Just start complaining for yourself man, and help improve the situation. You’ve been here long enough. You can do it!
Based on my track record, it appears . . . I am not extremely good at this.
I do have a future plan however which I will disclose if and when things actually work out.
Guy
Oh come on, you can be annoying. I’ve seen you do it on here. 
The easiest way for me has just been smiling, polite factual statements along the lines of “Discriminating against foreigners residing in Taiwan violates Article 62 of the Immigration Act and Article 7 of the Financial Consumer Protection Act. If you discriminate against me because I’m a foreigner, I’ll be complaining to the FSC.”
It doesn’t need to be unpleasant or a massive dispute, it’s just about making them perceive it to be more hassle to not give you what you want than it is for them to take the easy option of discriminating.
- Company: Richart (Taishin)
- Card applied for: gogocard
- Credit score/history before applying: 800
- Date of application: 16 November 2023
- Date of follow up call: NONE
- Date of credit report check: 17 November 2023
- Date of approval: 17 November 2023
- Date of arrival: 22 November 2023
- Time from application to card recieved: less than 1 week (3 working days)
- Guarantor required? No
- Secured deposit required? No
- Apply where? in person
- Credit limit given: 330,000NTD
I was looking at that one recently, because I was thinking to apply for another card before the end of the year (while I can still use my income tax certificate for 2022 - presumably).
I don’t particularly need another card though, and I was kind of put off by my current issues with Richart/Taishin. What did you like about this card, and how was the application process in the branch?
The website still says they want a Taiwanese guarantor as well (though that can be complained about while applying, of course):
外籍人士：請另備居留證正反面影本，並徵提臺籍保證人乙名。
Really smooth. Just showed my APRC, emailed 3 pay slips and got approved the next day.
3.8% cashback on shopee, momo, px pay, line pay and Taishin pay
I wasn’t asked for one at all
That’s one of the things I was looking for too, actually, but I got the impression from other cards that many of these attractive-sounding cashback deals are quite restricted, like capped at a couple of hundred TWD per bill or to a small number of customers each month (requiring them to register each time, on a first-come first-served basis).
That’s not the situation here right? It doesn’t seem too onerous in this case from the terms and conditions, but I’m about to rush out and didn’t read through them very carefully.
No. I have never run into that.
Citibank (now DBS green) for example gives 2% on pretty much everything
HSBC is 3% on a few things with a limit of 2000 NTD (How much do you have to spend to reach the maximum…? Really… 滙豐匯鑽卡更會賺的卡 | 信用卡詳細介紹 - 滙豐(台灣)
Richart while the limit is 1000… it is 3.8% and also how much do you need to spend a month to reach the limit? (about 30,000NTD which for most is ok) I can then switch to my HSBC card and DBS card… — 精選網購、行動支付Go給力 最高3.8%！ (2023/4月帳單消費起適用) - 台新銀行
Also Richart has the requirement of automatic billing… BUT from what I was told you can elect for it to only pay the minimum and then pay the rest manually. But I always pay in full so it isn’t an issue.
Just applied for it in the Taipei Guting branch of Taishin. I also wasn’t asked for a guarantor, and nobody gave me any bullshit for being a foreigner. Let’s see what happens.
I didn’t have much to do today and fancied a fight, so I went in to update my ID (after getting the APRC), apply for the credit card, and complain about the tax withholding certificates listing my passport country. Managed to do all three in 70 minutes, and they’re supposed to call me back about the withholding certificates.
Didn’t get the fight I wanted though. I think I’ll try and go to CTBC and Mega Bank tomorrow and have one there. 
CTBC still has a problem with the ID number thing which is annoying. But their 2.5% cashback (on overseas transactions) card isn’t bad though and good for when abroad. But I have plans to replace it with the richart flygo that offers 3% next month.
As for Megabank… well prepare for battle… (if you don’t have a gold card.) It seems that nobody has really bothered to challenge them (with many normalising their policies). I am getting my Taiwan citizenship soon so I don’t have the time. — But have fun and make your mark!
Some will complain for hours on forums but refuse to spend 5 minutes to submit a simple FSC complaint 
Want to save time? Send the complaint to the FSC and forget for 2-4 weeks while they deal with it.
All I want to do at Mega is update my ID. I’m guessing that’ll mean filling out the CRS forms again (it did last time when I renewed my gold card and got the new number, anyway).
That said, I managed to convince them last time to just let me enter Taiwan and “ZZ”, even though I hadn’t been here 183 days at that point because it was early in the year. Hopefully I can argue the same point again, and I’ll be better prepared this time too. Also hoping that they don’t try to take the credit card away now I don’t have a gold card anymore. 
Isn’t the 2.5% cashback on overseas transactions pretty standard? I’d have to check again, but I thought all my cards had that. But it’s just wiped out by the overseas transaction fee, isn’t it?
- Company: DBS
- Card applied for: Travel World Business
- Credit score/history before applying: Score of 758 on day of application
- Date of application: Nov 7 2023
- Date of follow up call: T+2, T+7
- Date of credit report check: T+6, T+9 (both by same department)
- Date of approval: T+15
- Date of arrival: T+17
- Guarantor required? No
- Secured deposit required? No
- Apply where? Physical branch
- Credit limit given: 50k
Supporting documents provided:
- ARC
- Passport
- Bank statements x3
Note: I don’t have a bank account with them.
Very fast overall but gave me some trouble initially because only a few months of validity left on ARC but I convinced them it’s fine because plan on applying for APRC next month. Still giving me small limits hmm.
At least you can apply to increase your credit limit and I found most banks let you increase the limit online right away. CTBC was the only one that did not for me and I had to give them PDF for proof of income and finances.
I just submitted my FSC complaint about DBS Chiayi and also gave them the link to forumosa on your post as I said this is a known issue for foreigners to open an account at DBS. I got it on video the staff laughing at me because 1… I came from Alishan, 2, I said refused account because I am poor they laughed at me, 3 I told them I was a citizen and they had that mocking laugh, the one you have when you do not believe someone…
4. I was told that under Singapore and Taiwan law people with multiple citizenships cant have a DBS account lol.
Video links also provided to FSC
I am thinking of suing DBS for discrimination in court.
That’s annoying to hear, I think it must be branch specific or possibly even staff specific. I opened an account there recently at a branch in Taipei and it was a smooth process. They even put down that I was only a tax resident of Taiwan and didn’t try to ask for my home country’s tax ID number like almost every other bank here has. The DBS app and desktop site is great too, very professional and by far the best integration of English I’ve seen from any bank here.
I’d suggest going to a different branch if the one you went to was giving you trouble.
Which branch u went in Taipei, if u don’t minde asking?
Songshan
- Company: Taipei Fubon Bank
- Card applied for: Costco Titanium Card (with easy card and costco member printed on the back card)
- Credit score/history before applying: No credit card before, but I have car 1y Installment on SUM (no late history and installment progress 5/12)
- Date of application: Oct 10 2023
- Date of follow up call: No
- Date of credit report check: No
- Date of approval: T+14
- Date of arrival: T+16
- Guarantor required? No
- Secured deposit required? No
- Apply where? North Taichung Costco
- Credit limit given: 60k
Supporting documents provided:
- ARC
- Passport
- Changhwa Bank payroll passbook (salesman said need have 20k NTD balance, at the time I deposit first 90k and print out passbook. After that I cash out on sameday, only for formality
. really no balance in account, I borrow money from my friend 
).
Note: I don’t have a fubon bank account at the time.
I don’t have a Fubon account either. I used my company tax number to apply and got a decent credit limit. Some others on the Coscto Fubon thread also got good card limits.
I’d suggest DBS lift their training standards and treat everyone the same at any branch. Should not need to go to a different branch.