Citibank Taiwan Ltd (台灣花旗) yesterday announced that it would advance its wealth management business by giving clients access to 14 foreign currencies without charging handling fees.
Considering that 43 percent of its clients simultaneously hold more than three foreign currencies, either for their personal use or for investment, the new service would give them more options and boost convenience, Citibank Taiwan retail banking head Kevin Hu (胡醒賢) told a news conference in Taipei.
Besides its clients’ three favorite foreign currencies — the US dollar, Japanese yen and Australian dollar — 11 other currencies would include: the Chinese yuan, Canadian dollar, British pound, Hong Kong dollar, Swiss franc, New Zealand dollar, Swedish krona, euro, Singapore dollar, South African rand and Thai baht, Hu said.
That is the most comprehensive foreign-currency transfer service in the local market, he said.
Clients who activate the “Citibank Global Wallet” would be able to buy the foreign currencies at preferred rates online, and can withdraw them at ATMs overseas or make transactions through debit cards when traveling abroad, Hu said.
While its peer HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣) launched a similar service early this month that offers access to nine foreign currencies without handling fees, Hu said that Citibank is more open-minded, as clients who have more than NT$800,000 (US$26,040) in their accounts would be invited to its wealth management program to access the benefits.
The bank has continued to expand its wealth management business, and the number of its clients had grown by double-digit percentages as of the end of last month, Citibank Taiwan’s consumer business manager Dennis Hussey said.
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