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ATM and Credit Cards in Thailand
I got "copied" at the Ban Sukhothai Hotel where I was staying in Bangla Road and since then the stable door has been well and truly bolted.
1) Apply for a Nationwide Credit card and Flex Account.
The good old RBS were charging 2.75% on top of the ordinary handling fee for debit card ATM withdrawals as well as using a ridiculously low foreign exhange rate about 5 points below the real one. It was costing about £12 per £100 withdrawn.
The Nationwide Flex account dows not charge for foreign transactions at all and last time I got 63.20 when the Siam Bank was quoting 62.50.
The Nationwide credit card also does not charge at all for foreign exhange transactions. This saves about 3% on top of the ordinary charges levied by other cards.
2) Tell the bank what you are doing.
I now always tell the bank where I am going and what I am doing abroad. I also tell them the likely expenditure if I am plannning to buy anything above £1,000. (ie a hotel bill).
I then tell them when I have returned to the UK and check all the statements immediately on my return online.
3) Don't let your card out of your sight
That is how my card got copied at the Ban Sukhothai. The receptionist took it into the office.. Now if they want to do something other than swipe it in the machine in front of me I simply say .. NO. In a restaurant go with your card to pay.
4) Check the machine for obvious tampering
Some ATM machines have been "skimmed" by putting a false plate on top of the existing one. Hard to see when drunk in the Bangla Road but check for a raised keyplate or a video camera above the keypad. If in doubt go somewhere else..
5) Take out ordinary insurance on your credit card
Credit Card Services offer a full insurance of about £30 per year to cover all cards and fraud. I use Barclaycard services but most of the main companies offer this. Use it if you are going to Thailand..
Conclusions
Thailand does not yet use chip and pin technology so it is fairly easy to copy the cards. Be aware and be careful. Most people are honest, some are not.
Mac
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