I need to open a joint bank account. however, chang hwa said it wasn’t possible. what banks in taiwan allow for joint bank accounts?
thanks
[quote=“bushibanned”]I need to open a joint bank account. however, chang hwa said it wasn’t possible. what banks in Taiwan allow for joint bank accounts?
thanks[/quote]
It’s none of my business, but take it from someone who has seen the dark side of people. Trust no one absolutely.
If Changhwa won’t do it, I doubt if anyone will. I can’t imagine it at all in a culture where even husbands and wives aim to remain financially independent if at all possible.
Very old-fashioned idea, and I can think of only very gloomy reasons why anyone should want to do it. I hope everything is OK, OP.
My wife and I tried, but were told no. So we opened separate accounts and just use whichever card comes to hand.
Well I do. She’s more disciplined about using the household account for household expenses, and the rent account for rent. 
It used to be possible, but I don’t think it is anymore. We have a joint bank account with ABN-AMRO, but they stopped doing it several years ago due to a change of a law or some regulation, or so they said. We were only allowed to keep it because we opened it before that change (when ABN was still Bank of America).
I’m surprised Taiwan doesn’t allow joint bank accounts. I think it’s great. Keep mine and yours separate. Not allowing joint accounts is something I expect in Canada, where women and men are equal, not here, where women still do not enjoy the “same” status as men. To that, I say good job, Taiwan! :bravo:
I send money to my mother in Canada through a joint bank account with the Royal bank. I basically put money in my account,(I’m the primary account holder)and we can both access it.
Threre are positive sides to joint bank accounts too.
My wife and I had joint bank accounts at ICBC
Cheers!
Daryl
Have or had?
we had one up until we left taiwan 2 months ago… at which time we closed our accounts.
Cheers!
Daryl
I find that hard to believe. I’ve had an account at ICBC for years, and after I got married, I enquired about a joint bank account and they said there was no such thing anywhere in Taiwan.
Same for us Mm, we wanted it to prove our relationship status. The reply from ICBC and Taishan “Zou kai”.
Daryl how did you get yours?
I honestly don’t know… my wife set it up…
We both had signatory privaleges n the account… we both had credit cards and debit cards with our own names on them that accessed the same account…
I am in a different city right now but will ask her and repost when later…
Cheers!
Daryl
Thanks, we’d like to get one if possible.
L. 
I don’t get your point, 914. The whole point of a joint bank account is equality and trust. Why should only the family breadwinner have access to the money? The spouse should be able to access it whenever he/she wants. If my wife wants money, she doesn’t need to ask me first. It’s not my money, nor is it hers. It’s our money. That’s the best possible way to stress financial equality.
I don’t get your point, 914. The whole point of a joint bank account is equality and trust. Why should only the family breadwinner have access to the money? The spouse should be able to access it whenever he/she wants. If my wife wants money, she doesn’t need to ask me first. It’s not my money, nor is it hers. It’s our money. That’s the best possible way to stress financial equality.[/quote]
Ok. I see. As an unmarried person, I don’t understand the idea of a joint account. What got me was in Taiwan they don’t allow it, so if the husband and wife split, they have their separate accounts, there are no financial tie-ups in their bank accounts. So that sounds like a good idea to me. Is it actually a bad idea not to have joint accounts?
I don’t think it’s technically a joint account, but I’ve been able to put my wife’s name on my account at HSBC (so she’s got a separate bank card, with her name on it). The a/c is still in my name though, and there are some things where they’ll only accept my signature.
Well, I guess each relationship is different in how money is handled - but I’d say it’s a good idea to at least be able to have a joint account. The government doesn’t regulate whether married couples should use a shared bed or two separate beds, so why should they regulate their bonking arrangements?
Good one, david. Fabulous!
Thanks for the clarification.
Ask around, folks. In a lot of marriages in Taiwan (amongst two Taiwanese people), the wife controls the money, regardless of whether the acct is single or joint. 
Isn’t that what they said : at the courthouse: “To have and to hold, to control all the money, from this day forward in sickness and in debt”?
We asked as well, at least at ICBC; no joint accounts. There is, however, a way of giving others access to a single account; the account is registered under a chop and whoever has the chop can make deposits and withdrawals. Lots of small businesses seem to use this type of account.