Do all banks charge 5% plus 200 baht for foreign cards?

[Perros]

Conveniently I have an SCB bank close by.  However I see that they impose a 5% fee on top of the 200 baht fee.  Do all banks charge this 5%, or just SCB?  Using Wise isn't possible at this point.

[Faz]

Using a foreign debit card to withdraw funds is expensive.
There may be an ATM charge, plus charges relating to the T&C's of the use of your foreign debit card abroad.

I take it you don't have a Thai bank account?

If your intending to stay long term in Thailand you really need to open a Thai 'Savings' account, then you can transfer using 'Wise'.

[JustAnotherExpat]

I learned quickly that, between the fees and the garbage exchange rate, it was an actual 10% hit I took using a foreign credit or debit card to get baht.

[Perros]

Thanks for the replies, but it seems no one really knows if all banks charge this 5%.  Of course I have a Thai account, but  I was looking for information about which banks do not put this 5% charge on all foreign card transactions, regardless of how much is withdrawn.

[Benroon]

On 2/28/2022 at 4:58 AM, Transam said:

Having your salary/pension paid directly into a Thai bank will save you bundles if you are a long stayer.....

ah but that excludes all the pensioner fraudsters who don't want the UK government to know they're here !

[Faz]

On 3/1/2022 at 9:37 AM, Perros said:

I was looking for information about which banks do not put this 5% charge on all foreign card transactions, regardless of how much is withdrawn.

It's not the Thai banks charging that 5% fee, it's your foreign bank.
'Visa' and 'Mastercard' typically charge at least 1% for foreign transactions.
Your bank may also add charges for cash withdrawals overseas, typically a fixed fee per transaction, plus a currency conversion fee.

You need to read the small print of the terms and conditions (charges) for use of your foreign debit card for cash withdrawals overseas - not that you can do much about it in Thailand.

[Perros]

SCB says its' a 5% "network fee" on top of any fees that a home bank would charge, so I don't think it's the home bank, I think it's whatever network SCB is using.  So at the SCB bank, they show a screen of the days exchange rate, then they say there's a 200 baht fee, a 5% network fee, and whatever fees a home bank charges.  I was just trying to get to the bottom of the 5% as  of 20K baht is 1000 baht, which is crazy.

[Perros]

Just to follow up, I went to yellow bank and withdrew some funds to compare.  Looking at the atm receipt, it shows a 220 baht atm fee, and a 5% "network fee" although on the atm screen itself there was no mention of a fee, just an exchange rate given.  It turns out this exchange rate given is after whatever network controls the atm's 5% is taken out.  Getting home, looking at my online banking, it just shows the total amount of USD taken out of my account in one lump sum.

[Faz]

9 minutes ago, Perros said:

Just to follow up, I went to yellow bank and withdrew some funds to compare.  Looking at the atm receipt, it shows a 220 baht atm fee, and a 5% "network fee" although on the atm screen itself there was no mention of a fee, just an exchange rate given.  It turns out this exchange rate given is after whatever network controls the atm's 5% is taken out.  Getting home, looking at my online banking, it just shows the total amount of USD taken out of my account in one lump sum.

What is your point and what are you after - transparency of the charges?
A Thai ATM cannot advise of the 'network' fee, which will consist of 'Visas' fee plus currency conversion rates and charges set by your home bank for the use of cash withdrawals overseas using your foreign debit card.

The only information you will be able to ascertain is xx USD was deducted from my home account, in order to receive xx baht. From that you can work out the exchange rate you received - nothing more.

If you want transparency and a better exchange rate, as already advised, open a Thai bank account and transfer via 'Wise' as many expats already do.

[Freeduhdumb]

On 3/11/2022 at 12:52 PM, Faz said:

What is your point and what are you after - transparency of the charges?

I suspect he is wanting to ascertain the "Network Fee." Why does this fee need to exist at 5%... it's too much. Consider this... when all money goes digital, Fed Coins/Bank Coins, maybe it will be easier to ascertain all of the various extortion fees?

[Faz]

2 hours ago, Freeduhdumb said:

I suspect he is wanting to ascertain the "Network Fee." Why does this fee need to exist at 5%... it's too much. Consider this... when all money goes digital, Fed Coins/Bank Coins, maybe it will be easier to ascertain all of the various extortion fees?

 

Foreign ATM and transaction fees

Just like using a credit card in a foreign country, you can incur charges every time you take out local currency from an overseas ATM or pay with a debit card in a restaurant or a store. There are two types of debit card fees you may face abroad:

Foreign transaction fee: Sometimes called a currency conversion fee, this applies for foreign transactions made with a debit card. It usually ranges from 1% to 3% of the purchase amount. Foreign transaction fees for credit cards work similarly.

International ATM fee: Banks and credit unions typically charge a flat fee — often up to $5 — for using an ATM network in another country, plus a percentage of the amount you withdraw. This fee may be a different amount from your institution’s domestic out-of-network ATM fee.

The machine owner may also have its own ATM fee in addition to what your bank or credit union charges, generally a similar amount.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/debit-card-foreign-transaction-fees

 

[Freeduhdumb]

3 hours ago, Faz said:

Foreign ATM and transaction fees

Just like using a credit card in a foreign country, you can incur charges every time you take out local currency from an overseas ATM or pay with a debit card in a restaurant or a store. There are two types of debit card fees you may face abroad:

Foreign transaction fee: Sometimes called a currency conversion fee, this applies for foreign transactions made with a debit card. It usually ranges from 1% to 3% of the purchase amount. Foreign transaction fees for credit cards work similarly.

International ATM fee: Banks and credit unions typically charge a flat fee — often up to $5 — for using an ATM network in another country, plus a percentage of the amount you withdraw. This fee may be a different amount from your institution’s domestic out-of-network ATM fee.

The machine owner may also have its own ATM fee in addition to what your bank or credit union charges, generally a similar amount.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/debit-card-foreign-transaction-fees

It will be interesting when all of this goes digital, no more cash, and will be forced to pay all of these fees and whatever other control mechanisms are planned. Ever heard of programmable money?

[Faz]

2 hours ago, Freeduhdumb said:

It will be interesting when all of this goes digital, no more cash, and will be forced to pay all of these fees and whatever other control mechanisms are planned. Ever heard of programmable money?

In Thailand cash talks, everything else walks.

[Thaidup]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:20 PM, Faz said:

In Thailand cash talks, everything else walks.

I thought about this a few years ago, Was trying to explain to a friend on Facebook how cashless can't work in Thailand, The government would have to provide all the local market stalls with a card reader, than I thought about Big C food stalls, and I realized that they could do it with a centralized coupon system, where you buy  coupons at the entrance with your card, and get credited the coupons when you leave,sometimes It sucks to able to think outside the box.

[Guest1]

On 3/11/2022 at 12:35 PM, Perros said:

although on the atm screen itself there was no mention of a fee, just an exchange rate given

Have you accepted the exchange rate?

THAT is the expensiv way, to get money out of an ATM.

Than you get the Banks fx rate, not that one from the card company!

[Guest1]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:20 PM, Faz said:

In Thailand cash talks, everything else walks.

Since I was stuck, today, behind someone, who paid 19 Baht with QR code:

They are on the way to less cash in the pockets.

Covid has helped a lot, even food stalls on motorcycles accepting now cashless transfers for 20, 50, xxx baht.

I do not see, that this is going away again, with covid, some day

[Thaidup]

3 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

Since I was stuck, today, behind someone, who paid 19 Baht with QR code:

They are on the way to less cash in the pockets.

Covid has helped a lot, even food stalls on motorcycles accepting now cashless transfers for 20, 50, xxx baht.

I do not see, that this is going away again, with covid, some day

Yeah I would tend to agree, Thailand's younger generation is becoming very digital oriented. Me personally I don't like the fact that an internet outage or a power outage can stop me from conducting a transaction, Thats not bellow what a government can do, like what happened in Canada, and to a lesser degree what is happening to Russian tourists.