Opening a bank account

[Kiwijes]

Hi,

I am going to be in Taizhou, Jiangsu teaching next year. My school is very hard to get information out of (grrr ) so I am unsure of the banking process.

How do people usually get paid by their schools (into a bank account? Cash?)

If they get paid into a bank account, how do I go about getting an account and what documentation do I need to do this?

Thank you!!!

[Hongbao]

You could get paid in either cash or through a transfer to your account. It depends on the employer, but cash is widely more used in China than in all Western countries I know.

To open an account, you should not need more than a passport and perhaps also an address. It shoud be a quick procedure, and you'll probably walk directly out of the bank office with an account and an electronic checking card.

Hongbao

[anonymoose]

I don't know about opening a bank account (and I'd be interested if anyone could say), but I suspect your school will pay you in cash.

The school I used to work at paid in cash.

[Nick@Nite]

My employer opened an account and handed me a bank card. However, as a wise veteran expat once told me, "In China, Cash is King." They may pay you in cash or open an account. It's not at all like the States, not too many visa debit cards, its all cash. I once was in a room at a school where I teach and the teachers were all around a big conference table counting huge stacks of cash which the students had paid in tuition.

BN

[imron]

Where I used to teach, we used to get paid in cash every month, although the last semester I was there they changed to bankcards with direct deposits.

Sometimes though, a desk drawer is more convenient than a bank account, because you don't have to walk as far when you want to withdraw money

[roddy]

Cash is most common, although if you ask there's probably no reason why they can't put it right into your bank account. Getting a bank account is, as Hongbao says, very easy. They won't even check or send anything to the address, so a passport is all you need.

[slyhsu]

After I open up an account, how is the deposit and withdrawal process?

I mean, what do I need to bring with me for deposit and withdrawal processes? What will the bank be checking?

[Nick@Nite]

My expereience has been that you will be given an ATM card. You can use the card at the ATM or the teller. The teller requires you to type in your pin number but you can get more than 2000¥ at one time.

Also, when I arrived here, I was advised by some friends to withdraw all the money pretty soon after it is deposited. They may be paranoid about something but I took their advice.