Which bank is best for opening a company account for a small biz? I have a personal account w HSBC, but they wont let me open a corporate account unless my business has been in existence for 5 yrs plus.
Any suggestions re Standard Chartered, China Trust, Cathay United, KGI, Cosmos, re ease of opening an account, wire transfer fees etc. Stand Chart generally charges less than hsbc, but dont know how their service is.
Saw a recent thread which said China Trust had wire transfer fees of NT300, (half that of hsbc). Wondered if China Trust is also fairly efficient and treats small businesses well.
Any thoughts, suggestions, experiences most welcome.
(my run-around w hsbc, reminds me of the famous line from the safe-cracker willie sutton as to why he robbed banks–‘because that’s where the money is.’
Didn’t you have to open a company account to get registered as a business? Or are you trying to do that as part of the registration process? If so, maybe your accountant has some suggestions for you, also.
I have used both China Trust and Chang Hwa Bank for small business accounts. I have found both places good to work with. CHB charges 320 for international wire transfers. Both require that your business has been operating for at least 6 months before you can get a company credit card, and the requirements are quite tough for a new business to meet.
A tip - also check out what bank other companies you will be dealing with on a regular basis use when considering your choice. For example, a courier company may charge you fees for depositing money into your a/c if it is not the bank they use. If you rely on the courier as part of your business, these fees can add up. CHB is used a lot by “older” companies in Taiwan. If you ask customers to deposit money directly to your account, choosing a bank that is a popular individual bank is also helpful (like China Trust, cos it has ATMs in the 7-11 and is open till 7pm daily, which is good for your customer’s convenience.)
I have just gone through this as part of setting up a company here. I chose to use E.Sun because of some Guanxi points there. They have a great English speaking guy in the branch on Minsheng E Rd who is currently being loaned to the branch by the Commercial division. Not sure of charges etc but E.Sun have about 100 branches islandwide so are pretty easy to find.
An ARC beyond proof of identity is not required, this is a company account we are talking about.
Cetrificate of Registration and some other company docs are required, the bank will want to see and copy proof of identity for all check and documentary signatures.
Most banks here though will not offer a company a check book until the account has been is operation for 6 months, you will get a savings books effectively, archaic it may be, but that is normally the score unless you personally have an excellent relationship with the bank and branch.
Usually need
Responsible person’s original passport
original approval letter from Investment Commissions
Company name check
company chop (or preparator company chop)
responsible person’s chop
signature (to be made in person)
You can get an identity number without an ARC from the local police station, which you will need in order to get the IC approval letter.
Money needs to be wired in from overseas if you have non-Taiwanese shareholders
Many thanks for your helpful replies. If China Trust stays open late would be very convenient. Will likely try them and see how rates are and what service is likely to be like.
Edgar Allen has pretty much got it down as to the requirements. Here’s some additional hurdles I faced for my business:
The bank initially told me that a company bank account cannot be opened until the business license is granted. This is one of the few times where you can pull out the “but I’m a foreigner” card to your advantage. Foreign invested companies can open a bank account upon approval by the investment council and receipt of the “company name check” (the document that states that the company name you want is not in use). The account will be provisional until your business license is granted. When you get your business license you will go back to the bank to formally open the account.
To start a business you need minimum capitalization of TWD500,000 or TWD1,000,000 depending on the type. As a foreign invester, you also need to apply to the investment council with the exact amount you will be investing. However, it is typically not possible to wire in an exact TWD amount because most banks will wire funds in a foreign denomination, and you don’t know exactly how much will be taken out in fees in any intermediary bank, or what the exact exchange rate will be when you claim the money. A good idea is to wire in about 3% extra to allow for these variances. When you claim the money you will only be allowed to claim the amount approved by the investment council. The rest will sit as foreign currency until the final business license is approved, at which time you can claim the rest. If you end up sending not enough money, you may not be able to complete the business registration if you don’t meet minimum capitalization requirements.
Foreign investment must be wired from an account bearing the name of the investor. In my case I wired money from a small credit union which used a correspondent bank to send the wire and it showed up as being wired from the account of my credit union at the correspondent bank and not from an account in my name. I had to supply a copy of the wire transfer receipt from my credit union to show that it came from my account.
As for getting company checks, it seems there are no hard and fast rules other than that it’s a pain in the ass to get them. I don’t yet have company checks yet, but some bank staff came to my business place a couple of weeks ago to check that the business was legitimate and said they would start the paperwork. I’ll have to follow up on that. My business has not been open for more than six months yet. It might have something to do with me being in the bank 3-4 times a week, doing bank transfers like crazy.
Despite the difficulty of getting company checks, many other businesses you deal with will expect to be paid by check, and you may even need to issue a check as a deposit to a supplier. For payments you will need to ask for bank transfer information and send payments that way. (By the way, as a foreigner, businesses will try to be helpful and give you their bank details in English. Chances are that your bank will only allow transfer forms that are filled out in Chinese, though.) For supplier deposits, you’ll have to negotiate some other form of security.
There’s probably a few other things that just aren’t coming to mind right now. The process is pretty challenging, but you’ll get through it eventually.
My company account is with En-Tie Commercial Bank for no other reason than that it’s the closest bank to home and I’ve had my personal account there for a few years, so the staff no longer get looks of horror on their faces to see a foreigner come in. To receive wire transfers I’m charged USD$5 though I’m not sure if that is charged by the correspondent bank or the recipient bank. En-Tie does not charge a commission on foreign exchange.
Follow up: request denied. Reason: lack of credit history for the owner.
However, that’s not the end of the story yet. The reason that I don’t have a credit history is because my Taiwan credit cards are ‘secondary cards’ on my wife’s accounts, and our house (most of which I paid for) is in my wife’s name. However, one of the cards is issued with the same bank which they are willing to consider, and they are also willing to consider my US credit history. I’m kinda surprised they’ll look at my foreign credit history as other banks have told me ‘no way’ in the past. My US credit history is quite good, so hopefully I can make a good argument. At the least, I will start applying for some credit cards in my own name to build credit in my own name.
Morals of the story: 1) Foreign spouses: don’t settle for always putting things in your spouse’s name. 2) Persistence, persistence, persistence.
I have used Taishin. When I first set up my company they kept on screwing up my incomming transfers. I don’t believe the Taichung office has lot of experience with foreign invested companies, Taipei might be a different story. However their transfer rates are only 200 NTD. I have a friend who runs his business through E. Sun. While they setup some time ago, they have pretty good guanxi with the bank, and they have alot of transfers comming in they have negotiated a 100 NTD rate on their incomming transfers.
thanks Asia Baby for the recommendation – China Trust. Seems OK, some of the staff are a bit incompetent, but they stay open till 7pm, and just before lunch the lines are non existent. Much better than HSBC which used previously.
I had an account with Tai Hsin, and a credit card from them. Dumped the account, kept the credit card. Overall, generally incompetent, never made a good impression on me, even at HQ in Taipei.
I used to like SCSB (Shanghai (not HK) Comm. & Svs Bank).
Does anyone have any experience with banks providing diferent payment methods eg. credit card and online? I am thinking of opening up a retail shop and may need other forms of collection besides cash
Also, anyone using Hua Nan Bank for small business?
To receive wire transfers I’m charged USD$5 though I’m not sure if that is charged by the correspondent bank or the recipient bank. En-Tie does not charge a commission on foreign exchange.