Thai Banks To Start Charging For Atm Withdrawals ...

[johng]

From Bangkok bank website.

International Cards – ATM Withdrawal Announcement

The Thai Bankers’ Association has announced a new regulation

permitting banks to charge a surcharge for ATM withdrawal

transactions on VISA, MasterCard and JCB cards issued by banks

in foreign countries or any other bank or financial institution not

an ATM Pool member (e.g. AEON card). The surcharge will be 150Bt

per transaction and will be in effect from 17 April, 2009.

well this is slightly different...because it says its now "permited" to make the charge not that they will make the charge

so theres still a glimmer of hope that some banks wont make this charge.

Edited April 17, 2009 by johng

[wileycoyote]

I hope that this fee is scrapped or reduced ,this will be yet another dis-incentive to visit Thailand !

[OriginalPoster]

I have US based accounts with HSBC, so I have their ATM card and have used it at their single Silom area branch in the past. Last time, I believe they were assessing a 3% international surcharge on ATM withdrawals, but no flat fee. They also seemed to have a not particularly good exchange rate compared to others.

But just based on the fee, a 3% fee would be better than a flat 150 baht fee at at amount up to 5,000 baht (which would be break-even, if I did my math correctly). Assuming, the exchange rates in both alternatives would be the same.

jfc - are you sure that you have a debit card and not a credit card ? I have UK HSBC cards and was recently charged GBP 6.00 on a GBP 300 ATM withdrawal via credit card i.e. 2%. I was also charged GBP 2.00 (I guess a minimum charge) on a GBP 50.00 ATM withdrawal in KL.

Remember that the fee of 150 Baht is Thai bank initiated and is therefore in addition to any charge made by your 'home' bank. In the UK all banks are now passing on the VISA or Mastercard transaction charges of circa 1%. Your are also right, HSBC exchange rates are invariably worse than most. I got 49.89 THB/GBP and on the same day Nationwide conveted at 51.83

I think that he's right. I have HSBC ATM debit card issued in the US and as I recall there was either a 2% or 3% charge on foreign transactions but no flat fee.

Edited April 17, 2009 by OriginalPoster

[Chaimai]

No charge today at local Kasikorn branch. I also discovered that I can withdraw 20,000 Baht per day over the counter on a debit card transaction - no charge.

The amount 'blocked' on my card transactions equates to 52.69

I believe that larger places will have a bigger limit.

[alphason]

Asked Kasikorn who I bank with if they were going to introduce a charge for ATM withdrawls from my foreign Nationwide Visa debit card, also asked if I could fund my Kasikorn account in branch from same Nationwide card, this is the response i got:

KASIKORNBANK PCL. would like to thank you for using ATM machine. I

would like to provide you the information you have enquired:

In case that you would like to use oversea card at our machine, we

donot know about this case but please check with your bank directly.

Should you need any assistance from us, please feel free to contact

K-Contact Center at Tel. (66) 2888 8800 or send an email to

[email protected] 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

KASIKORNBANKGROUP Towards Service Excellence.

So That clears it up then !

[colino]

Well i went to use SCB atm today and yes it popped up with , you will be charged 150 baht , so i i cancelled that

transaction , moved 2 feet to the right and used KASIKORNBANK atm with no fee,

With the baht down against the pound , uk Banks charging 1.50 gbp and now mostThai Banks charging 150.baht ,

Thailand is not a Brit friendly place anymore.

colino

[Mali1964]

Well i went to use SCB atm today and yes it popped up with , you will be charged 150 baht , so i i cancelled that

transaction , moved 2 feet to the right and used KASIKORNBANK atm with no fee,

With the baht down against the pound , uk Banks charging 1.50 gbp and now mostThai Banks charging 150.baht ,

Thailand is not a Brit friendly place anymore.

colino

Its strange isn't it that SCB were the only bank that i new of to be charging the old 20 baht fee & are one of the first to jump at this fee that as been cleared for them by the banking association greedy b**st**ds.

I know its to early to tell if all banks will charge this fee but at least SCB stay on my boycott list & hope they do for the rest of you.

[parryhandy]

not strange really as their ATMS were programmed to charge already, they just had to raise the amount. Cant for the life of me see how charging at both ends can be justified though or 150 baht.

[phaethon]

I withdrew my usual daily 15000THB this evening using a Nationwide debit card and Kasikorn ATM - no mention of a fee.

I now have enough stock-piled for three months, so if you could organize the ATM fee backlash (complaints->boycots->protests->demonstrations->riots->insurrection->fees abolished) within that time-frame, I'd be ever-so grateful.

[Chaimai]

not strange really as their ATMS were programmed to charge already, they just had to raise the amount. Cant for the life of me see how charging at both ends can be justified though or 150 baht.

Banks don't actually justify anything where charges are concerned - nor are they required to. The 150 baht charge is WAY out ofline with other transaction charges. They usually operate as a cartel so it is difficult to vote with your feet - SCB look ripe for a boycott though, greedy b4stards indeed.

[Mali1964]

It may turn out yet that not all banks will charge this fee or not at the obscene 150 baht, if so i think it would be a good idea to pin a topic & list all the banks charges as i have a feeling some will use this as a sales pitch to gain more farang accounts namely Kasikorn who have always been farang friendly lets wait a week or so & see, SCB would be typed in bold/red please.

[Mali1964]

Well i went to use SCB atm today and yes it popped up with , you will be charged 150 baht , so i i cancelled that

transaction , moved 2 feet to the right and used KASIKORNBANK atm with no fee,

With the baht down against the pound , uk Banks charging 1.50 gbp and now mostThai Banks charging 150.baht ,

Thailand is not a Brit friendly place anymore.

colino

Most UK banks are charging much more than £1.50 for ATM use, if your referring to the resent announcement by Nationwide that's 1% of the transaction not £1.50, but if you downgrade to their poor man's cash card as i have then this fee is not charged so its as we were in the UK,with a way around the fee.

The main problem is this £3 (150 baht)flat fee that Thai ATM charge, that's the bugger especially as others mention for small withdrawal's.

I've just spoken to my daughter who has said even the nightclub rip off link machines in the UK only charge £2 & most i know avoid them like the plage unless their pissed & have got lucky

[Mali1964]

For those interested in the Nationwide Cash card fee's oversea's this from their site.

• I have a Cash Card Account that I use to withdraw cash when I'm on holiday. Will I be charged? No. Initially, only Visa debit card transactions will have a fee applied. Your cash card is run by a different provider and is only available for withdrawing cash (it does not have facilities to make purchases online or at retailers). Our Cash Card Account is our Basic Bank Account and is available/suitable for customers who meet the Basic Bank Account criteria.
  

Ideally is to open a new account in a family members name that way you keep your overdraft & visa purchase status on your original flex account.

The family member is at no risk as its only for ATM use & no debt can be built up, you can transfer money online to the cash card account & go remove it from the ATM just in case you worry that your cheeky son will withdraw a few quid for himself & say thanks Dad

[GEZMAC]

According to the Thanchart website, The Thai Bankers Association has decided that cardholders of foreign banks will be charged 150 Baht for each withdrawal by debit or credit card, effective April 17th.

Not good news.

[maechanman]

It may turn out yet that not all banks will charge this fee or not at the obscene 150 baht, if so i think it would be a good idea to pin a topic & list all the banks charges as i have a feeling some will use this as a sales pitch to gain more farang accounts namely Kasikorn who have always been farang friendly lets wait a week or so & see, SCB would be typed in bold/red please.

Excellent idea,I second this.

[jfchandler]

I wouldn't hold out great hope... but....

Here is the full text of the announcement on the BKK Bank web site.

International Cards – ATM Withdrawal Announcement

The Thai Bankers’ Association has announced a new regulation

permitting banks to charge a surcharge for ATM withdrawal

transactions on VISA, MasterCard and JCB cards issued by banks

in foreign countries or any other bank or financial institution not

an ATM Pool member (e.g. AEON card). The surcharge will be 150Bt

per transaction and will be in effect from 17 April, 2009.

I made a withdrawal this morning (Sat., 4/18) from a BKK Bank ATM at On Nut using my U.S. based bank ATM card. No mention of the fee on the ATM screen. No listing of any fee on my receipt. And got a normal 35.06 baht rate for my withdrawal.

[longball53098]

The banks that intend to start charging the 150 bt fee have different schedules for updating their system wide software especially with the holiday week in the middle of this announced time. The announcement said that the member banks could start charging this fee on and after the 17th. It would be foolish for one or more of the members to begin assessing the fee and the others not. As mentioned above that would chase the customers over to the ATM that has the free service. You can bet as the next week or two pass all the banks will have updated their system software.

This topic has run on now for quite some time. Complaining and discussing it to death. If this fee comes to all atms in the country it's another thing you must learn to deal with. For those of us living here on a full time basis or even part-time. Open an account at your favorite Thai bank use that bank's atm for free. How you get money into that account is up to you. You made the choice of living/working here so deal with it in your own way.

I too think 150 is a rip off but I also never use my US bank ATM card here unless in an emergency. The common tourist and business person will not have the local account option and they will unwillingly have to pay to get cash.

[jfchandler]

Longball, I think your comments above are a bit narrow-minded...

I live here full-time also, and I have and use Thai bank accounts and their ATM cards. And I don't mind paying a reasonable bank fee, such as the 10 baht surcharge that I sometimes get for online bill payments here. It's a convenience and a reasonable amount, so I don't kick or fuss about that.

But I earn my money in the U.S., so it gets deposited into bank accounts there, not here. Thus, for me and many others I suspect, withdrawing those funds here using a U.S. ATM card is a much easier (at least until now cheaper) way to access those funds as opposed to doing repeated wire transfers and such. And making frequent, smaller ATM withdrawals is a good way of self-budgeting....but not at a ridiculous 150 baht ($4.25) fee per withdrawal.

You seem to suggest only tourists and short-timers will be affected by the change, so, no big deal. Well, that's certainly not the case. I work hard for my money, so I don't like to waste it. When I was a tourist visiting here years ago, I stopped using BofA's ATM cards here because BofA began charging a $5 fee per foreign transaction plus a percentage cut. I switched my business to other U.S. banks that don't try to rip me off like that. And I never looked back.

Likewise, as for the new 150 baht fee, it will be interesting to see if any of the Thai banks break ranks and DO NOT implement the new fee. If any do they, they will get my business and accounts.

If they all implement the fee, then I will switch to using a U.S.-based card/bank that reimburses ATM fees worldwide (not just those imposed in the U.S.). That's a pretty easy thing to find these days... already have it lined up. It's my money, and I intend to keep as much of it as possible, and not throw it away on rip-off bank fees.

[thecatman]

This topic has run on now for quite some time. Complaining and discussing it to death. If this fee comes to all atms in the country it's another thing you must learn to deal with. For those of us living here on a full time basis or even part-time. Open an account at your favorite Thai bank use that bank's atm for free. How you get money into that account is up to you. You made the choice of living/working here so deal with it in your own way.

And that's the whole point of this thread, most people commenting are trying to find ways to help one another deal with this issue, and if possible, to find a way around it.

If you're fed up with this thread, it seems like you are, then I think I may have a simple solution for you.

Don't read it.

Problem solved.

Edited April 18, 2009 by thecatman

[Chaimai]

And that's the whole point of this thread, most people commenting are trying to find ways to help one another deal with this issue, and if possible, to find a way around it.

If you're fed up with this thread, it seems like you are, then I think I may have a simple solution for you.

Don't read it.

I agree with this and jfc's comments.

It is commonsense, nay, good buisness sense to look for the lowest cost of delivery for any service.

Would you accept an airlines fare increase to, say, $1,000 if another provided the same service for $800 - I don't think so.

The fact that many people have posted factual details and practical options is testimony to the value of the Thaivisa.com site

[donx]

If they all implement the fee, then I will switch to using a U.S.-based card/bank that reimburses ATM fees worldwide (not just those imposed in the U.S.). That's a pretty easy thing to find these days... already have it lined up. It's my money, and I intend to keep as much of it as possible, and not throw it away on rip-off bank fees.

You have mentioned this options several times in this thread. I am U.S. based, so would you mind sharing what card/bank will reimburse ATM fees worldwide?

[Mali1964]

With out this thread running it would take a lot longer to find out which if any banks are not charging this fee, not to mention the various other idea's on the possibility's to get around this, its after all what Thai visa as proved invaluable for to help saves us all time & money & help enjoy life a little.

[Mali1964]

Anyone that can read Thai the what's new page on the Thai Bankers Association is in Thai only,there's also an info e mail address but i think an e mail in Thai would have more chance of a response i've never yet had a reply from any Thai e mail address,maybe any Thai writer's out there can let them know their's a lot of pissed of farang at the moment due to this rip off announcement.

http://www.tba.or.th/aboutassociation.htm

e-mail : [email protected]

[jfchandler]

If they all implement the fee, then I will switch to using a U.S.-based card/bank that reimburses ATM fees worldwide (not just those imposed in the U.S.). That's a pretty easy thing to find these days... already have it lined up. It's my money, and I intend to keep as much of it as possible, and not throw it away on rip-off bank fees.

You have mentioned this options several times in this thread. I am U.S. based, so would you mind sharing what card/bank will reimburse ATM fees worldwide?

There are a number of options for this, some of which have been mentioned in other banking threads on Thai Visa... I tend to like checking or savings accounts that pay high interest (4-5% in today's environment), and these days, those "rewards" accounts typically come with the requirement of making 10 or more debit card point of sale purchases per month of any amounts, which is pretty easy to do (when you consider grocery shopping/Tesco, etc.)

One easy and pretty attractive such account is offered by First Arkansas Bank and Trust. Reimburses ATM fees worldwide and pays 4.4% interest on balances up to (and no accounts fees or minimums) if you make 10 debit card point of sale purchases per month. See here.

Another bank that's pretty good is Charter Bank in New Mexico and their Turbo Checking Account. They've been paying 5% interest on checking up to $25,000 balances, but now that will fall to 4% this month. They have a 13 debit transactions per month requirement to obtain that interest rate and they reimburse ATM fees "nationwide" according to their policy. But in practice, they've been reimbursing the 1% VISA fees automatically for transactions here. So I'd guess they'd likely do the same if they encounter the 150 baht fee.

Others that have been mentioned on TV before are bank accounts being offered by Charles Schwab Bank.

Although Schwab is a brokerage, they also have an FDIC insured bank that offers both regular savings and checking accounts. Check out their Schwab High Yield Investors Checking or their High Yield Investor Savings Account. You don't have to use a brokerage account to open bank accounts with them. And despite the fancy sounding names, you don't have to have any large balances in the account or make debit card purchases to get your ATM fees worldwide reimbursed. But, their interest rate is paltry... Take your choice....

Another account I like is from SalemFive Bank in New England. It's called their E-One Checking account. No fees, no minimum balance, free online bill pay, good customer service, and they reimburse any other bank's ATM fees up to $15 per month. I know from experience, they do it automatically if the fee shows up as a separate charge to your account. But they'll even do it if the fee isn't handled separately, provided you mail them the ATM receipt or something similar as documentation. (How the 150 baht fees are going to get handled in the banking systems, we just don't know yet).

I think in general, most of the large U.S. banks not only won't reimburse others ATM fees, but they want to charge you their own ATM fees if you use machines outside their own network (whether domestic or international). So it tends to be the smaller banks or credit unions or even brokerage linked banks that offer ATM fees reimbursements as a perk to attract business. You've got to search for them, and go out on the Internet to banking related sites, including some that specialize in foreign travelers.

Keep in mind, many of these smaller banks have done just fine thru the recession, because they weren't out speculating on CDOs and derivatives, while giants like Citi, Washington Mutual and others were.

[JimGant]

You have mentioned this options several times in this thread. I am U.S. based, so would you mind sharing what card/bank will reimburse ATM fees worldwide?

See the right hand column, HERE

I use USAA Federal Savings. They're mentioned at this link, but not amount -- it's up to $15/mo.

As someone pointed out in another thread, you might have to collect your ATM receipts and send them to your US bank for reimbursement, as the receipt may be the only place the fee is clearly indicated, i.e., instead of a line item charge, it may be buried in the overall spread as far as your bank can tell.

[thaimate]

This topic has run on now for quite some time. Complaining and discussing it to death. If this fee comes to all atms in the country it's another thing you must learn to deal with. For those of us living here on a full time basis or even part-time. Open an account at your favorite Thai bank use that bank's atm for free. How you get money into that account is up to you. You made the choice of living/working here so deal with it in your own way.

And that's the whole point of this thread, most people commenting are trying to find ways to help one another deal with this issue, and if possible, to find a way around it.

If you're fed up with this thread, it seems like you are, then I think I may have a simple solution for you.

Don't read it.

Problem solved.

i second that,can never understand why people read the thread if it has no interest for them and then complain.

nothing better in their lives,methinks.

[Langsuan Man]

This topic has run on now for quite some time. Complaining and discussing it to death.

This thread needs to continue to run until it is clear which banks are charging this outrageous 150 Baht fee and which one's are not

We all cannot go to every bank and swipe our card to obtain this information, that is why we post on TV

It is also important to know HOW the charge is being implemented since if you do get reimbursed for the charge from a US Bank you will have to be able to SHOW the charge

And got a normal 35.06 baht rate for my withdrawal

Another poster mentioned that he received 35.06 per USD at Bangkok Bank, I received 35.27 at Kasikorn Bank today, so now I know to stay away from Bangkok Bank for my ATM withdrawals

When you figure that most ATM's limit you to 20,000 THB PER TRANSACTION, and if you need to get your (US Bank) daily limit you MAY have to do two transactions and that can add up

[jfchandler]

Thanks to JimGant for re-posting that very good link on bank credit card and ATM rates for foreign travelers. It's a good one to bookmark and save, although, not all the info in there is accurate and that list certainly doesn't include all the good deals that are out there.

Regarding my earlier post, a few things got cut out because I had workmen in the house... So...to add and amend...

The First Arkansas Bank and Trust rewards checking account pays 4.4% interest on balances up to $50,000, provided you meet the account requirements.

Here's the link for Charter Bank's Turbo Checking account. Turbo Checking Account.

Here's also the link for SalemFiveDirect Bank's E-One Checking account.

A very good resource for U.S.-based so-called Rewards checking accounts, which often do reimburse ATM fees either nationwide or internationally, is at this site. The guy who runs it is great, and his broader Bank Deals blog is an invaluable financial resource.

[Chaimai]

This topic has run on now for quite some time. Complaining and discussing it to death.

This thread needs to continue to run until it is clear which banks are charging this outrageous 150 Baht fee and which one's are not

We all cannot go to every bank and swipe our card to obtain this information, that is why we post on TV

It is also important to know HOW the charge is being implemented since if you do get reimbursed for the charge from a US Bank you will have to be able to SHOW the charge

And got a normal 35.06 baht rate for my withdrawal

Another poster mentioned that he received 35.06 per USD at Bangkok Bank, I received 35.27 at Kasikorn Bank today, so now I know to stay away from Bangkok Bank for my ATM withdrawals

When you figure that most ATM's limit you to 20,000 THB PER TRANSACTION, and if you need to get your (US Bank) daily limit you MAY have to do two transactions and that can add up

I think that any fees will be advised BEFORE you make the ATM withdrawal and will be shown separately on the receipt - as an addition to the amount debited to your 'home' bank account. ie if you only have 15,100 Baht in the account the ATM will only let you withdraw 14,950 baht - which in reality is 14,900 because of the note configuration. Or, if you withdraw 15,000 Baht your 'home' account will be debited with 15,150 Baht.

Fees will not be hidden in the rate applied to the transaction. Depends on the card provider (or the transacting 'agent' e.g. VISA) but Nationwide appear to run close to the Bangkok Bank TT rate. The above dollar rates may have been due to different timing. It would be interesting to make identical withdrawals at the same time in, say, 6 banks and see what difference there is in the rates. I suspect that the exercise would have more meaning if, say, 6 different cards were used at the same bank, at the same time, and you could see the difference in rates used by each card provider.

[jfchandler]

Jim, is USAA Bank the one where you basically have to be military or ex-military to be a member. I went to their web site and found the following criteria..

* Active-duty officers and enlisted personnel.

* Children whose eligible parents have or had a USAA auto or property insurance product.1

* National Guard and Selected Reserve officers and enlisted personnel.

* Officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS).

* Former military personnel:

o Retired officers and enlisted personnel.

o Former officers and enlisted personnel who separated from the military on or after January 1, 1996.

Also... PS.... my 35.06 baht rate ATM withdrawal from a BKK Bank ATM in BKK was made about 7 am this morning (Saturday). I too was interested to see the claim made above that Kasikorn was paying a 35.27 rate supposedly also on Saturday... I may give K a try later today, since I ought to withdraw some more funds before the fee policy starts kicking in...