China Romance
General Discussion and Useful Links => Newbies Corner => Topic started by: Paul Todd on December 01, 2009, 11:38:58 pm
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As I'm living in China I'm thinking about opening a local bank account. I read that opening a bank account here requires no more effort than opening a bank account anywhere else. Most accounts issue debit cards, but I also read to be careful if you want to access to your money in other cities as not every card allows this (even if its from a major bank) and if you have a card that lets you do this it will incur a rather expensive fee!! Anyone of the brothers had any experience with this? I would sure like to hear about it. How about being able to transfer money in and out of the country using an account here? Any financial advisers out there!:fi_lone_ranger:
This is a bit of a summary of what I've leaned so far!
Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and ICBC are three of the best. Each of these banks has a variation of the same requirements. Opening an account with US Dollars will require between $100 and $500. You can also start an account with a low amount of RenMinBi.
Bring a valid passport and, if available, a residence permit. Other forms of identification should not be necessary. A Chinese employer, such as a university, can set up a bank account for their foreign employees to make direct deposit payments. Having a native speaker along would help.:icon_biggrin:
Agricultural Bank of China. The bank requires a minimum of $100 and a valid passport. Just 1 RMB is required to open an RMB account. The Agricultural Bank of China is also the official bank for Western Union in China.
The Bank of China requires a passport and $500 to open an account. After completing the application form, the customer is issued a debit card for use in Bank of China ATMs
Bank of China have just introduced a Multi-Currency Account for Expats and it is called the "Savings Deposit Account Passbook" whereby you can deposit a certain amount of major currencies. This can be done on presentation of your passport and a fee of 5 RMB to set up the account
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) with a passport, residence permit and a notarized translation into Chinese of the account holder's name. The Chinese name is required to open the account; notaries can be found by visiting the Beijing Notary Public Office at 206 Jixiangli, Chaowai Street.
Last but by no means least ask the brothers for advice!:icon_cheesygrin:
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I used to transfer money to my wife's account in China.From the states.What I needed was the account holder name phone number.Name and adress of the bank in China routing number and account number.
WHen my wife would go to withdraw the money.I think the bank was giving her U.S. dollares then they would convert it for her to RMB.I will ask her in the mourning after she wakes up.I do know my bank did charge me a fee it wasnt to expensive.
I have heard rumor that yes a foriegnor can have a Chinese bank account.And that it was no problems.But I remind you it is just a rumor as far as I know.
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Hi Paul
I have two accounts with the Bank of China.
I opened the first with a deposit of 2000 rmb the second was opened with just a deposit of 50 rmb. Just turned up and found an English speaking teller and she completed the application form - showed them my passport for each application.
It was very easy to do and took no more thean 15 minutes on both occasions. And I received my bank card straight away to withdraw money with.
You only have to deposit a nominal 1 rmb to open the account.
These accounts are at the Zhuhai branch. I have never drawn money from either account since moving to Zhongshan but will find out tomorrow if there will be a problem in withdrawing from cities other than the one you open the account in.
Willy
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I opened an account at HSBC account in Beijing. I am in Beijing now to set my PIN. I was told that I can use the card in the U.S. too, but only at Union Pay machines in the U.S.. So far I think they are far and few between. Does anyone else know about how to find the Union Pay machines. I'm having trouble locating it on the internet. Thanks.
I also set up an account in Shenzhen earlier this year with the Bank of China, but the ATM was only good in China and couldn't be used in the U.S. too. I would have to apply for their international account, which is a credit card account and you have to have a residency permit to get this. This was my understand as the branch in Shekou Nan-Shan district weren't the best communicators. Maddening.
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I just opened an Bank of China savings account today in Kaiping. All I needed was my passport. They gave me a bank card ( admin fee of 15 RMB ). However they wouldn't give me a credit card.
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This is a great idea to prevent carrying wads of cash around and also to give your lady access to money more easily than through Western Union.
From reading these posts, you can open a Bank of China amount with a minimum fee. What is the minimum initial deposit in RMB? Can you deposit in US or Canadian cash? What's the minimum you must leave in your account?
Do you get a free debit card? If so, wha tis the charge each time you withdraw money? Can you withdraw money in RMB anywhere in China? Is there a fee for this?
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I also think this is a nice idea in theory, as it could be an easy way to get money to my lady. I am sceptical it would work that easily though. In Yichang it took me an hour to get sterling changed into RMB, and that excludes walking around trying to find a bank that would change forex. Goodness knows what would happen if the only foreigner in Yichang decided to open a bank account :fi_lone_ranger:.
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Can you get a visa debit card there if they don't give out credit cards?
Are the cards they give out only good in that banks atms?
I was thinking it would be useful to have a Chinese account and not have to carry around so much cash all the time, or find places in the hotel room to hide it.
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When i was in Shenyang in August they had ATM machines every where but none would accept my debit card. Thank god i took enough cash to get by. We went to bank and they would not take any debit card. When i came back i brought all the information from Linda's account and set up transfer acct with my bank. I just call 800 number and tell them how much to transfer to her account and it is done. Takes 3 or 4 days to show up there. I am going back in Februray and will transfer money before i go and she can access it before she picks me up. With all the problems she has had since i left she has not been able to work so i have transfered a few times now and it has worked great.
She has ATM card for her account so when i am there we will use her's. Of course this requires allot of trust and i would never had done this till we had met and been together for a week and knew she was the one.
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When i was in Shenyang in August they had ATM machines every where but none would accept my debit card.
Kenny pack extra pairs of long underware. It is -3C this mornning with a fierce wind. I can see this is a nice place to see in the spring and summer, but winter is COLD. Leavng today for Anshan, and will open an account there with my lady tomorrow. buzz
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I've always had a ''Bank of China'' ATM account, it was opened by the company for me when i first arrived in China. I've never had trouble withdrawing cash anywhere I've been in China.
There was one guy that did have a problem getting cash from the ATM in another Province, but that got sorted out on his return to where we were living at the time. Seems you have to ask for a ''roving'' ATM card, he never had a problem after that.
So when you go to open your account, make it known that you want your ATM card valid in all provinces, i guess the best way of doing that is to take your wife with you, and let her explain.
I have never tried withdrawing money from my Chinese account overseas, although i know that i can if i wished. I know that Lucy often uses her company Chinese ATM card to withdraw money, which she often does in Eastern Europe and in Germany too, so i guess she can in UK too...
David....
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This is my experience with the banking system in China.
Before leaving UK I ensured that I had the right telephone numbers for my banks.
It does not matter how often you tell your bank that you are going to spend time in China they tell me that the chances of your card being stopped is very high as the computer cannot be programme until after a card has been stopped . My card is stopped automatically every 30 days and I have to ring the bank in the UK to unlock it. For that reason I have three debit cards with me.
I also have two bank accounts with the Bank of China for which I have debit cards. I have the Swift Code for both accounts and when I am in the UK I arrange transfers into those accounts from my UK accounts.
When In China I also withdraw extra cash from my UK accounts via the ATM and put that into my China Accounts.
That way there is little chance of being left short of money in an emergency.
As I understand it RMB cannot be withdrawn from any Bank anywhere outside of China.
I find that only the Bank Of China ATMs have English instructions as well as Chinese.
The debit cards from Bank of China have the Maestro symbol. Not seen a Visa card.
A typical charge to withdraw say 2500 rmb is about £3.50 GBP but at present you are getting around 11rmb to each 1 GBPound
If you transfer money from a UK account directly into a Chinese Account and have it converted into Rmb then the charge is about £20 - so depending on how much you are sending to your lady then this may not bethe most cost effective method but probably the fastest and most secure. Your lady can provide the Swift code for her bank and also make sure that you have the name and address of her bank.
Willy
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I'm in Beijing now, and just got back from setting my PIN at ISBC, and then went next door to the ICBC to gather information. These two are at the World Trade Center. The ISBC is one of two in Beijing that are called the premier banks they can set up all accounts including business. Have to go to one of these two. This is what I found out:
ISBC - You cannot open more then one personal account there. Need a passport and a residency address, but if you know someone, as I do then you can use their address to have your mail sent. Your ATM card can be used anywhere in China, and it can be used in the U.S. only at Union Pay machines. Maximum withdrawal per day is 20,000 RMB. That's nice. Presently they don't offer ATM credit cards. You can wire money in and out no problem.
ICBC - Personal account again you need a passport, and I can't recall if you need a residency permit, as my sole purpose was to find out what their requirements are for an ATM credit card. I was surprised to find out that all I need to produce is proof of income from the U.S., passport, and residency permit. This dispelled the myth that you needed to show an income in China to get this. This card can be used in all visa/mc machines in the U.S., and at all ATM credit card machines in China.
Hope this helps
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It will be even more useful if you gave the full names of the banks and not just the intials (ISBC and ICBC) then those who are interested in them may be able find the information they need.
I live in China and have no idea which banks you are refering to.
Willy
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Sorry about that. Here it is.
HSBC = The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.
http://www.hsbc.com.cn/1/2/hsbc-china
ICBC = Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
www.icbc-ltd.com/icbcltd/en/
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Thanks guy's! some good tips here!
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Hmm, here's something I was wondering, maybe Willy can help with this. If you open an account in a Chinese bank, do they offer web banking at all?
I've been reading a bit about immigration, saw a section on Assessment of conjugal relationships, specifically "Interdependent – physically, emotionally, financially, socially" - they mention having joint bank accounts or loans or joint ownership. Might be an idea to open a joint account.
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My input: We setup a remittence account at Bank of China, and the account is setup in US dollars and all deposits from the US wlll remain in US dollars until she choses to exchange it.
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I was told a the Bank of China that you cannot open up joint accounts! If anyone has further info on this it will bewelcome.
I will make enquiries next time I am at the bank but I have not found any Chinese Bank to offer internet banking as yet.
I was told that I cannot deposit money in my Zhuhai account whilst in Zhongshan? I can use my Zhuhai cards to withdraw money from Zongshan but as David said I do not have cards that can be used outside of the province so cannot use if I travel further hence my UK debit cards.
I opened another account in Zhongshan yesterday and will have to take a 20rmb bus ride back to Zhuhai if I want to close the two accounts I have there.
Think the joint bank account for immigrations could well be one in your own country. I know they like you to have them in
in the UK when she goes for Citizenship.
Willy
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I was told a the Bank of China that you cannot open up joint accounts! If anyone has further info on this it will bewelcome.
Willy
Willy
Any information you can glean about joint accounts would be most welcome. Aus Immigration is very, very big on proving that you have joint accounts in her Country and that you can show proof that you have made "regular" deposits in such an account.
I have tried to get this info. from HSBC locally but they are dragging their feet on any further advice.
My plan would be to open such an account (if possible) and to make a routine transfer every month by direct debit from my Aus account...thus satisfying the Immig. Dept.
Thanks
David
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First post here, I arrived in Shanghai a week ago and got around to actually opening an account yesterday at the Bank Of China.....Piss easy, all you need is a passport and your hotel room card as proof of address, costs 20rmb to set up a deposit account and you get your card instantly along with a passbook and a little computerised keyring number thing that changes numbers every minute, somehow it's connected to the bank because when you want to do internet banking you put your 6 figure code that you decide and whatever number that is showing on the little keyring type thing at the time, I used my card today to extend my hotel booking (138rmb per day and not too bad) so it works fine.
They explained that if I used Australian cash as a deposit I could only use that money in Shanghai but if I put RMB into the account I could use it anywhere so I converted a small amount of cash $350 and deposited that in RMB so if and when I leave here I have access to my money, now I'll wait for the rate to get a bit better, change a few grand into RMB & my money should be a lot safer than sitting in my suitcase lol.
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Has anyone explored the possibilities of opening a joint Bank of China Account in their own country. I know there is one in the UK. They are not treated as a branch op the main bank in China but rather as seperate banks. But it may be as close as you can get.
They still make the usual overseas charges if you transfer money from them to a bank in China.
Would this satisfy the indiviual immigration dept of various countries? They could see from statements that money was taken from this account in China if the lady had a card.
I will try to check out as many banks as I can get to in my part of China and ask the question to each about joint accounts.
Willy
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Went to Bank of China today but found no English speakers there. Used my Besta translator, and ascertained that they do not do Joint Accounts. I asked about online banking and they do apparently have an online system. No one could explain it to me in English but gave me application form for opening a personal account which shows a box for online banking and another for phone-banking so it looks like they have some sort of online system.
I have been a bit disappointed in banks here. I had imagined there were lines of people working with Abacus but it is all boringly compterised!!!!
Willy
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Chinese banks amazed me. There seemed about 5,000 bank branches in Yichang, but none of them wanted to change sterling into RMB, especially on a weekend.
After nearly an hour of form filling and queuing they didn't accept one of my £20 notes because somebody had once poked some small holes in it, probably with a stapler :icon_cheesygrin:. In revenge Miss Wu wouldn't allow me to accept one of their 10RMB notes because it was practically torn in half :fi_lone_ranger:.
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Brett , as you found out a lot of banks would never have see a sterling note , outside of the larger cities and branches , probably thought it was play money , ha ha , they prefer us$ then they can loan it back to the U.S.A. with good interest .
I have a separate linked Aussie cheque and debit card account which my boss { Ying} can access via a permanent arrangement with a plastic card , via the atm at her local bank as I am only transferring money online between accounts she could make a withdrawal within minutes if it was required , when I go to China apart from a few hundred RMB , I always withdraw with my cards from atm,s enough for 48 hours , that way I have never had a problem and even for business do not need to open a local account , regards Ying and Robert .
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Robert , do you mean that tyou set us up in Australia as a dual account and then gave the "boss" :D her card when you went over there last time?
I was thinking of doing something similar. Irish immigration are very big on joint stuff and a joint account would be very useful I think for many reasons.
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Irish , it's not really even a joint account , just applied at my Bank for a plastic debit card for my cheque account when this and the pin number arrived , I just sent the card over via a little box of T shirts for her son and gave her the pin via Yahoo once it had arrived , told bank that all card withdrawals on this account would be from China , all done well prior to my last visit , so now if something is needed I just swap from my savings account and bingo next day she has the money , and just gets from the atm .
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Irish , it's not really even a joint account , just applied at my Bank for a plastic debit card for my cheque account when this and the pin number arrived , I just sent the card over via a little box of T shirts for her son and gave her the pin via Yahoo once it had arrived , told bank that all card withdrawals on this account would be from China ,
Robert
Have you had any comment that the way you are helping your Lady with funds in this way is acceptable by Aus Immig. as proof that you are assisting her financially ??
Your method is very easy to set up and I assume that any transactions she does in China show on your Statement as proof that she has open access to your financial assistance ?
DavidE
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David , yes all withdrawals are recorded for posterity , Ying is socking most of the money away for driving license , she is also taking English lessons , and the other day I asked her to buy herself some winter clothes , so she did but only after much talk about me ? spending money on her ha ha .
Yes it was dead simple to set up and no hassles and by logging in I automatically can see the account balance , regards Ying and Robert .
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David , yes all withdrawals are recorded for posterity , Ying is socking most of the money away for driving license , she is also taking English lessons , and the other day I asked her to buy herself some winter clothes , so she did but only after much talk about me ? spending money on her ha ha .
Yes it was dead simple to set up and no hassles and by logging in I automatically can see the account balance , regards Ying and Robert .
One last detail Robert....You only sent a Debit Card to Ying, I presume, not a Credit Card.
Checking with my Bank, they advised that they would be reluctant to issue a second Credit Card on my account for use by a Third party in China, but they are happy to issue a Debit Card that can only access cleared funds ?
Again, I presume that Ying withdraws whatever cash you and her decide using her Debit Card and then either uses cash for what she needs to buy and/or puts cash into her local account?
Thanks in advance :icon_biggrin::icon_biggrin:
David
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Hi David , yes it is a debit card which I attached to a interest bearing Cheque account , which I have and do not use for my business , I just tell her how much to draw down approx due to rough conversion and a couple of times when I guessed wrong by a dollar or two my bank has now got the authority to balance out from the linked account , regards Ying and Robert .
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Hi David , yes it is a debit card which I attached to a interest bearing Cheque account , which I have and do not use for my business , I just tell her how much to draw down approx due to rough conversion and a couple of times when I guessed wrong by a dollar or two my bank has now got the authority to balance out from the linked account , regards Ying and Robert .
Thank you for that info. Ying and Robert....problem Solvered :icon_cheesygrin::icon_cheesygrin:...I will attach the debit card to one of my Business Transaction Accounts...perfect !!!
David
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Anyone more than Maxx that have experience of transferring money to a Chinese account ?????
The story is like this:
My wife have open a account for our apartment in Bank of China in Changsha. On my Internet bank I made a transfer to our account 2 weeks ago. It was quite a large sum of money... I was talking to my wife at the same time so she knew that the money was on it's way.. 3 days later she tried to get some money but there was no money on the account... 2 days later, 5 days after sending money, she tried again but with the same result.
I contacted my bank and they started to trace the money. The money had appeared in Bank of China in Changsha after 3 days... I also got the transferring code and told my wife to go to the bank and ask for the transaction.. She did....
Bank of China in Changsha told her that there was no money.. or should I say that the Bank in Changsha had sent the money to Bank of China in Beijing.... Why ??? No one could tell us why.. The money have been in Changsha but was now in Beijing... My wife was told that it would take 30 days to get the money back to Changsha and into our account.. So now we are waiting for the money to appear in Changsha again..
This could be an expensive lesson if the money disappear again between Beijing and our account... Anyone had a similar experience ???
Peter
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Thanks Peter, I just stopped thinking about a Bank Of China Account, thats ridiculous.
I think HSBC might be the way forward as they are used to dealing with the west?
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Irishman,
You would think so wouldn't you, but i have an HSBC account, and a very similar thing to Peter has happened to me with that account. We now only use that account as a sort of emergencey slush fund ..haha!!
Peter,
Occasionally you do have problems such as you have experienced, and sometimes it's because we have forgotten something like a sort code, or branch code when transferring the money. Now if you are sure everything was done correctly, contact the head office of that bank and tell them that you expect the interest incurred during the time that these funds have been unavailable to you and in there care to be deposited in your account along with the initial sum. I can assure you it won't take 30 days to transfer that money back into your own account in Changsha!!!
We both have BOC accounts, and rarely do we have any problems with them, in fact in my experience, they are generally better than the HBSC in China, they certainly carry more weight over there. HSBC are the king in Hong Kong with branches on almost every street.
The thing to remember when dealing with banks, is to find the angle where it's them that is going to pay you when they don't get it right. This is a perfect example where you can make them pay for there blunder. Where you are perfectly within your rights to ask for interest to be paid to you, Yes! even in China!!! They are making interest on that money while in there care, so you are quite within your rights to ask for that interest to be repaid back to yourself.
David....
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I did a bank telegraphic transfer [ bank service charge was $ 78 Cdn ] from my Toronto BofC to Sunny's Kaiping BofC in late October of $ 61,000 Cdn funds for our apartment purchase and interior construction. Her bank held back $ 7,000 Cdn for two months. While it was in her account, she couldn't use it. They said it was pass her limit of an one time withdrawal.
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living here in china i use bank of china and have never had a problem
with them in person. i have never tranfered money like you guys. but i
did notice something yesterday? on my bank card it says "valid only in china"
so i will have to check on that because when i go back to usa for a visit it
would be terrible to have no money. all my relatives would have to pay for
everything for me wait a minute that doesnt sound like a bad idea haha
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I opened a Bank of China account in Anshan, where my lady lives. Got the Union Pay card, and it does not say 'only in china'. Had some extra RMB and so my last day in Beijing went to the bank of china and tried to deposit the money in my account. Was told that my account was in Anshan and that they could not deposit the money. They could however deposit the money to my union pay card. The card is good anywhere, but deposits to the account must be in Anshan. Also if you notice that the union pay card has a different number from the bank account. So my advice is to deposit money to the union pay card and forget the accout. That way the money can be added to the card no matter which city. Also it is easy to check the balance on the card at any 24 hour banking location. I have a teller here at my local bank whose father married a lady from Beijing last year. So my bank has done these transfers before. Will do small deposits over the months and then have the lady check the balance. Best thing about this is that the exchange rate is that between banks, not bank to customers. hope this helps. buzz
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Chong,
Check your wife's account contract, if there is a mentioned withdrawal limit fine. Although i can't see where they get this two months hold her account funds. (Normally if and when there is a withdrawal limit, it would be for weekly or a monthly!!!) If there isn't then the same thing applies to your wife as Peter, demand there interest rate to be deposited in her account, and get this withdrawal limit nulled from her account.
When i was first in China, i had several little things like this happen to me, but i soon found out how to deal with my bank there, on taking advice from local colleagues etc. I think quite a lot of people are a little wary of dealing with the banks in China, ....don't be!! I've always managed to sort my problems out, and made a few bob (money) out of them in the process too...lol!!!
David....
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All CIBC Bank Machines in Canada are able to accept Union Pay..
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I asked Sunny to check out if it was possible and here is what she just wrote to me :-
"Today I have consulted the information about dual account in Bank of China. There is not such kind of service, but in other banks there are. Then I surf online and find that Construction Bank has this kind of service. I have called them and one worker there tells me that we need to provide our valid certificates, such as both the original and copy of my ID card and your passport. And we should go there together. They will give us two cards, with both we can deposit and withdraw money in any country. If we want to open this account, we can only do it when you are in China."
So there you have it :)
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my wife and i have what she calls a couples account
which works out well for us one account for spending
and one account for savings
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I saw that account in the Construction bank too. It's called the "Jointly Account" but in the small print I found this:-
"Withdraw Money from Jointly Account
There is only one way to withdraw fund from fixed jointly account and must withdraw all fund from the account in one time. There are two ways to withdraw fund from current account: together transaction and authorized transaction."
Does this mean you have to empty your account when you withdraw cash?:huh:
Ted,which bank do you use? Thanks
Paul
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we use bank of china and icbu i think thats the name they
have two banks with similiar initials here in guangzhou so i get confused