Is PayPal regularly accepted?
What about American Express or Discover?
I’m wondering if I should keep which credit cards as I prepare to move permanently to TW.
My Mastercard and Visa are the worst I happen to have (low limit, no zero apr)
Amex has lots of.perks, discover has zero apr and highest limit.
I know I can use the amex and discover through PayPal, and have used them to buy things stateside from TW vendors. But do people in TW (or Rakuten vendors) in TW Uwe it/accept it?
Tks for your opinions and advice
Amex isn’t widely accepted here but gas stations and malls accept it.
If you have a job and ARC, you can even apply and get a local amex card here based on your history back home. I had a Taiwanese amex card but cancelled it years ago due to annual fee and acceptance issues.
As far as online shopping , most people pay with cash on delivery and pick the item up at a local 711
Lastly Taiwan is mostly cash based, so always have cash when you’re out and about.
I would imagine a normal Mastercard would be enough for Taiwan. They have so many available…I just applied when I came here (with ARC) and , although it is only 100,000 NT limit initially ,it is normally enough. Funny it arrived as a "Platinum Business Card…no idea why. Interest is very low if you do not fully repay.
I think with Paypal, only one Bank deals with them ( E Sun maybe?)So worth an account there for you.
Banking seems to be ,logistically, 20 Years behind most Countries I am afraid.
HSBC have a Premier Account with free inter-account transfers. I think the Minimum investment is around 3 million NTD to qualify.
One bank gave me that same card… platinum business. I guessed they must get a bonus for issuing that card as I only asked for a regular classic card on the application and I don’t own a business.
Amex in Taiwan sucks ass. “Sorry we don’t accept amex” is one of the sentences I’ve heard more often in the last few years. My bank switching from Visa to amex has helped me to save money since I can’t use it. I know 3 places in yilan where I can pay using amex, and even stores in Taipei aren’t guaranteed to accept it. Usually no problem for shopping malls and big stores, but most other places won’t accept it.
Haven’t noticed amex as a payment option for any of the website where I buy stuff.