Banking For Americans In Thailand 101

[jfchandler]

I'd been meaning to start this thread for awhile...because so many people have questions and issues about doing banking in Thailand as Americans...whether it be long-term residents or just folks traveling here periodically....

And while there are many related threads here on TV, the info and guidance tends to be vastly spread out.... And a thread on one particular issue ends up morphing into entirely different ones... So you can't always tell from the thread topic what things you're going to find inside.

So hopefully, this can be a thread to keep up with pertinent developments, ask questions, get advice, and find out about the best kinds of accounts to have...and those to avoid....

Here's a start.. a pretty good article that gives a good overview of the banking issues (such as foreign currency and ATM fees) that Americans face when they are outside the U.S. At the bottom of the article, they recommend something a lot of us here already know.. That the Charles Schwab Bank checking account with its no minimum balance requirement, no fees, no foreign currency charge and ATM fees reimbursed is one of the best deals going....

The Best Bank For Travelers: Avoid Major Transaction Fees While Abroad

By Jason Cochran, dealnews contributorManaging your money while you're out of the country has changed dramatically in the past decade. Traveler's checks, once an essential tool, are increasingly refused worldwide, while currency exchange companies, once ubiquitous in touristy neighborhoods, are also on the decline.

Why? Because the rise of the ATM has made it possible to draw money in the local currency nearly wherever you go — and at better rates than the middle-men of traveler's checks and money changers. Credit cards, too, are a poor way to fill a traveler's wallet; you'll pay a small percentage of the total you withdrew, and interest charges on the loan will kick in that very day — not at the end of the month.

But even though using your bank's ATM card to debit directly from your savings or checking account is the most economical way to fund your activities away from home, some banks charge higher rates than others for drawing cash.

Where does your bank stand in the equation? And what's the best option for the constant traveler? There are a few considerations to keep in mind.

MORE...

Edited July 15, 2011 by jfchandler

[55Jay]

Thanks JFC, you're right. J

[jfchandler]

Since we're starting with the basics here, let me point folks to one of the better web sites out there that will enable you to check and see what foreign exchange fees the various U.S. major banks and credit unions charge their customers when they use their credit and debit cards outside the U.S., both for ATM withdrawals and POS (point of sale) purchases.

It's from FlyerGuide.com, and while it's not always 100% accurate and up-to-date, it's usually pretty close and does get updated from time to time.. Here's the web site:

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange#ATM.2FCheck.2FDebit_Cards_.28used_at_ATM.29

What U.S. bank cards you use when traveling outside the U.S. can be a pretty important decision, considering that the foreign currency fees on credit and debit card use can range from none (zero) to 3% or more per transaction. Most of the major mega U.S. banks have 3% foreign currency fee add-ons for both credit card and debit card use abroad...

And when you go to use an ATM for cash withdrawals abroad, a lot of the mega U.S. banks charge the 3% foreign currency fee PLUS a flat fee of $3 to $5 more for using an ATM that's not part of that bank's own network.

In contrast, for credit cards, Capital One's cards have no foreign currency fees across the board... And for debit cards, the Charles Schwab Bank checking account has no foreign currency fees and refunds other banks' ATM fees.

Anytime questions about this subject crop up, I always look to the FlyerGuide web site as one of my resources for finding the correct info.... especially since banks and credit unions often pretty much try to hide the disclosures of their foreign currency fees on their own web sites... The info usually is there in the bank or CU's account disclosures documents, but finding it often can be a pain.

The FlyerGuide website is a good one to bookmark and save for future use.

[Pib]

Bangkok Bank provides a free Expat Banking Booklet available in the upper right hand corner of their Foreign Customers Web Page.

Attached booklet which is dated June 2009 was downloaded today...but check the Bangkok Bank web site periodically for an updated booklet/info. While the booklet is geared toward Bangkok Bank Products and Services, it provides a lot of general banking information about Thailand, as you will find that all Thai banks operate under Bank of Thailand regulations (i.e., like U.S. banks operate under the U.S. Federal Reserve regulations), and therefore Thai banks will offer similar products/services and have similar banking rules. But do expect minor variations in how the rules are applied from branch-to-branch for all Thai banks as "This is Thailand."

BangkokBankBankingGuide_june.pdf

[55Jay]

Bangkok Bank provides a free Expat Banking Booklet available in the upper right hand corner of their Foreign Customers Web Page.

Attached booklet which is dated June 2009 was downloaded today...but check the Bangkok Bank web site periodically for an updated booklet/info. While the booklet is geared toward Bangkok Bank Products and Services, it provides a lot of general banking information about Thailand, as you will find that all Thai banks operate under Bank of Thailand regulations (i.e., like U.S. banks operate under the U.S. Federal Reserve regulations), and therefore Thai banks will offer similar products/services and have similar banking rules. But do expect minor variations in how the rules are applied from branch-to-branch for all Thai banks as "This is Thailand."

Very nice. Thank you.

[jfchandler]

New bank fees for using debit cards for purchases coming to some large U.S. banks...

Large Banks Adding New Fees for Debit Card Usage

Aug 18, 2011 - 10:35 AM by Ken - Bank Deals Guy

Instead of rewarding customers for using debit cards, several large banks are starting to charge their customers. On Tuesday it was mentioned in the discussion forum about Wells Fargo's new fee of $3 per month when customers use their debit cards for purchases. This fee starts on October 14 in certain states. Other banks which are adding similar fees are mentioned in this Wall Street Journal article. These include Regions and SunTrust.

Banks are blaming the new debit card interchange fee regulation that takes effect in October. This will cap the fees to 21 cents with an extra 0.05% of transaction price to cover fraud prevention costs. The Fed raised the caps in their final rules that were released in June to ensure all costs were taken into account. Apparently, that wasn't good enough for the large banks.

(more)

A full version of the Wall Street Journal article referenced in the above excerpt is located here...

Edited August 19, 2011 by jfchandler

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And now more good news from BofA....

Did BofA (BAC) Just Put the Nail in the [its] Coffin With a Rumored $5 Debit Card Purchase Fee?

September 29, 2011 2:13 PM EDT

Reports from the WSJ Thursday rumor Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is aiming to charge $5 per month for debit card purchase transactions.

The move, expected to begin early in 2012, will apply to those who buy items with their debit card -- not on premium accounts or for ATM withdrawals.

With $2 billion in annual revenue expected to be lost starting October 1st due to new caps on fees, BofA is taking measures to repatriate some of the loss it expects to incur.

Just to clarify...from the reports... this would be a one-time per month fee for someone using their card anytime during the month for POS.... not a PER transaction fee... Also, it most certainly would be in addition to the foreign currency fees that BofA already charges per transaction for foreign POS.

http://www.streetins...3F/6820689.html

Edited September 30, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Pib]

BofA leads the way again....I think half of their workforce (shrinking) is dedicated to thinking up new fees and how to disclosure them to the public. A $5 monthly fee to use your own money to pay for purchases---what a deal!!! BofA = Fees R Us.

It wouldn't surprise me for BofA to get bought/merge with another major bank in the coming years...and also go through a name change.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, don't ask me to explain why this is occurring, because I don't know... But it's still a bit of good news....

For the first time in months, the U.S. $ exchange rate with Thai baht has climbed above 31 baht to $1.

I did an AEON ATM w/d with a no foreign currency fee VISA debit card today and got a 31.03 rate...

Got home and checked Friday's/yesterday's average Interbank Exchange Rate listed on the Bank of Thailand website, which was 31.154, while the average buying TT rate for the day was listed at 31.03. (They don't list new rates during the weekend).

In looking at the X-Rates.com web site, which tracks the daily baht-$ exchange rate, I didn't see any 31 baht to the dollar rates, prior to this week, anytime dating back to at least April when their main current daily chart ends...

The rate climbed above 31 last Monday, Sept. 26, and has been mostly above it through the week, including Friday's close.

These days, every little bit helps.

Edited October 1, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bank....

BofA (BAC) Continues Free-Fall As Worries Mount

October 3, 2011 12:46 PM EDT

Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) crossed below the psychologically-important $6 per share level intra-day Monday on mounting concerns:

1. Website outage: Bank of America's website has been unstable the past few days, with the homepage and other areas of the site down completely today. This also happened last week. Some are attributing the outage to the negative press about the $5 per month debit card fee, which could be swaying customers to pull money.

2. Eurozone exposure. Analysts at Wells Fargo said BofA has the largest Euro-zone exposure among big U.S. banks. They estimates a reduction to tangible book value of 5% assuming a complete loss on the company's estimated net exposure. While BofA may be in the worst shape among the U.S. banks, the analyst thinks concerns over U.S. bank Euro-zone exposure are overblown.

Shares of BofA last traded at $5.91, down 3.4 percent.

[Pib]

I noticed above mentioned problem two days ago when I logged onto check my BoA account which I plan to cancel fairly soon since the Schwab Bank and State Farm Bank accounts I opened earlier in the year have proven to meet my needs. When I logged onto my BoA account I got a notice I had never seen before in the half dozen years I've been with them...the notice was along the lines of you might want to try later to logon due to extremely heavy usage at this time....it gave me the option of continuing to logon or try later....I continued on and everything went fine. As mentioned, I had never seen that in my half dozen or so years with BofA.

While BoA served me well over the years and I was able to avoid all their fees (except the $3 ACH funds transfer fee) to me they have just seemed to get more fee crazy as each day passes and all the bad press on some of their investment decisions and mortgage deals has just turned me off. Way too much of a money hungry corporate image to me....nothing wrong in making money but just don't seem so unconcerned about your customers while doing it and trying to blame the change on some new law/regulaton.

Yeap, couldn't happen to a nicer bank.

[donpaulo]

about Bank of America and its stock price, its my understanding that if the price of a stock falls below $6 a share, major mutual funds and investment companies can no longer hold the stock as part of their portfolio.

Citibank had a similar problem a year or two ago and had to do a reverse split to get their share price above the magic number.

I too have had issues banking with BofA, especially when I try to use them out of state. For example my account was opened in California yet when I want to do business in Manhattan they have to make a phone call and put me on the line. Kind of a joke actually...

I reckon as long as you maintain funds higher the minimum and don't use their atm for anything you minimize the damage

then again feeding the beast of intl capital banking and finance is another matter entirely

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

fyi, apart from the recently unveiled plans for a $5 per month charge for anyone doing POS with their BofA card, BofA also has been underway for some time with various changes aimed at raising fees on their checking accounts and eliminating or making it much harder to have a no monthly fees checking account with them.

The $5 POS fee is just the latest in a series of moves on their part aimed at raising fees for their customers.

Not to mention the credit card arm of BofA, FIA Card Services, recently deciding to end the 2% cash back incentive for its former Charles Schwab Bank VISA credit card, and replace those with BofA cards with substantially lower cash back and other benefits.

[4evermaat]

to check atm/TT rates: http://bankexchanger...et/default.aspx . Very accurate and usually updated daily. Send them an email if the thai bank is not listed. Sometimes the bank will update their website and the script cannot properly pull the rate from the banks rates page.

Edited October 5, 2011 by 4evermaat

[4evermaat]

It is unlikely that bank of america will fail. It's more than just financial reasons.....it's the psychological factor of widespread panic not just in the USA. It's called "Bank of America" and will be for a long time It would be the equivilant of Bangkok Bank closing its doors.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I don't think BofA will fail either, barring some really unexpected future development...

But they've already been selling off a variety of their holdings/assets to raise capital... and they're hardly out of the woods yet for the various debt and legal obligations they're likely on the hook for...

I could see some kind of future significant restructuring, depending on how things go. But any way you cut it, one of the worst U.S. banks for customer service and value is likely to only get even worse moving forward.

[Pib]

Citi getting more fee greedy.....Link. Raise the fees slowly here and there, kinda like how the airlines started nickel-and-diming us to death and before long a good deal is no longer a good deal. Always a good idea to shop around for new banking periodically as any product/service which may have been a good deal before, may not be anymore. Heck, this slow tide rising of U.S. bank fee increases is making Thai bank fees look better (cheap) everyday.

At the same time, customers who have the bank's EZ Checking account will start being charged $15 a month if they don't carry a minimum balance of $6,000. Citi (C (C, Fortune 500)) says it is phasing out the EZ Checking package, which currently carries no monthly fee for balances over $1,500, and is instead offering customers either the Citibank Account or its Basic Banking account, which also carries a fee.

Last month, Citi said it is hiking the fee on its Basic Banking account from $8 to $10. Customers will be able to avoid paying the $10 fee by either maintaining a minimum balance of $1,500 or by making one direct deposit and one automatic online payment through their checking account each month, said Citi.

[4evermaat]

Citi getting more fee greedy.....Link. Raise the fees slowly here and there, kinda like how the airlines started nickel-and-diming us to death and before long a good deal is no longer a good deal. Always a good idea to shop around for new banking periodically as any product/service which may have been a good deal before, may not be anymore. Heck, this slow tide rising of U.S. bank fee increases is making Thai bank fees look better (cheap) everyday.

When were thai bank fees expensive? Not sure how they do things in australia, uk, other western countries, but banking in USA was never cheap, unless you had a "free checking for life" from reputable bank, credit union, or a special affiliation like USAA, Navy Federal CU, etc. ATM machines in west rarely credit cash on the spot. One of my friends said their ATM limit for Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) was $200

The exception is [ironically] bank of america, which has cash deposits that can credit individual accounts instantly, but you cannot credit someone elses account at the ATM. Thailand banks actually has a very progressive self-service banking system IMO. 10 baht for every 10,000 baht, or online T-express offers instant crediting of 3rd party banks for 25-40 baht? and two-factor security (SMS password for certain transactions) That's reasonable IMO.

I have used both USAA and Bank of America Military......too bad everyone cannot qualify for those. You get "most" of the benefits of big bank, without the fees. If you make deposit at BoA branch, it can still take 2 business days for it to post on military account.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'd say Pib was thinking, at least in part, of what has been the almost $5 ATM fee (150 baht) charged for each foreign card ATM withdrawal, regardless of the amount, done during the past almost two years.... Although the U.S. banks are catching up lately with the ATM fees idea (in terms of pricing).... they're mostly not at that level yet...

And then there are other things.... For instance, I can't recall any U.S. bank I've ever dealt with charging me a 200 baht fee to issue an ATM card and then another 200 baht every year, year after year, to keep it. But that's pretty standard among the Thai banks... Likewise, of course, the Thai banks have a pretty standard 20% APR interest rate on their revolving credit card balances....

As for technology, many of the U.S. banks I deal with regularly (though these typically aren't the largest ones) provide free inbound and outbound ACH transfers for moving money online to any other U.S. bank, and often even brokerage account, that a person may have. The Thai banks uniformly charge fees for their online transfers from linked bank accounts.

It is interesting though... Before I came to Thailand, I'd never heard or or seen an ATM type Cash Deposit Machine... And as best as I can recall, the U.S. ATMs in the past didn't even accept cash deposits at all.... though that has been changing lately.... Probably a function of Thailand being a much more cash based economy, while the U.S. has been more based on checks and electronic transfers.

As for the timing of crediting of deposits...it kind of makes sense.... It's pretty easy for the CDMs to verify that the cash bills being deposited are legit....so not much reason for holds... Whereas with the more common check deposits to ATMs in the past, the U.S. ATMs had no way to verify their authenticity...

Heck, BofA used to have folks put each check into a separate paper envelope in order to do their ATM deposits (though now they do do check image scanning as part of the ATM deposit process).

Edited October 7, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I tried to log-on with BofA the other day... First time didn't work at all... Second time finally went thru....but everything slow as drying cement... And they had a notice up, prior to their home page, warning of site problems.

Bank of America (BAC) Will Launch "Massive Lobbying Effort" Over Debit Card Fee

October 6, 2011 3:20 PM EDT

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) plans to launch a "massive lobbying effort" in response to the backlash over the recent $5 per month debit card fee increase, reported FOX Business Network (FBN) Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino.

"Sources are telling the FOX Business Network at Bank of America, they are freaking out over this latest controversy as they raise debit card fees," Gasparino reported. "They have the bull's-eye on them. According to sources at the bank, they are launching a massive lobbying effort."

The company is specifically targeting the new Consumer Protection Agency, which could flex its muscle and stop the fee hike.

"They are particularly lobbying this new Consumer Protection Agency to get them to back off on the rhetoric and convince them the fees were warranted," he said.

He continued, "Bank of America is explaining how they are charging and why they had to do it. They are blaming Dodd-Frank which is increasing other fees. They are worried the new Consumer Protection Agency, which hasn't fled its muscle yet, might flex it on this issue and force them to reverse this thing. They are counting on this money to defray regulatory costs. They are going to congressional leaders and set up meetings with the Consumer Protection Agency. They haven't gone to the White House directly yet. They are also getting some pressure from regulators about explaining the progress of their capital raising plan."

http://www.streetins...ee/6840230.html

Edited October 7, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lomatopo]

I did a $3 ACH from BofA to BBL (via BBNY, initiated on Sep. 26, hit BBL on Sep. 30) and got 30.94 all in (includes the $3 fee from BofA and the fee, is it 500 baht max.?, from BBL).

BofA customers are exempt from the ATM fees if you have $ 20,000 in accounts or are a ML preferred customer. I never use by BofA ATM/Visa debit card for purchases when back in the U.S., except by accident occasionally. I just use my BofA credit card.

My most recent Fidelity Visa Debit Card/AEON activity on Sep. 22, was 30.41 all in.

Edited October 7, 2011 by lomatopo

[Pib]

I have used both USAA and Bank of America Military......too bad everyone cannot qualify for those. You get "most" of the benefits of big bank, without the fees. If you make deposit at BoA branch, it can still take 2 business days for it to post on military account.

Me too....I have both a USAA account and had a BoA Military account. Canceled the BoA Military account about a year after I also got a BoA Civilian account since the BoA Military ACH transfer fee was $12 and BoA regular account was only $3. Plus, the BoA civilian internet banking was much more capable than the BoA military internet banking. No one can open a BoA Military account via online/by mail now as they are being fully integrated into the BoA civilian side. And although the USAA web site implies it's pretty much limited to military/civil service most any U.S. residence can now open an account with them....I've been happy with them so far for my basic banking although they do not have a zero percent foreign transaction fee debit or credit card (their cards charge a 1% foreign transaction fee...their cards just live in my safe due to the 1% fee)

Sometime before the end of this year I will probably be closing my BoA civilian account as I have opened other bank accounts, like with Schwab and State Farm banks, who have a lot less fees, lower or no fees, zero percent foreign transaction fee debit cards, and just seem more customer friendly. With Schwab and State Farm not charging anything for ACH transfers and providing zero percent foreign transaction fee debit cards, it definitely makes getting money from the U.S. cheap and quick.

Yeap, BoA civilian has just fallen out of graces with me due to their ever expanding fees (which I pretty much successfully avoided 99% of them) and all the well-deserved bad press.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Pib

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And now for some good news from the banking world....

One of the best credit unions in the U.S., Pentagon Federal Credit Union, has just announced that they're ending foreign currency fees on the remaining credit cards in their portfolio that still have them....

PenFed already had several such as the PenFed Promise VISA that charged no FCF, but had others such as the Platinum Rewards VISA that did charge a FCF... Now all PedFed cards will have no FCF period.

For those who don't know... PenFed routinely has some of the best CD rates and lowest loan rates in the nation. While they're kind of geared to members with some military affiliation, in fact, membership in this CU is open to anyone in the general public by joining a non-profit group that PFCU is affiliated with that advocates for military families.

The policy change by PFCU is effective immediately and applies to both new and existing cardholders.

Here's the news release re PedFed's announcement. So it puts them right in there with Capital One as being a no FCF credit card provider:

http://www.marketwat...olio-2011-10-04

Edited October 7, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, here's some background from CreditCards.com on some other major bank credit cards that supposedly don't have any FCF, apart from the well-known Cap One cards....

Cap One and PFCU both have plenty of no FCF credit cards that have no annual fee or any other dings...

I'm not sure the same can be said for some of these no FCF cards below:

Foreign transaction fees dropped by ...

American Express charges a 2.7 percent foreign transaction fee for most of its cards, but in December 2010, the card issuer announced that it was eliminating foreign transaction fees for users of its Platinum Cards and Centurion Cards. The move was expected to solidify American Express' relationship with current cardholders and attract new ones. "Our aim is to strengthen relationships with Cardmembers who rely on American Express because they appreciate the value of world-class service and the benefits of our premium products," said Ed Gilligan, vice chairman of American Express, in a Dec. 17, 2010, statement.The move became effective near the end of March 2011.

Chase has been moving to waive foreign transaction fees on some of its travel-oriented and upscale cards. "Effective immediately, Chase is eliminating foreign transaction fees on the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card resulting in 3 percent savings for card members when making purchases abroad," said Chase spokeswoman Laura Rossi in a March 31, 2011, release. That brings to seven the number of Chase cards that have eliminated foreign transaction fees. The others: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Continental Airlines Presidential Plus Card, British Airways Visa Signature Card, Chase Priority Club Select Visa Card, Hyatt Gold Passport Card and United Mileage Plus Club Visa Card.

Citi also got into the act, eliminating foreign transaction fees from its ThankYou Premier Card and its ThankYou Prestige Card.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/foreign-exchange-fees-going-up-1267.php

[4evermaat]

I did a $3 ACH from BofA to BBL (via BBNY, initiated on Sep. 26, hit BBL on Sep. 30) and got 30.94 all in (includes the $3 fee from BofA and the fee, is it 500 baht max.?, from BBL).

BofA customers are exempt from the ATM fees if you have $ 20,000 in accounts or are a ML preferred customer. I never use by BofA ATM/Visa debit card for purchases when back in the U.S., except by accident occasionally. I just use my BofA credit card.

My most recent Fidelity Visa Debit Card/AEON activity on Sep. 22, was 30.41 all in.

The bbl fee is 200 baht min to 500 max

Me too....I have both a USAA account and had a BoA Military account. Canceled the BoA Military account about a year after I also got a BoA Civilian account since the BoA Military ACH transfer fee was $12 and BoA regular account was only $3. Plus, the BoA civilian internet banking was much more capable than the BoA military internet banking. No one can open a BoA Military account via online/by mail now as they are being fully integrated into the BoA civilian side. And although the USAA web site implies it's pretty much limited to military/civil service most any U.S. residence can now open an account with them....I've been happy with them so far for my basic banking although they do not have a zero percent foreign transaction fee debit or credit card (their cards charge a 1% foreign transaction fee...their cards just live in my safe due to the 1% fee) .....

BoA Mil does wires only online, no ach. $12 to domestic USA bank, $25 int'l wire, which is cheap. BoA < > BoA Mil wire is free. If you are paying a bill, it can be ACH if the billpay tells you 2 business days. If it says 5 business days, they are cutting a corporate check and mailing it out manually.

I decided against closing the account because it was convenient and still enabled people to make deposits in BoA. i did have regular boa acct 3 times, but they close it if no money is inside, or charge fees even though they SWEAR it is no fee checking.

USAA bank technically is open to most members of public. but all insurance products or anything requiring membership, you or spouse or immediate parents have to have been in some kind of military service.

[4evermaat]

I'd say Pib was thinking, at least in part, of what has been the almost $5 ATM fee (150 baht) charged for each foreign card ATM withdrawal, regardless of the amount, done during the past almost two years.... Although the U.S. banks are catching up lately with the ATM fees idea (in terms of pricing).... they're mostly not at that level yet...

And then there are other things.... For instance, I can't recall any U.S. bank I've ever dealt with charging me a 200 baht fee to issue an ATM card and then another 200 baht every year, year after year, to keep it. But that's pretty standard among the Thai banks... Likewise, of course, the Thai banks have a pretty standard 20% APR interest rate on their revolving credit card balances....

As for technology, many of the U.S. banks I deal with regularly (though these typically aren't the largest ones) provide free inbound and outbound ACH transfers for moving money online to any other U.S. bank, and often even brokerage account, that a person may have. The Thai banks uniformly charge fees for their online transfers from linked bank accounts.

It is interesting though... Before I came to Thailand, I'd never heard or or seen an ATM type Cash Deposit Machine... And as best as I can recall, the U.S. ATMs in the past didn't even accept cash deposits at all.... though that has been changing lately.... Probably a function of Thailand being a much more cash based economy, while the U.S. has been more based on checks and electronic transfers.

As for the timing of crediting of deposits...it kind of makes sense.... It's pretty easy for the CDMs to verify that the cash bills being deposited are legit....so not much reason for holds... Whereas with the more common check deposits to ATMs in the past, the U.S. ATMs had no way to verify their authenticity...

Heck, BofA used to have folks put each check into a separate paper envelope in order to do their ATM deposits (though now they do do check image scanning as part of the ATM deposit process).

USA banks charge on both ends. The bank atm fee is anywhere between 3-6 USD, although some smaller convenience store atms may still do $1.50 or $2 withdrawal fees. Then your issuing bank will charge fee for not using their network of atms. of course the cool banks do not charge on their end.

I agree, atm card is usually free in usa. . But you don't have to pay for replacement card in thai, unless you forget your pin. Some usa banks are becoming much less forgiving for free replacement cards. And US is much more reliant on credit-type of transactions.

some USA banks are now following in USAA footsteps and allowing you to scan in check using scanner at home and submitting that as an actual deposit Regions bank got rid of their ATM deposits, citing that the cost of having someone pick up the money outweighed the actual amount of deposits vs just coming into the branch or using the business deposit.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I did a $3 ACH from BofA to BBL (via BBNY, initiated on Sep. 26, hit BBL on Sep. 30) and got 30.94 all in (includes the $3 fee from BofA and the fee, is it 500 baht max.?, from BBL).

The bbl fee is 200 baht min to 500 max

The Bangkok Bank fee for incoming international wire funds is 0.25% of the amount received.... minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht.

Also, for a BofA to New York Branch BKK Bank to BKK Bank Thailand transaction... the following would apply:

--The BofA international online wire sending fee... $3 or other...

--A BKK Bank New York Branch handling fee for any amount sent $51 U.S. or larger....

Their fee schedule is here, and varies from $3 to $20 depending on the amount sent.

--The BKK Bank Thailand receiving fee of 0.25%, minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

USA banks charge on both ends. The bank atm fee is anywhere between 3-6 USD, although some smaller convenience store atms may still do $1.50 or $2 withdrawal fees. Then your issuing bank will charge fee for not using their network of atms. of course the cool banks do not charge on their end.

4Ever, I think your comment is a bit over-generalizing. I deal with a variety of U.S. banks, and most of my accounts either don't charge any ATM fees of their own or refund their own ATM fees for using other banks' machines, as well as refunding any ATM fees charged by the other banks, either in total or up to some monthly amount.

Some just do that across the board without any requirements or conditions like Charles Schwab... Others have some requirements that must be met, such as a monthly direct deposit or certain number of POS transactions per month in order to qualify.

Those no ATM fee accounts and banks don't tend to be the big majors, but they're certainly out there to be had.... if someone wants those provisions in their banking relationships.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I agree, atm card is usually free in usa. . But you don't have to pay for replacement card in thai, unless you forget your pin. Some usa banks are becoming much less forgiving for free replacement cards. And US is much more reliant on credit-type of transactions.

I can understand why BKK Bank may not charge a fee for replacement ATM cards, since they already charge a 100 baht issuance fee and a 200 baht annual renewal fee each year...

And they, like most of the other Thai banks, also charge both entry fees and annual renewal fees for most of their credit card products....in addition to their 20% APR on revolving balances.

See the full BKK Bank fees schedule here:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Web%20Services/Help%20Center/Pages/Fee%20Table.aspx#10

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Another tidbit re Bangkok Bank...

Found this message in my online banking today re them beginning to require the use of Internet Explorer 7 or 8, and no longer supporting version 6 and below.

Date 23 Sep 2011 11:33:27

Subject Minimum IE Version Requirements

Dear Bualuang iBanking member,

From September 23rd 2011, Bualuang iBanking customers using Microsoft Internet Explorer will require Version 7 or 8 (we recommend Version 8) and Internet Explorer version 6 will no longer be supported.

This will enable users to take advantage of improved security features built into the more recent versions of the browser.

To check which version of Internet Explorer you are currently using, click the 'Help' menu located at the top of your browser, then choose 'About Internet Explorer'. A box will display the browser's version information. If you need to upgrade your browser, you may find a download at Microsoft's website.

There is no change for customers using FireFox version 3.0 or above on a PC or Mac.

If you have any questions, please call Bualuang Phone 1333 or +66 (0)2645 5555.

Yours sincerely,

Bualuang iBanking

Edited October 7, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK