One-Stop Banking for Foreigners in Taiwan: The 17 Designated Branches and Which One We'd Pick

On June 4, 2026, Taiwan launched one-stop banking for foreigners in Taiwan: six banks now run 17 designated branches where a foreign resident can book an appointment and walk out with a bank account, debit card, online banking and a credit card application done in a single visit. If you have ever spent half a day at a counter being told "foreigners can't do that online," this is the fix the government has been promising for years. Here is what it actually covers, where the Taipei branches are, what to bring, and which one we would book.

One-stop banking for foreigners in Taiwan: what it is

The program is run by the National Development Council (NDC) and its Talent Taiwan office, with the Financial Supervisory Commission's Banking Bureau. According to the Taipei Times and Focus Taiwan, the six banks are CTBC, E.SUN, Taipei Fubon, Taishin, Mega and First Commercial Bank. NDC's deputy minister said it plainly at the launch: foreign residents have long struggled to open accounts, get credit cards and send international wires, and many newcomers without local credit history were rejected or asked for a Taiwanese guarantor.

The main changes at the designated branches:

• Online booking before you go. You pick a branch, book a slot online or by phone, and the bank checks what you need in advance, so you don't get sent home for a missing paper.
• Dedicated counters and staff who handle foreign customers, with English (Fubon's branch says it can support over 40 languages with interpreting devices).
• Everything in one visit: NT dollar and foreign currency accounts, debit card, online and mobile banking switched on, pre-registered transfer accounts (約定轉帳), higher online FX limits, and a credit card application.
• Softer credit card rules. Banks are encouraged to accept overseas income proof and foreign tax records instead of Taiwan payslips, and to drop the local guarantor requirement.

NDC plans to grow the list to 9 banks in 2027 and 12 in 2028, so expect more branches later.

Who it's really for

This part matters, because the program is open to foreign residents in general, but it was designed with professionals in mind.

• You need resident ID. Fubon's own English page lists an ARC, APRC or Employment Gold Card plus your passport (or NHI card). Tourists and visa-exempt visitors are not the target.
• Gold Card holders come first. E.SUN says it is serving Gold Card holders first, then white-collar foreign residents. Mega advertises that Gold Card holders can apply for a credit card with no Taiwanese guarantor and no fixed deposit as collateral.
• "Encouraged," not "required." Banks still do their own anti-money-laundering checks and keep full discretion. A law firm summary from Winkler Partners makes this point, and forum regulars picked up on it immediately.
• Credit cards are still credit decisions. Fubon's page, for example, says its card generally expects at least one year of employment in Taiwan, with exemptions for some professions.

If you are a student, English teacher or new hire with an ARC, you can still use these branches. Just expect the account to be the easy part and the credit card to depend on your income paperwork.

The Taipei designated branches

Seven of the 17 branches are in Taipei. The rest are in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung (CTBC alone has seven branches across the island).

• E.SUN NTU Branch (玉山 台大分行): No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd, Da'an, next to Gongguan MRT. Phone +886-2-2182-1313.
• E.SUN Neihu Branch (玉山 內湖分行): Lane 360, Sec. 1, Neihu Rd, Neihu. Good if you work in the Neihu tech park.
• Taipei Fubon Shifu Branch (北富銀 市府分行): 1F, No. 1, Shifu Rd, Xinyi, the Taipei City Hall address, a short walk from Taipei City Hall MRT. Phone +886-2-8751-6665 ext. 600.
• Mega Lanya Branch (兆豐 蘭雅分行): No. 126, Sec. 6, Zhongshan N. Rd, Shilin (Tianmu area). Phone +886-2-2838-5225.
• First Bank Zhongshan Branch (第一銀行 中山分行): No. 61, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Rd, near Zhongshan MRT.
• CTBC Dunbei Branch (中信 敦北分行): on Dunhua N. Rd in Songshan.
• Taishin Business Department (台新 營業部): Taishin's main branch; phone +886-2-2655-3355.

Addresses are from bank and government lists; confirm on the booking page, because branches do move.

Photo: MAm ROFOW 022 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Which branch we'd book, and why

Our first pick: E.SUN NTU Branch. If you want an account and a credit card, E.SUN has the strongest real-world record. On Forumosa, a PhD student with an ARC, no Taiwan credit history and only a part-time research job applied at an E.SUN branch on June 2, 2026, and was approved two days later with an NT$90,000 limit, with no guarantor, payslips or tax statements asked for. The card showed up in Apple Wallet before the plastic arrived. Another member was approved for an E.SUN STARLUX card online in August 2026 in under eight hours. Users also say the E.SUN app works fully in English. The NTU branch is easy to reach from anywhere on the green line.

Runner-up: Taipei Fubon Shifu Branch. Pick this if your Chinese is minimal and you want the most hand-holding. Fubon publishes a clear English process (book online in a couple of minutes, bring ARC or Gold Card plus passport, meet an English-speaking specialist) and says the account and debit card are issued the same day. Forum users rank the Fubon app alongside E.SUN's for English support. The catch is the credit card, which leans on Taiwan employment history.

For Gold Card holders in Tianmu or Shilin: Mega Lanya. The no-guarantor, no-deposit Gold Card credit card is the draw. But book by phone. In a September 2026 test by AmCham Taiwan's Topics magazine, Mega's online booking was not yet connected to the branch schedule, and setting up a securities account still took 23 signatures in Chinese characters even though the staff spoke good English.

We'd skip CTBC for now if English apps matter to you: one forum user noted that its English mode is missing a lot of options, even though CTBC has the biggest foreign customer base (over 400,000).

Photo: 玄史生 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

What to bring

• Passport and ARC, APRC or Gold Card. Two IDs is the standard rule for foreigners.
• A Taiwan mobile number in your own name. Online banking sends one-time codes by SMS, and that is how most banks verify you. Get the SIM first (our guide to opening a bank account and getting a phone plan covers the order).
• Your Taipei address. If your ARC address is out of date, update it before you go; banks match it against your documents.
• Income proof for a credit card: Taiwan payslips and an employment contract if you have them, or, under the new rules, overseas payslips, a foreign tax return or bank statements.
• Tax residency details. Every bank will ask you to fill a self-certification form for CRS (the international tax info sharing standard), and US citizens also get a FATCA form. Know your foreign tax ID number before you sit down.

Bringing a personal seal (印章) is optional; a signature works.

What to say at the counter

Even at a designated branch, the guard at the door and the queue machine may only speak Chinese. These lines get you to the right desk:

• 我有預約外籍人士一站式金融服務。(Wǒ yǒu yùyuē wàijí rénshì yízhànshì jīnróng fúwù.) I have an appointment for the one-stop service for foreigners.
• 我要開台幣和外幣帳戶。(Wǒ yào kāi táibì hé wàibì zhànghù.) I'd like to open NT dollar and foreign currency accounts.
• 請幫我開通網路銀行和手機銀行。(Qǐng bāng wǒ kāitōng wǎnglù yínháng hé shǒujī yínháng.) Please activate online and mobile banking for me.
• 我也想申請信用卡。(Wǒ yě xiǎng shēnqǐng xìnyòngkǎ.) I'd also like to apply for a credit card.
• 請幫我設定約定轉帳帳戶。(Qǐng bāng wǒ shèdìng yuēdìng zhuǎnzhàng zhànghù.) Please set up pre-registered transfer accounts.

Photo: Solomon203 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What the program does not fix (yet)

• It is a pilot. Outside these 17 branches, the old branch-by-branch lottery still applies, so don't assume your neighborhood E.SUN or First Bank will do the same thing.
• Apps are not fully English. AmCham found about 4 of 17 investment functions in Mega's app were still Chinese-only.
• New-format ARC numbers. Some websites and apps still choke on the new-style resident number. See what works with the new ARC number.
• Loans and mortgages. The one-stop list is accounts, cards and transfers. One forum member was turned down by E.SUN for a company mortgage without a guarantor in May 2026, and another with an 800 JCIC credit score says banks still give "but you're a foreigner" answers for small personal loans.
• SMS codes abroad. If your Taiwan number is off while you travel, you can lock yourself out of online banking, so keep the SIM active.

Our bottom line

If you arrived recently and don't have an account yet, skip the random branch near your apartment and book one of the designated ones instead. One trip, with the right papers, should get you an account, a working app and a card application, which is the whole first month of banking pain done in an afternoon. This page is about the program and its branches. If you are still deciding which bank to make your main one, read our pick for the best bank in Taiwan for foreigners; for the full account-opening process, see opening a Taiwan bank account and getting a phone plan; and for card strategy beyond these branches, read getting a credit card in Taiwan as a foreigner.

FAQ

Who can use one-stop banking for foreigners in Taiwan?

Foreign residents with an ARC, APRC or Employment Gold Card, plus a passport or NHI card as a second ID. Tourists and visa-exempt visitors are not the target, and Gold Card holders and white-collar professionals were the first focus at some banks.

Do I need an appointment?

Yes, book one. The point of the program is that the bank checks your documents before you arrive. If the online booking does not confirm a time, call the branch, as AmCham's test at Mega Lanya showed.

Will I definitely get a credit card at a designated branch?

No. Banks are encouraged to accept overseas income proof and drop the guarantor requirement, but each bank still makes its own credit decision. The account is the easy part; the card depends on your income paperwork.

Which one-stop branch should I book in Taipei?

We would book E.SUN's NTU Branch for most people, Taipei Fubon's Shifu Branch if you want the most English hand-holding, and Mega Lanya if you hold a Gold Card and live in Tianmu or Shilin.

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