Bangkok Bank

[ThaiBob]

This thread was timely and valuable to me as I will be retiring shortly and was investigating the BB NY option as it was recommended by some of my American friends. Thanks to all who have contributed.

I bank with Schwab and now plan to have my private pension and SS check direct deposited there and will access funds via my Schwab ATM here in Thailand. Even if Schwab did not reimburse me for the 150 baht ATM fee it is still the best option (2,500 USD daily withdrawl amount too). I have a Thai bank account (with ATM) as a backup in case my Schwab ATM card is lost, damaged, stolen, etc. The BB NY option may work for some people but it appears to me now a unnecessary burden with setup and personal appearance at a BB branch. If I have missed something please advise.

[jfchandler]

Bob, I think your approach makes good sense and it's one I'll likely follow as well...

I've always had the option to have my state govt pension direct deposited to BKK Bank via their New York branch. But I've never gone that route, and instead preferred to use my U.S. (no fee) ATM cards like with Schwab..

Re your comments below, there are a couple things I'd point out..

--While Schwab may have a $2,500 daily limit on ATM withdrawals, I believe most Thai ATMs will dispense at most 25 1,000 baht bills (about $800 U.S.) at a time, though I have heard that some will do more... So be aware of that...

Thus one thing to consider is how much are the pension payments you'll be receiving each month, and how much per month will you expect to need to be withdrawing by ATM... If the amounts are high and will mean multiple ATM trips inside Thailand, you might look at the BKK Bank deal as a sensible alternative.

--From what I understand, the U.S. Govt/BKK Bank requirement about having to show up personally in their branch to acknowledge receipt of the money only applies to government pensions, certainly federal and by some reports here at least CalPERS as well... I don't believe that same requirement is applied to private pensions, since you mentioned you also have one.

--By using Schwab or another similar U.S. account that doesn't charge any foreign currency fees, I believe you'll get/have access to your pension payments each month both FASTER and at a BETTER EXCHANGE RATE than going the BKK Bank route, and that's even without taking into account the fees BKK Bank charges, as modest as they are.

As soon as my pension payment is electronically credited to my U.S. account, it's immediately available to me here via my ATM card, no waiting. With the BKK Bank approach, you're probably looking at a two day or so delay for the transfer.

Similarly, ATM withdrawals using cards like Schwab will yield you pretty much the full Interbank Exchange Rate, whereas BKK Bank will apply a somewhat lower retail exchange rate. And then of course, the New York Branch charges its fee, and the Thailand end charges its small fee as well.

--At the Thailand end, it makes good sense to use a no-fee AEON ATM if you can and there's one located reasonably near you. Doing so will cut down on the number of Thai ATM fees that Schwab will need to reimburse out of your account. And by not going overboard about that, you make it more likely that they'll continue to reimburse the Thai ATM fees both for you and everyone else with their cards here in Thailand...

--Lastly, one reason I like to stay with depositing my pension in my U.S. account is that I don't only spend money in Thailand... I have U.S. credit cards I use here and other payments to make in the U.S. And of course, it's a whole lot easier to handle those payments when the money is already in a U.S. bank account, as opposed to a BKK Bank account in Thailand.

Good luck with your retirement. You could also consider having your SS payment made into your U.S. account and the private pension made into BKK Bank, depending, of course, on how the respective amounts fit with your budget and spending plans.

This thread was timely and valuable to me as I will be retiring shortly and was investigating the BB NY option as it was recommended by some of my American friends. Thanks to all who have contributed.

I bank with Schwab and now plan to have my private pension and SS check direct deposited there and will access funds via my Schwab ATM here in Thailand. Even if Schwab did not reimburse me for the 150 baht ATM fee it is still the best option (2,500 USD daily withdrawl amount too). I have a Thai bank account (with ATM) as a backup in case my Schwab ATM card is lost, damaged, stolen, etc. The BB NY option may work for some people but it appears to me now a unnecessary burden with setup and personal appearance at a BB branch. If I have missed something please advise.

[lopburi3]

The exchange rate for deposit to Bangkok Bank is the current TT rate which in every case I have seen is better than that obtained from a credit or ATM card withdrawal even without obvious fees. Will that higher exchange rate make up for the normal transfer fees involved is the only question in my mind.

Perhaps someone could check the exact exchange rate obtained from ATM and compare with the Bangkok Bank TT rate at the exact same time?

[jfchandler]

Lopburi, I've done that many times in the past...

With no foreign currency fee cards like Schwab and Capital One, the exchange rate you get with ATM withdrawals here in Thailand is very close to the Interbank Exchange Rate, and better every time than BKK Bank's TT rate.

Now, if someone is using a U.S. card that charges 1-3% in foreign currency fees, then the equation changes... But then the question should be, why would anyone be doing that when there are better card alternatives available.

Now you're operating on MY turf...

Edited September 7, 2010 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

Here's my latest test regarding credit card exchange rates....

The last time I used a Cap One credit card in Thailand was June 16...

On that day, the BOT weighted average IER was 32.40.

The two credit card transactions I had that day posted at 32.375 and 32.388, even though they were just a short while apart... Not too shabby! . Of course, One line item charge, no fees, no extras.

One of the nice things about Cap One is they include the dollar amount and the exchange rate applied right as part of your statement line item....Makes it easy to monitor and keep track...

[jfchandler]

And here was my latest test re U.S. debit cards, on Sept 2, 2010...

OK, I think I can now confirm that both Schwab Bank and Capital One, when you use their VISA debit cards, are NOT charging any foreign currency fee and NOT doing anything nefarious with the transaction exchange rates.

Tonight, I did three back-to-back transactions with cards at an AEON ATM, as follows:

--Schwab VISA debit, 1 debit entry only, 31.14 exchange rate.

--Capital One VISA debit, 1 debit entry only, 31.14 exchange rate.

--and then a small bank MC debit, 1 debit entry only, 31.14 rate.

For comparison purposes, the Bank of Thailand posted Interbank Exchange Rate for today (9/2) was 31.18... So that pretty much tells you that Schwab and Capital One, in terms of exchange rates and not charging a foreign currency fee, are good, solid replacements for E*Trade.

[pkrv]

And as I said the ATM Pool (which is cooperation, not anti-trust) allows Thai card holders to use another banks ATM on the ATM Pool up to 3 times a month with no charge.

Hi ianguygil - Firstly I would like to say how much I value your contributions to this forum, there are few of such calibre.

And Hi jfchandler - Everyone is in such a different position, but there are some overlapping strategies between the US and the UK on fund transfers. The ATM fee from my UK perspective is about 3 GBP (150 THB) every hit. In the past I used Nationwide (a UK building society) to pull money out of the wall. It was free and you got the market rate - I know because I had direct access to the FX market. Great for topping up my Bangkok Bank account and general day to day spend.

With the new ATM fees it is all change for me. I will soon have to pay condo maintenance bills which are relatively large so I have taken a fundamentally different view and now look at my Bangkok Bank account as my own personal account for use in Thailand (though my BBL cash point cards and debit cards are actually international cards).

From a UK perspective I can transfer via the UK correspondent branch of Bangkok bank and as lopburi3 said you cannot open an account at the US nor indeed the UK branches BUT you can use these as a conduit to connect your UK or US bank account to your Thai Bangkok Bank account (which must be opened locally). The concept of opening an account at correspondent banks is actually irrelevant (and not possible).

The fee to do this is 20 GBP plus a 500 THB fee at the Thai end for a GBP transfer. You get the TT rate and the end to end time taken is 7 working days. I know this because I have done this.

So I can pull out four or five UK cash card withdrawals before I hit the above fees. This does not make sense. For me my strategy is to make one largish transfer to Bangkok Bank, and then operate locally, with no fees, until the funds are exhausted (or a good FX opportunity arrives), then repeat.

Thanks ian - I know Thai banks operate a sector/provincial based banking system with charges for deposits and withdrawals even with the same bank, but outside of the sector. I think you have clarified the actually position here by saying three 'other types of withdrawals' are possible without charge?

BTW way yes I did finally get a third party account set up on my Bualuang iBanking account it took about two weeks, four visits/calls and required the direct action of the Head Office – A long story and is mostly due to my being on a visa on arrival (sort of tourist visa) and in Thailand for short periods. For me three years start to stop on opening an account through to remote payment of (condominium) bills. But none the less I am very satisfied with the service and intercession of Bangkok Bank head office and indeed a lady called Sri at the front desk.

Let me just say that Bangkok Bank is bloody well secure!<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">

Edited September 7, 2010 by pkrv

[ThaiBob]

jfchandler, thanks for your advice and posts regarding exchange rates. My experience has been just like yours.

[jfchandler]

As I've said a number of times, it does depend on one's individual needs and circumstance, including how much money they need to pull each month here, and whether they have access to AEON ATMs, and whether they have access to no foreign currency fee cards from their home country.

My only point all along has been: IF you have a home country card with no foreign currency fee of its own, and if you withdraw from AEON ATMs or have a home account that reimburses the Thai bank fees, then you're going to get a better return on your funds than by doing the BKK Bank transfer approach.

With the former approach, you pay no fees and should get close to the Interbank Exchange Rate. With the latter, you pay two sets of fees to BKK Bank and get a lower TT exchange rate.

From a UK perspective I can transfer via the UK correspondent branch of Bangkok bank and as lopburi3 said you cannot open an account at the US nor indeed the UK branches BUT you can use these as a conduit to connect your UK or US bank account to your Thai Bangkok Bank account (which must be opened locally). The concept of opening an account at correspondent banks is actually irrelevant (and not possible).

The fee to do this is 20 GBP plus a 500 THB fee at the Thai end for a GBP transfer. You get the TT rate and the end to end time taken is 7 working days. I know this because I have done this.

So I can pull out four or five UK cash card withdrawals before I hit the above fees. This does not make sense. For me my strategy is to make one largish transfer to Bangkok Bank, and then operate locally, with no fees, until the funds are exhausted (or a good FX opportunity arrives), then repeat.

[JimGant]

In that article, some Thai banking rep claimed they had launched the fee because the card networks had raised their fees... And then the article went on to quote a MC spokesman as saying they had not anytime recently raised their fees

JFC, the point of my posting my article was to show that, indeed, MC has recently raised fees for ATM owners -- and that maybe that indicates it's MC, not the Thai banking rep, that was lying to the Bangkok Post. But, just where Thai banks lie between "non-bank" and "bank" ATM owners, I haven't a clue. It's just possible their ATM machines, at least the ones away from the banks, are outsourced, with logo rights....and are thus "non-bank" ATMs.

And, my post on fees was just to get off the tunnel vision on Thai ATM fees -- and to show that an "apple" fee can be 6 times as expensive as an "orange" Thai ATM fee. Trying to keep things in perspective re the unwary (which doesn't include, I would hope, folks that have read all these threads on how to save money).

[pkrv]

Hi jfchandler - I see your point - for me it boiled down to merging largish type Thai bills (electricity, condo maintenance etc) and cash into a single (well more accurately once in a while) transfer. I am not US but I guess your ATM withdrawals would be limited to 20,000 THB, though reading between the lines of past posters it seems people can do this multiple times in one day?

Edited September 7, 2010 by pkrv

[ianguygil]

PKRV, nice to see you on here again.

The limitation is the number of bills the ATM can dispense and push out of the slot without the risk of jamming. On most new ATMs it is 20, on some it is 25. So as the largest denomination of a banknote here is 1,000 THB, the maximum amount per withdrawal is normally 20,000 THB, and at times 25,000.

The limit on the daily withdrawals is set by the issuing bank normally. In our case our highest limit is I believe 500,000 THB per day (which is a lot I know). This can be lowered by the cardholder by requesting a lower limit.

Your suggestion of moving funds once internationally (every 6 months or so) then using a local card for day to day withdrawals is definitely the most cost effective. And it is what I would definitely suggest. However, it does depend on the cashflow of each individual as some may not have the available funds to transfer 6 months of living expenses in advance.

Anyway, nice to see you on here again. Please do keep in touch.

[jazzbo]

I have the Bangkok Bank NY ACH transaction set-up with Wells Fargo (and Bof A) after WF receives my monthly transfer for Retirement Extension Purposes -- $3.00 transfer fee for 3 business days -- much less than an ATM withdrawl here in Thailand ... and I gladly pay the 150 baht not have to go to the nearest AEON location.

.... however, the deciding factor is that if 'Baby needs a new pair of shoes' and I would have tell her that 'NO' she will have to wait so I can save on the ATM fees, one has to decide one's priorities in life.

Edited September 7, 2010 by jazzbo

[JimGant]

You could also consider having your SS payment made into your U.S. account and the private pension made into BKK Bank,

Bob, sound advice from JFC, per usual. This would become an even more attractive option should Schwab follow E*trade in dropping the foreign transaction fee reimbursement.

Believe such a direct deposit via BB NY would cost the same as a private ACH "push." However, believe JFC is investigating a possible glitch with Schwab in doing private ACH transactions thru BB NY.

If you haven't already done so, make sure to set-up SWIFT wire protocols with Schwab (and any other financial institution) before you leave the States, as often this can't be done long distance.

[JimGant]

$3.00 transfer fee for 3 business days -- much less than an ATM withdrawl here in Thailand ..

Sure is in your case, as Wells Fargo ATM cards, with 3%/$5 fees, would cost you $29+ even before the $4.84 ATM owner's fee (for a 25k baht withdrawal).

And, the majority of financial institutions don't charge the $3 ACH fee you're paying, a fee to pay CashEdge -- the middleman, who even slows down the transaction by one or two business days.

[jfchandler]

Ian, nice that you're recruiting business for your bank. But I'm sorry to say, the advice you give below is simply wrong...

Doing a BKK Bank international transfer definitely NOT the most cost effective, compared to someone who's using a home country bank card that charges no foreign currency fees and then using an AEON ATM here in Thailand and/or a home country bank that refunds Thai ATM fees.

Even without the issue of the transfer charges BKK Bank charges in New York and Thailand, the no-foreign currency fee ATM card is going to yield a better exchange rate (basically the Interbank Exchange Rate (IER) ) than Bangkok Bank's TT rate... Then when you add in the fees, as modest as they are, the differential grows...

The BKK Bank transfer approach would, however, potentially be more cost effective if someone's using a home country card that charges foreign currency fees and/or is using Thai ATMs and paying 150 baht per withdrawal.

If you want to answer people's questions here, please at least be truthful and accurate in your replies.

Your suggestion of moving funds once internationally (every 6 months or so) then using a local card for day to day withdrawals is definitely the most cost effective. And it is what I would definitely suggest. However, it does depend on the cashflow of each individual as some may not have the available funds to transfer 6 months of living expenses in advance.

[ianguygil]

Many more US banks are on the ACH either as members of participants than use CashEdge. In fact CashEdge works with NACHA who run the ACH as a product which works with ACH rather than around it. And in the US most Bill Payments use CheckFree, not ACH or CashEdge. I know that CashEdge is trying to get into the P2P payment space, moving their old Web based product to the Mobile world. But for a fair sized payment most banks will use ACH as the fee (to them) is pennies not dollars.

[jfchandler]

I believe Ian's correct about the 20,000 to 25,000 limit on the number of bills that Thai bank ATMs will dispense per transaction (assuming they have enough 1,000 baht bills in the machine).

So that controls the maximum amount of money you can withdraw from a Thai ATM in one transaction using your home country card.

But then, it's likely to be the daily limit of your home country bank that's going to control the TOTAL amount of money you can withdraw from that account in any 24 hour period. And those amounts vary by bank and are all over the place. In the U.S., the daily limits seem to range from $250 on the low end to some as high as $2500 or more...

The Thai bank ATM, I believe, will allow you an unlimited number of transaction in a day when you're using your home country card, right up until you reach your home bank's daily limit for the card.

And then, lately, I've come across some weird variations, like some banks' having a combined limit amount for the weekend days, and others saying any POS (Point of Sale) purchases you make with the same bank card will count against your daily ATM cash withdrawal limit...

To coin a phrase, it pays to know the details of your bank accounts...

Hi jfchandler - I see your point - for me it boiled down to merging largish type Thai bills (electricity, condo maintenance etc) and cash into a single (well more accurately once in a while) transfer. I am not US but I guess your ATM withdrawals would be limited to 20,000 THB, though reading between the lines of past posters it seems people can do this multiple times in one day?

[JimGant]

JFC, I believe Ian was responding to a Brit -- and after Nationwide starting charging fees, I'm not sure they now have any fee free cards samo samo Schwab....

As such, re the Brits, he's correct.

[jfchandler]

Jim and Bob, I think we're talking about two different but similar things here with the notion of U.S. pensions going into BKK Bank...

1. One way is to have the funds deposited to your U.S. bank, and then ACH them to BKK Bank New York for routing onward to Thailand. That incurs the BKK transfer fees in New York and Thailand, and also assumes your U.S. bank will do an online ACH to Bangkok Bank New York. (Jim, that's the connection where the Schwab online system MAY not allow that. As I mentioned, my initial link attempt did not go thru).

2. Then the second way is to use the method that's been described here of setting up a direct deposit thru your retirement/pension provider direct to BKK Bank New York, without ever touching a U.S. bank or bank-to-bank ACH. That involves some paperwork on the BKK Bank end, and also carries the requirement for U.S. government payments that you have to physically go to the BKK Bank branch in Thailand to accept receipt of the funds (so the U.S. Govt can be assured they're not paying a dead person.

I dont know, but maybe Ian can report, whether the direct deposit method also carries the same flat fee in New York and then the same percentage fee here in Thailand, as if someone was using method #1... I'm guessing, but don't know for sure, that BKK Bank probably charges the same fees in both cases.

And just to be clear re E*Trade, they ARE still reimbursing the 150 baht Thai ATM fees automatically and immediately. But unfortunately as of last month, they also began charging the 1% foreign currency transaction fee on foreign ATM withdrawals...

You could also consider having your SS payment made into your U.S. account and the private pension made into BKK Bank,

Bob, sound advice from JFC, per usual. This would become an even more attractive option should Schwab follow E*trade in dropping the foreign transaction fee reimbursement.

Believe such a direct deposit via BB NY would cost the same as a private ACH "push." However, believe JFC is investigating a possible glitch with Schwab in doing private ACH transactions thru BB NY.

If you haven't already done so, make sure to set-up SWIFT wire protocols with Schwab (and any other financial institution) before you leave the States, as often this can't be done long distance.

[jfchandler]

Jim, thanks for pointing that out... I think you're right that Ian was responding to a Brit.

And I'll confess to not knowing for a fact whether there are any truly fee free bank cards available to Brits... I wonder if Ian has any knowledge of that himself.

Unfortunately, his advice wasn't expressed as that BKK Bank international transfers are (or may be) the most economical method for Brits... It was just a blanket statement that the casual or future reader would take as blanket advice...

There's already enough confusion and sometimes bad advice being dispensed on banking matters. I just wanted to clarify the facts a bit...

So more to the point, I'd certainly like to hear from the Brits what if any is the best home country bank card deal available to them, and what its terms are... That would help clarify the situation a lot, at least for Brits... For Americans, we already know what "best" is possible for us.

JFC, I believe Ian was responding to a Brit -- and after Nationwide starting charging fees, I'm not sure they now have any fee free cards samo samo Schwab....

As such, re the Brits, he's correct.

[ianguygil]

Having both American and British citizenship, and having worked in both US and UK banks before Bangkok bank, I can be insulted on both sides if you want

When I said the issuing bank controls the overall limit per day, that is the bank in your home country who issues the ATM card or Credit Card.

Thai bank ATMs do have an overall limit per foreign card to control risk. So if somebody gets hold of a card and somehow the PIN, possibly using the old skimming and video the keypad routine, they can only get so much cash per day. But crooks like that often go day by day until they can empty out the account. Which is why banks offer SMS and email alerts for many services and why banks are progressively moving to Chip and PIN to prevent skimming

So as I said, the ATM limit is based on the number of banknotes and the largest denomination the machine has. If it is a 20-note ATM and there are only 100 Baht bills left, the maximum withdrawal will be 2,000 Baht. 500 Baht bills gives you 10,000 and so on.

And the overall limit I quoted is for a Bangkok Bank Premier card, which can be up to 500,000 THB per day.

[jazzbo]

$3 ??? ... Heaven's to Betsy what a fool I am Kuhn G. ... however, it is a real pain in the ass to start re-arranging all those wealth management accounts ... I certainly prefer the ACH route through Bangkok Bank but again sometimes there are other priorities in life.

By living in Thailand I am saving about $700 every month over the last rental rates I was paying, I do not have to maintain an automobile and health insurance for me in the USA would be off the charts so there are compensations to those pesky fees I might be suckered into paying,..

Edited September 7, 2010 by jazzbo

[ianguygil]

As I have said many times, it depends on the specifics of the individual. It depends how much is transferred and how often. I happen to know more about PKRV as he had an issue before that I helped to explain. And in his case (and I was responding to him) he is definitely doing what I would recommend. He is a customer, and I will not get into his specifics, but his case makes moving funds as he does both the most cost effective and the best use of his time.

So I am not wrong in what I said in my response to him. Which was clearly addressed to him.

In your case, the amount you transfer and the frequency of the transfer may differ (your mileage may differ as we say). And you may live closer to one of these ATMs which are not part of the ATM Pool.

[jfchandler]

Re the discussion we were having above about BKK Bank's international transfer exchange rates vs. those of no fee U.S. ATM cards... I'm never one to shy away from a challenge or to be afraid to challenge my own assumptions...

So I went back today and re-tested the same kind of test I've done before, and came up with the same result...

Below, as I previously recounted, I did a series ATM withdrawals using three different no-fee U.S. ATM cards here on Sept. 2 using an AEON ATM--all back to back within a few minutes of each other.

As I recounted below, the net/real exchange rate for all three turned out to be 31.14, and the IER rate for that day according to the BOT web site was 31.18.

Today, I went back to the BKK Bank web site and looked at their foreign exchange rate for Sept. 2, for buying TT, which is I assume the rate used for their international transfers... And I found a rate of 31.05 for Sept. 2, as shown in the image below. And that is, of course, before you add in BKK Bank's New York and Thailand transfer fees.

Now, to be fair, the rates on these things do jump around day to day, and bank to bank within Thailand... But the result above confirms the same result I've had in the past when I've done the same comparisons...

So, take your pick, 31.14 baht to the $ and no fees with the right U.S. bank card, or 31.05 baht to the $ minus added BKK Bank fees. Which would you rather have in your wallet???

And here was my latest test re U.S. debit cards, on Sept 2, 2010...

OK, I think I can now confirm that both Schwab Bank and Capital One, when you use their VISA debit cards, are NOT charging any foreign currency fee and NOT doing anything nefarious with the transaction exchange rates.

Tonight, I did three back-to-back transactions with cards at an AEON ATM, as follows:

--Schwab VISA debit, 1 debit entry only, 31.14 exchange rate.

--Capital One VISA debit, 1 debit entry only, 31.14 exchange rate.

--and then a small bank MC debit, 1 debit entry only, 31.14 rate.

For comparison purposes, the Bank of Thailand posted Interbank Exchange Rate for today (9/2) was 31.18... So that pretty much tells you that Schwab and Capital One, in terms of exchange rates and not charging a foreign currency fee, are good, solid replacements for E*Trade.

[jfchandler]

Ian, maybe then you can take your vast banking knowledge, and dual citizenship, and advise here in the thread on what the best/most economical UK bank card is for use in Thailand...

That would be of some practical help to the Brits... and would enable a meaningful comparison for them of how BKK Bank's transfer process compares...

Except... ooops... providing that info just might mean they'd use BKK Bank for less of their business...

Having both American and British citizenship, and having worked in both US and UK banks before Bangkok bank, I can be insulted on both sides if you want

[pkrv]

Hi jfchandler ,

I think maybe your ire is misdirected. VISA and Master Card hold pretty much a global monopoly - well a monopoly is just one organisation, however these are both US owned. At a push you could charitably say cartel.

It is actually VISA and MasterCard charges that you are seeing - fine - Thai banks ATM's compensate.

However IMO you too also distort our reading of this topic, but you have the ability to adapt - admiral trait.

What will happen to you directly when AEON ATM inevitably charge?

And BTW yes Nationwide from a UK stand point as a Visa card suffered the same fate in terms of charges. We - UK - can no longer withdraw cash free of charge in Thailand on our UK cards.

Edited September 7, 2010 by pkrv

[jfchandler]

Appreciate the comment, PKRV... And honestly, I have no ire at all..but don't shy aware from a debate either...

I have only one interest here: making the most of my money, and paying the least in unnecessary fees...

There's at least two big differences between Ian and myself as regards our comments here:

1. He, I presume, is or has been affiliated with BKK Bank and has/has had some economic relationship with them. I have no relationship with them or am beholden to them in any way. If I thought they had the best deal, I'd say so. If I thought or know others had a better deal, I'd say that.. How about Ian??? When was the last time he advised, you really ought to check out this new account at Kasikorn Bank???

2. I'm again assuming Ian earns his living and money here. Whereas I earn my money back in the U.S. and need to transfer it here every time. So which of us do you think is going to be paying the closest attention to how to best move funds from abroad into Thailand?

Lastly, AEON isn't part of the Thai banking cartel, so I don't have any reason to believe they will change. But if they do, there are still, at least for us U.S. folks, U.S. bank accounts that fully reimburse foreign bank ATM fees. Have you considered changing your citizenship???

As a footnote, In my prior life, I was a longtime news reporter for the Los Angeles Times, among other newspapers. So I have a particular sensitivity to situations where people with vested interests and biases start telling everyone what's "best." I've never met a used car salesman who wasn't promising me the car he was trying to sell me was the "best," no matter how much of a junker it may actually have been.

Hi jfchandler ,

I think maybe your ire is misdirected. VISA and Master Card hold pretty much a global monopoly - well a monopoly is just one organisation, however these are both US owned. At a push you could charitably say cartel.

It is actually VISA and MasterCard charges that you are seeing - fine - Thai banks ATM's compensate.

However IMO you too also distort our reading of this topic, but you have the ability to adapt - admiral trait.

What will happen to you directly when AEON ATM inevitably charge?

And BTW yes Nationwide from a UK stand point as a Visa card suffered the same fate in terms of charges. We - UK - can no longer withdraw cash free of charge in Thailand on our UK cards.

IMO Ian concluded the same as myself on many levels.

[pkrv]

Hi jfchandler - you have identified yourself as a blood hound. IMO you are on the wrong scent - Go for VISA and Mastercard - who knows what you will find....

BTW I was with Reuters I did see the news room and indeed Visnews at Park Royal, 100 Grays Inn Road etc.

Edited September 7, 2010 by pkrv

[jazzbo]

There have several reports herein about AEON ATM malfunctions ... But using them to save the 150 baht I guess is OK unless you spend 160 baht getting there...

However -- after having lived there for about 6 months -- anyone who chooses to lo live in Bangkok is IMHO incurring unnecessary fees on a daily basis.