British in Taiwan
British in Taiwan? Got your global travel cards? Think you're safe from being charged extra for transactions?Think again.If you're a Brit heading to Taiwan, there's going to be a few banks you're going to learn to love. Why? Because not only are they accommodating, they might just save you a nice bit of cash.(Walk with me.)About six months ago, I decided to take the leap and spend a year (at least) in the country of Taiwan with my fiancé. As you can tell, I'm still here, and life is wonderful. But during my first few weeks of being here, I ran into quite the conundrum.I needed to withdraw money.But every time I withdrew money, even though I had a global card, I'd be charged 100 TWD. To put that in perspective, 100 TWD is about £2.53.Doesn't sound like much right? But in a cash reliant society like Taiwan, where you may have no choice but to make 20 withdraws - the math would quickly show you how that becomes a problem.And so, I found myself rather uncomfortable every time I had to withdraw some notes.Because I knew I wouldn't merely be pulling out some cash, I'd be pulling out some cash, plus 100 TWD (or £2.53). This was something I was mauling over on the way back from an internet café - that's when something brilliant happened.I needed to withdraw money.But things were different this time. This time I found myself in front of an ATM of a different bank. A bank I learnt to love - eventually along with a few others. It was like magic. I put my card in - zero warning of an extra 100 TWD charge. I wanted to take out £25 worth of Taiwanese Dollars, and my bank account only lost £25 worth of Taiwanese Dollars.A true game changer.So what are these banks? And how can you find their ATMs? That's what I'm about to show you.
1. Cathay Bank
My first love! Cathay Bank has banks and ATMs all over Taiwan. If you want to find them keep an eye out for the image below.
Note: make sure to choose "Defer Conversion" to avoid getting fucked by expensive rates.Shoutout to u/drvti for the important corrections.
Additionally, you may be able to find one of their ATMs at your local PXMart, Familymart, HiLife, etc.But if all else fails you can check here:
2. Taipei Fubon Bank
Another game changer, while you're not as likely to find their ATMs in convenience stores, they still have Branches you can find all over Taiwan!
Find their locations here:
3. Mega Bank
They live up to their name!Not only can you find their branches everywhere you go, it's also the first bank run into once you land at the airport. You may be lucky enough to find their ATM's at your local mall!
Check for their locations here:
4. HSBC
A bank that needs no introduction. Admittedly you won't see their branches as much as the other's but when you do, you can trust they're reliable!Check for their locations here:
5. Union Bank
Same story as HSBC, not a constant, but when reached, absurdly reliable!Check for their locations here:
6. Bank Of Taiwan
The most obvious one was the one I missed funnily enough.All credit goes to a reddit user by the name u/robot2084tron thanks again for the reminder.
Check for their locations here:
And that's it, these are the banks I know for a fact that's guaranteed to save you money.But what if you're European and don't have a card that's usable globally?Here's a button, that might solve that problem, click below:
P.S If you're American, you can click the button if you want, but the solution ConfidentJacket344 has is probably a lot more viable.Check it out:
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"Which Bank in TW charges you less ATM fee for foreign card withdrawals?""GDP TO TWD"