ATM Charges

[Bob]

I happened to open the SCB account at the Taepae branch of SCB up here in Chiangmai (cause I'm usually in Chiangmai when in Thailand). I actually don't remember about giving them any address - I faintly recall I gave them the hotel name. The ATM card was given to me right away as was the instructions for internet access (I accessed that the next day and changed my password).

 

There are no statements sent, as far as I know. I just check it online if and when I want to and update my passbook occasionally when I'm in the mood and near one of their "update passbook" machines (although I've had them do it inside too).

 

To be able to transfer money to another account online, the accounts have to be linked so I do recall giving them the bf's name and account number to do that. The SCB website has a section which allows me to transfer funds to his account. I'd note that the bf cannot access my account or account information in case you want to know.

 

Remember to open the account in the province you'll likely be as there are no charges within your "home" province. But outside your "home" province they charge for everything, including use of the ATM and passbook updates.

 

I've never seen a SCB ATM machine outside of Thailand (actually, never looked for one) so I have no idea if it works outside of Thailand. I've not anticipated how I would try to get the money out of the account if, for instance, I chose never to come back to Thailand. But I do know that within the next few weeks, I'm going to go see a Thai lawyer to do a Thai will to deal solely with the account balance (I keep a fair amount of money in the account as I used the "money in the bank" option for my long-term visa) and with personal property and limited furniture that I keep here in Thailand.

 

Funny you should ask that last question as I asked another falang friend about that just last night at dinner. He said he doesn't care what happens to the funds as he doesn't keep much in his account (which, if that's the case, I'd think he would maybe be better to make the account joint with his long-term bf - but, then again, that's none of my business I suppose).

 

If/when you want to, you can easily load up your SCB account by internationally wiring funds to your account from your home bank. That's what I do once or twice a year.

 

I would note that I think you can only withdraw 10,000 baht at a time using your ATM card (as that's the highest amount in the automatic options that pop up when using the ATM machine) - but you can do it twice while you're standing there. If I need more than 20,000 baht at a given moment (not that often), I just go inside the bank and use the passbook and withdrawal slip and get it from the teller. I've heard that there is a daily withdrawal limit - what I heard was 100k - but I know that's not true as I withdrew (using the teller) 106k one time just 2-3 weeks ago.

 

Hope this answers your questions.

[Bob]

When I pay in a large sum of cash, do I just hand over the ATM card & the cash & presumably they hand over some form of receipt in return?

 

I'm not 100% sure of your question. I do know that some people deposit money using the ATM machines - but I've never done that (I ultimately spend every baht I personally keep). If you're talking about depositing money inside, you just use the deposit slips in there (same as in your home bank - quite similar).

[Guest jtrack33]

Looks like I shall be opening an account.

 

When I pay in a large sum of cash, do I just hand over the ATM card & the cash & presumably they hand over some form of receipt in return?

 

Or are there some illegible paying in slips to fill in by hand....

 

If you want to pay in a large amount of money at the branch, you need only the passbook and passport/Thai driving license and they will give you a receipt. But more conveniently, Bangkok Bank(and others) have cash deposit machines open 24 hours a day that accept any amount of Baht notes (provided they have no folds or pieces missing from the corners). These machines only require you to enter your atm card and pin and credit your account immediately and issue a receipt. They also have the old-fashioned cash deposit machines that accept envelopes with cash but require a day before they are credited...why anyone would use them now days, I don't know unless their notes are tatty and very old/worn.

[kokopelli]

post deleted.

[Guest]

Even if depositing cash in the UK, I would not leave the premises without some form of receipt.

I would be even more careful to follow that principle in Thailand, having never before set foot inside one of their banks (whilst recognising their banks are probably more solvent & credible than many UK banks).

 

Depositing cash via an envelope in an ATM would never be an option for me -the money has to be counted there & then, with a receipt issued.

 

Do these deposit machines normally count the cash as it's deposited then?

 

As for overseas withdrawals, do the Thai savings account ATMS have any of the Maestro, Cirrus or Visa type of logos, which indicate they may be supported by international ATM networks?

[Guest jtrack33]

My Bangkok Bank atm has a Visa logo on the front and "PLUS" and "ATM Pool" logos on the back. PLUS is universal and the card works in US/UK at least.

The cash deposit machines(Not the envelope ones) ask you to enter your atm card and then enter PIN and then ask you to select whether to credit account "On the card" or "other" account. Then a door opens and you put in Bht1,000, 500 or 100 notes...as neatly as possible. The door then closes and starts whirring and grinding and scratching and verifying for 10 seconds and then announces what it has found. It almost always says 100% of the notes are good and the value of the good ones. If a note has a folded over corner, it will tell you one note is dodgy and to check/re-enter/shuffle around again. Again it will tell you what it thinks you have given it and asks you to confirm. It then gives you a receipt for the amount and the account it has credited. You can then check if it has really been credited in an adjacent atm if you have any doubts.

[kokopelli]

What jtrack33 did not mention was the deposit machine resembles a paper shredder when it opens its jaws for your bank notes. It can be intimidating the first time you use it.

[Guest fountainhall]

It then gives you a receipt for the amount and the account it has credited

 

One tip. The receipts seem to be thermal printed and fade quite quickly over time. If you might wish to refer to them after a couple of months, make a proper photo copy for your file.

[Guest]

There's a reference to a 400 baht annual fee for ATM cards here:

 

Thai Visa Bank Accounts

 

Fees seem to vary according to type of account.

K-bank fees

 

I have approximately a dozen bank accounts in the UK (current, savings, carpetbagging) & do not pay a penny in annual charges on any of them.

[Guest fountainhall]

There's a reference to a 400 baht annual fee for ATM cards here:

 

Thai Visa Bank Accounts

 

Fees seem to vary according to type of account.

K-bank fees

 

I cannot believe there are so many piddling little charges (although I realise they all mount up)! It's like the tax code - just gets more and more complicated with lots of extras added every year.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I have a SCB passbook account with ATM and 2 credit cards. I don't pay any annual fee.

[Guest]

I cannot believe there are so many piddling little charges (although I realise they all mount up)!

 

Paying a 400baht annual ATM card charge would not be piddling to a Thai working in a shop earning 280 baht a day.

 

Reminds me of a few years back, when UK credit card companies started introducing annual fees of

[Guest fountainhall]

Paying a 400baht annual ATM card charge would not be piddling to a Thai working in a shop earning 280 baht a day.

 

Agreed. I was referring to the huge range of charges on the K-bank list. Seems so petty - like they want to charge customers for almost everything!

[Bob]

Agreed. I was referring to the huge range of charges on the K-bank list. Seems so petty - like they want to charge customers for almost everything!

 

Sounds like the airlines.....

 

Seriously, though, I'm really not understanding why falang seem to get so repeatedly upset about the bank charges. Using a credit card to get money out of a bank is not the wisest choice anywhere and using an ATM card on a machine not from your bank repeatedly for small amounts isn't much smarter. Bring some cash or traveler's checks and just cash them in as you need them (or, if you're repeatedly here, get a bank account here).

[Guest kcampb49]

Sounds like the airlines.....

 

Seriously, though, I'm really not understanding why falang seem to get so repeatedly upset about the bank charges. Using a credit card to get money out of a bank is not the wisest choice anywhere and using an ATM card on a machine not from your bank repeatedly for small amounts isn't much smarter. Bring some cash or traveler's checks and just cash them in as you need them (or, if you're repeatedly here, get a bank account here).

 

It upsets me because when I used to stay for 1-3 months, it was more convenient to use my USA credit union ATM card (which does not charge any fees) to withdraw the 10 to 20 Thousand Baht I needed each week. Although I have since opened a Thai Bank account, I would still like to have that option without having Thai banks charge me $4.50 USD in addition to the money they make from the exchange fees.

 

It remains more convenient and safer for toursits than carring a lot of cash or even cashier's checks from their home countries and, in the larger view, it is in the best interest of Thailand to make it easy and convenient for tourists to access cash which they are going to spend in the local economy - that's even good for the banks, if they could take a longer view.

 

But I suppose what really pisses me off is that I am old enough to remember how aggressively banks pushed there customers to use ATM cards, all promised for free, because in a few years they were saving millions of dollars (which they are STILL SAVING) by laying off or not having to hire humans to conduct the business of withdrawals, deposits, etc. etc.

 

We seem to have lost sight of the fact that banks are taking our money to loan to others to make money for themselves. I should pay fees for letting them use my money? The whole ATM fee business is just a large consumer rip-off that has become taken for granted.

[Bob]

I dislike the banks too but, since I have an account here and only grab cash from that, I don't have any of the other charges you mention. And, since you have an account here too, I presume the problem for you is either minor or non-existent.

 

Now, for the short-term tourist that's here 2-3 weeks and spending about $1,000 a week, I still have to wonder why they get all worked up having to spend an extra $10.00 a week or less in bank fees. Yea, it stinks.....but the repeated response on message boards about it is a bit disproportionate. But, what the hell, it 's free to bitch and moan....hehe.

[Guest]

Using a credit card to get money out of a bank is not the wisest choice anywhere and using an ATM card on a machine not from your bank repeatedly for small amounts isn't much smarter. Bring some cash or traveler's checks and just cash them in as you need them (or, if you're repeatedly here, get a bank account here).

 

NO WAY!!!! You need to do the maths before questioning our intelligence & consider ALL expenses for the transaction.

 

Firstly, my current account is free in the UK & I pay no ATM charges at most ATMS in the UK. I haven't used a fee paying UK ATM for several years.

In the rest of Europe, I can withdraw cash with no fee from my card provider & ATM fees which tend to vary from nothing up to 0.5 Euro.

Then the exchange rate is astonishingly good. Instead of losing 2~3% on the exchange rate spread, it is a fraction of a percent.

In some cases I've lost less than 0.5% considering all expenses when converting to foreign currency. Astonishingly good, to be honest.

There is no way I can match this with cash or travellers cheques.

 

Last year in Thailand I could withdraw money from my account with NO FEE from my own bank, a negligible or zero fee from the Thai bank & less than 0.5% spread on the exchange rate (as compared against nominal exchange rate with no bid-offer spread).

 

This year, my bank has a 0.85% fee for withdrawals outside Europe & there is a 150 baht fee from the THAI ATMs. If I withdraw 20,000 baht, I figure it will in total cost me about 2%. If I spend £2500 on the holiday, that's £50.

 

For travellers cheques, the bank charges about 1.5% commission to supply them, then there's a big loss on the exchange rate too. Hence it's nowhere near 2% total transaction cost.

 

Bringing cash should be cheaper, but most people don't like carrying 4 weeks holiday money with them.

[Bob]

If your local bank charges a 1.5% fee for traveler's checks, perhaps time to change banks? I guess I realize some charge more or less for them and some (perhaps based on the type of account you hold or the amount in the account?) don't charge for them. Guess I'm lucky with that.

 

But....as far as exchange rate, you won't get better than what you can get for traveler's checks. Just look at the exchange rates at any of the banks or money-exchange places here in Thailand. And that's been true for more than a decade.

[Guest fountainhall]

The issue is not just, as z909 suggested, "do the math" but surely also what is convenient. I have not used travel cheques for more than 20 years. I just can't be bothered with the hassle of going to get them (American Express also issue at no cost to card holders, I believe), the occasional difficulty in a few countries in cashing them (maybe that's changed now), and then going back to cash in the balance on my return.

 

Perhaps that's because, although I travel a lot, it's either short trips or several countries in one trip. So I will always plan ahead and work out my likely cash requirements. I then prefer both to take some cash with me (which I acknowledge means one trip to the bank) and use ATMs to withdraw from my own accounts. The former has a degree of risk, I guess, but I have never lost any cash - so far! And if an ATM incurs a small charge, to me it is a charge I'm happy to pay for the convenience.

 

That's not to say I don't also do the math. For many years, I used my Hong Kong based credit cards to pay for hotels, restaurant bills, shopping etc. outside Hong Kong, because use outside the issuing country accrued double mileage. Factoring in the favourable exchange rates on the one hand and the 1% usage charge on the other, that exercise was still 'profitable' in exchanging those miles for business class or upgrade tickets (but not for economy/coach tickets). Now that most banks have increased that overseas charge to 2%, the math no longer works. So I rarely use any credit card outside the issuing country.

[Guest]

As I write this topday, the XE "mid market" sterling exchange rate is £1=55.48 Baht.

 

Kasikorn buy Sterling travellers cheques at 54.88, which is a 1.1% loss.

The sterling travellers cheques typically cost 1%, so there is a 2.1% overall cost, plus the inconvenience of using them during banking hours. Is it normal to charge commission at the bank in Thailand or if converting the surplus cheques back to sterling in the UK?

 

The Kasikorn rate for buying Sterling cash is 54.20, therefore a 2.3% overall cost.

 

The Nationwide spread on the exchange rate for cash withdrawals is VERY low, so last year it was typically costing me well under 0.5% to withdraw cash (total). Also, this was very convenient, with no advance planning required for the budget.

 

This year it would cost 0.85% from Nationwide (new fee), 150 baht from the bank (new fee) & say 0.3% on the exchange rate, therefore for a 20,000 baht withdrawal maybe 1.9%.

For smaller withdrawals, which are quite likely towards the end of the holiday, the percentage will be higher.

 

Summary:

Travellers cheque: 2.1%

Cash: 2.3% (anyone know where to get a better deal?)

ATM last year: 0.5%

ATM this year: 1.9% or worse .

 

Last time I was in Thailand, ATMs were the cheapest option by some margin.

Due to petty charges by my bank & the ATM operators, that advantage is now eroded, but ATMs probably win on convenience.

 

Travellers cheques might sneak in there if I can order a large number on line & pay a flat fee, instead of 1%.

 

[Edit: Anyone used Super Rich in Silom? Super Rich]

[Guest fountainhall]

Typically, banks give a much better exchange rate for foreign currency telegraphic transfers or demand drafts. The TT goes direct from your home bank to your bank in Thailand. A demand draft is similar to a cashier's cheque, so you have to apply for it, go back to the issuing bank to receive it and then hand it in to the bank in Thailand. On the other hand, the cost for issuing a demand draft is far less than for TTs and, I believe, is only levied at the issuing bank. Bank drafts are made out to a specific bank. So you have to have an account here first - it's no use if you are only making one visit.

 

The last time I transferred overseas currency to Thailand (Hong Kong dollars), the bank used their non-note rate of Bt. 4.31 whereas the best cash rate at the usual bank money changers was Bt. 4.20 - so the TT yielded 2.6% more. You get the same rate for a demand draft. So if you are coming to Thailand more than once and have opened a bank account here, check the cost of a demand draft from your home bank. It's far more user-friendly than travel cheques and total charges, even including any local ATM withdrawal fees, should be less.

[Guest]

If I am successful in opening a Thai bank account, it will be worthwhile to look into Telegraphic Transfers for the future.

I do receive several modestly sized deposits from overseas each year. Sometimes the sender pays a charge & the bank sometimes takes about 5% off in additional charges too. I haven't looked into this, due to the relatively small sums.

Found the following quote on another forum: "If you transfer cash to a Bangkok Bank you will pay a SWIFT transfer fee (about £10 last time I did this) and will incur a charge by the Thai Bank - I think this was about 600 THB last time I did this."

 

By the way, if anyone knows of any particularly competitive money changers for cash, please post here!! Part of my holiday will be funded with cash (don't ask why).

Something nearer to 1% total charge would be good.

[Guest jtrack33]

 

This year it would cost 0.85% from Nationwide (new fee), 150 baht from the bank (new fee) & say 0.3% on the exchange rate, therefore for a 20,000 baht withdrawal maybe 1.9%.

FSuper Rich]

 

AEON are still not charging the Bht150 fee.

[Guest OfficeMax]

I will repeat what has been said - I used an AEON machine tonight 19:00 hours November 17 and was not charged 150B per transaction.

I was able to take 40,000B out (2 x 20,000 transactions).

[Guest]

I shall probably start off with cash, exchanged at SuperRich, if they still offer the beat rate.

 

When that runs out, it will be the Nationwide ATM card, preferably from the Aeon machines.