I’m trying to set up roots in banks here in Taiwan but at the same time I prefer to use an international bank that works in other countries, and I feel nervous about putting any significant amount into a bank that only exists in Taiwan but not outside.
I was looking at citi but that’s now shutting down. HSBC seems another candidate since they have branches in HK and most other countries, with easy transfer between them. Are there any other good choices for banks that exist outside of Taiwan as well?
HSBC is shutting down its retail banking operation in the U.S. You need to keep a minimum balance of NT500,000 in an HSBC Taiwan account to avoid getting the heave ho. With the departure of Citi Taiwan is now a banking backwater for foreign residents.
why do you need a bank with overseas branches ?
from my experience it is easy to remit money to and from any bank now in Taiwan, the fees aren’t the best, but not too exorbitant. credit cards work internationally.
what is the cause of your fear ?
Because I don’t know if a Taiwan bank will be around in 50 years (due to bank or country problems that might come up). I’ve heard of accounts getting shut down if one loses ARC.
I’m not sure how bank insurance works here - I don’t trust a large amount of money with a bank in Taiwan that doesn’t have international presence, since an unknown bank could go bankrupt one day, have corruption going on, have your funds stolen, etc. The amount of money corruption, tax evasion, misreporting of business profits I see in Taiwan isn’t the best sign.
Nobody knows if any particular bank anywhere in the world will be around in five years, let alone 50. Just use a bank here that allows you to easily transfer funds to whatever bank you use in another country.
How do you transfer money from a U.S. bank to any bank in Taiwan while you’re in Taiwan? From Taiwan to the U.S. can be done easily online for about USD20 a transaction. I don’t like to keep much money in Taiwan though due to the unstable situation with China so transferring to Taiwan while in Taiwan for personal expenses is my issue. I’ve been using HSBC and Citi for no or low-cost online transfers.
I’m not from the US, but in my case I use online banking: you fill a form with the Taiwan bank account details and they transfer the money.
15 years ago, I had to download the same form, fill it and sign by hand and fax to the bank, that was a nuisance but not a deal breaker for me.
I usually do 1 or 2 big transfers a year, to avoid muktiple fees.
for your case, just ask your US bank how to do it.
in that case, I think a local account for day to day expenses and a swiss bank account should be a good fit for you. swiss banks boast hundreds of years of stability.
if it makes you feel better, the amount of tax evasion, miss reporting and corruption I see doing business in India, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines make Taiwan look like a banking haven.
Don’t worry. Taiwanese banks make so much money from commissions and charges, they won’t go bankrupt for a long time. They’re actually quite profitable and it’s not like there are any low-cost competitors on the horizon. (Regulation effectively prevents the entry of fintech startups.)
The FSC just authorized some fintech startup banks last year in addition to Obank but as I recall their take-up numbers arent too high. There was a news article that interviewed some of their management who said they won’t be competing on the basis of better interest rates or anything. Only Taixins Richart has quite a few younger clients.
Only way I can see them making a splash is if they can do micro loans on an app for good credit young people and make them instant with computer decisioning versus the old fashioned hour long paper and manual applications used now. Could be lots of reward in it for them. Otherwise why would anyone want to do business with a virtual bank when bank accounts with an actual branch are free here. And this assumes the large banks won’t just copy the model if its successful.
Virtual banks work well in North America because they are fee free compared with brick and mortar which charge fees. Banks in Taiwan are stuck in the stone age comparitively compared to their western counterparts
HSBC and many other large financial institutions are exiting markets and repositioning now. So don’t count on any of them.
Your best bet is to diversify. Don’t hold all your money in one account in one bank. Have different banks in different places (if you can). There will also be more “compliance” involved. So residency and nationality will also play a huge part.
This is nothing new, it happens every so years. Last big change was in Obama’s time, so here we are again.