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Although most branches will have English speaking assistance, they may not use it to communicate with you. So you should prepare to be creative in case you'll find yourself sorrounded by seemingly clueless people. Have a translator and/or a dictionary ready. Here, most people use an app called Pleco.
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Another thing is that Boc will charge you a small amount, about RMB15 for issuing you with a card, so have some cash ready.
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Last, but not least..., it takes AGES and an army of documentation. It can be pretty frustrating at times, especially if you come from a country where banking usually is a relatively smooth thing to do. So be prepared to sit around for a while.
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If you can then have a Chinese person with you to do the talking.
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You most probably will be given a Union Pay chip card and not a VISA.
5) Tips before you go
4) How to open an account?
You'll need your passport and that's about it. It may also be useful to have your address in Chinese, so that they can process your information quicker. I opened my account on my way from the airport, so I used the address I had in my university welcome pack and they had no issues with it.
3) why Bank of China?
To start with, BoC branches are all over the city and you'll also find them nationwide. Another thing is that most branches have English speaking assistants, which can be very helpful, especially when you go there for the first time to open an account. They also offer online banking, easy money transferring abroad, and free money withdrawal services. Should you require a new card for whatever reason, they'll be able to do that as well right there. In a nutshell, their customer services are pretty satisfactory.
Whilst searching for more info online is a very useful thing to do, we strongly believe that going for a bank that is present nationwide is the way to go. Unfortunately however, there are still plenty within this category. Therefore, we've picked the one we believe is a safe choice and will most probably serve you well, Our vote goes to Bank of China.
2) What to do then?
Just like other countries China also has many banks to choose from. Unlike however in many of those other countries, we found that picking the right one here, or even picking one to start with can be a bit of an issue. Another thing is that not every bank has a branch in every city, so for example Changchun may have some banks in common with the neighbouring cities, but it's also not uncommon to find exceptions, which points towards the fact that China's banking game is very much regional. Furthermore, other than the province you'll be staying in, you'll always be charged RMB4 for you transactions, so banking is not 100% free here.
1) So what's with banks in China?
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