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Is this a usual way to rob ATM users?


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I needed some cash and used my Dutch bank card to withdraw from my Dutch account.

I went to Kasikorn ATM. Apart from the 180 baht I was known with, the exchange rate was 42.47 instead of 44 something. I was charged 470 euro's (+ 4 for ATM use) for 20,000 baht, which should be est. 443 euro's at the current rate.

Is the rate exchange so much different if you use a bank card?

Edited by sniffdog
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How do you know what the exchange rate was? Did they present that on the screen? Normally believe you would obtain the rate for the service you are using (Visa/MasterCard or whatever) unless you allow DCC rate to be used. This presents the amount in your home currency on screen and is almost always a very poor rate that should not be accepted here in Thailand.

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When you use your bank card you get the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate "unless" the ATM offers you the option to use their (i.e., K-bank) Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) rate which they may not call DCC but give it some warm and fuzzy name like "Home Rate", "Bank Rate", etc. The DCC rate will be around 3 to 4 percent lower than the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate. DCC bad, very bad for the customer; DCC good, very for the bank.

Additionally, most bank cards charge a foreign transaction fee which is usually 1, 2, or 3% plus possibly a small flat fee--your card-issuing bank applies this fee; not the local ATM...athough the local ATM will still apply their Bt150-Bt180 foreign card fee.

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Yes, the rate (as well as the amount being charged) was displayed on the screen. There were three options:

1 - Do you want to convert the currency? Yes, continue ...

2 - No, continue

3 - Cancel

The first time I noticed that the rate was very low, and choose 'No'. My card was returned and the transaction cancelled. Then I went next door to Aeon, but due to a guy that took 15 minutes to deposit his money in their ATM I went one more door further up, Bank of Ayutthaya. There with every amount requested (30,22,20K) it showed 'Invalid amount'. To avoid further frustration I went back to Kasikorn and accepted the '1' option.

As I have a Premiere account with my bank, I don't get charged the exchange rate and/or extra bank fees. Just the 4 euros as the 180 baht ATM charge. I can take out 500 euros per day.

Lesson learned I guess. As I was in a hurry, I accepted the lower rate. Next time I will investigate other banks.

Edited by sniffdog
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Strange the ATM spit your card out when pressing 2- No, Continue, but if I read your post right it did that after you are pressed 1 but later cancelled. But if you slid you card back in and pressed 2-No Continue from the get-go I wonder if it would have spit it back out at you. If you did do that, I could only assume K-bank is saying foreign cards get their DCC rate (my K-bank a flat little fee via lower exchange rate)...take it or get your card spit out. But it seems like if that was true we would be seeing a lot of hate mail...maybe we will.

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The first time I noticed that the rate was very low, and choose 'No'. My card was returned and the transaction cancelled. Then I went next door to Aeon

I wonder if wrong button was pressed by chance (cancel) as (no, continue) should not return card unless there programing is bad - I have a hard time with some units knowing which is the right spot to press as they often do not line up well.

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AEON has the best Exchange rates. The 180 baht is a lot less than what they screw you on the exchange fees. (chiang mai forum has a recent thread on this)

AEON provides the Visa/Mastercard exchange rates just like Thai bank ATMs as long as you don't knowingly or unknowingly select the bank's Dynamic Currency Conversation (DCC) rate which is 3 to 4% lower than the Visa/Mastercard rate.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

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Thanks all for your replies. Next time I'll hope to have more time to investigate. The 20 odd euros I have been scammed off makes it worthwhile to hang in the Aeon line for just another 15 minutes or so next time.

Actually the card is not a Master/Visa card, but a Maestro (Cirrus) card.

Edited by sniffdog
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AEON has the best Exchange rates. The 180 baht is a lot less than what they screw you on the exchange fees. (chiang mai forum has a recent thread on this)

AEON or other banks do not set exchange rate unless the DCC scam is chosen.

The rates are determined by Visa or MC and published on their websites.

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