I know this question has been asked years ago in many different shapes and forms, but it’s good to revisit this every few years: I’d like to know what Taiwan looks like today in terms of using foreign debit cards to withdraw at ATMs. It seems more and more globals banks are offering accounts that do not charge on the original bank’s end to make withdrawals in different countries – therefore I am asking specifically about withdrawing money at a Taiwan ATM from a foreign bank card.
I personally have an account with Scotiabank in Canada that waves any fees from Soctiabank’s end when withdrawing foreign currency abroad in another country’s ATMs. They were clear that if there are any fees, this is from the receiving end’s ATM/Bank.
Can anyone share which banks/ATMs in Taiwan, allow for withdrawal from a foreign bank card, with minimal or no fees?
For example, I found a post from 2 years ago sharing that:
I found that Taiwan Cooperative Bank doesn’t charge a transaction fee of NT$100 per withdrawal for international banks.
I was able to get money at the airport ATM without any fee. Didn’t take a look which bank it was - recipe says “MEGA INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK” - my bank statement says “ICBCTAIPEI”. Paid EUR 590.29 for NT$ 20k (33.8819 on 11/10/20).
Man Euros are that far gone?? USD was around 33 like several years ago.
But as far as I know, ATM fees in Taiwan are so low, nobody thinks about it. It’s like 5nt to withdraw from a domestic account not belonging to the bank that owns the ATM machine (nothing if your account is from the bank that owns the machine). 15nt for inter bank transfers. I don’t know what the international fee is, but 100nt doesn’t sound surprising.
In the US they charge a lot, I mean a lot more to withdraw from ATM belonging to other banks. But with even food stand being able to accept credit card with that square thing that goes into a smartphone, nobody carries around cash. Plus you could do cash back at grocery stores using your debit card.
The banks that charge as I know are Chinatrust, Taishin, Sinopac bank and I think Union Bank. avoid the ones that say $100nt withdrawal fee for foreign cards. get your card back and try the bank next door. The vast majority still don’t charge the fee, although this fee is starting to spread. Chinatrust was the first bank to do it and now others are following for a slice of the fee pie.
I’ve never paid an ATM fee here when withdrawing from my foreign accounts. I tend to use Cathay United ATMs, but I’ve also used a few others too (e.g., Hua Nan, Yuanta) with the same result. The only bank I’ve seen that charges on the Taiwanese end is CTBC, so I just cancelled that transaction and never tried using their ATMs again. But my impression is that most banks don’t charge (that is, they don’t charge the end user like in, say, Thailand, though I believe they do charge a transaction fee to the user’s bank, which can then choose whether to pass it on to the account holder).
My (UK) banks don’t charge a fee on the foreign end either, so that’s a plus - I just pay whatever the MasterCard rate is at the time with no exchange rate loading (something else to watch out for, on your home bank’s end).
Cathay United ATMs in Taipei MRT stations don’t charge a fee, but someone told me that they got charged $100NT when withdrawing from an ATM inside a FamilyMart. CTBC (i.e. China Trust) wanted to charge me $100NT when I used their ATM in a 7-Eleven. So, just don’t withdraw money in a convenient store. I have withdrawn from Chang Hwa, Hua Nan, and a few others without fee.
You will notice a clear pattern of ATM bank in various places. This is because different organizations made deals with various banks. So there will always be Cathay United ATM at the MRT, Taishin at Family Mart, Chinatrust at 7-11, E Sun at Carrefour, etc.
And if it’s a government institution, it will be the post office ATM.
Your post is about using Taiwanese debit cards to withdraw money overseas. The OP’s question is about using a foreign debit card to withdraw money from ATMs in Taiwan.
yes ,
this is just for a reference , for foreign cards then should contact the card issuing bank
In my case I have a foreign debit card and used Taiwan bank ATM for withdraw money , which was about 100ntd withdraw fee
I’m foreigner ,
Is good to know that there are some ATM that doesn’t charge overseas withdraw fee
Next time I will try with Cathay United , Hua Nan , Yuanta
