ChinaTrust Banking Policies

I recently had some issues at ChinaTrust bank, finding information that would be relevant to foreigners in Taiwan. Hopefully, conveying what I learned can save you some time.

My situation is a common one: I wanted to know how much money I could withdraw from my Personal Account using one of ChinaTrust’s ATMs. I don’t bank with ChinaTrust so I had no idea how much I could withdraw. It took a half-hour to get the answer, “It’s not about ChinaTrust: it’s about Bank of America.” So, I went home and made a Skype call to my bank – you can make 800-number calls from Skype for free, just like in the USA. Big props to Skype, on that one. Bank of America told me they could increase my foreign withdrawal limit to $2,500US ($72,000NT) per withdrawal.

The reason this is important is simple. Bank of America charges $45US ($1,300NT) to transfer funds internationally; they charge $5US ($150NT) per international ATM withdrawal. So, wanting to take out $3,900US ($120,000NT) from a Taiwanese bank would cost less than a wire transfer, according to the information I got from ChinaTrust. But ChinaTrust was wrong. Here are ChinaTrust’s actual policies:

ChinaTrust Account ATM Withdrawal Maximum: $30,000NT ($1,000US) per withdrawal ($60,000NT ($2,000US) per day)

Foreign Bank Account ATM Withdrawal Maximum: $20,000NT ($600US) per withdrawal ($120,000NT ($4,000US) per day)

ChinaTrust Account ATM Fee: $0NT ($0US)

Foreign Bank Account ATM Fee: $70NT ($2.50US) plus 1% of the amount withdrawn

In other words, to withdraw $20,000NT ($600US) from a ChinaTrust ATM, my out-of-pocket is actually $20,420NT ($615US). Add that up to the $120,000NT ($4,000US) that I need to take out, and it means my out-of-pocket is $122,520NT ($87US). Which is double the cost of an international transfer fee, and it’s all done in one shot.

Final note: if you walk into ChinaTrust and want to open an account, they will tell you that you need an ARC. You don’t. All you need to do is go to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and tell them that you are visiting Taiwan and want a safe place to keep your money while you’re here. They will print off a government-issued number in lieu of an ARC number that will allow you to get an account just like anyone else. It costs you nothing to do this and, if you are planning on pulling out more than $60,000NT over the course of your stay in Taiwan, it’s a good idea, to allow you to have a place to send money through an international transfer.

Bank of America: 1-800-622-8731

4 thoughts on “ChinaTrust Banking Policies

  1. wow i did not know that, so did u get that paper from Bureau of Foreign Affairs ?

    if yes can u upload a image of it with ur personal info crossed out just so we can see how it looks like please. I am just curious.

    just to let u know i found a bank in tw called (bank of taiwan) here in neili taoyuan that dont charge that stupid 100nt free for money conversions from USA to TWD so look for this bank if u need to do something like that buddy and they have regurat standard current day rates that are normal just if u check online for usd to twd
    http://www.bot.com.tw/english/Pages/default.aspx

    https://maps.google.com.tw/maps?q=neili+taoyuan+taiwan&hl=en&ll=24.973512,121.257724&spn=0.004095,0.006437&sll=23.63446,120.970459&sspn=4.236344,6.591797&brcurrent=3,0x346823d6cce18d9b:0x4bc829840a61fae5,0,0x34683d0eceda863f:0x54e44f52583a486a&hnear=Neili+station&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=24.973553,121.257819&panoid=hLRGdpk_cN016XvxQBfbwQ&cbp=12,191.22,,1,-21.82

    after reading this post we are all curious, what are you buying for 120,000nt? a dimond ring for your girlfriend? a new sweet as motorcycle? a car? what what what tell us 🙂

  2. also i forgot to mentioned, if u need to take out money from ur usa bank account you can try this as well;
    Some banks in Asia (Philippines) do allow you to deposit a American check to your local bank account in the country you are living in asia. It takes about 21 days to clear and show up in ur local bank in the country ur living in. Its totally free, and if u ask the teller at the country to do this she will say we cant, but get the manager involved and they will change their mind, its just the way life is, they dont want to help you in a free way bc they just want you to give them more money, but be smart, and do it right.

    hope this help you, but from what i know of u, u already got the 120k in packet and paid 50usd to get it. but we still love u man

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