| Chinese bank account | |
|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2007 14:57 |   |
 | Can westerners open a bank account in China, if so what do I need to do to get one? Also is it ok to have joint account with my girfriend? I was hoping to be able to add money in the UK and both of us take money out in China when needed. |
| Oct 7, 2007 18:42 | #1 |
| Hey Davec, Here in the US we have quite a few Asian bank chains that operate in China as well. The one that my family uses is Cathay Bank and were able to deposit money here in California and be available in China. Times have changed as I believe they now require a fee for each money transfer to the east. If you have a major Chinese bank in the UK, I would suggest talking to them about your options as it is probably easier to set up everything you need before you actually leave to a foreign land. Another problem I found was that nobody spoke English in those banks in China. Everybody working there is behind an inch of bullet proof glass and LOTS of people getting pissed off if your not done with your transaction in minutes. Danny |
| Oct 7, 2007 23:24 | #2 |
| We dont have any Chinese banks in UK, plus regular banks want money to transfer to a Chinese bank account, minimum of £20 per transaction. I was considering transfering the money via paypal as I do some business on ebay and the fee is smaller, just need to set up account in China. |
| Oct 8, 2007 01:26 | #3 |
| Of course, foreigners can open their accounts in China. You just need to take you passport if you want to open an account. Some Chinese banks offer service to their customers to open joint account, for example, the China Industrial Bank. You can go there and consult the stuff. But most of the stuff can no speak English. Ohterwise, you can go to some foreign banks in China. At present, many foreign banks have set up their branches in China. |
| Oct 8, 2007 09:00 | #4 |
| What about internet? I do almost all of my banking via internet. If open an account in a bank in China, is it possible to do so, too? For example move money from my Finnish bank account to my Chinese bank account. |
| Oct 8, 2007 15:51 | #5 |
| Yes it is possible, as soon as you use the website of your bank (finnish one) to make the money transfer. You can use the web to manage your accounts as soon as on the openning form you check off the small box refering to it. Usually forms are in Chinese and in English, it is extremly easy and even free (depending on the caracteristics of the account) to open an account but it takes time since, you ll see, you need a lot of stamps... Though I never tried to transfer or exchange money from the web of my Chinese Bank, you'll have to try ;) The withdrawal card is also free in most of the cases. |
| Oct 9, 2007 03:17 | #6 |
| I too have thought about doing this, there is a branch of the Bank of China here in London, I might look into opening an account there, if not then the other option is a prepay Mastercard or Visa card where you can load with cash before you leave, you can also get another card for your partner, the only drawback is the problems using cards in China as reported in other threads. |
| Oct 9, 2007 07:11 | #7 |
| I suggest you open an accout in HSBC no transfer fees ;) |
| Oct 9, 2007 11:20 | #8 |
| I'm not sure opening an a/c inthe UK will help you much, it is just an overseas bank. Though maybe the HSBC has better arrangements as Erencius says. Anyway it is very easy to open an account here in local currncy (it is also easy to open a foreign currency account but there are issues with using it). Then you can transfer money. You can easily use a UK credit/debit card to get money and then pay it into the account. I suggest visa/mastercard as cirius and metro(?) cannot be used at as many ATM's. |
| Oct 14, 2007 10:16 | #9 |
| Hi Dave I have an internet-based account with First Direct (part of the HSBC group http://www.firstdirect.com/ I'm not sure about the Chinese banks (I avoid them as much as possible!), but I know you can open the above mentioned account with HSBC and then make another person (your girlfriend) an authorised signatory. I did this a while back to the surprise of the bank teller who informed me, "but then he can take all your money"! I think you'll find if you try to transfer to a Chinese bank from England that the charges will be quite high (at both ends). I'm not familiar with PayPal so can't comment about them. Another bonus with First Direct is that you can use their bank cards (not credit cards) in an HSBC atm without charge to view your balance and withdraw money direct from your UK account. You can check for HSBC branches and atm's in China at: http://www.hsbc.com.cn/ |
| Oct 14, 2007 10:19 | #10 |
| Sorry, meant to say, "I didn't find Erencius comment accurate." |
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