Okay, after a little research I’d settled on HSBC as my local bank account. Partially as I’m familiar with the brand and they definitely offer online English banking and transfers etc.
I’ve just found out that Chinatrust stay open until 7 though. This is a real pull for me as I’ll be unable to visit the branch without taking time off owing to the 9-5.
Anybody here use either bank? I found a thread on Banking and it had some useful info in but was limited and had only a little recent info. What’s the skinny these days? I only want somewhere to deposit my pay into and be able to transfer to my account back home in ol’ Blighty
I have no trouble transferring money from my Taiwan Chinatrust account through to my UK HSBC account. The first time I did it I had to speak to the Chinatrust staff to comfirm that I am who I am, but after that it’s just been an overnight transfer. I’ve heard that the process is pretty much identical if you have an HSBC account in Taiwan. The HSBC banks here are not linked to HSBC banks in the UK so it isn’t any easier or more difficult. I don’t have an online service with Chinatrust, though.
Yeah, their staff always look good in their flight-attendant style uniforms, and their product range is typical for a decent high street bank.
Once, I was out of the country - i’d just changed my card and had the necessary PIN installed so I can withdraw from cash points outside Taiwan, but for some reason this wasn’t logged.
When I tried to use my card abroad, it didn’t work. I called the office in France and they transferred me to London who then transferred me to Taiwan - a very pleasant young man indeed.
He said that there was nothing he could do - I’d have to come back to Taiwan to change the PIN.
“Yes. Chappy. But the money I intended to use for this particular trip IS IN YOUR BANK.”
“Sorry Sir, but you’ll have to come back to Taiwan. There’s nothing I can do here. Do you have a credit card or another bank account you can use?”
“Oh. Thanks. Yeah,. Why didn’t I think of that? That"s not the point though, is it. I’m using your service.”
So my advice is if you use China Trust:
Make sure you transfer your accounts before you leave the country and that the deed is actually finished, in case you have to come back to sign something they forgot to ask you to sign, or have another number for something. I tried to transfer my account while overseas in order to solve this little muddle, but they wouldn’t let me do that either. The last thing you want is to have all your money stuck in Taiwan. Even though the customer service reps are really nice, and they are open 'till 7pm, I don’t rate their reliability too highly.
Hmm well luckily I just want the account for local use and to transfer to my English account.
Your reply is helpful. However you do not state whether or not you use online banking and how good it may be. I guess all I really want to know is do they offer a decent online service. Transfers etc
The banking system in Taiwan seems to be built on a model of having to inconvenience the hell out of the customers in order to achieve a false sense of security and peace of mind…if you needed to do any banking and forgot to bring that little stupid seal, sorry, no dice.
“But I’m me! Here are my ARC, passport, NHI card, and driver’s license complete with photos! I can recite my address, date of birth, landline and cell numbers forwards and backwards, in English, Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka! I can sign my name in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese with both my left and right hands! Give me my money!”
“Sorry sir, there is nothing we can do for you without the seal. We can, however, file a form for you claiming that you lost the old seal and need a new one to replace the old one, but that would require that you go out and get a new seal and come back in time before the bank closes at 3:30pm…”
Anyways, rant aside. If you are only planning on using your bank money locally, then I would go with Chinatrust. They seem to work with a lot more merchants and you can get discounts when you charge things to your Chinatrust card (I believe Visa debit cards count too). Plus, Chinatrust ATM’s are just about everywhere. Although I do believe that their tellers would only process transactions of more than NT$30,000 in person, and for anything less than that you have to use their ATM’s.
HSBC is the best if you want to hold multiple currencies. You only need to go to the physical branch once to set up your account then you have internet banking in english. With a Premier account, you can transfer between your multiple currency accounts at NO CHARGE. You can withdraw from international branches for FREE, and HSBC is everwhere.
[quote=“catfish13”]The banking system in Taiwan seems to be built on a model of having to inconvenience the hell out of the customers in order to achieve a false sense of security and peace of mind…if you needed to do any banking and forgot to bring that little stupid seal, sorry, no dice.
“But I’m me! Here are my ARC, passport, NHI card, and driver’s license complete with photos! I can recite my address, date of birth, landline and cell numbers forwards and backwards, in English, Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka! I can sign my name in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese with both my left and right hands! Give me my money!”
“Sorry sir, there is nothing we can do for you without the seal. We can, however, file a form for you claiming that you lost the old seal and need a new one to replace the old one, but that would require that you go out and get a new seal and come back in time before the bank closes at 3:30pm…”
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The seal thing is only a problem if you opened your account using a seal rather than a signature. Chinatrust, Mega, Sinopac, and all other major internationalized banks will allow you to open an account with a signature and then use the signature for all subsequent transactions (no seals required). They may not take the initiative to tell you about this option however, as many local customers still are used to using seals.
I agree with you about the inconvenience of using seals, and also feel they pose unique security risks of their own (a chop can be stolen or misappropriated, whereas it’s a little harder to misappropriate someone’s hand).
Chinatrust and HSBC are not in the same league, they’re barely on the same planet. I don’t personally like HSBC (I use Citibank) but they are still much better than Chinatrust and pretty much all other local banks. If you don’t value your time and don’t mind waiting for 30+ minutes to perform simple transactions then by all means open a Chinatrust account. HSBC is a little more expensive in terms of account maintenance fees and general service fees. You get what you pay for.
Their customer service varies from decent to horrible depending on which branch you go to and who you get.
One rep straight up lied to me about some “company policy,” saying it was a government-mandated law. And yet when I went to my other bank (Land Bank) to ask about it they told me they never even heard of such a thing.
I agree 100% that banks policies are different but not from branch to another, because the difference is from one person to another from those lovely bank’s staff. it looks like Taiwanese banks think that foriengers do not have money so there is no need to provide good services for them.
I realize this is an old thread but if anyone out there doesn’t mind beating this dead horse I’d appreciate it… I did some MINOR research and decided that I’d open an account with HSBC in Hsinchu (i’m in Toufen) and use their online banking, mostly because i can use multiple currencies (US and TWD) for free and I must wire US funds back to my Bank of America acct in chicago to pay my student loans sigh… it sounds remarkably easy (almost too easy?) and quite cheap for the wire transfer (suspiciously cheap?) and I’ll have my ARC in 10-15 days from now… HOWEVER, the director at my school informed me today that they would appreciate it if I would go with their rep who is coming to set up accts for everyone and i’ll have direct deposit, and there is a branch here in town… it is Chinatrust bank… so i hear they have LOTS of ATMs, great service, etc… but frankly i don’t care if they’re rude. i’m from chicago and rude works for me as long as you’re doing your job… but can i change currencies for free or “hold” multiple currencies there? so that i can wire US dollars back home easily? anybody know?
i’d appreciate some feedback if anyone has some! thanks a million.
[quote=“bjorkchicago”]I realize this is an old thread but if anyone out there doesn’t mind beating this dead horse I’d appreciate it… I did some MINOR research and decided that I’d open an account with HSBC in Hsinchu (I’m in Toufen) and use their online banking, mostly because i can use multiple currencies (US and TWD) for free and I must wire US funds back to my Bank of America acct in chicago to pay my student loans sigh… it sounds remarkably easy (almost too easy?) and quite cheap for the wire transfer (suspiciously cheap?) and I’ll have my ARC in 10-15 days from now… HOWEVER, the director at my school informed me today that they would appreciate it if I would go with their rep who is coming to set up accts for everyone and I’ll have direct deposit, and there is a branch here in town… it is Chinatrust bank… so I hear they have LOTS of ATMs, great service, etc… but frankly I don’t care if they’re rude. I’m from chicago and rude works for me as long as you’re doing your job… but can i change currencies for free or “hold” multiple currencies there? so that i can wire US dollars back home easily? anybody know?
I’d appreciate some feedback if anyone has some! thanks a million.[/quote]
My experience is somewhat different from others here. I use Chinatrust and have been extremely happy with their service (ordinary banking, loan, and credit card services.) However, I have only an NT dollar account and haven’t inquired about foreign currency accounts with them. When I’ve had to send money to the US, I’ve done it by wire transfer (they take the money out of my NT dollar account and exchange it for US dollars before transferring), or by mailing a bank draft. However, the fees are not cheap. I don’t remember exactly, but I think it is around NT$800 for the wire transfer and NT$400 for a bank check. I might be wrong about those fees though.
