According to the Thanchart website, The Thai Bankers Association has decided that cardholders of foreign banks will be charged 150 Baht for each withdrawal by debit or credit card, effective April 17th.

Not good news.

Good news for the Thai banks though!

OUCH!! That's my main source of moving $$ to baht monthly. SCB has been charging baht 20 for several months now but I just bypass them for the others.

Guess I'll just have to do a larger personal $$ check deposit to my baht account at SCB now every couple of months to cover the ATM fees if they do, indeed, come into play.

Mac

Thailand is trying everything in its power to disuade foreigners from coming here.

Mind you, thats quite a wack, 150 baht, more than most countries.

Ernest

The link confirming this is here

This of course in addition to a similar charge imposed by the foreign banks, my UK bank, for instance, charges £1.50 plus a 2.75% conversion fee.

A pretty rum do and the sign of things to come I fear.

Yet another dig at farangs pockets what with the Baht exchange rate and world recession this will turn even more people away from Thailand. The Banks around the world are all in trouble and the man on the street has to bail them out. I use ATM's alot and pay a standard fee of 12.95 pounds a year to avoid the 1.50 charge that's mentioned and now this. UK banks are also considering charging for even having an account with them. Looks like more people will be going home before things start to get better in 2010 or so they said

Gready Barstewards and Merchant bankers

Well you can claw some of this new charge back by switching to Nationwide who charge £0.00 (on the UK side) per withdrawal and still give excellent exchange rates.

This post has been edited by julesdick: 2009-04-06 23:02:11

Nationwide are going to start charging on withdrawals abroad as of 1st June 09 (1% I believe).

This post has been edited by thecatman: 2009-04-06 23:49:17

So if you go to the foreign exchange booth with your card and passport and withdraw money this way would it be a way around this extra charge.

This more then cancels out the small rise in the GBP of late.

This post has been edited by sanmiguel: 2009-04-07 02:15:22

Yeah, sounds like this could be a way around it.

Another way is mentioned in this link

This post has been edited by thecatman: 2009-04-07 02:55:19

Not a squeek was heard when other banks charge what they want. Now the world is falling apart when Thai banks (that actually provide the service and machines) come to table to get their (if anyone deserves, they do) cut.

Look how WestPac Australia handles one transaction from Bangkok Bank ATM. There are 3 fees (17.21 A$) of total 450 baht for 1 single transaction charged by Westpac while service provider (BKK Bank) is doing it all and just onlooking, for free:



25 Mar 2009 WBC FEE - WITHDRAWAL AT O/S ATM BANGKOK THA S3DIP392023097240309 5.00

25 Mar 2009 WITHDRAWAL AT O/S ATM BANGKOK THA 10020.00THB 023097240309 406.99

25 Mar 2009 MASTERCARD CURRENCY CONVERSION FEE BANGKOK THA 10020.00THB 023097240309 4.07

25 Mar 2009 FEE - FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANS AT O/S ATM BANGKOK THA 10020.00THB 023097240309 8.14

Some even proclaimed this is a plot to drive foreigners out! What a nonsense.

Anyone know if this charge will apply to cash cards?
I have a Nationwide cash card.

I transfer funds from my HBOS (Halifax) into my Thai account online, costs me £9.50 in the UK and about 100 Baht this end and get a good rate, if I were to do the same amount, usually about £5K, via an atm think it would now cost about £76 and at a lower rate, not an insignificant amount.

Darn. That adds another 450 or 600 baht per month to the budget. I always assumed my American bank was paying the Thai bank a portion of the US$5 fee.

Big deal. Banks are busineses, not public services.

They will be charging 1% from June. Though having a Nationwide card will not exclude the Thai Bank charge...or will it??

Hey...thats an option that i thought wasnt availible anymore, what with all this "chip & pin" usage
Might be a way to relax and not worry about card cloning so much

Penkoprod

I don't agree with the greedy banks doing this, but I can't see it changing anybody's mind about coming to Thailand. I really can't see people sitting at home in NA or Europe saying that the possible 150 baht charge when they use an ATM card is the determining factor whether or not to visit Thailand.

It's an ATM charge from the Thai banks, so I'd say yes, this will apply to Nationwide cash cards. The Nationwide cash cards will however escape the new 1% withdrawal charge that the building society are introducing (as that only applies to visa cards).

Yeah, it is a conspiracy. The Banks sit down with the government in smoky back rooms and work out ways to stick it to the poor defenseless farang. Diddums

Get over it. You clearly have no idea about economics.

The banks are charging it cause they are betting that people will pay it regardless, and that they won't go away. How is it in a banks interest to drive away clientele?

They are betting that Mr Sextourist Jones and Mr BarStool Davies are going to go the the bank, and like always, pull out their money, and that this fee, while in the beginning an irritant, they'll quickly get used to paying.

And you will get used to paying it. And you won't leave Thailand, will you?

Aren't these "cash cards" called VISA debit cards, though?
Meaning that they WON'T escape?

Penkoprod

No, With a Nationwide Flex Account you can have either an Visa Debit Card, or the cash card (which I believe is Cirrus).

There's more on it here

The 1% fee Nationwide will be charging is to cover the charge made to them by VISA. The cash card is Cirrus, therefore it will escape the charge. More here

This post has been edited by thecatman: 2009-04-07 13:28:36

i bank with Thanachart and have read their website,cant see this anywhere ,give us a clue?