Hi,

A question to the experts: which bank would be the best for a personal account?

Main tasks are: bank transfers via internet, exchanging foreign currencies (us-$, €) into rmb within the account via internet, a couple of atm withdrawals each month, some payments with card (debit card is enough)

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Anbo

...

Hahahahaha ... I quite like ICBC too, except that they insist on not giving me a card (I got a passbook, and that's a long story), which makes withdrawal impossible outside opening hours, so I mainly use them for online shopping, plus small-amount auto-debits ... by the way, if you are indeed going to use them for online shopping, make sure you opt for the "USB shield" (in Chinese, U盾) instead of the "scratch card" when you apply for internet banking at ICBC, mainly because the "scratch card" has a "withdrawal limit" of 2000 each time (I found that out when I tried to but a new mobile phone online) ...

I also have accounts at CCB, CMB, and recently Communication Bank ... both CCB and Comm Bank were set up due to work, while CMB was for investment purpose (my wife likes their products), and I have internet banking with all of them ... but I have not used them much, except the ATM of CCB ...

By the way, if you are planning on getting a credit card once you have "made friends" with the local banks, you'd probably want to give it up, they are not that "friendly" yet towards foreigners ...

Good luck ...

。。。

(continued) ... ans: because I insisted, hahaha ...

I forgot to say that I got ICBC because of my previous role as an insurance agent for AIA, who required us to have certain special account number for accounting reason, and I ended up with the passbook ... apparently (after repeatedly asking different branches of ICBC), if I have got it six months earlier, I would have got both a passbook and a keycard ... so, about your mention of "abnormal", yeah, this is China, and it is a China's bank we are talking about ...

...

(continued) ... ans (to yoursecond Q): yes, most likely, actually ...