Aeon Bank now charge 150 B ATM fee

[Jiu-Jitsu]

As above: AEON uses published MC or Visa exchange rates.

Then it was coincidental that of the 5 times I used AEON, 3 of those times the Baht strengthened between the time I read the rate and when I hit the ATM. That is possible I guess as the baht/dollar rate fluctuates significantly.

As an aside, is AEON a bank? I thought they were something else, like a loan company or something?

KB

There are transaction dates and posting dates. They are often not the same.

[rayw]

The bloody thieving robbing bastards just like all the other banks and particularly the Western based ones. Time the banks were ALL nationalised and simply taken into public ownership for the people so best way is to sell all your Banking shares now and let them know we are totally PO's with them. YEs TAKE it into public ownership and rob them back IMHO. I am totally fed up with this right wing based bloody robbery of ordinary folk that is happening in so many areas these days and we let them get away with it. Time for us all to say ENOUGH.

I WILL NOT pay any 150 Baht ATM theft to draw out MY money from the AH banking system and have nicely used the AEON ATMs for a few years now sop this news is not only sad it is bloody criminal!!! I thought the other banks would learn their lesson and follow AEON's excellent lead. Now they can all FO. Simple way is to go to the bank counter present your Debit or Credit (Visa or Mastercard) and draw the cash out you need there ALL for FREE at yes all the banks in Thailand that I have tried. Will cost them more man hours and administration than the ATM easy efficient method, but that is good and serves the bastards right due to their total right wing fat cat greed and bloody stupidity. Am I angry .. well YES you might have gathered that and with good reason too

I use my UK credit card to buy everything here if they accept VISA. I pay my 3BB, True mobile phone, ToT Landline phones, Tescos grocery shopping, Petrol, Car servicing, and for any other things like clothes, camera and PC bits etc. That costs absolutely nothing and the credit card company give me a better rate and up to 7 weeks interest free if I clear my monthly account. And it is all in sterling the currency in which I receive my monthly income. I really try to avoid cash and if say a petrol station, clothes shop, grocery store etc only takes cash I just say no thanks and walk out and go elsewhere. Fight the bastards back and say no to cash deals if you have to use ATM machines to get your cash.

[paz]

I WILL NOT pay any 150 Baht ATM theft to draw out MY money from the AH banking system and have nicely used the AEON ATMs for a few years now sop this news is not only sad it is bloody criminal!!! I thought the other banks would learn their lesson and follow AEON's excellent lead. Now they can all FO. Simple way is to go to the bank counter present your Debit or Credit (Visa or Mastercard) and draw the cash out you need there ALL for FREE at yes all the banks in Thailand that I have tried. Will cost them more man hours and administration than the ATM easy efficient method, but that is good and serves the bastards right due to their total right wing fat cat greed and bloody stupidity. Am I angry .. well YES you might have gathered that and with good reason too

It's NOT free. As mentioned before, for debit card is really hard to believe you can get a cash advance, for credit card you will be charged cash advance fee and interest rate with no grace period.

[rayw]

didnt realize so many people were using overseas cards. why not open an account here? you could do large transfers every few months from you account back home to an account here and just use your local card to take the cash as needed. this would reduce the fees a lot.

apparently that makes too much sense

No sense at all as my robbing UK banks charges £30 flat fee and them the Thai banks charge some small extra commissions this end. When you do not have much money available to transfer each month that £30 is a bastard expense and way too much. Use y our UK or home based credit to buy all you can here and pay one home currency payment each month and all for free and no interest either if you clear your card each month. Pity that the nice bar girls do not have a useful slot we could swipe our credit cards through to save using cash

I use so little cash now because of this system of using my free credit card for most that I buy that I only draw out less than 10K Baht a month in cash and therefore much cheaper to pay the ATM fee if you really cannot avoid it by drawing out at the bank counter with the cashier instead. Sure if teh 2008 recession has still not hit you and you are rolling in it and need to draw say 50K Baht or more cash per month then sure the £30 robbing flat charge would make it better to transfer to your Thai bank account.

I suggest all of you who normally use AEON ATM to go to there cashier and draw out that way for free and tell them why you have to do it this less efficient way and hope they get the message.

[isawasnake]

I know it hurts, and the comment wont be popular, but you guys want to be paid half way across the world and access the money, with all the needed infrastructure, maintenance and overhead to get it, without paying a dime. That is kind of asking a lot. I am with the rest of you, I want no fees. I think the 150 baht threshold seems high, but I do feel it is reasonable to be charged something. I guess it is a matter of perspective too. I have a schwab debit card,and I work here. I am sure I'd feel like the rest if you if I got paid in the states or elsewhere. I think this is more of a case of had it good for a long while, rather than a case of we're getting f--cked now.

Edited February 11, 2014 by isawasnake

[paz]

I suggest all of you who normally use AEON ATM to go to there cashier and draw out that way for free and tell them why you have to do it this less efficient way and hope they get the message.

You are giving bad advice, you can repeat it as many times you want, but it is not free to get cash advance out of a credit card, and impossible on a debit card.

[rayw]

I WILL NOT pay any 150 Baht ATM theft to draw out MY money from the AH banking system and have nicely used the AEON ATMs for a few years now sop this news is not only sad it is bloody criminal!!! I thought the other banks would learn their lesson and follow AEON's excellent lead. Now they can all FO. Simple way is to go to the bank counter present your Debit or Credit (Visa or Mastercard) and draw the cash out you need there ALL for FREE at yes all the banks in Thailand that I have tried. Will cost them more man hours and administration than the ATM easy efficient method, but that is good and serves the bastards right due to their total right wing fat cat greed and bloody stupidity. Am I angry .. well YES you might have gathered that and with good reason too

It's NOT free. As mentioned before, for debit card is really hard to believe you can get a cash advance, for credit card you will be charged cash advance fee and interest rate with no grace period.

But you do not want the ATM 150 Baht fee on top do you hmm???? Anyway if you use your UK bank Debit card then there is no cash advance fee and only very small foreign transaction fee but as I say use it at the bank counter and say NO to ATM fees. With a Debit card you always have to have the money in your bank account (or an overdraft facility in place) so there is no question of any cash advance of course that is obvious.

Try to avoid cash and buy goods and service here with your credit card as that IS in effect free if you clear your card statement each month and can give you up to 7 weeks interest free credit too, it is the cheapest way for most ordinary folk with modest means as probably 90% of us have. If the trader does not accept credit card payment them shop elsewhere and they will soon get the message (obviously not for small items form your local family run convenience store) You have to try and beat them at their game and use the system best you can..

Edited February 11, 2014 by rayw

[paz]

I know it hurts, and the comment wont be popular, but you guys want to be paid half way across the world and access the money, with all the needed infrastructure to get it, without paying a dime. That is kind of asking a lot. I am with the rest of you, I want no fees. I think the 150 baht threshold seems high, but I do feel it is reasonable to be charged something.

It is not reasonable but pure gouging. ATM fee is, e.g. $2.50 in Australia, one of the countries with the highest living costs. Compare to $5 or 6 in Thailand where cost of labour and operating infrastructure is ridiculously low.

Edited February 11, 2014 by paz

[elzach]

It's time to go to the Citi Bank!

AEON in Mega Bangna was so useful, but now I need to take BTS to get to Asok station...ha.

Are we 100% sure Citi doesn't charge?

[Pib]

didnt realize so many people were using overseas cards. why not open an account here? you could do large transfers every few months from you account back home to an account here and just use your local card to take the cash as needed. this would reduce the fees a lot.

apparently that makes too much sense

No sense at all as my robbing UK banks charges £30 flat fee and them the Thai banks charge some small extra commissions this end. When you do not have much money available to transfer each month that £30 is a bastard expense and way too much. Use y our UK or home based credit to buy all you can here and pay one home currency payment each month and all for free and no interest either if you clear your card each month. Pity that the nice bar girls do not have a useful slot we could swipe our credit cards through to save using cash

I use so little cash now because of this system of using my free credit card for most that I buy that I only draw out less than 10K Baht a month in cash and therefore much cheaper to pay the ATM fee if you really cannot avoid it by drawing out at the bank counter with the cashier instead. Sure if teh 2008 recession has still not hit you and you are rolling in it and need to draw say 50K Baht or more cash per month then sure the £30 robbing flat charge would make it better to transfer to your Thai bank account.

I suggest all of you who normally use AEON ATM to go to there cashier and draw out that way for free and tell them why you have to do it this less efficient way and hope they get the message.

The part about using no foreign transaction fee "credit" cards (I'm assuming that is what you meant by free credit card) is definitely a way to reduce cash requirements in Thailand. I have a couple of such no foreign transaction fee credit cards (which also provide 1.5% cash back on each and every transaction) that I use all the time in Thailand...Lotus, Big C, etc..etc...etc...etc. Just wish Makro accepted credit cards other than "their" credit card issued by Citibank I think. Plus, I feel I have more consumer protection by using my U.S. credit cards under U.S. consumer protection laws. Consumer protection for Thailand issued cards still have a way to go IMO. As Bangkok Bank mentions in their booklet for foreign customers on page 24 and to quote:

You should also avoid doing your online banking on public computers in internet cafes. If any of your bank cards

become lost or stolen, or if you suspect you have been the victim of fraud, call Bangkok Bank immediately

on 1333 or +662 638 4999 to cancel your card or put a hold on your accounts. You will be liable for all

transactions unless you have already notified the bank – this may be different to your expectations of banks

in your home country.

[elzach]

I started using XE. 20 USD but can wire 5 times my atm limit of 600 usd. Better baht rate..you lock that in when you purchase. You purchase baht from XE and they debit your bank (no atm/credit card requiredand no charge for that part). Then they wire from XE to Bank of Bangkok. That is where the 21 USD comes in. Whatever I do..it amounts to almost the same costs.

Takes 14 days..prepare in advance.

I don't see the savings, $21 is about 680 bht.

You say you can wire let's say $3000, which is about 97,000 bht. That would be about 3 trips to the ATM at the limit of 30,000 bht each, ie. 3 x 150 bht, 450 bht. If you have a no fee (or even low fee) home bank card, you're better off.

Edited February 11, 2014 by elzach

[jethro69]

didnt realize so many people were using overseas cards. why not open an account here? you could do large transfers every few months from you account back home to an account here and just use your local card to take the cash as needed. this would reduce the fees a lot.

apparently that makes too much sense

No sense at all as my robbing UK banks charges £30 flat fee and them the Thai banks charge some small extra commissions this end. When you do not have much money available to transfer each month that £30 is a bastard expense and way too much. Use y our UK or home based credit to buy all you can here and pay one home currency payment each month and all for free and no interest either if you clear your card each month. Pity that the nice bar girls do not have a useful slot we could swipe our credit cards through to save using cash

I use so little cash now because of this system of using my free credit card for most that I buy that I only draw out less than 10K Baht a month in cash and therefore much cheaper to pay the ATM fee if you really cannot avoid it by drawing out at the bank counter with the cashier instead. Sure if teh 2008 recession has still not hit you and you are rolling in it and need to draw say 50K Baht or more cash per month then sure the £30 robbing flat charge would make it better to transfer to your Thai bank account.

I suggest all of you who normally use AEON ATM to go to there cashier and draw out that way for free and tell them why you have to do it this less efficient way and hope they get the message.

And now you tell me how many times you run into the 3% scam when trying to pay with you're CC. Even Tesco doesn't accept CC, when paying for electricity, water bill .

I know that sucks, but let's face reality.

[elzach]

Actually AEON was not losing money. Nowhere do they post an exchange rate that I could find, and when I tried them a few times because they did not charge a fee, the transaction saved me a few cents once, was about the same once, and actually cost me more three times, even including the banks 150 baht fee. Suffice it to say, I did not use them again. So if they use an exchange rate that is lower than the going rate, they DO make money on it, especially if the suckers-err, customers, cannot see what that rate is before saying accept and do not bother to do the math on the amount debited.

I always use this site: http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx to check the daily rates when I need cash. MOST times it is accurate, though there have been minor descrepencies, up and down, in the past. Usually due to a rate change before I can get to the ATM I think. But at least you have a good idea of what the exchange rate will be for the transaction, unlike AEON.

My two cents...your milage may vary.

KB

I had done the math over a few months, Aeon was using an exchange rate (USD-THB) 70-90 basis points (.7-.9%) less than the middle rate as of the transaction date. That would be IN ADDITION to any fee charged by MC/Visa or your home bank.

Quite substantial, but I can't compare it to other Thai banks.

Edited February 11, 2014 by elzach

[paz]

But you do not want the ATM 150 Baht fee on top do you hmm???? Anyway if you use your UK bank Debit card then there is no cash advance fee and only very small foreign transaction fee but as I say use it at the bank counter and say NO to ATM fees. With a Debit card you always have to have the money in your bank account (or an overdraft facility in place) so there is no question of any cash advance of course that is obvious.

Have you done the math? The "small foreign transaction" feel of 3% for a 20,000 withdraw, equates to 600 Baht, compare that to 150. And, you are charged interest, at the highest rate, starting immediately.

Then, I don't know why you assume that everyone is from the UK, but I know for sure that none of the banks I use does allow money leaving the current account, without a PIN-protected ATM transaction, or a wire transfer initiated and paid by me. No "cash advances at the counter" with a debit card.

Edited February 11, 2014 by paz

[wym]

Just put some money in a Thai bank. Easy.

What an idiot comment!

I suppose you recommend plucking it off a tree first, and then putting it into the Thai bank. Yup, that'd be easy.

No idea what you're on about?

You can open a local account with just a few hundred baht.

Then wire transfer it from your overseas account into your local one.

What's the problem?

What are alternative options for getting money from US bank accounts?

Is it now just better to spend the $35 on a wire transfer?

----

How can we get money from our US accounts to here paying the least amount of usury fees?

Transfer into your Thai Bangkok Bank account via ACH (local domestic wire transfer, not SWIFT=international) to the BBK branch in New York. From my credit union $12, and often better exchange rate than I get from an ATM withdrawal.

Does this mean for Americans that the cheapest way to get money is by transferring through BBK in New York???

Absolutely.

And a Schwab account - to all: does any other US institution refund these fees?

[wym]

Thanks for that... tried and denied twice at two different banks. Seems they don't accept an education visa. Even if I did, getting the funds from home to here will still incur costs that might very well exceed a monthly withdrawl.

I was always surprised they didn't charge a fee...made no sense because it's not like foreigners withdrawing money would open an account there. If they were smart, they should have gone with a lower fee. If they charged 50, we'd all mumble but we'd still use their machines and they'd get baht in their pockets. Now, because of their 20,000 baht limit, they're the last on my list. Not to mention they're not exactly conveniently located like other bank machines. Now Bank of Ayutthaya will get my monthly 150 baht.

Just keep trying, often different branches of the same bank will have different policies enforced.

Dressing nicely and speaking Thai may help if you get a chance to speak to the branch manager rather than bowling up to the customer service desk where saying "mai dai" just saves them the work.

And note Aeon doesn't give a stuff about losing your "business" they weren't making money off us using their ATMs, just a cost to them, they just took a long time to get smart is all.

Easy to wire money if you have a large sum of money to draw on. If you receive monthly amounts, that's not a solution.

Just do a wire transfer every six months instead of every month!

Or are you saying you have absolutely no savings, living in Thailand hand to mouth month to month? Then you've got much bigger problems than a B150 withdrawal fee. . .

[paz]

I had done the math over a few months, Aeon was using an exchange rate (USD-THB) 70-90 basis points (.7-.9%) less than the middle rate as of the transaction date. That would be IN ADDITION to any fee charged by MC/Visa or your home bank.

Quite substantial, but I can't compare it to other Thai banks.

I think you did the math wrong as I was doing too before being explained in another thread.

Once you use the rate of the day before the transaction, and USD as base currency, the amount charged matches exactly the Visa/MC published rate.

Example, withdrew THB 20,000 on Feb 6th at AEON using a MC debit card with no foreign transaction fee.

Charged USD 614.56 by my bank.

MC published rate for Feb 5th: 32.5434.

20,000 / 32.5435 = 614.5639.

Edited February 11, 2014 by paz

[elzach]

To those who keep advising wire transfers from home, keep in mind that in addition to the fees ($15-$35 outgoing transfer fee, $? incoming fee, $20-$30 INTERMEDIARY fee likely), you also have to deal with FOREIGN EXCHANGE RISK for large amounts, which is what we're talking about here.

For example, if you did that wire transfer of $10,000 back in July (when you thought the baht was good at 1 USD=31 THB), you ended up losing a cool 5.5%, or 17,000 baht, today.

Edited February 11, 2014 by elzach

[rayw]

I suggest all of you who normally use AEON ATM to go to there cashier and draw out that way for free and tell them why you have to do it this less efficient way and hope they get the message.

You are giving bad advice, you can repeat it as many times you want, but it is not free to get cash advance out of a credit card, and impossible on a debit card.

Wrong I use my Debit card that way it is a VISA based card and as long as I have the money in my UK bank current account there is no problem and NO ATM fee or other fee applied here in Thailand, so it IS good advice. I suggest you try it and if it does not work then maybe you have not got the money in your bank account at home or you need to take it up with your bank. I bank with one of the big UK retail Banks and have no problem. Of course as with credit cards they make their money on the exchange rate and small foreign transaction fee which you still get applied even after paying the robbing 150 Baht ATM fee. Of course I expect to pay something for the transaction but honestly not very much and I am generally happy with what my UK bank charge me. 150 Baht ATM charge is THEFT and a monopolistic / cartel illegal system. Go to the counter and avoid the ATM charge at least.

Of course IF you use a Credit card either at the ATM with the 150 Baht fee charged or at the counter without any local charge, then your UK credit card company will of course charge you a cash advance fee and interest form day 1 that is normal and understandable as you are drawing cash you have not got. Have to say though that the cash advance fee in the UK is I think way up in the theft bracket.

Anyway I am unable to make it clearer so no more to say on this but it is up to you, try it and see and work it all out for yourselves with trying these various suggested alternative ways. I only proffer thsi info to try and help others out and every little kick to the bastard thieving bankers is a good thing surely

[paz]

To those who keep advising wire transfers from home, keep in mind that in addition to the fees ($15-$35 outgoing transfer fee, $? incoming fee, $20-$30 INTERMEDIARY fee likely), you also have to deal with FOREIGN EXCHANGE RISK for large amounts, which is what we're talking about here.

For example, if you did that wire transfer of $10,000 back in July (when you thought the baht was good at 1 USD=31 THB), you ended up losing a cool 5.5%, or 17,000 baht, today.

And, how that would be different from doing frequent withdrawals? Just because you always know the rate of today, you can't skip the transaction when you need the money.

Foreign exchange risk works two ways, you can make or lose money. So, for big amounts, there are precautions like options and futures for transtactions that are adverse to risk, but do not want to take any possible gain either.

Edited February 11, 2014 by paz

[paz]

--double posting--

Edited February 11, 2014 by paz

[Danbit]

What is the problem ? Get a debet card from a Thai Bank, transfer +100.000 from abroad to the Thai Bank and get your cash for free at the Thai Banks ATM.

[HeavyDrinker]

Simple Answer to all you pensioners; get jobs here......

[thrilled]

Schwab is definitely the way to go.I also keep money in Kasikorn bank,just for back up.

[paz]

Wrong I use my Debit card that way it is a VISA based card and as long as I have the money in my UK bank current account there is no problem and NO ATM fee or other fee applied here in Thailand, so it IS good advice. I suggest you try it and if it does not work then maybe you have not got the money in your bank account at home or you need to take it up with your bank. I bank with one of the big UK retail Banks and have no problem. Of course as with credit cards they make their money on the exchange rate and small foreign transaction fee which you still get applied even after paying the robbing 150 Baht ATM fee. Of course I expect to pay something for the transaction but honestly not very much and I am generally happy with what my UK bank charge me. 150 Baht ATM charge is THEFT and a monopolistic / cartel illegal system. Go to the counter and avoid the ATM charge at least.

I don't have to prove anything, you must understand that is really hard to believe you. In this world, ATM/debit card and no PIN, mean no transaction is possible.

A foreign bank does not have a way to get money out of your account, unless you enter your PIN at an ATM. Perhaps you entered your PIN at some point in the branch. Otherwise they do not even have a way to know what is you A/C number.

[rayw]

didnt realize so many people were using overseas cards. why not open an account here? you could do large transfers every few months from you account back home to an account here and just use your local card to take the cash as needed. this would reduce the fees a lot.

apparently that makes too much sense

No sense at all as my robbing UK banks charges £30 flat fee and them the Thai banks charge some small extra commissions this end. When you do not have much money available to transfer each month that £30 is a bastard expense and way too much. Use y our UK or home based credit to buy all you can here and pay one home currency payment each month and all for free and no interest either if you clear your card each month. Pity that the nice bar girls do not have a useful slot we could swipe our credit cards through to save using cash

I use so little cash now because of this system of using my free credit card for most that I buy that I only draw out less than 10K Baht a month in cash and therefore much cheaper to pay the ATM fee if you really cannot avoid it by drawing out at the bank counter with the cashier instead. Sure if teh 2008 recession has still not hit you and you are rolling in it and need to draw say 50K Baht or more cash per month then sure the £30 robbing flat charge would make it better to transfer to your Thai bank account.

I suggest all of you who normally use AEON ATM to go to there cashier and draw out that way for free and tell them why you have to do it this less efficient way and hope they get the message.

And now you tell me how many times you run into the 3% scam when trying to pay with you're CC. Even Tesco doesn't accept CC, when paying for electricity, water bill .

I know that sucks, but let's face reality.

I normally wont pay that 3% charge and if they either will not discount the selling price or drop that 3% charge I simply walk away and go elsewhere unless i am desperate and /or no alternative. As to Tesco well they do not charge ANY 3% scam but of course you cannot use CC for paying Electricity and Water because the Thai utility companies won;t even accept them at their offices !! They are living in cloud cuckoo land and trading as though it was 50 years ago !! You cannot even pay water and electricity by Thai Internet Banking but you certainly can pay folk like 3BB and ToT and True etc.

Those Water and Electricity companies need to mature and grow up and get real into the 21st century, as it seems they love to see hundreds of people wasting a lot of time out of their lives queuing up to pay their small monthly bills the outdated way with silly cash. Maybe as these two main utilities are monopolistic by nature they should be nationalised and run by the people for the people, as I am sure they would run better than they do at the moment and not be such a big robbing rip off!! You will notice I originally and specifically did not mention Water and Electricity in my examples of using a CC here to pay most bills. Those bills I DO have to use cash because of this total ignorant stupidity of the Thai utility companies and I speak also for the poor Thai folk who have to queue up each month to pay a simple small bill!!! What a waste of a life.

[Awk]

I WILL NOT pay any 150 Baht ATM theft to draw out MY money from the AH banking system and have nicely used the AEON ATMs for a few years now sop this news is not only sad it is bloody criminal!!! I thought the other banks would learn their lesson and follow AEON's excellent lead. Now they can all FO. Simple way is to go to the bank counter present your Debit or Credit (Visa or Mastercard) and draw the cash out you need there ALL for FREE at yes all the banks in Thailand that I have tried. Will cost them more man hours and administration than the ATM easy efficient method, but that is good and serves the bastards right due to their total right wing fat cat greed and bloody stupidity. Am I angry .. well YES you might have gathered that and with good reason too

It's NOT free. As mentioned before, for debit card is really hard to believe you can get a cash advance, for credit card you will be charged cash advance fee and interest rate with no grace period.

Not always. There are credit cards where there is no such free, provided you top-up your credit card with the amount you wish to withdraw beforehand. Usually it works ok for me if I top-up the credit card on the same day as I did the withdrawal, but unless it's an emergency I of course top-up a few days ahead. I.e., if I withdraw the equivalent of roughly EUR 95, I transfer EUR 100 (a little extra to be sure, as the interest rates are of course horrible should I transfer too little by accident) to the bank that issued me the credit card, the same way I normally pay the credit card bill. I am still charged 1.5% - 2% for the foreign currency conversion, which they don't care to post separately, but no other fees or interest rates. If I top-up too late (i.e., next day), I see I have been charged a little interest when the bill comes later.

I until recently had two such cards, but one of them just announced they would start charging a percentage-based fee and a cash advance fee regardless, so now I have only one. This particular card I originally got because they allowed you to withdraw your entire balance over ATM without any fees or interest rates, as long as you paid the full bill on it's due date, which could be up to 50 days later. I.e., no distinction between cash advance and purchasing goods. Think that lasted for a couple of years.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Awk

[HeavyDrinker]

oh my! what a flap over 3 pounds coming from folks who probably have 'educated wives' whose "families" own half of Bangkok....

[rayw]

Wrong I use my Debit card that way it is a VISA based card and as long as I have the money in my UK bank current account there is no problem and NO ATM fee or other fee applied here in Thailand, so it IS good advice. I suggest you try it and if it does not work then maybe you have not got the money in your bank account at home or you need to take it up with your bank. I bank with one of the big UK retail Banks and have no problem. Of course as with credit cards they make their money on the exchange rate and small foreign transaction fee which you still get applied even after paying the robbing 150 Baht ATM fee. Of course I expect to pay something for the transaction but honestly not very much and I am generally happy with what my UK bank charge me. 150 Baht ATM charge is THEFT and a monopolistic / cartel illegal system. Go to the counter and avoid the ATM charge at least.

I don't have to prove anything, you must understand that is really hard to believe you. In this world, ATM/debit card and no PIN, mean no transaction is possible.

A foreign bank does not have a way to get money out of your account, unless you enter your PIN at an ATM. Perhaps you entered your PIN at some point in the branch. Otherwise they do not even have a way to know what is you A/C number.

Sorry absolute rubbish Of course you have a PIN with your Debit card. If you don;t you need to change banks as all the main UK retail banks I know of issue a PIN with your Debit card which is also an ATM card. You can even change your PIN if you wish. Of course the debit card is linked to your bank account electronically and of course it checks first that you have funds available before the transaction goes through. At the bank counter you have to identify yourself with your passport or Thai driving licence AND sign the transaction the same as when buying goods of course.

Why do you think I am making this up ?? Why would I even want to do that ???

I am 100% sure I can use my UK Bank Debit card in an ATM with my PIN, and at a Thai bank counter with suitable ID, for drawing out cash provided the money is already in my account. I am not guessing this is true or making it up, as I have done these Debit Card cash transactions a fair bit and quite recently too (yes and with no ATM fee with the old fair and decent AEON system). Works well as NO ATM fee, NO cash advance fee (as I already have the funds), and NO interest charged as no loan is taking place as I am just drawing out MY money and NO bank TT transfer fee either AND it is instant cash too !!

[rayw]

oh my! what a flap over 3 pounds coming from folks who probably have 'educated wives' whose "families" own half of Bangkok....

Glad you can afford to not worry about each and every ☼3 charge. I am like many folk here a retiree on a relatively small but sufficient pension to be able to just about enjoy life in our remaining years. And again like most folks my Thai wife does no come from the right wing Thai elite fat cat bastards who own half of Bangkok, she is a normal decent Thai person form the usual poor suppressed background.

So YES I do have to watch all these robbing £3 charges that the thieving banks keep adding here there and everywhere on almost all you do. The banks love folk like you who just brush these numerous cartel like charges aside as though they do not matter. The worst thief is PayPal IMHO, they are efficient yes but robbing bastards, worth avoiding them whenever you can though difficult when you use eBay who they are in bed with (another cartel and restrictive practice that needs looking into).

Enough said as I cannot add any more, Up to each of you what you do but I hope I may have helped some folk even just a littleof they had not fully considered all the points raised.