1% fee for credit card transactions abroad postponed indefinitely
Bank of Thailand insists on clarification of customer options before fee can be applied
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has ordered credit card providers to postpone the collection of a 1% fee for foreign currency conversion indefinitely.
The fee was to be applied when holders of credit cards issued in Thailand made transactions and ATM withdrawals in baht from merchants and online shops registered outside the country. The fee’s implementation was previously scheduled to kick off on May 1 but was later postponed for three months.
Speaking after discussions with credit card providers on Tuesday, BOT’s senior director for banking supervision Suwannee Jatsadasak said the meeting agreed that the fee should be postponed until details on two aspects were made clear.
First, business operators must provide alternative payment channels for their customers who wish to avoid being charged fees on credit cards, she said.
Secondly, card operators must ensure that the fee rate is suitable and fair to users, she added.
“Until card operators and banks clarify these two aspects – customer options and fairness – the fee will not come into effect,” Suwannee stressed.
