I’ve looked at other posts regarding bank transfers but most are already old or did not provide the information I’m looking for. Here’s my question:
Which bank in Taiwan does not charge a receiving fee from an international wire transfer?
I am looking to have money transferred to Taiwan from abroad and would like to do it through the most convenient way. I am a student so each penny counts for me. I know the post office uses a correspondent bank so transfers first go to a bank in New York and then from there to here. I’m trying to avoid this situation where the correspondent bank charges a fee (unknown how much) and then the post bank charges another fee for receiving (don’t know how much, but the person at the counter made it sound as if it was a lot). I’m guessing this whole mess is because the Post Bank is not part of the SWIFT system?
Not sure about Taiwan, but my bank in Europe did not charge any fees. If I was sent 500 Euros, then 500 Euros would be in my account every month, and this was while receiving an intl wire transfer from outside the EU, outside the SEPA system.
I went to First Bank and they also told me that money coming from abroad sort of goes through an intermediary bank and then here. Yet I saw a post by someone who said never had any issues with First Bank. I was confused if it was something similar to the Post Bank. It is my understanding that First Bank is a member of SWIFT so shouldn’t it be more of a smoother transaction than if I used the Post Bank? I know for the Post bank you even give the SWIFT details of the NY Bank, but for First Bank they seem to have their own SWIFT details.
I don’t remember having been charged by my bank in Taiwan for incoming transfers, but it’s been a while I received money from abroad. I am using BOT for incoming transfers.
The intermediaries like to charge plenty of $$$ though.
Banks are mostly all on the SWIFT network, but they can’t transfer directly to each other without first swapping credentials (usually a commercial arrangement). If two banks have not exchanged credentials, an intermediary bank is used.
If you’re only getting 500 euros at a time use PayPal. Wire transfer is for large amounts because fee is fixed. Meaning if you wire 500 or 5 million euros the fee is the same. Or ask them to forward you 5000 euros every 10 months rather than 500 euros a month.
Well you’d have to open an account at E Sun bank… but wire transfer they charge a fixed fee each time it’s done… so it’s better for them to wire a huge amount at a time than smaller amount. The fee varies but it could be from 200 to 500nt each time you receive them.
Thank you for your reply. The info supplied on the other thread was very helpful.
This is such a frustrating decision though. I just want to know which bank would be best. I guess from the other post in here I should go with a bank that has more experience in international banking transactions as it would increase the chances that that bank has swapped credentials with the remitting bank? In this case opening an account with Mega International Commercial Bank would be the best choice?
If you can create an account at E Sun bank you can have the money sent by paypal. Also if they can use the “send to friends or family” option you will not be assessed a fee. Transfer from paypal to a E Sun account does not incur a fee either.
you cant avoid fees completely, I’m with first bank, they dont charge me fees for incoming transfer, but they charge the fee for converting usd to ntd.
my bank back home charges the fees for the transaction (which include also the intermediary bank in the usa).
when you do an overseas transfer, your home bank will ask you who should pay the fee:
the remitter, the recipient ,or split the cost between them.
Thanks for your reply. So First Bank doesn’t charge you for incoming international transfers but they do charge you for converting USD to NTD. Do you have a USD or NTD account?
I’m wondering if they charge you for the conversion when it comes in because you only have a NTD account. I see they offer a foreign currency account, I’m guessing the amount would stay in USD if the transfer is directly to the foreign currency/USD account, right? In that case I can just withdraw the USD without incurring any conversion fees.
And yes, I know I can’t avoid fees completely but I can certainly look for ways to pay the less fee on my end. The person who initiates the transfer will pay for the remittance on their end, but I’m looking to save on the intermediary and recipient bank the most I can.
I have both usd and ntd account, since I use ntd here, I always convert it in the end.
unless you plan to receive tens of thousands of usd, I believe the difference between the different banks will be small , maybe a 2 or 3 usd variance between banks.
check a couple of banks and see what works best for you
When I was a college student in Taiwan , my parents add money (USD dollars) into my personal bank account back home , then I withdraw the money (NTD dollars) with my Visa Debit card at the ATM in Family Mart or Bank of Taiwan
There are some charges fees but usually not more than 300ntd (but you still need to check with your bank)
My suggestion is that don’t use this method very often , maybe once per month is enough so you don’t need to pay many extra fees
Is there any way possible to waive the 200nt incoming wire transfer fee by First Bank? The intermediary bank already charges quite a bit and for First Bank to also charge the 200nt once it gets here is too much. I don’t know why but I might have read something similar somewhere but I can’t remember where. If someone knows of a possibility maybe you wouldn’t mind sharing how? I know I could ask the bank directly, but wanted to check here first.
Banks here won’t waive a single nt. A bank bounced my domestic transfer and it cost me $30nt due to their error. The next time I was in the branch on other business I mentioned it and they just said sorry… our bad. And that was only 30
Some banks will waive this fee for you if you are a VIP customer. There are various thresholds for the amount of assets you have with the bank to achieve that.