“Taiwan” is a charming country with a combination of the east and modern culture that invite people to visit. Apart from cloth, map and traveling preparation, do not forget about the money that we need for shopping. In Thailand, we are already changed to a cashless society that we can scan the QR code and buy things in the market and many department stores.

Hold on! In Taiwan, most of the payment is still in cash, credit card and IC Cards (Prepaid card for transportation and shopping such as EasyCard, iPass, and iCash). So, let us, SCB, suggest a plan for your trip.

For “Cash”, the exchange rate in Thailand is better than in Taiwan. Also, it is a little bit difficult to find an exchange point although there are more than 37 banks around the country, they are “closed on Saturday-Sunday” and there is no convenient branch in any department store as in Thailand. If there is any trouble happens while you are traveling, you have to wait for their working day.

In case you need to withdraw cash, you have to pay 100 Baht for an international fee and the quantity of Taiwanese ATM is very small compared to Thailand. However, do not worry that ATM is often at the back of most convenience stores.

ATM service is different from Thailand that you need to verify every step by press enter by yourself. Also, in the final step after selecting a money amount and account, the ATM will ask if there is anything you want to do. Then you press no, and the ATM card will be out than cash respectively. This is different from Thailand that cash will be out first. So do not panic if you see the ATM card first.

Moreover, there is no balance shown in the transaction receipt. So, if you want to know the fee and exchange rate, you have to look into your bank application for more details. Also, do not forget that the exchange rate is different regarding each bank.

In case you do not want to bring too much cash to Taiwan, another way is “Credit Card”. Currently, most hotels and shops support this credit card payment. Also, comparing the exchange rate and risk-free as 2 - 2.5% and cash is not that different. Also, there is a promotion for the traveler is much worthy. For example, the “SCB JCB Platinum” has 3%* cashback without a minimum amount and 1 point for each expenditure of 25 baht: When shopping from the first baht using the SCB JCB PLATINUM credit card in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan in local currencies only with free annual fees.