A guide to Taiwanese VISA Debit Cards

[TheLostSwede]

Uhm, that's why you DON'T write down passwords and even so, my dongle has a pin code, so no-one but me can use it.

And no, I don't have a visa card from my current bank, as they don't offer them... Besides, I can hardly use a visa card to pay one off bills that I get in the post.
That said, this is Taiwan, so I can take them down to 7-11... anyhow, the system here is really backwards imho.

[yuli]

So what's the point of having online baking if I have to fill in a form for every single account I want to transfer money to or make a payment to?

This is kind of OT in this thread, but there are different ways to deal with the "security vs. convenience" balance, and it is certainly not news if i suggest that what is more convenient for one person need not be so for someone else. All you really need to do is find a bank whose way of doing that comes closest to your way of thinking.

[yuli]

Little update. Decided to try my cards in an ATM in Nepal last week.
Taishin - worked fine, gave me some cash.
First Bank - didn't work at all despite it having a 4 digit pin and supposedly being ok for international use.

Thanks for the added info!

After I used my Taiwanese Citibank Visa card in Nepal

Well, don't we take it for granted (sort of) that VISA credit cards work? The issue that has been less than clear in some cases was/is in which situations VISA debit cards work.

I got a Visa Debit from Taishin bank and:
works with 4 digits code in France if you pick up money from an ATM
wasn't accepted by a taxi driver in France

Since it looks like a regular credit card, the question would be whether the driver generally refuses credit cards or just foreign credit cards.

worked in every hotel/shop in France
wasn't able to pick up money in Germany
was able to pay everything in Germany

That's interesting: were you able to get money from an ATM with any other card?

You will need to enable the function for abroad (4 digits call) before use it.
Got the card within of 30 minutes

OK on the reminder.

[madracer]

Chinatrust update: finally got my verified by visa enabled, but need to test it out by buying something online that requires the security code. Will report back once I have tried it out.
Applied for credit cards as well, should arrive next week. Procedure was easy!

Anyone interested in trying to activate their verified by visa, i can post the procedure that worked for me. ( no gaurantee it will work for you, but worth a shot)

So finally got to test my Chinatrust Debit Card on a Verified by Visa payment site.
Works perfectly, as per any other debit/credit card with the verified by visa authorisation.

You can attempt to activate it online, although I went to the bank and had them do it for me after many tries and persistence.
Link for online activation: [url]http://www.visa-asia.com/ap/tw/cardholders/security/vbv_activate.shtml#中國信託商業銀行[/url]
Scroll down the list to find the sub link for China Trust Bank.
(Website in chinese, but copy/paste into google translate and you should be ok)
The problem for me when trying to activate online was the ID number used by the bank was not the ID number on my ARC - No idea why.
Chinatrust made up their own ID number for me, in the following format,
YYYYMMDDXX

YYYY: Your birth year - eg 1975
MM: Your birth month - eg 05
DD: Your birth date - eg 19
XX: Your initials - eg, JS (for John Smith)

Therefore as per example above, your id will be, 19750519JS

Also, your residential address is another key identifier, so ensure that is input correctly.

[yuli]

So finally got to test my Chinatrust Debit Card on a Verified by Visa payment site.
Works perfectly, as per any other debit/credit card with the verified by visa authorisation.

Thanks for the update!

[zyzzx]

My Post Office debit card (with a 6 digit PIN) worked at ATMs in China. It only worked in the ATMs for some banks, but I think that was because some banks just don't accept foreign cards.
So far it's worked in every country I've tried it, even without a 4 digit PIN.

[Lili]

Opened my bank account at Taipei Fubon Bank.
Needed ARC and Passport. My ARC is NOT valid for a year, ONLY 8 months. Still, no problems.

I received a bank book and debit card with the VISA logo on it but no name.
Still haven't used the card. Will update when I do.

[yuli]

My Post Office debit card (with a 6 digit PIN) worked at ATMs in China. It only worked in the ATMs for some banks, but I think that was because some banks just don't accept foreign cards.
So far it's worked in every country I've tried it, even without a 4 digit PIN.

Opened my bank account at Taipei Fubon Bank.
Needed ARC and Passport. My ARC is NOT valid for a year, ONLY 8 months. Still, no problems.

I received a bank book and debit card with the VISA logo on it but no name.
Still haven't used the card. Will update when I do.

[trubadour]

Woohoo! I have managed to order stuff from amazon.co.uk with my VISA Electron (from MEGA bank). Works just like a credit card, enter your card number and it shows up as VISA. I think it is a change at Amazon's end, not anything to do with my bank. Apparently, ebuyer.co.uk now also accept VISA Electron, too.

[yuli]

Woohoo! I have managed to order stuff from amazon.co.uk with my VISA Electron (from MEGA bank). Works just like a credit card, enter your card number and it shows up as VISA. I think it is a change at Amazon's end, not anything to do with my bank. Apparently, ebuyer.co.uk now also accept VISA Electron, too.

That is good news of sorts...
Thanks for the update (added the info to the post at the head of this thread: viewtopic.php?f=88&t=95280)