Thailand is phasing in new rules for 19 bank fees

The rollout is mostly complete, but it was never a single June 2 fee cut

The 19 items are divided into four groups: three deposit-related fees, three card-related fees, eight payment-transaction items and five SME lending fees. Some charges are prohibited, while others are capped or made subject to a standard calculation. Treating the package as a blanket abolition of bank fees would therefore be inaccurate.

There is also an anti-circumvention rule. Covered providers cannot simply replace a reduced fee with a new charge, raise another fee or adjust interest to offset the change without a legitimate reason such as a material cost increase, the end of a promotion or a change in customer risk. If a provider could not implement a new cap on time and overcharged after the effective date, the BOT requires the excess to be refunded.

For practical context, see Thailand economy and finance. This development also connects with Thailand reviews rules for credit and debit card services.

The fee caps customers can check now

| Effective date | Main areas | Confirmed examples | |---|---|---| | **July 1, 2026** | Deposit services, credit-card cash withdrawals, part of the payment-fee package and the percentage cap on certain FX-related charges | An electronic deposit statement covering up to 12 months must be free; a paper statement is capped at 100 baht per account per request; a financial-status certificate is capped at 100 baht per set; a qualifying dormant-account fee is capped at 20 baht per month. Charges for a credit-card cash withdrawal are capped at 2.5% of the amount withdrawn. The commission in lieu of exchange is capped at 0.125% of the transaction amount. | | **September 1, 2026** | Basic ATM and debit cards, additional payment transactions, same-day Bulk Payment and SME lending fees | Combined joining and annual fees are capped at 150 baht a year for a basic ATM card and 200 baht for a basic debit card. Certain cross-area charges at electronic machines and bill-payment fees fall under the no-fee rule, while same-day Bulk Payment is capped at 20 baht per transaction. The five SME lending fee categories also moved onto the new standard. | | **October 1, 2026** | The final two payment-fee elements | For individuals and SMEs, the minimum charge under the commission-in-lieu-of-exchange rule cannot be set above 300 baht and the maximum above 2,000 baht. For an electronically requested BAHTNET transfer by an individual or SME customer, the combined fee charged to sender and recipient is capped at 100 baht per transaction. |

The dormant-account cap is narrower than it may sound: it applies to baht deposit accounts with a balance of no more than 2,000 baht after more than one year without movement. For SME credit, the front-end fee is capped at 2.5% of the approved facility, with an additional 250,000-baht ceiling where the facility is no more than 15 million baht. The new framework also covers drawdown-period extensions, revolving-credit renewals, prepayment fees and cancellation fees; the prepayment fee for a term loan is capped at 3% of outstanding principal, with specified cases where it cannot be charged.

Foreign residents should separate fee protection from access to the product

The BOT rules distinguish mainly between individuals, all customer groups and SMEs. They do not grant a foreign resident a right to open an account, obtain a card or qualify for credit; those questions still depend on the bank’s product and eligibility rules.

For an existing customer, the useful check is the exact service line and its effective date. A bank is free to charge less than the regulatory ceiling or waive a fee altogether. If a charge appears to exceed the applicable cap, the first step is to match the transaction to the relevant category because several rules contain scope conditions and exceptions.