 220B fee since his card was a US-based Citibank debit card.

[david_je]

Thank you for all the helpful replies to my post.

Yes, I asked about Citibank ATM thinking I would then not have to pay the bank fee if using Thai ATM.

Citibank does not charge for overseas transfers via their website, but I checked yesterday about transferring $1500 to Bangkok Bank and exchange rate was 33.6927b. The Mastercard rate on their currency converter for same amount was 34.81b, if I did this right. Is it really that different? If so, seems better to use my Citibank card to withdraw from Bangkok Bank ATM, even factoring in the 220b local bank fee. Only thing is Bangkok Bank ATM withdrawal limit per transaction is 50000b, so would have to incur the 220b again for additional withdrawal.

Am I thinking right here? Thanks for guidance. 

[JohnnyBD]

Where did you get the 33.6927 exchange rate. Were you letting Citibank send THB to Bangkok Bank? I use Chase, and always send USD to Bangkok Bank. It works out better. Right now, Bangkok Bank's exchange rate is 34.28. Yesterday, the highest rate for incoming USD wire xfers was 34.56. You can check the Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rates at the link I listed below. There is a .0025 incoming wire fee (min 200B to max 500B).

Foreign Exchange Rates

[david_je]

2 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

Where did you get the 33.6927 exchange rate. Were you letting Citibank send THB to Bangkok Bank? I use Chase, and always send USD to Bangkok Bank. It works out better. Right now, Bangkok Bank's exchange rate is 34.28. Yesterday, the highest rate for incoming USD wire xfers was 34.56. You can check the Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rates at the link I listed below. There is a .0025 incoming wire fee (min 200B to max 500B).

Foreign Exchange Rates

Yes, I did let Citi send THB. You mean if I elect to send USD to Bkk Bk, it arrives in baht currency (not dollars) but at a better rate than if I elect THB?

[JohnnyBD]

50 minutes ago, david_je said:

Yes, I did let Citi send THB. You mean if I elect to send USD to Bkk Bk, it arrives in baht currency (not dollars) but at a better rate than if I elect THB?

Yes, if you select the option for Citi to send USD, Bangkok Bank will convert the USD to THB when they recieve it at the TT Buying Rates which should be much better than letting Citi send THB. Give it a try next time. Check the link I sent for the current Bangkok Bank exchange rates. My wire transfers arrive the next day. The rates change several times per day. Good luck...

Edited Thursday at 09:11 AM by JohnnyBD

[david_je]

On 11/28/2024 at 4:03 PM, JohnnyBD said:

Yes, if you select the option for Citi to send USD, Bangkok Bank will convert the USD to THB when they recieve it at the TT Buying Rates which should be much better than letting Citi send THB. Give it a try next time. Check the link I sent for the current Bangkok Bank exchange rates. My wire transfers arrive the next day. The rates change several times per day. Good luck...

Thanks for that, very helpful; I was lost for so long. So when you want to transfer dollars as dollars, you must first have a dollar account at Bangkok Bank, I guess?

[JohnnyBD]

1 hour ago, david_je said:

Thanks for that, very helpful; I was lost for so long. So when you want to transfer dollars as dollars, you must first have a dollar account at Bangkok Bank, I guess?

I have USD accts because I thought I needed them for USD transfers, but then later I was told that I can send USD directly to my THB acct, and the banks will convert the USD to THB when they receive it. I still use my USD acct at Bangkok Bank because I can do the conversion online myself, but my other Thai banks require me to go into the banks, so I don't use those USD accts anymore.