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Post by George61 on Mar 17, 2005 13:41:38 GMT 7
Something I found out the other day. I needed to withdraw money, so I went to the BOC with my passport. No problems, except she asked me for 50 kuai. I did ask why, and finally found out that because my bank acct was originally started in Tai'an, and I am now in Jinan, I get slugged each time I make a withdrawal. So when you change your city, make sure you re-open your BOC acct in the new city. I am notgoing to add up how much this has cost me, but could be considerable. Previously, the tellers have just taken the slug from my acct and left me to ponder.
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Post by Raoul Duke on Mar 17, 2005 14:28:05 GMT 7
Yeah, the banks are lousy with fees like this. TIFC, right? You can also take a pretty stiff dinking if you use your ATM card in another city. The banks here may seem to be nationwide and look the same everywhere you go (especially the Gang of Four: Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and the dreaded Bank of China aka The Bank of Mei-You) but in reality they are in many ways unconnected, independent little fiefdoms. All those computers you see in Chinese banks are apparently used only for playing video games and chatting on QQ. Mobility within China is a privilege you will be expected to pay for.
When you start a bank account, try to find out what these fees are. You may never get a straight answer, but the lengthy runaround and elaborate weaselly circumlocution you will get can provide weeks of entertainment.
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Lager
SuperBarfly! 
Posts: 1,081
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Post by Lager on Mar 18, 2005 0:41:46 GMT 7
George---are you saying they charged you 50 Y a transaction> >? No way. Even the Bank of Meiyou aint that bad. In Shanghai I had my acct from a different province and got charged....too much...maybe a couple of RMB per withdrawal. Not 50 though. But then I had 99 kuai trapped in my account and had to deal with a 4-hour bank ordeal to get it out in person. BOO HOO HHOOO you bunch of babies,,,,B of C doesn't like me ---they give me a hard time...  (where is the baby crying avatar?) How dare you disparage the People's Bank?  |
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Post by George61 on Mar 18, 2005 4:26:17 GMT 7
Yes, Lager...50kuai....I was taking out a large amount of cash.
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gengrant
SuperBarfly!
Hao, Bu Hao?
Posts: 1,818
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Post by gengrant on Mar 18, 2005 8:01:35 GMT 7
hey, this may not be the place to ask, but since you mentioned bank accounts and new cities... we're moving back to China in August to a different city from our original stint... we have our bank cards and account books (we left a couple kuai in the accounts)...should we just open new accounts or try to use the accounts we already opened (back in 2002)...? should we even think that our money is still in those accounts since it's been 3 years...or do you think that BOC would have closed those accounts due to inactivity...? again, i know this is probably on the wrong list, but thought i'd ask anyway...so hey...beers for anyone who is currently online, barkeep! gengrant  |
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Post by Raoul Duke on Mar 18, 2005 12:59:33 GMT 7
You can show your ATM card and/or bankbook at a branch of the same bank in your new city. They can transfer the account to their own bank and give you a new, local ATM card. Your money should still be there. If it isn't, raise hell!  You may (or may not) be able to use your old ATM card, if you still remember the PIN number, to do a balance check on the account from any ATM of the same bank. |
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