Atm Fees

[gk10002000]

I have not been in Thailand in over a year. Shame on me for that. But in the past I never had any issues using my ATM card over there. I typically would bring a mix of cash and then use ATM here and there. Some of my vacations were up to 50 days, and I did not always bring thousands of USD with me.

So do Thai banks really charge that 150 to 200 baht fee every time you use an ATM? Is that just for foreign based accounts, or do all Thai banks charge those fees to anybody that uses an ATM, even local Thai banks?

Thanks

[Ajarnmai]

Most banks charge 20 baht for accessing Thai money. The 150 baht is for international access to your money overseas. And I think all banks are charging the fees.

[keeniau96]

You get seriously buggered when using ATM in TH to access your foreign account. But that's not because of TH but rather your own bank. The local ATM owner banks have raised their fees from 30 baht to 50 baht, true. But when the transfer hits your bank account that bank will charge you a fee for foreign exchange transaction, and that may well be quite large. They may also use an unfavorable exchange rate thus another cost. So all that can add up to fairly large. Note these fees (but not the forex transaction itself) are fixed the same for small or large transactions, so best to make a few large withdrawals than many small ones.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Strange how it seems so hard to get this information right..

* If you withdraw from a local Thai bank account, within the region where your bank branch is, then it's free for all banks. Outside of your area, or when withdrawing from a different bank, then a 20 baht fee applies for most banks.

* If you withdraw from a non-Thai bank account using an ATM card, then a charge applies.

Not all ATMs charge this even now. I think the Aeon ATMs don't charge this. They're not many of those though, typically located at branches of the Aeon credit company. Those are for example at Airport Plaza, Tesco Lotus (both branches) and there is an ATM (no office) at Big C Hang Dong as well. (Possibly other locations as well, I'd be interested to know).

I mostly use a local bank account so it's not a super important issue to me, but occasionally when withdrawing from a foreign account it's nice to save a beer or two on the withdrawal charge.

Edited January 1, 2010 by WinnieTheKhwai

[vagabond48]

To confirm. currently Aeon does not charge the ATM 150b fee when using a international debit card to withdraw cash. I don't use a credit card so I cannot comment whether the same no fee policy applies.

Although, I haven't needed to do this, you can also do an over the counter teller cash withdrawal at most banks with no fee. Some branches may refuse insisting that you use their ATM machine.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Although, I haven't needed to do this, you can also do an over the counter teller cash withdrawal at most banks with no fee.

That applies to credit cards though, not bank cards. And if it's a credit card then there may be substantial fee involved from your own credit card supplier.

[Chaimai]

Although, I haven't needed to do this, you can also do an over the counter teller cash withdrawal at most banks with no fee.

That applies to credit cards though, not bank cards. And if it's a credit card then there may be substantial fee involved from your own credit card supplier.

WRONG. A bank card is typically a VISA/MASTERCARD (VISA and Mastercard being transacting agents for your bank) and there is no problem withdrawing cash over the counter with such a "DEBIT" card.

I have never been charged by the Thai bank for the withdrawal and only pick up the VISA transaction charge that is passed on by my bank.

[jbob]

so you are saying I can walk into a bank and withdraw money from my australian bank account and not pay the 150bt fee? just the 3% conversion fee

[ChouDoufu]

does your atm card have a visa logo on it? then you can use it like a credit

card for cash advances at most any bank - either at the atm or at the teller.

using the atm will get you a 150B charge, using the teller will not.

the 3% is not a conversion fee, and is variable among banks. this is a foreign

transaction fee added by visa for processing. (mine charges 1%) call your

bank or check the website, as i've heard some may be raising the fee to 5%.

there is a currency conversion fee that you will not see listed on your statement.

this is charged by visa and is often close to the wholesale conversion rate.

[vagabond48]

does your atm card have a visa logo on it? then you can use it like a credit

card for cash advances at most any bank - either at the atm or at the teller.

using the atm will get you a 150B charge, using the teller will not.

Just to clarify, a debit card is not like a credit card. A DC can only be used to withdraw against your existing account balance unless (I am guessing) you also have

overdraft protection.