Top 10 Thai Universities Ranked Globally, Chulalongkorn Leads

[ozzieovaseas]

Just wondering if anyone used the AEON ATMs in Thailand to get funds from an Australian ANZ account?

I ask because i am sick of this banks constant thuggery (charge of $32 per international transaction, regardless of amount) and constant trickery to cheat you into getting them to send Thai baht instead of Australian $ from your Aussie account...grr

Even if you ask ANZ about THEIR fees and charges to withdraw money from your account at an overseas atm, they cannot seem to give a straight answer.

All of which is not good if the exchange rate is lowering and you want to withdraw smaller amounts until the rate goes up again.

SO..can anyone comment on how this AEON transaction works? and how the exchange rate is executed? actually, which bank..AEON or ANZ actually does the exchange rate transaction is probably the clincher?

If its anything to do with ANZ they will surely shaft you any way the can

Of course, there will be costs and charges from both sides no matter what, i guess what i am basically wondering is what amount of baht could you expect to get out of the AEON machine if you were to pull say AU$1000 out of an AEON ATM here?

(assuming todays rate around 29 baht=AUS)

thanks all

[Pib]

AEON does not charge a use fee like Thai bank ATMs do...so, on the ATM end you won't get hit with a 150 baht Visa foreign card fee, 180 baht MasterCard foreign card fee, etc.

Regarding exchange rate, usually ATMs really use the Visa/MasterCard exchange rate, HOWEVER, BUT, your home country bank may apply a foreign transaction fee to that rate which effectively gives a lower exchange rate...and the charge hitting your home country bank account could imply Visa/MasterCard gave you a lousy rate but it really the bank reflecting the effective exchange rate after they have applied their foreign transaction fee on the exchange rate. It's not AEON screwing you....it's not Visa/MasterCard screwing you...it's your home country/card issuing bank that is screwing you.

But let's just for example, say you have a ANZ Visa debit card (I ain't got a clue which kind of logo card ANZ issues...Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, etc) and ANZ applies a 3% foreign transaction fee on their card. OK, you can go to the Visa exchange rate web page at this Link, select Australian Dollars for the "My Card Is In" selection, then select Thai Baht for the "My Transaction Was In" selection, enter 3% in the "Enter Bank Fee" selection, then select a date, and then click Calculate Exchange Rate. Now, you will not get your exchange rate you are use to seeing (i.e., like 30Bt/AUD)...you'll need to take out your calculator and divide the rate given into 1....this will show the rate of exchange the way you are use to seeing it....I don' know why Visa don't put an inverse exchange rate selection on their page. DO NOT think you can take a short cut by reversing the AUD and THB entry as you will get an inaccurate rate/slightly high rate due to spread issues.

If you have a "no foreign transaction fee" card (which apparently you don't) you would enter 0% for the bank fee to see the full exchange rate given by Visa....a rate free of bank fees." And some banks not only hit you with a lower exchange rate but they also apply a flat rate fee like a $5 per transaction on top of the 3% exchange rate fee.

Here's the MasterCard exchange rate page: Link. I works a little differently than the Visa exchange rate page. I just gives you the rates in the way we are use to seeing them, but don't give you an option to crank-in any bank fee, so you will need to take that into consideration.

And when using an ATM if it offers to accomplish a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) or some similar/vague wording DO NOT accept it as you will be given a lower exchange rate and your home country bank may still hit you with a foreign transaction/conversion fee because they don't care whether the local ATM gave the exchange rate or the Visa/MasterCard exchange rate was used, they only care that the transaction occurred in a foreign country and therefore they are going to apply a partial or full foreign transaction fee(s).

[Gerald14]

I do not understand the problem. ANZ is my bank of choice when I transfer funds on the internet from Aussie to Thailand. However it is true that there is a $32.00 fee but firstly you can transfer the cash in Aussie Dollars and not in Thai Baht so the exchange rate you get is the one published on the day, secondly you need to transfer a fair amount at the time (I usually transfer AUD 10,000) so the fees become reasonable if divided by the amount. One word of warning is when you transfer the cash make sure you request AUD's otherwise you will lose out because the exchange rate becomes terrible when sending THB

[Ticketmaster]

I don't know if Charles Schwab accounts are available in Aus/NZ. But with the Schwab Visa Plus debit card and Aeon ATM, there are no fees and you get the international Visa rate mentioned above. Your "bank of choice" may very well be the problem. Every bank is not the same; you have to shop around. Some banks will take 1-3% above the interbank rate, in addition to fees. Yesterday, I transferred 30,000 baht from my Schwab account, as described above and got the international Visa rate of 30.29 baht to $1US, yesterday's international Visa rate (1% above the interbank rate) -- no other fees.

[Paul888]

There is absolutely no better way to answer this question than to actually do it.

[sas_cars]

I don't know if Charles Schwab accounts are available in Aus/NZ. But with the Schwab Visa Plus debit card and Aeon ATM, there are no fees and you get the international Visa rate mentioned above. Your "bank of choice" may very well be the problem. Every bank is not the same; you have to shop around. Some banks will take 1-3% above the interbank rate, in addition to fees. Yesterday, I transferred 30,000 baht from my Schwab account, as described above and got the international Visa rate of 30.29 baht to $1US, yesterday's international Visa rate (1% above the interbank rate) -- no other fees.

Is there a limit per withdrawal on Schwab ATM card? Did you withdraw all 30,000 in one go or need to break the transactions?

[dighambara]

I don't know if Charles Schwab accounts are available in Aus/NZ. But with the Schwab Visa Plus debit card and Aeon ATM, there are no fees and you get the international Visa rate mentioned above. Your "bank of choice" may very well be the problem. Every bank is not the same; you have to shop around. Some banks will take 1-3% above the interbank rate, in addition to fees. Yesterday, I transferred 30,000 baht from my Schwab account, as described above and got the international Visa rate of 30.29 baht to $1US, yesterday's international Visa rate (1% above the interbank rate) -- no other fees.

My US banks charge a 1% fee for bank to bank transfers, but an additional fee if I use an ATM machine.

To avoid paying any fee, I opened a Bangkok Bank Account and set up Direct Deposit to the BB New York Branch (via Chase Bank), so a regular monthly deposit is made by the 5th of the month. Then when I need money, I go to BB and withdraw what I need & deposit that in an ATM account. A small ATM account keep the baddies from getting large amounts if they steal my card or hack my account.

[Pib]

I don't know if Charles Schwab accounts are available in Aus/NZ. But with the Schwab Visa Plus debit card and Aeon ATM, there are no fees and you get the international Visa rate mentioned above. Your "bank of choice" may very well be the problem. Every bank is not the same; you have to shop around. Some banks will take 1-3% above the interbank rate, in addition to fees. Yesterday, I transferred 30,000 baht from my Schwab account, as described above and got the international Visa rate of 30.29 baht to $1US, yesterday's international Visa rate (1% above the interbank rate) -- no other fees.

My US banks charge a 1% fee for bank to bank transfers, but an additional fee if I use an ATM machine.

To avoid paying any fee, I opened a Bangkok Bank Account and set up Direct Deposit to the BB New York Branch (via Chase Bank), so a regular monthly deposit is made by the 5th of the month. Then when I need money, I go to BB and withdraw what I need & deposit that in an ATM account. A small ATM account keep the baddies from getting large amounts if they steal my card or hack my account.

You are basically describing a typical funds transfer via ACH setup to occur automatically and I seriously doubt you are escaping any fee that way unless you have gotten fee waivers from Bangkok Bank. You still pay a fee as it passes through the Bangkok Bank NY branch (usually $5 up to $2000 and $10 over $2000) and then you have the local Bangkok Bank receiving/conversion fee of 0.25% (200 baht min, 500 baht max). And I sure hope that your Sending bank (Chase) does not charge you an ACH transfer fee...if they do, then that's another fee on top of the two above. Using this ACH transfer method via the NY branch is still a low cost method in comparison to most SWIFT transfers which are generally pricey.

Bangkok Bank NY Branch Fee as money flow them: Link

Bangkok Bank Local Branch Fee to Receive Funds: Link

[sydneyjed]

As always you need to do your research and check what bank products are out there as they are constantly changing because as well as Aeon Citibank donot charge the 150 baht ATM fee on withdrawals also...However currency conversion fees and international fees they do!

So where does that leave you with any other options and is there actually any friendly Ozzie bank out there that will not eat you alive if given half the chance while you are blissfully unaware of these 'hidden fees'?Well yes there actually is(believe it or not!)...it's called the 28 Degrees Mastercard formally Wizard travel card...(Ref: CHOICE Awards March 28 2012) for more indept details..

Aeon have a ATM facility in many Tesco Lotus and also MBK..but can be hard to locate due to their camouflage none descript grey colour..here is the one in Terminal 21 at Asok for those out there unfamiliar with these machines...this is the new one which you can not miss surely!!

http://www.terminal21.co.th/main/detail/538

[comserve]

I do not understand the problem. ANZ is my bank of choice when I transfer funds on the internet from Aussie to Thailand. However it is true that there is a $32.00 fee but firstly you can transfer the cash in Aussie Dollars and not in Thai Baht so the exchange rate you get is the one published on the day, secondly you need to transfer a fair amount at the time (I usually transfer AUD 10,000) so the fees become reasonable if divided by the amount. One word of warning is when you transfer the cash make sure you request AUD's otherwise you will lose out because the exchange rate becomes terrible when sending THB

I used to deal with ANZ but they have a lousy conversion rate. Try the NAB they have really good conversion rates, normally better than the listed rates. Their fees are quite small too. The ANZ fees are rip off proportions. I believe the currency conversion is done at the bank as the THB amount is always part of the transaction details on my statement.

[ghworker2010]

Commonwealth bank is also a rip off. Fee's are huge to use your card oversea's

[rosst]

Well, it
can be done for free. I know, you do not believe me.

I will explain. First of all, you need an Aussie bank account, a Thai bank account,

two email addresses and an Aussie Pay Pal account and a Thai pay Pal account.

First,
set up your Aussie Pay Pal account with your normal email account linked to
your Aussie bank account.

Then, using the other Hotmail or G mail account use Thai addresses in your hotmail account, set up your Thai Pay Pal account and

link it to your Thai bank account.

OK, all done. You then transfer funds to your Aussie Pay Pal account so that when you send it to your Thai Pay Pal account
there is no charge. Then you can withdraw funds from your Thai Pay Pal account for free if it is over 5,000 Baht.

Simple isn’t it??

Go for it.

Now the credit card is always handy when travelling so you need a 28 Degrees master card. Free of course. Now with this card, there are no foreign currency conversion fees. True story, all you pay is the local ATM fees as long as you are in credit. If you do the cash advance option or charge it to credit, the interest which is like Useury kicks in so keep the bloody thing in credit.
I do this from my Aussie bank account internet banking pay anyone, no problem.

Simple isn’t it??

Look how much money I saved you all?

And I am just some dumb old 67 year old. LOL

[rosst]

Well, it

can be done for free. I know, you do not believe me.

I will explain. First of all, you need an Aussie bank account, a Thai bank account,

two email addresses and an Aussie Pay Pal account and a Thai pay Pal account.

First,

set up your Aussie Pay Pal account with your normal email account linked to

your Aussie bank account.

Then, using the other Hotmail or G mail account use Thai addresses in your hotmail account, set up your Thai Pay Pal account and

link it to your Thai bank account.

OK, all done. You then transfer funds to your Aussie Pay Pal account so that when you send it to your Thai Pay Pal account

there is no charge. Then you can withdraw funds from your Thai Pay Pal account for free if it is over 5,000 Baht.

Simple isn’t it??

Go for it.

Now the credit card is always handy when travelling so you need a 28 Degrees master card. Free of course. Now with this card, there are no foreign currency conversion fees. True story, all you pay is the local ATM fees as long as you are in credit. If you do the cash advance option or charge it to credit, the interest which is like Useury kicks in so keep the bloody thing in credit.

I do this from my Aussie bank account internet banking pay anyone, no problem.

Simple isn’t it??

Look how much money I saved you all?

And I am just some dumb old 67 year old. LOL

Come on editor, this has to be a must read???

[slipperylobster]

I used the AEON machine at Big C, Udon Thani just a few days ago. No warnings of charges appeared and I was given 17000 baht. That evening, I checked my online bank in the USA and saw an international fee for $5.69., along with the withdrawal amount of $569.44. If I am doing this right, then I see that the total charges for a withdrawal of 17000 add up to about $575.13. My exchange rate must have been 29.56 (at that time the international rate was just over 30 per usd. Not bad. At the Bank of Bangkok I was charged an international fee of $6.02 and also and additional 150 baht (posted on the machine) I assume that 150 baht was in addition to the $6.02. Now i am waiting for my wire to the Bank of Bangkok (New York) to show up in my girlfriends account at the Bank of Bangkok in Udon. (Don't worry, she is not working in any onion fields). My USA bank was successful in wiring the money (it was not denied), but I still have to wait a few more working days before I know it was successful. I did this with just $100, out of trying to recover a larger amount, if things went wrong. Damn thing is that my bank only allows me to withdraw 600 usd a d ay at an atm, whereas I could get 900 usd per transactions, many times a day at my old bank. Whatever I do, It costs me about 20 bucks a month in fees to take out 1800 usd a month. Convenience of not having to use an atm is worth something to me. (should my atm card get lost/stolen or blocked)

[Pib]

Well, it

can be done for free. I know, you do not believe me.

I will explain. First of all, you need an Aussie bank account, a Thai bank account,

two email addresses and an Aussie Pay Pal account and a Thai pay Pal account.

First,

set up your Aussie Pay Pal account with your normal email account linked to

your Aussie bank account.

Then, using the other Hotmail or G mail account use Thai addresses in your hotmail account, set up your Thai Pay Pal account and

link it to your Thai bank account.

OK, all done. You then transfer funds to your Aussie Pay Pal account so that when you send it to your Thai Pay Pal account

there is no charge. Then you can withdraw funds from your Thai Pay Pal account for free if it is over 5,000 Baht.

Simple isn’t it??

Go for it.

Now the credit card is always handy when travelling so you need a 28 Degrees master card. Free of course. Now with this card, there are no foreign currency conversion fees. True story, all you pay is the local ATM fees as long as you are in credit. If you do the cash advance option or charge it to credit, the interest which is like Useury kicks in so keep the bloody thing in credit.

I do this from my Aussie bank account internet banking pay anyone, no problem.

Simple isn’t it??

Look how much money I saved you all?

And I am just some dumb old 67 year old. LOL

Come on editor, this has to be a must read???

If it's made a must read then also note what was not pointed out that although you may be able to avoid certain PayPal transaction fees with above method, what you won't avoid is the PayPal exchange rate. At some point in all the PayPal to PayPal accounts movement the Aussie dollars had to be converted to Thai baht--and you must use the PayPal system/exchange rate to do that....PayPal don't give you a choice...and during this conversion to baht PayPal is going to apply, to use their own words, "a currency conversion fee" which is vague talk for using a lower exchange rate. Here's a PayPay link that gives more info: Link

How much does PayPal lower exchange rate turn out to be...usually around 2% lower than what the Thai banks use for incoming wire transfers which is the TT Buying Rate. I varies from currency to currency...sometimes approaching 3% I've heard. For example I followed the instructions in above PayPal link, logged onto my U.S. PayPal account, added the Australian Dollar as one of my balance currencies and then used the PayPal currency calculator for a $1000AUD amount. Below is a cut and paste of the result which was a 28.1918 Baht/AUD

Then I went to this Link which provides Thai banks exchange rates to see what the "average" TT Buying Rate among the banks was and it was 28.65175....see below cut and paste.

Summary: PayPal exchange rate 28.1918 is approx. 1.7 % lower than the average Thai bank TT Buying rate of 28.65175 at this moment in time....or said another way, PayPal is getting approx. a 1.7% fee through required use of its exchange rate...and it gets even more fees it some other transaction fees end up getting tacked on also. PayPal is by far not the cheapest way to transfer funds.

[Pib]

I used the AEON machine at Big C, Udon Thani just a few days ago. No warnings of charges appeared and I was given 17000 baht. That evening, I checked my online bank in the USA and saw an international fee for $5.69., along with the withdrawal amount of $569.44. If I am doing this right, then I see that the total charges for a withdrawal of 17000 add up to about $575.13. My exchange rate must have been 29.56 (at that time the international rate was just over 30 per usd. Not bad. At the Bank of Bangkok I was charged an international fee of $6.02 and also and additional 150 baht (posted on the machine) I assume that 150 baht was in addition to the $6.02. Now i am waiting for my wire to the Bank of Bangkok (New York) to show up in my girlfriends account at the Bank of Bangkok in Udon. (Don't worry, she is not working in any onion fields). My USA bank was successful in wiring the money (it was not denied), but I still have to wait a few more working days before I know it was successful. I did this with just $100, out of trying to recover a larger amount, if things went wrong. Damn thing is that my bank only allows me to withdraw 600 usd a d ay at an atm, whereas I could get 900 usd per transactions, many times a day at my old bank. Whatever I do, It costs me about 20 bucks a month in fees to take out 1800 usd a month. Convenience of not having to use an atm is worth something to me. (should my atm card get lost/stolen or blocked)

Based on the info you provided in looks like the card you are using applies a 1% foreign transaction fee. In each case I'm sure you got the full Visa/MasterCard exchange rate (i.e.., no fee/no reduction in rate) of the day and the bank that issued your card then applied their 1% foreign transaction fee on top of any fee charged the ATM you used....in your case AEON did not charge any fee as AEON does not charge a foreign card use fee like Thai banks do, and Bangkok Bank carded a 150 baht foreign card fee. Definitely best to used an AEON ATM if available as it saves you that foreign card fee like charged by Thai banks, and if your home country bank happens to reimburse you for ATM fee then it saves them some money also which ultimately they recoup in other fees spread-out in their overall fee structure. Personally, I will always try to use an AEON ATM first to avoid the foreign card fee charged by Thai banks and help prevent killing the ATM Reimbursement Golden Goose if your bank happens to reimburse.

[cadjan]

Get a Citibank Plus account. Fee-free international transfers via internet (some times they take a couple of days but if you are organised...). Send as AUD, Bangkok Bank changes to THB at their onshore rate and takes 200-500B. Send to the account from any other Australian bank as per normal (overnight transaction).

No 2-3% + fixed fee on overseas withdrawals via ATM card (only 150B ATM charge, free if you use Citi ATM) and Visa exchange rate of the day .

28 Degrees Mastercard ends up being a similar deal for the ATM side of things or credit purchases. No fees except those imposed by merchants, no international fees, no currency conversion fees.

Don't mess about trying to do any better. I looked and that is the best deal you will get (saving $25 on SWIFT transfers already saved me hundreds)

[krisb]

If you use a debit card issued under MasterCard or Visa, it doesn't matter which Australian bank issues it. Then press the credit option on Thai ATMs and there's no overseas transaction charges at all. Then there's Thai ATMs that have no service charges so your entire withdrawal attracts no fees at all.

Easy mate!

This trick should be pinned by mods so it's easily found for all to see.

[Pib]

If you use a debit card issued under MasterCard or Visa, it doesn't matter which Australian bank issues it. Then press the credit option on Thai ATMs and there's no overseas transaction charges at all. Then there's Thai ATMs that have no service charges so your entire withdrawal attracts no fees at all.

Easy mate!

This trick should be pinned by mods so it's easily found for all to see.

Sounds too good to be true...but maybe it is...or not. I did a little googling and ended up at the Australian Westpac Bank website and looking at the Terms & Conditions of their MasterCard Debit card on page 19 of the T&C found at this Link, it says foreign transaction fees still apply when pressing Credit.

Below is a quote/ cut and paste of page 19. And from reading other areas of the T&C their transaction fee will be incorporated into the exchange rate (i.e., no separate charge) so this could fool some one into thinking there were no fees applied when in fact the fee was applied (hidden) via a lower exchange rate.

Quote

At overseas ATMs you cannot use your Debit MasterCard to make deposits or transfer funds between consumer deposit

accounts linked to your Debit MasterCard. To access funds from your default account at overseas ATMs, select the

‘credit’ button.

Transaction fees apply for the use of ATMs overseas (except for ATMs participating in the Global Alliance). Westpac

Foreign Transaction Fees apply to all overseas ATM, EFTPOS and MasterCard PayPass transactions. If the amount of the

transaction is more than your available balance, the transaction may be rejected and no fees will be charged.

Fees charged to Westpac by MasterCard® Worldwide during the conversion process are passed on to you by us and

incorporated in the Westpac Foreign Transaction Fee. Please refer to the “Fees and Charges” section of this booklet for

further details.

MasterCard Worldwide processes foreign currency transactions, including charges incurred and refunds made, and converts

these transactions into Australian dollars. Transactions that are made in foreign currencies other than United States dollars are

converted into United States dollars before being converted into Australian dollars. The exchange rate used for conversion

is either a government mandated exchange rate or a wholesale exchange rate, selected by MasterCard Worldwide for the

applicable currency on the day the transaction is processed.

That rate may differ from the rate applicable to the date the transaction occurred, or the date when the transaction is posted

to your account.

Transactions made outside Australia which are converted with your agreement into Australian dollars by the merchant or

financial institution at the point of transaction using exchange rates selected by them are subject to a Westpac Foreign

Transaction Fee.

Please note that exchange rates quoted by Westpac in Australia are not used to convert foreign currency transactions to the

Australian dollar equivalent.

To facilitate the processing of card transactions, information relating to your card details and transaction details may be

processed by MasterCard® Worldwide in countries other than Australia. By making a cash withdrawal or a purchase with your

Debit MasterCard® you agree that information regarding the transaction may be processed outside Australia.

End Quote

[krisb]

If you use a debit card issued under MasterCard or Visa, it doesn't matter which Australian bank issues it. Then press the credit option on Thai ATMs and there's no overseas transaction charges at all. Then there's Thai ATMs that have no service charges so your entire withdrawal attracts no fees at all.

Easy mate!

This trick should be pinned by mods so it's easily found for all to see.

Sounds too good to be true...but maybe it is...or not.   I did a little googling and ended up at the Australian Westpac Bank website and looking at the Terms & Conditions of their MasterCard Debit card on page 19 of the T&C found at this Link, it says foreign transaction fees still apply when pressing Credit.

 

Below is a quote/ cut and paste of page 19.   And from reading other areas of the T&C their transaction fee will be incorporated into the exchange rate (i.e., no separate charge) so this could fool some one into thinking there were no fees applied when in fact the fee was applied (hidden) via a lower exchange rate. 

 

Quote

At overseas ATMs you cannot use your Debit MasterCard to make deposits or transfer funds between consumer deposit

accounts linked to your Debit MasterCard.   To access funds from your default account at overseas ATMs, select the 

‘credit’ button.

 

Transaction fees apply for the use of ATMs overseas (except for ATMs participating in the Global Alliance). Westpac 

Foreign Transaction Fees apply to all overseas ATM, EFTPOS and MasterCard PayPass transactions. If the amount of the 

transaction is more than your available balance, the transaction may be rejected and no fees will be charged. 

Fees charged to Westpac by MasterCard® Worldwide during the conversion process are passed on to you by us and 

incorporated in the Westpac Foreign Transaction Fee. Please refer to the “Fees and Charges” section of this booklet for

further details.

 

MasterCard Worldwide processes foreign currency transactions, including charges incurred and refunds made, and converts 

these transactions into Australian dollars. Transactions that are made in foreign currencies other than United States dollars are 

converted into United States dollars before being converted into Australian dollars. The exchange rate used for conversion 

is either a government mandated exchange rate or a wholesale exchange rate, selected by MasterCard Worldwide for the 

applicable currency on the day the transaction is processed.

 

That rate may differ from the rate applicable to the date the transaction occurred, or the date when the transaction is posted 

to your account.

 

Transactions made outside Australia which are converted with your agreement into Australian dollars by the merchant or 

financial institution at the point of transaction using exchange rates selected by them are subject to a Westpac Foreign 

Transaction Fee.

 

Please note that exchange rates quoted by Westpac in Australia are not used to convert foreign currency transactions to the 

Australian dollar equivalent.

 

To facilitate the processing of card transactions, information relating to your card details and transaction details may be 

processed by MasterCard® Worldwide in countries other than Australia. By making a cash withdrawal or a purchase with your 

Debit MasterCard® you agree that information regarding the transaction may be processed outside Australia.

 

End Quote

 

It's true. I know it is. My card is master card debit issued by commonwealth bank. I only use it for withdrawals not transfers as you do in Thailand so I don't know about that. I do know however that MasterCard and visa are worldwide and if you press credit to withdraw it attracts no fees/charges. I told another member recently about this, firstly he rang commonwealth bank and they said yes it does. I said no, ring MasterCard, the banks wouldn't know. Sure enough next day he sent me a pm saying thanks, your right. MasterCard and I assume visa although I've never used them 100% no fees for withdrawal anywhere in the world but you must press credit at an ATM.

Then Aeon banks have no ATM fee also. So this means free all round...

If anyone has worked out how to send money or get money without getting hit with fees and charges into Thailand, I'd really love to know!

The only thing I've thought of is having 2 of these debit cards issued by Australian banks. Then inform 1 bank I spend a lot of time in Thailand

[Pib]

I hope it is true, but page 44 of the Commonwealth Bank T&C seem to indicate a $2 flat fee plus 3% is applied for foreign transactions. Link

Cut and paste of part of part 44 below.

As mentioned hopefully it is true....so many different accounts/cards out there will different rules and fees....but I would recommend folks closely look at their accounts for any foreign transaction fees, which also includes determining what exchange rate was given as the exchange rate may be a lower one which is basically a foreign transaction fee in disguise.

[krisb]

I hope it is true, but page 44 of the Commonwealth Bank T&C seem to indicate a $2 flat fee plus 3% is applied for foreign transactions.   Link

 

Cut and paste of part of part 44 below.

CommonWealthCapture.JPG

 

As mentioned hopefully it is true....so many different accounts/cards out there will different rules and fees....but I would recommend folks closely look at their accounts for any foreign transaction fees, which also includes determining what exchange rate was given as the exchange rate may be a lower one which is basically a foreign transaction fee in disguise.

 

Yes but that's commonwealth banks t and c. Its not cba it's MasterCard or Visa. You must press credit not savings etc. This is using their debit card.

Don't believe me still, ring MasterCard or Visa. I guarantee I'm right.

[slipperylobster]

I hope it is true, but page 44 of the Commonwealth Bank T&C seem to indicate a $2 flat fee plus 3% is applied for foreign transactions. Link

Cut and paste of part of part 44 below.

CommonWealthCapture.JPG

As mentioned hopefully it is true....so many different accounts/cards out there will different rules and fees....but I would recommend folks closely look at their accounts for any foreign transaction fees, which also includes determining what exchange rate was given as the exchange rate may be a lower one which is basically a foreign transaction fee in disguise.

Yes but that's commonwealth banks t and c. Its not cba it's MasterCard or Visa. Yatou must press credit not savings etc. This is using their debit card.

Don't believe me still, ring MasterCard or Visa. I guarantee I'm right.

Hope it works....I will try this at Aeon Bank and look for "credit". I am not sure what I pushed last time. Might have been CURRENT ACCOUNT or CHECKING. Never thought about looking for the CREDIT selection. My bust for 2 years if true. lol. It would be embarrassing to know that I have given away more than a Hundred USD in unnecessary fees. ATMS are like a bad wife..(always overcharging and not putting out enough). Beating the system is like living without a wife?

[Pib]

I hope it is true, but page 44 of the Commonwealth Bank T&C seem to indicate a $2 flat fee plus 3% is applied for foreign transactions. Link

Cut and paste of part of part 44 below.

CommonWealthCapture.JPG

As mentioned hopefully it is true....so many different accounts/cards out there will different rules and fees....but I would recommend folks closely look at their accounts for any foreign transaction fees, which also includes determining what exchange rate was given as the exchange rate may be a lower one which is basically a foreign transaction fee in disguise.

Yes but that's commonwealth banks t and c. Its not cba it's MasterCard or Visa. You must press credit not savings etc. This is using their debit card.

Don't believe me still, ring MasterCard or Visa. I guarantee I'm right.

Don't quite know what you mean by it "not cba T&C it's MasterCard or Visa." Financial institutions like CBA issue credit/debit cards under the Visa/MasterCard/etc., logo. Then the bank sets certain card fees, like any foreign transaction fees. Now it's fairly well known that Visa/MasterCard recommend you press "credit" when withdrawing money as that adds some security benefits. Like how Visa Australia describes it at their webpage: Link....basically it provides added security and coverage from Visa if something goes wrong with the transaction.

But hey, I hope pressing Credit ends up bypassing foreign transaction fees, even for those cards that have foreign transaction fees. It just seems strange to me it would be so easy to bypass fees or lower exchange rates that way...banks do a good job of patching any holes that allow people to bypass fees....banks are good at that. It just seems such a money saving trick would have been well known already. But like I said, glad it apparently works for you and hope it works for others. Cheers.

[ozzieovaseas]

Thanks eveyone for all the contributions, such a lot to look through and many options to think about.

Krisb sounds like he is on a good thing there..a free system is a very good system..but i think the wording he used describing his account was "debit visa card"? If so, that would mean the card is only issued when in credit (just like many of our accounts here)

Im pretty sure most Aussie banks issue a straight visa card account...and as such, any cash withdrawal from a foreign ATM and using the credit button option would mean the transaction is treated as a "cash advance"....and charged a 3% fee.

Even if you have funds cashed up in credit on this sort of account, im pretty sure you will still get charged that fee. They seem to have covered everything so you either pay $32 or 3%

Anyway, i have sent secure mail to the ANZ asking many questions about fees and charging when using AEON ATMs in Thailand. I also asked how and by who the exchange rate is executed. They are pretty good at dodging those sorts of questions though..fobbing you off and telling you to go get a book from your nearest bank, hmm

will see how it goes and post the result!..thanks guys

[jcnbkk]

I don't know if Charles Schwab accounts are available in Aus/NZ. But with the Schwab Visa Plus debit card and Aeon ATM, there are no fees and you get the international Visa rate mentioned above. Your "bank of choice" may very well be the problem. Every bank is not the same; you have to shop around. Some banks will take 1-3% above the interbank rate, in addition to fees. Yesterday, I transferred 30,000 baht from my Schwab account, as described above and got the international Visa rate of 30.29 baht to $1US, yesterday's international Visa rate (1% above the interbank rate) -- no other fees.

My US banks charge a 1% fee for bank to bank transfers, but an additional fee if I use an ATM machine.

To avoid paying any fee, I opened a Bangkok Bank Account and set up Direct Deposit to the BB New York Branch (via Chase Bank), so a regular monthly deposit is made by the 5th of the month. Then when I need money, I go to BB and withdraw what I need & deposit that in an ATM account. A small ATM account keep the baddies from getting large amounts if they steal my card or hack my account.

I don't know if Charles Schwab accounts are available in Aus/NZ. But with the Schwab Visa Plus debit card and Aeon ATM, there are no fees and you get the international Visa rate mentioned above. Your "bank of choice" may very well be the problem. Every bank is not the same; you have to shop around. Some banks will take 1-3% above the interbank rate, in addition to fees. Yesterday, I transferred 30,000 baht from my Schwab account, as described above and got the international Visa rate of 30.29 baht to $1US, yesterday's international Visa rate (1% above the interbank rate) -- no other fees.

My US banks charge a 1% fee for bank to bank transfers, but an additional fee if I use an ATM machine.

To avoid paying any fee, I opened a Bangkok Bank Account and set up Direct Deposit to the BB New York Branch (via Chase Bank), so a regular monthly deposit is made by the 5th of the month. Then when I need money, I go to BB and withdraw what I need & deposit that in an ATM account. A small ATM account keep the baddies from getting large amounts if they steal my card or hack my account.

So that's two accounts at BB? Not linked so you have to go in the bank to transfer from one, with no link to an atm, to another that is? BTW I use ACH transfers from US to BBNY-$3, not sure what the conversion rate is from BBNY to Thai BB acc.

Edited June 14, 2013 by jcnbkk

[slipperylobster]

By the way...I tried pressing CREDIT on the AEON machine, and it would not accept. I know my ATM is only a debit MasterCard. If it was are real Credit Card then I guess it might work. Nice try though.

[Pib]

BTW I use ACH transfers from US to BBNY-$3, not sure what the conversion rate is from BBNY to Thai BB acc.

Assuming your home country sending bank is "not" charging an ACH sending fee and you are talking about a BBNY charge that means you are only sending $50.01 to $100 per transfer. As that flows thru the BBNY branch then they slice-off a $3 fee. Say you sent $100 then $97 arrives your in-Thailand BB branch where they take their 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) before posting to your account. They would apply the minimum Bt200 (approx. $6.50) in this case so although $100 started the trek only $90.50 worth of baht ends up getting posted to your in-Thailand branch...that totals up to 9.5% in fees.

However, I expect you meant your Sending bank charges a $3 fee (that's what Bank of America charges for their standard 3 day ACH transfer), but you are still going to have the BBNY fee and the in-Thailand BB local branch fee which would total up to an even bigger fee percentage if only sending $100 or less.

Use below chart to determine total amount in Bangkok Bank fees depending on how much your are transferring via the ACH system...much, much cheaper percentage-wise to send larger sums....and don't forget to add-in any home country sending bank fee...many U.S. banks do not charge any ACH sending fee but many do...sometimes a low ACH fee like $3...sometimes higher.

You will receive the Bangkok Bank "TT Buying Rate" exchange rate used for wire transfers. While all Thai banks like Bangkok Bank will update/change their TT Buying Rate during the day based on FX Market variations, you will usually get the day's opening rate (i.e., 1st Update) based on my personal experience. To know the exact exchange rate received, amount received, amount converted/posted, etc., you can add SMS Remittance Alert to your Bangkok Bank account...real easy to do...see this Bangkok Bank webpage.

Source: Bangkok Bank webpage under the page heading "Fees"

[jcnbkk]

Pib Thanks