Reminds me of the time I applied for a visa extension. The service person was terribly rude. At the counter he said I had to fill out another form so I left the counter and found the form at the back of the room. Upon returning he said I still was missing a form. I asked which form…he would not say…just stared at me. I decided to stare him down. After a couple of minutes there were 3 people behind me wondering what the heck was happening. He finally reached beneath the counter and tossed another form on the counter.
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Taiwan banks are so backwater
At least they are safe-ish. Compared to the old country, at least my money stays there. And tellers are very rarely making mistakes, instead of being downright malicious.
I set up an account at Standard Chartered. I needed my ARC card, passport, and social security number. It took 75 minutes and she set up everything for me, including activating my card, getting my passwords set, getting the mobile app account set, and domestic and international accounts. She didn’t know English, and my Chinese isn’t great, especially with the overly formalistic vocabulary used in Taiwan, so it would have been shorter if I were better educated.
I heard the horror stories on Forumosa and I expected much worse. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. Great customer service.
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may i ask what benefits does this bank bring to you compare to other local banks like Cathay, Mega and China Trust?
I don’t know. My company gave me a choice of three, and I picked the only one I had ever heard of.
Standard Chartered is an order of magnitude better than China Trust or other random Taiwanese banks.
- They came to my office when I told them I wanted to open a bank account. (of course they were happy to come and pitch to my other colleagues as well)
- Process was the easiest in 13 years in Taiwan.
- They give you more interest than regular Taiwanese banks for personal accounts.
- The account included a cash back credit card that doesn’t have annual fees.
- Their mobile app is awesome and in English. You can manage both your account and credit card from the same app. (good for applying for the cash back and see your expenses by categories ala Apple Card style).
- If you put in I think around 15k every month into the account you can withdraw from any ATM without a fee. (since they don’t have many SC-branded ATMs on the island).
- You can automatically deduct credit card payments from your account, online banking from other banks, 7-11/family unlike China Trust which only allows 7-11 or a third party online payment that doesn’t support your APRC/ARC number and charges you for paying online.
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So I guess I stumbled into a good choice by accident. Thanks for making me feel better!
Do they make it any easier to transfer money to foreign accounts? Or do you still need to show up in person?
You do not need to show up in person.
Related to this, if you travel or have a lot of foreign exchange, I would probably go with HSBC as it is today. E.g https://www.hsbc.com.tw/en-tw/accounts/products/everyday-global/ or https://www.hsbc.com.tw/en-tw/foreign-exchange/global-view-global-transfers/
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Yup. SC was a smooth experience for me as well.
People from India: you need to provide your country of origin tax number. If you’re not a US citizen, you’ll have to provide Indian Pan or Aadhaar number.
Thanks, I’m aware of HSBC, my question still stands regarding Standard Chartered. Is it possible to do foreign transfers in English using their online tools without going to the bank?
I read HSBC charges high fees if you don’t have a lot of money in your account.
As I work for a HK company, I wonder if HSBC would charge transfer fees for sending myself money from my own HSBC Hong Kong account to a HSBC Taiwan account?
Background:
Currently trying to figure out where to open my first bank account here in Taiwan, as I’m getting my spouse ARC, soon.
My criteria also include fee credit card with perks (cash back, miles), good online banking in English, possibility to open multi-currency accounts.
Ideally with free ATM withdrawals abroad, too.
Cathay United seems like a decent one (ATMs at MRT and English Online Banking)?
E.Sun might come in handy, if I ever need to open a Paypal account here in Taiwan (only ones to which Paypal let’s you withdraw money to).
Any other recommendations?
If you have HSBC Premier they don’t (it’s called Global Transfer and is instant, link above). Otherwise yes.
I think the minimum balance requirement is only around 35k usd, or something like that.
But, either way, if my recollection serves me right the fees charged if you are under that are not that much either, perhaps 20usd per quarter?
From their website:
“For a Premier Account, a minimum, monthly average balance of TWD 3 million is required. If the Bank’s requirement for minimum average balance is not maintained, the Bank shall have the right to collect the account administration charge of TWD 1,000 per month, prescribed by the Bank.”
I wonder if international wires between two regular (non-premier) accounts cost less and/or get better FX rates than from HSBC HK to another TW bank?
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Example: HKD from HK to Taiwan (same for USD or EUR though)
A normal Swift transfer to a Taiwan bank will cost you HKD 115 on the sending side and ? TWD on the receiving side
If you are a HSBC advance customer and both accounts are in your name, the same transfer will cost you HKD 54 in total (see Global Transfer Fee Tariff - HSBC in Hong Kong)
If you are HSBC Premier customer and both accounts are in your name, the same transfer is free.
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Got it! Thanks for your explanation!
Sometimes a free credit card without perks is better than a fee one with perks.
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Whoops, typo! It should read “free credit card with perks”! I want it all! 
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