Cooperative Bank and Mega International Commercial Bank New Regulations: Low Balance Accounts Can Be Closed
In an effort to combat the increasingly rampant financial fraud, Taiwan’s banking sector has recently implemented stringent measures, tightening account management and withdrawal limits comprehensively. However, some regulations have raised concerns regarding their impact on the public’s financial convenience.
According to FTNN News, Cooperative Bank has announced that a new version of the total deposit agreement will come into effect on October 29, 2025. The new regulations state that if a salary transfer account has no salary deposits for over a month, or if the account has not been used for a long time, the bank may assess the situation and, in severe cases, terminate the account service directly.
Cooperative Bank also indicated that if your deposit account is suspected of illegal or improper use, the bank may suspend or terminate services such as financial cards, online transfers, voice transfers, and electronic payments based on the severity of the situation, and will refuse to accept new applications for these accounts.
Furthermore, to clean up suspicious accounts, Cooperative Bank and Mega International Commercial Bank will simultaneously implement a “low balance account closure” mechanism.
In the future, if an account balance remains below NT$1,000 for an extended period, the bank will have the right to automatically settle and close the account. Mega International Commercial Bank will initiate this on August 20, 2025, while Cooperative Bank will follow with the new regulations for salary transfer accounts on October 29, 2025.
On the other hand, Land Bank has announced that by the end of September next year, it plans to add a feature on its online banking transfer page to display the recipient’s account name (partially masked) to reduce the risk of users making incorrect transfers or falling victim to fraud.
Crypto City summarizes the new bank regulations and the launch times for new features:
- – From October 29, 2025: “Cooperative Bank” accounts with no salary deposits for over a month may be locked, and accounts with long-term balances below NT$1,000 may be automatically closed.
- – From August 20, 2025: “Mega International Commercial Bank” accounts with long-term balances below NT$1,000 may be automatically closed.
- – By the end of September 2026: “Land Bank” will launch the recipient’s account name display feature to reduce the risk of incorrect transfers.
Eight Banks Reduce ATM Withdrawal Limits, Public Outcry
In addition to stricter account management, another widely discussed measure is the reduction of ATM withdrawal limits.
Multiple Taiwanese media outlets have reported that to prevent fraudulent funds from being quickly withdrawn, Taiwan Bank, Chunghwa Post, Citibank, and other eight financial institutions have gradually announced a reduction in ATM withdrawal limits. Some banks have even lowered the daily withdrawal amount for third-class digital accounts to just NT$10,000, impacting over ten million accounts.
The banks’ stringent measures have sparked public dissatisfaction on social media platforms, with some individuals complaining on Threads that this action effectively punishes regular users, causing inconvenience for the majority to prevent fraud by a minority.
Furthermore, some have questioned whether this action not only complicates the withdrawal process but may also inadvertently increase the burden of interbank withdrawal fees for the public.
Controversial Fraud Prevention Measures, FSC Calls for Proportionality
In light of the banking sector’s series of “de-risking” measures, the regulatory authority has also expressed concern.
Wang Yunzhong, Deputy Director of the Banking Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), recently stated publicly that he does not want to see banks handling fraud issues through de-risking measures. According to the Central News Agency, the FSC has reminded all banks that when implementing risk control measures, they must adhere to the “principle of proportionality,” seeking a balance between the convenience and safety of financial services.
If excessive measures are taken to prevent relatively minor risks, it may violate this principle. The FSC has previously convened discussions with banking operators, hoping they will strengthen fraud prevention without excessively limiting the public’s financial service rights.
This article is collaboratively reproduced from: Crypto City