What Am I Not Seeing (Understanding) With This Mastercard Transaction?

[pattayadingo]

What am I missing here that I do not understand? Using a Halifax Card with no withdrawal fees.

11 May 2012 BBL.CARREFOUR PATTAYA (Exchange booth)

Withdrawal 0544482213xxxxxxx 14 May 12 £260.99

I asked for £250 and got 13000 THB yet it shows as £260.99 on my statement. No FX rates shown.

As I recall the FX rate was 49.xxx THB - £1 on that day.

13000 / 250 = 52 thai Baht (yes?)

13000 / 260.99 = 49.8 THB (yes?)

But if I asked for £250 why is it shown as £260.99 ?

Maybe I am a bit thick, but i cannot see what is going on. Can anyone enlighten me please?

[jonw8uk]

Maybe Im being thick , but how did you ask for £250 out of a thai ATM?

[CMSteve]

Either way, if the FX rate for that day was 49.xxx and you got 13000B for 260GBP, the numbers work out correctly. If you are simply concerned with what the teller heard/thought you said, go ask her.

[pattayadingo]

Maybe Im being thick , but how did you ask for £250 out of a thai ATM?

I didn't ask for it from an ATM it was an exchange booth, as I said in my post

Either way, if the FX rate for that day was 49.xxx and you got 13000B for 260GBP, the numbers work out correctly. If you are simply concerned with what the teller heard/thought you said, go ask her.

The teller did hear me correctly. He wrote £250 on a sheet of paper to confirm the amount. Then played with his calculator and gave me me 13000 THB.

I agree the numbers do seem correct. That is why I do not understand the discrepancy between £250 and £260.99.

It is not the extra £10.99p as the figures do appear to match up.

More of a case of me asking and him confirming the £250 and then the £260.99p appearing on the statement. I could not see any charges levied so was wondering what might have happened.

[CMSteve]

I'm betting he/she didn't know how to enter the number of GBP into the computer to get a number THB. Rather, he only knew, or the computer only allows, a number of THB to be keyed and spits out the number of GBP required. He probably did a couple of quick calculations to get an estimate of 250-260GBP = 13000THB.

Maybe Im being thick , but how did you ask for £250 out of a thai ATM?

I didn't ask for it from an ATM it was an exchange booth, as I said in my post

Either way, if the FX rate for that day was 49.xxx and you got 13000B for 260GBP, the numbers work out correctly. If you are simply concerned with what the teller heard/thought you said, go ask her.

The teller did hear me correctly. He wrote £250 on a sheet of paper to confirm the amount. Then played with his calculator and gave me me 13000 THB.

I agree the numbers do seem correct. That is why I do not understand the discrepancy between £250 and £260.99.

It is not the extra £10.99p as the figures do appear to match up.

More of a case of me asking and him confirming the £250 and then the £260.99p appearing on the statement. I could not see any charges levied so was wondering what might have happened.

[LuckyLew]

I would wager that the amount was just rounded up in Thai figures

easier to count out 13 000 than to count out 12 734.35

[pattayadingo]

LuckyLew & CMSteve ....

That sounds fair enough and most probably correct.

Thanks guys

Next time I'll ask for Thai Baht and know where I stand. That will make my on-line banking easier. And the rates are still nearly 2 Baht better than the ATM gives and no 150 Baht charge.

[JimGant]

13000 / 260.99 = 49.8 THB (yes?)

And the rates are still nearly 2 Baht better than the ATM gives and no 150 Baht charge.

The MasterCard rate you'd get at a (non dynamic currency conversion) ATM machine for 11 May was 49.809. However, since MasterCard doesn't change its rate until very late in the Thai day, you'd probably have gotten the 10 May rate at an ATM machine, which was 49.931.

However, yes -- unless at an Aeon ATM -- you'd pay the 150 baht ATM owner's fee.

[pattayadingo]

13000 / 260.99 = 49.8 THB (yes?)

And the rates are still nearly 2 Baht better than the ATM gives and no 150 Baht charge.

The MasterCard rate you'd get at a (non dynamic currency conversion) ATM machine for 11 May was 49.809. However, since MasterCard doesn't change its rate until very late in the Thai day, you'd probably have gotten the 10 May rate at an ATM machine, which was 49.931.

However, yes -- unless at an Aeon ATM -- you'd pay the 150 baht ATM owner's fee.

Thanks for that.

Easier and safer (for me to use a bank or exchange booth) as I have lost 2 U.K. cards to ATM machines so far and it is a pain to get it sorted. Had to cancel both and have new ones sent over.