Job Discussion Forums

[Chefintaipei]

Hi,

Any Brits out there who have sent their hard earned NT$ back to the UK? Any ideas for the best and cheapest way to do this? I was wondering whether or not to go and open an account at HSBC (Taipei) and use that to send my money to my HSBC account in England? Any thoughts/ideas would be muchly appreciated.

[ramakentesh]

My friend makes out money orders here and sends them home to his brother to put in his account in Australia.

[Chris Smith]

Don't do it now..! Have you seen the exchange rate? I've already been holding off sending anything back for over a year.

As for the HSBC thing, I thought the same as you that having an account here as well as in the UK would make transferring money cheaper, but it turns out not to be so as they are separate companies, just under the same umbrella.

I would also be interested in hearing from those sending money home, how they do it and the costs involved.

[Aristotle]

There are several ways to get money back home.
The newest,Western Union is begining to offer widespread services on Taiwan at a very competitive rate.
Western Union Taiwan Agent locations/Addresses
If you have a credit card back home VISA, AMEX, MC..
It may be possible for you to make deposits against your account here on Taiwan and withdraw cash back home through any ATM machine or local bank transfer.
Money orders and bank drafts are also very effective but take longer because of the mail and waiting periods.
Travelers checks used in conjunction with DHL or FED Ex are also an option that many people use.
Wire transfers are generally used by people transferring large amounts of money and may not be as cost effective for us migrants.
Good luck!
A.

[JZer]

How much does Western Union charge to transfer money from Taiwan to the U.S. or England?

[teacha]

[Aristotle]

[karenannehope]

Hi I send money to England every month. The exchange rate may not be great but once its in the UK at least I can't spend it.

I bank with ICBC. They charge me a flat rate of NT$400 per transaction regardless of how much or how little I send. I have a Barclays Bank account in the UK, and as long as you send over GBP100 Barclays doesn't charge any transaction fees.

I have found ICBC to be very friendly and efficient - the money is usually in my barclays account in less than 2 days.

[JZer]

It is probably a good idea to send you money back home incase you get kicked out of Taiwan. You don't want to risk losing your hard earned money.

[Chefintaipei]

Thanks for all the posts, here's what I did in the end:

Rolled in to the nearest branch of Hua Nan (who I bank with).
Asked the guy if he spoke English.
Explained three or four times what I wanted ie, to empty my account here into my HSBC one in the UK.
Once he understood what I wanted, filled in a form (all in English).
He told me how much my $NT were worth.
Went home.
Two days later, the money was in my account in England!

Too easy! They charged me $NT320 for the transaction and after HSBC took their cut as well, worked out costing me about 20 quid in total.
They did give me a crappy exchange rate - $NT59.9 per pound, but like one of you said, if the money's not here, I can't spend it can I?

[JZer]

Nor can the Taiwanese government find a way to take it from you if you get in any trouble.

[773]

A cheaper way to do it would be to buy an "International Bank Draft." I have done this before through Shanghai Commercial Bank. It costs NT25o for a check in your currency, which can be deposited directly into your account at home (it's like a money order, which someone also mentioned earlier). You could mail it home to a family member and ask them to deposit it for you, or get one when you are headed home for a holiday. The nice thing is hat if it gets lost in the mail, stolen, etc. the bank will replace it at no charge.

This is a handy thing to do for gifts, too. I have sent drafts to friends/family who get married, had babies, for birthdays, etc. It's handy!