8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

So-called counter withdrawals are a very long-standing method of foreigners obtaining Thai baht cash here that became particularly popular in recent years as the Thai banking industry, presumably in cahoots with the government, began jacking up the per withdrawal Thai bank ATM fees to the current 220 baht level, which from my past checking was one of the highest national ATM surcharges out there.

 

gamb00ler's post above did a pretty good job of explaining the basics of how it works.  The advantage is it allows you to avoid the 220b Thai Bank ATM fee. Another advantage is the withdrawal amount can pretty much be as much money as you have in your checking account linked to your debit card, unlike the typical 25-30K THB limits that apply per withdrawal for most Thai bank ATMs.

 

The potential disadvantages are several:

1) you have to deal with Thai-speaking bank staff who may or may not understand what you want.

2) Some branches and/or tellers will claim they can't do the counter withdrawal and they either don't have the necessary machine or know how to   accomplish it. I haven't found any absolute pattern to that, it seems to be hit-and-miss as a general rule. So it might involve some branch shopping to find a cooperative branch.

 

FWIW, you don't have to actually be an account holder at the bank company where you're trying to do a counter withdrawal, although presumably being an account holder with them should help. The transaction is pretty much just like making a POS purchase with your debit card, except instead of buying items, you're essentially buying Thai baht. In my experience, you can either ask them to simply give you the THB cash you want and they'll hand it over to you. Or, if you have an account with that particular branch, they should be able to instead simply do a deposit into your account for you for the corresponding amount.

 

As always, you do need to be mindful of fees. As time has passed, several of the Thai banks I believe have begun charging their own flat fees for counter withdrawals,  SCB being one of those, and Krungsri also last time I checked, but I think for only one of the two major card types, and I can't recall OTTOMH whether it's for
VISA or MC branded cards.

 

Also, if your home country bank charges a foreign currency conversion fee on foreign POS purchases or ATM withdrawals, that same percentage fee would apply for a foreign counter withdrawal. I've also seen, as best as I can recall, some U.S. banks also starting to charge their own added fee for counter withdrawals, even those done in the U.S. with domestic banks. So that's also something to check on/watch out for when you go to use any particular bank's debit card here.

 

Lastly, most people general should NOT attempt to do counter withdrawals here with foreign CREDIT CARDS, because doing so often is going to result in added fees for foreign currency conversion AND what can be very steep cash advance transaction fees (a percentage of your withdrawal amount) charged by your credit card issuer. That, and, the credit card issuing is going to have interest start accruing on the amount you advance as of the date of the transaction, without the typical one-month grace period that normally applies for regular credit card purchases.

 

And as noted above, to do a counter withdrawal here, you'll typically need to bring and present your original passport document to the bank teller.

 

 

Thanks for that. I do worry the teller will not understand counter withdrawal, and wonder if there is a Thai phrase or explainer that I can present to them. The exchange rate would be the one used by the Thai bank, not the foreign bank that issued my ATM card, correct?

18 minutes ago, david_je said:

Thank you for that. I plan to use a US-issued Citibank ATM card for the withdrawal, not a credit card to get a cash advance. Is the bank book necessary? I am outside Bangkok at moment and don't have it with me.

I can't say for sure as I always had it with me for the deposit.  If you need it and don't have it, you'll find that out quickly.  I think you can also deposit without the bankbook, especially if you have the app on your phone.

On 11/27/2024 at 9:46 AM, bamnutsak said:

 

 

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

Citibank ATMs didn't charge the fee if you have a Citibank card and a preferred account. No ATM fee, no transaction fee

12 minutes ago, david_je said:

As time has passed, several of the Thai banks I believe have begun charging their own flat fees for counter withdrawals,  SCB being one of those, and Krungsri also last time I checked, but I think for only one of the two major card types, and I can't recall OTTOMH whether it's for
VISA or MC branded cards.

I asked SCB (more than a year ago) if they would do a counter withdrawal on my foreign debit card and they said they can't do it.  I only asked at 1 mall branch and didn't ask at a larger SCB branch.  TIT, so it's very likely you will receive a different answer at a different branch.

 

Krungsri, according to another AN poster, does not charge for MC debit cards but when I showed my VISA card they said the fee would be 200 ฿.

1 hour ago, david_je said:

Thanks for that. I do worry the teller will not understand counter withdrawal, and wonder if there is a Thai phrase or explainer that I can present to them. The exchange rate would be the one used by the Thai bank, not the foreign bank that issued my ATM card, correct?

 On your first question above, I asked that same exact question of a fellow forum member here some years ago who used to do a lot of counter withdrawals.

 

As best as I can recall, I think he just told me to say "counter withdrawals" or "withdraw" and perhaps hold up and show your VISA or MC debit card when saying so.

 

About the exchange rate involved, I can't remember as it's been years since I've done one. I think it's likely going to be either the card network rate minus any foreign use fees charged by your card issuer OR the Thai bank's buying TT rate. Just can't recall!

 

Can someone identify a specific bank branch in Bangkok where they recently successfully did a counter withdrawal with a foreign ATM card? Pls say if there was a fee and what exchange rate they used -- rate set by the foreign bank that issued the card, the local bank, etc. Thanks.

On 11/28/2024 at 3:20 PM, 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?

 

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...

I just rechecked and Citi transfer page only has one option, send in USD. And the rate this morning was 33.3667.

4 hours ago, david_je said:

 

I just rechecked and Citi transfer page only has one option, send in USD. And the rate this morning was 33.3667.

It appears Citi is converting your wire transfer to THB at the 33.3667 rate as per your post. Citi wouldn't show an exchange rate for a Thai bank if they were sending USD. The Thai bank would convert it to THB at the current TT rates when they receive the funds. The last posted TT rate on Friday at Bangkok Bank was 34.19, at SCB it was 34.15 and UOB was 34.15.

 

I use Chase and have the option of sending USD or THB to my Thai banks. If I select to send USD, no where does it show an exchange rate. If I select to send THB, then Chase shows me an exchange rate and it's always less favorable.

5 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

The last posted TT rate on Friday at Bangkok Bank was 34.19, at SCB it was 34.15 and UOB was 34.15.

Sorry, the TT rates I quoted above were today's rates at 12:45 pm, not Friday.

On 1/21/2025 at 1:13 AM, JohnnyBD said:

It appears Citi is converting your wire transfer to THB at the 33.3667 rate as per your post. Citi wouldn't show an exchange rate for a Thai bank if they were sending USD. The Thai bank would convert it to THB at the current TT rates when they receive the funds. The last posted TT rate on Friday at Bangkok Bank was 34.19, at SCB it was 34.15 and UOB was 34.15.

 

I use Chase and have the option of sending USD or THB to my Thai banks. If I select to send USD, no where does it show an exchange rate. If I select to send THB, then Chase shows me an exchange rate and it's always less favorable.

Are you transferring money from the USA to Thailand directly? I cannot do this with US Bank. Maybe it is because I'm not a premium account holder or something. Also, are you able to do this online from Thailand?

 

I have an established Bangkok Bank account that I could transfer money into from the USA before the IAT format change.

On 2/9/2025 at 5:14 AM, jmd8800 said:

Are you transferring money from the USA to Thailand directly? I cannot do this with US Bank. Maybe it is because I'm not a premium account holder or something. Also, are you able to do this online from Thailand?

 

I have an established Bangkok Bank account that I could transfer money into from the USA before the IAT format change.

I send USD via SWIFT wire transfer method directly from my US Chase Bank checking or savings accts to my Bangkok Bank USD acct. Chase Bank does not charge me an outgoing wire fee due to my relationship level. Bangkok Bank charges an incoming wire fee of .25% with a min. 200B and max 500B. I can hold the USD in my Bangkok Bank USD acct until I'm ready to convert it to my THB acct, which can be done online during working hours at the current TT rates. If I need money quickly, I just use my Chase Bank debit card at an ATM. The conversion rates seem to be pretty good.

 

Yes, I login to my Chase Bank accts from Thailand and make the wire transfers.

7 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

I send USD via SWIFT wire transfer method directly from my US Chase Bank checking or savings accts to my Bangkok Bank USD acct. Chase Bank does not charge me an outgoing wire fee due to my relationship level. Bangkok Bank charges an incoming wire fee of .25% with a min. 200B and max 500B. I can hold the USD in my Bangkok Bank USD acct until I'm ready to convert it to my THB acct, which can be done online during working hours at the current TT rates. If I need money quickly, I just use my Chase Bank debit card at an ATM. The conversion rates seem to be pretty good.

 

Yes, I login to my Chase Bank accts from Thailand and make the wire transfers.

Thanks for the detailed info. Logging in from Thailand is important to me.