Fee Free Atms In Jomtien (or Pattaya)

[lekatai]

There is a GSB ATM in Carrefour,on Pattaya Klang.It's on the 1st floor just before the tills of Carrefour.That was fee free yesterday for my Nationwide Visa Debit card,and the last time I tried Bank of Ayudha two days ago that was fee free as well.The only annoying thing about Bank of Ayudha,is that it doesn't issue a receipt for the transaction,nor is there the opportunity to request one.

[johng]

Ok next time I'm in Carrefour I'll try the GSB ATM..not holding my breath that it will work though....

[jfchandler]

Lekatai, so you were/are able to use your Nationwide (British) Visa debit card in the Government Savings Bank ATMs without any problem or fee?? Can you confirm that???

There is a GSB ATM in Carrefour,on Pattaya Klang.It's on the 1st floor just before the tills of Carrefour.That was fee free yesterday for my Nationwide Visa Debit card,and the last time I tried Bank of Ayudha two days ago that was fee free as well.The only annoying thing about Bank of Ayudha,is that it doesn't issue a receipt for the transaction,nor is there the opportunity to request one.

[lekatai]

Lekatai, so you were/are able to use your Nationwide (British) Visa debit card in the Government Savings Bank ATMs without any problem or fee?? Can you confirm that???

There is a GSB ATM in Carrefour,on Pattaya Klang.It's on the 1st floor just before the tills of Carrefour.That was fee free yesterday for my Nationwide Visa Debit card,and the last time I tried Bank of Ayudha two days ago that was fee free as well.The only annoying thing about Bank of Ayudha,is that it doesn't issue a receipt for the transaction,nor is there the opportunity to request one.

Yes that's correct.In the past I have had problems using this card in GSB ATM"s,most notably the one in Tukcom.Usually it would say "Communication error" or "Contact issuing bank" and not give out any money.I'd never noticed the ATM in Carrefour before, so I thought I'd try it,and got the money first time,no problem.Receipt says fee=0 amount withdrawn=10,000,and later checking with on line Nationwide confirmed it.Exchange rate was the same as a similarly timed Bank of Ayudha withdrawal,from memory I think it was 55.6THB/GBP

[jfchandler]

OK..thanks for confirming that... That will be good news to some other posters here, who were having trouble using their Nationwide cards at GSB, and thinking maybe GSB ATMs don't accept those cards... Clearly, GSB ATMs do accept Nationwide cards...

Those kinds of error messages you received -- communication error and contact your bank -- in my experience are generally more related to some problem with that individual ATM, than a sign of a problem with the user's card.

[barryofthailand]

Their are no more fee free ATMS for foreign ATM cards in Thailand. Sometimes the ATM machine will not tell you they are charging the 150 Baht fee, but they are. All Banks in Thailand are now charging that fee.

Barry

[jfchandler]

Barry, sorry, but that's simply not correct.

I've used Government Savings Bank ATMs several times this week, and they had no fee, same as always, and also giving me the full exchange rate, e.g., nothing being deducted behind the scenes. Other users have reported the same in various threads here...

Likewise, AEON ATMs have always been fee-free...and there have been no reports here on TV that AEON has changed its practices...

It's really not helpful to spread misinformation like that, especially when you provide absolutely no backup for the false claim you're making.

[SurfRider]

"It's really not helpful to spread misinformation like that, especially when you provide absolutely no backup for the false claim you're making."

Ditto! -- In the main thread that has been running for months on the 150 Baht Thai ATM fee , there is a compendium of information on all aspects of the various banks and ATMs and what they're charging with respect to different cards, exchange rates, the elevated unfavorable DCC rate, etc., etc.

The majority of Thai Banks have gone over to the dark side since April ( the most recent being UOB ), but GSB and AEON are not members of the cartel that imposed the usury fee and so far, there is no indication that they will hop on the band-wagon.

.

[tropo]

and also giving me the full exchange rate, e.g., nothing being deducted behind the scenes.

What exactly do you mean by "the full exchange rate"?

Most (perhaps all) banks take a percentage of the exchange rate. I would call this deduction a "behind the scenes" deduction as it is very difficult to quantify.

[pattaya_girl]

Their are no more fee free ATMS for foreign ATM cards in Thailand. Sometimes the ATM machine will not tell you they are charging the 150 Baht fee, but they are. All Banks in Thailand are now charging that fee.

Barry

I do not agree. The ATM machine I use twice a week which i named in my previous post on this thread, is NOT and has NEVER charged me any 150 bt fee.

I check my Bank balance online frequently, and there is never the 150 bt fee.

[syd barrett]

Their are no more fee free ATMS for foreign ATM cards in Thailand. Sometimes the ATM machine will not tell you they are charging the 150 Baht fee, but they are. All Banks in Thailand are now charging that fee.

Barry

Barry, you are pulling my plonker.

There are just a few 150 baht fee-free bank ATM's left in Thailand.

Thai banks can't fiddle with the exchange rate given with VISA or else they can't join the club.

Just seek out GSB or AEON ATM's.

[jfchandler]

Gee... why didn't I say it like that!!!!!

Their are no more fee free ATMS for foreign ATM cards in Thailand. Sometimes the ATM machine will not tell you they are charging the 150 Baht fee, but they are. All Banks in Thailand are now charging that fee.

Barry

Barry, you are pulling my plonker.

[tropo]

Thai banks can't fiddle with the exchange rate given with VISA or else they can't join the club.

I use several Plus ATM cards not affiliated with VISA. It's not the Thai banks I was talking about, but the card issuing banks.

[barryofthailand]

Gee... why didn't I say it like that!!!!!

Their are no more fee free ATMS for foreign ATM cards in Thailand. Sometimes the ATM machine will not tell you they are charging the 150 Baht fee, but they are. All Banks in Thailand are now charging that fee.

Barry

Barry, you are pulling my plonker.

Here's how I come to this conclusion. I was using GSB, and UOB, for two ATM withdrawls Both of these Banks said fee zero. No 150 Baht warning. Now this month I tried the same, and both had 150 Baht warning. I had no choice so I made the withdrawls, and on my internet banking the amount withdrawed showed the same as when the fee showed zero. The 150 baht fee does not come up as a seperate fee on your foreign bank. It's rolled into the amount withdrawed.

Barry

[jfchandler]

Barry, that's still not correct...

Yes... UOB did, as some have said, go to the dark side recently and begin charging the 150 baht per withdrawal ATM fee, whereas they had not before... They are giving warnings on their ATM video screens before the transaction, and if you proceed, your ATM slip from UOB will clearly show the fee.

No, GSB is not charging any fee. Yes...they do seem to have a warning on their ATM video screens saying something like...an interregional fee may be applied, whatever that is... But in reality, for foreign ATM card withdrawals...nothing has changed. They charge no fee, 150 baht or otherwise...and they do not give any kind of reduced exchange rate that would reflect any kind of hidden fee.

PS - for those Thai banks that are charging the 150 baht fee....it always shows up on your printed ATM slip.. And if you make a 10,000 baht withdrawal, your slip will show 10,000 plus 150 fee for a total of 10,150.

But yes, the 150 baht fee rarely if ever shows up as a separate line item in your home country's online banking ledger... Home country banks typically roll the fee together with your basic withdrawal amount. But even if that case, if you look at your real net exchange rate, a $4.41 fee (were a Thai bank hiding it in their exchange rate) would be easy to notice. GSB isn't doing that.

Edited August 28, 2009 by jfchandler

[timekeeper]

Just got back from the Ayudhya ATM opposite Foodland. It is still free for me - Aug 25th.

hi pattaya girl

i just went there an hour ago following your advise, with a UK HSBC Visa/Debit card and the message came up to add 150 to the transaction

looks like the good times may be over.....

[pattaya_girl]

Just got back from the Ayudhya ATM opposite Foodland. It is still free for me - Aug 25th.

hi pattaya girl

i just went there an hour ago following your advise, with a UK HSBC Visa/Debit card and the message came up to add 150 to the transaction

looks like the good times may be over.....

Really ??? I have been going there twice a week since this 150 bt fee first came out.

I went there only 3 days ago and it was ok.

I shall be going again on next Tuesday Evening and shall report back A.S.A.P.

If they have started to charge, I will find another way to collect my Rent from the UK, its bad enough having to pay the UK Bank, its getting ridiculous.

[pattaya_girl]

BTW Timekeeper, what bank card are you using? I am using a Barclays Connect Card.

I am wondering if the Cards we are using reflect on the 150 bt fee perhaps ????

Charging some, but not others !!!!! its very strange, will update on Tuesday Evening.

[jfchandler]

I continued to be mystified by what's going on with Bank of Ayudhya.... I can't find any clear pattern among the reports from various TV users...

A week or so ago, I tried my U.S. bank Visa debit card in Bangkok and clearly got a 150 baht fee warning, as I always had in recent months, so canceled the transaction. But others continued to report doing no fee ATM transactions with them.

The only thing I could guess is... because they are the only Thai bank doing Dynamic Currency Conversion (which yields an especially low exchange rate) with Euro and U.S. $ based MasterCards, they might not also be charging the 150 baht fee with those transactions. But I would think, the users would notice and report here that they're getting a lousy exchange rate.

However, oftentimes, people reporting here don't even bother to detail exactly what kind of card they're using... which makes making any sense out of things even more difficult.

I find it hard to believe Ayudhya is in a situation where ATMs in BKK are charging the fee but those in Pattaya are not. There clearly most likely is some other explanation.

[lekatai]

I have just used my UK Visa Debit card(Nationwide) in the Bank of Ayudha ATM.No mention was made of any fee.The only problem is that for some reason the ATM does not give a receipt,nor give the opportunity to request one.So until the internet banking record shows up on my account I can't be 100% sure the fee wasn't charged.But this is what the machine has always done before,and the fee has never been applied.As soon as I can verify this I'll post it

[pattaya_girl]

I have just used my UK Visa Debit card(Nationwide) in the Bank of Ayudha ATM.No mention was made of any fee.The only problem is that for some reason the ATM does not give a receipt,nor give the opportunity to request one.So until the internet banking record shows up on my account I can't be 100% sure the fee wasn't charged.But this is what the machine has always done before,and the fee has never been applied.As soon as I can verify this I'll post it

Yes it is very strange. They have never charged me, I check my Balance online, Yet they charged Timekeeper yesterday with his HSBC Visa Card..

I wonder why they charge some people and not others. Maybe they like the look of my face

I will report back here next time i go for sure...

[barryofthailand]

I have just used my UK Visa Debit card(Nationwide) in the Bank of Ayudha ATM.No mention was made of any fee.The only problem is that for some reason the ATM does not give a receipt,nor give the opportunity to request one.So until the internet banking record shows up on my account I can't be 100% sure the fee wasn't charged.But this is what the machine has always done before,and the fee has never been applied.As soon as I can verify this I'll post it

Yes it is very strange. They have never charged me, I check my Balance online, Yet they charged Timekeeper yesterday with his HSBC Visa Card..

I wonder why they charge some people and not others. Maybe they like the look of my face

I will report back here next time i go for sure...

Believe me they are charging you. Withdraw 20,000 Baht and if you show a withdraw of $589 then they did not charge you. If you show a withdraw of 593 then you got charged.

Barry

[johng]

Withdraw 20,000 Baht and if you show a withdraw of $589 then they did not charge you

Well this explains a lot, Barry is using an American card so when using the Ayudha ATM would have been subject to their

dynamic currency conversion ( for US and Euro transactions not GBP )

People with Nationwde visa debit cards ( GBP ) still get fee free transactions from Ayudha Bank.

As a side note:

I went to the GSB ATM on north Pattaya road with my Nationwide visa debt card last night

and as usuall it said comunication error

still have to try the one in Carrefour............

[SurfRider]

Considering these random reports of older GSB ATMs around Pattaya not working properly ( I've had the same problem ), it might be worth trying the new GSB full-service branch that just opened this past week in Festival Center.

The gala grand opening complete with Bank Prez, Mayor, etc. was covered on Pattaya People TV News and they appeared to have several new ATMs outside the main entrance.

The branch claims to be open until 8:00pm daily

.

[jfchandler]

John, I think you over-simplified a bit...

Ayudhya is doing DCC on Euro and U.S. $ based MASTERCARD logo cards, but supposedly not on VISA logo cards. Their DCC doesn't apply to ALL American cards, just MCs.

If a transaction incurs their DCC, then it would have a lower than normal exchange rate. We still haven't heard whether anyone in this situation is also getting a 150 baht fee tacked on.

Well this explains a lot, Barry is using an American card so when using the Ayudha ATM would have been subject to their

dynamic currency conversion ( for US and Euro transactions not GBP )

[johng]

John, I think you over-simplified a bit...

yeah I'm a simple sort of guy

[lekatai]

Right,to settle this once and for all.I have just checked my internet banking statement.I used a Nationwide Visa Debit card in the Bank of Ayudha ATM,on the 29th of this month.I took out 10,000B,which is what the statement says.It says 10,000B NOT 10150B. The exchange rate was 54.914.In the past,when I have had to use other banks ATM's the withdrawal is shown as the amount taken out PLUS 150B.So,Bank of Ayudha does not charge the 150B Thal banking system fee,at least if you use a UK Nationwide Visa Debt card.And the exchange rate they give is exactly the same (3 decimal points the same) as GSB,because last month I withdrew money from both banks ATM's a few minutes apart to check the rates.

[jfchandler]

Lekatai... according to the X-Rates.com web site, the optimal exchange rate for pounds to baht was 55.625 on Aug 28, Friday.... They don't have a shown rate yet for Saturday, 29. The rate you reported was 54.914, a fair amount lower...

On the BofA web site, under foreign exchange, they showed a buying TT rate for Friday of 55.14, and a sight bills buying rate of 54.975...both higher than the rate you received...

BofA may not be charging the 150 baht fee for Nationwide/GBP holders for some reason, and can't complain about that... But they're also giving a pretty weak exchange rate, based on your transaction.

In general, for other ATM cards, people should expect to get about the buying TT rate, apart from the issue of the 150 baht fee. Anything less than buying TT for an ATM transaction means someone's getting greedy with your money.

[barryofthailand]

I also tried the GSB ATM in Korat and still getting a communication error. This means that GSB does not want to except foreign ATM Debit cards.

Barry

[jfchandler]

Barry, when it comes to banking in Thailand, I'm beginning to think you're like the character in the old Charlie Brown cartoons who used to walk around with his own personal rain cloud and rain falling down on his head... It's about time you're due for a change of luck....