Nationwide To Start Charging For Overseas Cash Withdrawals

[AyG]

Nationwide has announced that it's going to charge 2% plus one pound for cash withdrawals overseas (including Europe) from November 1st.

The fee for purchases using a credit card remains at 1%.

This is twice in a year that Nationwide has worsened the conditions on its Flexaccount, and is very disappointing. 2% plus one pound plus 300 Baht Thai bank charges on each withdrawal is not insignificant.

[12DrinkMore]

I hate these banks.

You have to jump through loops backwards to open an account, only yo lose money because the rate of interest is less than inflation, and then they have the cheek to charge 2% to withdraw your own cash. The "And One Pound" bullshit means that for a withdrawal of 100 Quid it will cost you

Nationwide GBP 2 + 1 = 3

Thai Bank = GBP 6

Total 9 Quid or NINE PERCENT.

As the OP stated, that is not insignificant.

If you bring notes across, then the exchange rate is about 1.2% worse than the TT rate, but no other charges are involved. The above transaction will leave you 7.8% better off by moving bits of paper around, handing them into the bank, occupying bank staff time and giving the bank the problem of handling physical forex.

Incredible.

[Boycie]

I don't believe it!! But it's true

More info

Nationwide Press Release

This is money .co.uk

Money saving expert .com

Boycie

[lifemagic]

If moneysavingexpert.com say it's so than I believe it.

I've only got that card plus a Barclaycard. Never used a Barclaycard credit card in an atm. Is it 1.5 or 2.5% d'yknow? If I did that in an Aeon it wouldn't be as bad. Of course, my last Aeon transaction for 7000 didn't work, but I've been billed anyway, so I'm just starting the dispute process.

I'm still in Bangkok though, so I could try going down the local bank account route. We've got until November though.

[nickmanchester2]

aw no, really bad news.

Are there any other cards which are free withdrawls? I dont think so now.

[chiang mai]

I hate these banks.

You have to jump through loops backwards to open an account, only yo lose money because the rate of interest is less than inflation, and then they have the cheek to charge 2% to withdraw your own cash. The "And One Pound" bullshit means that for a withdrawal of 100 Quid it will cost you

Nationwide GBP 2 + 1 = 3

Thai Bank = GBP 6

Total 9 Quid or NINE PERCENT.

As the OP stated, that is not insignificant.

If you bring notes across, then the exchange rate is about 1.2% worse than the TT rate, but no other charges are involved. The above transaction will leave you 7.8% better off by moving bits of paper around, handing them into the bank, occupying bank staff time and giving the bank the problem of handling physical forex.

Incredible.

That's a little one sided, in all fairness to Nationwide it did commit that its mortgage lending rates would not be more than 2% over base - that means that all its mortgage customers are on a max of 2.5% and it's for that reason that Nationwide is having to find economies elsewhere. I know that doesn't help you perhaps but it does paint a fairer picture of what Nationwide is doing as a business which is a lot fairer than most banks these days.

[thaimate]

If you take your card into the bank along with your passport are you still charged the 1% does anyone know.

[yogi100]

If you take your card into the bank along with your passport are you still charged the 1% does anyone know.

Not the last time I did it which was in March '10. But don't hold your breath, they probably are deciding to do so this very minute!

The way to defeat these money grabbing shylocks is to bring cash or TCs. I brought cash this time and spent 600 baht and 30 minutes opening an A/C with Kasikorn Bank and getting an ATM card. Once you've paid the one off 600 baht that's it, change your currency up and stick it in the nearest branch and draw it out in bahts as you require it.. You get the ATM card there and then as you open the A/C.

Edit. You need to take your passport and details of your lodgings. The bank phones your digs or hotel to verify the fact that you stay there.

Edited July 31, 2010 by yogi100

[dave2]

yogi100

re .... The bank phones your digs or hotel to verify the fact that you stay there.

this doesnt happen in all cases im affraid

i have three TMB Accounts ( two in chiang mai for four years ) and one in pattaya ( eight years )

and a krung thai account in chiang mai ( three years )

and they have never phoned to check where im living to my knowledge

if they had my renters would have told me .... a bank callled today to check on you

and thats never happened once in over five years !

big brother might be out there ... but in thailand .... hes sleeping : )

dave2

[jc7]

I'm sure Nationwide was the only bank that did these free withdrawals abroad - it's a shame.

How would you recommend I bring over 1500GBP to spend in Thailand?

[Rinrada]

Looks like the beginning of the END to what was for years was considered not a bad UK premier Building Society with millions of reasonably contented members....So Sad.....

I for one will not reccommend them again....Northern Rock..RBS...HBOS....Next N/W..

[kevozman1]

^Not good but I think some of you guys are exaggerating.

Say you are getting out £10,000 a year while in Thailand.

2% of £10,000 = £100. I know there are other fees but this

update by Nationwide is what most banks charge.

[endure]

I notice they announced this a week after their AGM. There'd have been uproar if they'd done it a couple of weeks ago

[nong38]

This is not good news. The Post Office in UK I think were offering a free card charging system similar to NW But thats not much use if you are here in Thailand. Then you have to change things over from one Bank to another. Bank fo Ayudhya do not charge for taking money out in the Bank, just take passport and card, so you can save something. No winners here I am afraid. Poor interest at UK and now this, they milking Joe Public from both ends.

[phutoie2]

Many people have opened a Nationwide FlexAccount purely to take advantage of the debit card with low cost overseas charges, with only a quarter of the 5m FlexAccount customers using it as their main bank account.

Experts suggested that the changes could be seen as a tactical move by Nationwide to jettison some of those customers who use it only while abroad, as those customers may be seen to bring little benefit to the society.

Those who make frequent large purchases or cash withdrawals abroad using their debit card may now find it cheaper to explore other methods of payment. There are a number of credit cards on offer including the Santander Zero MasterCard, the Halifax Clarity MasterCard and the Saga Visa card for those over 50. These all charge no fees on foreign transactions.

[ESB7]

^Not good but I think some of you guys are exaggerating.

Say you are getting out £10,000 a year while in Thailand.

2% of £10,000 = £100. I know there are other fees but this

update by Nationwide is what most banks charge.

2% is actually 200, and considering Nationwide Isa/Bonds are only offerering 2-3% interest, these charges knock out any interest you were receiving, also inflation is almost 5% in the UK so really you are actaully loosing 5,000 a year on an investment of 100,000.....Again savers and retirees are being hit all ways by the government, BOE and private banking institutions.

[kevozman1]

Apoligise for my slack undisciplined mathmatic skills.

[Rinrada]

I notice they announced this a week after their AGM. There'd have been uproar if they'd done it a couple of weeks ago

Actually there was a bit of a hoo ha at the AGM last week but mostly over dosh.....

BIG Bucks for the BIG BOSSES ....luvly jubly if you can get it..init

Also NW is a Building Society and not technically a Bank...however.....

Angry members jeer Nationwide at AGM

Jeers greeted the chairman of Nationwide Building Society at a packed AGM last Thursday as he tried to convince members that the society had to pay top rates if it wanted the best executives.

Investor anger is fed up with executives who rake in huge rewards.

Members of the country's biggest society were clearly aggrieved that while they say they are suffering abysmal savings rates and service, the executives at the mutual have enjoyed another year of bumper pay.

Chief executive Graeme Beale was paid £650,000 last year.

On top of this, he was paid a performance-related bonus of £231,000.

Total executive remuneration also showed a similar lack of restraint. Including bonuses and pension contributions, board pay totalled more than £8m, a 23% increase on the previous year.

This included a controversial £1.77m payment to former director Stuart Bernau for leaving early.

Arriving at the AGM at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, central London, retired accountant Anthony Georgi said.

'I'm angry about the pay awards for executives,' said Anthony, of Islington, north London, 'Does any boss deserve to earn as much as that?

If the society has done well, why can't some of the cash be diverted to help pay savers a better rate of interest?'

Anthony voted against the board's pay and was far from alone.

Almost 10% of voting members – more than 62,500 people - rejected the society's remuneration report

(with thanks ..Thisismoney)

[Monokuro]

Chris Rhodes, Nationwide’s product and marketing director, said: “The changes are to stop people getting the account just to use overseas. If you bank with Nationwide and support our products we want to give you a reward. What I don’t think is right is to cross-subsidise customers who choose to stay with Lloyds - for example - but use us for travel.”

So what about the people who use it as their main account AND overseas.... I don't see any reward for us there

I notice in the press release they mention to get the other new goodies, you need to deposit £750 a month in your account - I don't see why they couldn't offer the free overseas transactions for account holders too

[endure]

They used to have a good deal on traveller's cheques whereby you could buy sterling cheques with no commission and only pay £3.50 for Special Delivery. According to their website they stopped doing that yesterday.

[billybong38]

Well looks like iam going 2 close my nationwide account my other half in thailand has my cashcard and was great for sending money over to by pass paying bank chargers.Iam currently looking for a prepaid card.

My girldfriend has a bank account in thailand so we can use when iam over in August

cheers

mick

[12DrinkMore]

That's a little one sided, in all fairness to Nationwide it did commit that its mortgage lending rates would not be more than 2% over base - that means that all its mortgage customers are on a max of 2.5% and it's for that reason that Nationwide is having to find economies elsewhere. I know that doesn't help you perhaps but it does paint a fairer picture of what Nationwide is doing as a business which is a lot fairer than most banks these days.

Not only do I hate the banks but I also hate the debtors. Add that idiot Brown, who I also detest, into the mix and we can see who is responsible for the mess in the UK.

They are all greedy gits;

1. The banks, even though they have a very profitable business model, generating income by charging people for the use of money which has been created out of thin air. How easy can it get to make fortunes? But it wasn't enough, and lending standards were reduced to non-existence to put even more people into debt.

2. The debtors, who must have everything today and pay tomorrow, or consider that bricks and mortar is a guaranteed source of income to be spent on holidays, villas and vehicles.

3. Brown, that nasty bully-boy, who based his economic policies on rapidly expanding debt, both public and private.

On the other hand all the savers, and those responsible enough not to put themselves into massive debt, attempting to build up pension funds, are screwed left, right and centre.

Fair is not a word that can be mentioned in the context of the banks,

[brizzle]

What about transferring your main NW flex account to a Santander Zero Current Account and then opening up a Santander zero credit card as well?

Even the Halifax clarity credit card charge at appox 1% per month(if you get the 12.9 % rate) looks like it will work out cheaper than the Nationwide visa debit card,open a current account and you can also get 5 gbp cashback if you spend more than 300 gbp pm on the credit card.:-

Top open-to-all: Halifax Clarity

Worldwide 0% load & no cash withdrawal fee.

The Clarity card from Halifax has no foreign exchange fee anywhere in the world, so you can get the best rate possible. Plus it doesn't charge for cash withdrawals, although you will be charged interest even if you repay in full.

The rate for cash withdrawals is a fairly low 12.9% APR (this rate is 'typical' which means two thirds of those that are accepted will get it, the rest will be charged up to 21.9%). This works out as around £1 per month for every £100 withdrawn.

This card is top for spending abroad and can only be beaten by Nationwide debit card for ATM withdrawals within Europe.

As an additional bonus, if you have a Halifax Reward current account and you apply for the Reward Clarity* you'll get £5 each month you spend over £300 on the credit card (ensure you repay in full every month).

Ok I'm very tired at present but are'nt these deals a lot better or have I misread something in the small print. Any thoughts please?

Edited August 17, 2010 by brizzle

[Chris.B]

You have to jump through loops backwards to open an account, only yo lose money because the rate of interest is less than inflation, and then they have the cheek to charge 2% to withdraw your own cash. The "And One Pound" bullshit means that for a withdrawal of 100 Quid it will cost you

Nationwide GBP 2 + 1 = 3

Thai Bank = GBP 6

Total 9 Quid or NINE PERCENT.

As the OP stated, that is not insignificant.

.

Where do you get GBP 6 from? Shouldn't that read GBP 3 and the totals 6 quid?

[davee58]

Nationwide has announced that it's going to charge 2% plus one pound for cash withdrawals overseas (including Europe) from November 1st.

The fee for purchases using a credit card remains at 1%.

This is twice in a year that Nationwide has worsened the conditions on its Flexaccount, and is very disappointing. 2% plus one pound plus 300 Baht Thai bank charges on each withdrawal is not insignificant.

So pay all hotel bills and shopping bills using the credit card and save 1% + £1 + the Thai bank ATM charge.

I prefer using cash for everything, but there seems little choice these days.

Edited August 24, 2010 by davee58

[Mali1964]

I'm sure Nationwide was the only bank that did these free withdrawals abroad - it's a shame.

How would you recommend I bring over 1500GBP to spend in Thailand?

Halifax online swift transfer, if you have access to a Thai bank account, this must be transferred in sterling to benefit ,the charge made is £9.50 & up to 500 baht at the Thai end your £1500 if drawn after 1st November would cost you £50 If you took the maximum £300 daily ATM limit.

The TT rate applies to your transfer this is as good as the ATM rate.

[Richard7]

Thanks Mali!

So my best option is open a Thai bank account then do an online Swift transfer - my bank is Nat West, I'm sure they have this.

[neil324]

I hate these banks.

You have to jump through loops backwards to open an account, only yo lose money because the rate of interest is less than inflation, and then they have the cheek to charge 2% to withdraw your own cash. The "And One Pound" bullshit means that for a withdrawal of 100 Quid it will cost you

Nationwide GBP 2 + 1 = 3

Thai Bank = GBP 6

Total 9 Quid or NINE PERCENT.

As the OP stated, that is not insignificant.

If you bring notes across, then the exchange rate is about 1.2% worse than the TT rate, but no other charges are involved. The above transaction will leave you 7.8% better off by moving bits of paper around, handing them into the bank, occupying bank staff time and giving the bank the problem of handling physical forex.

Incredible.

That's a little one sided, in all fairness to Nationwide it did commit that its mortgage lending rates would not be more than 2% over base - that means that all its mortgage customers are on a max of 2.5% and it's for that reason that Nationwide is having to find economies elsewhere. I know that doesn't help you perhaps but it does paint a fairer picture of what Nationwide is doing as a business which is a lot fairer than most banks these days.

Why not go the whole hog and give the debtors the money at 0%.

Nationwide account interest rates range from uncompetitive at best and at worst a piss take.

On top of that all sorts of other punitive charges announced.

Nationwide want to be carefull they even have any money to lend out in future.

Edited August 26, 2010 by neil324

[Mali1964]

Thanks Mali!

So my best option is open a Thai bank account then do an online Swift transfer - my bank is Nat West, I'm sure they have this.

Yes Nat west will have this service but they will charge a lot more, Barclay's charge up to £45 for the same service & it has to be done in branch not online,set your self up with a basic Halifax account then you can transfer funds from your Nat west acc then on to your Thai account this way all can be done from Thailand when funds are needed with the click of a mouse.

[Mali1964]

This is a copy from Bangkok Banks website on the charge made when they receive funds in Thailand.

Transferring funds in Pounds Sterling (Conversion in Thailand)

• Bangkok Bank’s London branch will deduct a transfer fee of GBP 20 before sending the funds in Pounds Sterling to Bangkok Bank in Thailand.
• Bangkok Bank in Thailand will then convert the funds from Pounds Sterling to Thai Baht using its daily TT buying rate in Thailand.
• An international fee of 0.25% of the transferred amount will be deducted before crediting funds to the recipient’s account (minimum fee 200 Baht, maximum fee 500 Baht per transaction).
• Funds will be received in Thailand within five business days after the London branch receives the money transfer from your UK bank account.