[quote=“Truant”][quote=“scomargo”][quote=“Truant”]Well, I just had a call with HSBC.
This is what they told me. I can set up a bank account for online banking.
If I want a foreign currency account in USD, I can open that no problem…with a 100,000 USD deposit 
I queried HSBC Direct vs HSBC, and she said HSBC Direct is for NTD only.
Oh well, I guess ICBC/Mega bank is going to have to do. They just dont have English online banking, so it’s gonna mean 20-30mins shagging around in person everytime I want send some funds home. :s[/quote]
Sorry if this is off topic, but assuming you were able to read the online banking system for MEGA, could it be used to send funds back home? Or would you still have to go see a teller in person? I ask because I have an account with MEGA, but I am not enrolled in the online banking. Every time need to transfer money from my NT$ bank account in Taiwan to my US$ bank account back home, I have to go spend about 20 minutes in the bank. Could this be avoided if I used the online banking?
My Chinese is not perfect, but I could easily write down the steps required for doing this routine task if it meant I could save time waiting in line at the bank and having to fill in all of those forms.
Would I need to have a US dollar account with the bank, or could they do a currency conversion (NT -> US) for me while also transferring the money? Sorry to ask so many questions. I’ll be thankful for any answers.[/quote]
It’s not off topic. You situation is almost identical to mine.
My understanding is that Mega doesn’t have online banking. It didn’t when I asked about it last year when it was still the ICBC. But you raise a very good, and obvious point. I will go in and ask them if now that they are Mega if they have Online banking I can use. That may very well be the most elegant solution of all.
To be very honest, I doubt very much that they would provide online international TTs via the web. The amount of paperwork I have to endure and check triple checked by seemingly everyone in the bank indicates to me that allowing customers to do their own online TTs would give Mega the shudders.[/quote]
Cheers, Truant. I’ll also try to go ask them sometime. It’s worth asking even if there’s just a small chance that it is possible.
In the meantime, if anybody else knows the answers to any of my questions, please feel free to share.