using HSBC in China in Beijing

[mrkarahan]

I want to ask that which is the best way for sending or taking money for foreigners in Beijing

I will be in Beijing for one year at BLCU and thinking about how pay the expanses of the

universty. I dont want to keep my money in my pocket and if possible I want to keep it

at my HSBC acoount.

Is there any HSBC office in Beijing and can I use that banks account as I use it in my

country?

[Josh-J]

There are HSBC branches around Beijing (I think? - I've seen ATMs at least, though I have no idea about whether there are any in a convenient location for BLCU). Several banks have ATMs that will take a foreign visa card if you have one; just don't get worried if you find some banks don't like your card, I found Bank of China, HSBC and Citibank worked for me at least.

I wasn't able to get the balance for my UK Barclays account from any ATMs though, just make withdrawls. But since there are HSBC branches/ATMs around and you have an HSBC account...

I don't know anything about using the account to pay for things like fees directly though.

[English Erik]

a good thing to know is that if you have an account with nationwide they dont charge for overseas transactions, i think they are the only bank to do this in the UK i think, good if your there for a long time because the charges add up.

[carlo]

There are a few branches in Beijing, see their website for details. They're expensive though.

[venture160]

You can't use their ATM's in China unless you have their premium card which calls for a min. balance of $50,000 USD. Otherwise, you can do direct banking at their offices, but I think you need to call in advance. I was looking to open an accoun there, and they turned my poor student butt away.

[skylee]

and they turned my poor student butt away

The same happened to me years ago. I needed a current account when I was an undergrad and the local HSBC (we called it Hongkong Bank at that time) said I had to be this and that to have that. So I turned to Standard Chartered and had that checking account opened right away. And HSBC has lost this customer forever. I think they just fail to see the potential in students. (Up to this moment, Standard Chartered is still my major banker.)

[venture160]

Standard Chartered has a bank here? Hmm I didn't know, this could work I guess. If you open a standard savings account do they give you a VISA ATM card? Can hold multiple currencies and use the card overseas?

[gato]

For a long-term stay, it's best to open a Bank of China account and use the debit card they issue. To transfer money from foreign accounts, you can either wire them over or deposit a personal check paid to yourself. Wire probably can happen within a day. Depositing a personal check takes much longer, about a 1-month turnaround, but the fee is much less for a personal check, less than US$10 paid to BofC vs. US$30 you would have to pay the banks on the two ends for the wire. Once the foreign currency is in your BofC, you can convert it into RMB as needed. I suggest BofC because they charge the lowest fees and has the fastest turnaround time for foreign currency transactions of all mainland banks. I asked at the Merchant Bank, as well, and they told me the turnaround for a foreign personal check would be 45 days and the fee would be something like US$20.

It's very easy to open an account at BofC and other Chinese banks. All you need is an address and a phone. It could even be a friend's address. They don't check and won't be mailing you anything. Though it might be intimidating if you don't know Chinese, BofC has staff that speaks English and has many non-Chinese-speaking customers.

The advantage of opening a Chinese account instead of using your foreign ATM card in China is that you won't have to pay the fairly hefty international ATM withdrawal fees. Bank of America charges me a US$5 international withdrawal fee every time I use an ATM in China regardless of the withdrawal amount. On top of that, there's another surcharge based on the amount withdrawn.

[venture160]

I also went with a standard account at the Bank of China. I have not yet deposited any checks, so I can't comment on that matter, but I have recieved foreign currency money transfers and unless its a weekend the turn around time on those is 2 days. But you get slapped with a USD $25 SWIFT transfer fee, and the sender will probably get one from the home bank as well, so you might get shorted $50 or so. For money transfers I stick with Western Union. Its instantaneous and cheaper than most routs.

Skylee, what kind of setup do you have with Standard Chartered? I called them today and they said you need a minimum of $10,000 to open a bank account, I wouldn't constitute that as a "poor student"

[skylee]

I was a poor student (that was yearS ago). I didn't even have enough money for lunch when I started working, not to mention $10,000.

But the Standard Chartered I am talking about is the one in Hong Kong. Back then it was very generous to undergrads, giving me a student credit card (from which I drew my lunch money) and a checking account (so I could pay my school fee). I don't know how it treats students nowadays, though.