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Opening a Bank Account in Taiwan

Opening a bank account in Taiwan is a priority for most new arrivals and rightly so. It's pretty straightforward to get an account here but there are a few things to be aware of.

There are two types of bank in Taiwan, the government operated ones and the independents. If you don't have residency, a few of the independent banks will allow you to open a deposit account with your passport. However, most will require you to have an ARC (Alien Resident Certificate). The type you'll be getting is a 'Demand Deposit' account, which will also come with an ATM card.

Cards issued by independent banks generally function worldwide. You can withdraw relatively high amounts per transaction and the only limit seems to be the balance of your account. Most ATM's have an option to proceed in English. Many charge a fee of 7$NT per transaction, although many banks started to offer completely free withdrawals more recently.

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Most branches will have at least one staff member that can speak English and guide you through the application. If not, it's probably a good idea to choose another bank.

A number of overseas banks are represented in Taipei. For example, HSBC and ANZ of New Zealand.

Banking hours are generally Monday to Friday 9.00 am - 3.30 pm and Saturday mornings.

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