Tag Archives: ibon

Need Some Charge on the Run – Convenience Stores Now Offer Power Bank Rentals in Taiwan

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You can now borrow a power bank at any 7-11 and leave it back at any other branch. The rental fee is NT$12 per hour, with a 24-hour max charge of NT$36 and a 72-hour maximum rental period. They will hold NT$300 on your card until you return it. If you want to cancel a transaction, you can also return it within 10 minutes without charge. You can check out a list of participating stores here! Wireless and wired charging are both available for Android and Apple.

First, check to see if the Ibon machine at the 7-11 you’re at has any power banks inserted at the bottom. If not, they might all have been rented, or it might not be a participating store. If you do see power banks, you can follow the steps below to rent:


Step 1: At the Ibon Machine main menu, hit 「生活服務」 (everyday services)

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Sending Stuff from One 7-11 to Another All-Around Taiwan

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Did the one-night stand you’d rather forget leave his/her charger in your room last night? Or is the parcel you just received from Shoppee not as advertised? Instead of queuing at the post office during working hours or making a shameful trek to the yellow line and having that awkward, “Wanna do it again?” “No, thanks! Here’s your charger! Bye!” chat in person, you can just send whatever you’ve got to a 7-11 near them. 

First of all, if you don’t have the 7-11 OpenPoints app, you can download it on Google Play here or on the App Store here and register for it using the steps described here.

You don’t have to buy a special bag or anything, just wrap it in a paper bag or reuse a box. You’ll need the recipient’s name, phone number and the name or number of the 7-11 of their choice, along with NT$60 for goods worth NT$0-1000, or slightly more for more expensive items (see below).

Step 1: Open the app:

Step 2: Click the 「服務」 icon just to the right of the bottom center icon:

Step 3: Click 「寄件」 (send stuff):

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7-11’s OpenPoints in Taiwan and how to use them (to buy books)

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You might have noticed an uptick in 7-11 attendants asking you if you’re a member in Taiwan. This is because the chain of stores has expanded it’s app membership from just iCash card holders to everyone (copying the success of FamilyMart).

By purchasing things at 7-11 you can save points which you can use for a variety of offers and to exchange for goods, but more interestingly, you can tie the points to your Books.com.tw account and get cash off book orders.

Registering for the app

You’ve probably already been cajoled by a hard-working 7-11 clerk into providing your phone number at the cash register. In this case, you’ve probably already been unknowingly been collecting points.

Apologies for the shoddy quality, the app doesn’t allow screencapture

When you log into the app, you’ll be asked to register by filling in your mobile phone number (會員帳號-> 請輪入行動電話) and creating a password (請設定密碼&再次確認密碼). They will send a text to your mobile, for you to confirm your ownership of the phone number. The process is pretty simple and they let you fill in your personal details later, to login, you just enter your phone number, your password (密碼) and a captcha code, as below:

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