Hi I’m looking to deposit my salary into the back most likely to give me credit. I have searched the site but haven’t found a definite answer.
I’ll be much obliged for your contributions.
There are none. There are no standardised rules and just involves being in the right place in the right time with the right person. Even if you have received credit, it can arbitrarily be taken away from you.
I’m speaking from experience. Even paying off your bills and using your card normally like a normal adult should and never defaulting could end up in your disqualification if management decides they don’t want foreigners on the accounts.
I could talk about my experience, but another person could easily come in and tell you about a completely opposite experience at the same bank.
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Thanks for this. I should start a new thread, but is getting credit at a car dealership similarly unpredictable?
Anybody here who’s got an HSBC credit card from Taiwan? How’s the English services?
My friend. I fought a multi million dollar cell phone provider that insisted foreigners need to have a guarantor for a $10US plan that had no fixed term contract. I won…for a while. Then they changed the racist rules back recently and I don’t have the time and energy to fight it again. They dont care.
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Unless you are extremely wealthy, HSBC Taiwan won’t want anything to do with you. Friends who have HSBC accounts all have negative things to say about them.
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The English service works well. Bill pay. Funds transfer. Easy to access cash in U.S.
If I were to pick one bank that’s foreign friendly for credit cards, I’d pick Cathay United.
From many many anecdotal reports and my own experience, they are very open to foreign applications, especially Costco card applications.
Good second mentions are E. Sun, Standard Chartered, Sinopac, ChinaTrust, and Citibank. No guarantor requirements but like anything in Taiwan, hit and miss.
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I’ve got one from HSBC. Their English service is actually decent, but they didn’t give me a lot of credit so I don’t really use it.
Although my salary is paid into HSBC, E.SUN gave me a credit card with 5x more credit than HSBC. E.SUN offers a combined CC and EasyCard so that is super convenient (HSBC doesn’t offer a similar product as far as I know).
I was recently rejected from Citibank, though. I called to ask for a reason and found out that I was considered “too high risk” as a foreigner.
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This is what I mean. Citi gave me a $60000 credit card. There’s no rhyme or reason. My biggest fear is that I’ll lose this one for no reason at the end of its term.
E.SUN gave me a hard time. HSBC I haven’t tried.
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Did they actually say, high risk due to being a foreigner or just high risk? I’m curious if they were bold enough to blame it specifically on being a foreigner.
Oh cool. Which E.SUN bank did you apply for the cc? Also, did you need a guarantor for the application process and do they have forms in English?
I have a personal account with them for more than a year now. I don’t have any account with HSBC but our office uses them as an option for salary payment.
How’s the application process at Cathay United? I’m curious about the Costco card too…do you have to apply for it in Costco? LOL. And how’s the credit?
Yes, it took a bit of pushing (“I don’t understand - why high risk”) but eventually they did say that it was due to me being foreigner.
I applied in E.Sun Bank Chengzhong Branch in Ximen (Google Maps). The forms were in Chinese but the staff spoke English and patiently guided me through the stuff I wasn’t sure of. I didn’t have a guarantor.
I was approved for the Costco card. It was super easy to do, as the staff at Neihu Costco spoke English and had a very streamlined process. They gave me 50k credit.
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Cathay was a bit harder when I applied many years ago. The woman who helped me fill out the forms called them to push them to approve it after an initial rejection.
Today just ask any costco booth rep that you want the card.
Bring your ARC, NHI card, and your bankbook with 3 months salary showing.
E.sun requires you to open an account. They will give you a credit limit equal to your monthly salary and with no cash advance ability or revolving credit. And the bill must be withdrawn from the e.sun account.
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The credit they gave me was 70% of my monthly salary (after tax).
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I’ve found that if you ask for credit cards over the phone as a foreigner, you’re way more likely to be rejected (or told that you will be) since the person has very little info about you. Go to a branch, show them your monthly salary, tell them about your job, chat a bit with them… As someone said it’s all about guanxi in TW
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