When travellers enjoy their Thailand travel trip, they don’t want to take too much cash with them to reduce loss in case of theft: Common sense, isn’t it?
Unfortunately the Thailand banks take advantage of this. They charge their own additional ATM fees: I call it the 200 Baht ATM fee. Once home, these ATM charges in Thailand will not show up on your bank statement as a fee, but as an extra cash withdrawal. Hence if you withdrew 20’000 THB, the statement will show you, that you withdrew 20’200 THB. The normal withdrawal ATM fees, that your bank charges you anyway, will be on top of that.
I think, that this fee for all Thailand tourists using an ATM is a real nuisance! And that is why I want to give you tips, how to reduce its effects. Perhaps you think, that this 200 Baht fee is not a problem for you, as you want to enjoy your holidays and do not care about those 6 USD you loose each time. But then you perhaps wouldn’t have ended up here reading this article anyway.
Since about August 2016 it is no longer possible to avoid the 200 / 180 / 150 Baht ATM fee. Citibank now charges an extra fee of 180 THB to all foreign cards as well.
Exchange your own money from home in Thailand. It’s cheaper, if you go to the right place
The solution to avoid the 200 Baht ATM fee, that works for everybody, is to exchange your own currency in Thailand. I know, that this is against common sense as said above. But money exchange offices in Thailand offer very reasonable rates. If you visit from Europe, North America, Australia or New Zealand it is very likely, that you will get much better rates for money exchange in Thailand than at home. So why not take as much of your home currency with you as you feel comfortable with and later go to a Thai currency exchange office?
[stextbox id=”black”]
Are you or will you be in Bangkok for the first time soon? Angela from Chasing the Unexpected has prepared tips for you, what to do in Bangkok. Then – at night – don’t forget to reward yourself with a nice cocktail including great views.
[/stextbox]
There are some really good money exchange offices in Bangkok. I prepared the document “Surprise! Exchanging money in Thailand is cheaper than withdrawing if from the ATM!” for download, where you will see, that you can save 2 to 3.5% compared to ATM withdrawal. For example: If you exchange 13’000 Baht instead of withdrawing them at an ATM, you could afford 14 yummy Bangkok street-food dishes more with the saved money!
Get the give-away “Surprise! Exchanging money in Thailand is cheaper than withdrawing if from the ATM!” and more give-aways for free!
As a last trick you can reduce the effects of the 200 Baht ATM fee by withdrawing cash or money in Thailand, but more than 20’000 Baht per transaction.
[stextbox id=”info”]
Have you come to Thailand for a spiritual experience? Or you would like to remember your travel experiences with more than just your memories. Then no longer hesitate:
You can get a Sak Yant Tattoo in Bangkok or get a Sak Yant Tattoo in Chiang Mai this time!
What is a Sak Yant Tattoo?
[/stextbox]
Worrying trend of refusing some debit cards?
On November 13 again on November 20 and one last time on November 22, 2015, I could not withdraw money at Citibank and Krungsri bank with my Visa Plus debit card. I hope, that this is only a temporary glitch of not having the possibility of using my debit card in Thailand. Withdrawal with my Maestro debit card still worked on November 27.
Banks, that no longer offer a withdrawal without the 200 Baht ATM fee
Citibank: See announcement above.
There are no longer any HSBC ATMs in Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand for that matter, because they have given up their retail business.
Aeon, that has Thailand wide branches, is now charging the 200 Baht ATM fee as well since about the beginning of 2014. It is possible, that they still only charge 150 Baht. I didn’t check recently. So unfortunately this means, that if you’re looking for ATMs in Thailand with no 200 Baht ATM fee – except Bangkok for some – you’re out of luck.
Exchange your own currency in Thailand
So with all this confusion you might ask yourself about the best way to take money to Thailand? It’s easy: Take your own currency with you – if it is a “good and hard currency” – and take as much with you as you feel comfortable with.
Many people don’t know, that Thailand money exchange offices have some of the best exchange rates for Thai Baht with the lowest spreads in the world. They don’t take 6 to 10% from the Baht exchange rate like it would be in my home country. Instead most take 1 to 3% of the exchange rate in Thailand and don’t charge any fees on top in most cases. That makes them more attractive than Thai bank ATMs. It’s just, that hardly any tourist or traveller knows that. I hope I can change this with this article.
The last three times I withdrew Thai Baht, I compared the cost I had to pay with what I would have paid if I would have used a money exchange office.
And – here it comes – the money exchange option is about 2 to 3.5% cheaper depending on the amount of money. If we talk about just 10’000 Thai Baht and the 200 Thai Baht ATM fee on top of it you can save more than 3% by just exchanging your own home currency at a place with excellent rates.
I created a free give-away document where I will prove my point to you.
How to determine, whether an exchange rate for Thai Baht is good
I you’re in front of a money exchange office and want to know, if they have a good Thai Baht exchange rate proceed like this:
In my case – on November 27, 2015 – one CHF was 34.9844 THB.
The margin on the Thailand exchange rate for Baht should not be more than 3%. This means, that in above case the minimum amount of Thai Baht I should get for 1 CHF is 34.9844 / 1.03 = 33.97 THB
In the K79 exchange office near On Nut BTS in Bangkok the exchange rate of November 27, 2015, was 34.74 THB for 1 CHF. That is clearly more than 33.97 THB, hence a good exchange rate.
Actually it is not even 1%, that they take for themselves. But, this is a busy location with many clients each day. Don’t expect this kind of competitive exchange rate in a sleepy Thai province town.
Always take your passport or a copy of the particulars page of your passport with you, as such identification is required for exchanging money in Thailand by law.
Money Exchange Security Issues
So if you really want to avoid the exorbitant Thailand ATM fees, you need to be aware of your personal security. Here are some tipps based on my own travel experiences:
To reduce the risk of theft always go for the official taxi queues at Suvarnabhumi airport or any other Thai airport.
Only check in to hotels, that have an in-room safety box and read the online reviews to make sure, you don’t pick one of the rare hotels, where the staff steals out of the safety box. Read more about booking a hotel room here.
Only bring as much of your home currency to be exchanged to Thailand currency with you as you feel comfortable carrying around.
Reduce the effects of the 200 Baht ATM fee
The maximum withdrawal limit from ATMs in Thailand sometimes is just 20’000 THB, there are even ATMs, that just allow a maximum of 10’000 THB. The following banks allow Thailand ATM maximum withdrawals over 20’000 Baht at once, which is useful if you want to pay your tailor or someone else in cash. Keep in mind, that you probably have to increase the per day withdrawal limit of your own card-issuing bank. Contact your bank in your home country to adjust it.
How to withdraw money in Thailand and more than 20’000 Thai Baht per transaction?
Use these banks1
Citibank: Maximum withdrawal limit 50’000 THB
Krungsri Bank: Maximum withdrawal limit 30’000 THB
Thai Military Bank: Maximum withdrawal limit 30’000 THB
CIMB Bank: Maximum withdrawal limit 30’000 THB
Bangkok Bank: Maximum withdrawal limit 25’000 THB
Money in Thailand – More helpful remarks
What about credit cards?
Do not use credit cards for money withdrawal in any country! Depending on the bank, that issues your credit card, you would have to pay a fee of 2 to 5% on your withdrawal amount. Let’s say, the fee would be 2% and you withdrew 20’000 Baht: That would sum up to 400 Baht, which is about 12 USD. And then you still have to pay the 200 Thai Baht ATM fee on top of this! So please don’t use a Mastercard or Visa credit card to withdraw money.
Don’t become a victim of this ATM Thai currency scam
The ATM will suggest to charge you in your home currency instead of Thai Baht. What happens is, that you will receive a very bad exchange rate. Don’t accept this option. The ATM will then either charge you in Thai Baht or return the card. If you are charged in Thai Baht, the screen will not show you the exchange rate. But don’t worry, it will be better than the one you just said no to. This is a globally applied scam! Read more about it and the same phenomenon with credit cards in hotels and shops here!
1 http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/775152-which-bank-atm-has-the-largest-withdrawal-amount/
This text contains affiliate links. If you buy a product or a service Dont worry Just travel will get a commission. I offer all my content for free. This is how I earn some money. I hope that is ok.
Comments
428 responses to “Avoid the 200 Baht ATM fee during your Thailand travel trip”
I got hit for the 22o THB fee twice. Just arrived at the airport and thought i was getting baht for $100 USD. Instead i got 100 THB and got charged 222 THB and i was furious. Bet the bank loved this. Second time was taking out 3000 THB (around 100 USD) and got stung for another 220 THB, Cut way back at my spending after this to make up for the fast and sudden rip off arriving in Thailand at Don Muang Airport.
ANOTHER BULLET POINT OR TWO…
Hello. Thank you very much for writing this article. It is pretty thorough. However, let me add some information. BEWARE OF ATMs near a 7-11. It may be outside the 7-Eleven,, not inside, and it may say “Bangkok Bank”… but they will rape you without lubricant basically. The difference? I withdrew 10,000 THB and paid $340 on April 1, 2019 in Chiang Rai at a Bangkok Bank ATM outside of 7-Eleven. On April 22, I went to the ATM in Chiang Mai and also withdrew 10,000 THB and it came up on online banking as $321. Basically? $19 + 2.50 Citibank Non-ATM + $6.91 or 220 THB + additional trickery.. EXCHANGE RATE! A message will come up which will confuse you since you are at a Bangkok Bank ATM “Do you agree or authorize additional charges to the owner of this ATM?” What?? The owner?? But I am at a Bangkok Bank ATM.
Second, prepare yourself.. because if you don’t like sodomy, especially when forced without KY… you will want to avoid this as well! QUESTION THAT ASKS YOU: “DO YOU ACCEPT CONVERSION RATE?” The answer is “No.” This is just a way for your bank in the United States of America to give you an excuse for not refunding the stolen funds.
I got smart and withdrew 30,000 THB from an ATM in Phuket Town, Thailand. There are banks everywhere in “downtown”. One bank quoted over $1,000 to withdraw the 30,000 THB. The next one quoted me $987 and TRIED TO FORCE A 30.61 EXCHANGE RATE. Do you accept this conversation rate? HELL NO! The difference? $32! For making the right decision I saved myself $32 and was charged $955 to withdraw 30,000 THB. Right now in June 2019 the exchange is around 31.3 to 32 THB per 1 USD.
I went to Bangkok Bank branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.. since they spoke English and were not as stupid as the people in Thailand, and told them I know what they are doing. HARVESTING FUNDS FROM TOURISTS, TRICKERY TO KEEP THEIR DOORS OPEN. BECAUSE THE DOORS ARE READY TO CLOSE. ALL BANKS NOW ARE DANGEROUSLY IN THE RED, NEGATIVE LIQUIDITY. All banks. Citibank, Wells de Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, etc. ALL BARELY ALIVE.
Welcome to the new Quantum Banking System and introduction of NEW BANKS in the near future. Goodbye Rothschilds, goodbye Cabal, goodbye Illuminati!! NO MORE HARVESTING OUR MONEY TO KEEP YOURSELVES LOADED! 🙂
EDITS:
$19 + 2.50 Citibank Non-ATM + $6.91 or 220 THB + 3% CURRENCY EXCHANGE FEE AND additional trickery.. EXCHANGE RATE MANIPULATION ASKING FOR YOUR CONSENT!
If you stay in Thailand for a longer time the best option is to simply open up an account with a Thai bank. I have one under the name of my wife and can take money from the ATM with fees of about 10 to 20 Baht. Using Transferwise to send the foreign money to Thailand gives me the best exchange rate and the quickest transaction time so this combo altogether is the most beneficial one according to my knowledge.
Transferwise. By far and away the best option. Next best option would be to bring own money and exchnage at the SuperRich
Just so you know if you are a military vet from the USA or have some family member that was and is willing to help you get an account with USAA bank they do ATM fee refunds up to $15 worth per month. This gives me no charge for my about 2 and a half withdrawals. I pull out the max every time and use my card to pay when possible to offset the fees. Hope this helps.
But I thought that he explained that the 200 baht does not show up as a fee. It shows up as a withdrawal. The example was a withdrawal of 2000o would show up as 20200. Are you saying that USAA does not do this? What about foreign transaction fees from USAA?
I can confirm, that it shows as a withdrawal and not as a fee. I think, this is caused by the Thai banks and is not the fault of your own bank outside of Thailand.
So how do banks, that reimburse fees, handle such a case? I don’t know, because my bank does not reimburse any fee.
It’s now 220baht at most A. T M, s, and yes it shows up as total withdrawal, if I withdraw £100 from my Barclay’s account I pay 9% total Rip off,
I am from Paris and I got fees everywhere when I withdraw from ATM…
Just used a new mobile app. Fairswap to change Rubble in Paris as I am going in Russia by year-end. I found someone who has some leftover from last year trip! I was able to get some cash easily. Next year I plan to go to Thailand and reading your posts, clearly I will anticipate my trip and try to find some people coming back from Thailand, either with leftover or maybe even at the airport. Who knows!
Sounds like a good idea. 🙂
> Do not use credit cards for money withdrawal in any country!
Actually there are some German credit cards that do not have addtl. fees for international ATMs. But the now 220 Baht problem is still a problem.
There are also cards from other countries: Schwab in the US, Barkley from the UK and so on.
You should compare — or bring cash from your country to Thailand.
Just to note that some UK credit cards do not charge any extra fees and have the best exchange rates too. I know that doesn’t stop the bank owning the ATM charging but worth noting.
I have been living in Thailand for over 10 years so I have seen how things have gotten worse and worse with these fees. Believe it or not, there was a time when Thai ATMS – (non AEON) used to charge no fees. Then they all charged 150 baht and now many charge over 200 baht per transaction – a total scam ripoff!
By far the best options for Americans is to open a Charles Schwab Brokerage and Savings account ( I have 2 atm cards – one for each account) . My daily withdrawl limits are $1000 for the brokerage and $500 for the savings. All ATM fees get reimbursed – usually in 1-2 days for the brokerage account and at the end of the month for the Savings account. The exchange rate is receive is here – https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html. I try and use AEON ATMS exclusively as their fee is 150 baht still and want to minimize the damage for Schwab as I really appreciate their service. I also only use my no foreign fee Capital One credit cards to shield myself further from excess ripoff bank fees. Of course the best option if you can is to exchange $100 bills at Super Rich HQ in Bangkok for the best rate in Thailand. But that might not be practical for everyone.
Thank you for your extensive information. I’m sure, other readers will appreciate it!
Best regards, Charles
I was a Citigold customer in the US. Zero ATM fees, but I always used the ATM at Citi by Asoke in Bangkok. Also always got better exchange rates than the best currency exchanges here. I then dropped a tier on my Citi US account, and the fee charged by Citi in the US was $27……and I I had six withdrawals. Thankfully, after some screaming and shouting, they reimbursed the fees.
Was thinking to go with Schwab. But noticed here that if they include the fees in the withdrawal amount, instead of breaking the fee out separately, it’s not reimbursed. Seems it would be good if folks could identify the banks that DO break it out on the receipt. I use my credit card as much as I can because zero foreign transaction fees, and the exchange rate is always better than the currency exchanges.
Finally, I did bring a bunch of cash to exchange locally, but it’s running low and I need to figure out a new method to get cash. Always got lousy rates on wire transfers.
As far as I know all Thai banks just increase the total amount by the fee. So no reimbursement is possible. In the article you can see banks, that allow the withdrawal of high amounts of Thai baht at once.
Citibank is the best here allowing a maximum of 50 000 THB in one withdrawal. Just make sure, your daily withdrawl limit is equal to 50k or higher.
Schwab reembruises. Just got $16 back from my Thailand trip.
Do you know if the ATM was a separate charge in your account after you took out money? I just tried my Schwab card for the first time and I don’t see the separate 220 baht fee. I’m wondering if only certain Thai banks do this.
Yes.. there is a CITIBANK ATM at Asok in Bangkok. Also there is another ATM in a Mall next to Siam Paragon called Central World, 4th floor. I physically walked there and had drinks at Central World. But I wasn’t aware of the 220 THB fee ALSO for Citibank customers because I didn’t withdraw money. Only went until the end and then canceled. I wanted to see if they charged 220 THB. They weren’t going to. But perhaps I am wrong since I did not complete the transaction.