Cheapest ATM transaction fee

[DanceAllNight]

Well, I must bite the bullet and use my debit card to withdraw some cash.

I have done it a few times, but cannot remember paying less than 120b for transaction fee.

I am looking to find a bank with the cheapest fee or free if possible.

I heard the black and orange bank is cheap (cannot remember name)

I tried some banks on suhkumvit and some were charging 180.

Just want the cheapest option.

[MilesofSmiles]

I think they're all 180 now. Would love to be wrong about this though.

[mogandave]

Are there any US atm cards without international transaction fees?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Are there any US atm cards without international transaction fees?

Quite a few... Schwab Bank/Brokerage, State Farm Bank, Fidelity brokerage, and Service Credit Union with their Service Plus Checking account and a required monthly payroll direct deposit.

BTW, there really are two different issues there:

1. accounts that don't charge any foreign currency transaction fee, meaning no 1-3% add on for ATM withdrawals or POS purchases outside the U.S.

2. accounts that also reimburse the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee that all or virtually all Thai banks are charging these days.

All the accounts I listed above have both features, no foreign currency fee and foreign ATM fee reimbursements.

There are a wider range of accounts that don't charge any foreign transaction fees only, but then DO NOT reimburse foreign ATM fees. I prefer those accounts that have both benefits.

Edited March 19, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[DanceAllNight]

By the way, is Aeon or Thanachart Bank better to withdraw from (transaction fees aside)?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

By the way, is Aeon or Thanachart Bank better to withdraw from (transaction fees aside)?

When doing a foreign (non-Thai) card ATM withdrawal, in most cases (there are a few exceptions that I don't think pertain to AEON or Thanachart), the only fees being charged by the Thai bank are their flat ATM withdrawal fee, which is usually 180 baht per withdrawal.

AEON was charging the old rate of 150 baht last time I checked which was pretty long ago, so I'm not sure whether or not they have increased to 180 baht or not off the top of my head. The downside of AEON, though, is regardless of the flat fee, their ATM machines are limited to only 20,000 baht per withdrawal, which is a lower amount than most Thai banks, where you can usually get 25K to 30K per withdrawal.

Apart from the Thai bank ATM fees, it's the home country banks (VISA/MC networks) that charge what you'd call foreign transaction fees, 1-3% of whatever money you withdraw or spend via POS purchases. Some U.S. banks also charge both a flat withdrawal fee for foreign transactions and then the percentage amount as well.

Those amounts, if charged, are going to vary depending on what home country bank bank issued your debit card and the terms of that particular account. But whatever your home country bank charges, their fees are pretty much going to be the same regardless of what Thai ATM you use.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

All Thai banks these days charge the ATM withdrawal fee on foreign debit/ATM cards.

For a American, the only real way to avoid those these days is to:

1. use a home country bank account that charges no foreign transaction fee and reimburses the ATM withdrawal fee charged by the Thai bank.

or

2. instead of using the ATM machine, attempt to do what's called a counter withdrawal with your debit card at the bank teller's window. You hand them your debit card and tell them you want to make a withdrawal against that card. Some Thai banks will do that, some/many will refuse and tell you to use their ATMs instead. If you find one that will do a counter withdrawal using your debit card, there's no Thai bank fee for that transaction. But they will require you to produce your passport in order to do the transaction.

There seem to be more Thai banks that will do counter withdrawals against a CREDIT card vs. a debit card. But, the downside of that is, there are very FEW U.S. credit cards that don't have quite expensive cash advance fees (usually flat amount plus percentage of the amount withdrawn). And the credit cards carried by most Americans do have those expensive cash advance fees that makes using that approach un-economical. Pentagon Federal Credit Union and their credit cards is one of the few U.S. institutions that offers no cash advance fee credit cards as well as cards with no foreign currency fee.

PS - BTW, if someone has to pay the 180 baht Thai bank withdrawal fee because their home country accounts don't reimburse those fees and they dont have the time or ability to open a new account, obviously, you want to potentially withdraw the largest amount possible for each 180 baht flat fee withdrawal. In that regard, the ATMs belonging to Bank of Ayudhya (yellow), Thai Military Bank (blue) and CIMB (red) will dispense up to 30,000 baht per withdrawal. Most Thai banks seem to offer around 25,000 per, and I don't believe any will dispense any larger than 30,000 per.

Edited March 19, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[loppylugs1]

Debit with passport Some banks will,different branches make their own rules up

[loppylugs1]

Debit with passport Some banks will,different branches make their own rules up

[MrWorldwide]

Non-KT ATMs are hitting my for 10 baht but I used to get free withdrawals from CITI ATMs in BKK. 180 baht is currently over 7 Australian dollars - an absolute ripoff, but still a pittance compared to the 'Overseas Transaction Fee' CBA charged me every time I dared to use my ATM card here. Coming here with the CITI card and then getting a Krung Thai account were the best things I've ever done in terms of banking - its a shame so many bank managers cant be bothered doing the paperwork for foreigners any more.

[mogandave]

Are there any US atm cards without international transaction fees?

Quite a few... Schwab Bank/Brokerage, State Farm Bank, Fidelity brokerage, and Service Credit Union with their Service Plus Checking account and a required monthly payroll direct deposit.

BTW, there really are two different issues there:

1. accounts that don't charge any foreign currency transaction fee, meaning no 1-3% add on for ATM withdrawals or POS purchases outside the U.S.

2. accounts that also reimburse the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee that all or virtually all Thai banks are charging these days.

All the accounts I listed above have both features, no foreign currency fee and foreign ATM fee reimbursements.

There are a wider range of accounts that don't charge any foreign transaction fees only, but then DO NOT reimburse foreign ATM fees. I prefer those accounts that have both benefits.

Fidelity will work for me.

Do I have to file to get the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee reimbursed?

[Langsuan Man]

Are there any US atm cards without international transaction fees?

Quite a few... Schwab Bank/Brokerage, State Farm Bank, Fidelity brokerage, and Service Credit Union with their Service Plus Checking account and a required monthly payroll direct deposit.

BTW, there really are two different issues there:

1. accounts that don't charge any foreign currency transaction fee, meaning no 1-3% add on for ATM withdrawals or POS purchases outside the U.S.

2. accounts that also reimburse the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee that all or virtually all Thai banks are charging these days.

All the accounts I listed above have both features, no foreign currency fee and foreign ATM fee reimbursements.

There are a wider range of accounts that don't charge any foreign transaction fees only, but then DO NOT reimburse foreign ATM fees. I prefer those accounts that have both benefits.

Fidelity will work for me.

Do I have to file to get the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee reimbursed?

Fidelity has certain restrictions on the number of re-imbursed Foreign ATM fees that they will pay for, unless you are a Fidelity Premium Services customer then the amount is unlimited. No notification is needed, it will automatically be reimbursed at the time of withdrawal

[mogandave]

Are there any US atm cards without international transaction fees?

Quite a few... Schwab Bank/Brokerage, State Farm Bank, Fidelity brokerage, and Service Credit Union with their Service Plus Checking account and a required monthly payroll direct deposit.

BTW, there really are two different issues there:

1. accounts that don't charge any foreign currency transaction fee, meaning no 1-3% add on for ATM withdrawals or POS purchases outside the U.S.

2. accounts that also reimburse the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee that all or virtually all Thai banks are charging these days.

All the accounts I listed above have both features, no foreign currency fee and foreign ATM fee reimbursements.

There are a wider range of accounts that don't charge any foreign transaction fees only, but then DO NOT reimburse foreign ATM fees. I prefer those accounts that have both benefits.

Fidelity will work for me.

Do I have to file to get the 180 baht ATM withdrawal fee reimbursed?

Fidelity has certain restrictions on the number of re-imbursed Foreign ATM fees that they will pay for, unless you are a Fidelity Premium Services customer then the amount is unlimited. No notification is needed, it will automatically be reimbursed at the time of withdrawal

Fidelity.png

Thanks, I have my Roth & 401K with Fidelity so I should. I would only need it once or twice a month. I assume it would work in India and UAE the same way, yes?

Assuming that was a 30K withdrawal that looked like a nice rate.

[KhunBENQ]

2. instead of using the ATM machine, attempt to do what's called a counter withdrawal with your debit card at the bank teller's window. You hand them your debit card and tell them you want to make a withdrawal against that card. Some Thai banks will do that, some/many will refuse and tell you to use their ATMs instead. If you find one that will do a counter withdrawal using your debit card, there's no Thai bank fee for that transaction. But they will require you to produce your passport in order to do the transaction.

Good advice. This "go to the counter" method which is advertised over and over is a naive miscalculation.

As @TallGuyJohninBKK in post #4 wrote: the key to cheap cash supply is having the right home bank/card.

Similar applies not only to the US but to other countries too,

As far as I know: no more Thai bank with foreign card fees. AEON is out since they introduced fees AND limited withdrawl to 20000.

[samsensam]

get your finances organised and you wont have to use an ATM and therefore not pay any fee.

i haven't used an ATM here for 10 years.

[CharlieH]

Wrong forum

MOVED

[mogandave]

get your finances organised and you wont have to use an ATM and therefore not pay any fee.

i haven't used an ATM here for 10 years.

How do you get cash?

I haven't paid a fee in years, but I use the card a few times a month.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Charles Schwab is generally considered the cream of the crop for the no fee-fee reimbursing accounts.

They require you to open a brokerage account in order to have their checking account. But, you don't actually have to use or fund the brokerage account, unless you want to. There are no minimum balance requirements or maintenance fees associated with the accounts. And you can continue using the checking account and no fee VISA debit card regardless.

For Schwab U.S. accounts, you best have a U.S. residence address to use as your address of record when you apply online, and also be using a U.S. IP address on your computer when you apply online, and also preferably whenever you're logging in online with them.

Apparently their online application process will recognize if the application is coming from a non-U.S. IP, and change the application to a non-U.S. account which has different benefits/features.

Also, once the account is open, their online banking fraud system tends to target foreign IP address log-ins as suspicious, and can sometimes result in online access to the account being temporarily frozen. Using a U.S. IP address avoids all that. As does, once your account is open, using a Schwab provided keychain "security token" that provides a random 6 digit security code that you have to add onto the end of your password at each log-in. When the token is used, apparently, that relaxes their online fraud detection system.

But, using a U.S. IP address on an ongoing basis for any and all U.S. banking transactions is still a smart move in any case, all the time. With online and banking fraud growing rapidly, naturally, U.S. institutions automated fraud prevention systems tend to be suspicious when a U.S. account holder suddenly is having account log-ins from exotic, somewhat shady places halfway around the globe.

Edited March 20, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[NancyL]

Well, one way to "get your finances organized" is to open a Thai bank account, specifically Bangkok Bank for Americans and do ACH transfers on-line from your U.S. bank account via an inter-bank transfer with the routing number for Bangkok Bank NYC and your local Bangkok Bank account number.

Then you can move larger sums, at a better exchange rate and very quickly. Maybe not as quickly as an ATM withdrawal, but I seem to recall seeing the money show up in my Bangkok Bank account within 24 hours or less of making an on-line transfer.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, one way to "get your finances organized" is to open a Thai bank account, specifically Bangkok Bank for Americans and do ACH transfers on-line from your U.S. bank account via an inter-bank transfer with the routing number for Bangkok Bank NYC and your local Bangkok Bank account number.

Then you can move larger sums, at a better exchange rate and very quickly. Maybe not as quickly as an ATM withdrawal, but I seem to recall seeing the money show up in my Bangkok Bank account within 24 hours or less of making an on-line transfer.

BKK Bank New York is indeed the best US to Thailand funds transfer option available, best being most economical.

However, it's not cheaper than using a no foreign currency fee/Thai bank fee reimbursing VISA debit card for Thai bank ATM withdrawals.

The nominal exchange rates normally should be approximately the same for the BKK Bank route vs. the VISA network rate you'd get with an ATM withdrawal. However, the small handling fees charged by the New York branch (a sliding scale based on the amount sent) and then the commission charged by the receiving BKK Bank branch (0.25%, minimum 200b and maximum 500b) make it a slightly less economical option.

All that changes, however, if the card holder is using a U.S. bank card that doesn't reimburse the Thai ATM 180 baht withdrawal fee and/or charges its own foreign currency transaction fee. But using a no fee card like Schwab VISA (and others similar) is always going to be a more economical approach.

Where BKKB New York has a more clear advantage is being able to xfer/access LARGER amounts. You can transfer pretty much any amount using that method, and the commission fees get relatively smaller as percentages as the amount sent gets larger. But with Thai bank ATM withdrawals, at most, you're limited to 30,000b per transaction. That works for some folks, but isn't enough for others.

And of course, there are lots of folks out there who don't have no fee/fee-reimbursing bank accounts/bank cards, even though they're pretty readily available to those seeking them out. For that matter, there are lots of folks out there who seemingly have no idea what fees their banks may or may not be charging them. So it goes.

Edited March 20, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[rog2015]

Non-KT ATMs are hitting my for 10 baht but I used to get free withdrawals from CITI ATMs in BKK. 180 baht is currently over 7 Australian dollars - an absolute ripoff, but still a pittance compared to the 'Overseas Transaction Fee' CBA charged me every time I dared to use my ATM card here. Coming here with the CITI card and then getting a Krung Thai account were the best things I've ever done in terms of banking - its a shame so many bank managers cant be bothered doing the paperwork for foreigners any more.

MrWorldwide

I understand the benefits of the Citibank Australia ATM card (no fees) but what is the attraction of the Krung Thai account compared to the other Thai banks?

[rijit]

uk users ? i was gonna us a hsbc account set up an xe currency trading account and then transfer it over to my thai account only cost was the xe at 1.4 % under roughly 7000 £

any one know any other cheaper ways ?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[billbenbob]

Rijit I f you have an hsbc account in the UK you can do a swift transfer to your thai account.I transfer 55.000 a month cost £4 this is hsbc fee no charge by thai bank .transfer in sterling and you get the thai bank exchange rate

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

but I used to get free withdrawals from CITI ATMs in BKK. 180 baht is currently over 7 Australian dollars - an absolute ripoff,

Does that mean that CitiBank Thailand ATMs are now charging you the 180 baht withdrawal fee if you were to use your CitiBank Australia card?

As we've discussed before, for as long as I've paid attention to these things, regular U.S. Citibank card holders have been charged the ATM fee by Citibank Thailand ATMs -- unless you have one of the high-end Citibank accounts.

[rijit]

Rijit I f you have an hsbc account in the UK you can do a swift transfer to your thai account.I transfer 55.000 a month cost £4 this is hsbc fee no charge by thai bank .transfer in sterling and you get the thai bank exchange rate

cheers for that sounds pretty good .. out of interest any idea how the thai bank exchange rate set? they do it daily or just at the moment you make the transfer?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Rijit I f you have an hsbc account in the UK you can do a swift transfer to your thai account.I transfer 55.000 a month cost £4 this is hsbc fee no charge by thai bank .transfer in sterling and you get the thai bank exchange rate

If you really looked, I think you'd likely find that pretty much EVERY incoming intl wire transfer to a Thai bank, including those from UK HSBC, is charged a receiving commission, usually 0.25%, minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht. But the Thai banks don't necessarily break out that charge in your online banking... they just deduct it from the proceeds you receive.

[KhunBENQ]

usually 0.25%, minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht

always

And as far as I know its a tax, not a fee that goes to the bank.

Not sure though.

[mogandave]

Apparently, Fidelity charges 1%.

[mogandave]

Well, one way to "get your finances organized" is to open a Thai bank account, specifically Bangkok Bank for Americans and do ACH transfers on-line from your U.S. bank account via an inter-bank transfer with the routing number for Bangkok Bank NYC and your local Bangkok Bank account number.

Then you can move larger sums, at a better exchange rate and very quickly. Maybe not as quickly as an ATM withdrawal, but I seem to recall seeing the money show up in my Bangkok Bank account within 24 hours or less of making an on-line transfer.

BKK Bank New York is indeed the best US to Thailand funds transfer option available, best being most economical.

However, it's not cheaper than using a no foreign currency fee/Thai bank fee reimbursing VISA debit card for Thai bank ATM withdrawals.

The nominal exchange rates normally should be approximately the same for the BKK Bank route vs. the VISA network rate you'd get with an ATM withdrawal. However, the small handling fees charged by the New York branch (a sliding scale based on the amount sent) and then the commission charged by the receiving BKK Bank branch (0.25%, minimum 200b and maximum 500b) make it a slightly less economical option.

All that changes, however, if the card holder is using a U.S. bank card that doesn't reimburse the Thai ATM 180 baht withdrawal fee and/or charges its own foreign currency transaction fee. But using a no fee card like Schwab VISA (and others similar) is always going to be a more economical approach.

Where BKKB New York has a more clear advantage is being able to xfer/access LARGER amounts. You can transfer pretty much any amount using that method, and the commission fees get relatively smaller as percentages as the amount sent gets larger. But with Thai bank ATM withdrawals, at most, you're limited to 30,000b per transaction. That works for some folks, but isn't enough for others.

And of course, there are lots of folks out there who don't have no fee/fee-reimbursing bank accounts/bank cards, even though they're pretty readily available to those seeking them out. For that matter, there are lots of folks out there who seemingly have no idea what fees their banks may or may not be charging them. So it goes.

I have a Thai account, but my problem is not getting money in Thailand, but in other counties when I travel, mostly India & the UAE.

[Pib]

usually 0.25%, minimum 200 baht and maximum 500 baht

always

And as far as I know its a tax, not a fee that goes to the bank.

Not sure though.

It's not a tax; if it was it would probably be identified as a stamp duty fee like travelers cheque cashing fee which use to be Bt30 (the bank's fee) plus Bt3 stamp duty (the govt fee) for a total of Bt33. Then the banks raised their fee to Bt150 while the govt stamp duty stayed at Bt3 for a total of Bt153 per cheque.

Also at this Bank of Thailand webpage you can see the various inward remittance fees charged by many Thai banks...generally it is 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) but some of the banks have different fee amounts but they still seem to generally stay within that Bt200 to Bt500 ballpark in almost all cases...in some cases it's a flat fee like Bt3330, Bt450 or Bt500 depending on the bank....and in some cases no fee is charged if your are a certain type of customer. If it was a govt tax, no one would be exempt. The webpage is in Thai only but Google Translate does a pretty good job in automatically translating to English.