How to Open a Bank Account in China as A Foreigner?

5 min read
How to Open a Bank Account

Selecting a Suitable Bank

Before deciding to have a new bank account in China, the first thing to think of is selecting a suitable bank to create the account. Many local banks in China operate and can receive foreigners as their clients. However, not all banks are giving suitable services as expected. Therefore, one of the main things before selecting the proper bank is to make sure that its services are varied and the bank has many branches around China.

Furthermore, it is also necessary to make sure that the bank has a good reputation and healthy financial reports. So that in the future, it can be stable, and you will not risk your savings in the wrong account. Therefore, getting enough information is important before deciding on the best banks to select. Some of the reputed banks in China are ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), ABC (Agricultural Bank of China), China Construction Bank, and some more.

Send Money Easily to Different Countries

Another important thing that needs to be paid attention to is the types of services provided by the bank. Not every bank will have a complete service as needed. Therefore, make sure to get sufficient information related to the services. Such as online services, mobile banking, debit cards, and many more. Don’t forget to check the fee for each transaction so that you can select a proper bank with a suitable fee charge of fees.

Document to Prepare

Not quite different from opening a bank account in other countries, when you plan to open a bank account in China, then you have to prepare some related documents. Mainly, if you are a foreigner and require a local bank account for any purpose, such as a job assignment or business.

You need to prepare some important documents that will be slightly different compared with a local person. If you are a foreigner, then you shall prepare the following documents.

A passport is the main document that needs to be provided whenever performing any administration in other countries, including opening a new bank account.

A Chinese address and phone number. It is necessary to have these two data since all of China’s bank accounts shall relate to them. Therefore, make sure to prepare accordingly and make sure this is your temporary address and phone number while you are staying in China.

Work permit or student ID. Some banks will require this document to ensure that you are liable to have the account. Therefore, make sure to bring this document and prepare a copy as necessary.

Steps to Open a Bank Account in China

After completing all the necessary documents above, it is now a turn to come and get the bank account. The best time is to come in the morning so that you can get the first service to open the bank account. Follow the steps below to manage to create your new bank account in China Bank.

Ask the officer or the customer service of the bank how to open a bank account in the bank. Usually, they will lead you to get a suitable form to fill in.

Once you get the form then write all the necessary information as requested in the form. Make sure that you fill the form with inline data according to your documentation. Otherwise, the bank will be able to reject your request to open a bank account.

After that, pass the form to the officer and wait for further information. Usually, the officer will ask some questions related to your data to make sure that all the data has been written properly.

Then the officer will process the bank account and print your bank book. Don’t forget that you will need to put in some investment as a minimum, according to the request from the bank. Therefore, make sure to provide some cash accordingly.

After that, usually, the officer will offer some services such as debit cards, credit cards, or online banking. Choose a service that matches your requirement and proceed further.

Once all services have been able to use and work properly, it means that your bank account is ready to use. You can do any financial transaction, transfer, or get paid from a local Chinese bank.

Those are some short information related to how to open a bank account in China. It is not as difficult as it was thought and even better, since it only takes a few hours to get a new bank account in China. Therefore, in case you plan to stay for some time in China, the best is to try to open a bank account so that your financial transactions will experience no issues anymore.

Download the Transfez App

The Transfez app helps you send money overseas quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. Jack Finance also supports cross-border transactions for businesses. Whether you’re sending money to loved ones abroad for education, work, or travel, Transfez is ready to help. Available on Android and iOS.