Thai Banks To Start Charging For Atm Withdrawals ...

[Naam]

I've run into several Farangs recently who are completely oblivious to what is being done to them by greedy Thai bankers -- They're vaguely aware of the new Usury Fee, but don't have a clue that they could completely avoid it if they took 10 minutes out of their busy schedule to learn what to do.

you don't say! this is indeed a terrible development!

[Naam]

The new Thai Usury Fee has never been explained or justified by those who imposed it -- If they were happy with the previous arrangement for the past 20 years, why can't they explain their justifications for their Usury Fee actions now?

i fully agree and also insist that landlords explain why they charge higher rents for their property, bakers and butchers should justify why bread and sausage is not sold at 1989 prices, construction companies have to explain why they can't build houses at prices of 20 years ago and my wife has to explain her usury practice asking every year for more household money.

[SurfRider]

"landlords charge higher rents for their property . . . sausage is not sold at 1989 prices . . . construction can't build houses at prices of 20 years ago and my wife has to explain her usury practice asking every year for more household money."

If some Farangs choose to roll-over, play dead, and be fleeced without justification, that's their business -- Myself, and many others, don't choose to trek down that path.

( Has anyone noticed that Houses and Condos in Siam are cheaper than two years ago? -- Has anyone noticed that no other country on the planet has added a new ATM Usury Fee? -- Oops, sorry! -- I almost forgot that we're supposed roll over and pretend that we didn't notice-- and keep shelling out bigger bucks to the charlatans and hustlers each year, regardless of the value received in return )

.

[samui04]

"If I remember well ALL ATM card in Italy since the introduction of the Euro have a 2E fee for using them on a different bank . . . Thai bank probably wake up late, they were very stupid to work for free for external customer. . . ps: Italy is a civilized country"

First of all, I hope you understand that my comments were about Thailand and the new Thai Usury Fee and had nothing to do with Italy!

ok, no problem, i was not serious. With a prime minister over 70 used to do party with under 18 girl i do not know anymore if we are really a civilized country...

Anyway it seems to me that the maiority of western country bank charge for use of ATM card in other ATM machine.

What bothers me if the fact that they do not charge if you go asking money inside the bank!

That is a non sense, unless they pay employee less than the maintenance cost of the ATM.

Next winter, when i'll be back to Samui i will go to the bank to take money, everybody should be doing this if it is free.

But what will happen if everybody will choose this obvious way? I have no intention of searching for "strange ATM machine or using an ATM without a big open bank behind it.

[SurfRider]

"What bothers me if the fact that they do not charge if you go asking money inside the bank! That is a non sense, unless they pay employee less than the maintenance cost of the ATM"

This subject has been touched upon in this thread and others on ThaiVisa

If you choose to bypass the ATM and go to the bank's counter, they won't charge the new 150 Baht Usury Fee, but they will give you a seriously inferior exchange rate ( but of course, they won't bother to mention that one minor indiscretion )

The most expensive example that I recall was SCB -- They attracted "high rollers" who salivated over their 250,000 Baht counter limit, but the cost of the transaction, due to the discounted exchange rate, was something like 7500 Baht.

Of course, most people don't do their homework and don't realize that they've just been hit for 7500 Baht.

Fortunately, for the Banks, there seems to be an abundance of Expats around with more money than brains . . . . . . [ TiT ]

( This issue will be disputed by some here due to differences in Credit & Debit Cards, VISA or MC or whatever, what bank hosts your card, what country, etc., etc. -- but the basic premise stands )

.

[Chaimai]

"What bothers me if the fact that they do not charge if you go asking money inside the bank! That is a non sense, unless they pay employee less than the maintenance cost of the ATM"

This subject has been touched upon in this thread and others on ThaiVisa

If you choose to bypass the ATM and go to the bank's counter, they won't charge the new 150 Baht Usury Fee, but they will give you a seriously inferior exchange rate ( but of course, they won't bother to mention that one minor indiscretion )

This has not been my experience. The notional rate allocated at the time (presumably by VISA) was very fair - I shall wait to see what rate I get when the bit of paper gets back to England. Last time this took a week and the rate had moved in my favour. Fot the die-hards of this thread it is interesting to see that the 'blocked' amount originally showing between my online balance and the 'available' balance has now disappeared and I could withdraw the same amount again i.e. this old fashioned paper transaction circumvents the automated clearing cycle on the banks' systems.

I also want to see if VISA/Nationwide are alert enough to charge 0.84%.

[jfchandler]

I've yet to see any examples posted here that clearly show over-the-counter transactions are an equal or better way to go than NO FEE ATM transactions.

In the couple examples that have been documented here, they've all been involving the British pound, and done at times when the exchange rates for the pound were moving quickly. Given that combined with the uncertainty of knowing what day these transactions are done, it has made it very difficult to make any meaningful rate comparisons.

The U.S. $, on the other hand, has been trading in a pretty narrow, stable range for some time. If somebody wanted to do a counter deal in dollars, we might get a better sense of just what's going on with counter rates...

But as ST mentioned above, this is also a situation where the rates appear be more the discretion of the local thai bank. With ATM withdrawals, it doesn't matter what thai bank you use (apart from avoiding or getting the 150 baht fee) in terms of the exchange rate because they are all the same (except for DCC at Ayudhya).

But for counter withdrawals, it seems to vary more both in terms of the offered exchange rate and local bank fees. The example with SCB is a good one of that... Their counter exchange rate, based on reports here, is much below what a comparable transaction at one of their ATMs would be.

[Chaimai]

But for counter withdrawals, it seems to vary more both in terms of the offered exchange rate and local bank fees. The example with SCB is a good one of that... Their counter exchange rate, based on reports here, is much below what a comparable transaction at one of their ATMs would be.

In the case of Kasikorn, they call a Bangkok number to get authorisation. I presume this is either a Kasikorn 'card line' or maybe a VISA desk. No rate is applied by the branch and no rate appears on the manual transaction slip - it is simply a 20,000 Baht debit as far as Kasikorn are concerned. The rate is first determined by checking online banking where you can see the 'blocked' amount - this is only a notional rate until the transaction is processed by Nationwide in the UK about a week later.

I agree that this is hit & miss but in all other aspects the rate is a fair one for the day. UK banks do not offer a refund service but I wait to see if Nationwide are savvy enough to manually apply the 0.84% charge. If they do not, then the over the counter withdrawal with Kasikorn is an excellent option for UK Nationwide card holders

[Jungian]

When I left the USA 5 years ago many banks were charging between $1.50 and $2.50 for ATM withdraws. My former bank charged $1.00 if I didn't use the branch I opened the account at. And some banks were charging the ATM fee plus when you would get your statement your bank charged you 50 cents to $1 for using another bank. Thailand is just behind the times but not doing anything that hasn't been done before.

[jfchandler]

I agree that this is hit & miss but in all other aspects the rate is a fair one for the day.

My point is, it's been difficult to know whether the counter rate has been "fair," because in the examples posted, the pound happened to have been moving up sharply for the days of the transactions and the few days afterward. That made making any meaningful counter vs. ATM exchange rates comparison pretty difficult.

UK banks do not offer a refund service

Chaimai, are you saying pretty much no British banks offer accounts with the feature of offering ATM fee refunds when the customer uses another bank's ATM, whether elsewhere in Britain or abroad??? If so, that's curious....

ATM fee refunds are not something the biggie U.S. banks, such as Bank of America and Citigroup, typically do. But it's become a pretty common feature among smaller banks and credit unions as a way of attracting customers. In the U.S., they're becoming much more common for domestic fee refunds. But a smaller portion of banks are also offering the fee refunds feature worldwide.

[jfchandler]

Thailand is just behind the times but not doing anything that hasn't been done before.

Not sure I'd agree with that. On my recent trip back to the U.S., I used "other" banks ATMs a few times, because I was using a card that refunds any of my domestic ATM fees, so it didn't much matter to me (and I rarely am in the U.S. to utilize any domestic refunds with that card anyway).

In each case, I believe I incurred a $2 fee for using a U.S. bank ATM (Chase) other than the one that issued the ATM card I was using. By comparison, Thailand's foreign card ATM fee went from 0 to about $4.40 overnight. Hard to say "Thailand is just behind the times" given that situation.

[JimGant]

Sunday's Washington Post had an interesting article on bank fees -- and why they are necessarily (lousy economy) going up. Just recently, Citibank raised their fees for "foreign" (non-Citibank) ATM transactions from $2 to $3. Other banks to follow. I guess they're trying to stave off going under, as five more banks did just this past week in North Carolina.

The most egregious 'new fee' angle reported was, allowing overdrawing your account for debit or ATM transactions, then charging a horrendous 'overdraw' fine. Historically, when you slid your ATM/Debit card and didn't have enough in your account to cover, the transaction would be voided. Now, banks loan you the overdraft amount (within limits), then gouge you with a stiff fine. This is proving to be a real cash cow, says the Washington Post.

So, I guess we can expect these annoying bank fees to continue, and additional ones to crop up. Kinda like the airlines in the US adding fees for checked bags. And since they're all jumping in the feeding trough, where do you turn? Maybe, when the economy heads north, competition will return and fees will disappear -- unless the government owns everything by then.

Competition may yet turn the 150bt fees in Thailand -- yeah, right.

[Naam]

1,145 postings, more than 42,000 hits because of an ATM fee which is peanuts in comparison what losses people incurred due to the financial crisis (and their lack of action) and much more important peanuts in comparison what losses people could avoid and in fact GAIN due to the financial crisis.

there is raving, ranting and good advice how to be penny-wise but nobody seems to be interested how to compensate. i call that pound-foolish!

[jfchandler]

Jim, I had a U.S. checking account like that... When I opened the account, without me asking for it, they automatically added a $300 or $400 overdraft available balance to my account. And that amount actually always showed up added to my "real" account balance online, making it seem I had more money than I really did.

I never used it, and finally, knowing what was afoot, I asked them if they could/would remove that feature, and they did, and then my balance went back to being my real account balance. For that particular bank, I don't think their overdraft fee at that time was so high. But I didn't want ANY overdrafts on my account.

If I was trying to do something with more money than I actually had in my account at that time, I wanted the ATM or other to tell me... transaction declined, not sufficient balance.

I asked that bank why they added that feature to the account. And they said, some of their customers wanted it... Thanks very much... I did not.

[jfchandler]

1,145 postings, more than 42,000 hits because of an ATM fee which is peanuts in comparison what losses people incurred due to the financial crisis (and their lack of action) and much more important peanuts in comparison what losses people could avoid and in fact GAIN due to the financial crisis.

there is raving, ranting and good advice how to be penny-wise but nobody seems to be interested how to compensate. i call that pound-foolish!

Well Naam... we all know you have too much money on your hands, and don't particularly care how you spend it...including on your free-spending wife.

But perhaps you could look at it another way... Maybe in part it's because many people lost so much in the financial crisis, and now are hurting financially or at least more conservative, that they're paying more attention to how they spend their money. And I think that's generally a good thing.

As to peanuts.... I don't pay any 150 baht ATM fees, but I do use the ATM maybe 3 times a week on average. So, over the course of the year, that would represent about 23,000 baht saved (3 ATM use per week X 52 weeks X 150 baht). That works out to be about $688 per year.

That could be, among other things, one month's apartment rent, a nice vacation trip to Phuket, the cost of my hotel stays when I travel back to the U.S., and any number of other things. A bit more than peanuts, I'd say...

But, since you are the source of all financial wisdom, if you have pearls to add on how people can do the right things for their money looking at the BIG PICTURE... why don't you chime in and enlighten us... instead of carping about "peanuts" all the time.

[Lancelot]

But perhaps you could look at it another way... Maybe in part it's because many people lost so much in the financial crisis, and now are hurting financially or at least more conservative, that they're paying more attention to how they spend their money. And I think that's generally a good thing.

As to peanuts.... I don't pay any 150 baht ATM fees, but I do use the ATM maybe 3 times a week on average. So, over the course of the year, that would represent about 23,000 baht saved (3 ATM use per week X 52 weeks X 150 baht). That works out to be about $688 per year.

That could be, among other things, one month's apartment rent, a nice vacation trip to Phuket, the cost of my hotel stays when I travel back to the U.S., and any number of other things. A bit more than peanuts, I'd say...

But, since you are the source of all financial wisdom, if you have pearls to add on how people can do the right things for their money looking at the BIG PICTURE... why don't you chime in and enlighten us... instead of carping about "peanuts" all the time.

We have a saying in the US, "watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." I agree that investors musy look at the whole picture, but JF makes a good case for the the annual imapct of ATM fees. I think some posters like to poo-poo fees as a way of bragging, as in "I'm so rich, B150 is nothing to me."

I don't blame the Thai banks for gauging foreigners, they'll charge as much as they can get away with. Since most of us are stupid enough to pay B150, why not shoot for B300?!? or B600? After all, its nothing to us rich folk right?

Warren Buffet, a truly wealthy guy, still lives in the house he bought in 1957. I once read where he asked his buddy to bring him some of his beloved Cherry Coke to his hotel room because "You wouldn't believe what they are charging for drinks here!"

If Warren posted on TV, he would be a little pile of charcoal -flame reference- for objecting to ATM fees.

Hey give me some of that "Thailand is perfect" cool aid. I'm a new soldier of the love it or leave it brigade.

[Naam]

1,145 postings, more than 42,000 hits because of an ATM fee which is peanuts in comparison what losses people incurred due to the financial crisis (and their lack of action) and much more important peanuts in comparison what losses people could avoid and in fact GAIN due to the financial crisis.

there is raving, ranting and good advice how to be penny-wise but nobody seems to be interested how to compensate. i call that pound-foolish!

Well Naam... we all know you have too much money on your hands, and don't particularly care how you spend it...including on your free-spending wife.

But perhaps you could look at it another way... Maybe in part it's because many people lost so much in the financial crisis, and now are hurting financially or at least more conservative, that they're paying more attention to how they spend their money. And I think that's generally a good thing.

As to peanuts.... I don't pay any 150 baht ATM fees, but I do use the ATM maybe 3 times a week on average. So, over the course of the year, that would represent about 23,000 baht saved (3 ATM use per week X 52 weeks X 150 baht). That works out to be about $688 per year.

That could be, among other things, one month's apartment rent, a nice vacation trip to Phuket, the cost of my hotel stays when I travel back to the U.S., and any number of other things. A bit more than peanuts, I'd say...

But, since you are the source of all financial wisdom, if you have pearls to add on how people can do the right things for their money looking at the BIG PICTURE... why don't you chime in and enlighten us... instead of carping about "peanuts" all the time.

JFC, you know and i know that it is impossible to render any financial advice except (perhaps) when most of the background facts are available. that any person living in Thailand uses an ATM three times a week is far beyond my comprehension. however, i do not doubt your claim. my intention was to point to something that seems very odd to me. i admit i might have sounded very arrogant (depending on the perspective from which my comments are viewed) and if this is the case i humbly apologise.

nevertheless, the fact remains that nobody in this thread has come up with the question i referred to in my posting. i see that people are giving advice how to avoid the fee but i also see useless whining about "them bad banks and their usury practices". banks are not welfare institutions. bankers are the successors of the medieval robbing knights and the equivalent nowadays highway robbers. whining in a forum about "usury" fees will not help. not to mention that the expression "usury" does not apply and demands to "explain why" are plain ridiculous and a waste of time.

thanks for not listening

[jfchandler]

Naam, I am listening... and I think you're being too modest...

Indeed, I think it is entirely possible to give general financial advice here that could be beneficial for all -- even without knowing their individual circumstances...

Let me give you...and others...some examples...

--Don't spend 150 baht per ATM withdrawal on bank fees when it's easy to avoid them.

--Watch how you spend your money, and try not to waste it on meaningless things.

--Live below your means, so you're always saving some money at the end of the month.

--Never a lender nor a borrower be... philosophically speaking.

--Don't give away your money and future to Thai bar girls or others like them.

You're welcome to add to my list... It's just a start...

[SurfRider]

"bankers are the successors of the medieval robbing knights and the equivalent nowadays highway robbers"

Well, it looks like you finally got something right!

" useless whining about "them bad banks and their usury practices" "

If you choose to roll over and take the new Thai Usury Fee in the butt and enjoy it, that's your business.

If nobody speaks out, justice and a return to sensible thinking would never be possible.

Are you familiar with the recent Thai Immigration debacles that were rescinded after the foolishness behind them was revealed?

1) To renew your one-year Visa, you must provide a copy of both sides of a valid credit card and show us the card or we won't renew your Visa -- Shot down in a few months after it was ridiculed in Thai Visa threads and elsewhere. ( the possibility of credit-card fraud and identity theft that is rampant around the world never occurred to them - OR DID IT??? )

2) To renew your one-year Visa, every retiree in Thailand must go to the Ministry of Interminable Waiting in some obscure Bangkok slum and wait in line for a full day to have a stamp affixed to an Embassy Letter -- Lasted only about two months until it was laughed out of the arena of sensible thinking.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! . . .

.

[andyc2006]

I hate to be amongst the noise in this thread with some good signals and lots of noise, but:

BF1 Floor Central Chidlom

Aeon's website lists this as a location for one of its ATMs. It's right near my home, but I've been using the ones at Siam Paragorn and BigC Rathchadamri, because I can't find this fr*kin' ATM's location.

So, I'll 'fess up and admit, I have no clue <deleted> the acronym "BF" means... I've searched the basement and 1st floor of Central Chitlom, and the foyer entries too.

Can somebody tell me what BF means, or even better, specifically where this ATM is located?

1,145 postings, more than 42,000 hits because of an ATM fee which is peanuts in comparison what losses people incurred due to the financial crisis (and their lack of action) and much more important peanuts in comparison what losses people could avoid and in fact GAIN due to the financial crisis.

there is raving, ranting and good advice how to be penny-wise but nobody seems to be interested how to compensate. i call that pound-foolish!

Naam, while you're quite right about the penny-wise dollar-foolish sentiment (cliche adjusted for my country of origin), you need to account for the rational hatred that many irrational humans have towards banks and other financial institutions: I don't want to give them 1 <deleted>*n' penny!

I want to see them as bankrupt as their insolvency would leave them had they not been buying politicians to steal our tax dollars. I'd rather use 45 minutes of my time and spend 40 baht on the BTS to go to an AEON location than pay the 150B fee in the ATMs near my home.

So I'll do my dam_n'dest not to pay this fee, even if it means getting a little extra exercise.

Meanwhile, fear not about my dollar-foolishness -- I had a happy last year shorting the financials... then unloaded all my shorts (a little early, but no worries) and held cash until May, when I starting fading into more shorts on the financials. One day, the banks and financial institutions will actually rally off a true bottom, but I promise you that until that day comes, I'll be looking like a financial wiz, not dollar-foolish.

[bkkrox]

I hate to be amongst the noise in this thread with some good signals and lots of noise, but:

BF1 Floor Central Chidlom

Aeon's website lists this as a location for one of its ATMs. It's right near my home, but I've been using the ones at Siam Paragorn and BigC Rathchadamri, because I can't find this fr*kin' ATM's location.

So, I'll 'fess up and admit, I have no clue <deleted> the acronym "BF" means... I've searched the basement and 1st floor of Central Chitlom, and the foyer entries too.

Can somebody tell me what BF means, or even better, specifically where this ATM is located?

1,145 postings, more than 42,000 hits because of an ATM fee which is peanuts in comparison what losses people incurred due to the financial crisis (and their lack of action) and much more important peanuts in comparison what losses people could avoid and in fact GAIN due to the financial crisis.

there is raving, ranting and good advice how to be penny-wise but nobody seems to be interested how to compensate. i call that pound-foolish!

Naam, while you're quite right about the penny-wise dollar-foolish sentiment (cliche adjusted for my country of origin), you need to account for the rational hatred that many irrational humans have towards banks and other financial institutions: I don't want to give them 1 <deleted>*n' penny!

I want to see them as bankrupt as their insolvency would leave them had they not been buying politicians to steal our tax dollars. I'd rather use 45 minutes of my time and spend 40 baht on the BTS to go to an AEON location than pay the 150B fee in the ATMs near my home.

So I'll do my dam_n'dest not to pay this fee, even if it means getting a little extra exercise.

Meanwhile, fear not about my dollar-foolishness -- I had a happy last year shorting the financials... then unloaded all my shorts (a little early, but no worries) and held cash until May, when I starting fading into more shorts on the financials. One day, the banks and financial institutions will actually rally off a true bottom, but I promise you that until that day comes, I'll be looking like a financial wiz, not dollar-foolish.

Hi ajc....I too spent a while searching for the Aeon ATM at Central Chidlom (thinking BF was Basement Floor??) and alas didnt find a thing. Where is the Aeon ATM in Paragon? Cheers

[neil324]

1,145 postings, more than 42,000 hits because of an ATM fee which is peanuts in comparison what losses people incurred due to the financial crisis (and their lack of action) and much more important peanuts in comparison what losses people could avoid and in fact GAIN due to the financial crisis.

there is raving, ranting and good advice how to be penny-wise but nobody seems to be interested how to compensate. i call that pound-foolish!

Well Naam... we all know you have too much money on your hands, and don't particularly care how you spend it...including on your free-spending wife.

But perhaps you could look at it another way... Maybe in part it's because many people lost so much in the financial crisis, and now are hurting financially or at least more conservative, that they're paying more attention to how they spend their money. And I think that's generally a good thing.

As to peanuts.... I don't pay any 150 baht ATM fees, but I do use the ATM maybe 3 times a week on average. So, over the course of the year, that would represent about 23,000 baht saved (3 ATM use per week X 52 weeks X 150 baht). That works out to be about $688 per year.

That could be, among other things, one month's apartment rent, a nice vacation trip to Phuket, the cost of my hotel stays when I travel back to the U.S., and any number of other things. A bit more than peanuts, I'd say...

But, since you are the source of all financial wisdom, if you have pearls to add on how people can do the right things for their money looking at the BIG PICTURE... why don't you chime in and enlighten us... instead of carping about "peanuts" all the time.

JFC, you know and i know that it is impossible to render any financial advice except (perhaps) when most of the background facts are available. that any person living in Thailand uses an ATM three times a week is far beyond my comprehension. however, i do not doubt your claim. my intention was to point to something that seems very odd to me. i admit i might have sounded very arrogant (depending on the perspective from which my comments are viewed) and if this is the case i humbly apologise.

nevertheless, the fact remains that nobody in this thread has come up with the question i referred to in my posting. i see that people are giving advice how to avoid the fee but i also see useless whining about "them bad banks and their usury practices". banks are not welfare institutions. bankers are the successors of the medieval robbing knights and the equivalent nowadays highway robbers. whining in a forum about "usury" fees will not help. not to mention that the expression "usury" does not apply and demands to "explain why" are plain ridiculous and a waste of time.

thanks for not listening

Fair comments. But why the fuc_k should we pay 150b and Thai's pay 20b?

You wan't to pay it up to you.

[Soutpeel]

Fair comments. But why the fuc_k should we pay 150b and Thai's pay 20b?

Your paying THB150 because you are using a bank card which not issued by a Thai bank, but an overseas bank...

A Thai is using a bank card issued by Thai bank, If said Thai had an offshore bank account and withdraw cash from it using a Thai ATM, he or she would be getting nobbed for THB 150 as well

Not a difficult concept to understand...

If this is so important to you open a Thai account and transfer amounts every month from your offshore account, and you can withdraw from the Thai account until your hearts content..and it will only cost you THB 20...

This thread is starting to remind me to the posts when SCB started charging THB 20 for withdrawing cash not in local area...OMG the outrage from TV posters...

The lucky thing is..there are still ATM's where you dont get charged, so if someone is prepared to get off their fat ar*e, you can still withdraw for free...so you do have a choice...

Maybe not a smart move by Thai banks doing this considering the state of toursim (then again, an average tourist would just accept it) but certainly not worthy of 59 pages of whinging and mock outrage...

Western banks pull the same sh*t all the time...

Edited June 30, 2009 by Soutpeel

[SurfRider]

"Your paying THB150 because you are using a bank card which not issued by a Thai bank, but an overseas bank."

WRONG! -- If you had been following the thread, you would know that it's primarily about using a card issued by a foreign bank and still avoiding the 150 Baht Thai ATM Usury fee

"If this is so important to you open a Thai account and transfer amounts every month from your offshore account, and you can withdraw from the Thai account until your hearts content..and it will only cost you THB 20"

You're missing another point that has been covered here -- Transferring funds via any means other than a direct ATM withdrawal from a foreign account will cost you a considerable fee ( in addition to the 20bt local fee ), and this thread has been about avoiding those fees.

"certainly not worthy of 59 pages of whinging and mock outrage..."

Interesting that you're still reading, counting, and complaining . . .

.

[Vang2x]

Awwhhhh! No wonder Tourist Visa is for FREE. lolololol!

[Vang2x]

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.

Aaaawwwwhhh!!! No wonder Tourist Visa is for FREE. lololl!

[JimGant]

You're missing another point that has been covered here -- Transferring funds via any means other than a direct ATM withdrawal from a foreign account will cost you a considerable fee ( in addition to the 20bt local fee ), and this thread has been about avoiding those fees.

No, ST, it's been shown that transferring funds to your Thai bank account can beat using a foreign ATM card in all situations -- except where the foreign ATM card is completely fee-free (most aren't), and either reimburses the 150bt fee (as I recall only E*Trade has been shown to do this) or is used in an ATM machine not charging the 150bt (inconvenient for us country dwellers).

But, as this thread has become a circle jerk, I can see why you might have missed that post.

[Datsun240Z]

I think they need more customers, that's why the charge. Anyhow 20 Baht charge for a poor Thai, I think that's alot?

[Rinrada]

Still a RIP OFF even in the Land of the Scams.....and they want tourists ........ ...

how ever I dont think they actually realise the DAMAGE that they are doing to this wonderful country...Shameful....

Time for a hulli and wot maybe shut down the airport again for a couple of days......yes go ahead ..next time nobody will notice....

[thebathman]

If you are staying most of the year in Thailand, you normally already have a Thai bank account for your visa purpose, so it must be much cheaper to yours the ATM card from the local Thai bank, instate of a foreign ATM card, were you normally already pay a fee to the bank that issued the ATM card overseas.

I pretty sure that the entrance rate is also better when sending strait to a bank account, instate of at ATM transacting in a foreign bank.