Hey there, I am a bit freaked about the downward slide of the NT$ (thoughts of the Weimar Republic and people buying a loaf of bread with wheelbarrows full of currency skitter through my head). So, can anyone recommend a few exceptionally solvent Taiwanese banks where I can open a hard currency account?
Most major banks should willingly be able to open a foreign currency for you.
If you don’t mind going with foreign banks, Citibank offers multimoney accounts and makes transfers very easy (can be done over the ATM).
Here’s some info from their site: Citibank Taiwan website
They also have a 24-hour customer service hotline with English-speaking staff (if needed) though the number has changed recently to 0800-012345 (used to be 080-012345)
Hope I don’t get bashed for posting!
Just a tip:
If you have a US dollar account here and want to buy some US dollar travelers checks, the bank requires you to change your US dollars to NT with which you convert back to US to buy the TCs.
Result: You get hit coming and going.
Re: The recommendation to use Citibank. I would be careful about using this bank. I know about a half-dozen people who’ve had bad experiences with this bank, in Taiwan and the US. If I were you, I’d change all that money into bread now. You’ll get ten times more loaves today than you will two weeks from now.