[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]Hi All,
I’m trying to work out the best way to transfer money (to Australia) that doesn’t involve being bitten really hard on fees (eg. Western Union) or doesn’t involve a lot of chasing my own tail (eg. dealing with my bank).
Preferably, I’d like to be able to transfer money from a Taiwanese bank to my Australian bank via online banking. Both my accounts here (Bank of Taiwan and Cathay United) told me I couldn’t do this. In the case of Bank of Taiwan, they told my colleague I could over the phone, and then told my girlfriend I couldn’t when we went into the bank. Ironically, I remember being asked if I wanted internet banking a long time ago when I came here, but I declined. What the hell is going on here? To compound it all, I wanted to close my account with them, but as is typical, there was a massive queue and I had to go…customer service is not their forte. Is it actually possible to do this in Taiwan, or am I really imagining that I’m living in the 21st century?
Failing that, what’s the cheapest over-the-counter method? Is it much cheaper to do it at my bank instead of Western Union, for example?
Or, another option might be to get an additional ATM card (is this possible?), send it to my parents, and get them to take money out with that and deposit that money into my account in Australia.
Thanks for any suggestions.[/quote]
It depends:
I use the extra ATM card option for small intermittent amounts. Some banks are pretty picky about giving you an extra card but if you explain you want to be able to have your family buy Christmas gifts, etc with the extra card, most will relent. This is by far the cheapest method but remember the limit for your parents to withdraw is a set amount - usually about 150 US per day. If your parents bank at a small home bank they can talk to the manager (after you email the manager describing the problem) you might be able to have the manager override the maximum per day limit. Such is the case at my bank in the U.S., but others here have reported much difficulty. Still if your folks are near a bank on a regular basis, this 150 adds up quickly. Don’t forget to tell your Taiwan bank that you want to withdraw abroad because, at least in the States, I need to have a 4 digit pin along with my 6 digit pin. My U.S. bank charges 1.50 U.S. per withdrawal and this also adds up quickly. Banks here will charge for each wire transfer and your folks bank will charge a fee for receivals. Thus each transfer will cost you about 1,000 NT (about 30 U.S.) Thus its easy to see that some small occasional transfers are cheapest by ATM however, large amounts are best wired.
I have also wondered about a Taiwan equivalent of a Cashiers Check and having it sent to the U.S. but I really doubt this would amount to less than 1,000 NT after I factor in the fee for the draft and expedited secure insured mailing.
EDIT: BTW, I think the que system here is just as convenient as in Australia. While living on the Gold Coast, if I wanted to talk to a manager or service person for other than deposit or withdrawal, I usually had to make an appointment or simply hope that someone had time to talk to me. Here, yes, I wait but nobody has ever asked to make an advance appointment as I was asked to do Down Under.
Also, keep in mind that some family member should be able to access your funds here in the event of some disaster. Tying up your funds here and getting access after an untimely demise is an absolute nightmare.