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[willfreeman]

please forgive my ignorance but id like some information as to what 'exchange rate' one pays at the atm.

ill be using my visa debit card issued from my australian bank to withdraw funds from my australian bank at an atm here in thailand, i understand i pay a small flat fee and a percentage of the transaction as a fee to my australian bank.

but what rate is the currency exchanged at?

-the rate offered by my australian bank?

-the rate offered by the banks that owns the atm i use?

thanks for any info, first time the issue has come up as ive normally bought australian cash with me and exchanged it here for thai baht as i go or depending on the exchange rates but im on a prolonged trip this time abd need to draw on some savings.

[Lancelot]

As can I understand, the exchange rate is set by Visa or Mastercard, depending on which card you use. Then your bank may tack on its own fees and the dispensing ATM can do the same.

[Pib]

Usually banks will use the Visa/MasterCard exchange rate and then apply their foreign transaction fee(s), assuming the bank applies a foreign transaction fee....most do...but some do not. The home country/card issuing bank may or may not reflect their fee(s) as a separate charge hitting your bank account. If they just apply it to the exchange rate, like say a 3% fee, then the exchange rate hitting your bank account will be 3% lower than the unadjusted Visa/MasterCard full exchange rate which means the home country currency charge being deducted from your account will be 3% higher. Banks like to just apply the foreign transaction fee into the exchange rate as this makes it look like it was just Visa/MasterCard giving you a crappy rate, when in fact it was due to the bank's foreign transaction fee(s).

Now, if an ATM or merchant offers you a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) DO NOT go that route as the exchange rate given will be several percent lower than the full exchange rate (but the DCC exact wording may be vague while also being warm, fuzzy, and somewhat confusing)... and just to rub salt into the wound your home country bank which issued you your card may still apply a foreign transaction fee although they were not involved in any currency conversion but they still hit you up because "it's a foreign transaction"....they don't care what currency was being used....they only care that the transaction occurred in a foreign country. DCC transactions are generally bad, very bad for the customer; good, very good for the bank/merchant.

And the ATM by bank XYZ you are using may still apply its own fee...like how Thai banks apply a 150 baht ATM fee for foreign Visa cards, 180 baht ATM fee for foreign Mastercards, etc. This fee is separate from the fee(s) your home country/card issuing bank may apply. To avoid this fee applied by Thai banks, use an AEON ATM (its a Japanese finance company operating Thailand...used by many Thai's)....I'm fortunate in that I have easy access to AEON ATMs here in Bangkok and can avoid this particular fee....but I will be the first to admit that AEON ATMs are primarily located in large cities/key locations.

Edited June 2, 2013 by Pib

[ripstanley]

Why do you not name the bank you are using and someone on this forum may be able to tell you if they use the same bank.

[Pinot]

Here is the site you need. The rates can change hourly and every bank may be different. Set the currency rate to TT.

http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/

[puck2]

OP's question concerning a Visa Debit Card:

but what rate is the currency exchanged at?

-the rate offered by my australian bank?

-the rate offered by the banks that owns the atm i use?

"Lancelot" 's answer is correct. Please, rely only on the details given by "Pib", one of our real experts and
read the terms for your Visa Debit card of your card issuing bank.

In general, there is only one truth (although some will never learn!):

When you use a Visa Debit Card you get the exchange rate fixed by VISA Corp (in the US, New York !)) on the day before
your transaction. For example

Today's AUD Visa exchange rate is 1 AUD = 0,034804 (fixed yesterday in the NY-evening). Have a look here -->

http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp?src=ex_rez

It doesn't matter which bank's ATM you use in Thailand (only BAY is different?) The rates on all Thai ATMs are the same at the same day at the same time!!! So, if the ATM
transaction is immediately processed to your Australian Visa account you'll get this rate. If not processed immediately there is a
probability that your transaction will be made with the Visa-rate for tomorrow (fixed on todays evening).

You should also consider the time difference between your Australian bank/home country and New York. When it is 1 minute after
midnight in New York at summertime then it is 11:01 a.m. here in Thailand and xx:yy in Perth or Sidney. At this moment Visa applies
the new rate, valid for the full (US) day.

That means you have only one Visa exchange rate per (US)day.
The Thai bank exchange rates of today under "T/T - bank buying rates" give you a hint where the horse (visa-rate) is running to
and normally differ only a few satangs.

Exceptions, written by Visa

Note

1. Rates apply to the date the transaction was processed by Visa; this may differ from the actual date of the transaction.

2. Visa sets direct cross rates between many major currencies however, not all transactions qualify for cross rates. If in doubt, please contact
   your issuer.
   

   
   

[willfreeman]

thanks very much