ATM fees on the rise

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

27 minutes ago, Farang hunter said:

are you serious!

you mean I just simply go inside any bank and hand them my international debit card then they would give me any amount of my money without fees.

too good to be true

 

If you're using a debit card, then obviously, the withdrawal limit is going to be the daily withdrawal limit set by the bank that issued your debit card. For U.S. folks, that's typically $300 to $500 per day, but can be up to $1000 with some banks.

 

Unlike ATM withdrawals, the Thai banks don't have any withdrawal limit on counter withdrawals. They'll let you take out as much as your card will allow. And generally there is no local fee for counter withdrawals, but there have been some reports that some SCB branches are charging a fee and/or providing a lower exchange rate for such transactions.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 minutes ago, Farang hunter said:

according to banks withdraw policies back home only withdraws made within the local network are exempt from fees on withdraws.

so, it still too good to be true FOR me.

You need to distinguish between the fees charged by Thai banks vs the fees charges by your home country/card issuing bank.

 

The counter withdrawal method is aimed at avoiding the Thai 220b per withdrawal ATM fee charged against foreign ATM/debit card withdrawals.

 

If your home country card has a foreign currency conversion fee on cash withdrawals or POS purchases made outside your home country, which can be up to 3-4%, then that fee probably is going to be assessed against a foreign bank counter withdrawal just as much as it would against a foreign ATM withdrawal.

 

[sanemax]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Unfortunately, it's not exactly "quite simple".

 

A lot of Thai bank branches simply won't do counter withdrawals with foreign debit cards. Some will, but finding them is a hit-and-miss proposition.  Prepared to be turned down and have to search around in order to find one, unless you get lucky.

 

And there doesn't even appear to be much consistency on this even among different branches within the same bank company. Some will, and some won't. Lord knows why. In some cases, they simply tell people to go use their ATMs instead (for obvious reasons).

 

But it's certainly worth a try, especially if a person doesn't have any home country bank cards that reimburse other banks' ATM charges.

 

 

 

Some bank branches do not have the facility to carry out the transaction , Bank branches that have a foreign exchange facility are usually able to carry out the transaction

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Some bank branches do not have the facility to carry out the transaction , Bank branches that have a foreign exchange facility are usually able to carry out the transaction

I had a BKK Bank branch in one of the major malls with a foreign exchange desk. Asked them repeatedly over a period of weeks, and they kept coming back with, "Our machine is broken."

 

[sanemax]

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I had a BKK Bank branch in one of the major malls with a foreign exchange desk. Asked them repeatedly over a period of weeks, and they kept coming back with, "Our machine is broken."

 

Seems like their machine was broken and they were unable to carry out the transaction. Best to try another branch where their machine is working

[james1995]

My fidelity atm card works just like charles schwab.  Refunds everything and better fx rate than $100 bills.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

On 4/22/2017 at 2:30 PM, heybruce said:

AEON still charges 150 baht for withdrawals from foreign banks.  Unfortunately AEON ATM's are few and far between, and long lines form at them at the beginning and end of months.

 

They are in every mall.

[louse1953]

On 22/04/2017 at 3:15 PM, sanemax said:

Withdraw money over the counter at banks, to avoid ATM fees

Not if they redirect you to atm.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

19 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

They are in every mall.

 Not every mall, or even most malls... But AEON ATMs can be found in quite a few malls and elsewhere. You can look on their website for specific locations.

 

[theguyfromanotherforum]

^... ok.... But they definitely are in every single "The Mall" chain.

[thailand49]

2 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

You could have saved yourself a lot of personal research if you had read any of the many, many threads here about ATM fees. The fees were established by the Thai Bankers Association, not the Thai government

AEON is a Japanese Credit card company and as such are not a member of the association. At one time they had no foreign transaction fee and allowed 40,000 THB per pull. They finally realized that their cc customers could no longer use their machines because of all the foreigners getting their cash from them. So they started charging and lowered the per pull limit

What I don't understand about your post is why you are not using your Schwab card and getting the fees reimbursed ?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

This place, in my opinion, when you say Thai Bankers Association that to me = Thai government.  I know my post was really long, but I've been using the Schwab as my main card to obtain money since it doesn't have a 500 USD limit. Unless, I have to in emergency I will not use any of the Thai Banks ATM, regardless of whether I get the fee reimbursed because I don't agree to their greed.  As noted I go to Aeon but now Aeon won't accept the Visa/Debit so I'm looking for a alternative like method. I heard B of A, Citibank might have a building or office in Bangkok? Looking to move lots of money but don't want it to sit in a pure Thai Bank.

[sanemax]

46 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

Not if they redirect you to atm.

Then dont go to the ATM machine , go to a counter

[rickudon]

Aeon Atm's - I use these but yes i have found that SOME will no longer accept my Mastercard. Try a different machine. But i am resigned to the fact that maybe soon none of them will not work anymore.

 

Counter withdrawals - tried this once, first 3 banks refused, Siam said ok, but they added fees and gave me a lousy exchange rate. Went back to Aeon as cheaper.

 

I use swift transfers for large sums, Aeon for smaller ones (while they still work), and whenever possible pay bills with my fee free MC credit card.

[thailand49]

2 hours ago, Jonmarleesco said:

BBL don't normally short you on the FX rate. Use the online rates before withdrawing. The banks adjust throughout the day, sometimes only once, sometimes several times, but BBL often quotes just the once, so at the end of the day, BAY, which is probably second in rates to BBL, could be ahead of BBL.

In my own non professional test, at Big C x.. before the Aeon replace their old machine with the current new one. I had to take money out of two accounts, first it was Aeon, got 15,000 baht. After I got the cash, the machine was out of money. So no choice so I use Bangkok Bank, next door,  requested same 15,000 baht, prior to pushing the final button, the screen actually tells you what conversion rate they are using. Prior to leaving I check on my computer the rate currently it was listed at 35.10, of course I didn't expect that from a ATM. The screen posted the conversion rate for my 15,000 baht was going to be 33.45.  After I got back to my place I went online to check my Schwab account and the 15,000 baht came out to be 34.65. Not real science but a good indication to me at least I not only pay lower ATM fee, I was getting a much better rate from Aeon, in ATM terms.

Edited April 26, 2017 by thailand49

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

36 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

 I heard B of A, Citibank might have a building or office in Bangkok? Looking to move lots of money but don't want it to sit in a pure Thai Bank.

BofA has an office in Bangkok, but no ATMs or consumer banking services.

 

Citibank TH has several branches with ATMs around BKK, including at the Sukhumvit/Asoke intersection, but their ATMs all charge the Thai bank ATM fee.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

27 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

In my own non professional test, at Big C x.. before the Aeon replace their old machine with the current new one. I had to take money out of two accounts, first it was Aeon, got 15,000 baht. After I got the cash, the machine was out of money. So no choice so I use Bangkok Bank, next door,  requested same 15,000 baht, prior to pushing the final button, the screen actually tells you what conversion rate they are using. Prior to leaving I check on my computer the rate currently it was listed at 35.10, of course I didn't expect that from a ATM. The screen posted the conversion rate for my 15,000 baht was going to be 33.45.  After I got back to my place I went online to check my Schwab account and the 15,000 baht came out to be 34.65. Not real science but a good indication to me at least I not only pay lower ATM fee, I was getting a much better rate from Aeon, in ATM terms.

In your own "non-professional test," you got suckered by the BBKB ATM.

 

The only time Thai ATMs will show you the foreign exchange rate on the screen is if you've knowingly or unknowingly agreed to DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion), which is where the ATM shows you the withdrawal amount in your home currency in addition to the Thai baht exchange rate. DCC typically happens only with MC logo cards, and there always is an ATM screen display asking if you want to see the withdrawal in your own currency (which a lot of people probably never bother to read or pay attention to, or, they choose it intentionally. Problem is, DCC usually has a rate 3-4% lower than the standard bank rate.

 

[Rotweiler]

I must suggest a basic requirement for posting a "fact". Have you actually tried it?  If not, shop posting your opinions as fact.

 

2 hours ago, Farang hunter said:

according to banks withdraw policies back home only withdraws made within the local network are exempt from fees on withdraws.

so, it still too good to be true FOR me.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

46 minutes ago, rickudon said:

Counter withdrawals - tried this once, first 3 banks refused, Siam said ok, but they added fees and gave me a lousy exchange rate.

whenever possible pay bills with my fee free MC credit card.

 

This is what I was referring to earlier with SCB. For doing counter withdrawals with them, you really have to be careful about the transaction details, and frankly, are probably best off seeking out a different bank company instead.

 

BTW, Rick, what bank are you using for their "fee free MC credit card"?

[Chou Anou]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

As noted, Schwab sees the Thai bank ATM fees and reimburses them without you (their cardholder) having to do anything. I've never heard of any problem with people getting ATM fee reimbursements from them.

 

But, I have had a couple of OTHER small U.S. banks, that by policy, reimburse foreign ATM fees, tell me that their systems could NOT see the Thai bank ATM fee component when I made withdrawals, specifically withdrawals coming from TMB and AEON ATMs. I only noticed it when, for some of my accounts that reimburse ATM fees, they kept missing reimbursing me on certain withdrawals. So I subsequently stopped using TMB ATMs and switched to Krungsri, since those are the two main Thai banks that still allow 30K baht ATM withdrawals.

Same here (to the first paragraph of your post), I've used my Schwab card on visits to Thailand for about 6 years now, and I've never had a problem getting ATM fee reimbursements, like clockwork at the end of the month.

[Chou Anou]

2 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Pure Tourist Trap Gouging! The day ATM's went from Free to Fee...never used one again and never will. I understand the fees, but refuse to pay RIP OFF fees. In a country like ScamLand, the fee should be ฿30-50 at most, but this place has gone off the rails when it comes to price gouging.  

When I first started traveling to Thailand (1999), I remember that Thai bank ATMs took a fee (on foreign cards) that was exactly 1% of your withdrawal amount.  Ah, memories.

[Farang hunter]

13 minutes ago, Rotweiler said:

I must suggest a basic requirement for posting a "fact". Have you actually tried it?  If not, shop posting your opinions as fact.

 

 

yes and my bank charges 5$ for every international withdraw plus 2.5% 

[chanwit]

On 4/22/2017 at 9:02 AM, Dante99 said:

Many of those cards have fees so rather than reading through the details on 12+ cards I asked.  David said he had a card with no fees which is of interest.

I have a Capital One rewards card and the usual 3% Thai Baht to USD currency transaction fee is 0% with Capital One.

[DILLIGAD]

You're behind the curve. They have all gone up to B220, and some months ago. Somewhat ahead of the government's idea of inflation; but then so is every increase on the Thai high street.

Wrong.
AEON is still 150b


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[heybruce]

3 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Yes, I used this method a few years ago with a USA debit card at Bangkok Bank and it worked then...not sure about today. That said...don't go in the bank, but rather to a Bangkok Bank Currency Exchange booth/window. Presented my PP and debit card and the amount requested was processed at the exchange rate posted WITHOUT any fees. As previously mentioned, haven't had the need to try this in 6 years or so.

The posted rate is not as good as the inter-bank exchange rate that ATM withdrawals are supposed to be charged (this being Thailand there's no guarantee about anything financial).  If you look at the buy and sell posted exchange rates, the inter-exchange rate will be about in the middle.  Whether the slightly worse exchange rate gives you a better or worse deal than an ATM withdrawal with a fee depends on the size of your withdrawal.

[heybruce]

2 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

They are in every mall.

Not in Maya, not in Kad Suan Kaew.  Those are the only two malls near the center of Chiang Mai.  I know that Airport Plaza has an AEON, and maybe the other malls, however that doesn't help me.  I don't like driving 30 minutes or longer to get to an ATM, and I rarely go to malls for the heck of it (I'm not a mall person), so I find AEON ATM's few and far between.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

21 minutes ago, chanwit said:

I have a Capital One rewards card and the usual 3% Thai Baht to USD currency transaction fee is 0% with Capital One.

Yes, Capital One credit cards are good for foreign purchases, because they have zero foreign currency fee.

 

However, don't try to use them for bank counter cash advances, because C1 and most other U.S. banks have very high fees when the credit cards are used for cash advances, in the U.S. or outside. And with a credit card, a counter withdrawal from a Thai bank gets treated as a cash advance.

 

[heybruce]

2 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

^... ok.... But they definitely are in every single "The Mall" chain.

Is there a "The Mall" in Chiang Mai?

 

These are the four AEON locations in Chiang Mai.  Convenient for some people but not for all.

 

https://www.google.com/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=4r8AWe6rN7TR8AfF2K2IDQ&gws_rd=cr&fg=1#q=aeon+atm+chiang+mai+locations&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=18787544,98995882,3083&tbm=lcl&tbs=lrf:!3sEAE,lf:1,lf_ui:3&rldoc=1

Edited April 26, 2017 by heybruce

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

23 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:

Wrong.
AEON is still 150b
 

AEON isn't a Thai bank, but yes at 150b, it's one of the very few exceptions to the 220b fees that all the actual Thai banks are charging these days. But again, AEON withdrawals are capped at 20K per pull vs. 30K at Krungsri and TMB where the fees are 220b.

 

Edited April 26, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

35 minutes ago, Farang hunter said:

yes and my bank charges 5$ for every international withdraw plus 2.5% 

Time to shop for a different U.S. bank or CU whose debit card you can use outside the U.S. without getting ripped off.

 

$5 plus 2.5% is a rip-off, plain and simple. There are lots of better banking choices out there.

 

 

[heybruce]

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

AEON isn't a Thai bank, but yes at 150b, it's one of the very few exceptions to the 220b fees that all the actual Thai banks are charging these days. But again, AEON withdrawals are capped at 20K per pull vs. 30K at Krungsri and TMB where the fees are 220b.

 

Many US banks limit ATM withdrawals to $500, so for these banks the 20K limit isn't a factor.