The Ministry of Labor reports that there were about 740,000 foreign migrant workers working in Taiwan as of the end of June this year. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has calculated that, if each foreign migrant worker sends NT$10,000 to his or her hometown each month, the total amount of remittances will reach NT$80 billion in a single year. The remittance amount for last year, however, was less than NT$25 billion, according to the most recent figures of cross-border small-amount remittance companies that are lawfully employing foreign migrant workers. It is clear that there are still a lot of clandestine remittances.
FSC advises migrant workers to send funds through authorized cross-border remittance companies to prevent conflicts.Photo provided by Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor
Currently, migrant workers may send money home through three different channels: banks, remittance businesses, and labor intermediaries that settle foreign exchange on their behalf. The FSC reminds people that migrant workers handle remittance through organizations that are run legitimately. Their rights and interests are essentially safeguarded, and if there is ever a conflict, they can get help from the evaluation center. While Digital Idea Multi-Media Co., Ltd. only offers services related to Vietnamese and Indonesian migrant workers, WELLDONE Company and EASTERN UNION INTERACTIVE CORP., both offer exchange services related to Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Filipino migrant workers. The three exchange companies are currently approved by FSC.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) also indicated that several business operators had inquired with the FSC regarding pertinent rules and application specifics, and that two business operators had submitted applications to the FSC to operate foreign small-amount remittance businesses for foreign migrant workers. There will ultimately be more authorized small-amount remittance institutions for them in the end of the year.
