150B fee on travellers cheques

[usual suspect]

I've just heard tonight that as of the end of this month the good old tourist-friendly Thais are gonna charge 150b fee for cashing each travellers-cheque..Is this true..?? ( )

[max51]

I just did a search and according to Tripadvisor the charge for cashing Travellers Cheques will be increased from 33Baht to 153Baht per cheque from 1 March.
I better change enough in the next 2 days to last out my trip.

[HHTel]

NO! IT'S HAPPENING NOW! My mother arrived today and always uses tc's as one year she lost them and they were replaced by Amex very quickly. We stopped at MV on the way from the airport and she changed her only 200 quid cheque. It was pointed out that the charge is now 150 baht per cheque plus 3 baht duty. In the UK my mother insisted on high value cheques but to no avail as they will only issue what's available. Consequently, she has lots of 20 and 50 pound cheques. SO..... cashing a 20 quid cheque (approx 1,000 baht or so) will incur a charge of 153 baht or 15.3% ONLY IN THAILAND.
When pointing this out to the banks in the UK, they argue that no-one can charge for a TC as they already make almost 1% on the exchange rate plus commission deals from the TC issuer.

Is there another way (more beneficial) to change TC's. My mother has arrived with all her cash for the next 3 months in TC's.

This is criminal to say the least!!!!!

[usual suspect]

HHTel..I've had a crazy idea..what if your mum (accompanied by an english-speaking Thai) were to go to a bank in HH (let's say the SCB as they are used to dealing with farangs & their finances) & try make a deal that if your mum were to open an account (using your home address) & then be willing to deposit all her T/C funds into that account at one time..would the bank be willing to waiver some or all of the new handling-fee..??
Does this sound to daft..??

[HHTel]

I was thinking along similar lines. Go with her to my bank and drop all her tc's in my account and then draw on that. I'll certainly find out tomorrow.

[Big Boy]

HHTel..I've had a crazy idea..what if your mum (accompanied by an english-speaking Thai) were to go to a bank in HH (let's say the SCB as they are used to dealing with farangs & their finances) & try make a deal that if your mum were to open an account (using your home address) & then be willing to deposit all her T/C funds into that account at one time..would the bank be willing to waiver some or all of the new handling-fee..??
Does this sound to daft..??

When I first came to Thailand, I brought my initial money supply (about £30K) in large denomination travellers cheques. I opened a bank on my first day here and deposited my stash of TCs. I had to pay commission on each cheque (with the lower rate, it was preferable, and safer than cash). Signing the cheques at the counter took an eternity .

[lomuamart]

Last year, I found that Bangkok Bank weren't charging for me withdrawing money on my UK debit card at the foreign desk whereas K Bank wanted a stupid amount. Needless to say I used to use the former and that way even saved on the ATM withdrawal fee here.
Sounds like this traveler cheque fee is universal but it might be worth asking at B Bank.

[usual suspect]

How do these 'pre-paid cards work?
Yes I know you 'load' them up first, but how popular are they?
Do they fall foul to the same financial penalties as T/Cs & ATM 'overseas' cards..??

[caller]

Do they fall foul to the same financial penalties as T/Cs & ATM 'overseas' cards..??

I use FairFX. Basically you get a better exchange rate and pay a smaller fee for using the card, anywhere. You will still have to pay the banks ATM fee.

They offer three cards, in dollars, euro and worldwide. I have the worldwide one, which I have used in Europe and Thailand.

Another attraction is the 'friends and family' card that is linked to your own account and held by whoever you have named as the recipient of the card. So when sending money to Thailand, I load up my FX account, then when that transaction is completed (normally a few minutes), transfer to the friend or family card (instant) and within no time at all, they can use their card to withdraw from any bank, anywhere. Certainly cheaper than WU, moneygram etc.

I use it as back-up in Thailand as I have a Kasikorn account. No hassle and cost of trying to use my UK debit card, which has a bad habit of getting blocked in any case.

[HHTel]

Took my mother to Bangkok Bank today. They are still charging 30 bt per cheque. 500 per cent increase on the 1st. They said that all banks go up on Saturday and that the booths in the village shouldn't be charging the new rate yet.

Anyways, my mother spent some time signing 45 cheques and got her cash. On Saturday, the commission charge would be 5,500 baht EXTRA so it was worthwhile. She won't be using TC's again.

[GLCQuantum]

Took my mother to Bangkok Bank today. They are still charging 30 bt per cheque. 500 per cent increase on the 1st. They said that all banks go up on Saturday and that the booths in the village shouldn't be charging the new rate yet.

Good news that she managed to get all her money!

They said that all banks go up on Saturday and that the booths in the village shouldn't be charging the new rate yet

Lawless Thailand at its best.

[max51]

Thanks, I'll head in to Market Village shortly and change up enough to last the for the rest of my trip.