‘Online’ Bank’s xenophobic reasoning for denying "foreigners" the ability to open an account online

This is following on from the other thread, but I figured this thread would be more appropriate for discussing the complaint.

Just sent the following e-mail to JKOPay, Richart, and Taishin Bank complaining about foreigners being excluded from stuff. I couldn’t find a definite customer service e-mail for Richart so I just sent it to richart@richart.tw, and I presume that one of the others can pass it on to Richart if they want. :man_shrugging:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in reference to the JKOPay × Richart collaboration currently being held. I am a customer of both JKOPay (account number: *********) and Richart, but when I tried to sign up for this promotion in the JKOPay app I was informed that foreigners residing in Taiwan are not eligible. Please see the attached screenshots.

Article 62 of the Immigration Act prohibits discrimination against people residing in Taiwan on the basis of nationality, race, color, class, or place of birth. Article 7 of the Financial Consumer Protection Act stipulates that financial services enterprises shall act in accordance with the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and equality.

I believe that the decision by JKOPay and Richart/Taishin Bank to exclude foreigners residing in Taiwan from this promotion violates both of these laws, and I will be filing a complaint with the Financial Supervisory Commission if this issue is not fixed to allow the service to be provided in a non-discriminatory, fair, and equal manner.

I am residing in Taiwan legally with an APRC, and I do not see any valid reason why legally resident foreigners such as me should be arbitrarily excluded from such promotions and services. This is especially concerning considering that Richart has been marketing itself as a “foreigner-friendly” bank despite explicitly excluding foreigners from many of its services. For example, to the best of my knowledge, Richart is the only bank in Taiwan that specifically prevents foreigners from using its app. This is categorically not foreigner-friendly – for all of my other bank accounts in Taiwan, including CTBC, Mega Bank, Standard Chartered, and Huanan Bank, foreigners are allowed to use the app, as we should be allowed to as legal residents here and in accordance with Taiwan’s laws regarding discrimination, equality, and fairness as cited above.

Because I am already a customer of JKOPay and Richart and was previously satisfied by the customer service I received, I am in the first case giving the opportunity for your two companies to voluntarily address this unfortunate oversight, but if I have not received a satisfactory response detailing how this will be resolved within 7 working days (Oct. 5) I will be filing a complaint with the FSC, and subsequently the FOI if necessary, as well as encouraging other foreigners residing in Taiwan and affected by this discriminatory policy to do the same.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,
Me
(Uniform ID number: A*********)

So let’s see what BS they come back with.

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