Is that a joke ? I have an ARC… Shall I need anything else ? My wife can read it but they say I MUST be able to read it…
Is this the Kaohsiung branch on Wufu 4th road?
If thats the one, they are morons there because that’s the load of bull they told me.
If not, than more than likely this is a corporate policy.
Is this the Kaohsiung branch on Wufu 4th road?
[/quote]
Taipei Branch near Taipei City Hall. They even said something like try your chance at HSBC…
Is this the Kaohsiung branch on Wufu 4th road?
[/quote]
Taipei Branch near Taipei City Hall. They even said something like try your chance at HSBC…[/quote]
HSBC is even more useless, and don’t bother with Cathay United either.
Some of these banks just plain out don’t want foreigners.
I assume they figure that 99% of foreigners can’t read Mandarin. I told them I can read a bit, but they said I had to understand the entire text, which, even for someone that has been there 20 years would have trouble reading. It’s their way of telling you to eff off.
Well how do you do then ?
Technically speaking, I think they are right on this one 
Technically speaking, I think they are right on this one [/quote]
Not really. About 20% of all foreigners (=non-Taiwanese) are from Mainland China, and lots of them can read Mandarin. Plus a heck of a lot in Singapore, Malaysia, and elsewhere.
I’ve got a Citibank credit card that my wife got for me without any difficulties, but I have no idea how their bank accounts work.
Technically speaking, I think they are right on this one [/quote]
Not really. About 20% of all foreigners (=non-Taiwanese) are from Mainland China, and lots of them can read Mandarin. Plus a heck of a lot in Singapore, Malaysia, and elsewhere.
I’ve got a Citibank credit card that my wife got for me without any difficulties, but I have no idea how their bank accounts work.[/quote]
Your card is most likely a “fuka,” which is essentially an additional card tied directly to your wife’s account. It’s not the same as your own account, obtained without a co-signer…
Your card is most likely a “fuka,” which is essentially an additional card tied directly to your wife’s account. It’s not the same as your own account, obtained without a co-signer…[/quote]
Nope. She doesn’t have a Citibank account or card. I’ve got one of those additional cards on my wife’s Cathay bank account (not Citibank), but I never use it, because the bill payments get too complicated. I have no idea HOW she gets these things for me, but get them she does.
Your card is most likely a “fuka,” which is essentially an additional card tied directly to your wife’s account. It’s not the same as your own account, obtained without a co-signer…[/quote]
Nope. She doesn’t have a Citibank account or card. I’ve got one of those additional cards on my wife’s Cathay bank account (not Citibank), but I never use it, because the bill payments get too complicated. I have no idea HOW she gets these things for me, but get them she does.[/quote]
It’s still tied to her credit rating and not your own. She is responsible for your debts. It’s not the same as a foreigner applying on his own.
Your card is most likely a “fuka,” which is essentially an additional card tied directly to your wife’s account. It’s not the same as your own account, obtained without a co-signer…[/quote]
Nope. She doesn’t have a Citibank account or card. I’ve got one of those additional cards on my wife’s Cathay bank account (not Citibank), but I never use it, because the bill payments get too complicated. I have no idea HOW she gets these things for me, but get them she does.[/quote]
It’s still tied to her credit rating and not your own. She is responsible for your debts. It’s not the same as a foreigner applying on his own.[/quote]
This is perfectly understandable but what about a simple account with a debit card ?
[quote=“Bobarctor”]
This is perfectly understandable but what about a simple account with a debit card ?[/quote]
I honestly don’t know about your particular situation. I’ve never heard of anything like it before. Last I heard, there were new regulations coming from the central government that were supposed to end discrimination against foreigners in banking. If I were you, I’d do one of 3 things: 1) Speak Chinese and feign complete comprehension of the fine print in order to complete your account application 2) simply go elsewhere or 3) file a discrimination complaint against the bank with the appropriate authorities.
Additionally, why not simply get your wife to open the account in her name?
[quote=“beach_bum”][quote=“Bobarctor”]
This is perfectly understandable but what about a simple account with a debit card ?[/quote]
I honestly don’t know about your particular situation. I’ve never heard of anything like it before. Last I heard, there were new regulations coming from the central government that were supposed to end discrimination against foreigners in banking. If I were you, I’d do one of 3 things:
- Speak Chinese and feign complete comprehension of the fine print in order to complete your account application [/quote]
lol, like in James Bond movies where they feign to speak Russian I do speak mandarin but not that great to master banking stuff even for 30 seconds…
I’ll try HSBC.
I have been living for 6 years in mainland, this things no more come as a possible threat but thanks for reminding.
PRC citizen
[quote=“Bobarctor”][quote=“beach_bum”][quote=“Bobarctor”]
This is perfectly understandable but what about a simple account with a debit card ?[/quote]
I honestly don’t know about your particular situation. I’ve never heard of anything like it before. Last I heard, there were new regulations coming from the central government that were supposed to end discrimination against foreigners in banking. If I were you, I’d do one of 3 things:
- Speak Chinese and feign complete comprehension of the fine print in order to complete your account application [/quote]
lol, like in James Bond movies where they feign to speak Russian I do speak Mandarin but not that great to master banking stuff even for 30 seconds…
I’ll try HSBC.
I have been living for 6 years in mainland, this things no more come as a possible threat but thanks for reminding.
[quote=“beach_bum”]
Additionally, why not simply get your wife to open the account in her name?
[/quote]PRC citizen [/quote]
It really is their loss that they decided to lose you as a customer. From the sounds of things, you bring them a lot more to the table as a potential customer than many of us…er… bums could. Good luck at HSBC. 
So, how about the thousands of illiterate Taiwanese … are they able to open an account …? Pure discrimination! :bluemad:
[quote=“beach_bum”]
It really is their loss that they decided to lose you as a customer. From the sounds of things, you bring them a lot more to the table as a potential customer than many of us…er… bums could. Good luck at HSBC. 
[/quote]
Yup. The reason I walk to Citibank is because of their nice EVA Card offer. I know for sure that they might ask salary sheet, company contracts, I was expecting they would say like “come back with this or that…”, eventually telling me that foreigner could not apply for credit cards… (I waited to have 5 years credit history to get a credit card in mainland) but no, they just say there is a nice bank in front of the street, try your chance there 
I am a stubborn person so I’ll try again in Citibank, maybe another branch…
[quote=“Bobarctor”][quote=“beach_bum”]
It really is their loss that they decided to lose you as a customer. From the sounds of things, you bring them a lot more to the table as a potential customer than many of us…er… bums could. Good luck at HSBC. [/quote]
Yup. The reason I walk to Citibank is because of their nice EVA Card offer. I know for sure that they might ask salary sheet, company contracts, I was expecting they would say like “come back with this or that…”, eventually telling me that foreigner could not apply for credit cards… (I waited to have 5 years credit history to get a credit card in mainland) but no, they just say there is a nice bank in front of the street, try your chance there
I am a stubborn person so I’ll try again in Citibank, maybe another branch…[/quote]
Im going to start a credit card thread tomorrow - i want to see up to date if people have been successful and where…
As far as a regular debit card and account, I went to Land Bank… they didn’t give me issues but wouldnt issue a credit card.
To he OP:
HSBCis also no go, unless you are Big Fish, corporate account, Search for furyher data. Unless you have 300k initial deposit…
Easiest would be Mega Bank, and you can get a secured credit card, way easier. Or simply ghe Post Office, all they ssk is a 50nt wood carved seal with your Chinede name.
To Dan:
There arr lots of threads about credit cards. Updates would be nice but I don’t think much has changed.
In general, the sp called intetnational banks, since they arr not really branches but name leasers, are the most forrign unriendly.
I think we should start taking these banks to court or at least threaten them …
OP, we were finally able to open up an account at Standard Chartered by 101. My husband went to a few “international banks” but was turned down by all. The whole process itself took half a day at SC. Yes, it was like doing business with monkeys all morning, but in the end, we got what we wanted. I believe the man who helped us had never took on such a challenge, and was probably grateful for the opportunity to update his resume. 
The reason why it took so many banks to reject us was because we required a few things:
-both foreigners with ARCs (no TW ID)
-we required a joint account, he as primary
-we also needed to a business account at the same bank. That was the kicker, the banks he went to would only allow a business OR personal, not both, and definitely not the next point, which is:
-both biz and personal joint accounts needed to have both US and TW accounts (total of four accounts)
We also applied for a CC, but after a few days, they called to say we had to have a minimum of something like 3,000,000 NTD in our personal account before we could be issued one. Yeah, right. So we are CC free in Taiwan, but we use our Amex when the foreign transaction fee is worth it. We can transfer funds from our joint account, but online transactions can only be made from the business account. There are a lot of obstacles we run into, it seems 
, on a weekly basis, but because SC is usually so DEAD, I get things taken care of easily and promptly.
You’d think SC, being a British bank, would make things easier for foreigners here. Not that much easier. But at least we were able to open all the accounts we wanted. The man who helped us spoke pretty bad English, but he tried his best. The man who dealt with my husband’s business account spoke better English, and seemed to be more on the ball. In short, give Standard Chartered a try. They’re actually really good on the phone in English. Also, the Tianmu branch on Zhongcheng Road Sec. 2 is great. Everyone speaks English, and is so friendly. They also have an “Eight minutes wait or less” guarantee.
I have a Citibank CC in my name and my wife did not co-sign nor is she in any way responsible for my debts.