Fed Up Paying The 150 Baht Bad Falang Fee?

[scorecard]

you'd be saving a lot more if you told your wife to STOP buying "whitening lotion". why is she buying that crap, particularly after you've already married her! oh nevermind, i know, i know... thailand....

I realize that it's not easy to get Thais off the love of white skin, but does she realize that the chemicals in most of these peoducts are banned from cosmetic use in most countries?

Plus I asked our Thai doctor (good hospital) whether it's OK to use whitening lotions. His reaction:

- They should be banned because of the strong chemicals.

- His profession has tried to have them banned in Thailand with zero success, pharmaceutical companies / personal care product companies far too powerful.

- Used long-term they will eventually cause serious and irrepairable damage.

[Oberkommando]

Hefty fee for using a machine for less than a minute, and considering the banks usually get paid separately for the transaction anyway.

The 150thb is just for the privilege of using the machine!

[citizen33]

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

I'm with you on this one as well. If you live here, I really can't understand why people aren't using their Thai bank accounts, seem pretty obvious to me. I guess it just gives them an opportunity to moan.

Is it so difficult for those putting forward this view to understand that most expats do not derive their primary income from Thailand and face the problem of getting foreign currency into Thai baht? Before the ATM fees were introduced, savvy people were using ATM cards such as Nationwide (UK) or Capital One (USA) to transfer their home currencies into baht with no fees and a good exchange rate. This was done even by those, such as myself, who also have a Thai bank account. That door has been closed and options such as wire transfers are more expensive (a sum that mounts up for people transferring every month). Hence the lively discussion about the rights and wrongs of the new ATM fees. But you knew that already didn't you? .... Or did you doze off?

Edited September 8, 2009 by citizen33

[mrtoad]

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

I'm with you on this one as well. If you live here, I really can't understand why people aren't using their Thai bank accounts, seem pretty obvious to me. I guess it just gives them an opportunity to moan.

Is it so difficult for those putting forward this view to understand that most expats do not derive their primary income from Thailand and face the problem of getting foreign currency into Thai baht? Before the ATM fees were introduced, savvy people were using ATM cards such as Nationwide (UK) or Capital One (USA) to transfer their home currencies into baht with no fees and a good exchange rate. This was done even by those, such as myself, who also have a Thai bank account. That door has been closed and options such as wire transfers are more expensive (a sum that mounts up for people transferring every month). Hence the lively discussion about the rights and wrongs of the new ATM fees. But you knew that already didn't you? .... Or did you doze off?

Well strangely I didn't doze off. I derive income from outside of Thailand, as well as having money in here. It's pretty simple, it's not rocket science to transfer money into a Thai bank, in fact I did it 3 days ago. I don't like the fee, I think it is high, but there are plenty of easy enough ways of avoiding it and I don't think that the transfer fees are that prohibitive.

[Heng]

There aren't going to be too many guys fessing up to and starting a thread along the lines of...

"well, I only have a few hundred $ (or Euros, Pesos, whatever) in my overseas account at any one time... so what's the best way for me to get those funds over here. I know it's not by doing a $200 wire transfer with a $20 fee each time. If I wait until I can do a $2,000 or $5,000 transfer, I'll likely starve to death. Please advise."

Thus the dance goes round and round....

[madjbs]

"I have my funds wired to my bank every 3 months and that charge is $20.00. I know whatever you do, you still have to pay someone somewhere, but I will be DARNED if I will pay the 150 baht"

If $20 was LESS THAN 150THB, your idea would be great. On the other hand, paying $20, rather than paying $5, seems to be be not such a terrific idea.

How do you know if it's a good idea or not? Do you know how much money he is transferring at one time? Actually, he would only have to be transferring 80,000 every 3 months to make it worthwhile.

On another note, it is only 150 baht, WHO CARES, get over it for goodness sake.

Edited September 8, 2009 by madjbs

[mca]

You have to select the Thai menu and also have to toggle the 'no fee' button 2-3 times on the UPS machine in order to avoid the 150 Baht fee. If you hear a beeping sound, then you're all set.

And if a message flashes up saying "We hate you. Would you like another transaction?" then you know you've f#cked it up.

[Huey]

It's a Pain in the azz but ya gotta send your money into your Thai account and withdraw as such. It really sucks but there isn't much of a way around it. Perhaps a Dollar account? Has anyone any experience opening one of those? And on a unrelated note, if my wife ever bought some whitening acid cream I would kick her out. Or maybe hold her at gun point and say "Who the hel_l are you and what have you done with my wife!!?" LOL

[lannarebirth]

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

I'm with you on this one as well. If you live here, I really can't understand why people aren't using their Thai bank accounts, seem pretty obvious to me. I guess it just gives them an opportunity to moan.

Is it so difficult for those putting forward this view to understand that most expats do not derive their primary income from Thailand and face the problem of getting foreign currency into Thai baht? Before the ATM fees were introduced, savvy people were using ATM cards such as Nationwide (UK) or Capital One (USA) to transfer their home currencies into baht with no fees and a good exchange rate. This was done even by those, such as myself, who also have a Thai bank account. That door has been closed and options such as wire transfers are more expensive (a sum that mounts up for people transferring every month). Hence the lively discussion about the rights and wrongs of the new ATM fees. But you knew that already didn't you? .... Or did you doze off?

I wire from my brokerage account. Intl wire fees are $0 so long as I don't make more than one per 30 days. If more than one wire in 30 days, subsequent transfers are $10. I suppose you could do the same or maybe make less frequent but larger transfers? Up to you of course.

[Priceless]

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

I'm with you on this one as well. If you live here, I really can't understand why people aren't using their Thai bank accounts, seem pretty obvious to me. I guess it just gives them an opportunity to moan.

Is it so difficult for those putting forward this view to understand that most expats do not derive their primary income from Thailand and face the problem of getting foreign currency into Thai baht? Before the ATM fees were introduced, savvy people were using ATM cards such as Nationwide (UK) or Capital One (USA) to transfer their home currencies into baht with no fees and a good exchange rate. This was done even by those, such as myself, who also have a Thai bank account. That door has been closed and options such as wire transfers are more expensive (a sum that mounts up for people transferring every month). Hence the lively discussion about the rights and wrongs of the new ATM fees. But you knew that already didn't you? .... Or did you doze off?

It appears to me that you (and many other posters) are barking up the wrong tree

I too derive my income (all of it) from outside Thailand. It is paid monthly into my foreign bank account. I then wire transfer (using my Internet banking facility) the money in largish chunks into my Thai account. I have been made to understand that if my bank were based in the US, such a transfer would cost me somewhere in the region of USD 20-40. I am however lucky enough to have my account with a Swedish bank. I therefore pay a fee of ~6 USD per transfer up to USD 14,000 (the daily transfer limit). After the transfer, I obviously withdraw money using my Thai ATM card at a rate that suits my needs.

The tree that you should be barking at is the one with the fat US bank cats in it Their fees for a wire transfer, actually a technically simpler transaction than an ATM withdrawal, are quite exorbitant. Don't blame the Thai banks though, the possibility to withdraw money from a Thai ATM, using a foreign-issued credit card, was never intended as a method for regularly transferring money. It was, I am sure, intended as a service for tourists and other temporary visitors to the country.

/ Priceless

[donx]

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

At last. A voice of reason. Changing the banking practices, you may as well try and stop the sun rising. Just get a local bank account.

I don't live here so this doesn't help. Most of the ATM withdrawals are performed by my in-laws. Having said that, I just make sure they use GSB because they still aren't charging this fee. And if they use a bank that does charge the fee, I get the fee reimbursed by my US bank, which is Schwab Bank.

This is the most fee free way to go IMHO.

[citizen33]

WSB BANK Birmingham only one Branch former teachers bdg society

Good phone back up net banking and visa debit cards avaiable free with premium account which has a

eight pounds monthly fee includes free insurance

As a former BBV Credot Gricloe AIB NationwideSanatandar customer an HSBC employee this is best deal for sterling area customers with medium wedge

Higher rates paid on longer accounts but no risk up to 50k

No Overseas charge they deduct one pound fifty at source on overseas ATM but it is then refunded

www.wsb.co.uk

Best thing is they dont charge for transfer to SCB they go via lloyds taking an extrea day 4 guidline but often as few as 2 working days and at v good mid market rates

This looks very interesting, but one's confidence diminished when the link turned out to lead to an advertising site, and a web search brought up no WSB bank. Did you mean Wesleyan Bank, which has similar origins to those described? Their Privilege account has an £8 per month charge and free annual travel insurance. It isn't clear from the T&Cs on the website whether wire transfers would indeed be free. However, with regard to ATM use, the T&Cs state:

"Charges for using your card abroad

If you use your card abroad and make transactions other than sterling, the amount of each transaction will be changed to sterling on the date Visa International process the payment.

We reserve the right to include a conversion fee of up to 2.25% of the transaction. The transfer may be subject to other charges levied by the bank abroad, which will be included in the debit to your account. A handling fee of up to £1.50 may also apply".

(http://www.wesleyan.co.uk/CONTENT/about/wesleyan_bank/account_tariff.aspx)

There is no mention of reimbursement of the £1.50 fee for Privilege Account holders.

You may of course be able to put me right.

Incidentally, I did not think that the two members responding to my earlier post, who respectively suggested grinning and bearing it with international bank transfer fees, and complaining that US banks charge rather more for Swedish ones for transfer services, took us any closer to a solution.

[NancyL]

Hubby's private pension check shows up at the end of each month in our Bangkok Bank account. They have a branch in NYC and his former employer gets the funds there and then they show up in his account here , the same day. It's magic! I understand that US Social Security checks can arrive the same way. So, each month we have access to his pension without paying any ATM or wire transfer fees. It's really so simple, I don't know why any one (at least Americans) are whining about the ATM charges.

[Zpete]

I don't pay the robbers any more. Now I only use my Siam City Bank ATM card. I have my funds wired to my bank every 3 months and that charge is $20.00. I know whatever you do, you still have to pay someone somewhere, but I will be DARNED if I will pay the 150 baht

I dunno, but 150B is about 6 - 7 dollars in Kiwi dosh.

If I want cash, I use my normal ATM card with the "Plus" symbol.

No matter how much I withdraw, all I am charged by ASB Bank in NZ is $5.00 + 1% FX fee.

Admittedly, I am away from home only a couple of months at a time.

NEVA had Thai banks add any more.

All withdrawals in Baht.

I was going to open a Thai bank account, until I read all about the extra charges etc, stuff Thai Banks.

Finally, I usually bring enuff cash, no problem unless Thai g/f cons me....... hehe.

Have Filipina now, but still holiday in LoS.

[david96]

My wife take money out with our Australian ATM card from Bangkok bank using Thai Language and still pay the 150 Baht.

And if you are charged by your Australian bank also you are being charged twice, 150THB (AUD $6) on top of

your normal international ATM charge for a transaction.

Over $800 (20000THB) @ a FX rate of 25 to the dollar an IMT is cheaper at $22.

Source CBA.

[willyumcr]

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

At last. A voice of reason. Changing the banking practices, you may as well try and stop the sun rising. Just get a local bank account.

I don't live here so this doesn't help. Most of the ATM withdrawals are performed by my in-laws. Having said that, I just make sure they use GSB because they still aren't charging this fee. And if they use a bank that does charge the fee, I get the fee reimbursed by my US bank, which is Schwab Bank.

This is the most fee free way to go IMHO.

I agree with you. I also use Schwab Bank. Fees are all rembursed. I pay the 150b fee and get it rembursed from Schwab. Then transfer money into Thai bank account. Simple. No fees.

[Priceless]

[...]

Incidentally, I did not think that the two members responding to my earlier post, who respectively suggested grinning and bearing it with international bank transfer fees, and complaining that US banks charge rather more for Swedish ones for transfer services, took us any closer to a solution.

It seems that you are looking for a solution to the following "problem":

You want to use a service (i.e. ATM withdrawal) from a bank at which you are not a customer (at least as far as this transaction goes). The bank does not want to provide this service for free. Your alternative would be to wire transfer your money from your foreign bank, a service that your bank does not want to provide for free.

Surprise, surprise! Service providers, be they banks, hairdressers, telephone companies or airlines, do not usually give their services away. "There is no such thing as a free lunch."

What you can do is calculate which method (ATM withdrawal or wire transfer) is the cheapest, depending on your patterns and volumes of money transfer. Then use that method. If, against all odds, you find a way that is "free" I think that it will either cease being that way, or turn out to have some cleverly hidden way of charging you.

I'm sorry if I sound pessimistic, but that's the way the world is

/ Priceless

[StateSix]

Once a month I transfer from my UK account to my Thai account. The UK bank charge GBP 13 to send it and the Thai bank charge 0.25%, with a min of Bt 200 and a max of Bt 500.

Costs around GBP 22-ish and is in my account 2 days later usually, though they say 3-5 working days. The exchange rate charge alone from my UK bank is 2.99% of their rate. Assuming you sent GBP 1,000 this would cost me GBP 29.90 in exchange rate differences, let alone the ATM fee charge they levy and the Bt 150 charged by the Thai bank.

Tell your bank to send the cash in Sterling then..

I do. Sending, for example, GBP 1,000 has a charge of GBP 13 to UK and Bt 200 to local bank. Around GBP 16-17 total charges..

Taking Bt eqivalent of GBP 1,000 from ATM here attracts a 2.99% currency conversion charge, along with a GBP 4.50 cash withdrawl charge and the Bt 150 local charge. Around GBP 36-37 in charges.

The exchange rate used by the UK bank is always worse than the Thai bank rate as well.

[sprq]

You can't change the international banking system -- the fee is triggered by a foreign bamk account -- and it is not a "hate you " fee -- merely an outrageous fee to pay for a simple service, on top of their commission on the exchange rate ( usually 2 to 3.5 %) .

I have paid similar fees in England, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Australia and many others -- there is nothing special about the fee here in LOS ( BTW I prefer LOST [Land of Smiling Thais] )-- use your Thai account -- or pay the fee !

Rubbish! It is not the international banking system, it is a fee applied by agreement amongst the members of the Thai Bankers' Association, i.e. a Thailand-specific fee applied to foreign cards. Such a fee does exist in some other countries, but in most it definitely does not -- and I travel widely and therefore know. French banks, for example, do not apply any extra fees to my Thai bank or Singapore bank debit card ATM withdrawals when I am in France; all you experience is the usual slightly disadvantaged exchange rate and the Thai bank's fee (100 baht for any withdrawal).

In other words, the 150 baht Thailand-imposed fee is an anomaly, and an expensive one at roughly three euros per withdrawal on top of all the charges made by your own bank. Indeed, as many people have said, it is a nasty little rip-off of foreigners, and very stupid for a country in which tourism is very important.

[Maigo6]

In other words, the 150 baht Thailand-imposed fee is an anomaly, and an expensive one at roughly three euros per withdrawal on top of all the charges made by your own bank. Indeed, as many people have said, it is a nasty little rip-off of foreigners, and very stupid for a country in which tourism is very important.

Maybe they'll double the fee to 300 if this years tourism figures are down too much.

I would .

You know why, cos you lot would still pay it, you'd all moan a bit more but you'd still pay, or open up an account in a Thai bank.

[tomwct]

On Monday I used Government Savings Bank ATM and NO FEE Charged!!! Yesterday I went back and guess what??? They now charge 150 THB FEE!!! GSB has now joined the Thai Banking Gravy Train!!! What to do next???

[jfchandler]

AEON ATMs located throughout Thailand are still fee-free...no 150 baht per withdrawal charge.

For all those posters in this thread who love throwing their money away, getting lousy exchange rates, paying high wire transfer fees to home banks or paying an absurd fee to Thai banks, please don't use AEON...

For the rest of us, you know what to do...

[bikerlou47]

The point here is how do you get the monies in the Thai Bank....DUH!

But there is no reason ever to pay a fee just take your passport and your foriegn bank card into a Thai bank and withdraw cash up to your daily limit no fees and you receive the best exchange rate possible.

The take your cash and deposit it into your Thai bank account.

NO ATM fees

NO wire transfer fees

NO reduced exchange rate

Easy especially since banks are opened in the malls 7 days a week.

What I don't understand is, all these people complaining abut this ATM fee; why don't they use a Thai bank account instead? You live here presumably?

[jfchandler]

So called counter withdrawals do seem to work and avoid the ATM fee, thus far...

But based on various reports, the exchange rate for those usually would be the same as a fee-free ATM transaction.... not any better.

One difference is the ATM transactions get processed immediately, whereas the counter transactions usually seem to take a couple days before they hit your home bank.

So you could either win or lose, depending on which direction your home currency is heading during the period of time you make the withdrawal.

One other point, the Thai banks do seem to be quite variable, based on TV member reports, on how much they will let you do as a counter withdrawal, whereas the ATM limits tend to be more uniform.

AEON ATMs remain fee free, and I did a 20,000 baht withdrawal from one earlier this week no problem. I've never tried to do any larger amount with them.

[clinique]

bikerlou I am with you on this,,

I use the counter service and there is no charge, dont know why anyone bothers to usethe ATM, there is always the possibility of your card getting eaten by the machine - a bigger pain then 150-baht

the exchange rate is te same as posted by the bank.

AND by the way JF all my over the counter transactions hit my account IMMEDIATELY same as an ATM withdrawal becasue they swipe the card through a card reader fro approval.

If they happen to use the old paper transaction system then yes it takes a day or 2.

[clinique]

bikerlou I am with you on this,,

I use the counter service and there is no charge, dont know why anyone bothers to usethe ATM, there is always the possibility of your card getting eaten by the machine - a bigger pain then 150-baht

the exchange rate is te same as posted by the bank.

AND by the way JF all my over the counter transactions hit my account IMMEDIATELY same as an ATM withdrawal becasue they swipe the card through a card reader fro approval.

If they happen to use the old paper transaction system then yes it takes a day or 2.

just a thouhgt tho, if MORE farangs start using the counter instead of the ATM machine they will soon wise up and charge for over the counter as wel...... there is probably no way around it in the end.

but for the time being ..over the counter for me.. free free free

[Thanyaburi Mac]

bikerlou I am with you on this,,

I use the counter service and there is no charge, dont know why anyone bothers to usethe ATM, there is always the possibility of your card getting eaten by the machine - a bigger pain then 150-baht

the exchange rate is te same as posted by the bank.

AND by the way JF all my over the counter transactions hit my account IMMEDIATELY same as an ATM withdrawal becasue they swipe the card through a card reader fro approval.

If they happen to use the old paper transaction system then yes it takes a day or 2.

Will give this route a try. I do wonder, tho, if my U.S. bank will charge me a fee for such a withdrawal. Reckon I need to test the system to find out.

Mac

[whichschool]

Is the Government Savings Bank still free? if not are there any left offering free ATM withdrawals?

[jfchandler]

AEON ATMs are still free...

GSB may not be any longer. Some TV members have reported getting charged in the past week. But I've been trying to use my regular GSB ATMs in BKK for the past week, and the machines now are just canceling any attempted transaction with a foreign VISA card... apparently because they may be transitioning to charging the 150 baht fee.

I think bank counter withdrawals are fine... But I don't like going into the branch typically to wait around standing in line. And I really don't like carrying my passport around outside when I need to get money, preferring to keep it safe at home. Were it ever to be lost, it's a hassle getting it and its included visa(s) replaced.

I'd rather risk losing one of several available ATM cards I have in a bad machine (which has never yet happened to me in Thailand) rather than losing my passport.

[clinique]

bikerlou I am with you on this,,

I use the counter service and there is no charge, dont know why anyone bothers to usethe ATM, there is always the possibility of your card getting eaten by the machine - a bigger pain then 150-baht

the exchange rate is te same as posted by the bank.

AND by the way JF all my over the counter transactions hit my account IMMEDIATELY same as an ATM withdrawal becasue they swipe the card through a card reader fro approval.

If they happen to use the old paper transaction system then yes it takes a day or 2.

Will give this route a try. I do wonder, tho, if my U.S. bank will charge me a fee for such a withdrawal. Reckon I need to test the system to find out.

Mac

hi Mac, that will be up to the card issuer agreement you have with the US bank.

One of my overseas banks charge me a fee for the withdrawal , the other does not. Their exchange rates a slightly different so I guess the one with no charge is making it up in the exchange ..