Thai Banks Asked To Cut Foreigners Atm Transaction Fees

[george]

Thai Banks asked to cut foreigners' ATM transaction fees

BANGKOK: -- The Thai Bankers' Association will ask local banks to cut fee charges for foreign cardholders using local ATMs, according to association secretary-general Twatchai Yongkittikul.

He said the TBA would hold talks among its members about current fees.

But he cautioned that any cuts would likely be marginal, as most of the fees represented charges imposed for international network access and simply passed on to end-users.

Since mid-April, foreign cardholders withdrawing funds from local ATMs have been charged 150 baht per transaction.

Dr Twatchai said the fee largely came from new transaction charges imposed by international service providers MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Worldwide to cover interchange network costs.

Local banks, which had previously absorbed the expenses, are now looking to pass on their own operating expenses to customers, arguing that the fees charged in Thailand are in line with expenses charged for cross-border ATM transactions in other countries.

Dr Twatchai acknowledged that a number of foreign tourists and expatriates had complained about the added fees.

At a minimum, he said, local banks should communicate better with customers about the expenses banks incur for processing international transactions.

"Local banks should give more information about fees on the ATM screen, and then customers can make their own choice about whether to continue with the transaction," Dr Twatchai said.

"The TBA will try to raise awareness about the issue. Unfortunately, right now many foreign customers have a negative view of local banks due to the fee issue."

But a MasterCard spokesman denied that the 150-baht ATM access fee imposed by many Thai banks stemmed from any recent fee change or initiative by the company. The spokesman said MasterCard last notified member banks in October 2007 about a 0.2-percentage-point increase in fees effective from January 2008 under cross-border agreements. Since then, no other fee increases have been made related to ATM charges.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-05-04

[isaanbrit]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

[FarangUK]

I would have thought a substantial weakening of the Thai Baht would have a better effect. Plenty of tourists 2 years ago because what counts is value for money.

[dukkha]

Yesterday aussie friend tried to withdraw 20 000 baht from ATM Soi Sribumphen, four ATMS, received nothing but was debited 20 000 baht on bank statement, I tried last night to withdraw also with aussie ATM card, knew I had enough deposit, told me to contact my bank...OH MY BUDDHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[johnnynmonic]

Seems like Kasikorn still doesn't charge. At least, there is no on screen notice, and nothing about it on the receipt...

[pattaya_girl]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

Yes - Kasikorn as somone pointed out on another thread.

[Ralf61]

Well, Visa issued a statement, that they did not initiate anything new and that they are negotiating with Thai banks to cancel this stupid 150 THB fee.

It is just another way to suck some money from those farangs. Now I have to go to a life tenner, line up with all those customers and get my Visa cash into my Thai account.

You can get 20.000THB at max out of those ATMs with +150THB each, so this will lead to another +pan bath every month in LOS...

Time to move to Laos

Ralf

[iang]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

I've stopped using my regular bank, Siam Commercial Bank, for foreign account ATM withdrawals, as I refuse to pay the Baht 150 per transaction fee - ontop of my own bank's transaction fee (apprx Baht 100), especially when the ATM withdrawal is limited to a max of only Baht 20,000. Siam Commercial Bank previously had a fe of Baht 20, which for conveniences sake I could live with, but not Baht 150!!! Too much, particularly when you think that there's also a foreign exchange margin there in the transaction too!

I have already protested to the manager of my local Siam Commercial Bank, which was met with the expected response that it was head office etc etc. But I asked that at least this be reported back to their head office.

As recently as this past weekend, I can confirm that both Bangkok Bank and Bank of Ayuthaya are NOT charging any fees for foreign card ATM withdrawals, so best to use these - at least for the time being. Am not sure about other banks?

[johnnynmonic]

Well, Visa issued a statement, that they did not initiate anything new and that they are negotiating with Thai banks to cancel this stupid 150 THB fee. It is just another way to suck some money from those farangs. Now I have to go to a life tenner, line up with all those customers and get my Visa cash into my Thai account. You can get 20.000THB at max out of those ATMs with +150THB each, so this will lead to another +pan bath every month in LOS...

Time to move to Laos

Ralf

A friend of mine works for VISA in the U.S. According to him, when a vendor has a VISA terminal in their store, it is a violation of contract to charge more for credit/debit card transactions than for cash. Everyone does it though in Asia, I guess the banks thought they would climb on board that gravy train too...

[DEREK-C]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

Yes, it is true. After April 17 the first 2 ATM's I tried warned I would be charged 150 baht for the transaction. On the 3rd I didn't get a warning so I continued. On checking my statement I wasn't charged for the transaction. I have used the same ATM twice since without any charges.

[jgm005]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

YES!

Kasikorn

Government Savings Bank

Bank of Ayudha (spelling)

Possibly a 4th but forget whom it is

[MaiDong]

1. But he cautioned that any cuts would likely be marginal, as most of the fees represented charges imposed for international network access and simply passed on to end-users.

Since mid-April, foreign cardholders withdrawing funds from local ATMs have been charged 150 baht per transaction.

2. Dr Twatchai said the fee largely came from new transaction charges imposed by international service providers MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Worldwide to cover interchange network costs.

Local banks, which had previously absorbed the expenses, are now looking to pass on their own operating expenses to customers, arguing that the fees charged in Thailand are in line with expenses charged for cross-border ATM transactions in other countries.

3. Dr Twatchai acknowledged that a number of foreign tourists and expatriates had complained about the added fees.

At a minimum, he said, local banks should communicate better with customers about the expenses banks incur for processing international transactions.

4. "Local banks should give more information about fees on the ATM screen, and then customers can make their own choice about whether to continue with the transaction," Dr Twatchai said.

5. "The TBA will try to raise awareness about the issue. Unfortunately, right now many foreign customers have a negative view of local banks due to the fee issue."

6. But a MasterCard spokesman denied that the 150-baht ATM access fee imposed by many Thai banks stemmed from any recent fee change or initiative by the company. The spokesman said MasterCard last notified member banks in October 2007 about a 0.2-percentage-point increase in fees effective from January 2008 under cross-border agreements. Since then, no other fee increases have been made related to ATM charges.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-05-04

1. Marginal is fine - B150 is now £3, in total I get charged £5.75 to withdraw £100 from my halifax UK account - even a B50 decrease in the fee is worht it!

2. If this is true then I kind of understand the Thai banks taking the action, however, it's disgraceful to suggest that an automatic transaction over a network actually costs B150/£3 to process, more like B1.5/£0.03p

3. Good! Too many people saying 'stop moaning - it's what you'd be charged anywhere in the world' - NOT MY EXPERIENCE! In fact, it's 3 times higher than charges I have paid in several other countries.

4. Absolute rubbish! So when I'm at the ATM withdrawing my money so I can continue to live here with my wife and little boy, I am actually given a choice as to whether I want to continue - conrinue and pay the fee and carry on as usual OR stop rikght there, refuse the withdrawal fee and live on fumes?? There's no other choices!! Who thinks of these silly things to say???

5. Not just the banks mate

6. A 0.2% increase, from what? To what? my withdrawal fees have just tripled thanks to this new fee.

[BigBikeBKK]

Fok 'em the greedy bastards! It was just a matter of time before this bank scam came to Thailand. US banks started doing this to their customers years ago, charging anywhere from US$2-5 for 'out of network' ATM withdrawals that cost the banks pennies.

US banks already charge their customers international service fees for cash withdrawals from foreign ATM's so it would seem that now the Thai banks are double dipping...

I'm doing everything by international wire transfer until this bs is sorted out. Sure there's a wire fee, but it's a flat fee so if you send over large amounts it does save you money and you can avoid paying this ridiculous fee to the greedy Thai banks.

[afarang]

Just another link in the chain of the destruction of the tourist industry,yawn Thais have cerainly got thar down to a fine art,some branches of Thai banks are appalling. Example: Bangkok Bank's Ban Kluat Branch.If you want to see an appalling disgusting, total lack of prompt service ,do try this, just be prepared for a one teller branch, with queues up to 30 people long, yes the queue is often out the door. Make sure you have an hour to waste.We plead for ANY bank PLEASE open a branch , in NIKhom or Ban Kluat. I can assure you that you will be overwhelmed by New Account Customers.

[spaceshipcrew]

I use a normal ATM card, why I have to pay for MasterCard and Visa users ?

Let the banks not forget that we already pay 2,95 euro (140 bath) per transaction to our own banks, that makes the total costs for us 290 bath !!!!

[spaceshipcrew]

As recently as this past weekend, I can confirm that both Bangkok Bank and Bank of Ayuthaya are NOT charging any fees for foreign card ATM withdrawals, so best to use these - at least for the time being.

Nonsense, they were the ones who started with it !

[grahamhc]

Well, Visa issued a statement, that they did not initiate anything new and that they are negotiating with Thai banks to cancel this stupid 150 THB fee.

It is just another way to suck some money from those farangs. Now I have to go to a life tenner, line up with all those customers and get my Visa cash into my Thai account.

You can get 20.000THB at max out of those ATMs with +150THB each, so this will lead to another +pan bath every month in LOS...

Time to move to Laos

Ralf

Brit users of Nationwide (Banking) are now being charges a fee to withdraw money, as VISA have increased the fees to the UK banks for handling the money.

Must have so Thais working at VISA Head Office. "Err? Travel down, Spending down, Withdrawals down. LETS PUT UP THE PRICES!"

A friend of mine works for VISA in the U.S. According to him, when a vendor has a VISA terminal in their store, it is a violation of contract to charge more for credit/debit card transactions than for cash. Everyone does it though in Asia, I guess the banks thought they would climb on board that gravy train too...

Even back in the UK, you pay extra to use a Credit Card to buy your flights in the travel Agents, even though the rule there also says "No Surcharge"

[goofie]

Bangkok Bank ATM did charge me 150bht on 25th April.

I amlooking ath e Baht, just kept so strong through all those bad news strories last month, even getting stronger in thel ast 4 days, with it being as export economy why does the Thai Central Bank hold it at an uncompetitive level. Effectivly, intl torism is also an export in a way.

Of course, LOS will keep bouncing on. I feel a little sorry for the innocent 'poor' worker being laid off though.

[deshotel]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

UOB DID NOT CHARGE ME A COUPLE DAYS AGO WITH A US BASED VISA DEBIT CARD FROM A CREDIT UNION

Edited May 4, 2009 by deshotel

[friendlyguy01]

Here is what I do to cut all that crap out. You can do this if you have a Thai bank account. I have a Siam Commercial Bank account. I setup a Paypal account noting the country as Thailand during the setup. I added my Siam Commercial Bank account to it. It was listed as a bank in the drop down. I also have an American Paypal so what I do is transfer money from my Paypal American account to my Paypal Thailand account. If i do over 5000 baht there is no fee otherwise it's 50 baht. It takes about 7 days to transfer the money but I pay NOTHING. Even when I paypal myself to the Thailand Paypal, they take nothing. Then the money hits my SCB account. I know it might seem like a lot of steps but honestly it takes me 1 minute to do the transfer and I just wait. This is how I pay my rent and get my money here in Thailand because Wells Fargo in America charges a ATM fee, International Currency Fee and some other crap. So, i don't get charged all the fees. The only drawback could be the exchange rate on the baht but it's fairly decent right now.

[deshotel]

BANGKOK BANK ASKED ME FOR 150 BAHT YESTERDAY AND UOB DID NOT

Edited May 4, 2009 by deshotel

[AsiaCheese]

...

But a MasterCard spokesman denied that the 150-baht ATM access fee imposed by many Thai banks stemmed from any recent fee change or initiative by the company. The spokesman said MasterCard last notified member banks in October 2007 about a 0.2-percentage-point increase in fees effective from January 2008 under cross-border agreements. Since then, no other fee increases have been made related to ATM charges.

...

Well, a 0.2% increase is THB 40 (assuming max withdrawal of THB 20,000) for one. Mastercard & Visa aren't exactly your friendly neighborhood boyscout types; their hidden charges and "specially tailored" exchange rates (way below TT rates) reek of vulture department... I'm not saying that Thai banks aren't part of the suck-some-cash game, but me thinks in this case, they're more part of the good guys (well, that's mighty relative) than of the bad ones.

[chrislarsson]

Well, Visa issued a statement, that they did not initiate anything new and that they are negotiating with Thai banks to cancel this stupid 150 THB fee. It is just another way to suck some money from those farangs. Now I have to go to a life tenner, line up with all those customers and get my Visa cash into my Thai account. You can get 20.000THB at max out of those ATMs with +150THB each, so this will lead to another +pan bath every month in LOS...

Time to move to Laos

Ralf

A friend of mine works for VISA in the U.S. According to him, when a vendor has a VISA terminal in their store, it is a violation of contract to charge more for credit/debit card transactions than for cash. Everyone does it though in Asia, I guess the banks thought they would climb on board that gravy train too...

Banks charge fixed fees for ATM with VISA and Mastercard transactions in Europe and America. Only vendors are not allowed to charge.

Do anybody know if fees are increased outside of Thailand as well?

It's not a big surprise that in a financial crisis banks will try to find new ways to gain revenue. Then I'm not talking about Thai banks who it seems are just passing on the increased fees.

[squashjunkie]

I use a normal ATM card, why I have to pay for MasterCard and Visa users ?

Let the banks not forget that we already pay 2,95 euro (140 bath) per transaction to our own banks, that makes the total costs for us 290 bath !!!!

So what you are saying is that is okay for your own bank back in your home country to charge you 140 baht. But the greedy Thai bank is killing tourism by changing you an almost identical fee. Seems to me that the Thai bank is doing about as much work as your own bank. Actually more. The Thai bank doesn't get to rip you off at every chance they get either for account maintenance fees, poor interest rates on deposits, transaction fees etc. Get real the Thai banks are no better or worse than your home country bank.

Seems like you need to bitch at your own bank as well. I would say that the Thai bank is doing what every other bank does. They all charge you fees not many are better than the others.

There are fees to get Travelers checks, to do a wire transfer and to withdraw funds from an ATM. I think for the convenience of getting easy access to your money it is trivial. If you are using an ATM more often then you really need to figure out a better way to access your money. Hope you have lots of time and are willing to pay more fees!! Good luck getting anything for free from a bank foreign or Thai!

[BigBikeBKK]

Here is what I do to cut all that crap out. You can do this if you have a Thai bank account. I have a Siam Commercial Bank account. I setup a Paypal account noting the country as Thailand during the setup. I added my Siam Commercial Bank account to it. It was listed as a bank in the drop down. I also have an American Paypal so what I do is transfer money from my Paypal American account to my Paypal Thailand account. If i do over 5000 baht there is no fee otherwise it's 50 baht. It takes about 7 days to transfer the money but I pay NOTHING. Even when I paypal myself to the Thailand Paypal, they take nothing. Then the money hits my SCB account. I know it might seem like a lot of steps but honestly it takes me 1 minute to do the transfer and I just wait. This is how I pay my rent and get my money here in Thailand because Wells Fargo in America charges a ATM fee, International Currency Fee and some other crap. So, i don't get charged all the fees. The only drawback could be the exchange rate on the baht but it's fairly decent right now.

You should compare the exchange rate you get with PayPal against the international rate. You might be in for a shock...

Live rates at 2009.05.04 06:37:38 UTC Notice: The THB rate shown below is the international rate. Rates used within Thailand may vary. <h2 class="XE">1.00 USD</h2> <h2 class="XE">=</h2> <h2 class="XE">35.1772 THB</h2> United States Dollars Thailand Baht 1 USD = 35.1772 THB 1 THB = 0.0284275 USD

You will find that PayPal is making a tidy profit by gouging you on the exchange rate... Remember PayPal is owned by GreedBay!

[chrislarsson]

...

But a MasterCard spokesman denied that the 150-baht ATM access fee imposed by many Thai banks stemmed from any recent fee change or initiative by the company. The spokesman said MasterCard last notified member banks in October 2007 about a 0.2-percentage-point increase in fees effective from January 2008 under cross-border agreements. Since then, no other fee increases have been made related to ATM charges.

...

Well, a 0.2% increase is THB 40 (assuming max withdrawal of THB 20,000) for one. Mastercard & Visa aren't exactly your friendly neighborhood boyscout types; their hidden charges and "specially tailored" exchange rates (way below TT rates) reek of vulture department... I'm not saying that Thai banks aren't part of the suck-some-cash game, but me thinks in this case, they're more part of the good guys (well, that's mighty relative) than of the bad ones.

Visa and Mastercard add about 2% in the exchange rate right? TT do not, but the fixed fee is about $40.

[glegolo]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

Yes, I live up in Chaiyaphum, and when I say on the ATM-screen that the were going to charge me

150 baht. I stopped the transaction. And went on to Kasikorn bank, and were charged nothing.

Glegolo

[dezy1801]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

I use the HSBC bank and noticed they charge about 400 baht to withdraw from ATM and now with this 150 its costing me 550 in total to withdraw 10,000(my limit)

I tried going into the bank and withdrawing money using my card and producing my passport and withdrew 50,000 baht and was not charged anything from the Siam bank and HSBC so from now on I will just go into the bank as it will save money.

Hope this helps someone.

[poundcake]

wooohoooo - :-))))))

Is it true that some banks still don't charge now? ??

UOB DID NOT CHARGE ME A COUPLE DAYS AGO WITH A US BASED VISA DEBIT CARD FROM A CREDIT UNION

I can verify UOB doesnt charge anything, I withdrew about a month ago and about 3 days ago and no charges. There is one other bank I forgot the name that didnt charge me.

[chrislarsson]

I would have thought a substantial weakening of the Thai Baht would have a better effect. Plenty of tourists 2 years ago because what counts is value for money.

If the reds and yellows have not managed to sink the baht, I don't know who can. Any ideas?