Best Bank to open an account with no ARC

hey guys.
so finally made it to Tainan w the fam. exciteeeeed!
it was wonderful walking out to the 7-11 at 2am to get my jetlagged babies some microwaved dumplings and just… feeling in asia.
anywho.
need to exchange a large sum of cash (we decided to bring just under the immigration limit, and leave the rest in our wells fargo account to try to withrdraw and change here.
internet says there are a few wells fargo locations. (though I assume they will ask for a bunch IDs… seemed easier than declaring the 10k)

so. found a few relavent threads, but most aren’t this specific and some are dated.

suggests MEGA might be the best option. but debit card thread

says that MEGA will not give you an account w out an ARC…
there is also the suggestion of getting a National ID from immigration. (I can go to the Tainan Airport and try that Tuesday. I think govt things are closed tmrw deu to Dragon Boat Races).

anywho. I figured if I opened an account w 10k ish usd, the bank might like me and give us better treatment than if I opened an account with 1k NTD. (this is just my experience from other countries)
I do not need to keep cash in USD, as we will live here for the forseeable future. (1yr CN study, 2yr masters, 5yr PhD…)
I had been hoping to get a MOFA scholarship. but didn’t. so they will not be opening an account for me… and I need to figure this out by myself.

unlike another suggestion, I did call wells fargo, and was unable to raise my ATM withdrawel limit from their ridiculous $310 limit. nobody seemed to know why…) so i will need to withdraw at a bank, prob a wells fargo branch. (to than, any experience ie what docs/IDs required to withdraw from a foreign bank account? HSBC or WF in this case?

and to the opening a bank account. should i do an HSBC one?
i almost did in mexico bc i know they are everywhere, but the Mexican office informed me that they are not a global bank, but regional franchises… which put some kind of limit on interactions while abroad.

my only other experience is from my time in korea. i had a personal sponsor open my bank account for me (not the school). but i am unable to touch those funds outside of korea… leaving my last paycheck locked in that account until i visit the country again. if ic an remember what bank it was. ;-p (its been almost a decade)

again. thanks in advance for all advice n suggestions.

So I got a bit lost reading your message but I suppose you want to open a bank account to deposit the 10000? Go to the local immigration office with your passport and an address, ask for your record of id number. With that and again your passport start touring the branches of the banks you’d like to open an account with until you find one that will.

Mont banks will open a double currency usd/twd account, you can keep your money in usd and exchange to twd as you need or when the rates are better. You can also withdraw directly usd for a small fee.

Getting a debit card that works online and outside Taiwan, well, that’s another matter.

I’m not a big fan of government run banks in general due to them being super slow and mass hoards of old people that go there to hoard money… however… in your case since you don’t have an arc yet , I find government banks such as Taiwan bank and mega are good since there is little fuss to open an account with just a record of Id from immigration… which you cannot get at the airport immigration, must be at a local centre.

The other big benefit is the state banks usually have slightly better exchange rates, at least they used to . Without an arc most will be reluctant to issue you a debit card and probably just give you a ATM card.

HSBC is somewhat useless, unless you have about 100000k USD for a premier account , there is no major benefit with them as their exchange rates are worse.
I had an account bank home with them for years, and they initially rejected my credit card application here stating that they are not connected, in name only. I had to kick up a stink.

Wells Fargo has no retail branches here.

And after 10 years your money was probably transfered to the national Bank of Korea if the account was dormant

1 Like

Thanks guys. So the immigration office is not at the airport, but downtown somewhere? I’ll but for it Tuesday than n than go check banks.
As you mention… what would than be your choice of bank WITH an ARC?
And what’s the difference?

Should I change banks when I get mine?

If you use Paypal there is only one bank, Yushan bank. (Esun bank).

I know that BOT (Bank of Taiwan) do US $ accounts, have pretty good exchange rates and there are several branches in Taipei. Don’t know about other banks.
We also work with Union Bank for business, It’s a smaller private bank.

1 Like

Are you in Tainan, aren’t you? So this article should help you find the immigration office:

awesome! thank you!
found this on the Tainan NIA
Tainan National Immigration Agency
No.370, Sec.2, Fuqian Road, West Central Dist, West Central District · 06 293 7641
the link sends you to a page that promotes free tablets w 10gb data for all new tourists. (free 30day rental, than you can re-checl them out i think, kind of like a library)
ill post this as its own interesting bit once i go in person on Tuesday and figure it out.
would def help navigatin gmaps and stuff b4 having cell service.
offline gmaps can only go so far…
https://nit.immigration.gov.tw/activitypage/activitypage1.html

very good to know avour rthe PayPal bank Yushan you say… i will look for em. i DEF use PayPal. a lot.

Thanks!
n much tks for the article!

here is a list of someone previously gave me as to required docs to get the ID

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1090223&ctNode=30085&mp=2

So I’m finally in Taipei trying to open an account without an ARC with no luck. I only asked various banks near the Immigration office so perhaps that’s the reason I have been refused? They all cite some new law or regulation that won’t allow a foreigner to open an account with just the ID number. They said they need to prove long term residency somehow. The post office was willing to open an account but not for foreign currency. Do you think I would have better luck going to branches in other parts of the city or even in other cities?

Nope. It’s a new rule to combat money laundering.

Hey, at least you have an account. Does the post office account come with a debit card?

Yeah, and my bank keeps demanding my passport! I refused, told my APRC should be enough :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

They need the passport and APRC (or ARC) for any foreigner opening up an account.
Refusing their request won’t get it processed. Just the rules of the game that financial authorities demand of the banks.
Same with banks in Hong Kong. To open up a bank account, they need your passport, whether or not you live there.

On a separate note, but perhaps related.

Has anyone on this forum ever opened up an account with a local co-op bank. Not the big Taiwan Co-oP Bank, but ones that are like 台北第一信 or something like 花蓮第三信.
Are these very very very local cooperatives more open to foreigners opening up an account, as they are usually just in one area/region/city of Taiwan.
Same goes with fishermen or farmers associations that have their own bank-type credit co-op.

Anyone ever tried opening up an account with these forms of financial institutions?

I haven’t but it crossed my mind to try.
I applied for a credit card at a local coop called 三信 just for fun and it was rejected twice. They did process my application though, checked the credit record and all but was swiftly rejected by SMS

So, sorry for the long lag. Been busy with my new intensive chinese classes and getting my girls settled.

Found an awesome house. Negotiated a great deal, a la Mexicana! But it left me with a cash deficit.
Haha.

So.
To update. A tw friend showed me this page:
http://www.findrate.tw
Pretty awesome really. (It’s all in CN and Google’s version of the banks names are not what they name themselves in English, so, when in doubt, ask. That said, the CN name is better for pasting into maps anyways)
Let’s you know what banks have what rate for what coin.
So, I put in USD a d found that O Bank is far better than any other at 30.467 (this was a few days ago)
CTBC 30.417 and Chung Hwa at 30.415

Anywho.
CTBC where VERY friendly, and accepted bringing the manager down to personally reiterate that I did in deed need an ARC to make an account. However, she did authorize my exchanging of $8,000+ at their great rate with just my passport. Charged me 100ntd for the service.
And they charged 20ntd x Bill if marked, but accepted the old ones.
Hua Nan bank a few days before had asked for my TW friends ID to couch for me as well a smy passport, and would only change up to 2k USD without an account, for which they charged me 200ntd. Oh. They charge 30ntd x Bill if they have marks or are the older style

And to the original reference on the banking posts.
MEGA Bank is in no way the best. They where actually a headache. I didn’t have find rate yet tho, so I stubbornly went to a second branch when one would not let me take a ticket because I did not have my ARC and could therefore not open an account. (Yes, even though I insisted that their head office had said all I needed was my immigration ID, and that my school had said I should go with them specifically (they actually did say I should be fine with that number, but had recommended Post Bank)
Well. FOUR HOURS LATER, I am the proud owner of a Megabank passbook with Astro Boy on it.
So, some specific info.
Their Spot rate at the time was 30.1, and better than. Their cash rate of 29.95. however, in order to get it, I would need to exchange 10k USD, for which I would than also. BE charged a 2.7% fee.
So 2700NTD.
I didn’t. I changed just enough to pay tuition, and went to post. Bank after class. Oh, I still haven’t picked up my ATM card, which took a week to be processed.

Post bank btw is amazingly friendly. LOADS OF ATMS. possibly the most. And ridiculously easy to open an account. Took my papers, no questions asked. Signed. Needed to deposit $100. Apparently NTD cuz her eyes widened when I gave her 100USD.
She asked (instead of me asking) if I wanted an ATM card, and had it ready for me in two days.
All of this took about 20min! And i was out the door.
After two days I had lost my passbook, (moved house, found it since than, but it’s apparently worthless now, deactivated upon replacement) and had to pay $60ntd for a new one (made it with my passport)
Just FYI. Their rate is lower than most anybody. But nobody keeps you from having multiple accounts.
And that ATM card let’s you withdraw 150,000NTD in one day. Much better than my stupid Wells Fargo $310 limit. That I cannot change
A d am.billed $12 x withdrawel. Who does that?!!

BTW. Because of this, looking to open an account at O bank and wire USD and have them changed on arrival.
Wells Fargo’s rate is like 25 or something ludicrous. Essentially costing me 580 USD plus the wire fee if I wired NTD.
I will update with how that goes with O bank. They seem to be pretty new and a-la-google style e commerce. Could be good.
Only one branch tho, and across town, so…

BTW SINOPAC won’t exchange your money unless you have a biz account with them. They suggested we go somewhere else, with Luke interpreting and everything. They insisted that kind of money was surely laundered and they could not take part unless proper proof of income was provided… ;-/

Will also ask Mega if they accept wired USD, and would give them to me in USD. Or if they are automatically changed upon arrival…

Hope my experience helps someone.

Oh. Kings Bank (the tree with red balls) gives the ONLY credit card (to my knowledge) accepted at COSTCO
and, their rate is not bad.
Mega offered me a credit card, but it is basically a “Secure” or pre-paod credit card. Not sure why I would want that here.
My Amex gives me 3% off on purchases above 2k at Carrefour, or 5% off purchases 3k or above. And in our home equipping experience, Carrefour ha abetter prices than anyone. Even online or COSTCO.
Our 14,000 BTU Panasonic AC cost about 33k after discounts. Plus, it has a 2k mail in rebate.

Ok. To sleep now. Gotta get up with the sun to study. Only time my girls do the climb all over me hehehe

1 Like

You’re right , mega and post office and likely Bank of Taiwan I figured would eventually let you sign up for an account with no arc.
It does seem that there appears to have been a policy change. Because before every bank accepted that record of id letter, guess times are changing.

You can get a real credit card non secured in the future just not at mega as they demand a deposit which is no better than a debit card IMO. And yes sinopac bank is more useless than tits on a bull

further update guys,
so, Banks closer to college will be more likely to open an account without an ARC and less hassle. used to foreign students i guess.
the CHB Chan Hwa Bank closest to NCKU let me open an account with that little immigration number.
the one closest to my house wanted my lease and other stuff to prove they where my bank.
CHB even offered me internet banking. but when they tried, their computer rejected it, and they let me know i did after all need an ARC> that they could add it once i had mine.
however, good news is, CHB LETS YOU HAVE USD AND TWD in the SAME account!
so… someone asked about a USD account earlier.
it also only took 24hrs (or less, i didnt check before) for my wire to come in from Wells Fargo (i did it on with online banking)
it showed it as being received at 30.46 (highest rate ive seen)
but than they told me it had not been changed. i had only been charged the equivalent of 200NT for receiving the wire.
I then asked them to please change most of my wired money and was able to get the same 30.46 rate.
the highest ive seen any bank have in the past month was 30.47, and that was O-Bank, a purely online bank, that is recommened as they consistently have the highest exchange rates for most currencies (but only have customer service offices in TPE and KAO as far as i know. maybe Taichung…?
you sing up through their app. all in chinese.
they will eventually charge 30USD to receive an incoming wire. but as they are new and currently cannot send outgoing international wires, all services are free until at least september.

hope that helps yall.

oh. and. if you happen to get an unhelpful rep. try again another day with someone else.
my local post bank has a lady i will no longer let serve me, as there is always some problem when i see her (yesterday she said i blocked my atm card, made me return with passport, arc and bank book to “unlock it”. the guy who helped me today said it was not locked. please try it on the atm. i did and all is well.
anywho. just my to kuai

2 Likes

Could someone update this topic for 2020? Any recent experience doing this?

The latest thread

1 Like

Sounds like a lot of trouble. Tell me, is there a prepaid vsia debit gift card in Taiwan that someone with a bank account can purchase to gift to someone?