Cannot get an online banking account if ARC expires in less than a year

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

I had this dropped on me when trying to open an account today.

I was aware that if your ARC expires your ability to use online banking and send wires will also expire. But until today I was unaware that you couldn’t use online banking if your ARC expires in less than a year.

FWIW my old accounts at Citi and Taiwan Bank both still work for online banking, and they ARC they have on file is long expired.

Is this actually the case? Or are they making rules up as they go along.

2

which bank?
i had similar issue with First Bank.
They wouldn’t allow me to convert money online (USD to TWD) until i updated my expired ARC, but i could access my online banking without a problem to see the status of my account.
Never had this problem with E.Sun.
maybe regulation changed or they are inventing stuff as they go

3

That’s like 90% of non-open work ARCs.

Making it up as they go along.

1 Like
4

HSBC

I had similar experience… when your ARC expires you get online banking lite. Can’t do anything involving sending NTD out of Taiwan or converting currency. But everything else works fine.

5

So I emailed FSC to ask if this is the case. Will report back.

1 Like
6

I tried the FSC before. They’re useless.

7

You can absolutely get HSBC online banking if your ARC is valid for less than a year. 100%. Go to a different branch or ask to speak to management

1 Like
8

Thanks. I emailed the FSC. When they come back and say there’s no rule against it I’ll escalate.

9

I’ve personally had success with the FSC against various banks. One call from them and the bank usually calls me back to negotiate. I know @Marco has had the opposite experience though. Maybe luck of the draw whom you get at the FSC

4 Likes
10

Converting NTD to USD and sending money out of the country can be a hassle in general sometimes (esp with larger amounts)… and HSBC is under greater scrutiny since they are a foreign bank (ie. FSC is stricter with them, watches them more closely). They pretty much told me this when I was trying to convert a large sum of NTD to USD (after selling house)

The banking rules in Taiwan are a real PITA. I remember a while back there was some discussion about Taiwan wanting to become a major global banking power (ie. trying to challenge HK/SG)… I just sort of laughed at that idea

11

They helped me resolve a banking problem as well (even though I kind of screwed up the situation myself).

1 Like
12

image
image672×1168 129 KB

Here’s what I was sent.