Yet another thread about banking, sorry for that.
Just went to the bank (Taiwan Cooperative Bank) and the staff told me, very confidently, that a new law from April 2025:
stops resident foreigners from using their bank phone app
requires to block such foreigners’ account if they use their credit card abroad (while it was possible until now)
Considering I cannot find any info related to this, I am not too impressed.
Anyway, any advice on how I could use a bank in Taiwan to transfer money to and from abroad casually and even use a card while on foreign trips (my only find is HSBC premier but I don’t qualify for it)?
Most banks you can do this. I like the Cathay United banks app and it’s easy to setup the online international transfers.
All cards you can use overseas, usually you need to turn it on though.
My recommendation for a credit card in TW, particularly your first, is Amex. They’re the only option with non-discriminatory service and just their customer service in general is great.
Something severely lacking in the TW credit card market.
Taiwan cooperative bank is one of the last banks foreigners should be using in my opinion.
Requires guarantors for credit cards, won’t entertain mortgages or loans to foreigners at all, i asked, i also inquired about an investment account, no way. ancient bank from the 60s design, I could absolutely see them pulling a stunt like you mentioned. Actually most government banks are shit.
This has been in since April? I haven’t updated my banks with my Taiwan TARC and still have my APRC as ID on the account… My cards have been working fine while abroad.
Thanks for all your answers. Now, I understand that what the bank employees were wanting to tell me was: “could you please stop using our bank and go somewhere else”?
So I’m thinking about Cathay that Justintaiwan mentioned:
This might not be a popular opinion, but here it goes anyway.
The foreign banks are certainly more open and willing to take risks. Many banks, like dbs, citi bank etc are fully corrupt peices of shit so it makes sense they are willing to take risks and at the same time fuck everyone. Time and time again. Not worth supporting in my opinion.
As annoying as the Taiwanese government aligned banks may seem, they are FAR superior to these other international catastrophes. My guess is because their goals are different. Taiwan wants to actually grow our nation’s business and wealth, whilst the ither banks want to grow their own business interests and have zero national loyalty. They run like a cancer whereas taiwanese banks run like an investment for the national good. More or less, I am also painfully aware of the exceptions and problems with them so im not trying to say “taiwan numba one”. But they are preferable compared to the cancerous alternatives.
I feel the taiwanese government banks (there are a handful of different brands) tend to protect the country, gaurd against fraud and maybe a good way to say it is they are more “analogue”. This really should be a good thing (like physical currency is) as they tend not to have fraud and bullshit tied to them [as much] because they are [more] careful. If a person wants to go around scanning qr codes and connecting their bank accounts to unknown sources for automatic payments, sure. That’s available. And those risks are on the person willing to give up such security risks. Go to the private/foreign banks that tend to be riddled with issues, they will sort you out. When one gets their shit stolen, the government is still there to attempt to help but basically the onus is on the person that was dumb enough to link everything …
“Convenience” they say.
Taiwanese banks tend not to fuck around. They may be slow, but they aren’t retarded. There are long paperwork steps to make sure they dot their i’s and cross their t’s. Even then, it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn safe in comparison.
It’s to the point I no longer support these foreign banks because their problems are infinite and their security is sketchy. Bank of Taiwan, land bank etc tend to be slower and harder to deal with but I NEVER have any bullshit with them. The price I pay is peace of mind, security and not being robbed. To this day I get fake E.sun bank sms messages due to their atm issues. Fuck that.
I dont think mega is a government bank though. Bank of Taiwan is. That’s the main distinction. Mega bank is a private bank, of the like I avoid as per above.
I may be wrong about mega bank, but pretty sure they aren’t state owned.
