Thai Banks To Start Charging For Atm Withdrawals ...

[AlexLah]

63 pages discussing a 150 THB fee.

Am I missing something here?

Have a good day all.

[johng]

Am I missing something here?

Yep, you missed how to avoid paying the 150 baht fee.

[SurfRider]

"it does say such people cannot do the process ONLINE"

Yes, that's correct, but the intention was to educate people about what is required if they want to open an ET Brokerage account and receive a premium exchange rate and no ATM fees -- As far as I know, ONLINE was never an issue.

"63 pages discussing a 150 THB fee. . . . Am I missing something here?"

YES -- you're "missing" 150 Baht every time you insert your card into an ATM slot, but clearly, you're still very good at counting . . .

.

[Chaimai]

Am I missing something here?

Yes Alex but that won't be a new phenomenon for you, will it ?

[vagabond48]

I decided get a bit of cash yesterday so I figured I would do another test using my Fidelity debit card to see if it there is a exchange rate difference between UOB and GSB. I withdrew my money approximately 3 minutes apart.

I checked my Fidelity account online and the exchange rate for both ATM withdrawals was identical at 34.083 and of course, still no fee being charged for either.

According to following websites for July 8th,

bank of thailand IER rate was 34.11

bankexchangerate, the highest TT rate was 34.07 which was for Siam City Bank while UOB was 33.97. GSB is not listed

corporate visa was at 34.10 with the bank fee at 0%

Edited July 9, 2009 by vagabond48

[Tigs]

I cannot remember travelling around the world, of a higher ATM fee than this? Does anyone know of any higher fees for a standard ATM transaction?

[SurfRider]

"I cannot remember travelling around the world, of a higher ATM fee than this? Does anyone know of any higher fees for a standard ATM transaction?"

Here's some general information from the website link below -- I don't know how accurate or current it is:

An ATM is generally the easiest and cheapest way to get cash abroad. The biggest advantage of exchanging money with your ATM card is that all cash withdrawals, regardless of size, are exchanged based on the wholesale exchange rate, which is usually reserved only for very large interbank exchanges.

This rate is often 2 - 5 percent better than what you can get from exchanging traveler's checks at a local exchange counter. In addition, local banks or money change bureaus will add on transaction fees, which can easily eat up another 2 percent of your money.

At the very least you will probably be charged the same transaction fee, if any, that your bank charges you when using another bank's ATM. However, many banks now charge higher fees for international ATM withdrawals -- either a flat rate (typically $1 - $5) or a set percentage of your total withdrawal (usually 1 - 2 percent).

ATM's Abroad:

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resourc...&category=8

Get the Best Exchange Rate:

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resourc...&category=8

.

[flying]

I cannot remember travelling around the world, of a higher ATM fee than this? Does anyone know of any higher fees for a standard ATM transaction?

Yes you should see what they hit you for in some LV casinos

[JimGant]

I decided get a bit of cash yesterday so I figured I would do another test using my Fidelity debit card to see if it there is a exchange rate difference between UOB and GSB. I withdrew my money approximately 3 minutes apart.

I checked my Fidelity account online and the exchange rate for both ATM withdrawals was identical at 34.083 and of course, still no fee being charged for either.

Well, you got the IER with your Fidelity card, which is interesting based on the following from the Fidelity site:

Other institutions may assess ATM fees for use of ATMs in their network. mySmart Cash AccountSM customers or Fidelity accounts coded Premium, Private Client Group, or held by customers with householded annual trading activity of 120 or more stock, bond or options trades, will be reimbursed for ATM fees charged by other institutions. Please review your Customer Agreement for specific information on reimbursement caps or limits. For each foreign transaction, Visa charges a foreign transaction fee of 1%, which will be included in the amount charged to your account.

As you were not charged the 1% foreign transaction fee, what kind of account do you have with Fidelity? From the above, it sounds like, even if you're doing mucho trades via Fidelity -- and thus a premium customer, you're still to pay the 1% foreign transaction fee.

They don't add that 1% a couple days later, do they?

[vagabond48]

Well, you got the IER with your Fidelity card, which is interesting based on the following from the Fidelity site:

Other institutions may assess ATM fees for use of ATMs in their network. mySmart Cash AccountSM customers or Fidelity accounts coded Premium, Private Client Group, or held by customers with householded annual trading activity of 120 or more stock, bond or options trades, will be reimbursed for ATM fees charged by other institutions. Please review your Customer Agreement for specific information on reimbursement caps or limits. For each foreign transaction, Visa charges a foreign transaction fee of 1%, which will be included in the amount charged to your account.

As you were not charged the 1% foreign transaction fee, what kind of account do you have with Fidelity? From the above, it sounds like, even if you're doing mucho trades via Fidelity -- and thus a premium customer, you're still to pay the 1% foreign transaction fee.

They don't add that 1% a couple days later, do they?

No they don't. I think I would have noticed an additional debit amount after using the card for nearly 2 years

To the best of my knowledge, my smartcash and brokerage account are normal. I don't trade and just keep a couple of stocks which have been there for years. They have always told me that they don't reimburse the Visa 1% but apparently they do. I was told the same thing at Schwab.

Something doesn't make sense. The last time I tested my 3 debit cards, the same amount was withdrawn so I got the same exchange rate on all 3 which appeared to exclude the Visa 1%.

I wonder if Visa is screwing up. Fine by me.

Edited July 9, 2009 by vagabond48

[shotover]

On January 15 I withdrew 20,000 baht from my USA credit union account using their Visa bank card at the GSB ATM machine at the Asok BTS Station in Bangkok. No notice of 150 baht being charged for this transaction.

My bank charged my account $593.54, for an exchange rate of 33.70 baht per USD. The Interbank rate per Oanda was 34.23 baht per USD. The Bangkok TT Fx rate was 33.93 per USD.

[jfchandler]

Somebody's taking out a 1% cut of your funds...and it's not you!!!

A card/account with folks like Schwab, ETrade, Fidelity and a few others would give you the better, near IER rates...

On January 15 I withdrew 20,000 baht from my USA credit union account using their Visa bank card at the GSB ATM machine at the Asok BTS Station in Bangkok. No notice of 150 baht being charged for this transaction.

My bank charged my account $593.54, for an exchange rate of 33.70 baht per USD. The Interbank rate per Oanda was 34.23 baht per USD. The Bangkok TT Fx rate was 33.93 per USD.

[jfchandler]

I wonder if Visa is screwing up. Fine by me.

Don't mess with success!!!!

Yes, I've had the same {good rate} experience with both ETrade and Schwab.....

[jfchandler]

Nothing much to say from me here lately, because things seem to have settled down into status quo...

GSB, AEON and UOB ATMs still fee-free.... Ayudhya a continuing mystery.... Pass on everyone else's....

ETrade, Schwab and Fidelity cards good for full exchange rates....

It's your money.... your choices.....

[venturalaw]

Somebody's taking out a 1% cut of your funds...and it's not you!!!

A card/account with folks like Schwab, ETrade, Fidelity and a few others would give you the better, near IER rates...

On January 15 I withdrew 20,000 baht from my USA credit union account using their Visa bank card at the GSB ATM machine at the Asok BTS Station in Bangkok. No notice of 150 baht being charged for this transaction.

My bank charged my account $593.54, for an exchange rate of 33.70 baht per USD. The Interbank rate per Oanda was 34.23 baht per USD. The Bangkok TT Fx rate was 33.93 per USD.

I haven't read all of the pages here, but my experience has been with Schwab. I opened the accounts (required brokerage account to have a checking with an ATM card) using a US address. No minimum balance required and all ATM fees paid by Schwab. I then provided my Thailand address to receive my ATM card. Received the card within a week via FedEx. However, Schwab for security purposes requires that you confirm your US residence address periodically. Since I am no longer in the US, I received an email stating that if I was unable to so confirm within a few days, my ATM access would be canceled. I contacted Schwab, and was told that since I now live out of the country, they will change my accounts. Bottom line, no 1% interest on my checking account. That is the only change.

[SurfRider]

I thought that the people following this thread might find this amusing.

Some folks posting in another ThaiVisa thread have found an entirely new "state of the art" method of moving funds into Thailand.

Write a paper check, deposit it to your Thai account, wait 30 days, and receive some "mystery" exchange rate . . .

This is what I found as the best way to replenish my funds here. I go to the bank, write a check to myself and deposit it. I use Bangkok Bank. They charge a $10 fee, paid in baht at the time of deposit. It is deducted from your home bank account almost immediately but it does not show up in your Thai bank account for almost 30 days to the day.

I have done this a number of times and it is always 30 days. Last month the gal said it would take about 3 weeks. It was 30 days.

The first time I did this they said it was possible if I had an account with them for a "long time". No definitive answer as to what constitutes a long time.

It works fine for me however, no foreign ATM or wire transfer charges. Just need to plan 1 month in advance.

========================

My experience is similar using Bangkok Bank except every time its been 3 weeks +/- 1 or two days. $10.00 fee and the exchange rate is exactly as posted when cleared. No extra deductions at either end. However that is not with BOA so perhaps they charge. No ripoff from my experience and have done it several times, the last time just last month.

========================

First time I asked the company to send me a check, it took them a month to send me the check, then another 30 days for it to clear. So 2 months in total of waiting time. At least I'll save a month by going this way.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Clearing-Per...62#entry2874562

.

[ctrunfree]

To save me reading through 65 pages of posting (did manage the first 12!) , can some kind person point me to which Bank's ATMs I can use to avoid the 150 baht transaction fee when I use my Visa branded debit card? (we'll be in both B'kok and Chiang Mai)

[jgm005]

USE ATMS BELONGING TO AEON, GOVERNMENT SAVINGS BANK OR UOB, AND PAY NO ATM FEE.

To save me reading through 65 pages of posting (did manage the first 12!) , can some kind person point me to which Bank's ATMs I can use to avoid the 150 baht transaction fee when I use my Visa branded debit card? (we'll be in both B'kok and Chiang Mai)

[jfchandler]

Since Ctrunfree is a newbie here on ThaiVisa, I'll add...

UOB (blue color logo) is the most widely found bank among the group. They also have an English language web site for Thailand where you can search and locate their branch and ATM locations. They take VISA and MC cards.

GSB (pink and gold color logo) is not as widely located, but usually have a branch or ATM somewhere around each area. Their web site is no help at all in English. This thread previously has listed many of their locations in different areas, including BKK and maybe CM also.

AEON is the Thai branch of a Japanese credit card company. They also have a very good English language web site for Thailand that allows you to search for their offices and ATMs. They are the least widely located of the three, but tend to have ATMs in major shopping malls and centers. Often it's just a solo ATM stuck away in a corner somewhere in the mall, because they're not a bank per se like the others. But...their ATMs also take both VISA and MCs.

GSB ATMs are reported to sometimes give users an error message like "communication error" or such, and spit back your card, leading people to think their ATMs won't/don't accept foreign cards. That's not the case. They do accept VISA, but not MC. However, those errors usually mean it's just a temporary problem with that particular ATM. Try another location or bank among those listed above.

[Chaimai]

Since Ctrunfree is a newbie here on ThaiVisa, I'll add...

UOB (blue color logo) is the most widely found bank among the group. They also have an English language web site for Thailand where you can search and locate their branch and ATM locations. They take VISA and MC cards.

GSB (pink and gold color logo) is not as widely located, but usually have a branch or ATM somewhere around each area. Their web site is no help at all in English. This thread previously has listed many of their locations in different areas, including BKK and maybe CM also.

AEON is the Thai branch of a Japanese credit card company. They also have a very good English language web site for Thailand that allows you to search for their offices and ATMs. They are the least widely located of the three, but tend to have ATMs in major shopping malls and centers. Often it's just a solo ATM stuck away in a corner somewhere in the mall, because they're not a bank per se like the others. But...their ATMs also take both VISA and MCs.

GSB ATMs are reported to sometimes give users an error message like "communication error" or such, and spit back your card, leading people to think their ATMs won't/don't accept foreign cards. That's not the case. They do accept VISA, but not MC. However, those errors usually mean it's just a temporary problem with that particular ATM. Try another location or bank among those listed above.

jfc - without wishing to burden you with more work, is worth considering a "pinned" post now that things have settled down. Your post above plus links to ATM locations should give anyone a good reference point for avoiding the 150 charge. The pinned post is unlikely to require much (if any) maintenance and this thread could then be closed.

Any exciting or new developments could be posted by way of a new topic.

Edited July 18, 2009 by Chaimai

[jfchandler]

Starting in spring 2009, most of the major Thai banks began charging a 150 baht (about $4.40 U.S.) transaction fee for ATM machine cash withdrawals made using foreign (non-Thai bank) credit and debit cards, including VISA, MasterCard, JCB and others. That charge, reputed to be one of the highest among countries with banks that broadly charge such fees, is above and beyond any charges that may be imposed by a person's home bank for using their card overseas.

However, in Thailand, for expats and tourists alike, there remain (as of July 2009) several options for making ATM withdrawals in which no fee is charged by the Thai bank. The best options for that are as follows:

United Overseas Bank (UOB-blue color logo) is the most widely found bank among the group. They also have an English language web site for Thailand where you can search and locate their branch and ATM locations. Their ATMs accept VISA and MC cards. (Note: UOB is part of the Thai Bankers' Assn., which proposed and adopted the 150 baht fee for its members. So it's possible UOB will implement the fee at some point. But they have yet to do so, months after all the other major Thai banks did).

Government Savings Bank (GSB-pink and gold color logo) is not as widely located, but usually have a branch or ATM somewhere around each major area or city. Their web site is no help at all in English, other than showing their main office location and phone number. However, this TV thread previously has listed many of their locations in different areas.

AEON is the Thai branch of a Japanese credit card company. They also have a very good English language web site for Thailand that allows you to search for their offices and ATMs. They are the least widely located of the three, but tend to have ATMs in major shopping malls and centers. Often it's just a solo ATM stuck away in a corner somewhere in the mall, because they're not a bank per se like the others. But...their ATMs also take both VISA and MCs.

GSB ATMs are reported to sometimes give users an error message like "communication error" or such, and spit back your card, leading people to think their ATMs won't/don't accept foreign cards. That's not the case. They do accept VISA, but not MC. However, those errors usually mean it's just a temporary problem with that particular ATM or it may be out of cash (since they are more popular now among farang). Try another location or bank among those listed above.

One final note: there have been conflicting reports about the status of Bank of Ayudhya ATMs (yellow color logo). Some TV users report continuing to make fee-free ATM transactions, while others report being charged the 150 baht ATM fee. Bank of Ayudhya is a member of the Thai Bankers' Assn. that adopted the 150 baht fee. So your mileage may vary with BoA ATMs. However, one point that is not in dispute: Unlike others, Bank of Ayudhya sets its own (very low) exchange rate for ATM transactions using U.S. $ and Euro-denominated MasterCards. So it is best to avoid using MCs at BofA ATMs.

[jfchandler]

Chaimai, thanks for the suggestion. The above re-post probably fits the bill for what you suggested....

Now that it's there, it would take a TV moderator to "pin" it... That's beyond my authority here...

Maybe you could message one of the mods to pass along your suggestion. Regards, JFC.

[ctrunfree]

Thanks folks, very helpful....for a lot of people..

[SurfRider]

"The pinned post is unlikely to require much (if any) maintenance and this thread could then be closed."

Having it pinned sounds like a good idea, but my suggestion would be to keep the thread open -- at least for a few months so anyone currently subscribed and receiving notices of new posts continues to be notified.

.

[ctrunfree]

Got this comment from a Thai resident when I passed on the advice- "Foreign ATM cards don't work in Aeon or Government Savings Bank ATMs, as far as I know. " Is that right?

[jfchandler]

Listen to those who know what they're talking about...and rely directly on that knowledge to access their funds....

It's a farang issue/concern, not a Thai one...with all due respect.

[Soutpeel]

Got this comment from a Thai resident when I passed on the advice- "Foreign ATM cards don't work in Aeon or Government Savings Bank ATMs, as far as I know. " Is that right?

I use a foreign ATM card at the GSB ATM's and they work..

[brownlegs]

No, you are right I will still go to Thailand but I will do my best to avoid bank charges. I will take hard currency with me and maybe use travellers cheques. But the main thing Iwill do is not tip but I will tell the service staff why I am not tipping them. Go ask the banks for a tip.............I will learn to say it Thai and say it with a big smile. I have also complained to various Thai banks and the Thai bankers Association. If you choose to send e mail complaints to the these groups don't forget to cc the complaint to your friends. So the recipients understand the contempt so many people feel for them. Also cc your complaints to the Thai Tourist association. The muslim insurgents have killed tourism in The South of Thailand. Leave it to the rest of the Thais to drive out the increasingly jaundiced foreigners out of the rest of Thailand.

[jfchandler]

But the main thing Iwill do is not tip but I will tell the service staff why I am not tipping them.

Not sure what in the world this notion has to do with the Thai banks' adoption of the 150 baht ATM fee....

And in many restaurant settings, your bill will automatically include a 10% service charge, plus 7% for VAT. So you won't have any choice about it, other than to not patronize such places.

[woodwork09]

With numerous postings and recommendations for Etrade, its about time those posting came clean about the charge on Etrade's Visa Debit card as well as concentrating on their refund policy on ATM fees . All foreign transactions on the Etrade card are subject to a 1% charge so 34 satang is lost before one begins, thereby wiping out the so called 'excellent exchange rate/ near interbank rate .' This fact is clearly stated in their terms and conditions.

Secondly all those postings about TT transfers to Thai banks are silent on the fact that one bank here in Thailand consistantly gives the worst rate for dollars to baht (as they have increased their buy/sell spread to 30 satang per dollar whereas most others have a 25 satang TT spread,) namely Bank of Ayudhya ...so suggest you give them a wide berth for US dollar TT'S .

On the other side of the coin one bank consistantly gives the best rate for incoming US $ TT 's namely Siam City Bank where it is recommended you open an account and send your TT's. Buying TT rates at Siam City can often be a full 15 satang per dollar higher than Ayudhya Bank.

Another way to avoid the 150 baht charge is to use Citibank cards in their ATM'S. People should realise however that Citibank Bangkok has a rock solid immutable policy of not opening accounts for foreigners unless they have a work permit. They will not even allow you to speak to a Manager to complain about this stupid ridiculous shoot themselves in the foot policy !