I need a new bank account, what do you suggest?

[user86]

@taiwanhiker

most banks in TW have free number of outside-network ATM withdrawals per month.

No they don’t. But most banks offer this benefit if your employer uses the same bank for your payroll.

[user86]

@Andrew

and I don’t know how common they are in Kaohsiung

Pretty common, and most convenient stores have their ATMs.

[ilikecoffee]

There is a typical fee of $5~7 per withdrawal for local ATMs BUT many banks waive this fee. Not all, and it seems to depend if they’re connected to the same core ATM network. It’s not a deal-breaker for me.

But it also means that if you only have $*002 in your account… you can’t take out the $*000 because of the fee. I can see that being annoying. The only way round that is to go into the bank or use the bank’s own network.

[Mr_PBH]

@Taiwan_Luthiers

I heard someone in taiwan gotten a bunch of credit cards with cash back and used it to buy stuff that can be resold at no loss, and then paid it back with the proceeds, basically she was making good money just from the cash back, and the bank closed her cards for this.

That’s a dangerous game, and I call bs that it actually works, and f it does work, she probably working more hours than a shit job to make it work. Side hustles suck mostly.

[Andrew]

@Mr_PBH

That’s a dangerous game, and I call bs that it actually works, and f it does work, she probably working more hours than a shit job to make it work. Side hustles suck mostly.

I doubt it’s total bs. It’s not markedly different from the U.S. $1 coin/airline miles scheme (that’s the most famous one I remember, but I guess there have been other such schemes).

The US' Terrible Mistake of Selling $1 Coins for $1

[olm]

I had good experiences with HSBC:

• Staff in several Taipei branches spoke very good English
• Phone support spoke great English
• App/Website English is good (much better than my Firstbank)
• Credit Card website is in Chinese, like seemingly always

[Taiwan_Luthiers]

Yea, I did some mental math and you really gotta be moving millions of ntd to make maybe 30,000nt, and that’s assuming no accidental loss which is far from certain. Unless you’re buying stocks on credit card but it’s not risk free either. The person in question bought transferrable airline tickets and turned around and resold it.

Dangerous game for sure, she was even called 卡神 and became famous.

That may be the game she was playing.

[jimbob132]

HSBC Taiwan has the worst credit card login site I’ve seen out of all banks in my 20 years of using banks

[Mataiou]

U never saw first bank’s one, that’s unusable ugly crap

[taiwanhiker]

yes you’re probably right. never bothered me. My 3 banks in Taiwan charge 0 for outside network withdrawal, as i maintain decent balances.

Even if they didnt…5 NT ??? pfff… peanuts. Even if I do 10 transactions a month and they charge me total of NT50, its peanuts. not worth wasting my time on.

[qwert_zuiop]

@taiwanhiker

My 3 banks in Taiwan charge 0 for outside network withdrawal, as i maintain decent balances.

How much balance does one need to maintain with which bank to get those perks?

[Beach]

@jimbob132

I use HSBC premier in the states and invest the 75k needed to meet premier in an ETF (only about $7.95 trading fees), then link other countries to my U.S. premier account to get premier in all countries

But you should get one local bank to get the local features like mobile cash withdrawal, being able to use cards for all local services. I recommend ESun since they have an English app/site and the most friendly bank tellers.

Does HSBC Taiwan provide local services similar to those that ESun does? I figured if I already have a Premier account with HSBC US, it would be easier to open an account with HSBC Taiwan and transfer between them?

[Mataiou]

HSBC Tw is a locally licenced bank, they offer 99% of domestic services as “local” banks. Only thing missing is that their credit cards might have less promotions at stores or some store (like PX mart) won’t accept HSBC cards.

Being a premier in the US you can have a free premier account here, which is very handy. Free ATM withdrawals anywhere basically and free bank transfers.

[Satellite_TV]

Global transfers is great and immediate with no fees. I transferred a six figure US$ amount from my HSBC HK to HSBC Taiwan it shows up in an instant. Also as the accounts are linked you can see basic info from your accounts from overseas in your HSBC Taiwan app and vice versa my HSBC HK app shows basic information for my HSBC Taiwan account. Balances etc. … which is also in English

[Beach]

@Mataiou

Being a premier in the US you can have a free premier account here, which is very handy. Free ATM withdrawals anywhere basically and free bank transfers.

Thanks. I’m thinking even with the US Premier checking, I get free ATM withdrawals or free bank transfers, right? The downside is that the stores may not accept foreign cards?

[Beach]

@Satellite_TV

Also as the accounts are linked you can see basic info from your accounts from overseas in your HSBC Taiwan app and vice versa

That’s really convenient. I wonder if Citi Gold offers something similar?

[Mataiou]

Citi has closed shop here in Taiwan, been bought by DBS

[jimbob132]

There’s a new offer with Bitopro and Far east bank (called “Bankee”) that seems promising. Haven’t tested it to see if it’s Taiwanese natural persons only allowed.

https://bitopro.zendesk.com/hc/zh-tw/categories/33743576287129?utm_source=edm&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=bankee0618

• Free bank transfers (6 per month?)
• Large limits for bitopro transfers
• Cobranded card
• Some other benefits

[Andrew]

@jimbob132

There’s a new offer with Bitopro and Far east bank (called “Bankee”) that seems promising. Haven’t tested it to see if it’s Taiwanese natural persons only allowed.

Bankee excludes foreigners. See this post:

Which digital banks in Taiwan refuse to provide services to foreigners?

After the Richart/Taishin/JKO thing, I’m intending to make a follow-up complaint to the MOI and probably the FSC about those digital banks that don’t provide services to foreigners at all, based on something the MOI previously wrote about the provision of limited services not constituting discrimination. Actually, come to think of it now, if I can be bothered I might complain to the banks themselves first as well and ask if they have any timeline for providing a fair and non-discriminatory serv…

[jimbob132]

@Andrew

Bankee excludes foreigners. See this post:

Seems like natural Taiwanese persons only, so my Taiwanese company can’t use it either

Looks like we are being left behind in this digital age and getting excluded from all digital banks