I am searching for a bank, a good bank that provides english service. Currently I am thinking of HSBC which is world wide and has online access. I am not too sure about citibank even though it’s independent from the States which went bank crupted (i think).
I don’t know if HSBC offers one account and money can deposite in HSBC branch any where in the world without charging transaction fee. Even though from what I’ve heard that international net banking still requires transaction fee, for example, my commonwealth bank charges $25AUS for international net transfer and $300NT from local bank to transfer to other country. What I mean is that if I could use an account world wide without that transaction fee.
We have a foreign currency account with Fubon. You can change from nt to pounds or whatever online. Their internet banking is good (the website works), the staff are professional. Not sure anyone speaks much English though.
It’s been posted on here before that citibank and hsbc etc are just like local tw banks when it comes to service, English, everything really.
I am searching for a bank, a good bank that provides english service. Currently I am thinking of HSBC which is world wide and has online access. I am not too sure about citibank even though it’s independent from the States which went bank crupted (I think).
I don’t know if HSBC offers one account and money can deposite in HSBC branch any where in the world without charging transaction fee. Even though from what I’ve heard that international net banking still requires transaction fee, for example, my commonwealth bank charges $25AUS for international net transfer and $300NT from local bank to transfer to other country. What I mean is that if I could use an account world wide without that transaction fee.
Any suggestions please advice.
Cheers.[/quote]
just a quick aside to the HSBC comment when I first got here I assummed the same thing but was told that they really had no connection other than the name with the overseas branches of HSBC meaning that I could NOT make cc payments or transfer funds inter branch. As far as they were concerned it was a different bank and I would have to pay all the fees; making a cc payment for instance, worked out to 12.3% in fees on my total payment… $123 USD in fees on a 1000 USD payment!!! that is fucking criminal
Fubon is much better but English service varies from branch to branch. Best to find an English speaking person at any bank and develop a relationship with them personally. Just choose a few of the biggies in your area walk up to information and say you want to speak to a rep. You will know within seconds how the English service will be at that branch. It may take a few tries but you will find a a great one who will give you what you need.
Taiwan has a million choices for almost anything… too many foreigners settle for Shiite service and then spend years bitching about it because THEY are too lazy to spend the time to find good ones.
Do yourself a favor and save the future headaches do your legwork now.
I am not super happy with HSBC but I guess they are ok. They do have English service at a level that I don’t think any other bank in Taiwan offers. Both their phone bank and online bank has English options, you can send online questions in English and get answers etc. You can call them and speak English. The notifications they send to your home are also in English. The staff at their branch in Taoyuan has limited English though. Don’t know about Taipei.
I am searching for a bank, a good bank that provides english service. Currently I am thinking of HSBC which is world wide and has online access. I am not too sure about citibank even though it’s independent from the States which went bank crupted (I think).
I don’t know if HSBC offers one account and money can deposite in HSBC branch any where in the world without charging transaction fee. Even though from what I’ve heard that international net banking still requires transaction fee, for example, my commonwealth bank charges $25AUS for international net transfer and $300NT from local bank to transfer to other country. What I mean is that if I could use an account world wide without that transaction fee.
Any suggestions please advice.
Cheers.[/quote]
Every bank does this for international transfers… NAB only charge me AUD$15 though…
You will not avoid interntional transaction fees. I have HSBC account in HK and still pay tranfer fees if to non HK accounts even if in OZ
[quote=“CraigTPE”]You’ll bank where your employer tells you to bank.
[/quote]
Extremely good point.
(Although where I work we get a choice: First Bank or the post office. Wasn’t too hard to decide, even if First Bank are crap)
I still recommend the Fubon multi-currency account. If you have money come in from overseas, it just sits there in the currency it arrived in. YOU can convert it when YOU decide to, online, monitoring the rates of you want. You can convert it into NT or other currencies, or just leave it there in case you need AUD or whatever in the future.
I think Mega International is definitely the best.
They deal in all the major foreign currencies (meaning you can send a wire transfer in your home currency without having to convert it to USD first), and they seem to already know their corresponding banks in each country, which is fantastic, because trying to find out that sort of information on your own can be really annoying.
Anyone know where I can cash a foreign cheque?
Taishin bank doesn’t cash them. Bank of Taiwan cashes international money orders, but not foreign cheques.
[quote=“wudjamahuh”]Anyone know where I can cash a foreign cheque?
Taishin bank doesn’t cash them. Bank of Taiwan cashes international money orders, but not foreign cheques.[/quote]
Good luck with that. Once, even cashing a local check drawn on their own bank (Land Bank) took a branch manager’s approval.
My vague recollection was that Fubon told us they could cash a check drawn in the US, but it would take ~30 days to clear, and they would charge a processing fee on the order of NT$900. I think Sinopac told us the same thing some years ago. If we receive any checks from overseas, we sign them ‘For Deposit Only’ and mail them to our US bank.
If you can’t speak Chinese then I guess HSBC is the only choice. But taking language out of the equation they are really very poor and Taiwan’s banking market is extremely competitive. Also if you are worried about fees on international transactions then you are going to be shocked by some of HSBC’s general charges.
I was looking for a new business bank account recently and visited reps from 7 or 8 banks on our shortlist. There is so much choice that you can lay down what you want from the bank and if they can’t or won’t do it, move on to the next one. I find the best banks are those that charge a monthly service fee and/or have a higher minimum balance requirement.
Most banks in Taiwan offer a multi-currency service with online access BTW, just that some are better than others. I don’t have any complaints with Citibank’s service. You can have various currencies dumped into one account number which is split into sub-accounts for each currency and move funds about or buy time deposits as you please.
Hi all - have a related question about banking. First post ever, so be gentle?
I’m trying to decide on where to bank, and was wondering if any of you found a bank that offers a visa/masters debit card (like the US) other than those generic deposit/withdrawal only debit cards?
Anyone have experience with First Bank? Need to use them with a new job and was wondering whether they’re any good for my regular banking needs (mostly wire transfer both ways).
Is that debit card a visa/MC card? Or maybe it’s time to get used to the system [/quote]
It’s a Visa debit card.
People just aren’t used to using debit cards here. I think that’s why there is a discount on gas if you use your Visa debit card on Mondays at the NPC station on Roosevelt Rd. They want to get more people to use it.
I also use First Bank, although I’ve never wired money. I get my USD travelers checks from them and the branch on JhongXing Rd in Xindian was the first place to help me get a credit card here.
That’s odd. I use my Mega Bank Visa debit card in Taiwan all over the place and it’s never been rejected by any store or restaurant that accepts ordinary credit cards. I’ve used it abroad with rarely any trouble too.
You can sort of avoid international transaction fees (wire transfer fee and sometimes a processing fee from the receiving bank) if you have someone back home to help out. Get an ATM card from the TW bank that allows you to draw cash internationally. Send it home to Mom, trusted friend, etc., and have them do cash withdrawals and corresponding deposits there. You still have an ATM fee and the odd screwing-by-exchange-rates, but it beats the T/T racket.
Taishin bank has what you are looking for. I recently got a debit card from them – it’s a Visa card that looks and works exactly like a Visa credit card – the only difference is that you have to have the money in the bank first. I have used it locally, and to make international purchases over the internet.
