Money in Thailand, bringing cash or withdrawing from ATMs: solutions

Tips on how to manage your money in Thailand, coming with euros or withdrawing from ATMs, to keep as much as possible for yourself rather than throwing it away in bundles to our ever so nice bankers.

Bring euros or withdraw them on the spot?

It's always better to bring euros with you so that you can exchange them at the best rate, but you have to be careful, as thefts are much rarer than in other countries, but unfortunately there are also some.

If you're going on a trip with a lot of cash, there are travel accessories that can be very useful for hiding notes: see here.

As far as the law is concerned, you are allowed to walk around with 9999 euros in cash without having to declare it to customs.

And if you want to pay for everything with your card, then you are sure to be robbed at every withdrawal, both by Thai bankers and those in your home country.

Changing money in Thailand

You will have no trouble finding exchange offices that are open late in very touristy areas (sometimes until 10pm).

Everywhere else you can change your money in banks which are generally open from Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 3.30pm.

But you should know that in general, the exchange rate is more advantageous in the tourist areas, in the lost corners, there is no competition...

And one of the best signs for changing money in Thailand at the best rate, it is SuperrichRemember the name, there is an office at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

Withdrawing money from an ATM

You'll have no trouble finding ATMs in Thailand, even in remote areas, and there's always one next to the 24-hour 7-Eleven.

But you should know that for each withdrawal with a normal bank card (except for some exceptions, see solution below), there are always 5 to 6 euros of fees taken by the French bank and 220 baht by the Thai bank.

And to make sure that you will have the pleasure of seeing you often, withdrawals from Thai ATMs are generally limited to 20,000 baht...

Money in Thailand: other solutions

Between carrying a lot of cash around and risking being robbed, or enriching bankers via ATMs, here are some alternatives:

The miracle Thailand card

Updated 18 October 2021 The link to the bank works, but I'm not sure if the miracle card still exists.

Krungthai Bank (which is well represented throughout the country) offers a solution that you can apply upon arrival as they are available at the international airport.

In fact, it is a special operation, on the Krungthai Bank (KTB) website it says:

"The Miracle Thailand card is offered to tourists by three organisations: the KTB, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA). It aims to promote and develop the tourism industry in Thailand."

With just your passport you can apply for the miracle Thailand cardA card that allows you to withdraw money from ATMs and pay merchants.

It costs only 100 baht and will take 50 baht each time you recharge it.

In addition, it offers discounts at many points of sale and insurance.

Ads

This is not a card for expatriates, it is only valid for the duration of your stay.

But it is a good solution if you want to come with cash, you can put some of it in this card, so your money is safe.

I don't know what happens if it's stolen, but as it's linked to your passport, I think it's safe.

You can find more information on this map here: cb.ktb.co.th

The Wize card (new name of Transferwise)

An ideal solution for travellers or expatriates, you can now open a free multi-currency account with Wise.

Wise is a platform that basically allows you to transfer money internationally from one account to another for a very low commission.

With more than 4 million customers moving more than $4 billion each month, they have become a benchmark in the field.

Wise now also offers a multi-currency bank account that includes a Mastercard® debit card for spending in any currency, anywhere, with no hidden fees.

Account advantage:

You can pay for free with the currencies in your account
Free withdrawals up to £200 per month (€238), above this you will be charged a 2% transaction fee.
Automatic conversion of currencies at real exchange rates
You only pay a small conversion fee, between 0.35 % and 2 %

See article : Manage money easily when travelling with the Wise multi-currency account

The Travelex card

This is the card that replaces travellers' cheques, but it is much criticised by users, as it is not very advantageous and complicated to use, given the exchange rate.

See their website (but I also advise you to search for "travelex card reviews" on Google, and read the many negative reviews): travelex.fr

The Revolut card

It offers many advantages similar to Wise, including the management of different currencies, but it offers a limited free version and a paid version.

It is a limited online bank as it is prepaid, you load your account by transfer, by credit card or by receiving transfers.

Advantage of the free version

There are no fees. You can pay your expenses abroad automatically in the local currency without any exchange fees.

You can withdraw up to €200 in cash from an ATM, free of charge.

And if you don't use your card, there are no additional charges.

Limit

You can only withdraw up to €200 per month free of charge from a local currency ATM,

Beyond that 2% transaction fee will be charged.

You are limited to a maximum of €5,000 per month for free payments with the card, above which you will be charged a 0.5% transaction fee.

See their website: revolut.com/en/

The N26 card

I do not recommend this card, as the bank is already dishonest with its affiliates, which does not bode well for the customers.

Since the above comment, published in December 2019, my hunch about N26 bank has unfortunately proved correct.

Update as of 18 October 2021:

According to economic journalist Pierre Jovanovic, the bank N26 risks going bankrupt!

"N-26 BANK LOSES MORE THAN $100 MILLION AND IS AT RISK OF FALLING INTO THE BALANCE SHEET October 4-8, 2021:

I have reported here several times on the rogue actions of N-26, a German pseudo bank that does not exist but has managed to bamboozle "7 million customers worldwide [].

In short, this bank is losing money. Its losses are between 120 and 130 million euros !!!! []

And Berlin's financial regulator, BAFIN, has ordered it to pay 4.25 million euros for opening photo accounts and not video accounts, even though it had already been asked to do so on several occasions!!!!

And where do you think these 4 million will come from... given that they have already lost a minimum of 120 million in 2021?

Source: Pierre Jovanovic's press review

Update of 16 January 2022 :

Since updating this article to alert to the situation of the N26 bank, many other articles have appeared like this one from December 2021 from Midi Libre:

French N26 customers claim that the online bank stole money from them: what is really going on?