A multilingual ATM and remittance model uses the bank’s existing network to widen access for migrant workers at lower cost and with greater convenience
Southeast Asian migrant workers in Taiwan often face practical barriers when using formal financial services. Language support can be limited, branch hours do not always fit working schedules and sending money home can be expensive or inconvenient. Taishin Bank has responded by adapting its existing banking infrastructure to make remittance and cash services easier to access through a multilingual ATM network.
The initiative focuses on a large and often underserved customer group. As of April 2025, Taiwan had more than 830,000 Southeast Asian migrant workers, with annual remittance demand exceeding NT$30bn ($945.4m). Traditional branch-based services are often inadequate for workers dealing with long hours, limited flexibility and unfamiliar processes. Many turn instead to informal channels, where cost, timing and risk are often less transparent.
Targeted solution
Taishin has built its response into the bank’s core operating model rather than creating a separate inclusion product. The centre of the initiative is an ATM based remittance and cash deposit service shaped around how migrant workers actually manage money: outside normal office hours, in cash and often close to where they live or work
The bank launched an ATM-based cross-border remittance service in 2021. By March 2025, the model had been extended through a partnership that allows users to begin the remittance through a mobile app, generate a QR code and complete the transfer by scanning the code and depositing cash at a Taishin ATM. That reduces dependence on branch visits and makes formal remittance services easier to use in daily life.
Language access is central to the service. Taishin’s ATMs offer seven interface options: Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. That matters when customers are transferring wages abroad and need confidence that they understand the service properly. It builds trust, accuracy and willingness to use formal channels.
Importance of location
Location is equally important. Taishin operates more than 4,000 ATMs, with 70% placed in convenience stores. For this initiative, machines are also located in places used frequently by migrant workers, including railway stations, industrial areas, factories, Southeast Asian supermarkets and dormitories. The bank is not asking customers to adjust to a traditional service model, but is placing access points along existing routines.
Multilingual tutorials and outreach across retail locations in Southeast Asia support the rollout and help users become more familiar with the process. These are useful supporting measures, but the strength of the initiative still comes from the service design itself: accessible machines, simpler remittance steps, language support and wider availability.
The results show why the model matters. Taishin reports its multilingual ATM interface serves an average of 330,000 users a month, with more than 10% year-on-year growth. The ATMbased remittance service reduces fees by 80% and can process transactions in as little as 30 minutes. Traditional counter-based services, by comparison, are available only during business hours, cost NT$500-600 and can take two to three days. Informal channels may appear convenient, but they often leave users with less certainty over cost, timing and risk.
Credible inclusion
This is a credible form of financial inclusion because it is built around operational improvements that customers can feel directly. Language support reduces confusion. ATM access extends service hours. Lower fees make formal transfers more affordable. Faster settlement improves convenience. Wider placement of machines makes the service easier to use without changing daily routines.
That is what gives Taishin’s initiative real weight. The bank has not created a symbolic inclusion offer, hoping customers would avail themselves of it. It has adapted existing infrastructure so an underserved group can access formal financial services more safely, easily and at a lower cost.