My Bangkok Bank Experience.

[NoshowJones]

I went to the Bangkok Bank head office in Bangkok to ask for a Be 1st Visa Rabbit Card. I was told I had to go to a Bangkok Bank branch outside Bangkok to get one.

Fair enough, I then went to a branch in Nakhon Sawan, and they said OK, it will cost you 600Bt, and 600Bt to renew it every year, I told them no deal.

I started a topic here about this, and a poster Pib told me I should go to my local branch and get the basic one. I did and I was showed one and told it would cost me 600Bt

I then said, I want the basic one, the teller said they only did the one, I told him to get his boss, he came to me and backed up the teller and said they only did the one.

I then asked him about insurance, and he said no insurance. I told him there was also a basic one that should cost 200Bt, he said they only did the 600Bt one and no insurance.

I accused him of making up his own rules, though he could not speak English, so now I will have to try other branches to try and find one that will give me the basic Rabbit Card.

Another case of This is Thailand. It just backs up what I keep saying, banks along with other establishments, just make up their own rules.

[Pib]

It does seem that way many times....different rules from branch to branch.  

 

This morning I swapped out my Be1st Visa logo magnetic strip card (Bt200 annual fee) for a Be1st Visa logo chipped Rabbit card (Bt200 annual fee) which I will refer to as the basic Visa Rabbit card.  My branch had both the basic Rabbit card and the Visa Rabbit Sirraj card (Bt599 annual fee which also come with accident insurance).   I got the basic Visa Rabbit card.   More info at my post below.

 

 

[Pib]

An additional note regarding the Rabbit Sirraj card (the one that include accident insurance), please note the circled fine print if over 65.  I guess that note/fine print means older folks are more likely to take advantage of the accident insurance....to avoid such a situation we may instead give you the basic Rabbit card that does not include insurance....and also it's annual fee is only Bt200.

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BANGKOKBANK/PERSONALBANKING/DAILYBANKING/BE1STVISADEBITCARD/Pages/Be1stSmartSiriraj.aspx

[maprao]

Call bangkok bank phone bank explain what they are saying then after telling them you want the 200 one with no insurance ask them to explain to the bank by handing your mobile to them.

[NoshowJones]

33 minutes ago, Pib said:

It does seem that way many times....different rules from branch to branch.  

 

This morning I swapped out my Be1st Visa logo magnetic strip card (Bt200 annual fee) for a Be1st Visa logo chipped Rabbit card (Bt200 annual fee) which I will refer to as the basic Visa Rabbit card.  My branch had both the basic Rabbit card and the Visa Rabbit Sirraj card (Bt599 annual fee which also come with accident insurance).   I got the basic Visa Rabbit card.   More info at my post below.

 

 

I was offered the Sirraj card for 600Bt and no insurance, I wonder what that stupid bank teller thought I was getting for 600Bt. What branch did you get the basic Rabbit card at?

[NoshowJones]

31 minutes ago, Pib said:

An additional note regarding the Rabbit Sirraj card (the one that include accident insurance), please note the circled fine print if over 65.  I guess that note/fine print means older folks are more likely to take advantage of the accident insurance....to avoid such a situation we may instead give you the basic Rabbit card that does not include insurance....and also it's annual fee is only Bt200.

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BANGKOKBANK/PERSONALBANKING/DAILYBANKING/BE1STVISADEBITCARD/Pages/Be1stSmartSiriraj.aspx

If a certain branch of BB  cannot give you the basic Rabbit card and you are over 65 (not in my case) then just charge them the 600Bt anyway.

Brilliant eh!

[NoshowJones]

14 minutes ago, maprao said:

Call bangkok bank phone bank explain what they are saying then after telling them you want the 200 one with no insurance ask them to explain to the bank by handing your mobile to them.

 

They would be to stupid to understand anything over the phone.

[chiang mai]

I don't know that I'd want to have something called a rabbit card in my wallet, especially when it's issued by a bank, I kinda look for banks to be professional and such and if they aint, I'm gone. Maybe it's just me.

[Rimbuman]

18 hours ago, possum1931 said:

They would be to stupid to understand anything over the phone.

 Generally not true. I've had a couple of issues resolved this way with Bangkok Bank.

[NoshowJones]

9 minutes ago, Rimbuman said:

 Generally not true. I've had a couple of issues resolved this way with Bangkok Bank.

Of course you have, just what I keep saying, different branch's of the same bank have different rules, ie , my local branch doesn't supply the basic Rabbit debit card, while other posters branches do. So I have to keep going into different branches of BB, and hope I eventually get what I want. TiT.

[ThailandLOS]

19 hours ago, chiang mai said:

I don't know that I'd want to have something called a rabbit card in my wallet, especially when it's issued by a bank, I kinda look for banks to be professional and such and if they aint, I'm gone. Maybe it's just me.

 

The Rabbit card is used to pay in BTS, food courts, 7-11 etc in Bangkok. Makes good sense to have it included on the atm card instead of separately.

 

The only inconvenience is that you can't top it up online, not even through the issuing bank. Only cash na krap.

 

[1FinickyOne]

Hi Possum - my understanding is that each branch is independently owned... I cannot even deal with a branch that is in the same small city and nearby the other branch... have to go where the cards are dealt... and yes, their bank, their rules. 

[al007]

I know a lady in Bangkok Bank high up who always helps me

 

 

She values customer service highly 

 

 

I will cut and paste and send her the link

[boonchu]

I have a Be 1st Debit card with chip expires in 2019. To date I have no problems using this for purchases but can only get cash at a Bangkok Bank ATM.

[lopburi3]

3 minutes ago, boonchu said:

I have a Be 1st Debit card with chip expires in 2019. To date I have no problems using this for purchases but can only get cash at a Bangkok Bank ATM.

Have you tried in the last six months?  Only Bangkok Bank had ATM's that accepted chips until recently but almost all do now.  

[boonchu]

I tried it in an SCB ATM yesterday and it didn't work, luckily I have a SCB  debit card also.

 

[lopburi3]

I have no problem using Bangkok Bank Unionpay debit card in SCB.  The card you have is Visa marked?  And a 4 digit PIN?  I would check with Bangkok Bank as to why it can not be used as almost all ATM's have been upgraded to accept the chip cards this year.  

[Raybangkok]

1 hour ago, boonchu said:

I have a Be 1st Debit card with chip expires in 2019. To date I have no problems using this for purchases but can only get cash at a Bangkok Bank ATM.

I have always used my Be 1st Debit card at any ATM and at hotels abroad with no problem so maybe I have just been lucky or is the bank limiting your use as a previous person on another thread said BB told him his daily limit was low I asked for 500-000 daily limit to cover me on trips and it was done no problem so maybe it depends on the branch and the person you speak to.

[Caca4u]

I had this same problem when I opened my account at kasikorn. they like to push the more expensive cards. did u try the head office of bkk bank in silom?

It is impossible they dont have it there.

[Mansell]

I got the new card last week.....no mention of insurance but I am over 65. It was a six digit pin with the new one. Used my Citi Card with chip in America. It took twice to three times as long to purchase something. And sometimes it didn't work at all. 

[Pib]

2 hours ago, boonchu said:

I have a Be 1st Debit card with chip expires in 2019. To date I have no problems using this for purchases but can only get cash at a Bangkok Bank ATM.

I expect you haven't tried other Thai bank's ATM for a while.  What you say indeed "use" to be true but not now.

 

Now I expect all Thai bank ATMs have not been updated to EMV-capability yet (i.e, chip reading capability) across the country, but I expect many/most have.

 

I got a Be1st Visa Rabbit Debit chipped card yesterday and did some tests.  Of course it worked in a Bangkok Bank ATM and it also worked in a K-bank and SCB ATM....older looking ATMs.  See partial quote below from my earlier post.  

 

Quote

Before leaving the wife and I used ours cards in their ATM to confirm the cards worked---they did..   I then used my card at Foodland to play for a purchase (the chip was used in the POS terminal and not the magnetic strip).  And a little later used it to withdrawal some cash from a K-bank ATM and SCB ATM.  Both of these ATMs were older looking ATMs....they had some years under their belt and from briefly looking I didn't see any EMV-capable stickers like I've seen on some ATMS, but obviously they had already been upgraded to EMV chipped card capability.

 

Edited December 24, 2016 by Pib

[Pib]

Might want to review my below post in another thread since it related as it talks the Bangkok Bank Be1st TPN-UnionPay card and also talks about 3 other Thai banks with Visa/Mastercard debit cards.

 

 

[ubonjoe]

A baiting post and a reply to it has been removed. No bickering please.

[phantomfiddler]

No bickering ? What if one has a gripe ! I just went to a branch of Bangkok Bank in Pattaya, which appears to be the operator for Western Union. Someone had sent me some money from the Middle East. I went WITH MY PASSPORT, the name and location of the person who had sent the money, the amount expected, plus the Transaction Code Number. I filled out a form detailing all of this, including my name, address, and phone number, and they would NOT give me the money !  Now I will have to go to the police to try and complete the transaction ! In addition, my surname is such that I would be very surprised if there was another person in S.E.Asia with the same name. That is my experience with the Bangkok Bank.

[LammyTS1]

 

Yes but you are charged 200 baht aren't you? Any other banks ATM will charge you?

You can only use our own banks ATMs free of charge?

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Pib]

1 minute ago, LammyTS1 said:

Yes but you are charged 200 baht aren't you? Any other banks ATM will charge you?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

If you are talking the Bt200 fee when using a foreign card, Union Pay and AmEx logo foreign cards use to be Bt50 only when used in Bangkok Bank ATMs.   But I think come 16 Jan 2017 foreign cards with the UnionPay logo cards will go to Bt150.  Still less than the Bt200 card for Visa and Mastercard foreign cards.  

 

From Bangkok Bank fee schedule regarding use of foreign cards in Bangkok Bank ATMs...sorry only in Thai language

 

 

But if you are talking the annual card fee for the Bangkok Bank TPN-UnionPay debit card that is either Bt200 or Bt599 depending on which card of the three available you get.

 

 

 

 

 

[eeyang wah]

On 12/23/2016 at 5:17 PM, chiang mai said:

I don't know that I'd want to have something called a rabbit card in my wallet, especially when it's issued by a bank, I kinda look for banks to be professional and such and if they aint, I'm gone. Maybe it's just me.

Please let us know when you find a bank that can behave in a professional manner. I've tried many different banks in Thailand and they have all let me down in one way or another.

 

A short-list of my favourites: aggressively trying to sell me insurance (I had to refuse no less than 5 times in the same visit), Hello Kitty bank books (<deleted> is a bank book in the 21st century anyway?), photocopying a visa sticker in the middle of my passport instead of the actual photo page, putting additional copies of my passport (the correct page this time) back into the copier feeder to re-use my personal details for the next customer, being so impressed that I had just 200,000 baht in my account that they felt the need to shout my balance across the room to all 3 of their colleagues followed up by "ooh handsome man velly rich" (<deleted>? Is this is a bank or a girlie bar?) , so-called "business" bank account which is utterly useless for conducting business (literally impossible to either receive money from customers or pay bills/suppliers: no merchant account, no credit card facility either on- or off-line, no credit card, no debit card, not even a frigging ATM card and can not do transfers without physically visiting the bank, yes with passport and bank book sigh...) many, many branches being totally convinced that they don't have the capability to do an international transfer, many branches refusing to accept my signature but drive 10 minutes to the next branch no problem hmmm what else.. I could go on. 

 

Ok that was actually quite a long list. Anyway, on a serious note PLEASE do let us know then you find a bank in Thailand that isn't completely hopeless and staffed by inept children!  

[Goingmad]

On 23/12/2559 at 5:16 PM, possum1931 said:

They would be to stupid to understand anything over the phone.

Sorry, but you are in Thailand; and Thai is the official language. Not English.

And English accents of people from different countries can be hard to understand.

So stop calling Thai's stupid, please.

[lopburi3]

2 hours ago, LammyTS1 said:

Yes but you are charged 200 baht aren't you? Any other banks ATM will charge you?

You can only use our own banks ATMs free of charge?

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

No.  Thailand has an ATM Pool system (almost all banks) that allows free card usage in other banks ATM 3 or 4 times per month and normal fee would not be 200 baht (that is for foreign ATM cards) even when charge made.

[atyclb]

i went to esplanade bb branch with a new to thailand friend that had a retirement visa. he wanted to open an account. the employee asked him for a work permit as it was need to open an account. we told him retirment visas cannot get wp's. hopeless. a trip to bb silom road main branch and help from a lady that studied overseas resolved that easily. she laughed when told the esplanade story. another time the bb atm at esplanade mall crashed during my transaction. machine died and my atm card not returned.  immmediately went upstairs to bb branch to tell them. the <deleted> lady had the nerve to ask for the replacement atm card fee. i told her easy just get my card out of your machine and i dont need a replacement. i had to tell her bb atm kept my card and they need to replace it at no cost to customer.

 

a society with pockets of competency.