About The Banks In Taiwan

Hi guys!

If you’re going to stay in Taiwan for a while, you may want to open a bank account there, or at least use some banking service. But this comes with some certain questions.

With the help of my Taiwanese friends and the help of google as well haha, I got the pieces of info I need and here they are:

1/ Bank Account Opening Procedure

The general procedure for opening a bank account in Taiwan is stated clearly on the Taiwan Immigration Office’s website:

http://iff.immigration.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1238562&ctNode=34356&mp=iff_en

I would like to emphasize that you must acquire an ID Number or an ARC before you can properly live in Taiwan. Without them? Okay, then no SIM Card, no bank account, no contract… And after some weeks after you enter Taiwan, living without them means living illegally. So the first thing you should do in Taiwan is go getting them ASAP.

2/ Which bank to choose?

If you want an international bank: HSBC, Citibank and everything else are in Taiwan. They are not really different than their sisters in your own country. However, their branches are limited to big cities only. And it’s hard to find their ATMs.

If you want a local one: Go for Cathay or CTBC. Cathay has their ATMs in all the MRT stations and CTBC has theirs in all the 7-11 stores all over the countries. And you can’t walk in a street of Taiwan without spotting at least one 7-11 store.

In fact you can also withdraw money from these ATMs even when your bank account is in another bank yet you will be charged a handling fee of TWD 5.00 each time. It’s just a very tiny amount of money, but I myself prefer not to pay this so I go with CTBC.

3/ Where to exchange money?

It’s the Bank of Taiwan that offers the best exchange rate with no commision fee. So go there!

http://www.bot.com.tw/English/BankServices/ForeignExchangeServices/Pages/default.aspx

 

 

 

 

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