BanK ATM charges for foreign cards

[Dave the Dude]

ok, there is a catch... Paypal also have their own fees and exchange rates, not sure you actually saving this way. need to go over the numbers and fees.

sending funds to wife when off-shore) without charges and I believe him.

Hopefully, I will be trying this method in a week or so and then I will know FIRST HAND about charges/rates.

[Bigbus]

I agree with you Admin...I have a Paypal account also and I have read about transferring funds and to me it seems their fee's are high and not a real savings.

Some of you may want to look into this  http://www.ukforex.co.uk/

I'm just looking into forex.ca they seem to have a lot cheaper fee's than my own bank in Canada.

[Dave the Dude]

I agree with you Admin...I have a Paypal account also and I have read about transferring funds and to me it seems their fee's are high and not a real savings.

Some of you may want to look into this  http://www.ukforex.co.uk/

I'm just looking into forex.ca they seem to have a lot cheaper fee's than my own bank in Canada.

This suggests its free for a private transaction... https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_home-general&nav=0

I suppose I will find out soon. 

[Dave the Dude]

I found this detailed report in ThaiVisa by a Yank....

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I wanted to get a Thai bank account as I plan on retiring here in 2 years and wanted a way to transfer funds from America to Thailand as prices are a lot less than Western Union. I figured PayPal (paypal.com) would be the transfer vehicle and thought I would be able to use my US PayPal account. I was partially correct. Here is what I did.
 
Step 1: Open Thai bank account. I chose Kasikorn bank after reading many favorable reviews online. Went with my teerak to the bank, took a number, and was seen in minutes. Explained, through teerak, that I wanted to open an account. The bank clerk asked if I lived or worked in Thailand, and my teerak explained that I did not, but visited 3 or 4 times per year. The clerk then asked if I had a Thai address, and teerak said I could use her mom's address.
 
Signed a couple of forms (all in Thai) and deposited 500 Baht. I also had to pay 300 baht for the ATM card. There were actually 2 fees, one for 100 Baht and the other for 200 Baht. My guess is one to create the card and one for the annual fee. I got the card on the spot along with a sealed document that included my PIN number. I can keep this number or change it at any ATM.
 
Passport was required (and copied) to verify who I was. So it boils down to an in-country address and a passport, along with a few baht to open an account.
 
Step 2: Try to add the Thai bank to my US PayPal account. No joy. I can only add US banks to my US PayPal account. I email PayPal and ask them what to do. In less than 24 hours, they say that I can open a 2nd PayPal account and designate Thailand as the country. I do this with no problem.
 
I then try to add my Kasikorn bank account to my Thai PayPal account. Still no joy. I try different variations – with the dashes, without the dashes– all to no avail.
 
I then call the Kasikorn Bangkok help desk, on a Saturday, and confirm what I read on the Kasikorn web site. I need to have online access (K-cyber account) and then I will be able to add the account (almost).
 
Step 3: Back to Kasikorn bank. I get the same clerk and explain that I want to get the K-cyber access. I sign another form in Thai that lists my name, account number, and my email address. I am told that I will get the log in info via email.
 
Step 4: Receive email within 24 hours for Kasikorn telling me that my K-cyber account is set up and they provide log in and password. On initial log in, both password and user name have to be changed. They also require a 2nd password for any transactions. This can either be done via SMS or I can create a second password. I choose a second password in case I am not in-country when I want to make a transaction.
 
Kasikorn web site - http://www.kasikornbank.com/portal/site/KBank/ - from the drop down select "K-Cyber Banking. A new window will open. Choose ENG for your language.

 Step 5: In order to make online purchases or transactions there is another step. I have to create a K-web shopping virtual credit card. It is a simple application, requiring the 2nd password, and within 24 hours I have a virtual credit card. What this means is, I was emailed a 16-digit number (same as a Visa card), expiration date, and a CCV (the 3 digits on the back of the card). All of this is virtual. This is an additional security step that the bank uses.
 
Step 6: Back to the Thai PayPal account. I log in to my Thai account, add the virtual account info (which is linked to my Kasikorn account), and the card is accepted. WOO HOO! PayPal requires verification. They will deduct $1.95 from the account and the transaction will be listed as PAYPAL1234 or 1234PAPAL. The four digits will then have to be posted at the PayPal account to verify. In the US, they deposited a few cents and then you had to enter that info in your account to verify. Once verified, PayPal will reimburse the $1.95.
 
Step 7: Receive email confirmation that PayPal has deducted money from my account and the email has the 4 digits I need to confirm my account. Back to Thai PayPal and enter the 4 digits and all is good. Now I have an online account and can go shopping online, transfer money, etc.
 
Step 8: Time to test the transferring of funds from US PayPal to Thai PayPal. I send $100 (send money email to email) and receive immediate confirmation via email that the transaction has completed. I log in to my Thai PayPal online account and can see that the funds are available and I now have to accept or deny. I accept.
 
Step 9: I now want to transfer the $100 from PayPal to my Kasikorn bank. Problem. I don't have a bank account associated with the Thai PayPal account. The virtual info is already there, but not a real bank account. So, I click on "add a bank account". All is well until I select the drop down that lists all of the banks, and everything is in the Thai language.
 
I open a second window and go to the Kasikorn web site and compare the Thai script and find my bank in the drop down window (2nd bank listed). I select it and next is a confirmation page and Kasikorn Bank is now in English so I feel a little better that I have chosen the correct bank. I confirm the transfer and next window informs me that it will take 5-7 days for the transfer (a little longer than US PayPal which is 3 to 4 days).
 
Bank account must be entered without the dashes.
 
Not sure if the same has to be done at other Thai banks - but this is what it took at Kasikorn
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 http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/177299-how-to-open-a-paypal-account-in-thailand-100-works/

[Bigbus]

Sounds great and easy enough....will have to open Thai paypal account when back in December...keeps us informed on your progress....thanks for the info....

[Dave the Dude]

Sounds great and easy enough....will have to open Thai paypal account when back in December...keeps us informed on your progress....thanks for the info....

Will do!
One further snippet is now the "K-web shopping virtual credit card" can be ordered via an ATM.

[Bigbus]

Dave's report is correct....I done exactly what the report said...I already had a Canadian paypal account linked to my bank account in Canada......then opened a paypal account in  Thailand lnked to my Thai bank account (Kasikorn)....the transfer of funds was almost free...0.50 CDN was the charge from paypal Canada for paypal for the tranfer from my account.....then there was a 50 baht charge from paypal Thailand because I was transfering less than 5000 baht to my Thai bank account....I was just testing the sytem so only transfered $100.00 CDN......
Max I can transfer from Canada at 1 time is $10,000 CDN.....

It's much cheaper than Western Union and Bank transfer.....which your money is there within 24 to 48 hours....with the paypal transfer it takes 5 business days.....this is the way I will be tranfering money from now on.....

Thanks for the tip Dave.....

[urleft]

Hi Bums

There is still a lot of pontificating going on on another Thai forum over the Baht 150 charge for ATM withdrawals with overseas cards. 

Well it would appear that withdrawals are still free from AEON ATM's due to the fact that this is a Japanese bank. Although they are none to numerous according to their website there is one in Buriram big C

http://www.aeonthailand.com/lang/en/menu/Service_Location/region/North%20East#soutput

Anyone care to check it out and confirm no fee!


TBWG

PS:- My fee for providing this info 20baht per withdrawal ~~~ please leave behind bar a Paddy's

Thanks, appreciate the info, used it at Big C yesterday with no 150 baht charge. 

[urleft]

I haven't used the Aeon ATM in a while, but I have heard they are now charging the 150 Baht fee.   

[CO-CO]

I haven't used the Aeon ATM in a while, but I have heard they are now charging the 150 Baht fee.

Correct.

[olavhome]

If transfer take 5 days, anyone calculated on how much interest lost for saving thb 150? 

[DeputyDavid]

The paypal route seems a bit convoluted.  If in America all you need to do is open an account at BKK then add the account as external account.  BKK has one office in NY so it is done as local transfer, and the rate is as posted by the time the money gets to my account.  You can get internet banking if married to Thai, or live/work in LOS.  This has worked great for me so far.

[urleft]

The paypal route seems a bit convoluted.  If in America all you need to do is open an account at BKK then add the account as external account.  BKK has one office in NY so it is done as local transfer, and the rate is as posted by the time the money gets to my account.  You can get internet banking if married to Thai, or live/work in LOS.  This has worked great for me so far.

I have tried the Bangkok Bank route and for some reason the money does not post.  But after I email the BB NY branch the money magically appears. 

And for full disclosure, there are also fees:

Transferred Amount                          Fee (USD)
 
  Not more than USD 50.00                 Free
  USD 50.01 - 100.00                           3.00
  USD 100.01 -  2,000.00                     5.00
  USD 2,000.01 -  50,000.00              10.00
  USD 50,000.01 or more                   20.00
 
Link to BB NY:   http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/personalbanking/dailybanking/transferingfunds/transferringintothailand/receivingfundsfromusa/pages/receivingfundsfromusa.aspx
 
BTW, understand this is also available in the UK through the BB London branch. 
 

[DeputyDavid]

Right now rate at BKK 1USD=31.94 bht, Super Rich 32.32.  So if I am talking about either carrying 50,000 USD, then the difference would be 18,000 baht.  That is a bunch of money, but is it worth the risk of carrying that kind of money?  Urleft, would you carry it or transfer via BKK, or ?? 

Also, when I log onto BKK, I can not get the specifics of the transfer, such as amount in USD and conversion.  They say the conversion is at the current daily rate, but it seems that they may be converting at about a half baht less than advertised rate.  Anyone experience this?

Thanks in advance.

[urleft]

Just some thoughts to ponder:

1. I you take $10K or more from the US, you need to declare you are traveling with it.  Will put you on some US GVT Agencie's radar screen (e.g., IRS). 

2.  I have exchanged money at super rich, they were very picky about the $100 bills, meaning that if they weren't bascially new they didn't take them. 

I am also very leary on carrying a large amount of cash.  Security checkpoints which you will probably have to scan money through are only liable for a few thousand if money is stolen. 

So I just use international wire transfer and live with the crappy rates as I consider the risk too great to carry.  That being said, when I transferred money at the beginning of the year the Siam Commercial gave me a 32.87 conversion rate, which was about well above the posted rates.