ATMs in Thailand

On Wed, 12 May 2004 16:10:42 +1000, A Mate wrote:
The bank whose ATM you are using makes no charge. Your bank is the only one
which will charge. The exception is when using 'private' ATM's. They're
rare, even in the USA;

Um. That's not not rare at all in the US. It's actually the norm. A
few years back, some of the major banks got the idea that they could
encourage people to bank with them by charging other banks' customers
excessive ATM fees. Some of the smaller banks joined together to create
a collective that would not charge customers of banks within the
collective. Credit unions did the same. But it is still expensive to
use a major bank's ATM if you don't bank there and most of those fees go
the bank that owns the ATM.

Some newer banks have a scheme for free access to any ATM, but that's
just the bank absorbing the fees, and there is limit on the number of
transactions.

--
Photos and travelogues from Africa and Southeast Asia: http://www.exile.org

Alfred Molon wrote in message m...

I also have a Citibank account here in Germany and can withdraw money
abroad with no fees.
When I withdraw money abroad from another ATM there is a fee of 3.50
Euro, while the exchange rate is the same.

Rate is the same ? Same compared to what ? Retail rates are always
inferior to wholesale rates.

Eric Edwards wrote:
On Wed, 12 May 2004 16:10:42 +1000, A Mate wrote:
The bank whose ATM you are using makes no charge. Your bank is the only
one which will charge. The exception is when using 'private' ATM's.
They're rare, even in the USA;

Um. That's not not rare at all in the US. It's actually the norm.

I believe the discussion was about using foreign ATM cards. In the USA
almost no bank ATM will charge the fee unless you have a card from a
competing US-based bank. Read the fine print on the fee notice (or try it,
if you have a foreign card).

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Chris Blunt wrote:

Its very unusual for an ATM to make a charge for using a card issued
overseas. Some machines in the US do that, but I don't think any in
Thailand do. Also, the exchange rate is set by the bank that issues
your card, not the operator of the ATM, so the rate will be unaffected
by which machine you use.

If I withdraw money with my Citibank ATM card from a non-Citibank ATM
there is a fee of 3.50 Euro (no such fee if I withdraw from a Citibank
ATM).
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Budapest and
Portugal

wrote:
I also have a Citibank account here in Germany and can withdraw money
abroad with no fees.
When I withdraw money abroad from another ATM there is a fee of 3.50
Euro, while the exchange rate is the same.

Rate is the same ? Same compared to what ? Retail rates are always
inferior to wholesale rates.

The rate is the same in all ATMs in a specific country and the only
difference is that at non-Citibank ATMs there is an additional fixed fee
of 3.50 Euro per withdrawal. Which is why when I can't find a Citibank
ATM I usually withdraw huge amounts.

This is valid for my Citibank account in Germany and will probably be
different in your country.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Budapest and
Portugal

On Wed, 12 May 2004 20:18:52 +0200, Alfred Molon
wrote:

Chris Blunt wrote:

Its very unusual for an ATM to make a charge for using a card issued
overseas. Some machines in the US do that, but I don't think any in
Thailand do. Also, the exchange rate is set by the bank that issues
your card, not the operator of the ATM, so the rate will be unaffected
by which machine you use.

If I withdraw money with my Citibank ATM card from a non-Citibank ATM
there is a fee of 3.50 Euro (no such fee if I withdraw from a Citibank
ATM).

Right, but my point was that any fee would come from your own bank
(Citibank in this case), not from the bank whose ATM you were using.

Okay......., Im a week in Russia and 3 weeks in Thailand and I wish to
use my Citibank debit ATM card. In Brazil I had no problem because
Citibank ATM was readily available, but this will probably not be the
case in Thailand or in Russia.

So is there a better USA bank for me to use for Thai ATMs ?(USA for
convenience) than Citi?

Next Citi claims I may use other than Citibak ATMs 5 times a month with
no Citi charge....
will I still be charge by the ATM owner(bank)

Chris Blunt wrote:

If I withdraw money with my Citibank ATM card from a non-Citibank ATM
there is a fee of 3.50 Euro (no such fee if I withdraw from a Citibank
ATM).

Right, but my point was that any fee would come from your own bank
(Citibank in this case), not from the bank whose ATM you were using.

Actually I don't know who pockets these 3.50 Euro - it might well be
that the Thai bank and the Citibank share them.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Budapest and
Portugal

"elliot" wrote in message
...
Okay......., Im a week in Russia and 3 weeks in Thailand and I wish to
use my Citibank debit ATM card. In Brazil I had no problem because
Citibank ATM was readily available, but this will probably not be the
case in Thailand or in Russia.

So is there a better USA bank for me to use for Thai ATMs ?(USA for
convenience) than Citi?

Next Citi claims I may use other than Citibak ATMs 5 times a month with
no Citi charge....
will I still be charge by the ATM owner(bank)



Dont really see why this is such an issue. Surely if you can afford this
trip you can afford a few small bank charges?
Use Citibank when you can, and put up with their charges when you have to
use another bank - just avoid withdrawing small amounts often. Carry some
cash US$ or Euro if you need to chage small amounts.
And ask Citibank if there are other banks' ATMs where they do not charge.
Surely they know better than people here?

In article ,
elliot wrote:
Okay......., Im a week in Russia and 3 weeks in Thailand and I wish to
use my Citibank debit ATM card. In Brazil I had no problem because
Citibank ATM was readily available, but this will probably not be the
case in Thailand or in Russia.

There are some but not many in Thailand. No idea about Russia.

So is there a better USA bank for me to use for Thai ATMs ?(USA for
convenience) than Citi?

Talk to them about getting all the ATM fees waived. Worked for me. Given
that, I couldn't imagine a better bank for traveling. They have offices all
over the place, they accept collect phone calls from anywhere in the world,
and they know how to get you money ASAP if something happens to your card
(faster, in my experience, than American Express can if you lose your
travelers checks).

Next Citi claims I may use other than Citibak ATMs 5 times a month with
no Citi charge....
will I still be charge by the ATM owner(bank)

As several people have already answered, no, you will not be charged any
fees by the ATM owner if you use bank ATMs in Thailand.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu