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〈Basis of legislation〉
Article 1
These Regulations are prescribed pursuant to Paragraph 2, Article 35 of "the
Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Act."
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〈Definition of terms〉
Article 2
The term "foreign currency exchange counter" as used in these Regulations shall
mean a business other than financial institutions concurrently engaged in
exchanging foreign currency cash or foreign currency traveler’s checks into New
Taiwan Dollars for customers, established in accordance with these Regulations.
The term "customers" as used in these Regulations are as follows:
1.Foreign travelers holding foreign passports and overseas Chinese visiting
Taiwan for tourism; and
2.Travelers from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao regions holding exit & entry
permits.
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〈Maximum amount of exchange〉
Article 3
The amount of each foreign currency exchange transaction for each customer handled
by a foreign currency exchange counter shall not exceed ten thousand US Dollars
(US$ 10,000) or its equivalent.
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〈Entrusted affairs〉
Article 4
The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (hereinafter referred to as
the "Bank") entrusts Bank of Taiwan Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as
"Bank of Taiwan") to handle administrative affairs concerning the approval of
the establishment of foreign currency exchange counters, revocation of such
approval and the performance of operational inspections when necessary.
The inspections mentioned in the preceding paragraph may be performed by the Bank
solely or jointly with Bank of Taiwan; the foreign currency exchange counter
being inspected shall not conceal or destroy related documents or circumvent,
impede or refuse the inspection.
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〈Application qualifications〉
Article 5
The following industries which have demand for the exchange of foreign
currencies with adequate security control mechanisms, may apply to Bank of
Taiwan to establish a foreign currency exchange counter:
1.Hotels and travel businesses, department stores, handicraft shops and local
specialty stores, gold, silver and jewelry stores (generally called jewelry
stores), watch and clock stores, chained convenience stores, pharmacies, train
stations, temples, religious or charity organizations, self-managed marketplace
organizations, museums, theme parks or art and culture centers; and
2.Institutions and associations such as administrative offices of national scenic
areas and tourist service centers providing services to foreign travelers or
shops and stores located in major tourist sites in remote areas.
The application for the establishment of a foreign currency exchange counter by
an applicant in an industry other than the industries listed in the preceding
paragraph shall be made to the Bank through Bank of Taiwan for special approval.
The applicant from an industry listed in the preceding 2 paragraphs of this
Article shall provide the responsible persons' police criminal record
certificates with no conviction record in Taiwan when applying for the
establishment of foreign currency exchange counters.
If the applicant fails to meet the application requirements and provide
supporting documents mentioned in the preceding 3 paragraphs of this Article,
the Bank or Bank of Taiwan may reject the application.
When a foreign currency exchange counter changes its responsible person,
paragraph 3 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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〈License issuance and identification methods〉
Article 6
The license of a foreign currency exchange counter shall be issued by Bank of
Taiwan. Unless otherwise provided in these Regulations, when handling the foreign
currency exchange business, a foreign currency exchange counter shall comply with
"Guidelines for Foreign Currency Exchange and the Establishment of Foreign
Currency Exchange Counters Designated by the Bank of Taiwan", "Standard Operating
Procedure of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism for
Foreign Currency Exchange Counters" drawn up by Bank of Taiwan and other relevant
regulations.
Each foreign currency exchange counter shall hang combined Chinese and English
identification signs designed by Bank of Taiwan at clearly visible locations
outside the door or at the place of business.
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〈Obligation to disclose exchange rates〉
Article 7
The exchange rates offered by a foreign currency exchange counter shall refer to
the bid price set by authorized banks, and the exchange rates shall be posted at
the place of business.
The foreign currency exchange counter shall sell its foreign currencies received
from the exchange to the authorized banks and comply with the “Regulations
Governing the Declaration of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Disbursements or
Transactions".
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〈Reports〉
Article 8
A foreign currency exchange counter shall, before the fifteenth (15th) day of the
month following the end of each quarter, submit a quarterly transaction amount
report to Bank of Taiwan. Bank of Taiwan shall process the reports received and
submit a summary report to the Department of Foreign Exchange of the Bank before
the end of the month.
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〈Revocation or cancellation of approval〉
Article 9
Bank of Taiwan may revoke or cancel the approval of a foreign currency exchange
counter in any of the following situations:
1.The foreign currency exchange counter seriously violates these Regulations or
other relevant regulations;
2.The foreign currency exchange counter has not conducted any foreign currency
exchange transactions for two successive quarters or the total amount of
transactions has not reached five thousand US Dollars (US$5,000) or its
equivalent for four successive quarters;
3.The foreign currency exchange counter suspends operations, is dissolved, or
declares bankruptcy; or
4.After a foreign currency exchange business is approved, the documents in the
original application are found to be materially false.
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〈Customer Due Diligence, rejection of transaction and terrorist financing reporting procedure〉
Article 10
When handling the foreign currency exchange business, a foreign currency exchange
counter shall verify each transaction is submitted by the customer in person,
examine the original passport or exit & entry permit and record the name, date of
birth, country/region, passport number or exit & entry permit number, transaction
amount on the exchange memo. The transaction may only be processed after the
signature by the customer.
When a foreign currency exchange counter verifies the customer's identification,
the transaction shall be rejected in any of the following situations:
1.The passport or exit & entry permit is forged or altered;
2.The passport or exit & entry permit is suspicious, ambiguous and impossible to
verify;
3.The customer is a terrorist identified or investigated by other countries or
an international organization; or
4.The customer is a sanctioned individual announced by the Ministry of Justice
under the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
When handling the foreign currency exchange business, a foreign currency exchange
counter shall, within ten (10) business days upon discovery of a sanctioned
individual mentioned in the preceding paragraph, subparagraph 4, submit a report
to the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice by mail, fax, email or
other means in the format prescribed by the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry
of Justice with the stamp of foreign currency exchange counter affixed.
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〈Suspicious transaction reports〉
Article 11
When handling the foreign currency exchange business, a foreign currency exchange
counter shall pay special attention to the following suspicious money laundering
or terrorist financing transactions and shall, within five (5) business days upon
discovery of, submit the report to Bank of Taiwan by way of mails, faxes, emails
or other means in the format prescribed by the Investigation Bureau of the
Ministry of Justice with the stamp of foreign currency exchange counter affixed.
Bank of Taiwan will forward the report to the Investigation Bureau of the
Ministry of Justice within ten (10) business days:
1.Foreign currency exchange requested by several people in a group whose
identities and outward behaviors and appearance arouse suspicious;
2.Frequent visits by the same customer to exchange foreign currency with an
attempt to breaking up a large amount into smaller ones;
3.A person involved in a major criminal investigations covered by TV, newspapers
or magazines and other media comes for foreign currency exchange;
4.The customer is found using another person's ID after the completion of
foreign currency exchange transaction;
5.The customer comes from a country or region designated by international
anti-money laundering organizations with serious deficiencies in anti-money
laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, or other countries or
regions that do not or insufficiently comply with the recommendations of the
international anti-money laundering organizations as informed by Bank of Taiwan,
and there is no plausible reason or reasonable explanation for the transaction;
6.The customer is a terrorist identified or investigated by other countries or
international organizations; or
7.Other suspicious money laundering behaviors identified.
The transactions mentioned in the preceding paragraph, if uncompleted, shall be
reported with a description of customers' special features and the transaction
process.
The reporting foreign currency exchange counter will be exempted from its
confidentiality obligation when filing the report for suspicious transaction or
terrorist financing to the designated authority in compliance with the paragraph
3 of the preceding Article and the preceding 2 paragraphs of this Article.
The ten (10) business days as mentioned in the first paragraph of this article
shall be counted from the day a suspicious money laundering or terrorist
financing transaction is discovered by the foreign currency exchange counter.
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〈Record keeping and information confidentiality〉
Article 12
When handling the foreign currency exchange business, a foreign currency exchange
counter shall establish separate accounting books and financial statements to
accurately record transactions in detail and such documents shall be kept for at
least ten (10) years. The relevant foreign exchange memos, reports for suspicious
money laundering transaction and terrorist financing and others shall be
maintained for at least five (5) years from the date the certificates are made.
A foreign currency exchange counter shall keep the separate accounting books,
financial statements and certificates mentioned in the preceding paragraph in
hard copies or electronic files.
The information of the customer gathered in the exchange business by the foreign
currency exchange counter shall be kept confidential unless otherwise provided by
other laws or stipulated by the competent authorities, and appropriate measures
shall be taken pursuant to the provision of Paragraph 1, Article 27 of the
"Personal Information Protection Act".
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〈On-the-job and pre-job training〉
Article 13
A Foreign currency exchange counter shall have their personnel participate in
the on-the-job training provided by Bank of Taiwan, and arrange pre-job training
for the new employees.
The training in the preceding paragraph should at least include anti-money
laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, relevant provisions in these
Regulations, and foreign currency authentication.
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〈Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism supervision〉
Article 14
The responsible persons or the designated personnel of the foreign currency
exchange counter shall follow, or make sure its internal personnel follow the
anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism provisions of
these Regulations.
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〈Renminbi cash exchange handling〉
Article 15
When handling the exchange of Renminbi cash, a foreign currency exchange counter
shall comply with the following rules in addition to the provisions of these
Regulations:
1.The amount of Renminbi cash is limited to RMB 20,000 per person per
transaction; and
2.Renminbi cash received from the exchange shall be sold to Bank of Taiwan every
ten (10) days.
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〈Date of Implementation〉
Article 16
These Regulations shall become effective from 1 August 2018.
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