Banking in Taiwan

Business Money
1

Forgive me if I placed this post in the wrong area.

I am looking to open up a bank account in Taiwan that is foreigner friendly. It would be nice to have online access and be able to pay bills online or do paypal transfers. Also how does a foreigner go about building credit in Taiwan? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I searched a few forums and didn’t find any information.

2

:popcorn:

3

I think if you search Forumosa more thoroughly, you will find numerous threads about banking in Taiwan.

Specifically with respect to online bill paying, as far as I know, that’s not common here, even for locals. Most I know take their bill to the local convenience store. I’ve never had online banking in English, either, but that’s not to say it doesn’t exist here.

Are you working or planning to work here? Best advice I can offer is to bank wherever your employer banks in order to get direct deposit. That’s as convenient as it gets.

4

Well thanks for the info. I am not working and mainly just need somewhere in Taiwan to park some money so that I can use it to show funds when required. I don’t need a bank account to live just sometimes companies ask for this type of thing from me.

Thanks anyway.

5

Some ways to pay bills online:

  • automatic transfer from your bank account (possible for water, gas, NHI, mortgage etc.)
  • automatic transfer from credit card (many large companies accept this, e.g. cellphone bills etc.)
  • online ATM using a $200 card reader available from any supermarket or 7-11

I have everything coming out of a Land Bank account and just transfer one amount there each month, very handy.

6

Sorry to pour coldwater on this thread, but I always feel in Taiwan, (s)he who holds the cash is in charge.

My experience time and again has shown this to be true. So I don’t recommend automatic bill payment, except for amounts that are fixed. Nor do I recommend pre-payment, unless you’re dealing with a trusted source.

Getting errors sorted out for money already paid isn’t in the company’s interest esp. if it’s a big company.

So be careful who you give power to charge your accounts over, and the extent to which they may charge. Fixed limits/amounts should be reasonable esp. if they are on a regular schedule, but unlimited charging on bank accounts/credit cards is a recipe for disaster.

Taiwan is unique in that bill payment is as easy as a trip to the local convenience store, so why add complexity unless you need to.

Kenneth

7

My Taiwanese friends reccomended me to keep my money at several banks, so if one has, ehem, any problems, you are still covered. Not much of a hassle.

There have been lots of problems with hacking and safety issues with Internet banking. For foreigners, the main problem is our ID number, which is slightly different from the locals’, and hence cannot be used in many instances.

By the way, you do have an ARC, right? Otherwise it is even more difficult -though not impossible. Just harder to open an account.

As to building credit, well, you need a credit card and that’s a whole different ball game. Search for the adventures, trials and tribulations in this department. I personally recommend getting an easy one, no local guarantor needed, and then build from there, unless you have relatives/friends/guanxi/lots of luck/a guarantor. There is a main office that will keep track of these transactions, and determines your credit score, not the bank.