Increase of surcharge on None Thai ATM Cards to 220 baht

[Pib]

If you can avoid a home country "sending fee" wiring money to a Thai bank account is indeed a good way to go.  Unfortunately, the great majority of banks do charge a sending fee....SWIFT fees are typically in $30 to $50 ballpark and you still may incur a correspondent/intermediary bank fee before it arrives your Thai bank account where the typical 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) fee is applied.   Some sending banks will give you a much lower sending fee "if  you allow them to exchange the funds to baht for you" but that is almost always a bad idea since their exchange rate will be several percent below the Thai TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers.

 

One reason money transfer services are becoming more popular because many times it can be cheaper to use these services when considering Sending Fee, Intermediary Bank Fee, Receiving Fee, Exchange Rate, and Receiving Fee....that is, how much ends up in your Thai bank account after "all" the fees are cranked it.   But a person needs to do a complete cost comparision.

 

A lot depends on what country you are sending from, what bank your use, what accounts you have, etc.      

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Gosh, I haven't paid a Thai bank ATM User fee since early 2011....nor needed to do a wire transfer to get money into the country.    I say that because I have debit cards that are no foreign transaction fee and fee reimbursing cards...like one of them is the Schwab debit card.

 

 

The other issue that comes into play here is that some banks in the U.S. that reimburse foreign ATM fees have limits on those reimbursements -- either per withdrawal like a maximum of $5 in some cases, or per month at amounts like $12 or $15 or $20 total maximum. I've also seen some accounts where they won't reimburse beyond $5 per withdrawal unless you bring the original ATM receipt into one of their branches in person.

 

So at 220 baht now, the reimbursement rate in U.S. $ would be about $6.23. That's already over any $5 maximum per withdrawal reimbursement, and would exceed a $12 maximum per month account if you tried to do two reimbursed withdrawals in a month.

 

Fortunately, right now AFAIK, Schwab U.S. account holders don't have any per withdrawal or per month limit on ATM fee reimbursements. But other fee-reimbursing banks do.

 

PS - Just got back from a trip to the U.S. recently, and had to use a Wells Fargo ATM there for a withdrawal, using a different bank's debit card. The Wells ATM withdrawal fee for non-Wells cards was $3 -- less than half the new Thai ATM fee. (Note: U.S. bank ATM fees don't distinguish between foreign-international and foreign-other U.S bank cards. Any card not belonging to the ATM you're using there is going to draw the same out-of-network ATM fee).

 

[mikeymike100]

Why is it other countries in Asia, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma etc, do not charge any fee at all for foreign ATM transactions. Is it only Thailand?

Is it just the banks in Thailand are getting over greedy. 

I understand Thailand wants to attract more tourist, this will only do the oposite.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

Gosh, I haven't paid a Thai bank ATM User fee since early 2011....nor needed to do a wire transfer to get money into the country.    I say that because I have debit cards that are no foreign transaction fee and fee reimbursing cards...like one of them is the Schwab debit card.

 

But I avoid during that as much as possible now simply because I don't want the Thai bank to get that high ATM Use Fee that use to be Bt150 just a few years ago, then went to Bt180, then went to Bt200, and now at Bt220.....any bets on how long it is before it is raised to Bt250.  

 

So, to minimize enriching the greedy Thai banksters who are really bleeding tourists which also ends up bleeding expats I do primarily counter withdrawals (a.k.a., cash advances) with my debit cards and a coupe of credit cards....mostly credit cards since they have a much higher transaction limit than my debit cards.   You are probably thinking right now use of a credit card is crazy simply due to the cash advance fee which is typically 3%.   But the credit cards I use are no foreign transaction fee and no cash advance fee cards...plus I prepay  the amount I plan to get so there is no interest charge...end result no fees for me.

 

3

Well, aren't you a lucky guy then. I have no choice but pay the 220 baht fee to withdraw money from one of my offshore bank accounts.

 

I've been paying 180, then 200, and now 220 baht. I minimize the damage by taking out 30k when I need cash, which is about once a month. It really is peanuts and not worth getting worked up about when there's nothing I can do about it.

[tropo]

51 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Why is it other countries in Asia, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma etc, do not charge any fee at all for foreign ATM transactions. Is it only Thailand?

Is it just the banks in Thailand are getting over greedy. 

I understand Thailand wants to attract more tourist, this will only do the oposite.

 

Are you sure about that? Maybe they don't warn you when you withdraw.

[thailand49]

3 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Thai banks are incredibly greedy- It used to be when cashing a Traveler's check there was a fee of 33 Baht per check. That has already been raised to 153 Thai Baht per check. Absolute larceny- I no longer use TC in Thailand. In addition, the ATM fee is higher than what it costs in the USA when using another bank's ATM.  How high can it go? God only knows!

They are not only greedy they are racist.  It is like their due pricing for foreigners. They know exactly have many are in need of using them. Not only are they making money on giving you a much lower rate than a exchange booth if you were turning in cash. Recently the rate was 35,50 at the booth, I was using Bangkok Bank ATM, the rate posted was 34.14 for the cash I was withdrawing.

As noted they keep raising the rate and like some are saying open a Thai account, will this is what I believe their intend. For myself, I just don't trust wiring anymore money here than necessary. Their system is like 30 years behind times. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It's really pointless for some folks here to continue saying "use a Thai account," when pretty much everyone here already has Thai accounts.

 

The issue is -- and having a local Thai account does nothing to remedy this -- for those people whose source of funds deposits them into U.S. or other foreign country accounts. In those cases, common for many retirees, you still have to find a way to gain access to those foreign funds somehow in Thailand. And just having a local Thai account and Thai ATM card doesn't in any way give you Thai ATM access to funds located abroad/outside Thailand.

 

If the funds are located abroad, you either have to use a foreign account ATM card to withdraw them here in Thailand, and thus incur the Thai 220b ATM fee (whether reimbursed or not), or pay to have the funds transferred from your home country to Thailand (which usually is even more expensive), or try a more difficult method like trying to find a Thai bank branch that will do a counter withdrawal using a foreign debit card (and that's not an easy thing to find).

 

[yogavnture]

BRING CASH 

[perdido]

11 hours ago, Pib said:

I gave you a specific branch a few posts up.  Another Bangkok Bank branch in the Plus Lotus Mall.   Both of these malls are close to where I live in western Bangkok.     Sorry, I can't address each of over 7000 bank branches in Thailand....only the ones I've tried at.

 

Some branches not accepting debit cards is nothing new....instead you are pointed to their ATM....been plenty of such posts on ThaiVisa over the years.  I too personally have experienced the rejection as already mentioned..  It will depend on the branches you happen you use.

 

Thai banks want  you to use the ATM whenever possible for two reasons:

1) less work for them.

2) they get more total fee from an ATM withdrawal vs counter withdrawal.  See this later part of below post which gives an example of the total fees earned by a Thai bank for an ATM withdrawal and a counter withdrawal.

 

...what on earth does THAT mean...?

[jacko45k]

7 hours ago, yogavnture said:

BRING CASH 

Yes, but there are limits to non-declared cash and certainly risks in carrying large amounts.

For an Expat doing a single trip home, that may mean bringing about 800,000 bahts worth, or in my case £20,000. Plus I don't like the risk of wandering around say Pattaya after changing that at TT Exchange!

 

I think I will tolerate the slightly poorer exchange rate in the bank rather than the exchange booths, their 500 baht charge and what my UK bank charges to send it (currently they say 'waived').

 

Dear me, imagine the shakedowns at the airport!

Edited January 21, 2017 by jacko45k

[louse1953]

19 hours ago, siam2007 said:

 

And in neighboring countries such as Malaysia such fee is still entirely unheard of.....

That is not true.

[louse1953]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, but there are limits to non-declared cash and certainly risks in carrying large amounts.

For an Expat doing a single trip home, that may mean bringing about 800,000 bahts worth, or in my case £20,000. Plus I don't like the risk of wandering around say Pattaya after changing that at TT Exchange!

 

I think I will tolerate the slightly poorer exchange rate in the bank rather than the exchange booths, their 500 baht charge and what my UK bank charges to send it (currently they say 'waived').

 

Dear me, imagine the shakedowns at the airport!

There are no shakedowns at the airports.I have bought large amounts many times.

[Pib]

6 hours ago, perdido said:

...what on earth does THAT mean...?

Did you open the post and read it?   Probably not....sounds like you just looked at the opening line of the post pictured in above link. Click the link title, open it, and read the full post.  I will explain the fees earned by a Thai bank when doing a ATM withdrawal or counter withdrawal. The bank makes significantly more from an ATM withdrawal.   Give it a try...read the whole post.

[01322521959]

I was told when I opened my account back in 1993 that there would be a charge of 100 baht per year for my ATM. Never have had an ATM here.

Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, 01322521959 said:

I was told when I opened my account back in 1993 that there would be a charge of 100 baht per year for my ATM. Never have had an ATM here.

Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

Are you really staying it is not worth 100 baht a year to be able to use any ATM in the country to withdraw funds at any time of day or night?  Suspect you may not live in a city if that is the case as expect most of use find the huge numbers of ATM's available here to be well worth such a charge.  

[Pib]

11 minutes ago, 01322521959 said:

I was told when I opened my account back in 1993 that there would be a charge of 100 baht per year for my ATM. Never have had an ATM here.

Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

Since you mentioned "per year" I expect the bank was just informing you of the annual debit card fee.

 

Another case in where you see the 100 baht charge is when using the Thai debit card "outside of Thailand" which is still the case....every Thai bank seems to have that fee....it basically the Thai bank's foreign transaction fee like how most western debit/credit cards have a 1 to 3% foreign  transaction fee.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Pib

[lopburi3]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

Since you mentioned "per year" I expect the bank was just informing you of the annual debit card fee.

Believe 100 baht would have been ATM card - not debit - in 1993.  Mine was.

[Pib]

ATM card...Debit card....basically the same thing except you can also make purchases with debit cards which have pretty much replaced ATM cards. Debit cards have been around since the mid 60's not to imply Thailand has reached that point of having debit cards also.  Expect they had the same 100 baht per year annual fee in 1993 as they do now...maybe it's a fee the banksters have completely overlooked for some reason....maybe by not raising "one" fee over the years they can say with a clear conscious that they have not raised "all" fees.

[gk10002000]

On 1/20/2017 at 6:22 PM, Langsuan Man said:

 

In some Thai banks, in some branches, but most are starting to tell you to use the ATM machine outside of the bank and refuse to do counter withdrawals 

I remember many years ago here in the USA when Bank of America announced they were going to start charging $4 USD or more for time you used a bank teller for most transactions!  I don't think they kept that going for long.  But I am sure the Thai banks will all get together and do whatever they want towards foreigners and their accounts.

[Pib]

Using below Cash Disbursement Fee schedule from Visa it shows how much  a bank "disbursing" cash via ATM or counter earns.  I'm sure Mastercard's if very, very similar.  The interchange fee earned for cash disbursement is opposite of a purchase.  That is, for a purchase the "card-issuing" bank earns the interchange fee; however, for a cash disbursement the card-issuing bank pays the disbursing bank the fee (i.e., Acquirer in the chart below).   Say you have a debit card from a US, UK, European, Japanese, etc., bank....that foreign bank pays the Thai bank an interchange fee for giving you cash via ATM or counter.

 

So, you walk in a Thai bank branch today and decide to use the ATM to get say Bt20K...and lets say the exchange rate is Bt36/USD just for example.  The Thai bank charges you an ATM Access Fee of Bt220...they will also earn an interchange fee of $0.5 USD which equates to Bt18 plus Bt30 (the 0.15% part from below chart).  The Thai bank earns Bt220 + Bt18 + Bt30 = Bt268 total or approx $7.45.

 

OK, you come back tomorrow and decided to do a counter withdrawal which is a Manual Cash Disbursement in the chart below.   Let's get Bt20K again the exchange rate is still Bt36/USD.    No ATM Access Fee of Bt220 earned; only the interchange fee of $1.75 which equates to Bt63 plus Bt66 (the 0.33% part).   Bt63 + Bt66 = Bt129 or approx $3.58. 

 

The Thai bank makes approx twice the fee earned by requiring you to use their ATM versus allow a counter withdrawal.   And it's faster and less work for them since you are not taking up 10 minutes or so time of a branch employee's time, no copies of paperwork/passport required, etc.   Any wonder why many Thai bank branches, even large full service branches, will not do counter withdrawals for a debit card....it's purely a profit/fee thing.   And yes, some small branches with just a few employees like found in some malls will not do counter withdrawal for foreign cards because they don't have POS machines to insert/swipe your card...they will usually refer you to a larger/full service branch where you may still get turned down.

 

Edited January 22, 2017 by Pib

[zoza]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:02 PM, sanemax said:

You do not have to use ATMs

You can withdraw the money over the counter with no ATM fee

 

I asked in Kasikorn in Central Festival about two months ago they charge 10% the

bank employee told me when I asked her about not charging 200 baht inside the bank

so what bank and branch did you last use for no fee. 

[mikeymike100]

15 hours ago, tropo said:

Are you sure about that? Maybe they don't warn you when you withdraw.

Yes absolutely sure. I'm currently in Jakarta and I visit here and Singapore regularly. I was in Yangon last year together with KL. I always check my account after using any ATM.

Maybe someone should ask the Thai Banks why they feel the need to charge this outrageous fee.

 

[01322521959]

I just didn't want it on principal. I just go in and withdraw from the bank.

Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[tropo]

2 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

Yes absolutely sure. I'm currently in Jakarta and I visit here and Singapore regularly. I was in Yangon last year together with KL. I always check my account after using any ATM.

Maybe someone should ask the Thai Banks why they feel the need to charge this outrageous fee.

 

 

They were free in Thailand until 2009, so it's possible they may introduce it there too. It's a great way to fleece international tourists.

[sanemax]

4 hours ago, zoza said:

 

I asked in Kasikorn in Central Festival about two months ago they charge 10% the

bank employee told me when I asked her about not charging 200 baht inside the bank

so what bank and branch did you last use for no fee. 

 

    Bangkok Bank in CM , the kiosk on Loi Kroh and a few other branches

[rickudon]

I tried the counter withdrawal in Udon with my fee free credit card about 18 months ago. The first 3 banks flatly refused to do it. Finally SCB agreed - but when i got the receipt they had added a 200 baht service charge .......  so gave that up. Currently i use Aeon ATM's as only 150 baht, only need to do about once a month, use credit card to pay if in a big store and accepted without surcharge. I then transfer a couple of times a year large sums via swift to my Thai bank - cheaper than using ATMs if you transfer over 2000 GBP, but sometimes the exchange rate sucks - always get better exchange rate on the Credit card (Mastercard rate). In fact, since BREXIT the MC rate is so much higher than the TT rate most days that ATM is still better, if you can take your cash over a few days.

[james1995]

My Fidelity Visa debit card refunds ALL my atm fees and there is no foreign transaction fee.  It works flawlessly every single time.  Charles Schwab and Fidelity are great for getting cash out of atms.  I never worry about atm fees anymore.

[jerojero]

 
In some Thai banks, in some branches, but most are starting to tell you to use the ATM machine outside of the bank and refuse to do counter withdrawals 

Time to change banks.

[siam2007]

so it is still BANK OF CHINA to avoid withdrawal fees altogether.

 

Sadly, there are just a few in the entire kingdom and now I live far from the one at Mega Bangna I used frequently

[Kwasaki]

On 1/21/2017 at 9:22 AM, Langsuan Man said:

 

In some Thai banks, in some branches, but most are starting to tell you to use the ATM machine outside of the bank and refuse to do counter withdrawals 

 

I go to the my Thai bank counter occasionally just because it avoids paying a UK atm bank charge on top but still have to pay a Thai bank fee,  if one of the staff in my bank refuse which only happen once in my bank if your in a position to do this just say OK l want to withdraw my 800,000.