I recently tried two different ATMs in Thailand and the Thai Banks wanted to charge 350 baht for the ATM transaction. It seems that the charge is now 350 baht if your card is a Mastercard which is what the Macquarie debit card is. That is about $15 AUD to withdraw some cash!!
I believe Visa cards are still 250 baht. Wise is a Visa card but has monthly ATM limits.
The two banks I tried were Bangkok Bank and TMB.
You should edit the title as this is not a Macquarie specific charge.
Also, you should include details of which brand/bank ATM you went to so others know to try another brand to avoid this fee.
Take AUD and exchange it at a Super Rich currency exchanger OR otherwise withdraw cash but at least 20,000BHT to offset the ATM fee (220 or 350bht)
!RemindMe in 2052 when I may get to Thailand
I will remind you
Well, we are going together so between the two of us we will remember.
Ms Paint me like one of your French buckets.
Someone at the airport will pick you up, with a big signage: "Welcome back, femboys!"
I have a worse story. Needed $100 Malaysian for a bus fare. Airport atm charged extra $25.
I hate that airport so much.
RM25, or A$25?
RM. thanks, I could remember the currency code, and too lazy to spell it out.
It was a rip off, not extortion
About $9aud, that's certainly gone up since I was there. Malaysia like Thailand is moving towards digital wallets so that might be some of the reason why ATM fees are going up.
Thailand is still much higher. 350baht is like $16-17aud. That's before any fees on your banks side.
@shadowangel: All I know it was 25% on top of my withdrawal, which is not reasonable.
I know PNG ATMs are a rip off too. I need to make a list of countries that don't deserve tourism.
Pay anything you can on credit card, only use cash where there is no other option.
Most places in Thailand charge 3% for using any Visa or mastercard - debit or credit card.
SHORT ANSWER: Just take AUD cash with you.
You get good rates at the money chnagers and commission free too.
As the old saying goes…CASH IS KING!
Which is another thread on its own as AMEX has increased international transaction fees from 3% to 3.5%. We just cannot win.
AMEX not ideal - but still better than a $15 fee every time you get cash out.
All the really fun stuff in Thailand is cash only.
All thai banks charge that fee now, I tried to get around it with my various cards and the various banks there but there was no dice. Best play is actually to bring cash to exchange now at those forex desks at the big malls, I think.
There's been a rapid change to digital payments since COVID. Cards are not part of that change. Wise is adding prompt pay, along with other changes in the future. There might be some restrictions.
Pay like a local was already added to pay in Singapore though wise.
True money wallet might be an alternative for some on longer term visas but you still need to get cash to deposit.
Moretapay app does work for merchants but most stores use personal accounts.
I miss the days when ING would rebate international ATM operator withdrawal fees.
Anyone who can get an American Charles Schwab debit card should do that.
For a Thai specific solution, apparently KBank offers a prepaid VISA card to tourists that has no ATM withdrawal fees from their ATMs. Might be something to look into
https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/1cyn4cz/av…
I read, I think on their website, that the Charles schwab card, does NOT reimburse the ATM owner operators fee
I miss the days when Citibank still had fee free withdrawals, and one of my go to locations was just at Asoke. Over time, CB just seemed to have disappeared.
There's limitations with the tagthai system, they were also working on crypto to QR code as well. I wouldn't be surprised if it only worked on merchants as well which most merchants use personal accounts so it likely won't work very well.
I wonder if Alipay works? Alipay can scan prompt pay QR codes and you can signup with a foreign phone number and pay with visa/MasterCard.
I'm not sure if theres restrictions for the foreigner accounts though.
Wise is adding prompt pay scanning, but there's a few catches.
I never had this issue
Must have been before they introduced it the other week.
You will now
Back in the day I used to physically go into a (Thai) bank and make a withdrawal that way to avoid the fee. Does that not work any more?
I think it can still be done but every branch there seems to have a mind of it's own with random (made up as they go along) rules and policies. Some will tell you it's not possible and never has been, others will tell you to use the ATM, and a rare few will do it as a cash advance.
Macquarie don’t charge you, the ATM provider you are using is charging