Thai Banks To Start Charging For Atm Withdrawals ...

[Soutpeel]

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 !

One assumes you are talking a Citibank card issued in Thailand, as I have a Citibank card issued in Singapore and have been charged THB 150.

Also would take issue with why you would single out Citibank Bangkok about their policies, Re work permits other Thai banks have the same policy and do implement it as well.

As regards Citibank/manager in BKK, never had a problem with them, in fact the times I have been in there to pick up some documentation forwrded to me from Citi Singapore, they couldnt do enough, and said if I ever needed anything to give them a call and I dont even bank with Citi Thailand...

Could we suggest by the tone of your posting you where turned down for an account because you didnt have a WP ??

[SurfRider]

"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."

The info you posted may in fact be from the E-Trade website, but it is simply not accurate.

Awhile back, there was info posted that ET "reserves the right to charge a 1% fee", but they currently ARE NOT doing that. I've been transferring funds via E-Trade for almost 5 years and there have never been *ANY* charges and the Exchange Rate has always been the best rate available on that day.

There have also been several examples posted here that E-Trade *DOES* currently refund the 150 Baht Thai Usury fee.

How long either of those conditions will continue to exist is anyone's guess, but your comments are clearly inaccurate at the current time.

Others posting here will verify that this information is correct.

.

[jfchandler]

Woodwork, welcome to ThaiVisa and your first post...Unfortunately, you are wrong on the detail below re E*Trade.

Indeed, you are correct that E*Trade's site talks about the 1% charge for foreign transactions using their debit card. It was for that reason I myself held off opening a checking account with them for some time. But where you are wrong is, despite that language on their web site and printed materials, in the real world, E*Trade is not actually assessing that 1% charge on foreign transactions, or at least, not passing it along to their debit card customers.

I and other posters with E*Trade accounts here have made, and continue to make to this very day, countless ATM transactions and documented them in comparison to the exchange rates of those same days. Every time, the net withdrawals from people's E*Trade accounts are yielding very close to the actual Interbank Exchange Rate (IER), which is better than the buying TT rate and just about as good as you can ever expect to do.

No special deals. No hidden fees. That's just the way they are doing their business. And add to that, E*Trade is one of the few known banks that is actually fully reimbursing their customers when they are hit with the Thai banks' 150 baht ATM fee. I don't know how long that will or won't continue. But it has been happening and is happening today, even since Thai banks began adding the 150 baht fee earlier this spring.

I can't explain it...other than to say...sometimes what businesses say in their policies is different than what they actually do. So it happens to work in our favor, I'm happy to let things continue as they are. I only wish the other foreign/U.S. banks were giving their customers as good a deal as E*Trade does.

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.

[woodwork09]

Etrade Customer Agreement hard copy ( mailed out to Thailand for $6 postage free only last week ) states

on Page 14 under para Foreign Transactions the following :

''E*Trade will impose a charge equal to 1 percent of the transaction amount for each foreign transaction''

That is the situation (now) but grandfathering rules might of course allow waiver for long term clients...who knows.

They also confirm that ATM charges for up to 5 nationwide atm withdrawals will be refunded. Thailand cannot

of course be considered nationwide so again you are at the mercy of Etrade whether or not you are refunded.

Re Citibank Bangkok and foreigners wanting to open an account with them :

EXACTLY ....QED .. you opened your account elsewhere. Had you tried to do this in Thailand without a work permit you would have been given short shrift. Unlike other banks in Thailand which often do open accounts for foreigners without work permit , Citibank ( the fools ...no wonder they are in such a mess and their shares down to a few bucks) will not even contemplate the possibility nor even let one speak to the Manager .

@ Soutpeel...would be most grateful for a comment from you as a user of a Citibank ATM card as to the exchange rates used for USD/THB in a Citibank Bangkok branch ATM .

I ask because the staff at Citibank Bangkok say they do not know the ATM rate and that the only way to find out is to use the card in their ATM ! Is their rate more or is it less than their tt rate which they DO publish? Thank you.

[wimpy]

I can also confirm that e*trade has never charged me a 1% foreign transaction fee. I don't know about refunding the 150 atm fee, as I haven't tried that yet. If you actually get charged the 1% fee, please let us know.

Edited July 19, 2009 by wimpy

[woodwork09]

For the sake of absolute accuracy just spoke to Etrade in Georgia in the US of A

on 16786246210 where their official representative confirmed :

1. There is no reversal (refund) of ATM fees where their debit card is used outside the USA .

2. There is a 1% charge for usage of their debit card outside the USA.

Both these are clearly set out in their terms and conditions and correct .

[wimpy]

For the sake of absolute accuracy just spoke to Etrade in Georgia in the US of A

on 16786246210 where their official representative confirmed :

1. There is no reversal (refund) of ATM fees where their debit card is used outside the USA .

2. There is a 1% charge for usage of their debit card outside the USA.

Both these are clearly set out in their terms and conditions and correct .

That is not what is happening in reality.

[SurfRider]

"For the sake of absolute accuracy just spoke to Etrade in Georgia in the US of A"

You might consider THAT to be "absolute accuracy", but another E-Trade Debit Card holder made that same call in April, when the 150 Baht fee was first levied. The answer was the same as they told you-- but once tested, IT WAS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!. - ( if you doubt this, go back and read the numerous posts in this thread )

Whether their systems haven't yet caught up with their stated policies, or your "grandfather clause" theory is in play, is unknown.

What is known is that ET **IS** currently refunding the fee and is **NOT** adding a 1% fee.

I've dealt with the staffers of help-desks for years -- it should be evident that not all of them are "Einsteins", and they're probably reading the same inaccurate data that you reported from the ET website.

.

Edited July 19, 2009 by SurfTrader

[Pooklook]

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.

Excellent post. May it be elevated in rank to the Exalted Order of the Pinned.

[jfchandler]

Woodwork, there's an old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." You're free to make your own choices.

I know what the E*Trade document says...I have it also. I also have a relatively new checking account with E*Trade, not any kind of old or grandfathered account. And I know exactly what they are doing in terms of exchange rates and ATM fee refunds in Thailand -- exactly the same for me as the other E*Trade users have reported here on ThaiVisa. We all have the same experience. And no one here with an actual E*Trade account has reported different.

Could it change in the future? Sure. If you want to believe the document, and disbelieve all the various E*Trade users in Thailand who have confirmed their experience here, it's up to you.

Etrade Customer Agreement hard copy ( mailed out to Thailand for $6 postage free only last week ) states

on Page 14 under para Foreign Transactions the following :

''E*Trade will impose a charge equal to 1 percent of the transaction amount for each foreign transaction''

That is the situation (now) but grandfathering rules might of course allow waiver for long term clients...who knows.

They also confirm that ATM charges for up to 5 nationwide atm withdrawals will be refunded. Thailand cannot

of course be considered nationwide so again you are at the mercy of Etrade whether or not you are refunded.

[vagabond48]

For the sake of absolute accuracy just spoke to Etrade in Georgia in the US of A

on 16786246210 where their official representative confirmed :

1. There is no reversal (refund) of ATM fees where their debit card is used outside the USA .

2. There is a 1% charge for usage of their debit card outside the USA.

Both these are clearly set out in their terms and conditions and correct .

#2 was exactly what I was told by the Fidelity and Schwab customer representatives but as it has been stated here ad nauseum, they still don't charge the 1% yet.

I think we should all call them up and insist that they live up to their written disclosure. :D

[syd barrett]

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.

Bank of Ayuthaya is still fee-free in Pattaya for VISA cards.

[MarkyM3]

I used my Nationwide VISA debit card at Bank of Ayudhya ATM's in Lamai and BKK last week without the 150 baht fee being applied.

On the same day as making a cash withdrawal, I also paid a hotel bill with the card and exactly the same exchange rate was applied for both transactions. So that leads me to believe that an ATM fee is not being hidden via a worse exchange rate.

[syd barrett]

I used my Nationwide VISA debit card at Bank of Ayudhya ATM's in Lamai and BKK last week without the 150 baht fee being applied.

On the same day as making a cash withdrawal, I also paid a hotel bill with the card and exactly the same exchange rate was applied for both transactions. So that leads me to believe that an ATM fee is not being hidden via a worse exchange rate.

The rate you get is set by your bank. For example I get the rate -2.99% for VISA.

Thai Banks can't set a rate, or VISA corporation would cut their ties with them.

Also, if Thai banks want to charge you a 150 baht fee, they MUST inform on the screen prior to withdrawal. If they don't then complain to your home bank and you will get the money re credited to your account.

[wimpy]

I used my Nationwide VISA debit card at Bank of Ayudhya ATM's in Lamai and BKK last week without the 150 baht fee being applied.

On the same day as making a cash withdrawal, I also paid a hotel bill with the card and exactly the same exchange rate was applied for both transactions. So that leads me to believe that an ATM fee is not being hidden via a worse exchange rate.

The rate you get is set by your bank. For example I get the rate -2.99% for VISA.

Thai Banks can't set a rate, or VISA corporation would cut their ties with them.

Also, if Thai banks want to charge you a 150 baht fee, they MUST inform on the screen prior to withdrawal. If they don't then complain to your home bank and you will get the money re credited to your account.

Then how come Ayudhya can give such a terrible exchange rate on Mastercard transactions? Much worse than other Thai banks.

[syd barrett]

I used my Nationwide VISA debit card at Bank of Ayudhya ATM's in Lamai and BKK last week without the 150 baht fee being applied.

On the same day as making a cash withdrawal, I also paid a hotel bill with the card and exactly the same exchange rate was applied for both transactions. So that leads me to believe that an ATM fee is not being hidden via a worse exchange rate.

The rate you get is set by your bank. For example I get the rate -2.99% for VISA.

Thai Banks can't set a rate, or VISA corporation would cut their ties with them.

Also, if Thai banks want to charge you a 150 baht fee, they MUST inform on the screen prior to withdrawal. If they don't then complain to your home bank and you will get the money re credited to your account.

Then how come Ayudhya can give such a terrible exchange rate on Mastercard transactions? Much worse than other Thai banks.

Read the Mastercard small print. Plus is your Mastercard a CREDIT or DEBIT card?

[donx]

I have just returned from Thailand and here is a run down of my experiences while there.

As a visitor, I did want to avoid paying the 150 baht fee, but I didn't let that stop me from making withdrawals when necessary.

On 6/22/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a Kasikorn Bank ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $447.67 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee (which is normally what I see when withdrawals are made overseas). So the 150 baht fee was rolled into the 15,000 baht withdrawal from my bank's persective.

On 6/25/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a UOB ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $442.60 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee.

On 6/29/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a UOB ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $443.38 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee.

On 7/12/09 my wife and I went inside an SCB bank in Phatthalung and performed what they called a "cash advance" of 15,000 baht. We tried at two other banks but they said they couldn't do this type of transaction. For this transaction, my wife gave them her card and her US passport. They filled out an old-fashioned paper credit card looking receipt and my wife signed it. They gave her a copy and she went to a teller with the receipt to receive the 15,000 baht. The transaction posted as a Point of Sale withdrawal of $443.81 on 7/16/09. It is noted as an EFT transaction instead of as an ATM transaction. This is the same notation my bank uses when the card is used as a debit card to make purchases at our local Costco store. During the period between the transaction and the posting of the transaction, my account showed a difference of approximately $440 between the current balance and the available balance. What is even more interesting is that there wasn't any other fee charged. Usually I am charged a $.25 fee for Point of Sale transactions at Costco.

On 7/16/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a Kasikorn Bank ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $447.81 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee. Again the 150 baht fee was included in the withdrawal amount.

On 7/17/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a UOB ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $443.81 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee.

I am aware that the exchange rate that I am getting is not the greatest. I did set up a CapitalOne Direct Banking account, but I didn't get the ATM PIN number in time. My wife is still in Thailand, so I am going to confirm with her that the CapitalOne ATM card will work at a GSB bank. The ATM card I was using is a MasterCard ATM, so I couldn't use the GSB bank to avoid the fee. Unfortunately, the nearest UOB ATM is in Trang or Hat Yai which is too much of a distance to be worth traveling to just to avoid the 150 baht fee. There are at least two GSB locations in Phatthalung, so having a card that works there is best for future withdrawals.

I chose CapitalOne because I need an account that I can maintain a nearly $0 minimum balance. I need this because I plan on leaving the CapitalOne card with my in-laws for them to use. I need strict control of the amount of money available for them to withdrawal. I will report back about the use of that card now that my wife has the PIN number for her card. She and my kids remain in Thailand until the end of August. One thing I don't like about the CapitalOne account is that it took several business days for money transferred into it to become available for withdrawal. They said new accounts take 10 business days and accounts over 1 month old take 6 business days. I'll have to see how long it take in the coming weeks.

What I find interesting is that of all the transaction types I performed, I get the best results by going inside the bank and getting a cash advance (or Point of Sale) transaction unless the exchange rate changes dramatically for the worse between the time the transaction is performed and the time the transaction is posted against the account. Be aware that we were told that my bank limited this type of transaction to an amount somewhere around 15,000 baht. We asked for 30,000 baht but that was refused. I'm guessing that I can't get more than $500 for this type of transaction which is also the case for my ATM withdrawals.

[wimpy]

Read the Mastercard small print. Plus is your Mastercard a CREDIT or DEBIT card?

What fine print? Ayudhya is the only bank offering the crumby exchange rate on Mastercard transactions. So, it would appear they are the ones setting the exchange rate, not Mastercard. I have both credit and debit Mastercards - not that it makes a difference.

[Penkoprod]

Read the Mastercard small print. Plus is your Mastercard a CREDIT or DEBIT card?

What fine print? Ayudhya is the only bank offering the crumby exchange rate on Mastercard transactions. So, it would appear they are the ones setting the exchange rate, not Mastercard. I have both credit and debit Mastercards - not that it makes a difference.

Bank of Ayudhya is the only bank (so far) that uses "Dynamic Currency Conversion" on its Mastercard (only............NOT Visa) tranactions

Google those three words and you will get a shock if you dont know what they mean, or entail

Penkoprod

[jfchandler]

Thanks to those Bank of Ayudhya users above who have posted recently about being able to do ATM transaction with them without incurring the 150 baht fee. It's encouraging that at least some of their locations remain fee-free....though other users recently still have reported getting hit by a fee at their ATMs... So the more Ayudhya users chime in here, the better a picture we'll get of just what they are doing.

But as noted above, you do have to be careful more broadly about using Ayudhya ATMs. Short advice is... NEVER use a MasterCard demoninated in U.S. $ or Euros (GBP appear to be OK) at a Ayudhya ATM, or you'll get hit with a terrible exchange rate set by Ayudhya through a process called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). As Penkoprod noted above, they appear to be the only Thai bank using DCC for ATM transactions.

On the flip side, you should get a normal, reasonable exchange rate at Ayudhya ATMs using any kind of VISA card, since they don't do DCC for VISA. Just make sure the location you're using isn't going to hit you up for a 150 baht ATM fee.

[jfchandler]

DonX... thanks for posting the very detailed account of your banking activities...

I was interested in your comments about the in-branch withdrawal approach, because there has been much discussion of that here.

There are a couple things apparent. One, you're using a home bank card that's charging you a flat $1 fee for foreign ATM use. Likewise, you appear to be using a home bank card that's also charging you (behind the scenes) at least a 1% foreign currency fee. You could be doing better on both points.

For your in branch transaction at SCB, you netted an exchange rate of 33.80. For your next ATM withdrawal at Kasikorn a few days later, you got an exchange rate of 33.83 (after I subtracted out the $4.40 ATM fee Kasikorn included into your total withdrawal, a fee you could have avoided if you had used GSB, AEON or UOB.

But your concluding comment was, you found it interesting you got the best exchange rate by going inside the bank. Unfortunately, the actual figures don't bear that out. After excluding the 150 baht ATM fee that Kasikorn added on, you got virtually the same rate in both transactions (in terms of a comparison between ATM and counter withdrawals).

On the other hand, I guess what we could conclude from your experience is the in-branch withdrawals at SCB may be more economical than using an ATM that charges the 150 baht fee. It was interesting to note, based on your experience, that SCB appears to NOT be charging any transaction fee for the counter withdrawals....

However, whether in branch or ATM, the card you're using isn't giving you the best possible results.

Here (courtesy of X-Rates.com) are the Thai baht-U.S. $ exchange rates, based on the Interbank Exchange Rates, that good cards like E*Trade, Schwab and others would have approached during the same period. Using those in a fee-free ATM like GSB is going to produce the best results.

2009-07-10 Friday, July 10 34.0853 THB

2009-07-13 Monday, July 13 34.1553 THB

2009-07-14 Tuesday, July 14 34.1348 THB

2009-07-15 Wednesday, July 15 34.0762 THB

2009-07-16 Thursday, July 16 34.0623 THB

On 7/12/09 my wife and I went inside an SCB bank in Phatthalung and performed what they called a "cash advance" of 15,000 baht. We tried at two other banks but they said they couldn't do this type of transaction. For this transaction, my wife gave them her card and her US passport. They filled out an old-fashioned paper credit card looking receipt and my wife signed it. They gave her a copy and she went to a teller with the receipt to receive the 15,000 baht. The transaction posted as a Point of Sale withdrawal of $443.81 on 7/16/09. It is noted as an EFT transaction instead of as an ATM transaction.

On 7/16/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a Kasikorn Bank ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $447.81 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee. Again the 150 baht fee was included in the withdrawal amount.

What I find interesting is that of all the transaction types I performed, I get the best results by going inside the bank and getting a cash advance (or Point of Sale) transaction unless the exchange rate changes dramatically for the worse between the time the transaction is performed and the time the transaction is posted against the account.

[eurozhongguo]

The 150 Baht ATM transaction charge is just the latest Thai tactic to rip off tourists and all foreigners. I have come across ATMs that charge as much as 300 Baht per transaction in some places.

However, I have some good news for you. The Bank of Ayuthaya and UOB still allow free withdrawals. So, I now only use these banks. However, if you're heading off to Ko Tao, they don't have these banks there (or at least, I couldn't find them). So, withdraw your money before arriving there.

Also, may I take this opportunity to correct julesdick. The Nationwide no longer pays commission charges to VISA on your behalf. Their debit and credit cards now incurr a 1% commission charge which will be levied on top of the Thai transaction charge. The only UK card that I am aware of that is still free is the Post Office Mastercard. I don't know whether the same is true of their debit cards.

Edited July 22, 2009 by eurozhongguo

[jfchandler]

From the mouths of babes.....

You should add Government Savings Bank (GSB-pink color-VISA cards only) and AEON (VISA and MC) to your list of fee-free ATMs in Thailand.

Also, those with U.S. $ and Euro denominated MasterCards should NEVER use Ayudhya ATMs unless you want to get a lousy exchange rate. Visa cards, on the the hand, produce a normal rate at Ayudhya. See the discussions of DCC above in this thread.

However, I have some good news for you. The Bank of Ayuthaya and UOB still allow free withdrawals. So, I now only use these banks.

[vagabond48]

I don't use Mastercharge debit or credit cards.

I think I read awhile back (don't remember where) that Mastercharge increased or was planning to increase their foreign currency exchange rate fee to 2% or 3%. If this is true, using their cards would get you a much lower final exchange rate than Visa, if of course, you were using a card that didn't refund this fee as Fidelity, Schwab and Etrade do.

Is my less than perfect memory correct?

[Chaimai]

The 150 Baht ATM transaction charge is just the latest Thai tactic to rip off tourists and all foreigners. I have come across ATMs that charge as much as 300 Baht per transaction in some places.

However, I have some good news for you. The Bank of Ayuthaya and UOB still allow free withdrawals. So, I now only use these banks. However, if you're heading off to Ko Tao, they don't have these banks there (or at least, I couldn't find them). So, withdraw your money before arriving there.

Also, may I take this opportunity to correct julesdick. The Nationwide no longer pays commission charges to VISA on your behalf. Their debit and credit cards now incurr a 1% commission charge which will be levied on top of the Thai transaction charge. The only UK card that I am aware of that is still free is the Post Office Mastercard. I don't know whether the same is true of their debit cards.

CARE - something of a random post here:-

1. I doubt very much that you have seen a 300 Baht ATM charge. The Thai Bankers Association only approved up to 150 Baht maximum.

2. Not sure which post of julesdick you are seeking to correct ??

3. Nationwide have never paid commission to VISA. VISA charge a fee for undertaking the card transaction on your behalf. Until recently Nationwide absorbed that charge - now they pass on 0.84%.

4. The cards do not incur a 1% commission charge at all ! The VISA "debit" card attracts 0.84% as above. The VISA "Goldcard" attracts an interest charge from the date of withdrawal (if you are stupid/desperate enough to use it for cash) of 2.075% or an annualised rate of 27.9%. In addition the 0.84% VISA processing charge will apply. Per Nationwide website (which I recommend that you read before posting):-

Foreign Transactions

Nationwide continues to offer commission-free foreign transactions. By commission-free we mean not adding any additional charge for the service of exchanging currency that generates profit for the Society.

We pass on a Visa charge for processing transactions in certain currencies other than sterling. The fee is currently 0.84% and it will be included in the sterling amount shown on your statement.

Note:

As far as the Post Office Mastercard (Platinum Card) is concerned it does not carry a charge for overseas transactions - care, cash advances attract a rate of 24.1% p.a.. The Post Office do not (as far as I know) issue a debit card, they promote a pre-paid debit card only - Travel Money Card.

[donx]

DonX... thanks for posting the very detailed account of your banking activities...

I was interested in your comments about the in-branch withdrawal approach, because there has been much discussion of that here.

There are a couple things apparent. One, you're using a home bank card that's charging you a flat $1 fee for foreign ATM use. Likewise, you appear to be using a home bank card that's also charging you (behind the scenes) at least a 1% foreign currency fee. You could be doing better on both points.

I am aware of this and that is why I stated that I tried to set up a CapitalOne account before I left. I also decided on CapitalOne because I need a bank that permits a miminum balance of $0.01 as I stated in my post.

For your in branch transaction at SCB, you netted an exchange rate of 33.80. For your next ATM withdrawal at Kasikorn a few days later, you got an exchange rate of 33.83 (after I subtracted out the $4.40 ATM fee Kasikorn included into your total withdrawal, a fee you could have avoided if you had used GSB, AEON or UOB.

But your concluding comment was, you found it interesting you got the best exchange rate by going inside the bank. Unfortunately, the actual figures don't bear that out. After excluding the 150 baht ATM fee that Kasikorn added on, you got virtually the same rate in both transactions (in terms of a comparison between ATM and counter withdrawals).

I never said I "got the best exchange rate", I said I "get the best results". I am aware it wasn't as good of an exchange rate, but considering the 150 baht fee, it netted the best result.

On the other hand, I guess what we could conclude from your experience is the in-branch withdrawals at SCB may be more economical than using an ATM that charges the 150 baht fee. It was interesting to note, based on your experience, that SCB appears to NOT be charging any transaction fee for the counter withdrawals....

However, whether in branch or ATM, the card you're using isn't giving you the best possible results.

Here (courtesy of X-Rates.com) are the Thai baht-U.S. $ exchange rates, based on the Interbank Exchange Rates, that good cards like E*Trade, Schwab and others would have approached during the same period. Using those in a fee-free ATM like GSB is going to produce the best results.

Since my bank uses MasterCard, I couldn't use the GSB ATM. My wife just used our CapitalOne card to withdrawal 3000 baht on 2009-07-22 at a GSB ATM. The transaction is listed as pending, so I don't know if the amount deducted from the account is the final amount, but it currently shows up as 88.39 which is an exchange rate of 33.94. Do any of the banks you recommend charge no fees and allow minimum balances of close to zero?

2009-07-10 Friday, July 10 34.0853 THB

2009-07-13 Monday, July 13 34.1553 THB

2009-07-14 Tuesday, July 14 34.1348 THB

2009-07-15 Wednesday, July 15 34.0762 THB

2009-07-16 Thursday, July 16 34.0623 THB

On 7/12/09 my wife and I went inside an SCB bank in Phatthalung and performed what they called a "cash advance" of 15,000 baht. We tried at two other banks but they said they couldn't do this type of transaction. For this transaction, my wife gave them her card and her US passport. They filled out an old-fashioned paper credit card looking receipt and my wife signed it. They gave her a copy and she went to a teller with the receipt to receive the 15,000 baht. The transaction posted as a Point of Sale withdrawal of $443.81 on 7/16/09. It is noted as an EFT transaction instead of as an ATM transaction.

On 7/16/09 I withdrew 15,000 baht from a Kasikorn Bank ATM. The transaction posted at my bank as a withdrawal of $447.81 with a $1.00 CIRRUS fee. Again the 150 baht fee was included in the withdrawal amount.

What I find interesting is that of all the transaction types I performed, I get the best results by going inside the bank and getting a cash advance (or Point of Sale) transaction unless the exchange rate changes dramatically for the worse between the time the transaction is performed and the time the transaction is posted against the account.

[jfchandler]

Do any of the banks you recommend charge no fees and allow minimum balances of close to zero?[/color]

Re your question, it would be best for you to check out the web sites of those three respective banks to see the details of their accounts, and how they may fit with your particular situation.

But, in general, I'm familiar with E*Trade and Schwab. I'm not familiar with Fidelity.

E*Trade requires either a a pretty high minimum balance ($5000 I think) or several other options instead to avoid a pretty hefty monthly fee. But...if you trade stocks, or park an IRA with them, or have balances in other accounts with them, those can serve to waive the fee... otherwsise, I believe it's $15 per month. So that would be a good account for you, but not for Thai inlaws.

The Schwab checking account, which also offers a VISA debit card, not MC, same as ETrade, I believe does NOT have minimum balance or other pesky requirements, and has no monthly fees. They offer it, hoping that you'll expand to do brokerage business with them. But there's certainly no requirement to do that, in order to have their checking account. It is easiest to open an account with them if you're living in the U.S., as opposed to Thailand, or at least have a U.S. address. This might be a good option for your inlaws (meaning your account but living the debit card to them).

Maybe someone here with a Fidelity account can chime in as to whether it would be appropriate for Thai inlaws...

[donx]

Do any of the banks you recommend charge no fees and allow minimum balances of close to zero?[/color]

Re your question, it would be best for you to check out the web sites of those three respective banks to see the details of their accounts, and how they may fit with your particular situation.

But, in general, I'm familiar with E*Trade and Schwab. I'm not familiar with Fidelity.

E*Trade requires either a a pretty high minimum balance ($5000 I think) or several other options instead to avoid a pretty hefty monthly fee. But...if you trade stocks, or park an IRA with them, or have balances in other accounts with them, those can serve to waive the fee... otherwsise, I believe it's $15 per month. So that would be a good account for you, but not for Thai inlaws.

The Schwab checking account, which also offers a VISA debit card, not MC, same as ETrade, I believe does NOT have minimum balance or other pesky requirements, and has no monthly fees. They offer it, hoping that you'll expand to do brokerage business with them. But there's certainly no requirement to do that, in order to have their checking account. It is easiest to open an account with them if you're living in the U.S., as opposed to Thailand, or at least have a U.S. address. This might be a good option for your inlaws (meaning your account but living the debit card to them).

Maybe someone here with a Fidelity account can chime in as to whether it would be appropriate for Thai inlaws...

Thank you for this information. I do reside in the US, so it shouldn't be difficult to set up an account with Schwab. The E*Trade restrictions won't work for me as you indicated. At least it appears that I can avoid the 150 baht fee by using the CapitalOne Plus (Visa) card at GSB. And it gets a better exchange rate than my home bank's MasterCard. I wonder how different the exchange rate would be between what I get with the CapitalOne ATM card and what I would get with a Schwab Visa card?

[vagabond48]

I use Schwab and Fidelity. They both have Visa cards and I believe they have similar open account policies.

[vagabond48]

I forgot to mention that Schwab now has a great FDIC insured high yielding savings account paying a very high 1.35% which is much better than Fidelity as well as most checking accounts both at banks or brokerage firms.