Two Bank Cards, Two Passports, One Headache

Two Bank Cards, Two Passports, One Headache

Banking in China can be an Interesting Experience

Two Passports, Two Bank Cards, One Headache

A few months back, I spent a little time in a hospital in Hong Kong.  My health insurance is through a Hong Kong company, but it required me to pay everything up front and then wait for a reimbursement check.  This became the trigger for an all-new adventure in Banking in China.

Chinese people don’t seem to use checks very often.  Most money is transferred online.  If you know someone’s bank account number, you can even deposit directly to their account at an ATM.  I now had a check I needed to deposit or cash.

When I first came to China, I opened a couple of accounts with ICBC (I believe this is short for I‘m Confused Banking in China ).  When I came back in 2009, I was pleased to see that the accounts were still active.  I hadn’t accessed them since.

ICBC – I’m Confused Banking in China 🙂

Here’s where the issue came up.  I’d need to show my passport to try to deposit a check.  Also, Chinese banks seem to prefer that any changes to the account be done at the location where the account was opened.  This presented two small problems.  I’d replaced my passport since opening the account, and the place downtown where I opened the account disappeared years ago.

Many people just toss their old passports.  I had a suspicion in the back of my mind that I might someday have a need to refer to my old ones for something, so saved all of them.  (UPDATE:  I’ve encountered more situations where old passport data is needed – Do NOT ever throw away an old passport.)  I brought all my old passports with me when I moved to China in 2010.

Passports in hand, My lovely wife and I went to the largest branch on the east side of town.  First, I went to the ATM to check.  Happily, my bank cards and accounts were still functional.  I even had about 1100 RMB sitting in the accounts.   Next, it was time to figure out how to deposit a check at a Chinese bank.

We ended up with the only clerk in the bank who appeared to know anything about checks.  She told us that I’d need to update my passport information first.  Two other helpful people said this needed to be done where the account had been opened, but someone else chimed in and said that the branch we were at could handle it.  I ended up taking a number for a set of windows at the other end of the bank and waited 40 minutes to submit a form.  The form wanted me to select my occupation from a list.  My wife checked “businessman” before I spotted that “celebrity” was an option.  Ah well, next time. 

We made it to the window and the clerk expressed doubts that the account could be updated at her branch.  My lovely wife gently suggested that she try. (Sometimes, my lovely wife’s gentle suggestions sound a little . . . aggressive. )  Amazingly, it worked.

We hurried back to the window with the clerk who could handle checks.  She’d gone to lunch and wouldn’t be back until 2 pm.   Ah well, that gave us time to walk over to Global Plaza for some wonton soup.

I love wonton soup!

We got back to ICBC a little before 2.  Another clerk decided to be helpful by saying that insurance checks can’t be deposited in China. 

I was assuming that clerk was a little confused.  After all, a check from a licensed Hong Kong corporation made out to me should work no matter what the company’s line of business is.  When our original clerk returned, she explained that one of the quirks of banking in China is that certain types of HK insurance checks can’t be deposited inside of China.  Beyond that, she was a little vague on exactly which insurance checks were and weren’t able to be deposited.

After some deliberation, I decided to risk having the check folded, spindled, and mutilated in an attempt to deposit it.  If it failed, I hope my insurance company can issue a replacement.  Launching this procedure required visiting yet a different clerk at a different set of windows to pay a 20 RMB check-deposit fee.

Now I have to wait for 4 business days to see what happens.

UPDATE:  5 business days later and I’m told the money is in my account.   Since it’s “foreign” currency (someone didn’t get the memo that HK is part of China ) and above some unspecified threshold, I need to go to the bank to either withdraw it as Hong Kong dollars or convert it to Chinese RMB.  At least I don’t have to beg my insurance company for a new check.