Banking fees to reflect cost of service in move to reduce the use of cash

[lovelomsak]

If Thailand goes cashless,the thugs will have a field day.Abduct a person hold them somewhere take their atm card keep them till they empty their account.It would probably be easy to get password from some one in a hostage position. Donot need to hack anything online just use force.

[AsiaCheese]

Oh - so bank fees will reflect (actual) cost? That's a new one. When transferring funds from my account abroad to Kasikornbank, I need to use their SWIFT number in BKK (because they don't have any local ones), and thus incur the first set of expenses (THB 160 to "send" money upcountry; THB 20 for leased line expenses - guys: leased lines are history since the beginning of this millenium). Next is an exchange rate that's lower for TT transfers than what you can get exchanging cash at a non-bank booth somewhere in the street, and then they slap a 2.5% fee on the entire amount for "expenses". But I understand: that must be to finance the armoured vehicles... Greedy f*çkers.

[Nowisee]

This National e-Payment project is a great idea and if implemented will be even better. But wait, there's more.

In my home country I rarely ever used an ATM or paid with cash with no penalty to me. NO FEE.

Regarding the lower ATM costs they speculate about... I really doubt that they'll ever reverse the fees they're charging now that they have enjoyed the payday.

They say consumers are expected to support the changes, since they are the ultimate beneficiaries, then they say under the current system, senders are charged for transferring money. Under the new scheme, both senders and recipients will shoulder a fee. This is expected to lead to competition among banks to retain customers.

I can see an increased of ATM card fraud... At least in the US, you can not be accountable for the loss. Here, not so sure, but my bet is you are hung out to dry.

SO... I'll be sticking with paying in cash. IF they make it so the sacrifice to value ratio is no longer acceptable...then ???

Is Spain any better at this?

Edited December 8, 2015 by Nowisee

[hansnl]

Competition among banks?

Excuse me, competition among banks?

Nowhere in the world there is any competition among banks.

Pricing agreements are a crime anywhere in the world, but obviously banks are exempt from these laws.

(See the fee for foreign bank cards using ATM's in Thailand)

As such I can only quite a Dutch MP in saying "Banks are legalised criminal institutions and should be treated as such"

[casualbiker]

Oh - so bank fees will reflect (actual) cost? That's a new one. When transferring funds from my account abroad to Kasikornbank, I need to use their SWIFT number in BKK (because they don't have any local ones), and thus incur the first set of expenses (THB 160 to "send" money upcountry; THB 20 for leased line expenses - guys: leased lines are history since the beginning of this millenium). Next is an exchange rate that's lower for TT transfers than what you can get exchanging cash at a non-bank booth somewhere in the street, and then they slap a 2.5% fee on the entire amount for "expenses". But I understand: that must be to finance the armoured vehicles... Greedy f*çkers.

don't transfer money then. Buy an airline ticket and go and get it yourself or use Western Union or PayPal.. No but wait all three are more expensive and more time consuming than a simple bank transfer!

[joebrown]

Well the Thai s have already begun robbing foriegners with a 200 baht ATM fee. That is outrageous amount. More than a western country

It was 150 and rocketed to 200. Is there any end with these people

I worked at a UK bank for many years and can tell you that the 200bht ATM fee for foreign withdrawals in Thailand is EXTORTION. Any bank would be hard pressed to justify a fee of 50bht for the service.

[Brigante7]

In a cashless society, it is easier to implement capital controls.

The whole idea of eliminating cash is very Orwellian.

worse!

100% money (flow), and therefore, complete income tax control.

Eventually it will happen in Thailand. Cashless society, Europe is almost there.

Poor excuses from the banks.

I don't know where you live but in Scotland we are nowhere near a cashless society. Yes many people can and do live a cashless life but many don't, my life is around 90% cash based.

[new2here]

A shop tried to charge me 2% for using my debit card once,claiming it was good because it was less than the 3% credit card charge.

The actual reason comes from the fact that the shop owner needs to pay the company providing the card reader a fee for everything sale they use it on - because who reads the fine print here anyways x)

No they don't. And even if they did that's their cost of doing business. Increase your prices and stop trying to rip people off. Do they add a service fee for what they pay to clean the bathrooms? Telephone bill?

However in that case, I can see how there is a direct and objective way to "assign" those costs to the specific customers who actually used that service.

By contrast, unless you installed or recorded what customers called you (or you called them outbound) or what customers used the restrooms, it's hard to identify what specific customers used that specific service - thus should have a fractional percentage of its costs assigned to their purchase cost.

Therefore, for bathroom and telephone, it has to be spread across all transactions and not any one as you lack a way to identify which to apply it to.

[Jip99]

In a cashless society, it is easier to implement capital controls.

The whole idea of eliminating cash is very Orwellian.

worse!

100% money (flow), and therefore, complete income tax control.

Eventually it will happen in Thailand. Cashless society, Europe is almost there.

Poor excuses from the banks.

I don't know where you live but in Scotland we are nowhere near a cashless society. Yes many people can and do live a cashless life but many don't, my life is around 90% cash based.

...... and Thailand is at least a couple of decades behind Scotland.

[Jip99]

Well the Thai s have already begun robbing foriegners with a 200 baht ATM fee. That is outrageous amount. More than a western country

It was 150 and rocketed to 200. Is there any end with these people

I worked at a UK bank for many years and can tell you that the 200bht ATM fee for foreign withdrawals in Thailand is EXTORTION. Any bank would be hard pressed to justify a fee of 50bht for the service.

It is part of an ar5e-about-face system where electronic transactions are penalised and labour-intensive transactions at a bank counter are not.

You can walk in with your passport and a UK credit card and withdraw 200,000 Baht - no charge (although a couple of branches wised-up and charged the same as a single ATM fee - still out of kilter!).

[casualbiker]

In a cashless society, it is easier to implement capital controls.

The whole idea of eliminating cash is very Orwellian.

worse!

100% money (flow), and therefore, complete income tax control.

Eventually it will happen in Thailand. Cashless society, Europe is almost there.

Poor excuses from the banks.

I don't know where you live but in Scotland we are nowhere near a cashless society. Yes many people can and do live a cashless life but many don't, my life is around 90% cash based.

...... and Thailand is at least a couple of decades behind Scotland.

Are you sure?

[Thian]

Thailand going cashless? And how are they gonna pay on the markets? With creditcards?

They would rather go back in time and pay with chickens and eggs.

[Jip99]

worse!

100% money (flow), and therefore, complete income tax control.

Eventually it will happen in Thailand. Cashless society, Europe is almost there.

Poor excuses from the banks.

I don't know where you live but in Scotland we are nowhere near a cashless society. Yes many people can and do live a cashless life but many don't, my life is around 90% cash based.

...... and Thailand is at least a couple of decades behind Scotland.

Are you sure?

!00%

(with a few exceptions in the backwaters of Scotland - then again, have you been to Roi-et?)

[seajae]

problem is that most shops want you to pay in cash and do not have card facilities, would much rather ise a card than carry bulk notes to satisfy all the shops. Cash is easier for shops/workers to hide and avoid tax plus the thai banks do not take any responsibility if your card details are stolen and your account emptied so its going to remain a cash society for some time yet. Whats stupid is seeing thai pay millions of baht for a purchase of land/house in cash as they will not accept bank cheques etc.

[Jip99]

Oh - so bank fees will reflect (actual) cost? That's a new one. When transferring funds from my account abroad to Kasikornbank, I need to use their SWIFT number in BKK (because they don't have any local ones), and thus incur the first set of expenses (THB 160 to "send" money upcountry; THB 20 for leased line expenses - guys: leased lines are history since the beginning of this millenium). Next is an exchange rate that's lower for TT transfers than what you can get exchanging cash at a non-bank booth somewhere in the street, and then they slap a 2.5% fee on the entire amount for "expenses". But I understand: that must be to finance the armoured vehicles... Greedy f*çkers.

2.5% fee ?

That is a bit of a fairy story isn't it ?

Are you sure you know what you are talking about?

[steve73]

Many governments are trying to get to a cashless society, so that they can institute negative interest rates, (and thus earn profits on all their debts)..!

[HappyinNE]

In a cashless society, it is easier to implement capital controls.

The whole idea of eliminating cash is very Orwellian.

worse!

100% money (flow), and therefore, complete income tax control.

Eventually it will happen in Thailand. Cashless society, Europe is almost there.

Poor excuses from the banks.

[elgordo38]

In a cashless society, it is easier to implement capital controls.

The whole idea of eliminating cash is very Orwellian.

Yes all governments are "herding" you into a cashless society with the help of smart phones apple watches that scan and charge. This would eliminate the black market in services (about 25% or more of the economy today), counterfeiting, cost of printing paper money/coins and the list goes on and on. They could also track and trace your every move and what you do with the cash you worked so hard for. They could also then go to negative interest rates so that their big business buddies could borrow unlimited amounts of your cash and you would pay them for this. Anyone that thinks a cashless society is to help them well think again. Soon your smart TV's, smartphones, frigs, will be keeping the government up to date on all your habits and activities. Big Brother is really going to watch you.

[elgordo38]

Well the Thai s have already begun robbing foriegners with a 200 baht ATM fee. That is outrageous amount. More than a western country

It was 150 and rocketed to 200. Is there any end with these people

"Consumers are expected to support the changes, since they are the ultimate beneficiaries."

Ha ha very funny. Nothing the government ever does benefits you.

[elgordo38]

This is a world wide movement to track people by their electronic money usage. The Central Banks, governments and UN are salivating at the control created when cash is eliminated.

Welcome the the new world order.

Governments around the world are working towards a universal currency. Ecurrency.

[KhunBENQ]

A lot of discussion about foreign credit/ATM cards and the annoying ever rising fees.

This is NOT about foreign cards, not about credit cards at all.

Its about cash payment, cash withdrawals with Thai cards from ATMs, transfer fees in Thailand escpecially paper based at the counter etc. pp.

Not really surprising. The same trend as in western countries.

Cashless Thailand: sure not from one day to the other.

But: you don't need a credit card to pay, a simple "ATM" debit card does the job which you get for a savings (no credit) account.

Rural Thailand:

the times of long queues at the bank counters for cash withdrawals with bank book and ID card are long gone.

The queues nowadays are at the ATMs and in the banks for transfers (using paper slips! for a ridiculously low fee).

Most of the households I know have at least one account and ATM card (be it at GSB or BACC (agricultural cooperative bank)).

As far as I know there is not even cash handouts for agricultural subsidies anymore, but money is transferred to account (maybe always has to be BACC or GSB account)?

Indeed many rural customers are not aware of the simplest methods like self-service transferring money at the ATM, withdrawing cash at any bank ATM for free (not only your bank, four times a month in same region). They will only learn if cost for old fashioned paper slips is raised.

I will cling to cash from the ATM for free as long as possible, but in the end I am prepared with accounts at three different banks, all with internet banking.

And if its a bonus I will even use a card to pay at Tesco or Seven.

Tamboon (merit making) will stay cash operated, no monks with card reader in sight

Edited December 8, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[AsiaCheese]

Oh - so bank fees will reflect (actual) cost? That's a new one. When transferring funds from my account abroad to Kasikornbank, I need to use their SWIFT number in BKK (because they don't have any local ones), and thus incur the first set of expenses (THB 160 to "send" money upcountry; THB 20 for leased line expenses - guys: leased lines are history since the beginning of this millenium). Next is an exchange rate that's lower for TT transfers than what you can get exchanging cash at a non-bank booth somewhere in the street, and then they slap a 2.5% fee on the entire amount for "expenses". But I understand: that must be to finance the armoured vehicles... Greedy f*çkers.

2.5% fee ?

That is a bit of a fairy story isn't it ?

Are you sure you know what you are talking about?

I do - I have the customer care's transaction printout with all the gory details. The reason I went there in the first place is that I couldn't figure out what exchange rate they'd used. It didn't match anything on their website during that day. And to make double-sure, the customer care lady called up their BKK (head office) customer care and passed me her mobile, so that I'd get it interpreted in (slightly better) English too.

It's pretty much an all-electronic process, the whole thing. No messenger carrying banknotes from BKK to "upcountry" (= anything outside BKK)

[RKASA]

I'll bet they won't charge a flat rate of 180 baht for all withdrawals like they do for foreign bankcards. It will probably be 10 baht for local (Thai) cards and I wouldn't be surprised if they lifted the 180 baht to 200. Double pricing once AGAIN.

some banks already did - I had to use the yellow bank because the cash mech. at other atm near by where empty and they charged 200 fee. Krungthai is it? Not the bank I normally would use and now for sure won't. I would guess that is also why it was the only one not yet empty.

[torpedo1970]

"pave the way for a cashless society."

April already.....??

No Thai SME business is falling for this one..... having to put their cash in banks and declare taxes

lets put some hefty fees on card transactions so customers bring cash....

[GreasyFingers]

If Thailand goes cashless,the thugs will have a field day.Abduct a person hold them somewhere take their atm card keep them till they empty their account.It would probably be easy to get password from some one in a hostage position. Donot need to hack anything online just use force.

This is supposed to be in the small print of your western card. Would be interesting to know if it applies in Thailand.

ATM PIN Number Reversal

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your PIN # in reverse. For example, if your pin number is 1234, then you would put in 4321. The ATM system recognizes that your PIN number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine. The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to the location.

All ATM's carry this emergency sequencer by law

[Redline]

The hackers are salivating. Likely, there will be a security breach in the first 6 months. everyone's phone, email, house address.....

When people use cash they understand what money they are spending, when you use a card, it's easier to overspend. Household debt up up up

[jabis]

A shop tried to charge me 2% for using my debit card once,claiming it was good because it was less than the 3% credit card charge.

The actual reason comes from the fact that the shop owner needs to pay the company providing the card reader a fee for everything sale they use it on - because who reads the fine print here anyways x)

No they don't. And even if they did that's their cost of doing business. Increase your prices and stop trying to rip people off. Do they add a service fee for what they pay to clean the bathrooms? Telephone bill?

Yes they do. I have several friends running businesses, that opt out of handling cards, because the providers (banks) want extortionate amounts per month + a fee on every transaction, whether it is a credit or debit transaction. "Increase your prices" is also quite hard when you're competing other small to medium businesses - the added value of having additional methods of payment just isn't worth it.

[Lampang2]

If all foreigners bring cash to Thailand and change it at the banks they will stop the 180 baht surcharge. It costs them too much time and also the bankemployee's can't speak english so they hate it to help farangs.

They give you a shity rate and are quite happy with that.

The more cash you bring the more they earn.

[Lampang2]

Well the Thai s have already begun robbing foriegners with a 200 baht ATM fee. That is outrageous amount. More than a western country

It was 150 and rocketed to 200. Is there any end with these people

Not true on many levels, the fee went from 150 to 180 and then to 200 hardly a definition of rocketed and a search will come up with the facts, not a supposition of more than a western country

If I am not mistaken both the US and UK are "Western" countries:

UK debit card overseas charges

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/overseas-card-charges

You're paying record ATM fees

ATM.PNG

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/05/pf/atm-overdraft-fees/

Aeon 150 baht, as we speak.

[fekman]

Well the Thai s have already begun robbing foriegners with a 200 baht ATM fee. That is outrageous amount. More than a western country

It was 150 and rocketed to 200. Is there any end with these people

We understand that banks are not charities, but how can they move from 150-180-200 in 18 months??? Thats 33% during a near deflationary period. If anything, fees should be falling.

.

And how do they ALL rise in tandem? Isnt that price fixing? An illegal practice in most countries.

.

Krungsi will give you 30k in one pull. Best way to reduce the fees.

.

A buddy thought he was "beating the fees" by transferring 15k from his home bank to his Thai bank, only to see the Baht get whacked by 8% in 2 months. Saved him $200 in fees and cost him $1200 in exchange rate FAIL.