Job Discussion Forums

[dreamingofhk7]

Hi all,

I am relocating to Shen Zhen in December. Wanted to know about bank accounts. Can my HSBC account in the US work in China? or do i have to open another one? Would i be able to make payments to my US credit card from a China bank account? Thanks in advance.

[ChinaLady]

easy answer.
no and no.
HSBC here and where ever you are are the same but different.
I am in the process of leaving China for a long break.
been here 8 years.
wire money to your home bank is easy BUT very time consuming.
most banks (mine does) have bill-payers electronically
BUT
you do have to have money in the home account.
maintain the home account.
keep the credit cards. and use them every couple months.
keep the drivers license.
I opened a USD account and an RMB account with Bank of China when I arrived in 2002. added to both from time to time.
when I went to close the account, , the BOC refused to give me USD from the USD account. so, don't bother with a USD account.
find out who your employer banks with. most will do payroll automactially deposit. nice, usually works ok.
not as crazy as it sounds but will require patience.
good luck.

[chinatwin88]

I also have a US dollar acct. and have no problem getting dollars but they do charge a small fee if you take out the dollars without converting. If you have a chinese s.o., then you can transfer the money to their acct and avoid the % payout for US dollars taken from a foreign acct.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[waxwing]

Generally speaking, despite HSBC's claim to the "world's local bank", your account in another country will not be recognized in China at the branches here. And that's generally true of other worldwide/international banks.

To open an account at HSBC in China generally requires a minimum 50K USD, at least that's the last I heard. The HSBC "Premier" service is genuinely international, but I think it needs net asset value held at the bank to be in the six figure USD range.

If you are moving to Shenzhen you could seriously consider opening an account in Hong Kong, with HSBC. It has advantages and disadvantages and it depends what you really need.

Banking in HK with HSBC:

Adv: excellent customer service (speaking from personal experience I never had such good service, even in Luxembourg, a major banking centre, nor in England for sure!), English language internet banking, multiple currencies (USD, EUR, HKD, AUD etc. etc. but ironically not RMB for non-HK residents) which you can change any time on internet banking. One simple form to set up an account for international transfer, after that a click of a button to wire it.* Credit card available under conditions.

Disadv: In order to deposit money you have to cross the border (but of course there is no fee for that, apart from the metro fare...)

Banking in Shenzhen with a Chinese bank:

Adv: money directly deposited from your salary. Ease of access while in China for spending.

Disadv: very poor customer service (lines/queues are long, they want to help but very limited English spoken. Information given is not always accurate). Services offered to foreigners near zero. Internet banking is available but not in English (are there any exceptions to that?). Credit card almost impossible as a foreigner. International wire transfer a pain in the neck, many forms to be filled in EACH time you do it, tax receipts needed etc. (Note: some people, in some situations, can get round this by getting a Chinese friend to do it for them. Bottom line is that the Chinese banking system is arcane, bewildering and not customer-friendly).

The problem is that you want to know "if your account will work" but that question is ambiguous because it depends what you mean by "work". Your ATM cards may very well work, in particular if you have VISA, but it costs. I don't think there's any other service that you can just "transfer over".

Just a snapshot of my experience. Take it as you find it

[Hansen]

China Lady,

The refusal to give you $ from a $ account sounds like the work of a local incompetent rather than a Bank of China policy. If you make enough noise in a Bank of China, you may be able to attract a a manger who can actually help you.

Many of the ordinary staff, when confronted with an unusual situation, will simply stonewall or send you to the "main branch." Someone else in the same branch may know how to resolve the problem. The incompetent will most often not even try to find a solution.

Many PSB officers are the same way. Some of the higher ups are very helpful. The problem is that they are difficult to access.

I got some great help from a Bank of China manager in Dali, Yunnan. I had to make a lot of noise in order to get that help, but he solved a puzzling problem for me which numerous others had simply ignored.

I was lucky to find a person like that, one who understood something about customer service.

[alter ego]