Bangkok Bank Debit Cards - Update

[Singhaman]

Recently I posted my saga of getting a new Visa Debit Card from Bangkok Bank after the faulty deposit ATM swallowed my Visa card. Here is the link to the original post:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/957962-bangkok-bank-debit-card-major-problem/

After further enquiries I can now confirm Bangkok Bank are no longer issuing Visa Debit Cards but ONLY Union Pay cards (Except for Rabbit Visa debit cards which are only available in Bangkok). The bank website is very out of date! The Union Pay cards are useless as I have not found a single merchant here in Thailand that accepts them. Also Union Pay is not accepted in the UK as The Link ATM network has withdrawn them for legal reasons. Details in the links below. However more disturbing is the fact that Bangkok Bank are charging 100 Baht for every transaction in Thailand including Cash Withdrawals using the Union Pay card!. Below is the E Mai I received from Bangkok Bank confirming this: I shall now be making alternative banking arrangements! This is surely a retrograde step?

 

Dear customer,

Thank you for your email.

Regarding you inquiry about  Visa Debit, please be advised that we have only Be1st Smart TPN UnionPay card. The Be1st Smart TPN UnionPay can use to withdraw money at the ATM machine which has UnionPay sign only and you will be charge 100 Baht/transaction. 

However, you can check exchange rate , list of countries and the location of ATMs that can be accept the Be1st Smart TPN UnionPay at the website : www.unionpayintl.com or click link below : 

http://www.unionpayintl.com/MainServlet?go=BIZTOOL_MERCHANT_PG_exchangeRateEn

We apologize for any inconvenience have caused.    

Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also contact our phone banking center at +66-2645-5555 (from the overseas) or 1333 (from within Thailand), a 24/7 service to acquire more information. Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Web operations

 

************************************************************************************************

 

Be on the lookout for forged e-mail messages that claim to be sent from Bangkok Bank. We will never send you an e-mail with an attached file. We will also never ask you details about your account by an e-mail message or a pop-up window.

   

 

[Halfaboy]

Not too long ago I got my 'Be1st Smart rabbit card' form the Bangkok bank in Pattaya without problems.

[lopburi3]

Believe they are talking about non Thai ATM machines that have UnionPay listed.  There is no charge for using the UnionPay debit card at ATM's in Thailand - for Bangkok Bank ATM you select "TBA" on special screen that appears before transactions (top left) - for other banks there does not seem to be any need to specify.

 

[wump]

Why not just switch to a bank that gives you a proper card? Your only loss is your time and 200 Baht.

[KhunBENQ]

12 minutes ago, wump said:

Why not just switch to a bank that gives you a proper card? Your only loss is your time and 200 Baht.

Like this one:

 

 

My idea was that you have a choice?

 

[Singhaman]

Lopburi, All I get at a Bangkok Bank ATM here in the north is  'Union Pay Debit' no other options before or after. I have stopped using them!

Wump: That is exacty what I am doing. Kasinkorn bank looks the favourite.

KhungBENQ: That is exactly the card I lost and Bangkok Bank are not issuing anymore.

[skatewash]

3 hours ago, Halfaboy said:

Not too long ago I got my 'Be1st Smart rabbit card' form the Bangkok bank in Pattaya without problems.

 

Same here in Phuket, so it does appear it is available outside of Bangkok.  Also, I'm not charged any per transaction fee with this card for ATM use.  When my original Bangkok ATM debit card was stolen I was unable to replace it with the same card.  My choice was the Union Pay card which I did not want as it's not a Visa card or an upgrade to the Be1st Smart rabbit card which is what I have now.  The new card is considerably more expensive to obtain than the original card but works just fine.  I'm glad I didn't opt for the cheaper Union Pay card as a replacement.

[Suradit69]

49 minutes ago, Singhaman said:

KhungBENQ: That is exactly the card I lost and Bangkok Bank are not issuing anymore.

 

Must be very recent. I got one a couple of months ago to replace my old Bangkok Bank card. I was told they were no longer issuing the older card type and that this was the one I would be given.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Suradit69

[NoshowJones]

(Except for Rabbit Visa debit cards which are only available in Bangkok).

I think you have got this the wrong way round, when I went to Bangkok Banks head office in Bangkok to ask about a Rabbit Visa debit card, they told me I must get one outside of Bangkok, I then went to a branch outside Bangkok, and they told me that was right, they wanted 690Bt for the card, and also 690Bt every year to renew it, that might be OK for someone who lives in Bangkok and uses the card several times every day. I told them to stuff it.

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, Halfaboy said:

Not too long ago I got my 'Be1st Smart rabbit card' form the Bangkok bank in Pattaya without problems.

How much did you pay for it?

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, Singhaman said:

Lopburi, All I get at a Bangkok Bank ATM here in the north is  'Union Pay Debit' no other options before or after. I have stopped using them!

Wump: That is exacty what I am doing. Kasinkorn bank looks the favourite.

KhungBENQ: That is exactly the card I lost and Bangkok Bank are not issuing anymore.

Were you charged a 100 baht fee to withdraw money?  I expect you would have noticed if you had been.  It has never happened to me using UnionPay card in either Bangkok Bank or other ATM's and have been using often during last six months but do believe on time did not get the special screen at a Bangkok Bank ATM but it processed OK.  As said I use cash with merchants but have used card in Bangkok Hospital without issues (other than one roving cashier had to be told how to process with the PIN).  Others have just handed me the terminal to enter. 

 

Believe there are two versions of UnionPay cards - one for use outside China and a different one if you need to use inside China and suspect that is the reason for the special screen on Bangkok Bank ATM as some may also accept Chinese version.

[Get Real]

No problem at all. Bangkok Bank has a lot of different cards to choose from. Just have to be enough smart to question what you get. All easy!

[Pib]

OP,

   The Bangkok Bank response regarding the 100 baht fee relates to withdrawing from a "foreign ATM."    That fee applies to all Bangkok Bank debit cards, Visa or UnionPay.  Other Thai banks do the same thing.  That 100 baht fee has been around forever.  I think the bank got the email from a farang....and they got confused in their response regarding the withdrawal fee in thinking the farang was asking about it use outside of Thailand.  Within Thailand there is no fee when withdrawing from a Bangkok Bank ATM within your province/region.   Since they included exchange rate link that further tells me they were talking the fee Bangkok Bank charges for use in a foreign ATM.

 

Tomorrow or early next week I will be going to a Bangkok Bank branch here in Bangkok to exchange my Be1st "magnetic strip" card for a "chipped" card.  I plan to make it clear I don't want a Union Pay card....only a Visa logo card.  I'll give some feedback once I do this.

 

 

[Top man]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

OP,

   The Bangkok Bank response regarding the 100 baht fee relates to withdrawing from a "foreign ATM."    That fee applies to all Bangkok Bank debit cards, Visa or UnionPay.  Other Thai banks do the same thing.  That 100 baht fee has been around forever.  I think the bank got the email from a farang....and they got confused in their response regarding the withdrawal fee in thinking the farang was asking about it use outside of Thailand.  Within Thailand there is no fee when withdrawing from a Bangkok Bank ATM within your province/region.   Since they included exchange rate link that further tells me they were talking the fee Bangkok Bank charges for use in a foreign ATM.

 

Tomorrow or early next week I will be going to a Bangkok Bank branch here in Bangkok to exchange my Be1st "magnetic strip" card for a "chipped" card.  I plan to make it clear I don't want a Union Pay card....only a Visa logo card.  I'll give some feedback once I do this.

 

 

Thank you pib. 

Much appreciated. 

 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

(Except for Rabbit Visa debit cards which are only available in Bangkok).

I think you have got this the wrong way round, when I went to Bangkok Banks head office in Bangkok to ask about a Rabbit Visa debit card, they told me I must get one outside of Bangkok, I then went to a branch outside Bangkok, and they told me that was right, they wanted 690Bt for the card, and also 690Bt every year to renew it, that might be OK for someone who lives in Bangkok and uses the card several times every day. I told them to stuff it.

 

Must have been some miscommuications between you and the bank....the annual fee for a Visa Rabbit debit card is Bt200 right now; going to Bt300 mid 2017.

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Be1stVisaDebitCard/Pages/Be1stRabbit.aspx

[NoshowJones]

14 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

Must have been some miscommuications between you and the bank....the annual fee for a Visa Rabbit debit card is Bt200 right now; going to Bt300 mid 2017.

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Be1stVisaDebitCard/Pages/Be1stRabbit.aspx

That's a surprise, well, maybe not, each branch of any bank in Thailand do make up their own rules, hanks for telling me.

[Pib]

11 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

That's a surprise, well, maybe not, each branch of any bank in Thailand do make up their own rules, hanks for telling me.

 

There are two Be1st "Visa" version of Rabbit card....the basic Visa Rabbit and a Visa Siriraj.   The basic has a current annual fee of Bt200 as mentioned in my earlier post.....and the Sirriraj version that comes with insurance has an annual fee of Bt599.  See below regarding the Visa Siriraj Rabbit card.  

 

Expect the branch was pushing the pricier Visa Rabbit card that comes with insurance (some branches seem to do that a lot for farangs...guess farangs look accident prone).  With a possible initial issue fee of Bt100 when throwing in the first year annual fee it would have cost you Bt699....then after that the annual fee would be Bt599.    And if you are over 65 the bank reserves the right to issue you just the basic Rabbit card that has no insurance as old farangs on much more accident prone.   See link and snapshot below for more info.

 

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Be1stVisaDebitCard/Pages/Be1stSmartSiriraj.aspx

 

[Caxa]

Quote

Tomorrow or early next week I will be going to a Bangkok Bank branch here in Bangkok to exchange my Be1st "magnetic strip" card for a "chipped" card. 

 

I would hold on to the magnetic strip card... at least you can use that in any ATM as opposed to ONLY Bangkok Bank ATMs.

[lopburi3]

14 minutes ago, Caxa said:

 

I would hold on to the magnetic strip card... at least you can use that in any ATM as opposed to ONLY Bangkok Bank ATMs.

All banks ATM's are accepting chip cards now AFAIK and they also accept Bangkok Bank chip cards - this was a big change this year.  Even the USA is starting to change to chip cards and they have resisted for years.  

[Pib]

I think enough of the other Thai banks have now updated their ATMs to EMV capability (i.e., ability to read the chip on a chipped cards).  I know I'm seeing quite a few new EMV stickers on Thai ATMs that didn't have them earlier.   Other Thai banks are still in the process of updating their ATM to handle chipped cards but I think most made major process this year.  

 

Before when sticking a chipped card into a Thai ATM the ATM read the magnetic strip versus the chip on many cards...and assuming your bank (foreign or Thai) allowed ATM withdrawals using just the magnetic strip the ATM withdrawal occurred....you may have thought the chip was being read but the magnetic strip was really the one being read.  

 

But Bangkok Bank coded it's "chipped/EMV" debit cards to only allow the chip to be used for such withdrawals so a person had to use Bangkok Bank EMV-capable ATM or another bank's EMV-capable ATMs to get money.   The magnetic strip on the Be1st chipped card could still be used for "purchases" only if the merchant did not have a POS terminal capable of reading chipped cards...instead only had an old magnetic strip capability POS only.   I don't think many magnetic strip only POS terminals exist in Thailand but they still do in many other countries where you might use the card while traveling.

 

But yea, the reason I've held onto the magnetic card this long is because up until about the last half of this year few other Thai bank ATMs had EMV (chipped) capability for cards.    

[NoshowJones]

40 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

There are two Be1st "Visa" version of Rabbit card....the basic Visa Rabbit and a Visa Siriraj.   The basic has a current annual fee of Bt200 as mentioned in my earlier post.....and the Sirriraj version that comes with insurance has an annual fee of Bt599.  See below regarding the Visa Siriraj Rabbit card.  

 

Expect the branch was pushing the pricier Visa Rabbit card that comes with insurance (some branches seem to do that a lot for farangs...guess farangs look accident prone).  With a possible initial issue fee of Bt100 when throwing in the first year annual fee it would have cost you Bt699....then after that the annual fee would be Bt599.    And if you are over 65 the bank reserves the right to issue you just the basic Rabbit card that has no insurance as old farangs on much more accident prone.   See link and snapshot below for more info.

 

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Be1stVisaDebitCard/Pages/Be1stSmartSiriraj.aspx

 

Thanks a lot for your help Pib, I will look into everything, what you have said sure makes a lot of sense.

[Pib]

2 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

All banks ATM's are accepting chip cards now AFAIK and they also accept Bangkok Bank chip cards - this was a big change this year.  Even the USA is starting to change to chip cards and they have resisted for years.  

The US has made big progress in switching to chipped cards.  I have around 10 U.S. debit and credit cards (probably too many...but a few are a Mastercard and Visa credit card from the same credit card company) and as of around mid 2016 all were chipped cards.

[lopburi3]

Yes but this a decade behind Europe - the US banks preferred to take there losses and as customers got there money back there was no public push to make the expensive change for a long period - until they were almost the last target standing and indeed this year they went all out to make the change.

[tf6122]

I got the Be 1st Smart Visa debit card about 6 months ago in Chiang Mai for 200 baht.   At that time I did listen to what I thought was just "upsell" for the other options.  The Be 1st Smart Visa was all I needed then and seems to be all I need now.  I  was surprised at the mention that is maybe no longer available but a check of the website still shows the option and under the fee tab shows 200 baht for card until 30 June 2017. http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Be1stVisaDebitCard/Be1stSmart/Pages/Default.aspx

[louse1953]

Just now, Pib said:

 

There are two Be1st "Visa" version of Rabbit card....the basic Visa Rabbit and a Visa Siriraj.   The basic has a current annual fee of Bt200 as mentioned in my earlier post.....and the Sirriraj version that comes with insurance has an annual fee of Bt599.  See below regarding the Visa Siriraj Rabbit card.  

 

Expect the branch was pushing the pricier Visa Rabbit card that comes with insurance (some branches seem to do that a lot for farangs...guess farangs look accident prone).  With a possible initial issue fee of Bt100 when throwing in the first year annual fee it would have cost you Bt699....then after that the annual fee would be Bt599.    And if you are over 65 the bank reserves the right to issue you just the basic Rabbit card that has no insurance as old farangs on much more accident prone.   See link and snapshot below for more info.

 

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Be1stVisaDebitCard/Pages/Be1stSmartSiriraj.aspx

 

55,they rip you with insurance un til you get to the age where you might make a claim and then they tell you,no more insurance,you may cost us money.

[ableguy]

I just opened a visa debit card with Bangkok Bank with a cash limit of fifty thousand per day either debit or machine.

i did put in the account 200,000 As I wanted it for emergency medical problems so my gf can pay any emergency medical bill. Just had an emergency medical situation where the hospital would not start work unless I put 25.000 deposit which had I been unconscious I could not have done and my gf of seven years has not got that kind of cash, now she can pay by debit card at the hospital ( St Mary's Korat ). The staff there know me and have a record of paying my bills promptly so go figure.

visa debit card, .

[sikishrory]

I seem to lose my be 1st debit card every few months. A few months ago I went to get a new one in central beach rd pattaya and they started making me the union pay one. I told them I want a visa and they said they didn't have any and not sure when they would get new ones. So I decided to go try somewhere else. Near soi 6. They issued me a visa but it was 600 baht as opposed to the 100 baht union pay card. She was very helpful asking me if I wanted a credit card and even pulling out some random ipad (it looked like it was hers) to help me login to online banking. Very unsafe and unprofessional.

Fast forward to last week and I needed to get a new card again. Central pattaya was out of visa debits so I went back to the branch opposite soi 6 feeling confident but this time they said there was no visas anymore. So I had no option but to get the union pay.

I did some research. Union pay is the only company in china that does this credit/debit card thing. It is HUGE in china. 

Lots of media in australia saying how businesses would benefit greatly from truckloads of chinese tourist money and those without union pay miss out.

Also saw something about only credit cards being able to be used abroad but not union pay debit cards.

It seems as though its just one of those silly thai things that make no sense no doubt revolving around a big money deal between union pay and bkk bank. They have issued 600,000 cards apparently... http://m.unionpayintl.com/en/aboutUpi/newsCenter/companyNews

I mentioned to the girl that I would be moving all my money to kasikorn and she said it would be better for me to do that.

Rather than run around all day in the hot sun like an idiot looking in all the bkk banks I thought I would call them. The guy on the phone confirmed that only union pay is available now but mentioned it might change back to visa in future. Infact he seemed as if it was almost a sure thing. They must be getting loads of complaints.

Cant use it abroad and it seems can't use it anywhere in thailand except at a atm (im assuming, havnt tried yet). The cinema wouldn't except it tonight.

I would feel more confident trying in bkk but you cant do anything in bkk if your account was opened outside bkk and vice versa. 

Really frustrating. Looking at kasikorn and citibank as options now. 

There is a few threads on the Thai pantip forums about this happening to Thais as well.

Edited December 22, 2016 by sikishrory

[lucifer666]

Had mine swallowed by a atm once, I collected it from the same branch from which i opened the account, a few days later. No big deal

[dentonian]

16 hours ago, Singhaman said:

KhungBENQ: That is exactly the card I lost and Bangkok Bank are not issuing anymore.

 

Strange, only yesterday I introduced a friend to Bangkok Bank who opened a Savings account and issued him a BE1st Visa debit card to use with his account.

Perhaps they misunderstood exactly what you were after!

What type of account did you open?

[wump]

Not every branch is gonna run out of the old cards at the same time and I highly doubt they would just destroy old stock.