The honest guide to opening a bank account as a foreigner in China

Everyone told me it was impossible. "Banks won't touch you without a work permit." "You need a Chinese guarantor." "Just use WeChat Pay and forget about it."

All of that turned out to be either outdated or simply wrong — for the specific bank I walked into.

The bank that actually works: Bank of China

Walk into a Bank of China branch (not a sub-branch, an actual branch) with your passport, your Chinese phone number, and your address. Ask specifically for the international account. Some branches have staff who speak English; most larger ones do.

You will need: valid passport, Chinese phone number registered in your name, proof of address (hotel printout works, a utility bill is better), and — if you have it — your visa or residence permit.

You do *not* always need a work permit. A valid visa with more than 30 days remaining is usually sufficient to open a basic account. The confusion comes from people trying other banks with stricter policies.

What you get

A UnionPay debit card that links to Alipay and WeChat Pay. Once you have this, you can pay for everything in China. Before this, you're relying on international cards that half the country's payment terminals don't accept.

The Alipay step

Once your card is active (usually same day), open Alipay, go to settings, link bank card. You'll need to verify with your phone number. This process takes about ten minutes and opens up the entire Chinese payment ecosystem.

Transferring money in

SWIFT transfers into Bank of China work. Wise works for sending money to yourself. Expect 1-3 business days. Keep the transfer receipts — you'll need them if you ever want to transfer money *out*.

One honest note

This worked for me in Shanghai in early 2024. Bank policies change. Staff at different branches interpret rules differently. If one branch turns you away, try a different branch of the same bank — this has worked for multiple people I know.

You're not stuck. You just need to walk into the right branch.