Tried at China Trust (Zhongli branch) and they said I needed a 2 or 3 year ARC (?!). There wasn’t anyone there who could speak English though, so had to ask a local friend to call back later to check that there wasn’t a misunderstanding.
Then tried at Taishin (also Zhongli). They were friendly and spoke enough English to talk me through the Chinese forms (their requirements: ARC, health card, and passport). Got the card (though not sure exactly which one) in around 30 minutes. I’ll try it out online later…
Update: Was able to order a book (didn’t use Amazon) and book a hotel (Agoda) with the card. Great success! Thanks for the thread Yuli (:
Such misunderstandings, if they are that, are possibly the consequence of some banks not having any policy at all and employees making things up (perhaps to cover their backs) or employees not being aware of the existing policy (including not bothering to inquire at head office) and thus making things up.
{anecdote}Two years ago when i went to the only Taishin Bank branch in Hualien to open an account they didn’t know what to do with me since i didn’t have an ARC (but i had the required form with an ID number from the NIA), and i solved their problem (since i knew it was theirs not mine) by suggesting/insisting that they call their main office in Taipei and get a confirmation from there (which they, of course, got after some trying). Knowledge is power. {/anecdote}
Yes, please let us know - by all accounts (excuse the pun) Taishin is generally straightforard to deal with.
I was able to get a Visa Debit Card at Bank Of Taiwan with only a visitor visa and the paper with the ID number from immigration office and its valid for 7 years
Thanks for the update! :discodance:
Please let us know how and where you can use the card (in shops in Taiwan? with ATMs in Taiwan? in shops abroad? with ATMs abroad? on the internet?).
Thanks for the update! :discodance:
Please let us know how and where you can use the card (in shops in Taiwan? with ATMs in Taiwan? in shops abroad? with ATMs abroad? on the internet?). [/quote]
Definitely NOT on the internet (at least here in the 'wan). Tried it and didn’t work. You really need a CC for that.
Shops in TW…as long as they take cards.
ATMs in TW, yes (with fee if the ATM is not from the same bank).
Shops abroad…dunno but I think you can.
ATMs abroad…the fee will probably kill you.
Definitely NOT on the internet (at least here in the 'wan). Tried it and didn’t work. You really need a CC for that.[/quote]
Or a debit card from one of the more flexible banks listed near the top of the post that is at the head of this thread.
[quote]Shops in TW…as long as they take cards.
ATMs in TW, yes (with fee if the ATM is not from the same bank).
Shops abroad…dunno but I think you can.
ATMs abroad…the fee will probably kill you.[/quote]
OK, let’s take now what we know and think about the rest again when we can verify it.
I’ve dealt with Cathay United Taoyuan for 2.5 years and they have been very helpful most of the time. Irene understands and speaks great English and has helped me fill out all the webpages correctly in Chinese. For instance to top up my Skype account, once Skype asks all the info it needs it sends me to Cathay United to verify my identity. Unfortunately the 5 blanks are all in Chinese and I translated it into English and got garble. I cut and pasted the page and emailed it to Irene. Wow, they ask a lot of questions for a measly 400 NTD payment!
Visa card pincode on back of card
last 4 digits of arc used to create the account
3.birthdate mmddyy
4.last 4 digits of bank act
5.email address used when creating the act
Now it’s popped me over to a page called Verified by Visa. So I copied the page and emailed to Irene.
Only 1 NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE: I finished my teaching contract on Dec. 31st. The school had me sign a release. My Arc’s expiration on the card says Jan 31st. I flew to the US and spent January with family. The very first time I used the card it wouldn’t work and I was up the proverbial creek because that’s where I kept all my $$. I could purchase as much as I wanted, but ATMs wouldn’t accept the card.
It turns out with the release paper I signed the school cancelled my ARC without notice. That info percolated down to the bank which promptly cancelled my outside-of-Taiwan use of the card. I had used the card many times at ATMs in several countries with no problem at all.
So keep in mind on your last day of a contract if you sign a release for the school and are heading home on vacation, pull out the cash you’ll need because otherwise you might be in for a very unpleasant surprise when you use your Taiwan card in the ATM.
[quote=“cfimages”]Little update. Decided to try my cards in an ATM in Nepal last week.
Taishin - worked fine, gave me some cash.
First Bank - didn’t work at all despite it having a 4 digit pin and supposedly being ok for international use.[/quote]
After I used my Taiwanese Citibank Visa card in Nepal, the bank insisted that I needed to get a new card for security reasons - just because it’d been used in Nepal, as far as I could tell. I had no problem using it while I was there, but you may find your bank making requests of you when you get back.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]
I also have online banking, but it’s all in Chinese and they have some idiotic restrictions, like if I want to transfer money to another account, I need to go and let the bank know first and sign a piece of paper with the other account number on it… :loco:[/quote]
I wish my bank offered that service. that essentially eliminates any possibility of hackers stealing your money. Its MUCH better than HSBC Australia which require you to carry around another “dongle” in your pocket, AND disables your account if you dont use it for a few months!
[quote=“lostinasia”][quote=“cfimages”]Little update. Decided to try my cards in an ATM in Nepal last week.
Taishin - worked fine, gave me some cash.
First Bank - didn’t work at all despite it having a 4 digit pin and supposedly being ok for international use.[/quote]
After I used my Taiwanese Citibank Visa card in Nepal, the bank insisted that I needed to get a new card for security reasons - just because it’d been used in Nepal, as far as I could tell. I had no problem using it while I was there, but you may find your bank making requests of you when you get back.
And have a great trip![/quote]
I’m back now and haven’t had any requests from the banks yet.
I got a Visa Debit from Taishin bank and:
works with 4 digits code in France if you pick up money from an ATM
wasn’t accepted by a taxi driver in France
worked in every hotel/shop in France
wasn’t able to pick up money in Germany
was able to pay everything in Germany
You will need to enable the function for abroad (4 digits call) before use it.
Got the card within of 30 minutes
[quote=“pqkdzrwt”][quote=“TheLostSwede”]
I also have online banking, but it’s all in Chinese and they have some idiotic restrictions, like if I want to transfer money to another account, I need to go and let the bank know first and sign a piece of paper with the other account number on it… :loco:[/quote]
I wish my bank offered that service. that essentially eliminates any possibility of hackers stealing your money. Its MUCH better than HSBC Australia which require you to carry around another “dongle” in your pocket, AND disables your account if you dont use it for a few months![/quote]
The HSBC account has the same service. You have to physically go to a branch to authorise moving money from your bank account to another specific account, after that you can make transfers whenever you want online: As you say, prevents hackers stealing your money. The ‘dongle’ has the same function: You can’t log in online without the dongle. Double happy.
So what’s the point of having online baking if I have to fill in a form for every single account I want to transfer money to or make a payment to? It makes online banking pointless imho.
The dongle, sure, fine, not a problem, that’s for security, but not being able to transfer money to whatever account I want whenever it pleases me makes it all kind of moot imho.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]So what’s the point of having online baking if I have to fill in a form for every single account I want to transfer money to or make a payment to? It makes online banking pointless imho.
The dongle, sure, fine, not a problem, that’s for security, but not being able to transfer money to whatever account I want whenever it pleases me makes it all kind of moot imho.[/quote]
OK, so I break into your house and find your password and dongle and transfer all your money to my bank account.
The account comes with a visa card you can use to pay for one-off purchases.
{/anecdote}
I was able to get a Visa Debit Card at Bank Of Taiwan with only a visitor visa and the paper with the ID number from immigration office 
and its valid for 7 years
