Mystery SCB Fee taken from my account - Annual fee?

[mattk1]

Hi guys,

I have an SCB Debit Plus card and yesterday when I went to take out some cash I noticed a fee of 599.00 baht was taken at 2:42am (01/09/2013).

As it was Sunday I tried but failed to get through to anyone on the phone so I logged on to my account to see if I could get any more details. The 599 baht is listed as an ATS (automatic transfer service) and when I checked back through my previous statements I noticed that it would be exactly 12 months since I opened the account.

This had me wondering if the fee is an annual fee?

I plan on going to the SCB branch near where I work but if I can save myself a wasted lunch trip then great.

I have searched the SCB website and also Googled SCB annual fee but I can't seem to find anything directly related.

If anyone can shed some I would be very grateful. Failing that, SCB here I come..

Thanks!

[topt]

Sounds about right especially if 12 months since you opened the account.

My ATM only annual card fee for SCB is 200baht and that comes out of my account in August every year - just noticed it the other week.

[Upnotover]

Yes, its your annual fee. Look online and you'll see "ค่าธรรมเนียม" as the transaction description, google translates that to fee". I recall that the annual fee for the "debit plus" card is higher than for a basic ATM card, dunno what the "plus" benefit is though.

[Pib]

Yes, it's your annual fee. See this SCB Debit Plus link regarding associated fees. Typically the annual fee for a Thai bank standard debit card is around Bt200 (like the SCB standard debit card), but since your Debit Plus card comes with some accident medical coverage that is probably why its annual fee is Bt599.

[TheWalkingMan]

Kasokorn hit me up for 250 baht a couple of weeks ago. I received notification through their SMS system.

[BuriramRes]

Yes, its your annual fee. Look online and you'll see "ค่าธรรมเนียม" as the transaction description, google translates that to fee". I recall that the annual fee for the "debit plus" card is higher than for a basic ATM card, dunno what the "plus" benefit is though.

I have two linked "savings accounts" with BKB, only one having a debit card attached. Got 200B annual fee charged on 31/7 only to the account with ATM debit card attached, the other one, no fee.

Probably goes to enhance the rubber band to drive their computer.

[cabanlit]

Yes, it's the annual card fee AND yours includes some personal insurance.

[MonkeyLoo]

Same with me. Annual ATM card fee deducted by K Bank. They didn't put a simple description for the fee, I had to call them to find out what it was.

I don't know why they cant simply show it as "Annual ATM card fee" or something similar. Would save a lot of hassle on both sides

[mattk1]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for all the replies in helping me understand what this fee was actually for.

I had no idea I'd opted for this insurance cover when I opened the account and I'm wondering whether to try and cancel it (the insurance, not the card).

I know it's not a huge amount of money but really I don't benefit from anything that it offers. I get accident / health insurance through the school I work at and I always pay cash for whatever I buy, hence no need for the MasterCard benefit.

Something tells me it won't be a straight forward 'opt out' procedure..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'd say, you certainly have the option to change your account with SCB to be the regular debit card, without the PLUS package. Doing that shouldn't mess up your underlying savings account.

Probably take some paperwork at your home branch. I doubt they'll refund the annual fee you just paid, although they might. And they probably will charge you the normal issuance fee of 200 baht or so for the new "regular" debit card.

But more broadly, in the banking world, I'm always a big fan of KNOWING what you sign up for, before you sign up, and likewise being aware of whatever fees are involved and what you're paying them for...

[mattk1]

I'd say, you certainly have the option to change your account with SCB to be the regular debit card, without the PLUS package. Doing that shouldn't mess up your underlying savings account.

Probably take some paperwork at your home branch. I doubt they'll refund the annual fee you just paid, although they might. And they probably will charge you the normal issuance fee of 200 baht or so for the new "regular" debit card.

But more broadly, in the banking world, I'm always a big fan of KNOWING what you sign up for, before you sign up, and likewise being aware of whatever fees are involved and what you're paying them for...

You are probably right, and actually I forgot they would still want the 200 baht normal annual fee. 399 Baht for a year of insurance cover isn't so bad, i'll just make sure next year I opt out in time before they actually automatically take the fee.

In the UK i'm the same as you, I read all the small print and try to not get caught out but in this case I overlooked it

[sensei]

This answers one of my questions. I thought that the B700 that they asked when I opened my account was a little too high.
The oddest thing for me is that after I opened my account, I went outside the same bank to test the debit card they issued me.

To my surprise, the machine deducted B20 from my balance.
This is rather a small amount to make a fuss over but I thought that a balance inquiry was supposed to be a free service.

[isawasnake]

20 baht to see some numbers on a screen after you have paid an annual fee is a "small amount".

I hate these banks. I think they get away with murder. They probably give raises to the bankers who sell all this insurance and other BS to customers.

[mrbojangles]

I had to agree to the fee or they wouldn't open an account for me and I think mine is more than that. At the time they said something about it was due to me being on a tourist visa. For me though I save afortune in transferring money to my SCB instead of paying the bank fees using either my UK or Saudi ATM cards.

[hawker9000]

How does one use the medical coverage if on such a plan? Just show 'em the card? I've never heard of this, and it would be useful to know the details before the actual need arises. But to be clear - this is accident coverage only - not the same as what we'd think of as medical travel insurance, right?

I suspect I have this as well, but with Kasikorn - when I signed up I paid far more than the 150B everybody else was talking about, and was planning to walk-in to my home branch sometime before my first year was up to have it "downgraded".

[geezer2]

I'd say, you certainly have the option to change your account with SCB to be the regular debit card, without the PLUS package. Doing that shouldn't mess up your underlying savings account.

Probably take some paperwork at your home branch. I doubt they'll refund the annual fee you just paid, although they might. And they probably will charge you the normal issuance fee of 200 baht or so for the new "regular" debit card.

But more broadly, in the banking world, I'm always a big fan of KNOWING what you sign up for, before you sign up, and likewise being aware of whatever fees are involved and what you're paying them for...

You are probably right, and actually I forgot they would still want the 200 baht normal annual fee. 399 Baht for a year of insurance cover isn't so bad, i'll just make sure next year I opt out in time before they actually automatically take the fee.

In the UK i'm the same as you, I read all the small print and try to not get caught out but in this case I overlooked it

mattk1 I pay 599 a year on my scb card and I get interest on my money,have you seen interest on your account..

[lopburi3]

Most people get interest - it is a savings account we are talking about I suspect. You do not pay more for interest if that is what you are asking and x99 baht is not a normal card charge anywhere that I am aware of. I am sure other posters are right that it is some type of insurance (SCB is known for selling insurance).

[Upnotover]

Most people get interest - it is a savings account we are talking about I suspect. You do not pay more for interest if that is what you are asking and x99 baht is not a normal card charge anywhere that I am aware of. I am sure other posters are right that it is some type of insurance (SCB is known for selling insurance).

If I remember well the reason I got the debit plus card was that their standard ATM card is not Mastercard or Visa but Cirrus only (not sure if that is a good or bad thing to be honest) and the only way to get Mastercard was to go for the insurance laden card at 599. The do another one at 1599 for those that really like insurance.

[Pib]

I'd say, you certainly have the option to change your account with SCB to be the regular debit card, without the PLUS package. Doing that shouldn't mess up your underlying savings account.

Probably take some paperwork at your home branch. I doubt they'll refund the annual fee you just paid, although they might. And they probably will charge you the normal issuance fee of 200 baht or so for the new "regular" debit card.

But more broadly, in the banking world, I'm always a big fan of KNOWING what you sign up for, before you sign up, and likewise being aware of whatever fees are involved and what you're paying them for...

You are probably right, and actually I forgot they would still want the 200 baht normal annual fee. 399 Baht for a year of insurance cover isn't so bad, i'll just make sure next year I opt out in time before they actually automatically take the fee.

In the UK i'm the same as you, I read all the small print and try to not get caught out but in this case I overlooked it

mattk1 I pay 599 a year on my scb card and I get interest on my money,have you seen interest on your account..

You will earn interest (0.75% is the current rate on a standard savings account...probably paid twice a year at SCB) unless the account is coded as a "non-resident" account. Like Bangkok Bank pays interest on a standard account in Jun and Dec of each year....or at least that is when interest has been paid on a couple of standard savings accounts (not to be confused with fixed savings account) I have with Bangkok Bank.

Some banks/branches will code your account this way if you opened the account on a tourist visa, visa on arrival, some kind of short term approval to be visiting the country. Of course this assumes a bank will open an account if in short term status...some banks will; some won't....varies from bank to bank/branch to branch. To get your account coded/opened as permanent resident (someone who spends all or a lot of their time in Thailand with a specific address), you need to show a work permit, long term visa/extension of stay, certificate of residence, etc. Pretty standard for all Thai banks even through there are no shortage of posts where folks got accounts opened without meeting these requirements...and of course plenty of posts also of people on short term status...or even long term status....having a hard time in opening an account. TIT.

I've even seen posts where people on long term extensions/visas had their account coded as non-resident until the went and asked the bank branch "What's Up!...How come I'm not getting interest on my account!?...I'm on a long term visa/extension of stay, etc." Then as long as the person does meet the bank's requirements for permanent resident the account is coded as such and you then earn interest.

See this SCB Interest Rate Link and you will notice on the right hand side of the page they have an area coded for Type of Customer, "Non-Resident", Personal account.

[salapau]

Standard practise for debit cards in Thailand. I'm with another bank and pay 250 baht per year. 599 baht is high I would question this with your bank.

[Pib]

Standard practise for debit cards in Thailand. I'm with another bank and pay 250 baht per year. 599 baht is high I would question this with your bank.

As mentioned earlier it comes with some medical accident insurance....that's why it costs more per year than a standard debit card that runs around Bt200/year which does not include the insurance.

[sensei]

SCB is a BANK and not an insurance company so they should stop bundling their services with this extras.

[Pib]

SCB is a BANK and not an insurance company so they should stop bundling their services with this extras.

Nothing wrong with a bank bundling or offering insurance products with banking products...many banks worldwide do it. However, a problem here in Thailand is many farangs don't know they are buying the insurance due to the Thai-English communication disconnect and Thai banks don't seem to provide much of any documentation describing the insurance program. And I have seen quite a few ThaiVisa posts where the poster said signing up for the insurance was a condition in opening an account---now that bank branch was definitely pushing the customer into buying a product not really required to open a bank account.

[mattk1]

Many thanks for all the replies here guys

I think what I will do before the end of the week is to go into to the branch I opened the account and see if they will cancel the unwanted accident insurance cover that I didn't know I'd signed for.

I know it's not a lot of money but if they do this with every foreign customer then it equals some big figures and I bet there are a lot of customers who are in the same boat as me and just haven't realised it yet.

I will post back here and let you know if I was successful or not.

Once again thanks for all the helpful replies!

[mattk1]

Good result at the bank today. They refunded the 599 Baht fee there and then and I was able to then just pay 100 Baht renewal on a different card.

The replacement card they gave me is the SCB Hip card which still allows me to do everything as before but without the accident insurance cover built in. The nice lady also showed me how to change the maximum withdrawal limit on my account which is something I wasn't aware of before. You can change the limit up to 200,000 at an ATM by following the instructions (in English) and you must enter your passport number to confirm it. Easy.

Glad I went in now

Thanks again guys

[Spare]

Don't tell me your country's bank provide Debit card for free?

I remember exchanging 1000 Baht to GBP in UK once. Apart from the lousy exchange rate, they also slap me with a 5 GBP service fee. As if not enough, they also add VAT on top of that service fee. Needless to say, there isn't much left.

[Pib]

Don't tell me your country's bank provide Debit card for free?

I remember exchanging 1000 Baht to GBP in UK once. Apart from the lousy exchange rate, they also slap me with a 5 GBP service fee. As if not enough, they also add VAT on top of that service fee. Needless to say, there isn't much left.

Debit cards in the U.S. generally come free of annual charges....all the U.S. debit cards I've ever had and still have have zero annual fee. Now the checking/current account it's tied to may have a monthly maintenance fee if you don't have a certain minimum amount in the account, but that fee still applies whether you get a ATM/Debit card or not. But many U.S. banks provide checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fees and no annual fee on the ATM/debit card.

But what you are talking about sounds like a "foreign transaction fee" which many U.S. bank debit/credit cards do charge just as Thai bank cards do also; but there are also quite a few U.S. debit/credit cards that don't charge any foreign transaction fees....I have two such debit cards and 3 such credit cards....and these cards also have no annual fee.

Annual fees on debit and credit cards "in Thailand" just seem to be one of those fees all the Thai banks charge...and it seems Thai banks are getting more into offering certain cards at a higher annual fees that come with different kinds of insurance. It's common for Thai banks to have several different types of debits cards which come with a different level of benefits, insurance, etc--but all for a price.

[isawasnake]

Don't tell me your country's bank provide Debit card for free?

I remember exchanging 1000 Baht to GBP in UK once. Apart from the lousy exchange rate, they also slap me with a 5 GBP service fee. As if not enough, they also add VAT on top of that service fee. Needless to say, there isn't much left.

Debit cards in the U.S. generally come free of annual charges....all the U.S. debit cards I've ever had and still have have zero annual fee. Now the checking/current account it's tied to may have a monthly maintenance fee if you don't have a certain minimum amount in the account, but that fee still applies whether you get a ATM/Debit card or not. But many U.S. banks provide checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fees and no annual fee on the ATM/debit card.

But what you are talking about sounds like a "foreign transaction fee" which many U.S. bank debit/credit cards do charge just as Thai bank cards do also; but there are also quite a few U.S. debit/credit cards that don't charge any foreign transaction fees....I have two such debit cards and 3 such credit cards....and these cards also have no annual fee.

Annual fees on debit and credit cards "in Thailand" just seem to be one of those fees all the Thai banks charge...and it seems Thai banks are getting more into offering certain cards at a higher annual fees that come with different kinds of insurance. It's common for Thai banks to have several different types of debits cards which come with a different level of benefits, insurance, etc--but all for a price.

It seems our capitalism is the only form that really "works". A bank says "no fees on _______", tons of customers move to that bank, and the others are forced to follow suit. This model, based on the consumers having a clue, does not work here.

[sensei]

I went to the bank to make a deposit. I asked the person at the counter what the 20 baht deduction was for. I was told that it was for the SMS that I receive to update me of my monthly balance.

Needless to say, I had that service cancelled. The lady was telling me that she can have the message sent to me in english. I told her that I didn't want it. I know exactly how much I have in there.

It is weird that every time i get a message the balance is always 20 baht less. It is not a big amount but they should have informed me of this add on service before automatically turning it on.

[hawker9000]

I suspect most banks here (I know Kasikorn does) will have a complete fee schedule posted on their website somewhere. It might be hard to find, some of the fee descriptions might be a "challenge" to decipher, and the list may be pages long, but if you've never seen it you might find it an eye-opener. Recommended reading...