A curious banking incident

Business Money
21

I’m considering moving to Taiwan in October/November, and banking is one of the main things I’ve been wondering/concerned about. It sounds like Taiwanese banks are a hassle to deal with, and getting money out and into an American/European bank fairly regularly is a good idea. Are the Taiwanese banks as much of a hassle when it comes to wiring/transferring money out as it sounds like they can be for receiving wires or cashing foreign checks?

Also, does anyone have experience with using an e-bank (e.g. ING Direct) while in Taiwan?

22

No, they are not. Though you should inquire about fees on both the sending and receiving side before doing so; as in any country, they can accumulate quickly from bank to bank. A lot of people tout atm cards from your American/European bank as a reasonable option, though I suppose it depends on the amounts you are considering transfering; larger amounts are definitely worth the single transaction fee that a wire transfer might incur.

23

Mind to correct you. :slight_smile:
My German bank just sent me receipts for all transactions in the past 6 months (I never asked for it).
Nice service you’d think… but then they charged me 0.55 euro for postage from my account…

24

No problems with Changwha Bank.
Received money from Germany, even my middle name was missing, they called me, asked me to come to the branch and sign a paper, have a look in my passport and APRC and the money was at once deposit to my account. Oh, asked me every time for what I received the money.
But thats all. No hassle

25

Today I returned to the bank out of a sort of sentimental nostalgia for my ex-property. I took a Taiwanese friend in order to help me understand exactly what happened to my cheque in the end. This proved highly entertaining.

Two minutes into a conversation with the bank staff, my friend switched from Chinese to Taiwanese, and I knew someone was going to receive a thorough roasting. Sure enough, although I could no longer follow the conversation I could see ripples of discomfort cascading through the cashiers, who shuffled, grimaced, shrugged, and cast their eyes down most pitifully.

Amusing as this was at one level, it was not actually what I had come for, and I was embarrassed when my friend took to waving my receipt around and rapping sharply on the counter to emphasize his points. He slid back and forth between Chinese and Taiwanese as junior staff tentatively joined in, and at one point I heard him refer to the company dismissively as a ‘little bank’ (小銀行), and say that this kind of service would not happen at a ‘big bank’ (大銀行).

However, as he explained to me later, he had reasonable grounds for annoyance. Apparently the bank had sent my cheque to the originating bank in Australia (by DHL, NT$1,000 charged to me), asking them to wire the money back to them in Taiwan (another fee, also charged to me), at the end of which I would have paid AU$70 in fees, to process a cheque originally worth only AU$170. My friend was even more digusted when he asked how long it would take for the money to be wired back to Taiwan, and they said they didn’t know.

I found it difficult not to sympathize with my friend’s critical view of this procedure. After my friend was finished, I told the banking staff that all I had really wanted to be certain of was:

  1. Where the cheque was and what was happening to it.

  2. That I should never, never, come to them with a cheque again.

Surprisingly, a junior staff member suddenly reported that the wire transfer from Australia had taken place, and the money (or rather, what was left of it), was now in my Taiwan bank account. A senior staff member confirmed happily that I should never, never, come to them with a cheque again. Lesson learned.

26

AT least they are honest then .

27

Get an account at a “big bank” like Chinatrust or Taishin bank… or international banks like HSBC. Avoid any other bank unless your employer demands it (and only use it to receive fund and nothing more).

The bank should pay that money out of their pocket… it sounds like they made a mistake.

Also don’t accept wire transfers unless it’s for a large amount (over 1000 USD) due to its fees. Paypal fee may be a little high but you do get instant confirmation of incoming fund and “big banks” have no trouble processing them. If possible ask for payments in paypal. But I can understand with universities it may be difficult as they issue their refunds in their own way… in that case it may pay to have someone cash that check back home for you then paypal the money to you.

28

As soon as you touch “international” with banks all hell breaks loose.

  • Suddenly they are charges of intermediate banks that you weren’t informed about in advance
    And they vary a lot!
  • You have what we call “Spesen” in Germany (= Allowances in accounting?!)
  • Sometimes your money arrives the same day, sometimes a day or three later.
  • They blame each other if something goes wrong.

For my case, as long as its possible, I always use cash. I only use the debit card(s) for ATM’s.
Visa card is also fine for later payments with me.

Just my 2 cents…

29

I have accounts at two banks already, thanks to employer requirements. I’m not about to get a third if I can help it.

30

I have ended up with four bank accounts here in Taiwan, due to working at different companies over the last six years. I have always found wire transfers fast, reliable, and cheap (especially in comparison with Australia, where they are fast, reliable, and expensive). This is the first time I have tried to do anything with a foreign cheque however, and it’s clear that the local banks just aren’t up to it.

Taiwan Luthiers, you are correct. My uni sends cheques and they don’t want to hear about wire transfers (they won’t even do an Internet bank transfer to my Australian bank account). In future I will have Australian cheques sent to someone in Australia who can deposit it in my local Australian bank account.

31

This is the method I have found best for cheques in small amounts. Actually, if you give someone you trust a p.o.a. over your local Australian account, they can even endorse cheques, as long as they are for deposit only.

32

No, they are not. Though you should inquire about fees on both the sending and receiving side before doing so; as in any country, they can accumulate quickly from bank to bank. A lot of people tout atm cards from your American/European bank as a reasonable option, though I suppose it depends on the amounts you are considering transfering; larger amounts are definitely worth the single transaction fee that a wire transfer might incur.[/quote]

Yes but large amounts need to be reported for tax reasons, also best if they are not regular dated transfers.

33

You mean when receiving in Taiwan? Do you have any reference to it?

In Germany they need to be reported for Statistics reason only (if over 12500 Euros):
See (in German) bundesbank.de/download/melde … /awvzm.pdf
It has some exceptions also for private persons and when paying for debts or paying for “receiving goods”
Reporting taxes is a different kind of shoe (for the Germans at least).
Don’t know the rules of receiving money in Taiwan.

34

I hate dealing with the banks. Short of sending money home, I never use them. Wife takes all my money anyway!

Reading all these posts brought a story to mind that I did a news read for last week.

An un-named Taiwan bank got sued by a customer and lost the case when one of the employees misheard and transfered $1,000,000NT out of the customer’s account instead of $100NT.
Talk about a monumental blunder! The article went on to say that something like $300,000 wasn’t recoverable.

Not sure how the lady won. I mean, I would think you would have to somehow verify the amount, right? Or maybe the clerk forgot. Anyhow, that there shows a lot IMO.

35

True, you would raise some eyebrows if you transfered sizeable amounts on the same date every month. Especially to countries like the US where overseas income is taxable.