How much has Trump?

[impulse]

I've done it dozens of times. Head down to the ATM in the lobby of my building. My account is with K Bank. Find a long line at the K Bank ATM. Walk 30 feet to one of the 5 other banks' ATM's, and get my cash.

There doesn't seem to be a fee for using another bank's ATM's so I have to wonder why the folks queue to use a crowded ATM when there's another one (actually 5 or 6 of them) scattered across the lobby with no waiting?

Is there some unpleasant surprise waiting for me, using a different bank's ATM?

[tolsti]

they might be doing transactions such as paying the rent by transfer or sending money elsewhere which can only be done from one of their own banks ATMs

[Familyonthemove]

... and K-Bank has a limit on how many times you can use another bank's ATM's. It's only free up to a set value/number of transactions (I forget the levels, I think it's 3 times/20,000 THB?).

[Pib]

Yea, Thai's handle a lot of their banking business in front of ATMs like paying bills, transferring money to another accounts, etc. And when within the same banking region (say the Bangkok Metro area) you can use another bank's ATM X-times per month with no fee if the bank is part of the banking pool (most banks are) which allow X-free withdrawal transactions per month between various bank ATMs. Plus, some people just don't know they can get X-free transactions month. And for those folks who use a Bangkok Bank debit card "with chip" then they must use only a Bangkok Bank ATM since other Thai banks ATMs don't have the capability to handle chip-based cards...now I know some of you are using your foreign chip-based debit card to withdraw money from Thai bank ATMs but those cards allow withdrawal using either the chip or magnetic strip info depending on which the ATM can deal with but with the Bangkok Bank chip-based debit card its coded to only work in ATMs which can handle a chip-based transactions....that the biggest reason I continue to use my Bangkok Bank debit card with magnetic strip so I can use it in any Thai ATM. Yea, chip-based cards are supposedly more secure than magnetic strip based cards but I have run into too many Bangkok Bank ATMs that are out of cash when I need cash and by having their magnetic strip based debit card I can just go get money from any ATM...if I had their chip-based card I wouldn't be able to do that. Hopefully in the future the other Thai banks will implement chip-based debit cards also...but until them...

Edited January 3, 2014 by Pib

[thrilled]

Can anyone say the percentage of the ATM's in Thailand using the computer chip compared to the magnetic strip.

[Pib]

Maybe a little less than 20%, with those apparently being Bangkok Bank ATMs. More info at this ThaiVisa thread talking about chip-enabled ATMs.

[dddave]

I just noticed myself a few days ago that K-Bank ATM's seem to consistently have the longest lines. I was wondering about that.

[Pib]

A lot can depend on "where" and "when" you access ATMs....if in a very popular mall (or maybe the only mall in your area) then most ATMs can stay pretty busy. As an example, I use the AEON ATM in my nearby Lotus mall here in western Bangkok which stays pretty busy but for whatever reason it rarely has a line when I go to use it....if there is a line it's usually just one deep. However, a couple other AEON ATMs I use occasionally in a Big C mall and The Mall Bangkhae here in western Bangkok almost always have a line...sometimes a short line...sometimes a l....o.....n......g line. If you get behind someone paying bills then the wait can seem like forever. And if you live in a farang-infested location (which I don't) it seems most farangs use Bangkok Bank or K-Bank ATMs with a smaller bunch using SCB.