Thai Banks To Start Charging For Atm Withdrawals ...

[kosh]

Good advice for tourist type folks who are staying in hotels in tourist areas....

But be aware, some U.S. banks (I can't speak to the European ones) have begun charging "counter withdrawal" fees to their card holders, when you try to withdraw funds using your bank card at some other bank. Those include Chase (3% or $5, whichever is greater) and Wells Fargo (a fixed $3 charge) Banks.

For european bank the situation is not very clear.

Use of a debt card in a POS in Euro is free, but nobody knows what will happen outside eurozone.

I hope it will work or it will be 5E for every ATM transaction, in SAmui i will only use an ATM with an open bank in the back.....

[barhopper]

Good advice for tourist type folks who are staying in hotels in tourist areas....

But be aware, some U.S. banks (I can't speak to the European ones) have begun charging "counter withdrawal" fees to their card holders, when you try to withdraw funds using your bank card at some other bank. Those include Chase (3% or $5, whichever is greater) and Wells Fargo (a fixed $3 charge) Banks.

For european bank the situation is not very clear.

Use of a debt card in a POS in Euro is free, but nobody knows what will happen outside eurozone.

I hope it will work or it will be 5E for every ATM transaction, in SAmui i will only use an ATM with an open bank in the back.....

All banks are different and have their own charges.My post referred to using the Nationwide Debit Card(Visa) UK issued which charges 0.84%(Passed on by Visa).The 0.84% is taken out of the exchange rate by Visa/Nationwide.My reason for asking for a cash advance at the window with my passport used as proof of who i am was to avoid the 150 Baht Thai ATM fee.I checked on my online banking a few days later and their were no 'counter withdrawal' fees.

[thaimate]

Thaimate, GSB has gone over to the dark side a couple of weeks ago.... Been living frugally lately???

Look for an AEON ATM... Still no 150 baht fee....

no been using my Thai bank and all the GSB machines here in Patters have rejected my Nationwide card ,ive felt so unloved

[kosh]

Good advice for tourist type folks who are staying in hotels in tourist areas....

But be aware, some U.S. banks (I can't speak to the European ones) have begun charging "counter withdrawal" fees to their card holders, when you try to withdraw funds using your bank card at some other bank. Those include Chase (3% or $5, whichever is greater) and Wells Fargo (a fixed $3 charge) Banks.

For european bank the situation is not very clear.

Use of a debt card in a POS in Euro is free, but nobody knows what will happen outside eurozone.

I hope it will work or it will be 5E for every ATM transaction, in SAmui i will only use an ATM with an open bank in the back.....

All banks are different and have their own charges.My post referred to using the Nationwide Debit Card(Visa) UK issued which charges 0.84%(Passed on by Visa).The 0.84% is taken out of the exchange rate by Visa/Nationwide.My reason for asking for a cash advance at the window with my passport used as proof of who i am was to avoid the 150 Baht Thai ATM fee.I checked on my online banking a few days later and their were no 'counter withdrawal' fees.

I checked with my italian bank and for then no POS transaction is allowed outside Euro zone.

So they think it will be treated the same as cash advance with Visa/MC card....

Next month i'll try

[barhopper]

Good advice for tourist type folks who are staying in hotels in tourist areas....

But be aware, some U.S. banks (I can't speak to the European ones) have begun charging "counter withdrawal" fees to their card holders, when you try to withdraw funds using your bank card at some other bank. Those include Chase (3% or $5, whichever is greater) and Wells Fargo (a fixed $3 charge) Banks.

For european bank the situation is not very clear.

Use of a debt card in a POS in Euro is free, but nobody knows what will happen outside eurozone.

I hope it will work or it will be 5E for every ATM transaction, in SAmui i will only use an ATM with an open bank in the back.....

All banks are different and have their own charges.My post referred to using the Nationwide Debit Card(Visa) UK issued which charges 0.84%(Passed on by Visa).The 0.84% is taken out of the exchange rate by Visa/Nationwide.My reason for asking for a cash advance at the window with my passport used as proof of who i am was to avoid the 150 Baht Thai ATM fee.I checked on my online banking a few days later and their were no 'counter withdrawal' fees.

I checked with my italian bank and for then no POS transaction is allowed outside Euro zone.

So they think it will be treated the same as cash advance with Visa/MC card....

Next month i'll try

That's a crazy policy imo and yet another indication of how the banks around the world try and rip off their customers.If you are getting cash over the counter with a Debit Card(which you have sufficient funds in) i.e. your money why the hel_l should your issuing bank treat it the same as a cash advance using a Visa/MCard cash advance?..They're just blatantly ripping off the customer with interest and fees for using your own money not theirs.

Edited October 24, 2009 by barhopper

[OriginalPoster]

Ok, double checked with (the intelligent) girlfriend. She says the Aeon machine in Wang Hin, Bangkok now charges 150baht. The nasty thing about it is it does not warn you before you take the money, it gives you the money and then pops a message saying you have been charge 150 baht! So it sounds like a hasty software upgrade to the ATM machines.

The must not have started doing that everywhere though -- I used an AEON ATM machine at the Tesco in Samui today and there was no 150 baht fee.

[jfchandler]

The above report by MaiChai's girlfriend is mistaken, and previously here was acknowledged as such. AEON ATMs remain fee free.

[Tanaka]

If you have a card with Bangkok Bank and take your money from an ATM from another bank in Thailand, you will be charged 20bt. Not if you use BB's ATM.

[kosh]

If you have a card with Bangkok Bank and take your money from an ATM from another bank in Thailand, you will be charged 20bt. Not if you use BB's ATM.

And what is the point?

Nearly every bank on the planet will do the same......in Italy is 2E even on the same city.

[kosh]

I checked with my italian bank and for then no POS transaction is allowed outside Euro zone.

So they think it will be treated the same as cash advance with Visa/MC card....

Next month i'll try

That's a crazy policy imo and yet another indication of how the banks around the world try and rip off their customers.If you are getting cash over the counter with a Debit Card(which you have sufficient funds in) i.e. your money why the hel_l should your issuing bank treat it the same as a cash advance using a Visa/MCard cash advance?..They're just blatantly ripping off the customer with interest and fees for using your own money not theirs.

My bank has simply no idea how a POS transaction outside euro could work.

For them probably it will be an ATM job even if done by a person.

If the system cannot handle the transaction it will default to mastercard....

I have to test it, nobody was thinking about using a person to do a machine work

(machine are cheap, people not....thailand is a bit crazy......)

[dskny]

To all who have E-Trade accounts: Which account do you have? I just looked on their website and it indicates ATM refunds at banks nationwide (US). Not sure if this is new language or if it was the case previously and they still honor international ATMs as you've guys have mentioned. thanks.

[jfchandler]

Max Rate Checking with E*Trade...

Their web site is not in sync with what they actually do.... They do refund foreign ATM fees, and they do not charge a 1% foreign currency fee on ATM withdrawals -- contrary even to what their phone reps will tell you.

The reality is better than the promo....

[Langsuan Man]

I am one of those that is lucky enough to have an E*trade account that refunds the dreaded ATM fee. Sunday for instance, I took the maximum that a SCB ATM would allow, which was 20,000 THB and the rate was 33.39 to the $ and E*trade credited my account $4.49

But I don't want to abuse the system and have E*trade decide to eliminate the reimbursement from over use

Since there is no longer any reason to "shop" ATM's for "fee free", my question is, which bank's ATM will give over 20,000 THB per transaction ?

My daily dollar limit with E*trade is $ 1,000 so ideally I would like an ATM that will give me 33,000 THB in one shot ?

Any suggestions !

[jfchandler]

AEON ATMs remain fee free... And counter withdrawals using your VISA/MC debit card are another fee-free option... SCB in particular has a very high limit for counter withdrawals, which would easily accommodate your $1,000 per day E*Trade limit...

I agree about not overusing the E*Trade ATM refunds issue... I have it....but I try to avoid using it...except when I have an urgent need and no other option. Fortunately, I have AEON ATMs around the area where I live and go...

[dskny]

Great...time to move some things around to E-Trade for backup purposes as you've mentioned. Definitely don't want to rock the boat when it's in our favor. thanks.

[vagabond48]

Just wanted to update those living in Chiang Mai regarding Aeon.

I had previously reported that the stand alone Aeon machine on the 3rd floor at Airport Plaza was unappealing to me because it was tucked away in a somewhat unlit corner on the 3rd floor. Last week, I was walking around the Plaza and noticed that they also had a branch on the same floor in the other wing of the Plaza. It has only 1 machine but I went there twice and found the machine both times unoccupied.

I withdrew some money yesterday and got 100.01% of the final IER for that day. My kind of math. Since I take out small amounts as needed. I cannot tell how much money up to the 20k max the machine can give.

The message warning customers about the other banks' 150b fee is still being displayed.

Edited October 27, 2009 by vagabond48

[bkkrox]

I have been using Aeon ATMs since the 150b started at the other banks with no problems....up until today. I went to the Siam Paragon ATM and requested 20 000b using my visa/cirrus debit card...the ATM took a while before a message appeared saying that it was unable to process my request and to contact my card issuer. I thought it srange as I knew I had enough in my account to cover the withdrawal so I tried again, only to get the same message. This was around 1 30 today. About an hour ago I checked online to see if there was a block on my account or something similar and ,you guessed it, a withdrawal of USD 599 was made today at Aeon ATM Siam Paragon !!I have been trying to call them with no luck but did fill in a form for them to contact me. Will post the outcome here and if anyone else had this message from Aeon ATMs today, check your balances. Saving 150b may have cost me USD 599!!

[vagabond48]

I have been using Aeon ATMs since the 150b started at the other banks with no problems....up until today. I went to the Siam Paragon ATM and requested 20 000b using my visa/cirrus debit card...the ATM took a while before a message appeared saying that it was unable to process my request and to contact my card issuer. I thought it srange as I knew I had enough in my account to cover the withdrawal so I tried again, only to get the same message. This was around 1 30 today. About an hour ago I checked online to see if there was a block on my account or something similar and ,you guessed it, a withdrawal of USD 599 was made today at Aeon ATM Siam Paragon !!I have been trying to call them with no luck but did fill in a form for them to contact me. Will post the outcome here and if anyone else had this message from Aeon ATMs today, check your balances. Saving 150b may have cost me USD 599!!

I started this thread about a week ago. You may want to read it. Hope it eases your mind a bit.

Btw, I have used Aeon twice since then.

Edited October 27, 2009 by vagabond48

[bkkrox]

I have been using Aeon ATMs since the 150b started at the other banks with no problems....up until today. I went to the Siam Paragon ATM and requested 20 000b using my visa/cirrus debit card...the ATM took a while before a message appeared saying that it was unable to process my request and to contact my card issuer. I thought it srange as I knew I had enough in my account to cover the withdrawal so I tried again, only to get the same message. This was around 1 30 today. About an hour ago I checked online to see if there was a block on my account or something similar and ,you guessed it, a withdrawal of USD 599 was made today at Aeon ATM Siam Paragon !!I have been trying to call them with no luck but did fill in a form for them to contact me. Will post the outcome here and if anyone else had this message from Aeon ATMs today, check your balances. Saving 150b may have cost me USD 599!!

I started this thread about a week ago. You may want to read it. Hope it eases your mind a bit.

Btw, I have used Aeon twice since then.

Thanks vagabond...I just got hold of someone at Aeon who explained that the "contact your bank first" was the standard procedure worldwide . He also said that they can tell whose money they didnt dispense but cannot credit it back until they hear from the card issuing bank. Yes, your earlier thread did ease my mind! Cheers! Will post out come on your other thread, dont want to hi-jack this one..

[SurfRider]

.

"counter withdrawals using your VISA/MC debit card are another fee-free option... SCB in particular has a very high limit for counter withdrawals"

JFC, Wasn't it established back in this thread's Jurassic Era that SCB attracted high-rollers with their 250K counter limit, but processed at an extremely unfavorable exchange rate?

I also seem to recall that most counter transactions were at unfavorable rates as opposed to ATM transactions. ( _{but then again, it might have had something to do with Mekong Memory failure syndrome} )

Do you recall any details from that era?

To whoever queried on ATM cash transaction limits, AEON has been reported at 30,000 and 40,000 depending on the particular machine. There was also some confusion with people reporting only a 7,000 limit for AEON, but that's only on the first screen. You need to drill down through a few menus to get the big payoff

.

[jfchandler]

You're right in your general recollection, Surfrider... There were reports in the distant past here on TV of SCB having both a] a very high limit for counter withdrawals and b] SCB processing their counter withdrawals at a very low exchange rate.

Lately, however, in one of the banking threads here, some other TV users reported doing SCB counter exchanges lately and getting a regular exchange rate... So I was going by those most recent reports... It's always hard to know which is correct, when there are conflicting reports... Yet no one lately has chimed in complaining about SCB and counter withdrawals... so....

I personally haven't ever done a counter withdrawal...with SCB or any of the other Thai banks. So I can't vouch personally for the rates and details on those. But, as I said, we haven't had any complaints about SCB that I can recall since the fee-free ATMs have gotten fewer and fewer in recent months.

[JimGant]

Surf,

Apparently SCB differentiates between "cash advances" with a credit card and POS cash withdrawal with a debit card. The former is where they charge the usurious DCC rate. The latter, they don't -- possibly because at least one of the majors (Visa or MC) has said "no DCC" allowed with their debit card.

See HERE for same discussion on another thread.

[vagabond48]

[Thanks vagabond...I just got hold of someone at Aeon who explained that the "contact your bank first" was the standard procedure worldwide . He also said that they can tell whose money they didnt dispense but cannot credit it back until they hear from the card issuing bank. Yes, your earlier thread did ease my mind! Cheers! Will post out come on your other thread, dont want to hi-jack this one..

The 1st 2 times I got short changed, by 500b, by 2 different banks' machines. Both times, each bank rep at the bank told me that I had to contact my bank but I argued successfully both times that it was their problem, their faulty machine and after a bit of time, they each reimbursed me the 500b. Maybe they gave in because it was only 500b. The Aeon phone rep on the other hand did not have any other line but "contact your bank first". According to him, there wasn't even a supervisor for me to talk to.

[kosh]

Surf,

Apparently SCB differentiates between "cash advances" with a credit card and POS cash withdrawal with a debit card. The former is where they charge the usurious DCC rate. The latter, they don't -- possibly because at least one of the majors (Visa or MC) has said "no DCC" allowed with their debit card.

See HERE for same discussion on another thread.

This is very good news, my european bank said it cannot control what will happen with an ATM card outside an ATM transaction .

And i will NEVER get cash from an ATM without an open BIG bank behind the machine......

So a trip at my preferred bank, SCB will next month solve the mistery....

[Langsuan Man]

AEON ATMs remain fee free... And counter withdrawals using your VISA/MC debit card are another fee-free option... SCB in particular has a very high limit for counter withdrawals, which would easily accommodate your $1,000 per day E*Trade limit...

I agree about not overusing the E*Trade ATM refunds issue... I have it....but I try to avoid using it...except when I have an urgent need and no other option. Fortunately, I have AEON ATMs around the area where I live and go...

Thanks to jfchandler for the above post

Trying to keep this thread-within-a-thread clear, I took his advice and took my E*trade Visa branded ATM (debit) card and passport to my Kasikorn Bank (Pattaya Tai branch) and the girl at the exchange booth told me that she was limited to ONE 20,000 THB transaction and that if I wanted more I could use their ATM machines for multiple transactions up to my E*trade daily limit, but she noted that I would pay the 150 THB fee for each transaction

I then went next door to the SCB branch inside of Tukcom and they were more than happy to manually run my debit card for any amount I wanted. I stuck to the 33,000 THB ($1,000) limit and then took the cash back to Kasikorn and deposited it to my savings account

As others have reported, the transaction has still not shown up on my E*trade online statement 24 hours later but I can pretty well deduce that the exchange rate will be 33.37 THB per $, using my posted balance versus my "available" balance

I will edit this post to show exactly what it was, once it is posted, for those who like to compare exchange rates

[jfchandler]

Thanks LM... That would be great if you can post the details of your exchange rates on both the counter withdrawals...when they get sorted out. We know pretty well how ATM exchange rates work. But things are a bit less clear/certain for counter withdrawals...

One thing I think we do know about counter withdrawals... Some Thai banks here do those transactions electronically, meaning the transaction will/should post almost immediately, similar to an ATM withdrawal. But some apparently do counter withdrawals manually, filling out a paper form, and then processing that somehow, which by various reports here is slower and means delayed posting.

Your experience is another indication of how different Thai banks and different branches seem to have varying responses to counter withdrawals... Many will do them, some won't. Some like SCB have higher limits, others are closer to regular ATM limits. This is the first I've heard here about any bank saying they'd only do one (I presume) for that day....

[Langsuan Man]

As others have reported, the transaction has still not shown up on my E*trade online statement 24 hours later but I can pretty well deduce that the exchange rate will be 33.37 THB per $, using my posted balance versus my "available" balance

I will edit this post to show exactly what it was, once it is posted, for those who like to compare exchange rates

10/28/09 POS SCB.TUKCOM PATTAYACHONBURI, -987.43

Account posted exchange rate = 33.42 THB per $ (for 33,000 THB), showed up 36 hours later

[donx]

As others have reported, the transaction has still not shown up on my E*trade online statement 24 hours later but I can pretty well deduce that the exchange rate will be 33.37 THB per $, using my posted balance versus my "available" balance

I will edit this post to show exactly what it was, once it is posted, for those who like to compare exchange rates

10/28/09 POS SCB.TUKCOM PATTAYACHONBURI, -987.43

Account posted exchange rate = 33.42 THB per $ (for 33,000 THB), showed up 36 hours later

A similar thing happened for me. Even though the transaction wasn't posted for several days later, there was a difference between my current balance and my available balance. Similar to what happened to you, the exchange rate was different between what was initially calculated for reducing the available balance and what ended up actually being deducted. But for you, exchange rates were getting better whereas they were getting worse for me.

[taxin]

Im amazed this thread is still going on !

[jfchandler]

Not amazing really...

Thai banks are still charging the 150 baht fee for foreign ATM card withdrawals...

And we're still talking about the various ways how non-Thais can avoid it...