My friend told me yesterday that if I want any banking done inside an actual bank, I better hop to it quick because of the New Year. Is it possible that banks are actually shutting down for a week? I find that mind boggling. Are they actually going to lock their doors at 330 today and they’ll remain sealed until Monday the 26th?
Possibly … Some might open next Thursday-Friday … ATM’s work
till they run out of cash 
They may be open Friday the 23rd, since the holidays are technically from Sunday through Thursday. But yes, this is a major holiday, and most companies are closed during it. And banks in Taiwan are like embassies in that they’ll take any excuse to have a day off.
What annoys me most about banks in Taiwan is their unreasonably early closing time: 3:30! Where I come from, banks tend to close at 5, stay open until 7 on Fridays, and are open till noon on Saturdays.
They may be open Friday the 23rd, since the holidays are technically from Sunday through Thursday. But yes, this is a major holiday, and most companies are closed during it. And banks in Taiwan are like embassies in that they’ll take any excuse to have a day off.
What annoys me most about banks in Taiwan is their unreasonably early closing time: 3:30! Where I come from, banks tend to close at 5, stay open until 7 on Fridays, and are open till noon on Saturdays.[/quote]
thats why a lot of people bank with Taiwans biggest bank THE POST OFFICE
they open till 5pm
Where I come from banks close at 4pm and don’t open on Saturdays - and they have at least an hour and a half of lunch break! It’s the same place where shops used to close at 6:30pm, so Taiwan is quite an improvement (for me).
till they run out of cash [/quote]
That happened to me a couple of years ago during Chinese New Year. My cash supply needed replenishing so I tried to make a withdrawal in the middle of the week of the holiday. I literally had to run all over town, trying my card on at least a dozen ATMs, before after an hour or so of fruitless questing, I finally found an ATM that still had some cash left in it.
Moral of the story: don’t depend on ATMs during Chinese New Year. Make a large cash withdrawal for emergy funds BEFORE the holiday, and hide it in a closet or somewhere.
The premier issued instructions yesterday that banks have to operate a skeleton service this year, which includes making sure ATMs are replenished. Whether anyone will actually pay any attention to him, of course, is another matter.
Nice of him to give a few days’ notice…
Some ATMs will run out of 100’s but still have 1000’s. It’s a hongbao phenomenon.
Convenient that it was just the 15th (i.e. payday) before this time of year. Very, very convenient.
What other sorts of things will be shut down for the coming week? Any other advice for a first timer?
I’ll be shutting myself down tomorrow …
Everything will shut down, except … shopping malls (they want the hong baos), 7-11 and other convenience stores, KTV’s … illegal gambling dens … beetlenut stands
In the old days, everything used to shut down and Taipei was like a ghost town for the new year’s holidays. But those days are long past, and now it hardly seems any different from any other time of the year.
This New Year holiday seems more crowded in Taipei than ever before. I have been here for several New Year’s holidays included some almost ten years ago and for the last three years. Before, there was a noticable difference in the traffic levels, much less people everwhere and in the general quiet of the city (except for the firecrackers). You could find parking for cars or motorcycles very easily. Movies had scant audiences. Stores aisles could be easily navigated.
This is the first year I have really felt that things are almost close to normal. You can still feel relief in the quiet and some lessening of the crowds but not nearly as much as you used to. Parking is still a chore, crowds are much more apparent, traffic is close to normal in some places.
The first year I was in Taipei for Chinese New Year’s Eve I happened to be in the center of the city near the train station where all the bushibans are. It was just about sundown when families are supposed to be home to begin dinner. I could not believe my eyes. Suddenly the city I had seen only teeming with people was now so empty you could bowl in the streets and hardly a soul was around.
Since that time, whenever I am in Taipei on Chinese New Year’s Eve I have made it a ritual to ride my scooter around the city starting in that same area and just observe the difference. I did it again this year and I noticed there were many more people on the street than usual, especially in Hsimenting. All over the city there were still plenty of people out and about and much traffic.
I think it may be that certain traditions are fading, such as the importance of being home before sundown for dinner and even possibly for traditional family dinners. I drove by TGI Friday’s and noticed it was significantly populated and not with lots of westerners. Ten years ago I could never have imagined a family opting for TGI Fridays for their most important meal of the holiday. I think also that the phenomon of people leaving Taipei to go “home” may be waning as now more generations of families have lived in Taipei for a long time.
I used to really look forward to the difference in Taipei during Lunar New Year. This year the difference really seems much less significant.
Anyone else have any obervations on this?
WOW. I left years ago and used to marvel like you did how much of a ghost town Taipei became for a few days !!!
They may be open Friday the 23rd, since the holidays are technically from Sunday through Thursday. But yes, this is a major holiday, and most companies are closed during it. And banks in Taiwan are like embassies in that they’ll take any excuse to have a day off.
What annoys me most about banks in Taiwan is their unreasonably early closing time: 3:30! Where I come from, banks tend to close at 5, stay open until 7 on Fridays, and are open till noon on Saturdays.[/quote]
The reason all banks closed at 3:30 is because the FISC (Financial Information Service Co.) stop inter-bank transfer service around that time (although it didn’t cut off immediately, usually around 5pm). It was long time before that Taiwan didn’t have big economic development so there is no needs for banks to open after 3:30. All banks stop public services at 3:30 to reconcile their daily transactions. For now, because of the economic growth, some banks start to serve their customers after 3:30, but only for intra-bank services. All transactions among different banks still stop(except for some emergencies, but not quite often)
My little tip for cashing at ATM in CNY (although a bit too late) is “try ATMs locate outside banks”. I still remember that I have to replenish cash in ATMs during CNY, usually every 2~3 days. So there is a bit more chance for people need some cash during CNY. As to ATMs outside banks, it depends on the security companies’ shifts.