Job Discussion Forums

craigzy · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 87 Location: taichung

good info

yamahuh · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1033 Location: Karaoke Hell

That money order idea is a good one.
Sorry to be obtuse but I've never dealt with them before; can you make them payable to a person or just to a financial institution?
Do you have to have a bank account in order to purchase them or can you just show up with cash in hand?

Thanks again.

mizzo · Joined: 05 Sep 2006 Posts: 29

so... i opened an account at Bank of Taiwan and made sure to ask if i could use it overseas.. she said i could and to use a cirrus machine even though there isn't a cirrus symbol on the card.. however my trusted canadian at home was unable to use the card.. the machine wouldn't accept it... those of you that have done this.. how did you send your card home? i just sent it in a regular letter.. is it possible that xray machines used on the jouney demagnetized the strip? i'm planning to go back to the bank next week to see if there's anything they can do.. Sad

yamahuh · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1033 Location: Karaoke Hell

We opened accounts at E.Sun Bank yesterday and they have great rates for sending cash home. They will transfer NT into Canadian and they charge a NT$300 flat fee to send cash home regardless of the amount.
Haven't used the service yet but this is what I've been told by a number of foreign coworkers...thought I'd share .

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

Yes, I use Yushan (E.Sun) bank as well. Not really sure their wire rates are much better than any others, though I have been using them to "huikuan" money home to a family member the past few months. One comment/question, though: Why are you guys transferring money out of Taiwan now? The exchange rate is nuts. When I arrived in Taiwan, the exchange rate was 22 NT to 1 CAD. It cost me over 31NT to buy a Canuck buck yesterday. Unless you're paying bills or helping out family, keep your money here until the exchange rate gets better.

BigWally · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:54 am Post subject:

the exchange rate isnt getting better anytime soon, by the end of 07 the Canadian dollar will reach parity with the USD, which means we can expect the rate to push closer to 33 before it ever gets closer to that magical number of 22

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

yamahuh · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1033 Location: Karaoke Hell

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

thewileycoyote · Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Posts: 31

The Canadian dollars recent strength is because of a weak US dollar and high commodity prices. What is important for Canadian's in Taiwan are commodity prices. The Canadian dollar will stay relatively strong until commodity prices fall.

BigWally · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:28 pm Post subject:

exactly, and what are some of the most important commodities right now?
lumber, water & oil, 3 of which Canada has an exorbitantly abundant supply...granted this doesnt have much of an impact on what the Taiwanese banks may do with their interest rates, which could to our collective benefits...all in all, i agree with the poster who said that its not a very lucrative time for teachers coming over here, i sure would have to think twice about it, even more so than when the dollar was at $27NT only a short 8 months ago....bushiban owners are going to have to factor this inflation into the salaries if they want to keep the quality of staff

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

Kind of not interested in turning this into an argument over why the CAD is so high compared to the NT. Agreed that Canada exporting oil, gas etc is a factor. Will add that monetary policy, government and interest rates are other fators. An upward adjustment of interest rates will probably affect exchange rates and there have been some whispers that this may be coming. It's all kind of irrelevent, though, discussing the why aspects as, regardless of reasons why, it's just a bad time for Canadians overseas to be buying CAD. That's been my only point: that it's gotten really expensive to buy CAD recently. It may be better for those who can to keep their money in Taiwan in the mean time. Also, if I weren't already here, the unfavorable exchange rate would give me pause to wonder if it's worth it to come here.

BigWally · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:08 pm Post subject:

i agree with you totally TS...sorry if my post sounded argumentative...it wasnt meant to be... Wink

mizzo · Joined: 05 Sep 2006 Posts: 29

sounds like one of my uni economics classes in here.. maybe intermediate macro.. Razz

anyways i too fall into the category of having to buy now.. bills to pay and leaving this year.. but i'm going to the bank today to see what's up.. i'll probably end up having to get the card sent back to me from canada.. *sigh*

AQUA MARINA · Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:41 pm Post subject:

I spoke to my bank and asked what are my best options to wire cash from overseas.

They suggested E-wiring is the best and guranteed way of depositing cash from overseas into your home account within 2 -3 business days with no hold on funds

VS

Cheques or Money Orders which there is a possibility of your funds being on hold for 90 business days for clearance check even if it's from a well known Int'l bank or in U.S Or CDN currencies. This all depends on the bank.

That's the scoop folks..Personally I wouldn't take that risk to save some bucks, greAT idea though pplz! Very Happy