HSBC Premier
I do not see what is the problem with just wiring the entire amount?
If there are money laundering questions then answer them. If asked for the purpose then ask what purposes are valid. Choose the purpose that comes closest to what you want to do with the money.
But what if the purpose is to open a few claw machine shops?
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I’d use HSBC premier transfer to your currency account as others have said and time the FX rate. I think the limit is like $250K per transaction.
I don’t think Wise handles NTD…? Or did I miss something?
They don’t, but you can use it to transfer USD etc. to a multicurrency account here (which seemed to be what OP wants to do, unless I misread something earlier).
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Was being sarcastic…
From what I can tell I still need to convert the currency? I don’t see an option to transfer from USD to USD - e.g., I could do USD to JPY via wise to the multi-currency account, and then convert to TWD in the local currency account.
You can send USD to USD - you don’t need to convert. In the app you use the “same currency” tab:
I think it’s slightly different on PC (need to set the currency as USD and Taiwan as the country, or something - don’t remember), but it’s still possible.
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Seems like best is just a SWIFT transfer. The fee is the same no matter the amount. That is what big businesses use anyways. SWIFT only makes no sense if you are transferring small amounts.
But carrying cash is not a good idea. While it’s free you become a magnet for all kinds of criminals, even some in uniforms. Especially in the US if you are carrying that cash any cop can seize it if they feel like it, and you have to sue to get it back (if ever at all).
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No one’s suggesting doing this in cash. For the last time, it was sarcasm.
Literally everybody in the world knows that carrying large amounts of cash around might be risky, for patently obvious reasons.
Weird, I don’t see that option at all. I’ll message their support 
See https://www.finder.com/international-money-transfers/send-money-to-taiwan re: OFX and XE. As others suggest Wise (formerly TransferWise) – or a regular international wire transfer – may be best for sending USD as USD vs convert to NTD. (Your bank may have better rate and also then you decide when to convert.)
Definitely compare total cost, including the exchange rate but also all fees etc. I know of one person sending $ from US to Taiwan a while back and the initial options (with conversion as part of the transfer involved, rather than a “same currency” transfer) had a net cost of literally several THOUSAND USD (!) due to uncompetitive rates. Guess many people don’t pay much attention and get robbed that way…
There is a service called Xoom that my US bank works with – but seems they don’t send $ to Taiwan. 
Wonder why given they send to nearly every other country. Anybody know why?
Taiwanese banks are a nightmare that’s why as are all the nonsense regulations they have to comply with. They don’t seem to be bothered about being competitive either.
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Strange. I just checked the PC version and the “same currency” option is still there for me. The transfer is done by Swift and my receiving account at Mega Bank is just marked as a “USD account” with no reference to Taiwan. My own address is set to Taiwan, and I usually make transfers from my USD balance (which I first had to open, and maybe deposit 10 USD or something).
Have you used Wise before? Maybe you could try setting those things up and see if the option appears.
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Yes, looks like I just needed to “get account details” and set up a bank account in Wise in USD—then the same currency option showed up. Thanks!
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Why use Wise ,not the bank account directly to do the Swift transfer , especially if it is the same currency ?
The NTD is not a fully convertible currency… ie. there are government restrictions on where/how it can be exchanged. Point being that transferring money in and out of Taiwan has to be done in USD (or some other fully convertible currency). The exchange of USD (or other currency) to NTD (or vice versa) has to be done in Taiwan.
Of course the firm doing the wiring could do the conversion for you once the USD is in a Taiwan financial institution… but best to just look around for the best rates if the total amount is large. In my experience, HSBC has had the best rates
one word: bitcoin.
For some of us it’s the taxman and how to make our Fiat legal is the biggest problem.