Do you feel like subtweeting your arch-enemy isn’t quite enough for you? The solution may be going through their master/doctoral thesis to point out minor spelling errors and format issues (if it’s good enough for the KMT it’s good enough for me). Now you don’t even have to squeeze your National Central Library card into your already overstuffed wallet to gain access to the ivory tower and your enemy’s vulnerable sentence structures.
All you have to do is bring your ARC or passport and your EasyCard (including virtual Easycards) to the registration counter with an application form (available in the registration area). They’ll take a quick photo and tie your library card account to your EasyCard. You’ll also get a library card, but you can use your EasyCard in its place for all functions. They’ll give you a small sticker for your EasyCard to remind you about your library membership:
The library card has been updated from the laminated one of old, and now looks like this:
And away we go…
(Love you really)
But… more seriously, if you need access to a doctoral or masters thesis and it’s not online, you can click 點閱 beside the paper thesis listing and a number will be assigned to your query. You can then check your collection number by swiping your EasyCard on the computer beside the collection counter and a screen will tell you when it’s ready for collection:
Now you can use a virtual EasyCard in your Samsung Pay wallet for all your EasyCard needs, including MRT turnstiles, YouBike rentals and mobile payments by EasyCards. First go to your Samsung Pay app (non-Samsung users (excluding iPhone users) can use the EasyCard Wallet app here), and click the EasyCard option on the front page (if you don’t see this, you should do a software update on your phone or check if your model is compatible):
If you want to use your phone as your EasyCard and you’re not a Samsung user (see here if you are), you can use the Easy Wallet app (Google Play) to beep in and out of the MRT and even use YouBikes! Unfortunately, the Apple version of the app doesn’t include this functionality due to the apparently ongoing tension between Apple and the EasyCard corporation about third-party apps using NFC functionality (although there are rumors this will change).
For those that have already done that, you might want to set up your Easycard so that when the balance hits zero, NT$500 is automatically transferred from your bank account (see participating banks below*) to the Easycard. The service can be cancelled if you lose your card, and you can recoup the balance of your Easycard when you cancel the card.
*Participating banks: Fubon; Shin Kong; Mega Bank; Taishin Bank; CTBC Bank; COTA Commercial Bank; Union Bank of Taiwan; Jihsun Bank; Chang Hua Bank (UPDATE: as of March 11, 2020 – see here for updated info!)
Currently banks like E. Sun offer a debit card with an in-built Easycard, if your bank supports this service then great. If not, you can follow the instructions below to tie ordinary Easycards to your bank so that you never have to top up your Easycard with cash:
Step 1: Register your name to your Easycard at the following website:
To do this you need to click on 「記名申請」（Apply for name registration)
Several terms and conditions will be listed on the next screen and you can click 「確定」 (Confirm), as below:
After this you’ll be asked for the Card No. of your Easycard, generally found on the bottom right of the back of your Easycard. It asks you to enter it twice. You’ll also have to complete a captcha puzzle and press 「確定」(Confirm) again:
The next screen will ask you to fill in some details, including your name, email and phone number. Following this there will be a screen telling you to upload a photo of your ARC (and sometimes the front and back of your Easycard). When you’ve done this, you’ll get a screen telling you that it’s processing.
It takes 3 working days to process.
2. Go to your bank
Once you get an email notification, confirming that the name registration process is complete, you have to go to your bank and fill out a consent form. You’ll need to bring your ARC, your bank card and your Easycard with you.
3. Go to a Famiport
Once your bank has processed your form, they will allow you to activate the automatic top-up function. You can do this by going to a FamiPort and clicking the 「悠遊卡」 option, listed under the purple print section:
Under this you should see an option called 「帳戶連結設定」(Account Link Settings). It will ask you to put your Easycard on the sensor and then it should activate your automatic top up service.
Note: All of the banks listed below allow you to incorporate your Easycard into your debit card. So the method listed above is just for those that didn’t opt for that service, are with banks that don’t support these services, or are just very attached to their current Easycard:
When you’re issued with an combination Easycard/Debit Card, you’ll have to activate the automatic top-up using a Famiport too, but you choose a different option under the Easycard menu as below:
Then, as with the account link settings, you’ll have to put your Easycard to the sensor and confirm that you want to activate the service.
Post was updated March 11, 2020, to reflect the other banks who have since joined the scheme!
The receipt lottery in Taiwan – whereby you can win varying amounts of money if the invoice number of your receipt matches certain numbers announced every two months – is great. However, I firmly believe that many of my winning NT$10 million receipts have been victim to my washing machine, to sun damage or to falling down the back of the sofa until they’re out of date. There’s also the minor hassle of going through receipts for everything you’ve bought in the past two months receipt by receipt with the risk that you’ll not actually have won anything.
UPDATE – There’s also a special prize reserved for virtual receipts of NT$500!
E-Receipts vs Traditional Receipts
There’s nothing you can do about the older receipts – the ones that change colour every two months, like the one below. You just have to check them every two months with that dwindling sense of dread that you haven’t won anything again and you’ve just wasted an hour of your life.
The receipts issued by convenience stores, chain stores and an increasing number of other retailers that have two QR codes on the bottom, however, you can do something about.
