Uk Atm Card

[flightest]

Hi there, i am a frequent visitor to asia , i currently bank with Nat west and on numerous occasions when in asia they keep blocking my card when i try to do a transaction, even if i inform them when i will be travelling, i am fed up of this now and i am looking for information on which uk bank offers the best ATM card for abroad, i want a card i can load up at home with no overdraft facility and preferably low bank charges, any help greatly appreciated,

[Beechboy]

One, I trust you use debit rather than credit cards.

They both give you a lousy rate, but at least you do not pay accumulate interest on a debit card.

Nationwide reigned alone as the best debit arrangement, with no fees and a decent rate to boot. I couldhave kissed them for two years. At least, the rather lovely lady in the Banbury branch.

Now, they confine this privelege to European transactions, but I believe that they are still slightly better than a host of others.

There are one or two favourites now that you may find out about, but I cannot help.

My advice, take as much cash as you can. Legal or not (only illegal in what you are allowed to take out of UK rather than take into Thai.). THEN, take care until you plonk it in your hotel/apt. safe.

Street/bank cash exchanges give you a MUCH better deal and no transaction charges.

Just be sensible!

[Randee]

I use HSBC and halifax no probs.

Sometimes these machines seem to play up with a new card. There seems to be a period when you keep getting "unable to complete transaction. refer to bank" messages or even "insufficient funds" when you know dam_n well you have money there..

Keep trying throughout the day at different times in different machines - even different days.

Another option is to go to a bank or currency exchange or even airport and have them swipe your card and give you cash. for some reason ive never been charged commission when done this.

but as above says bings lotsa cash with ya ... keep in in a concealed money belt and transfer it to room safe asap.

[flightest]

hi thanks for the replys, yes i am looking for a debit card, i have been to asia over the the last seven years, four times a year, so am reasonably clued up over there, i do take alot of cash and as you say be careful, i am looking for a card as back up

[comeonuspurs]

hi thanks for the replys, yes i am looking for a debit card, i have been to asia over the the last seven years, four times a year, so am reasonably clued up over there, i do take alot of cash and as you say be careful, i am looking for a card as back up

I use a Halifax Visa Electron debit card in Thailand and have never had any problems. They charge GBP 1.50 each transaction

and their rate is usually about 50 points lower than the rate I would have got with cash at a Thai bank.

Bringing loads of cash has its dangers, so I would consider using a combination of cash and travellers cheques, if you don't want to

use a debit card.

[Chaimai]

hi thanks for the replys, yes i am looking for a debit card, i have been to asia over the the last seven years, four times a year, so am reasonably clued up over there, i do take alot of cash and as you say be careful, i am looking for a card as back up

In my opinion Nationwide offer the best in terms of cost (their Internet Banking is user friendly as well). They only pass on the VISA transaction fee which is 1%. The rate used on the ATM withdrawals has been proved to be one the best around. One speculative word of caution; their profits have just been halved so this may be a target area for increased fees. If you are referring to Thailand you will have the 150 Baht withdrawal fee to contend with.

Do you always come back to the same base ?

If so, consider what I do. I no longer use Nationwide. I transfer funds into a Halifax Reward account and they give me £5 each month I transfer £1,000+. I then transfer online to my Thai bank account at a cost of £9.50 (net £4.50 really).

My local K Bank ATM withdrawals are then free (20 Baht charge if out of area).

Note: Whichever UK card you use it is irrelevant telling the bank that you are travelling abroad. They prefer to use their own fraud detection systems which will, irregularly, result in your card being 'blocked' - usually less than 5 mins call to the card provider to get it sorted, but can be frustrating.

[CNXSTEVE]

Nationwide offers the best deal on exchange rates and fees. Even with the 1% they now charge on FE transactions it is still better than the 4.5% I paid for a long time with HSBC. Using Nationwide FLEX with Bank of Ayuddhaya ATMs goes round the 150bt Thai bank fee.

[Rinrada]

Nationwide offers the best deal on exchange rates and fees. Even with the 1% they now charge on FE transactions it is still better than the 4.5% I paid for a long time with HSBC. Using Nationwide FLEX with Bank of Ayuddhaya ATMs goes round the 150bt Thai bank fee.

Are you sure that Bank of A is still free?

I tend to use the AEAON (avec Nationwide ) and have commented in the past that as a Japanese CC company they got round the rip off 150 bt shakedown.

agree that the NW is still tops..

[Chaimai]

Nationwide offers the best deal on exchange rates and fees. Even with the 1% they now charge on FE transactions it is still better than the 4.5% I paid for a long time with HSBC. Using Nationwide FLEX with Bank of Ayuddhaya ATMs goes round the 150bt Thai bank fee.

Are you sure that Bank of A is still free?

I tend to use the AEAON (avec Nationwide ) and have commented in the past that as a Japanese CC company they got round the rip off 150 bt shakedown.

agree that the NW is still tops..

Am I right in thinking that is only free with the Mastercard cards rather than the normal VISA cards that are issued on the Flexaccount (or am I getting confused ?).

I would also like to know if BoA is free - I recall it being a bit and miss before.

[IsaanAndy]

hi thanks for the replys, yes i am looking for a debit card, i have been to asia over the the last seven years, four times a year, so am reasonably clued up over there, i do take alot of cash and as you say be careful, i am looking for a card as back up

I use Nationwide Flexaccount debit visa and have had no problems, most shops/businesses will also take it when buying goods or services. Their 24 hour helpline service is also very, very good if you do have a problem.

[PattayaParent]

hi thanks for the replys, yes i am looking for a debit card, i have been to asia over the the last seven years, four times a year, so am reasonably clued up over there, i do take alot of cash and as you say be careful, i am looking for a card as back up

Get a local bank account and a local ATM card and transfer money from your UK bank.

[PattayaParent]

Duplicate post, internet is acting up.

Edited May 30, 2010 by PattayaParent

[ScouseTommy]

a few years ago when i was travelling, a friend of mine had an online only account i think it was Halifax, but basically there were no charges when withdrawing your cash, and it means you only transfer in what you are going to withdraw (using online banking) so if your card was lost or stolen then theres no more than a fiver left in the account to steal. I think CO-OP banking have something similar as well!

[PattayaParent]

^I think I read on TV about the Post Office having a similar thing.

[martin81]

[

Am I right in thinking that is only free with the Mastercard cards rather than the normal VISA cards that are issued on the Flexaccount (or am I getting confused ?).

I would also like to know if BoA is free - I recall it being a bit and miss before.

My wife withdrew from B o Ayutthaya with eu VISA card twice last week. No 150 b fee.

[utneflyte]

I use HSBC, there's no ATM banking charge if you use their own ATM machines globally (depends on the account you have)... but Bangkok only has on HSBC location.

I found it's best to use only one bank, the more cash you have, the more respect you get. Frankly, you could always ask your bank what do you have to do to get better rates and lower or no ATM charges. Talk to a human, don't simply email them.

[Enjibenji]

so is there any preferred bank (ATM) to withdraw cash from using a nationwide flex debit card?

hate this 150 baht withdrawal charge.

Also, is it worth withdrawing large amounts of money per time to cut charges (regardless of the 150 baht withdrawal charge)?

thanks

[barsie]

Barclays are a total rip off, regardless of account type. Here's a recent transaction:

02/06/2010 Cash Withdrawal

TWIN PALM RESORT

THAILAND

AMOUNT IN THB 10150.00 EXCH RATE 45.789 REF 150 2436591000 ATM INCLUDING COMMISSION £5.94 FEE OF £4.43

So I was charged the 150 baht fee by Thai bank, then barclays took a total of £10.37 off me. Exchange rate was about 1 baht down as well so about 220 baht

All in all a £200 cash withdrawal cost me aprox £15.

If I lived in Thailand i'd be fuming. The only way round this is cash, which I do but anything more than £1000 I rule out to take with me.

[JohnC]

so is there any preferred bank (ATM) to withdraw cash from using a nationwide flex debit card?

Both Aeon and Ayudhya are fee free, I have been using Ayudhya for a number of months now, prior to that I always used Aeon although there atm s sometimes play up. A third option is to go to an exchange booth (I use the Bangkok Bank one in Pattaya) and present your passport and card and tell them (in baht) how much you want to withdraw. They make one phone call to check the card and thats it, no charges and when your Nationwide A/C is debited its the offshore rate which is usually higher than the Thai banks rate.

[theoldgit]

I don't what you regard as loads of dosh but if you found to be carrying excess amounts of cash, I think it's about £2,000 and they have detector dogs at many UK airports, HMR&C can ask you why you are carrying the cash and where you got it from. They can, and do, seize cash if they are not satisfied with your response.

[Mali1964]

NOTE ! anyone using the Nationwide cash card (cirrus card) will find a new card being issued to their registered address from 1st June 2010 to September 2010 now called the cash card plus, the sad news is that the cash card plus cannot be used in ATM's abroad not even Europe.

So the only card that was truly free of charges is to be no more.

Note this does not affect the Flexaccount debit card which as charged a competitive 1% fee for some time now.

Also the Halifax quote above of only a £1.50 fee is misleading this is only Halifax's foreign ATM fee that is shown as a separate fee, there is also a 2.5% exchange fee built into the exchange rate, most banks in the UK charge at least 2.5% to 5% only Nationwide is 1%, Abbey is free with a special account that includes having a mortgage & i think a minimum balance of £1000.

The post office credit card is free of fee's but the exchange rate is bad to make up for this.

Take note only the Nationwide offer the best rate's but for how much longer who knows.

As stated above the Halifax online transfer is another good option especially if you transfer at least min £1000 each time.

[Toany]

QUOTE so is there any preferred bank (ATM) to withdraw cash from using a nationwide flex debit card?

Both Aeon and Ayudhya are fee free, I have been using Ayudhya for a number of months now, prior to that I always used Aeon although there atm s sometimes play up. A third option is to go to an exchange booth (I use the Bangkok Bank one in Pattaya) and present your passport and card and tell them (in baht) how much you want to withdraw. They make one phone call to check the card and thats it, no charges and when your Nationwide A/C is debited its the offshore rate which is usually higher than the Thai banks rate.

I have tried the Ayudhya a couple of times in the last few days and it now comes up with the 150 Baht Charge. It was always free before, it look like the reliable yellow ATMs have gone to the dark side as well