Withdrawal from inside bank branch

[carlpipe]

If I wanted 100,000 from an international card can a Thai bank handle this transaction inside the branch immediately?

(i.e. instead of doing 5 x 20,000 on the ATM or waiting 24-48 hours for international transfer)

[PREM-R]

If your bank/card provider allows that amount for a single transaction per day then there should be no problem, you will need to provide your passport as ID. The banks in Thailand seem to refer to these transactions as 'advances' even when the card used is a debit card and the money is paid out directly from your home country account. All depends on your home bank account limits.

[carlpipe]

Ok thanks! I have increased my limit from the home bank

Do you know if the same exchange rates normally apply? I mean, if I use an ATM I always press continue with conversion as my home bank gives a better rate to what is displayed on screen

I wonder if inside the branch I will get that option??

[MAZ3]

Ok thanks! I have increased my limit from the home bank

Do you know if the same exchange rates normally apply? I mean, if I use an ATM I always press continue with conversion as my home bank gives a better rate to what is displayed on screen

I wonder if inside the branch I will get that option??

Be careful,I withdrew inside at K Bank(Maya CNX)and they only gave me their exchange rate,NOT the MasterCard rate I usually get at the ATM.

A bit sneaky,luckily it was only for 20,000 and not more. Just ask them first which rate they will give you.

[carlpipe]

Ok thanks! I have increased my limit from the home bank

Do you know if the same exchange rates normally apply? I mean, if I use an ATM I always press continue with conversion as my home bank gives a better rate to what is displayed on screen

I wonder if inside the branch I will get that option??

Be careful,I withdrew inside at K Bank(Maya CNX)and they only gave me their exchange rate,NOT the MasterCard rate I usually get at the ATM.

A bit sneaky,luckily it was only for 20,000 and not more. Just ask them first which rate they will give you.

Do you mean that when we press Continue without Conversion we get a Mastercard rate, not our home bank rate?

Does this mean there is a Thai Bank rate at the ATM, a Mastercard rate and a Home Bank Rate?

[Pib]

Banks can easily handle a Bt100K counter withdrawal. Just be sure your card allows that much per transaction/day or the transaction will reject as "over limit." You will get the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate unless your bank attempts a DCC transactions which will be several percent lower. Say no to DCC. I do a counter withdrawal about once a month at a Bangkok Bank branch (they never attempt a DCC transaction) for around Bt60 to Bt64K (approx $2,000) since my no foreign transaction fee Visa card has a $2,000 transaction limit per transaction/daily. I get the full Visa exchange rate exactly.

The first time I did a counter withdrawal I asked for Bt100K...they attempted the transaction and it rejected as Over Limit....I then said try Bt60K and that went through. I then found out from my home country bank what my daily limit was and that's when I found out it was $2,000 per transaction/day....even since then I check the Visa exchange rate before going to the bank to determine how many baht I can for a little less than $2,000 and then do that transaction amount. Like today I did one for Bt63K withdrawal which based on the Visa exchange rate of Bt32.39286/USD equals $1944.87. I actually always do a combo transaction...get the money using the card and have it deposited into my Bangkok Bank account.....no money ever touches my hands...just takes a few minutes at the teller.

[Pib]

Ok thanks! I have increased my limit from the home bank

Do you know if the same exchange rates normally apply? I mean, if I use an ATM I always press continue with conversion as my home bank gives a better rate to what is displayed on screen

I wonder if inside the branch I will get that option??

Be careful,I withdrew inside at K Bank(Maya CNX)and they only gave me their exchange rate,NOT the MasterCard rate I usually get at the ATM.

A bit sneaky,luckily it was only for 20,000 and not more. Just ask them first which rate they will give you.

Do you mean that when we press Continue without Conversion we get a Mastercard rate, not our home bank rate?

Does this mean there is a Thai Bank rate at the ATM, a Mastercard rate and a Home Bank Rate?

You will get the Mastercard rate as long as you don't accept the ATM's DCC transaction offer. Your "home bank" does not do the conversion; the Mastercard/Visa network accomplishes the conversion. Now if your card has a foreign transaction fee your home bank will tack on that fee effectively lowering the exchange rate...but don't blame Mastercard/Visa for that---blame your home country bank.

I can't speak to what warm & fuzzy name or vague wording the bank ATM may give regarding DCC (i.e., accepting it's exchange rate which will be several percent lower than Mastercard/Visa rate). Seems they intentionally make the wording vague in trying to trick you into accepting their DCC rate which they probably will not call a DCC rate.

[carlpipe]

WOW Thanks so much for the great info - you must have banking experience or have really done your research, cheers!!

Current rate to AU according to XE.com today is 28.7442 so AU has gone down a bit recently.

I have two cards each with a $2000 limit so can easily get 50,000 from each (should be around $1740 + fees).

I assume the Thai bank charges the 180 baht fee in the branch same as an ATM?

Also, I think I saw 30,000 max on a TMB ATM once - have you come across any other ATsS that allow higher, even up to 50,000?

Normally I either do international transfer or 20k from ATM and thought it's time to investigate alternatives.

Cheers again for your help

[MAZ3]

Ok thanks! I have increased my limit from the home bank

Do you know if the same exchange rates normally apply? I mean, if I use an ATM I always press continue with conversion as my home bank gives a better rate to what is displayed on screen

I wonder if inside the branch I will get that option??

Be careful,I withdrew inside at K Bank(Maya CNX)and they only gave me their exchange rate,NOT the MasterCard rate I usually get at the ATM.

A bit sneaky,luckily it was only for 20,000 and not more. Just ask them first which rate they will give you.

Do you mean that when we press Continue without Conversion we get a Mastercard rate, not our home bank rate?

Does this mean there is a Thai Bank rate at the ATM, a Mastercard rate and a Home Bank Rate?

I meant inside the Bank, I.E a withdrawal over the counter,not via an ATM.(it wasn't to save the 150/180 fee,but because I was transferring money to a friends account and needed extra funds)

But they used they advertised rate inside the K Bank,instead of using the MasterCard or Visa exchange rate. I assumed they would use the card rate on the day,not their own lower rate.

Edited October 30, 2014 by MAZ3

[forgetit]

The card rate will be applied on the day of settlement in your account. This can and usually is not the day that you do the transaction. Another point: your bank might apply either a fix fee for the FX transaction or a spread in percentage for the exchange rate published by mastercard. You need to check the terms of use of your bank account and the published fees by your bank.

To give you an example: http://www.ulsterbank.ie/documents/roi/Guide_to_Personal_Account_Fees_and_Interest.pdf are the published fees by my bank. Scroll down to page 24. If i use my card in a bank or exchange that displays the visa logo there is no additional charge. for use at an ATM i pay 3%. minimum 3 euros and maximum of 12 euros. Therefore I use the card inside a bank or at one of the exchange booths and save the money. I assume they give the discount as you will have to use a form of identify within these offices.

Edited October 30, 2014 by forgetit

[Pib]

WOW Thanks so much for the great info - you must have banking experience or have really done your research, cheers!!

Current rate to AU according to XE.com today is 28.7442 so AU has gone down a bit recently.

I have two cards each with a $2000 limit so can easily get 50,000 from each (should be around $1740 + fees).

I assume the Thai bank charges the 180 baht fee in the branch same as an ATM?

Also, I think I saw 30,000 max on a TMB ATM once - have you come across any other ATsS that allow higher, even up to 50,000?

Normally I either do international transfer or 20k from ATM and thought it's time to investigate alternatives.

Cheers again for your help

Disregard any rate reference to forex sites like xe.com as that is not the rate given by card networks or banks. Forex site rates are the mid-rate of all buy and sell transactions at the wholesale rate/banks/financial companies--that is, really big money. The rates given by banks/card networks is less than that so those banks/networks can make their profits. Go to the Visa or Mastercard exchange rate webpages to determine actual rates....the rate you get will depend on when the transaction posts/settles to your account which could be same day or several days latter depending on whether a debit or credit card was used and how fast the settlement actions occur...debit transactions usually occur same day while credit transaction usually take a few days.

As mentioned in other posts, if your card charges a foreign transaction fee that is your "card-issuing bank" applying that fee; not Visa/Mastercard. Well, actually Visa/Mastercard do apply a 0.15 to 1% currency conversion fee depending on the contract theyt have with your bank which they pass to your bank....and then it's up to your bank whether they absorb that fee or pass it along to you...and/or add-on/up the fee. For cards that have a 1% foreign transaction fee your bank is pretty much just passing along that Visa/Mastercard fee to you versus absorbing it...and if its higher than 1% then the bank is adding on a fee/salt to the wound...not uncommon to see banks which apply a 3% foreign transaction fee which is basically the 0.15 to 1% card network fee being passed to you and the remaining 2.85% to 2% pure bank profit. And some really greedy banks also add on a flat fee of a couple of dollars/euros/pounds/etc., on top of the percentage fee. A true no foreign transaction fee debit/credit card absorbs the card network fee and does not add-on. I have several U.S. debit and credit cards which are true no foreign transaction fee cards which I use all the time in Thailand...and one of the credit cards does not even charge a "cash advance" fee if using the credit card to get cash....usually credit card cash advance fees are 3% on top of any foreign transaction fee. Banks sure like that 3% fee number.

But to your basic question, will the bank charge a Bt150-180 fee for a teller withdrawal compared to an ATM withdrawal? No, they will not charge that Bt150-180 fee for a counter withdrawal.

Now, you will find some bank branches will not accomplish a counter withdrawal for a debit card but will for a credit card...for the debit card they'll just point you to their ATM. And you will find some branches which will not do a debit card withdrawal for an amount equal to or less than the amount you can get out of their ATM in one transaction. Say, the ATM will give up to Bt30K (like TMB and Krungsri ATMs), well, if you asked for Bt30K or less they may just point you to their ATMs...but ask for over Bt30K and they'll do the transaction (be sure your card-issuing bank allows that much per day/transaction). At the bank branch I use for counter withdrawals they will not accept debit cards but gladly accept credit cards for a counter withdrawal....but I have a no foreign transaction fee and no cash advance credit card and pay off the cash advance same day to avoid any interest charges...therefore I get my money absolutely fee-free. In other threads on debit/credit card counter withdrawals which increased after AEON ATMs started charging a Bt150 foreign card fee around Feb 14 you will see there is little standardization among Thai banks/branches as to if and how they will do a counter withdrawal not to imply that most won't do a counter withdrawal...it's just it may be debit/credit card and "how much you want" dependent. Good luck.

Edit: oh yea, I almost forgot...the mini-branches like commonly seen in malls consisting of just a couple bank tellers probably won't do/don't have the capability to do a card counter withdrawal...they will tell you that you must go to a full service branch which are sometimes in malls but usually standalone bank building away from a mall.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Pib

[carlpipe]

Thank you so much MAZ3, Pib and Forgetit!!

I hope this information is of use to other readers also

[carlpipe]

My only other comment here would be in relation to comparisons between an international netbank transfers to an atm withdrawal.

I have often heard people say using atms is a fools game, although considering the rate issue it may not always be.

e.g.

If I take 20,000 from an ATM my home back (Commonwealth Australia) takes $5 + 3% and the ATM takes 180 baht.

The alternative is to pay Commbank $22 for international transfer.

Because of the rate difference, according to todays rates, the first option is about $739 all up to get 20,000 while the second option is $777 and takes 24 hours too.

Considering this rate issue, it seems using ATMs may not always be a "mugs game" as others suggest

Unless of course there is some way to get the Commbank to give me the Mastercard rate (which they said on the phone isn't possible through netbank)

[forgetit]

If you send money via SWIFT you have two options. You either send the money in your home currency or you will let you bank do the exchange and they send Thai Baht.

So far I found that the Thaibank always gives me a better rate. Mastercards rate (https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/) for the 30/10/2014 was 40.547783 Baht for a Euro. This would be the rate applicable if the payment was finally settled into your account on 30/10/2014 (it does not mean that you have used the ATM on the same date) and it does not include any fees from your bank.

Lets say you had transferred 2 days before money to a Bangkok bank account. And it had been received same day (30/10/2014 in the morning but after 8.30) in you account. Bangkok bank (http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/webservices/rates/pages/fx_rates.aspx) would have given you a rate of 40.83500 per Euro. Excluding any fees from Bangkok Bank.

You might now think that you do not know how long a SWIFT transfer takes and also what exchange rate you will have as this is in the future. So far correct. But as explained before.

If you use your mastercard today:

1. you do not know todays mastercard rate.

2. most importantly today will not be the settlement in your account. Yes funds might have been reserved. But is it only settled in you account once it is completely posted.

In the above link Mastercard states:

The settlement date is therefore typically different from the date of the actual transaction. MasterCard does not provide the exchange rate when purchases are converted from the local currency by the merchant to the cardholder's currency at the point of sale.

[Pib]

My only other comment here would be in relation to comparisons between an international netbank transfers to an atm withdrawal.

I have often heard people say using atms is a fools game, although considering the rate issue it may not always be.

e.g.

If I take 20,000 from an ATM my home back (Commonwealth Australia) takes $5 + 3% and the ATM takes 180 baht.

The alternative is to pay Commbank $22 for international transfer.

Because of the rate difference, according to todays rates, the first option is about $739 all up to get 20,000 while the second option is $777 and takes 24 hours too.

Considering this rate issue, it seems using ATMs may not always be a "mugs game" as others suggest

Unless of course there is some way to get the Commbank to give me the Mastercard rate (which they said on the phone isn't possible through netbank)

Don't know if you included the Thai bank currency receipt/conversion fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) in your Commbank $22 option above; if not, that's about another $7 to add on.

Whether a wire transfer or ATM withdrawal provides the best deal for an individual is going to vary from individual to individual since folks use different banks and cards. For me since I have several no foreign transaction fee Visa debit cards which also reimburse ATM fees....and since the Visa exchange rate is usually plus or minus a few stang the Thai bank TT Buying Rate the exchange rate is pretty much a non-player. Like today, the Thai bank average TT Buying rate is 32.42 baht/USD....the Visa exchange rate is 32.49 baht/USD. Today the Visa rate is a little better than the TT Buying Rate...on another day in may be a little worse.

And since I get reimbursed the Bt150-180 ATM fee and I don't have the fees associated with a wire/SWIFT/ACH transfer, then the ATM method wins hands down. Plus I have the money immediately in-hand vs waiting a day, two or three for the wire transfer to post to my account. But if I need big money fast, like say $10,000 I would be doing a wire transfer versus since it would take me 10 days and 10 transactions using one of my debit cards with a $1,000 daily transaction limit. For me, it's been a long time since I've had to do a wire transfer, probably around 3 years, maybe 4, since I have these multiple no foreign transaction fee debit cards. And another key player in terms of greatly reducing my need to get money from the home country is using my no foreign transaction fee credit cards for many of my day-to-day purchases....groceries, fuel, misc, hospital/doctor, etc. And since my credit cards pay 1.5% cash back it actually cost me more money to use cash.

If a person can get the right debit and credit cards you can pretty much put wire transfers in the Plan B/Emergency Use category...break glass and use only when needed....that is, Plan A use of no foreign transaction fee debit/credit cards is no longer available.