Banking for Dummies in China – Part 2

Late October last year, I posted a dummies guide to banking in China.  To start the Chinese New Year, I’m posting part 2 on my dummies guide.  Of the banks in China, I’ve banked with Bank of China, Bank of Communications, ICBC, China Construction Bank and China Postal Bank.  Among the services that these banks offered, I’ve only used online banking, credit card, savings account, time deposit account, salary account and bills payment.

Between October and the present, here are some stuff I missed in my previous note:

• ICBC can only provide either a passbook or an ATM account.  Bank of China on the other hand can provide you both passbook and ATM when you open an account.
• You can use your ATM card to withdraw in other countries as long as the ATM machine has the Unionpay logo.  Make sure it’s Unionpay as it also look similar to the JCB logo.  Maximum withdrawal per day is RMB 5,000 worth of whatever currency you’re in and RMB 15 for each withdrawal.  RMB 4 will be charged for balance inquiry.  This is a cheaper alternative than Western Union or Moneygram.         

Banking for Dummies in China – Part 1

Banking in China is a daunting and painful process for foreigners. In this post, I will be writing 5 years worth of experience in doing business with the local banks. The top 4 banks in China who also has branches in the hinterlands are Bank of China (BOC), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and China Construction Bank (CCB). There are other banks which are branching out to more provinces such as Bank of Communication, China Merchants Bank, Shanghai Pudong Bank, CITIC Bank and China Post Savings Bank.

Here are some tips and trivia about banks in China:

• Most Chinese Banks are open 7 days a week from 9am to 5pm. Banks in office buildings are usually closed on the weekends.
• Queues are sometimes short but are usually long. Upon entering the bank, make a beeline right away at the number issuer machine. If they call your number and you aren’t there, you will need to take another number.