Bilko wrote:As far as i know, the bank of Ayudhya(yellow) still dont charge. how long it will go on for is anybodys guess. theres about half a dozen dotted around town.

They have always charged me when I've used their machines Bilko...

I am 99% sure that it's just Aeon left now.

Hi,
Agree with BB 100%. Ayudhya have always charged me when I used them. Tried this morning at Tescos. 150B charge came up and was asked if I still wanted to proceed with the transaction. I of course answered NO. Just checking.
Cheers Doug.

Sorry lads for the bum information. It was a bum that gave it to me.( Pass me the donkeys head ).

Well I tried all the ones that were suppose to not charge, the yellow, the pink….. none ever worked for me, except the “AEON”, but get a good exchange rate like I did before, not a chance, seems to be about a little more than a Baht difference per dollar from the going rate on say “Yahoo” and other listings, before all this 150 Baht stuff started to happen, I would get about the same rate as say “Yahoo”, plus when displaying the transaction on my account it listed the rate, now it is all zeros.

Therefore, the only good thing about “AEON” is that I can go back to small withdrawals and not be hit with the 150 Baht charge for each.

Get a bank account in a Thai bank.
Transfer money over as you require it.
There is no withdraw fee at your bank and at other branches it will be 20 baht. This way you're also not tempted to make very large withdrawals to avoid multiple fees.
As I see it, the only reason to pay 150 baht for a withdrawal is if you want to keep a line of credit open in a bank back home. Make one withdrawal a year or you might risk the bank telling you to take a hike.

Texpat

I agree with idea of one large trsf, but the pound is changing every day, would hate to make a large trsf then see it rise up. Could make a big diffrance to how much you get.

malc123

iv said it before on here i go to big c draw out at atm bank of ayudhay where i have an account no charge.

Texpat, dont you pay a fee for transfering money over as you put it.

malc123 wrote:Texpat

I agree with idea of one large trsf, but the pound is changing every day, would hate to make a large trsf then see it rise up. Could make a big diffrance to how much you get.

malc123

I think the more you can transfer at one time is your best bet!Only one transfer charge and The baht is not going to go up any appreciable amount as every indicator there is,points to a strengthening trend for the baht.It is completely unrealistic to think that the baht is ever going to rise to the levels of the past after the 97 debacle because the problems in the system that caused that rise,no longer exist and Thailands banking system and economy is relatively solid and growing in comparison to our systems!

The BOT has managed to keep the baht within the 33-34 range against the USD to keep exports growing,which they have been doing fantasticly,42% growth in May alone,which might cause them to let the baht strengthen a little more,but not to quickly as the gov't will want to support some populist programs before the elections.

With the economy growing so quickly,the BOT will probably raise interest rates here,which will also strengthen the baht!

Went to the online banking site for Bank of the West in California and found and additional charge of $4.50 in addition to the other charges normally incurred. On further checking, on every ATM withdrawal I'm paying 150B (Thailand) $1.50 plus 1% to B of W, (foreign transfer fee) and because my ATM card has a MasterCard logo on it, 1% to MC (new) too. This must have something to do with the "new credit card reforms" in the U.S. Max withdrawal from a U.S bank is $500 (close to 15,000B) a day so do the math. OUCH! 8 Years ago when I had money transferred to my Thai bank account it was a flat fee of $40 per transfer so damn if you do, damn if you don't.

Funman Don't know if this will help with the max withdrawal, but I can increase/decrease this by contacting my bank and letting them know what I want to set the withdrawal amout at. As for the 1% foreign transder fee, that has been standard for years with my bank.

Aeon now charge 150 baht

I just discovered that Bangkok Bank makes it easy, for someone on a Tourist visa, to open a bank account.

I learned about it from a company called chiangmaibuddy.com. The woman from chaingmaibuddy.com took me to a Bangkok Bank branch and was required to vouch for me, via a signed copy of her drivers license. So, maybe a tourist needs a Thai friend to open the account?

Bangkok Bank said their ATM card can only be used at their ATM machines (at least for now).

I'm very glad to avoid the 200 Baht ATM withdrawal fee

danchatka wrote:was required to vouch for me, via a signed copy of her drivers license.

But -in principle - who is willing to vouch for a stranger?

I'm sure she didn't do it for free and you'd have to wonder at her motivation...

You don't need anyone to go with you. Just go with your passport to Bangkok Bank. In my case they didn't even look at the visa. Just took my details from the biometrics page.

Much better than to rely on mamasan.

You still have to get the money into your Bangkok bank account to be able to withdraw it - maybe that is what Bangkok bank hope to make their money on ...... also i presume they charged you for the ATM card?

danchatka wrote:
Bangkok Bank said their ATM card can only be used at their ATM machines (at least for now).

After about 7 or 8 years my ATM card was in bad shape, so I got a new one. With the new one could only use it at BB ATM's so went in to complain. They said to get one that worked at other ATM's like my old card, I would need to turn it in and for some reason wait 7 days for a new card. WTF

Been planing to do it sometime, just have not. It is a dam pain, say you go out to Ngnee Soon, and their ATM is not working, your fu*ked. Just happened again last Sunday.

RLTrader wrote:

danchatka wrote:Bangkok Bank said their ATM card can only be used at their ATM machines (at least for now).

... With the new one could only use it at BB ATM's so went in to complain. They said to get one that worked at other ATM's like my old card, I would need to turn it in and for some reason wait 7 days for a new card. WTF

As said before there was a good intention behind it.
Bangkok Bank introduced their new Smart Card - obviously without informing the other banks - that would check the validity of the ATM card even before You are asked to enter Your pin.
This first check actually helps you against ATM-card fraud.

Well, since the other banks refused to accept, Bangkok Bank has to offer pure VISA Debit Card that can be used also abroad - just as any ATN-card with either VISA, MAESTRO or Mastercard logo on it. These are centrally produced in Bangkok, therefore this 7 days waiting time.