debit cards to use in thailand

[bina]

would like to put some of our cash on a debit (direct payment) card but not sure which ones are more useful in thailand. we only have a few options in israel, one being a visa card in dollars fill as needed card. can those be used in larger towns/cities? obviously not in local villages but in larger areas? or at a hospital/doctor's office? payments for busses in main stations? is a mastercard based card a better idea?

we dont have international credit cards and i dont want one either. i will want the debit (direct payment card) for emergencies, and buying a ticket on a domestic flight thru internet, and busses.

just dont feel like walking around with cash. we also dont use atm cards and anyway there are non near hubby's family living quarters; what about travellors checks? (not in village but in larger towns as i am planning to be a tourist for a week before going to the village).

the reason i ask is that here in our hotel for instance our computer credit/debit card charger doesnt accept diners card and some american and european debit cards. (we are provincial).

[craigt3365]

If you do get a card, be careful getting one with the embded chip. We just got one and have been traveling around S.Thailand. Few machines accept these cards. We had to use my US card several times till we coild find an acceptable machine.

Based on all the atm and credit card scams I have been reading about, I limit use drastically. Only pay with cash and only use atms inside banks.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Pib]

Just open a Thai bank savings account and get a debit card from that Thai bank...all the Thai banks are about the same in terms of products/services. For farangs, Bangkok Bank, Kaiskorn, and Siam Commercial Bank are probably the most used in that order...but there are many other Thai banks. I've been with Bangkok Bank for many years and happy with them.

Craig3365 "may" be talking about a Bangkok Bank Be1st Smart debit card which comes with the embedded chip and for ATM withdrawals will only work in Bangkok Bank ATMs since Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank which has upgraded their ATMs to accept chip-embedded cards. The Be1st Smart card will work in all Point of Sale transaction machines used at checkout in stores. But Bangkok Bank also issues the non-chipped Be1st debit card (like the wife and I have) which just use the magnetic strip and will work in any Thai bank ATM, not just Bangkok Bank ATMs. Plus, it only cost Bt200/year compared to the Bt300/year for the chipped card. Chipped cards are tougher to skim/copy but unfortunately in Thailand pretty much only Bankgkok Bank ATMs can read chipped cardss. Until other Thai banks upgrade their ATMs to accept chipped cards, the wife and I will probably stick to the regular Bangkok Bank Be1st card so we can use it in any Thai ATM...been too many times I've found Bangkok Bank ATMs empty of cash/inop when I needed cash....when that happens I just use another Thai bank ATM since my non-chipped Bangkok Bank debit card will also work in those ATMs.

[craigt3365]

Yes, that is it! Sounds good in terms of security, and very good for travel to europe. But not so good when you away from larger towns!

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[forgetit]

If you do get a card, be careful getting one with the embded chip. We just got one and have been traveling around S.Thailand. Few machines accept these cards. We had to use my US card several times till we coild find an acceptable machine.

This is more a problem of the Issuing bank requiring Pin&Chip for the transaction.

I never had any problems using my Pin&Chip card in ATM`s in Thailand, the Philippines or Malaysia.

As far as I have understood if an online connection is available the issuing bank everytime requests the required form of authorization. This can vary from Pin&Chip to just the swipe of the card. this is done by evaluating possible fraud and will take pretty much everything into account: Amount, type of merchant (shop, atm, online shop, etc. pp.), your using behaviour (A sudden request to buy a scooter for 100.000 Baht in Thailand is odd when you normally only pick-up 20 euros per week in Europe.). And pretty much everything else they know.

[bina]

hey folks... wooooooooow....

i havent a clue about half the stuff u guys are talking about....

(still third world here i guess).

also not enough money to even open a bank account. havent a clue what an embedded chip is...

just want a debit card thats already filled that we can swipe (most likely in larger stores) to pay for stuff just in case; the rest is cash..

most of the places i will be in wont take anything but baht cash... just need something for emergencies. is there some kind of debit card that u just go in, buy the card, fill it and go? and if u need to top it off u can again? (Not from a bank account but from cash?) .. we have that in our post offices here, its for kids and travelling students (and foreign workers who want to buy stuff from the internet and dont ahve credit/debit cards)...

but thank for the info, opens my eyes to new things (as i comb straw from my bannork style hair cut)...

[Pib]

Prepaid cards in Thailand seem to have a very limited offering from Thai banks & financial companies...probably because it just too easy for a Thai to open a bank account...Thai banks don't do credit checks to open accounts or have monthly maintenance fees...the only opening requirements is being able to make a 500 baht opening deposit and have a Thai ID card. But I realize for a farang it can sometimes be harder to open a Thai bank account as I discuss a little later on.

I just took a look at Bangkok Bank and K-Bank websites which are two of the largest banks in Thailand and probably the most used by farangs and saw that only Bangkok Bank offered a prepaid card and it was only good for buying products for Shell fuel stations. And I didn't see any on the AEON website...they just offered credit cards since they are a financial company in business to loan money and issue credit cards.

If you can, just open a Thai bank account which will come with a debit card (if you want it)...of course opening a Thai bank account can be a challenge in itself sometimes unless having a work permit or on long term visa...but you see many people only on 15-30 day permits to stay end up opening Thai bank accounts. Then put x-amount in the bank account...if you put 5000 baht in the account then you can use the debit card to buy/withdraw up to 5000 baht, put 20,000 baht and buy/withdraw up to 20,000 etc...etc...etc. How much you have in your bank account (which you control) will determine how much you can use your debit card.

But if going to leave the Thai bank account dormant for more than a year, be sure to leave at least 2,000 baht in it otherwise most Thai banks will start charging a monthly maintenance fee of 50 baht/month when an account of less that 2,000 baht shows no user activity for over 12 months...after that 50 baht/month drains your account balance to zero the account will be closed.

Plus prepaid cards almost always come with withdrawal fees per use, foreign transaction fees, maybe even fees to add money, etc....a regular debit card associated with a bank account is almost always better than a prepaid card.

Yea, prepard debit countries seem to vary a lot from country to country....and from your first post it seems in Israel prepard cards are not widely offered either. Hopefully some other folks will identify some prepard cards easy for any nationality to get and are low in fees. Cheers.

[pault17]

Debit cards that come with a local bank account may not be a secure option. I only have experience with Kasiklorn but I suspect other banks do not operate differently.

Once the cashier swipes you debit card and enters the amount it is immediately deducted from your account, even before you signed the slip.

Not a real problem, except if your card was stolen, because the thief can take as much as he want. A sure way of limiting your eventual losses is to have only on your account the amount you a prepared to lose.

[Pib]

In Thailand 99.9% of the time checkout clerks do not verify the card against an ID, regardless of what debit or credit card from whatever country you hand them...whether it's a regular or prepared debit/credit card. Maybe they are suppose to but almost always they do not. The wife and I use our credit/debit cards almost daily in Thailand and to the best of my memory only once for me and once for the wife did a checkout clerk ask to see ID. Yeap, when it comes to verifying cards against an ID in Thailand it's practically non-existent. So yea, don't lose your debit/credit card in Thailand because it's basically the same as losing cash....if a bad guy finds your card he/she will most likely go a fast-and-furious spending spree until you notice you have lost the card and can get the card cancelled.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Pib

[bina]

ah... thanx for the detailed answers.

we had a thai account (hubby's ) but after five years it did indeed close due to not putting in funds. and it wasted a day to stand in line and sign paperwork,

i guess i ll take the prepaid one here from the israeli postal service office (its a mail office bank account meaning its for people that either are foriegners adn have no real monthly salary or are poor and need a place to basically store their money w/o any conditons (no real interest, no ability to borrow money, pay a reagular fee every month for maintainng the account and thats about it, but then can get a sort of credit card thats similar to american debit cards)...

hopefully this card can be used at least in major cities and major places like airports/hospitasl etc..

(at least a few israelis w/ thai wives recommended this to me so i guess its most suitable).

our system here is similar to thailand's system. no one checks id for anything swiped. if u have a computerized register, then the computer checks the card. if not, too bad for the store owner. hubby uses cash only. even here. as do many people. here if u pay in cash its cheaper, easier to argue about prices (bargain) , people dont trust other methods of payment. seems to be oppostie of people like my parents n the states who seem to have forgotten how paper money looks like.

hmm i wonder if there is an atm now in hubby's village. definately dont want to use one but curius all the same how much his village ahs changed to catch up to cities

[Pib]

There at about a zillion ATMs in Thailand whether you are in the city or jungle...hard to walk too far without bumping into one or several. Thais do most of their buying in cash also but they usually get their cash from ATMs. Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards are accepted by most merchants although some merchants will want to charge you an extra few percent if you want to pay with a foreign card. Now when I say merchants I mean the medium to large stores...many of the little mom and pop merchants only deal in cash. Cash is still king in Thailand although use of credit/debit cards for purchases is growing fast.

[timber]

Not all debit cards are the same in Thailand. Have to check on how it can be used on the internet.

Can't use some debit cards for Paypal or bookings. If using for traveling outside Thailand, make sure

it is an international validated card. Usual a VISA or Mastercard Stamp.

[bina]

hi, htanx.

as far as i know, there is not a single atm in baan khok soon; there is only one paved road and no real electric either. all internet is sattelite if at all except at the school although five years maybe things have changed. but somehow i doubt it.

so its all cash, just want for when /if we are in a larger town (seong saeng for instance) or for emergencies. im going for the pre filled visa for overseas card through our postal bank office- they do protect if the card is stolen and reported within 24 hours although they dont return money. its always a risk... its used in israel, apparently can be used in thailand (enough israelis travel there to know) and will serve its purpose if needed to , indeed, rebook or something over the internet. hubby's travel arrngments are wiht an agent, mine are on line cause im a bit more savvy to internet stuff...

thank you all for the replies

we dont have that much in the way of money so more then that is not needed (bank account).

seems we are catching up to the real world also finally