Is It Easy To Use An American Debit Card

[Jeremiahnewton]

I was just wondering if it was easy to use an american debit card in thailand so I could still use my american bank to do most of my buisness

thank you for your replies

[jrincon17]

I was just wondering if it was easy to use an american debit card in thailand so I could still use my american bank to do most of my buisness

thank you for your replies

i bank with wells and i had no problem using it , it cost quite abit to use it from the atms and some places charge you a %

[RBWilson]

Fees and conversion rates vary considerably from bank to bank, but use of a Debit or Credit card is not generally a problem.

Edited January 13, 2006 by RBWilson

[daxbr]

I was just wondering if it was easy to use an american debit card in thailand so I could still use my american bank to do most of my buisness

thank you for your replies

you need to specify if you want to use the card to withdraw cash or charge purchases. It does make a difference.

[buadhai]

Here's another plug for my bank: Bank of Internet

I use my Visa debit card from them for all my purchases and ATM withdrawals here in Thailand.

I'm currently getting 3.5% interest on my checking account. No fee. No minimum balance. My US Government pension check is directly deposited in this account.

They charge no fee for ATM withdrawals (at any ATM) and they reimburse you up to $8 a month for ATM fees charged by the other bank.

There are no foreign exchange fees and the rate is excellent. I got 39.76 baht to the dollar on a withdrawal made this last Wednesday.

They also have a free bill paying service and excellent on line access. They answer e-mail and on line inquiries promptly, usually within hours.

The only disadvantage is that they do not do foreign wire transfers and have a $500 limit on debit purchases.

[lopburi3]

The debit card can be used as an ATM card with the Cirrus or Plus systems that it is linked to. In that case you need to check your bank change for overseas use and the method of determining the exchange rate. There is no fee at this (Thai) end.

You can use as a debit card for credit card type purchase. This will also be subject to bank fees in the form of exchange rate/overseas use or both.

Note that cards do not help if you need a local account for immigration reasons.

My advise is to keep US account and debit card. Use only for on-line and US purchase. Open local Thai account and wire transfer large amounts and use that ATM card as your normal source of Baht.

[buadhai]

My advise is to keep US account and debit card. Use only for on-line and US purchase. Open local Thai account and wire transfer large amounts and use that ATM card as your normal source of Baht.

How much interest do you get on the "large amounts" that you wire transfer into your Thai account?

[poorfarang]

How much does it cost to transfer money to a thai bank account? When I take out 20,000 baht I get hit with about 700 baht in fees on the USA side

[Upcountry]

Avoid the BOA debit card. All purchase/withdrawals will cost you 3%.

buadhai, glad you're having good luck with Bank of Internet. Everbank has been disappointing so far. I have to you IE with "no" security, essentially, but I still cannot dependably access the out-of-bank transfer pages on their website. They claim its about cookies, but I've tried all that - explicit instructions from them.

If I eventually solve this problem, I'll post an update here, but for now I can't recommend them.

I also discovered yesterday that Skype cannot call their 888 US support number. First time I've run into that. They know that calls to that number (or 800 numbers) are sometimes blocked. I can call the non-800 number, but only between 8am and 9pm EST.

[Gary A]

I'm quite impressed with this Bank of the Internet senior account. Free ATM transactions and a good interest rate. I am a bit confused by the interest rate. 3.44% for amounts under $25,000 and 1.49% for over $25,000. Is this correct or is something wrong with the web site?

Here's another plug for my bank: Bank of Internet

I use my Visa debit card from them for all my purchases and ATM withdrawals here in Thailand.

I'm currently getting 3.5% interest on my checking account. No fee. No minimum balance. My US Government pension check is directly deposited in this account.

They charge no fee for ATM withdrawals (at any ATM) and they reimburse you up to $8 a month for ATM fees charged by the other bank.

There are no foreign exchange fees and the rate is excellent. I got 39.76 baht to the dollar on a withdrawal made this last Wednesday.

They also have a free bill paying service and excellent on line access. They answer e-mail and on line inquiries promptly, usually within hours.

The only disadvantage is that they do not do foreign wire transfers and have a $500 limit on debit purchases.

[lopburi3]

1. By large amounts I am not talking a lifetime savings but only what you will use over the next 3-6 months. Current rate of interest is passbook savings account at BBL is 0.75%.

2. Be careful of some internet account that splash a high interest rate but the fine print says it reverts to much less after a few months - I have noticed some do use that tactic.

3. Transfer cost is your home bank change for a SWIFT international wire transfer. In USA that ranges from about $20 to $50 and is the biggest expense. There is a transfer bank charge and in the case of Bangkok Bank is there New York office taking out a fixed $5. At the Thailand end there is a 0.25% fee with 200 baht minimum and 500 baht maximum. The exchange rate used is the TT rate (good rate) for the day received in Bangkok.

[Gumballl]

I'm quite impressed with this Bank of the Internet senior account. Free ATM transactions and a good interest rate. I am a bit confused by the interest rate. 3.44% for amounts under $25,000 and 1.49% for over $25,000. Is this correct or is something wrong with the web site?

I visited the BofI website. It appears that the Senior Checking account your are referring to is a "tiered" account. Thus, for the first US$25,000 in the account, an APY of 3.5% is awarded. For any balance above the US$25,000 threshold, the APY drops to 1.5%.

I should also say that the interest is accumulated daily. Thus the interest rate you quoted will appear slightly less than the APY I quoted. Do the math and you can verify this.

Edited January 13, 2006 by Gumballl

[Jeremiahnewton]

thank you so much for all this info my wife gets a hearing disability check every month and it can not be deposited in a thai bank directly so just wanted to see what was behind getting the money out with a debit card.

[Gary A]

I sent an email to BofI and got a prompt reply. I was told that I must have a US address and that the interest rate was tiered so that everyone could get a good rate, thus up to $25,000 pays 3.44% and over $25,000 pays 1.49%. In my opinion this is a ploy to build the customer base and before long the interest rate will drop WAY down. They don't mail internationally nor do they do international wire transfers.

[buadhai]

I use a US relative's address for my BofI account. Since online access is quick and easy, I have no need for the mailed statements.

I have been with BofI for nearly two years now. The interest rate goes up and down with the prime rate. I really don't think that the advertised rate is any sort of come on. They can afford to pay the high rates because their overhead is low: no brick and mortar branches.

Remember, this high interest rate is on a checking account. I don't see any reason to keep anything like $25K in a checking account. If you have that much cash you're better off putting it in a CD or other investment. In any event, even the lower interest rate on amounts over $25K is twice what I get on my Bangkok Bank savings account.

In any event, I'm quite happy with Bank of Internet. Works for me.

[Thaigreg]

I use a US relative's address for my BofI account. Since online access is quick and easy, I have no need for the mailed statements.

I have been with BofI for nearly two years now. The interest rate goes up and down with the prime rate. I really don't think that the advertised rate is any sort of come on. They can afford to pay the high rates because their overhead is low: no brick and mortar branches.

Remember, this high interest rate is on a checking account. I don't see any reason to keep anything like $25K in a checking account. If you have that much cash you're better off putting it in a CD or other investment. In any event, even the lower interest rate on amounts over $25K is twice what I get on my Bangkok Bank savings account.

In any event, I'm quite happy with Bank of Internet. Works for me.

Hi Buadthai,

Do you know how the Bank of the Internet avoids the 1% international exchange fee? My banks tell me that this fee is by the card companies(Visa/Mastercharge). Are you sure that this fee isn't hidden in the exchange rate as was previously done my banks prior to Jul 05? Thanks

Greg

[buadhai]

Here's the transaction record for a 5K baht ATM withdrawal I did on January 11th:

01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	-$125.77		   	 	
	 	002299000018	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	BANGKOK BANK/BR.339	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	0000000000TH	 	 	 	 	 	 
01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	 	 	 $0.77		   
	 	SURCHARGE REFUND

The initially charged me $125.77 for the 5000 baht but later issued me a credit for $0.77 as a "surcharge refund", so the net cost of the 5K baht was US$125.00, or exactly 40 baht to the dollar. That's a pretty good rate for that date and I don't think there is any 1% foreign exchange fee involved.

Incidentally, the "surcharge refund" is normally a refund of ATM fees charged by other banks. I really don't know what it represents in this case. On January 4th I withdrew 5K baht and got a surcharge refund of $2.58.

I don't want to ask the bank what it means because they might stop making it!

The exchange rate for purchases is about the same and does not, AFAIK, include any sort of fee. We spent 902 baht at Lotus on Thursday and they debited the account $22.67, which is an exchange rate of 39.79 baht to the dollar. Not bad.

[lopburi3]

I agree that your Bank of the Internet account does appear to be very good and understand you not wanting to question anything.

My comment on interest rates I believe was another bank I checked that someone else recommended. May have to look into it further.

[Carmine6]

Here's the transaction record for a 5K baht ATM withdrawal I did on January 11th:

01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	-$125.77		   	 	
	 	002299000018	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	BANGKOK BANK/BR.339	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	0000000000TH	 	 	 	 	 	 
01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	 	 	 $0.77		   
	 	SURCHARGE REFUND

The initially charged me $125.77 for the 5000 baht but later issued me a credit for $0.77 as a "surcharge refund", so the net cost of the 5K baht was US$125.00, or exactly 40 baht to the dollar. That's a pretty good rate for that date and I don't think there is any 1% foreign exchange fee involved.

Incidentally, the "surcharge refund" is normally a refund of ATM fees charged by other banks. I really don't know what it represents in this case. On January 4th I withdrew 5K baht and got a surcharge refund of $2.58.

I don't want to ask the bank what it means because they might stop making it!

The exchange rate for purchases is about the same and does not, AFAIK, include any sort of fee. We spent 902 baht at Lotus on Thursday and they debited the account $22.67, which is an exchange rate of 39.79 baht to the dollar. Not bad.

I wonder if they're setting a certain rate and then assuming that a difference is an ATM fee from the bank in Thailand. That's a fantastic exchange rate. Might try these guys out, since the rebate might be giving a better rate than than the banks are getting.

Thaigreg, Fidelity gives me what looks like 100% of the exchange rate (sometimes 99.9% and sometimes 100.2%, etc.) but they'll charge an ATM fee if you don't qualify for a waiver. It's a Visa debit card off my brokerage account and issued by PNC bank. The other ATM cards that I've used (1 Visa and 1 MC) gave around 99%. I always assumed it was the exchanging bank (in NY?), not Visa or MC that took that 1% since it's not processed through the Visa or MC process. Credit card transactions seem to be a worse rate and Amex totals a 2% fee.

[daxbr]

Here's the transaction record for a 5K baht ATM withdrawal I did on January 11th:

01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	-$125.77		   	 	
	 	002299000018	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	BANGKOK BANK/BR.339	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	0000000000TH	 	 	 	 	 	 
01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	 	 	 $0.77		   
	 	SURCHARGE REFUND

The initially charged me $125.77 for the 5000 baht but later issued me a credit for $0.77 as a "surcharge refund", so the net cost of the 5K baht was US$125.00, or exactly 40 baht to the dollar. That's a pretty good rate for that date and I don't think there is any 1% foreign exchange fee involved.

Incidentally, the "surcharge refund" is normally a refund of ATM fees charged by other banks. I really don't know what it represents in this case. On January 4th I withdrew 5K baht and got a surcharge refund of $2.58.

I don't want to ask the bank what it means because they might stop making it!

The exchange rate for purchases is about the same and does not, AFAIK, include any sort of fee. We spent 902 baht at Lotus on Thursday and they debited the account $22.67, which is an exchange rate of 39.79 baht to the dollar. Not bad.

BOFI calculates ATM fee/Surcharge Refund based on the last 3 digits of charged amount. They substract 0.00 if amount is less than $5.00 and they substract $5.00 if amount is more than $5.00 to calculate refund amount.

Example:

Amount charged $322.88 Surcharge Refund is $2.88

or

Amount charged $328.81 Surcharge Refund is $3.81

[buadhai]

Wow, thanks for clarifying that daxbr. Now I feel a bit embarrassed that I couldn't figure that out!

[Carmine6]

Here's the transaction record for a 5K baht ATM withdrawal I did on January 11th:

01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	-$125.77		   	 	
	 	002299000018	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	BANGKOK BANK/BR.339	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	0000000000TH	 	 	 	 	 	 
01/11/2006		  ATM W/D 00:19 01/11/06 191974	 	 	 	 $0.77		   
	 	SURCHARGE REFUND

The initially charged me $125.77 for the 5000 baht but later issued me a credit for $0.77 as a "surcharge refund", so the net cost of the 5K baht was US$125.00, or exactly 40 baht to the dollar. That's a pretty good rate for that date and I don't think there is any 1% foreign exchange fee involved.

Incidentally, the "surcharge refund" is normally a refund of ATM fees charged by other banks. I really don't know what it represents in this case. On January 4th I withdrew 5K baht and got a surcharge refund of $2.58.

I don't want to ask the bank what it means because they might stop making it!

The exchange rate for purchases is about the same and does not, AFAIK, include any sort of fee. We spent 902 baht at Lotus on Thursday and they debited the account $22.67, which is an exchange rate of 39.79 baht to the dollar. Not bad.

BOFI calculates ATM fee/Surcharge Refund based on the last 3 digits of charged amount. They substract 0.00 if amount is less than $5.00 and they substract $5.00 if amount is more than $5.00 to calculate refund amount.

Example:

Amount charged $322.88 Surcharge Refund is $2.88

or

Amount charged $328.81 Surcharge Refund is $3.81

Thanks, that totally makes sense. Their computers are assuming that the machines are giving bills out which wouldn't be anything other than 0 at the end, or apparently also 5. Works great if you only use US ATMs. Lazy programmer.

[daxbr]

Thanks, that totally makes sense. Their computers are assuming that the machines are giving bills out which wouldn't be anything other than 0 at the end, or apparently also 5. Works great if you only use US ATMs. Lazy programmer.

The above example only works overseas. BOFI refunds actual ATM fee charged in the US up to maximum monthly limit.

[buadhai]

It would work in the US if you could find an ATM that doled out dollar bills!