Hello!
My wife and I just moved to Taiwan (still in quarantine) and will need to open a local bank account. Are any of the local banks better than others for foreign residents? In case it’s relevant, she has both TW & US passports; I only have US.
Thanks a lot for the help!
Some banks don’t accept Americans because they aren’t fully FACTA compliant.
I prefer https://www.cathaybk.com.tw/ because their APP and online banking have English. I’m not sure of their FACTA compliance?
Other than that HSBC is okay.
You can try First Bank:
Chinese-English bilingual services at all 188 of its national branches by 2028
Just extend your quarantine by 8 years! 
First bank sucks! Terrible customer service.
I thought CTBC (Gongguan branch) was okay when I opened an account there last week. The English app seems to work just fine too, at least for basic stuff (which is all I’ve needed to do). I was pleasantly surprised by both.
The woman helping me open the account laughed and seemed relieved when I told her I wasn’t American, though.
If you’re here to work, then take into consideration that many companies want you to open an account with the same bank they do business. So, if you already have a job, then find out what their bank is. I have 3 accounts for 3 different jobs.
And technology and attitudes rooted in the 1960s 
Same with all the government banks. If anyone asks on here I usually recommend private banks like chinatrust, fubon, esun, taishin and the like.
But as pendulum mentioned, most bosses insist on workers using their bank
This is so helpful – thanks all! (@slawa LOL at the 8-years comment)
Has anyone used the online-only banks like Richart and O-Bank?
Coming from the US where e-banking is increasingly common, that seems like an attractive option if it works well here too.
We’re not tied to TW-based employers (at the moment, at least) but that’s really interesting about that style of payroll. Given that it seems rent is often paid by bank wire, I’m guessing wiring money is a pretty standard way to exchange anything over than a handful of bills?
Yes it is. That’s how I’ve been asked to pay my rent, place deposits at B&Bs, etc.
Guy
Wiring money is different than many other countries as it’s done usually at the ATM and you enter in the bank numbers of who you are sending cash too. Mobile and online options exist as well to do the same thing.
You can withdraw paypal funds to an E.Sun account. 
So, I recommend E.Sun