Hello,
I am planning to move to Taiwan in the upcoming year, and I am wondering what a person needs in order to open a bank account. Can you open a bank account with any type of visa, or do you need to have a certain type of visa or an ARC?
Also, I have seen that JP Morgan Chase has offices in Taiwan. Does anyone know if Chase has banks in Taipei that customers can use for personal banking? If so, does anyone know where they are located?
Thanks for any help you can give.
The bank will ask you for a copy of your passport and ARC card.
If you are a visitor, you can go to your local National Immigration Agency office to get a letter known as a record of ID in ROC. It will have a number printed on a sheet of paper that you can give to the bank to open an account. (Not all banks accept this letter, but if you walk around a bit, someone will)
JP Morgan is only for business clients in Taiwan, they do not have a consumer division here.
Hope that answers the question
Thanks Dan. That’s the info I was looking for.
[quote=“dan2006”]The bank will ask you for a copy of your passport and ARC card.
If you are a visitor, you can go to your local National Immigration Agency office to get a letter known as a record of ID in ROC. It will have a number printed on a sheet of paper that you can give to the bank to open an account. (Not all banks accept this letter, but if you walk around a bit, someone will)
[/quote]
Mine accepted this letter, but wanted a copy of my ARC when I received it.
a friend on mine has a great blog about taiwan, i thought to shear this article he wrote recently to help any of you who might find this info useful.
thanks all, and enjoy ur stay in taiwan
jsphfrtz.com/no-taiwan-arc-no-problem/
boca.gov.tw/content.asp?CuItem=1665&mp=2
if u r looking for a good bank try Taiwan Cooperative Bank (the are the richest most assets bank in taiwan and one of the richest banks in asia) - with that ID letter u can open a saving account with min1000nt deposit and u get a ATM/VISA debit card that u can use all over)(no min bal required in ur account) (no monthly or yearly maintenance fee or other fee) if u loose ur atm card i think its like 100nt for a new one) (just remember this info is as of May 2013 things might change in the future)
bank of taiwan is also good bc some branches dont take a 100nt fee for money exchange.
hope u found this info helpful
Are you coming here to work for a Taiwanese company? Because you may well have to use the bank of their choice. In such a case, just wait.
I’m finally getting my ARC today, and will be opening a bank account. Do I need to shop around for a bank? Are there some banks that charge maintenance fees or charges for ATM withdrawals? Any recommendations?
Most of banking is free.
As usual transfers, withdrawals at other brand ATMs and some credit cards incur fees.
Most employers will ask you to open an account at a certain bank.
Thanks @slawa. I’m a student, so no employer yet. Just really need to get an account open so my university can transfer my scholarship funds.
Ask your university, some have specific requirements for this (e.g. postal bank, or another bank)
I’ve already asked, and the university have given me no suggestions, they’re just urging me to open an account as soon as possible 
It’s still amazing that in 2021, one still needs to open an account where the employer or school insists on. And it isn’t easy like 10 years ago when you could walk in with a record of ID letter and walk out with an account in 30 min either as a foreigner.
So… I’ve established that I’m free to choose from any of the multitude of financial institutions here in Taipei.
I’m from a country where we only have a few banks to choose from, and they all screw over their customers.
Does anyone have any recommendations, or recent positive experiences of opening an account as a foreigner?
If I were to pick from my own personal experiences, Taishin and Mega are decent and deal with a fair share of foreigners to know procedures. E. Sun is also excellent for customer service but I drop them a few points as they are always so busy if I need to go in person.
I’d avoid the government banks as I find they are so bureaucratic and slow, it takes forever to do simple tasks.
I have had good experience with E.sun, they also have a reasonable english interface for online banking.
Post office bank - easy and no frills, just a current account and an ATM card.
First Bank is so-so, very slow to do anything.
Cathay Bank is good, but no English in app and online banking.
Try Post Bank @Suziepie
I am not sure about all other locations, but here they are the only bank open on a Saturday for a few hours. Lifesaver if you are busy during the week.
For University student the Post Office Bank is very convenient , because there are a lot of branches everywhere and some open on Saturdays
Also you can use the VISA debit card for online payments , in my case I use it for Uber eats , purchase online tickets , and link the card to my Line Pay
https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/U_english2/index.jsp?ID=3515010501
Only downside I know is Post Bank debit cards do not work with Google Pay. They can be used with 台灣Pay though.
Thanks everyone! I ended up going with E Sun Bank. There’s a branch near the university and one near my apartment; it also happens to be the same bank that my landlord uses (I’m just noticing as I’m preparing to transfer the rent money).
The staff were friendly and efficient, even helped me to set up online banking.
