Originally Posted by
lsquare
Any monthly fees? Do I need a Chinese phone number? I'm assuming I can link my US credit cards or deposit cash into my account and then use it as normal where if the CC option is denied, it'll automatically deduct from the cash balance? I have never used Alipay or Wechat Pay so I don't know how it works. I have always used cash in China except for hotel bookings where I pay with my credit card.
Setting up any payment system and/or bank account is a PITA in China; but once done, it's good to use for a while without any intervention.
I have a Merchants Platinum Debit card (Union pay) that I can use overseas.
But yeah, I needed a lot of Chinese stuff to open the account; Chinese address, phone, income, etc.
If you are more international (and less Chinese) based, maybe you need to look at the more international banks: ICBC and Citibank come to mind.