To summarize, I opened a HSBC Premier account in the USA in late 2020. Then, I opened an HSBC Premier account in China (from the USA), which involved filling out a bunch of paperwork. They sent me a China UnionPay debit card to my USA address. The final step of the process was to bring the debit card to a designated branch in China to activate it, get a PIN, and do identity verification within 10 weeks. Of course, I could not enter China from 2020 until now so that step was delayed.
I brought my passport and China UnionPay debit card to the bank and spent a lovely 3.5 hours there. I’m not totally sure this process can be conducted in English either, it started somewhat in English and fell off from there.
In specific, the problems were:
- Since I had not used the bank accounts in almost 3 years, they were marked as inactive.
- Since I had not activated the debit card, it was marked as lost
- You need to bring additional information to the bank that wasn’t previously said.
To fix the first problem, I signed a bunch of forms. The main quandary was they were not really sure if I needed to sign my name as Last First Middle or First Middle Last. We eventually decided on First Middle Last, and First Last was not ok.
To fix the second problem, it turns out that they couldn’t mark the debit card as active. They decided to send a new card to my USA address and I successfully set a PIN.
To fix the third problem, it turns out that you need additional information to finalize account opening. Transcribing and translating from their internal info:
Supplementary information (if the customer fails to provide supplementary information on risk reduction during the pre-opened stage):
Since the customer is an applicant for opening an account in a different place, according to the relevant regulations, the customer is required to provide the following supporting certification materials (one or more of them). Afterwards, the account may be adjusted to low risk.
1. Social security card, social security payment certificate, work permit and other auxiliary materials (the work unit must be consistent with the account opening application form) to prove their work information
2. Domestic mobile phone number with real-name verification and have been on the network for at least 6 months;
3. Income certificate or asset certificate in the past 3 months, or the bank settlement account transaction flow for 3 consecutive months (the listed information only needs to be in the name of the customer, the address is not required)
4. Household registration booklet of the city (county), residence permit (account booklet, residence permit address and the city of the bank where the account is opened), and a proof of payment for water, electricity, and coal in the city with the same name as the account opening within the past 3 months
5. Valid foreigner's residence permit in China
If the customer fails to provide relevant documents for the time being, it is necessary to reduce the limit to Y50,000 and the 3rd party transfer count limit to a maximum of 5.
As a tourist (but a tourist with an active SIM card), I can only satisfy requirement 2: real-name verification of your SIM card that has been active for more than 6 months.
Initially they told me that I either had to choose the Y50k account today or wait 6 months to activate the account, but after asking seven more employees and texting the Shanghai branch, we settled on that I could activate it today with a Y50k limit and then switch it to unlimited after 6 months.
They requested a fapiao (receipt) with my real name on the SIM card receipt. Since I have had service for less than a month, I didn’t have any bills yet. The workaround is using Alipay to top up your balance by Y10, which gives you a fapiao in your phone service app (e.g. China Mobile).
So what’s the end result of this process?
- My bank accounts are active again
- My existing debit card doesn’t work and is effectively useless
- After they mail the new debit card to my USA address, I should be able to use it, including Alipay and WeChat pay, with a Y50k limit
- After 6 months, I can come back to the bank branch with phone fapiao and have an unlimited account
BTW, per IRS restrictions US persons have to report any foreign accounts with balance over $10k anyway. So the Y50k account is fine haha
The latest problem is that the tracking number they gave me for China Post does not work. And I haven’t received the new debit card after 1.5 months. I guess we will wait. See y’all in 4.5 months
