Welcome to the Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Centre. (Not making that up, BTW!!!)
You’ve got no chance with a Taiwanese bank. Citibank is a Taiwanese bank, BTW. It may sound foreign, but it’s still very local. The idea of gifting HSBC with US$5,000 so they could punt it for their own benefit just to get a credit card actually had me in stiches in one of their branches. I also had a good giggle at the fact that they charge four times as much to send money to a UK HSBC account than a local bank does.
Why not open an offshore account in the IOM or something? Or a non-resident account in HK? You can’t be attempting to deal with a Taiwanese bank unless you either work for them or have the correct guanxi. Or luck.
I would have to say that banking regulations for foreigners have been tightened up, as of course the current credit crisis is all our fault. Unless you are an employee of a Taiwanese company they probably simply have an aneurysm and run amok because it “Does Not Compute”! You are not dealing with rational people here and there is little point in pushing it except with the very top chaps. As I never tire of telling people, a foreign department head at a major foreign investment bank firm here had to get his local (unemployed) wife to guarantee his cards.
Have you tried Ameri… oh I forgot. They’ve given up. No, I’d go for the offshore account if I were you.
OFF TOPIC: Why won’t the Aussie’s send cards out here? HSBC sends cards from the UK. Do they get lost or something? Just curious.
I really do not understand this, i bank with Chinatrust and they have given me everything i have asked for, including a credit card, no guarantor and a checking account.
I’m guessing you have a regular work permit and gave them income tax receipts for a certain period? I know an English teacher who got a card from Citi in no time… he earns less than NT$50k/month and of course there’s absolutely no chance he’s going to skip the country because he has a stamped work permit. Yup, absolutely 100% safer than someone heavily invested into a Taiwanese company with a 3-year ARC…
I’m going to be back in LA for a few days in two months. If things still aren’t sorted by then I’ll just go and slap down a deposit for a US card against my BoA account. I have some more foreign trips before this though and that was the whole point of having a card nnnnggggg…
I wouldn’t be able to get a CC with a non-resident HK account, would I? The point of the excercise is getting a reliable Visa or Mastercard that I can use for buying tickets online and international travel. I already have about 30 bank accounts and god knows I don’t need any more.
My UK bank pulled out my CC altogether when I filed a P85 and declared nonresidency. Fair enough I guess and I didn’t argue because I thought I would at least get a crappy low-limit card that I could just deposit some funds on and have done with it. Was I ever wrong.
I really do not understand this, i bank with Chinatrust and they have given me everything I have asked for, including a credit card, no guarantor and a checking account.[/quote]
I have also filed non residency in the UK, but still have all my credits cards from that time, which bank were you with, mine - Nat West - has never even hinted that it is causing a problem, and they send the statements here.
Sure you dont have a black mark against you in the banking system somewhere.
My cards are also with NatWest. I have a total of 4k personal overdraft facility and 5k business overdraft that I never use but they haven’t withdrawn. I really don’t know what it is about credit cards that make banks shit themselves - I think the problem is that things like overdrafts are dealt with by local managers who know me well why cards are invariably dealt with by big processing centres who go by paperwork and scoring. They didn’t have a problem with me keeping my chequebooks/cheque guarantee cards either so like I said, I never argued because I assumed it wouldn’t be this difficult getting a card out of the Taiwanese system. It has always been difficult for me to get credit in the UK being self employed but I had an excellent relationship with NatWest. I also had cards with Capital One that I cancelled before I left because they were turning from a superb company into a very very nasty one.
[quote=“Traveller”]I have also filed non residency in the UK, but still have all my credits cards from that time, which bank were you with, mine - Nat West - has never even hinted that it is causing a problem, and they send the statements here.
Sure you dont have a black mark against you in the banking system somewhere.[/quote]
The reason (excuse) they gave me was that it was to prevent fraud. Apparantly, it only applies to Asia, the banks will send them to US/Eur etc.
Last time I was in Aust, I asked the bank about sending a cc, and they said no problem. By the time I needed to have one sent, they’d changed their policies. Now they will only send them if you sign an authorisation form. Which has to be signed in the bank. Which is completely useless for me - if I was able to walk into my Aussie bank to sign the form, I’d be equally able to pick up a new card at the same time.
Same thing happened to me with transfers from NatWest. No matter how much security information or ID I give them they will no longer let me transfer money abroad without me signing a waiver in person, not even to the same account I’ve been sending money to for the past three years.
All my income is earned in or via the UK and the only person who has access to my money there is my mom who will be moving herself next month. After a total of over 10 hours on the phone to everyone including my business account manager (which cost a fortune in itself) the only option is to fly to the UK, sign the form and fly back. And perhaps open an account with a sensible bank while I’m there. Good thing I like flying.
The reason (excuse) they gave me was that it was to prevent fraud. Apparantly, it only applies to Asia, the banks will send them to US/Eur etc.
Last time I was in Aust, I asked the bank about sending a cc, and they said no problem. By the time I needed to have one sent, they’d changed their policies. Now they will only send them if you sign an authorisation form. Which has to be signed in the bank. Which is completely useless for me - if I was able to walk into my Aussie bank to sign the form, I’d be equally able to pick up a new card at the same time.[/quote]
I have also filed non residency in the UK, but still have all my credits cards from that time, which bank were you with, mine - Nat West - has never even hinted that it is causing a problem, and they send the statements here.
Sure you dont have a black mark against you in the banking system somewhere.[/quote]
My wife has a UK HSBC card and account and they don’t have a problem sending stuff out here. Odd that Natwest do.
I have also filed non residency in the UK, but still have all my credits cards from that time, which bank were you with, mine - Nat West - has never even hinted that it is causing a problem, and they send the statements here.
Sure you dont have a black mark against you in the banking system somewhere.[/quote]
My wife has a UK HSBC card and account and they don’t have a problem sending stuff out here. Odd that Natwest do.[/quote]
I should point out that the problem is not them sending stuff here - they are quite happy to do so. I had several meetings with my business manager before I left to make arrangements for leaving the country. A few days later I received a letter giving notice that they were revoking my credit card privileges. All other services are intact (including the substantial unsecured overdraft facilities, cheque guarantee, Switch etc.) and I could have argued my case at the time but didn’t think it would be necessary. I didn’t use it a whole lot and paid off the balance in full every month so maybe it just wasn’t worth it for them shrug.
PRAISE ALLAH and/or BUDDAH!!! I went to pick up some registered mail at the post office this morning and before my eyes lay an enticingly fat Citibank envelope… and contained within, the delicious fruit of my labour in the form of a shiny new Visa card! I’m going to transfer the money from Citibank into my Chinatrust account and try re-applying for a Mastercard just before I head off to the US next month.
I have a steady job with 3 years of deposit history I can provide. My bank balance never gets huge because I take money back to the US twice a year. I have a co-signer with good credit. Been turned down by Taipei Fubon (twice), First Bank and HSBC, all saying the same thing: To issue a card to a foreigner, the foreigner must be employed by a top 500 company in Taiwan with a title of manager or above.
If you have a guarantor with good credit you can apply anywhere you like - the bank won’t even look at your data, just the guarantor. But bear in mind that the card is not yours - it just happens to have your name on it. All credit reporting and responsibility goes against your guarantor’s ID number.
The current situation for Citibank is that you need an account with them and proof of either 6 months regular wages and/or willingness to put some money on time deposit with them. The catch is that to maintain a regular account you need at least $250,000 on deposit. You can open an account at Citibank with less but they will charge $500 per month and not give you a credit card. To be honest though, if you can’t meet this requirement you will have a hard time getting a credit card at any bank without a guarantor.
Try HSBC, the last time I checked there limit was 150k “only”. I believe the fees of the intermediate bank for TTs are also cheaper at HSBC, but please check first.
I honestly think it’s the luck of the draw. I’ve heard of people with a credit card with one bank,a nd someone lese goes into the same bank, with the same situation and gets turned down.
My workmate tried to get a card a while ago. He’s married and been in Taiwan for years. Teh bank is next door to our workplace. He’s been banking there for years. His (plenty high enough) salary goes in there every month and he always has a decent deposit in there (he also owns a house). Our workplace banks at the same place, and acted as referees. How could you possibly do better than that? Still no luck.
I still use my UK credit card. I lived there for 6 months only. I closed my bank account there and haven’t lived there for 10 years. I can still use the card. Only problem is fees and charges for making payments, so I don’t use it often.
I used to have a credit card with Citibank, in my wife’s name. They dropped the limit from 150000 to 10000. 10000! What a joke, Cancelled that. Citibank are cunts. That’s not our only bad experience with them, and I’m not the only one to have said it. Over the years there have been dozens of complaints about them on this forum.
I have to say that Citibank has been (almost) consistently very good for the past 3 years. If you don’t have at least 300k on deposit with them they just don’t seem to be interested, otherwise they are fine.
I think now that most international banks are getting to grips with foreigner applications it’s not necessarily better to apply with a guarantor. My Citibank card is in my name and has been upgraded every 6 months with no problems. Also now I have a perfect credit history through that card I have had no problems getting a mortgage, car loan etc. without any guarantor.
What happens is the lower level bank staff will tell you that your application looks okay, but when it gets to higher-ups it will be red-lined and refused as a matter of cours. That goes for evey bank in Taiwan.
I have a CC from Hua Nan bank, it was issued to me a few years ago as the bank manager of the local branch was on good terms with my boss (local Taiwanese co.), I also needed a local guarantor of course. I have a foreign CC but due to the extra charges involved in intl. transfers etc. it’s very expensive, I almost never use it. To have a local CC is a great convenience.
Citibank and HSBC provide almost no credit to anyone here with less than squidillions in the bank.
They are useless for personal credit. Lllary get’s some deal because he’s involved in business here and can show a large deposit in Taiwan.
When it comes to personal credit the situation has not improved here as far as I can see. In the case of BuLaiEn’s friend, we can only determine they base their decision on racism and ignorance and he could perhaps bring it to the local court to get an evaluation (although I guess they state in the rules, we don’t need to give a reason, my favourite quote from the ministry of foreign affairs here, like when the minister of foreign affairs has a green card, I don’t need to give a reason ).
Unless you are an employee of a Taiwanese company they probably simply have an aneurysm and run amok because it “Does Not Compute”! You are not dealing with rational people here and there is little point in pushing it except with the very top chaps. As I never tire of telling people, a foreign department head at a major foreign investment bank firm here had to get his local (unemployed) wife to guarantee his cards.
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