Bank Recommendations

[Diamond]

I know this topic has been discussed before but I would appreciate some straight up info on which bank to choose in Chengdu.

My brain is frazzled looking into all the different accounts available I even dreamt about banks last night!!

This is what I am looking for a straight forward bank account which will allow me to transfer funds into a bank account abroad. The bank should allow me to do E-banking online on an English based website and give me a bank card with UnionPay.

So can anyone suggest a bank or two which meets the criteria above as so far I only have ABC as a potential bank.

Any information or a point in the right direction would be really amazing thank you.

Diamond

[Charlie]

I’ve had a number of bank accounts (at least 5 at different banks) and the best that I’ve used is Merchants Bank of China (招商银行). I think they do everything that you need although I’m not sure if their online banking website is available in English. Avoid Bank of China, they are the worst.

[Ray]

I’ve had banking nightmares in the past, non-complex stuff like getting a card that worked overseas, but i did find China Merchant’s Bank to be decent. At least they tried, rather than shrugging and saying “mei banfa”…

[Diamond]

Thank you Charlie and Ray for the advice, I am looking into opening an account with China Merchants Bank as there is one in my neighbourhood.

Would anyone have an idea of which bank if not the above one offers good interest rates on large amounts of savings which don’t tax a lot either.

Any info would be great as I am thinking about shifting funds into a Chinese bank and let it sit here for a while but it depends on my job stability as who knows if I will stick around here.

Diamond

[JerryS]

ICBC. Good to wire money overseas with good rates.

[Tracy Lee]

ICBC？！ I have to say it sucks although one of my bank accounts is from ICBC.

Merchants bank of China is good. I believe that it must have English version. 🙂

[JerryS]

ICBC has English version online banking, unionpay card, USB online purchases, straight forward wire transaction and a ‘VIP Club’ for those who has over 200k RMB in their bank account. I dont expect banks to hand me roses and candy when i walk trough the door, i just expect them to house my money and let me do as i please. They offer the services i need at the comfort of my laptop.

[Eric]

I have Bank of China and it’s great.

They speak English, have English site. Bank of China sells the grams of gold, and is also able to transfer money from account to account overseas (However you must have an account from Guangdong or Shenzhen to do that). Also, other people I know have been charged from withdrawing from other ATMs, but I don’t seem to get charged with Bank of China.

Merchant’s Bank is apparently the one with the best service. However, they don’t speak English.

[Ian]

I prefer CMB you can use the online banking and very easy to set up, but to be honest I think the Chinese banking system is terrible.

[Vincent NL]

Quote:

other people I know have been charged from withdrawing from other ATMs, but I don’t seem to get charged with Bank of China.

I think you only get charged when you use the ATM in a different city (also with The Bank of China). Something like a 5% surcharge.

[Brendan]

Hands down no contest you should be with Standard Chartered. Plenty of English speaking staff, much fewer customers than your average Chinese bank, and an extremely personal service beyond any ‘VIP’ banking you might receive elsewhere. Currency exchanges are virtually fee free at live Forex rates, and International transfer is relatively cheap. Standard Chartered also supposedly have plans to introduce Visa debit this year. Meanwhile they are offering UnionPay.

My view on this topic is somewhat objective given that I operate accounts with three different banks, but you will hear subjective opinion from everyone, myself included. Bank of China are indeed mostly useless, but I have a relationship with a manager at one branch, which essentially gets me dealt with faster. When he’s not around it’s a crap shoot. Banking like everything in China is not what it should be when you need it to be half the time.

[Diamond]

Thank you all so much for giving me such insightful information on finding a suitable bank.

I would appreciate your help in narrowing down the best 2 or 3 banks maximum as the biggest thing I need to do is be able to transfer money from a Chinese account into a bank account abroad and English speaking staff would be a bonus. They are my main two aims as I read on the forum that Western Union now only allows a maximum of 500 USD to be transferred at a time which is not good news as it will end up costing me hundreds in USD to get a transfer done.

Thank you all

[Jean]

I read in another thread the 500 limit is at banks, too. Disconcerting! How will bills be paid in back home if I can’t get enough $$ in my account? Does the Chinese bank account use paper checks? Are they good , i.e. “cashable” in the States? How about traveler’s checks, money orders?

[Eric]

Do you have a Bank of America account?

[Jean]

no

[Seabass]

Hey Folks,

This is a nice topic and all, but instead of folks saying this and that bank is great or sucks, why don’t we see if we can collect some facts with actual stats for each bank. Here is my Bank of China experience:

Outgoing transfer to USA from BoC, individual to individual acct:

1. Transfer Max: 50,000 USD

2. Transfer Fee: 1/1000 or 0.1%, minimum 50 RMB, max 260 RMB

3. 电讯费： 150 RMB, dunno what that translate to, maybe “wire fee”

I recently sent a 4 figure USD amount and the fees worked out to be 0.65% of the amount I sent, very worthwhile in my opinion.

And yes, foreigners can only change/transfer 500 USD in 1 day at BoC, so I had a Chinese friend take care of the above transfer.

Any data out there for ICBC, CMB, or other banks for comparison?

[Brendan]

Quote:

This is a nice topic and all, but instead of folks saying this and that bank is great or sucks, why don’t we see if we can collect some facts with actual stats for each bank

Your powers of perception are strong.

[Brendan]

Just to clarify again on the $500 US/day limit, this is only applicable if you do NOT have a Tax Certificate from your employer. If you do have one you will be allowed to transfer anything up to the amount of salary earned at time of transfer. You will also need to have supplied a copy of your employment contract, passport, work visa, etc. The only limit that will apply is the one set by your bank, although you will find banks offering higher tier accounts with higher transfer limits.

This topic has been covered extensively in other threads, where you will find more in depth information on transferring currency out of China. I recently added some information on using Bank Drafts as a method of transfer, which works out to be extremely cost effective, and bypasses the need for additional documents.

[JerryS]

Is this just a limit when dealing with the bank? When i transferee from my ICBC online to account in US, i wired 2k via my laptop, though it was a hassle.

[Author]

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