Job Discussion Forums

AndrewRgr806 · Joined: 05 Jun 2014 Posts: 22

Hi everyone,

Apparently this is a relatively simple process, with Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) having English speaking services.

Any recommendations? Perhaps another bank not part of 'the big four'?

Many thanks,
Andrew.

Shanghai Noon · Joined: 18 Aug 2013 Posts: 589 Location: Shanghai, China

Your school will usually require you to open an account at a certain bank. In Shanghai, almost every bank branch has at least one person who can speak English, but I don't know about other cities. When I opened my Bank of China account, they required me to produce my FEC, but everyone else just asked for my passport. Remember to bring a bit of cash with you. Most banks require you to deposit a token amount. I have accounts with the Bank of China, ABC, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and China Merchants Bank. ABC has been the least reliable when it comes to English. Bank of China has never given me any problems with English. I can't really speak for Shanghai Pudong Development Bank or China Merchants Bank since I just have those accounts for online shopping and rarely visit the branch.

IWTFanAT · Joined: 02 Jul 2014 Posts: 36

It is simple as long as you can speak Chinese or they speak English - otherwise, the forms themselves include English for all the fields.

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

The standard practice is to open an account with the bank your school uses. This is because they are either too lazy to, or don't want to have to pay the nominal fee to transfer your money from their bank to another bank. Some employers will tell you it can't be done, but that's a lie. It's just slightly more complicated and may incur a minor charge.

Not all banks require a deposit, but they all charge at least 5 RMB for the ATM card, and some charge more. It's not a bad idea to take some money to deposit anyway. You also choose your own PIN, which is six digits long, so you might want to think about a six digit number you can remember.

Alien abductee · Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 527 Location: Kuala Lumpur

I think most people will agree that in China it's best to just keep things simple. Your school will probably help you open an account with whatever bank they deal with, and that's where your salary is going to go. There are advantages to using the same bank, I've lost my bank card a couple of times and getting a replacement was easier because school personnel were familiar with the branch or someone at the branch.

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

When you set it up you should also set up internet banking. Might not be useful at first, but later you might find buying goods (electronics/western foods) and even putting money on your cell phone less of a hassle from home.

Piper2 · Joined: 13 Jun 2014 Posts: 146

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

Buckeye Bob · Joined: 11 Aug 2014 Posts: 71

Also note that joint accounts are not allowed in China so if you are ill or elderly some estate planning needs to be made or your heirs are in for a long and costly wait to claim your account in the event of your death.

dongbei united · Joined: 28 Feb 2014 Posts: 47

Overall, I have not had any problems with the major banks in China. I have several accounts. The issue I have come across is when you move to another province, they charge you fees. All of them. So, you need to either close out your account or transfer the money with straight cash to get around this.

When depositing money, I found ABC to charge the highest when you deposit to an account from outside the province you got the account. ICBC was better, but not by much. Bank of Communications so far is the best, I think 1/4 the charge as ABC if I remember correctly. I haven't tried Bank of China.