Cathay United Bank - Creating an Account

Sure does. Costco is the only place you can get your 100oz bags of chips.

How much are the fees for receiving foreign money like USD, EUR, JPY, CHF, etc.?

Last time I did it, I paid about $300. I received about $50 US.

A little bit high for such a low reception of money. But my bank said itā€™s a flat rate.

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I donā€™t know the fees for Cathay specifically - I believe thereā€™s usually a percentage plus maybe a fixed fee and a minimum, so it depends on the amount - but you can probably count on a couple of hundred TWD for receiving the transfer then similar again for converting it into TWD (or withdrawing the foreign currency). Iā€™d probably go and ask in the bank if you want to be sure.

You can probably count on paying an intermediary bank fee as well, which tends to be difficult to figure out in advance (presumably deliberately - if thereā€™s a comprehensive list of those for any country Iā€™ve ever held bank accounts in, Iā€™ve never seen one).

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Wow. receiving 50 USD but then paying 300TWD / ~ 10 USD
But if itā€™s flatrate, then I probably just would send / receive several thousands to make the fees worth it.

Pretty much. It was sort of a litmus test to see how it worked with an Oz friend of mine.

Sometimes I send him stuff.

Next time would be a big lump sum.

Yeah, you should generally do that anyway.

Mineā€™s Cathay.

I donā€™t know about Cathay as I said, but Iā€™d be surprised if itā€™s a genuine flat rate as theyā€™d then lose out on a way to siphon money off larger transfers (which would be uncharacteristic for a bank). Maybe itā€™s a percentage with a minimum charge - that seems more common in my experience.

I know. Iā€™m telling you. Mineā€™s Cathay and they made me pay about $300.

Yeah, for your one transfer. You can try with larger amounts if you want and see if/how it varies. Iā€™m just telling you my experience as well, Marco. Jesus.

:face_with_raised_eyebrow:
Iā€™m confused. I thought you thought I was asking you.

It wasnā€™t clear. No need to get upset.

I guess people donā€™t transfer money often anymore because that or thereabouts has been the flat rate at every bank Iā€™ve dealt with in multiple countries for many years. Itā€™s about the same if you deposit a foreign currency check into your TWD bank account.

While Iā€™m here, has anyone with the Cathay debit card used it at Costco, in particular online? Theyā€™ve turned me down twice for a credit card (though I met their qualifications) and last time I went the credit card people werenā€™t there (L2 regulations likely) but with what folx in another thread are saying about their cards getting canceled I donā€™t hope to get one. If I understood, I can shop online with the Cathay normal credit card or debit card. I figure thatā€™s my only chance of being able to shop online. I canā€™t get to the store often, so my membership isnā€™t worth that much.

Do you happen to remember, did you get the ATM and credit cards right there at the bank? Or did they mail them to you later?

Itā€™s been awhile, but as far as I remember I got the ATM card right then at the bank but I believe the credit card might have been mailed to me.
EDIT: Actually Iā€™m pretty positive the credit card was mailed to me because I remember opening the envelope and being surprised at the credit limit.

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Another interesting thing about this site is you can login with your bank card if you have a card reader.

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