Job Discussion Forums

[Itsme]

So my employer decided to use Minsheng bank www.cmbc.com.cn

Fair enough.

One day I decided that I would like to remit some money to pay some bills back home. Wow they are so helpful! Yes yes no problem.

I write down my home bank information in letters large enough to be seen from space, just to make sure there was no misunderstanding.

I have all the information, including the bank SWIFT CODE, which is like the big tattoo of banks.

In the process, they take out a "fee" for the "work" it takes to press the button to send the money. Not a small fee. I could pay my stay in China for a week on that fee. Anyway....

What do you know. They can't find the bank.. I must have entered the wrong swift code.

Just to cut to the chase I decide to have the MANAGER of the US bank get into contact with the Chinese bank. No response to the email although
"Lily" was always so kind enough to respond to my messages asking her what was going on.

In summary, I had to do a little fighting to get my $ back and they ignored the fee until I brought it up. Ohh sure no problem. 5 days later.. Yeah it went in this morning. 1 hour later. No it did not. "You have to show us your receipt of the fee."

Me: Well since both you and I have a copy of the receipt, what is the purpose of me showing you my receipt?

No response.

This, perhaps, is their way of taking the fee for doing nothing because they know I won't pay more than the fee just for a ticket to go back to the city and settle the matter. Nice going fools.

So what can I do, except take my business elsewhere right?

Well they charge you a fee for withdrawing your money too.

So have fun with this bank at your own risk.

Can anyone recommend a good bank in China?

Cheers!

[brsmith15]

Yup. Bank of China

[adamsmith]

i would not recommend the bank of china either - I have had major problems with them - especially if you have foreign currency accounts. They charge you an astronomical rate just to withdrawl your money. If you are in a different province you cannot touch your foreign currency - they will not allow it to be tranferred/exchanged/withdrawn from anywhere but the city it is deposited in. This can lead to some major problems if you are doing any travelling.

I to am hoping to find a ban that has no strange fees for withdrawing money and seems to do things in an organized manner. (I know that this will be difficult - china and organization do not often go together)

[mike w]

I use ICBC for RMB - no problems.

I use Shanghai Pudong Development Bank for US dollars - no problems there either. In fact the procedure for transferring USD to my UK bank account is very simple and straightforward, and the money arrives within 36 hours.

[Steppenwolf]

There has long ben ongoing speculation whether the Shanghai and Hongkong Banking Corporation's branches can accept your savings and change currencies.
In isolated cases the answer seemed tobe yes but in general, it was no because it was not legal just then.

But since the end of 2006, foreign banks - and the HSBC is, in spite of its name, a Britishbank - can do all manner of consumer business.

The HSBC most definitely is to be preferred to ANY Chinese bank although I am not really in a friendly relationship with them.
I don't know what it takes for you to open an account in China proper; in my case, it took a RECOMMENDATION from one of its customers and a reference from another bank to be accepted for a new bank account - no in the mainland but in Macau.
I have never been too warm for their terms and conditions either; running an account for a customer is business now and that means a lot of "service charges". These can be quite troublesome to figure out!
But their services are kind of "efficient" and more reliable than those of the BoC. Youare less likely to wait half an hour in a lineand be told "it's lunchtime - come later!"

[Malsol]

[Bayden]

The Branches on the Mainland are few and far between though.

[Itsme]

What is a good bank that would allow me access to money in Hong Kong? Bank of China has branches in Hong Kong right?

Id like to know whether it is better to bring money with me or to deposit it in a bank. Id rather deposit it if I would have access to it in Hong Kong.

Any recommendations?

As for Bank of China, I never had any problems with them. They provided me with an ATM card and the yellow book for keeping a record of my transactions. The service was always friendly in Beijing and I do not recall a charge in withdrawing my money although there very well may be.

[Joe C.]

Mingsheng Bank, just as with the other semi-private smaller banks in China, rapes people with fees. Unless your banking needs are really simple, I'd avoid these banks like the plague.

Unfortunately even the bigger banks have problems. One mentioned withdrawing their foreign currency in other provinces. Unfortunately, Bank of China and the other Big Four banks are defined by the province they operate in. As such, the term, for example, Bank of China is very misleading and should better be termed Bank of China for <inert name of province here>. In fact, it wasn't until about 6 years or so ago that you could use your ATM card in any other province but the one where you obtained it.

As for transferring money, I am able to send international wire remittances via my ICBC online banking service -- in English. If you want to use a teller, I have had success both with ICBC and Bank of China.

Of course, every bank in China has long lines.

Bank of China in the Mainland is a totally different legal entity than BOC in Hong Kong. Unless you use your Chinese ATM card in a UnionPay ATM machine in Hong Kong, you will not be able to withdraw money from your Mainland account in Hong Kong.

[Malsol]

[Joe C.]

[adamsmith]

Bank of china ATM cards must be looked at carefully before travelling. Every one that I have seen or had issued to me stated on them that they are only valid in China (as foreigners we are not allowed to have our money outside of the country) and HK is considered outside of China for banking reasons.

[Joe C.]

[NathanRahl]

Actually I use bank of china, and I have had no problem with them. Many of the tellers speak enough english to be helpful in general things, and at the larger branches I have never had a problem finding someone there who actually speaks decent english. Not great mind you, but good enough to get done what I needed doing. I don't know about the other big four, I would definitly avoid those smaller banks like the plague though, have heard too many band things about those.

[Joe C.]