Before you fly: get your cards ready

Most cash problems in Thailand start at home. Ten minutes in your banking apps before you travel avoids nearly all of them:

• Use a low-fee card for cash. Capitec and GoTyme charge a flat R70 with no conversion fee; the big banks can charge R500 to R600 on a ฿20,000 withdrawal.
• Switch on international use for each card in your banking app. Some South African cards won't work abroad until you do.
• Check your daily ATM limit. ฿20,000 is about R9,800 — raise your limit in the app if it's lower.
• Check your PIN. Thai ATMs work with four-digit PINs. If yours is longer, ask your bank before you go whether it will work abroad.
• Turn on notifications and in-app approvals so you see each withdrawal and any fraud alert straight away.
• Keep your South African SIM active for one-time PINs, even if you buy a Thai SIM or eSIM for data.
• Take two cards from different banks, ideally one Mastercard and one Visa, and keep them separately.
• Save your bank's international number somewhere other than your phone.

Choosing the right cash machine

You'll find ATMs outside almost every 7-Eleven, in every shopping centre, at bank branches, airports and train stations, and along the main streets of every tourist area. Most are open 24 hours. The question isn't finding one; it's choosing well.

Best: a machine attached to a bank branch. If the machine keeps your card or doesn't dispense your cash, you can go inside — or come back when the branch opens — and deal with the bank that owns it.

Cheapest: an AEON machine. AEON has been widely reported charging ฿150 to foreign cards rather than ฿220. You'll find them in shopping centres and in Makro, Big C, Lotus's and MaxValu stores.

Fine: mall and 7-Eleven machines. They're owned by the major banks, charge the standard ฿220, and are busy and well lit.

Avoid if you can: lone kiosks and independent airport machines. Stand-alone machines in quiet streets carry more risk of tampering, and some independent airport ATMs have been reported charging up to ฿250.

Different banks' machines also behave differently with some foreign cards. If one bank's ATM declines your card, the next bank's machine down the road may accept it without a problem.

Using a Thai ATM, screen by screen

The exact wording and order vary between banks, but a withdrawal with a South African card at a major Thai bank's machine usually goes like this:

1. Insert your card. Chip first, face up. Some newer machines also take contactless — follow the screen.
2. Choose your language. Look for "English" on the first screen, often in a corner.
3. Enter your PIN and press Enter or Confirm. Cover the keypad with your other hand.
4. Choose "Withdrawal". Ignore balance enquiries and transfers, which may not work with foreign cards.
5. Choose an account type if asked. "Savings" or "Current" (sometimes "Cheque") usually both work. If one is refused, start again and pick the other.
6. Choose "Other amount". The preset buttons are usually small amounts. Type the full sum you want, in hundreds.
7. Read the fee screen. The machine tells you the Thai fee — usually ฿220, or ฿150 at AEON. Confirm, or cancel if it's higher than expected.
8. Decline the conversion. If you're offered a rand amount "at a guaranteed rate", choose to continue in baht.
9. Take your cash, then your card. On many Thai machines the cash comes out first and the card follows. Wait for both.
10. Take the receipt if offered, and check the transaction in your banking app before you walk away.

How much to take out — and which notes you'll get

Thai ATMs mostly dispense ฿1,000 notes, sometimes with some ฿500s. Because the Thai fee — and Capitec's or GoTyme's R70 — is the same whatever the amount, it pays to take out as much as you sensibly can each time:

The limit is usually whichever is lower: the machine's maximum per withdrawal (typically ฿20,000 to ฿30,000) or your South African card's daily limit, which you can usually change in your banking app.

Large notes are a nuisance for taxis, street food and market stalls. Break them at 7-Eleven, supermarkets and restaurants, and keep a mix of ฿20, ฿50 and ฿100 notes for small purchases. Asking for an amount that isn't a round thousand, such as ฿9,500, can get you a ฿500 note if the machine has them.

Keep the bulk of your cash in your hotel safe and carry only what you need for the day. A ฿20,000 withdrawal is efficient on fees, but it's also a lot of money to lose on a night out or a boat trip.

When it doesn't work: common problems and fixes

If a Thai ATM won't give you cash, don't keep trying the same machine — repeated failures can trigger your bank's fraud checks. Work through this instead:

The most reliable fix of all is having a second card from a different bank, on a different network. If both fail, you can usually still pay by card in shops and hotels while you sort it out.

If the machine keeps your card

First, stop the card in your banking app. That protects you whatever happens next. Then decide whether to try to get it back or simply order a replacement.

If you left the card behind after a successful withdrawal and the ATM is at a bank branch, you have a reasonable chance of getting it back. Travellers who have done it describe a similar process. Go to the branch that owns the machine as soon as it opens — on the Monday if it happened at the weekend — and explain what happened, with the date and time. Show your passport and the withdrawal in your banking app, and describe the card so staff can match it. Expect some paperwork: copies of your passport and a short signed statement.

It isn't a standard procedure, so success isn't guaranteed, and a card kept after wrong PIN attempts generally can't be reclaimed. If you can't get it back, a replacement card can take a long time to reach Thailand from South Africa — another reason to carry a second card. Many South African banks let you create a virtual card in the app for phone payments straight away, though you'll still need a physical card for cash.

Other ways to get baht

An ATM isn't the only option. Depending on how much you need and how long you're staying, one of these may suit you better:

Counter withdrawals with foreign cards are at each branch's discretion. South African residents may take up to R25,000 in rand banknotes out of the country.

Withdrawing cash at a bank counter

Some Thai bank branches will let you withdraw cash over the counter with a foreign card and your passport, which can be useful for a large amount — a deposit, a car or a month's rent. But it's inconsistent. Travellers report some branches doing it with a debit card and no fee, others charging around ฿220, others accepting only credit cards, and others refusing and sending them to the ATM.

If you want to try, go to a larger branch during the week, take your passport, and ask before you queue. Expect a minimum amount, and check the exchange rate being used. Your South African bank may also treat it as a cash withdrawal abroad, with its usual fees — and on a credit card, interest from the day you take it.

For very large sums, a bank transfer to a Thai account is almost always better than carrying cash, and for property, vehicles or business purchases it's the safer route.

Living or staying longer in Thailand

If you're spending months in Thailand, regular ATM withdrawals add up — two a week for six months is more than R9,000 in Thai and Capitec fees, and far more on a big-bank card. A Thai bank account changes that: withdrawals at your own bank's machines are generally free, and you can pay by Thai QR code at the stalls and markets that don't take cards.

You then move money from South Africa in larger, less frequent transfers within your annual allowances. For anyone retiring, working or living in Thailand, how and when you move money matters far more than the ATM fee.

The best South African cards for Thai ATMs

Three low-fee South African cards that work well in Thai ATMs. For the full comparison, see our guide to the best South African cards for Thai ATM withdrawals.