150 Baht ATM Fee FOR WHAT?

[BKKSTAN]

LR said:''Via Internet? Why not.''

Obviuosly because my bank needs the person doing the transfer to be there in person.They do accept personal checks at no charge,but the Thai bank charges 300 baht and it takes 5-6 weeks to post in your Thai acct.,and the rate is the rate the day it is credited to your Thai acct.!

[BobHelm]

rick.....I am with HSBC & have a 'Plus' account.
This costs me 12 gbp a month but does give some benefits. If you can 'grasp' all these benefits depends if you spend any time in UK at all....so free breakdown recovery, free holiday insurance, cheaper loans & overdrafts. Also free foreign bank ATM withdrawals with their debit card. The internet banking side of HSBC is first class as well - I have not talked to anyone at my bank in 3 years (it was someone in India I talked to then ) all done over the internet....

[Mainer]

I asked my credit union in USA last night about limits on amounts I could wire transfer here and the rates. This was their reply. "It is $35 on our end no matter what amount you send out."

Maybe best to do it do it before the USD goes too far 'south'.

[aznyron]

Mainer if your in no hurry you can save the 35 bucks just write a check for 300 baht

[Mainer]

Mainer if your in no hurry you can save the 35 bucks just write a check for 300 baht

Yes Ron, thank you. I should have stated again about the amounts I was referring to. I had asked about $20,000 USD and they said $35. So I asked them again about $100,000 USD and that was also $35. I don' t want to have a check for that amount sent my the postal mail.

[aznyron]

Mainer I left out a very important word on my prev. post it was FEE 300 baht fee for depositing the check

[rick]

by BobHelm on October 14, 2009, 3:00 am
rick.....I am with HSBC & have a 'Plus' account.
This costs me 12 gbp a month but does give some benefits. If you can 'grasp' all these benefits depends if you spend any time in UK at all....so free breakdown recovery, free holiday insurance, cheaper loans & overdrafts. Also free foreign bank ATM withdrawals with their debit card. The internet banking side of HSBC is first class as well - I have not talked to anyone at my bank in 3 years (it was someone in India I talked to then ) all done over the internet....
BobHelm

Bob, not one too disagree with you usually, but need to look at all costs. Maybe works for you, but not for me. My reckoning:-

For £144 a year i would get -
cheap loans and overdrafts - do not need them. last time i was overdrawn, my bank charged me exactly 1 pence!
free breakdown insurance, useful but i pay £29 (maybe different level of service)
Free holiday insurance - useful but only for up to 31 days. I get 60 days for around £50.
free foreign ATM withdrawals. Not actually true. No one off fee but do have a 2.75% currency conversion charge for foreign withdrawals. I pay a 1% charge with no currency conversion charge.
International banking is good, and maybe also cheaper (did see charge could be as low as £9, but depends on amount, country, exchange rate). but hard to compare without actually using the service.

So, sorry Bob, not much benefit for me!
And, we both still pay the 150 baht .... unless you find todays free ATM machine.

Finally, Truebrit says we can get the pension now paid direct to Thailand; maybe good news; but that is a long way in the future for me, maybe 7 or 8 years; it is the next 7 years during which money will be the most difficult. and who knows what the issues will be then?

[beer monkey]

Seeing as this thread was started by Cali....wonder if he still reads it.. ..wonder if he will return.. ...you out there..?..
just a thought.

150baht...Mmmmm

[laphanphon]

checked with my bank, like them, hate them. they won't increase my ATM daily allowance, annoying, as meaning 4 withdrawals a month instead of 3, and they will do wire transfers, but, they only charge 15 USD, BUT, they use an intermediary bank, JP Morgan, for intern'l, which tack on 20 more bucks, so not worth it (35), unless moving 5 k usd of more. presently i get free atm withdrawals, depending on which atm here, as my bank has no charges, usually.

so sticking with the present method, until pressed to do wire transfers, when all atm's charge fee. not sure even if GSB or Thanachart accept foreign wire transfers. GSB gives me the best exchange rate, but neither will give cash advance on intern'l card, or accept check deposits. BB rate isn't as good, times 5k USD, and guessing not worth it. so i'll just keep on keeping on.......................

[jimboLV]

Just another data point to add to the mix. I FINALLY received my IRS tax refund check for 2008, after a protracted battle with the IRS (that's a story for another time). I didn't have it direct deposited since I knew it would take some time and I didn't want to be held hostage to one bank, as I can imagine the result if I tried to change the direct deposit instructions in the middle of the battle.

Anyway, I went down to Bangkok bank to deposit the check into my account, and to my surprise, they IMMEDIATELY credited my account with the amount. And only charged me a $203 fee. The last time I tried to deposit a US check (from my insurance company), there was a holding period of several weeks and a $340 fee. The bank lady said it was because it was a US government check. So, the bottom line is that if you deposit a US Treasury check they accept it on face value and give you the money instantly, with a smaller fee. It took 3 weeks for the check to get from the IRS to the US embassy to me at my home address. Just something to think about while scheming how to transfer money here, especially US government pension checks.

[laphanphon]

I going to guess the fee you are quoting is in baht, not dollars

[jimboLV]

I going to guess the fee you are quoting is in baht, not dollars

LOL. Yes I meant baht. That's what happens when you post with a glass of 100 Pipers at the ready.

[Mainer]

presently i get free atm withdrawals, depending on which atm here, as my bank has no charges, usually.

I am curious if your ATM card is strictly for ATM use only or does it have a credit card logo, which means it is a debit card.

[AussieElla]

It is unfortunate, but Thailand is moving rapidly to the shameless theft by banks to their customers. It won't mater what card you use, although I beleive there may still be one bank that is not charging this fee. It is towards the city shirne from the center round-a-bout. I haven't checked for myself. I used to be able to withdraw up to 20,000 bht with onbly my own banks fee, but now I can only withdraw 10,000 bht with the extra 150 bht fee. Easy money for he banks huh? Not only in banking but the western systems are encroaching rapidly into the freedom once felt here in Thailand. Either way, I am still very happy to be here, and wouldn't have it any other way.

[laphanphon]

curious if your ATM card is strictly for ATM use

mine is Fidelity Investments Brokerage account, which i don't use to trade anything on (e-trade for me). it is a debit card w/visa / interlink / plus /star emblems on it. can use as CC, internet/shops. Fid. doesn't charge me, usually, i might do 30 atm's a year, and 2 or 3 will have a one dollar fee, never questioned them about it. as long as i get free on the thai end, i'm happy.

[UdonExpat]

In 2007 nearly 14.5 million international tourists visited Thailand. They spent, on average, 4,121 baht per day and stayed an average of 9.2 days, for 37,913 baht per person.

The banks lost a bundle providing free ATM services to these foreigners. Thai banks have just recently begun to figure out how to make money. Use other people's money and charge them for it.

At 150 baht per transaction and, lets say, 2 transactions per tourist that's 29 million transactions they could have made money on, and will this year. At 150 baht that'll come to 43.5 billion in fees. Not bad for a software change.

Tourists and expats in most countries get socked for additional fees from visas, room taxes, rental car taxes, taxi surcharges, foreigner entrance fees, money changing fees, ATM fees, credit card fees, and on and on.

Just like home.

[JimboPSM]

..... At 150 baht per transaction and, lets say, 2 transactions per tourist that's 29 million transactions they could have made money on, and will this year. At 150 baht that'll come to 43.5 billion in fees.

By my maths that figure should "only" be 4.35 billion - but still very substantial money for a "software change".

To quantify that in some western currencies, it would equate at todays average closing rates in Thailand to approximately:

• 130 million USD
  
  80 million GBP
  
  87 million EUR
  
  141 million AUD

Western banks are currently adding fees and charges wherever they can on to their customers to pay for for the banks own incompetence and gambling debts (CDO's etc).

There was a time that when businesses screwed up it was primarily only the shareholders, management and employees who suffered (no dividends or bonuses), now the costs of many of those screw ups are almost wholly being passed on to the customer and/or taxpayer

The banks are now so large and powerful that they are effectively operating as cartels or virtual monopolies (take your pick - the effect on the customer is much the same); when you analyse their operations almost all forms of competion have been eliminated over the last couple of decades - what little competition remains (with very few exceptions) is almost wholly cosmetic

As a fundamental part of the engine room of the working capitalist model I believe we need the banking sector to return to being the competitive market place we as customers formerly used to enjoy (rant over).

[UdonExpat]

Oh, those pesky place holders. How is it that zero has so much value?

My dealing with banks are nearly completely unsatisfactory. I think it was in about 1983 that I stopped using banks, except as a last resort. I use a credit union for my primary money handler in the US. It's a small CU, so it hasn't started the fee for all the banks and many larger CU's are doing.

[beer monkey]

Don't know if its been mentioned already but I have been informed that when using a Nationwide Flex account card No charge is made when using the 'Yellow' ATM's.......anyone confirm.

[malc123]

Yes I can confirm that, trying to keep quite about it :-"

malc123