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Q: Do you trust Chinese banks?
Everyone knows pain and agony associated with going to a Chinese bank; getting a ticket, waiting in the queue for an hour and then spending a further hour at the window, where the clerk has to call his/her supervisor every 20 seconds, because a laowai wants to exchange some money or activate online banking. Conclusion: pain in the arse.
But my question today is: Do you actually hold a lot of money in a Chinese bank?
There has been yet another story of money going missing from someone's account, and if it were me I don't think I would be able to live through a situation like that. Just imagine, you go into a bank to enquire about your lost money and all you see is blank faces and "no why" "mei you" being repeated over and over again.
I have never held more than a couple of thousand rmb in my Chinese bank account. I think these banks are a joke and depositing cash in a shredder would be more safe.
What are peoples thoughts on Chinese banks?
9 years 14 weeks ago in Money & Banking - China
Ive never had a problem with the banks here. Problems happen in every country and its always a bitch to get it sorted.
Ive always been treated well, most banks have a VIP area, which isnt nearly as hard to get as you might think. Most that use it are not in fact bajillionaires. A quiet room with leather chairs and less that 10 minute wait time in most cases.
I trust them as much as I would trust any other bank. ..... For now.
Englteachted:
"Ive never had a problem with the banks here. Problems happen in every country and its always a bitch to get it sorte"
BS In any civilized country there are laws and procedures put in place to refund any money that was not authorized. Most banks do it quickly (few days) and with just a phone call.
Most people i 've talked to in China never got their money back. Especially foreigners.
mike695ca:
Most people?? How many people do you know that had money lost or stolen by the banks???
Englteachted:
Now you are changing the argument. 'Stolen by banks"
I talked to 3 people in person that had money stolen out of their accounts all were locals. Only 1 got the money back. I have read a few stories (and several personal stories) online mostly foreigners losing money and never getting it back. The response they received was the same, blank stares and "nothing we can do"
And most of the foreigners lost it in Guangdong
mike695ca:
Im not changing any argument, there isnt an argument to speak of. I put stolen OR lost as an all encompassing term to get rid of semantics... meaning money disappeared when it shouldnt have and people need to try and get it back.
I , also in Guangdong, have only heard of it happening once, to a close friend. And he got it back right away. They think someone double swiped his card. who knows, but anyways he got it back.
Now obviously you have received alot of poor service to make you so sure about your opinion in order to call mine BS, which is an opinion by the way. I dont know why you people always speak in absolutes.
But from my 8 years in China, only the odd taxi driver and vegetable market has every tried to steal from the foreigner. From my experience being a foreigner I have always received better service than the locals. Perhaps its fear the foreigner will raise a stink, or they just want to do a better job. But in almost any industry I have received above average service, including from banks. So IN MY OPINION, i do trust the banks and am confident that if a mistake or theft happened they would do their best to help me promptly.
Putting your money into a shredder is a poor idea. Much safer in a bank. Any bank.
If getting rid of it is actually what you want to do, I suggest gambling. Selective gambling.
Eg; back Australia to beat China in the qtr final on Thursday.
The reason why Chinese people don't trust the banks are they fear their money will be grabbed by the government. It has happened once before.
The reason why I'd never have larger amounts in a Chinese bank (apart from the fact that I don't have larger amounts) is that the options available for letting the money grow is very limited.
andy74rc:
Uhm..... you can get a 3% net from a simply 1 year time deposit, and 3.5% for 2 years. Not too bad of a return considering the RMB appreciation of these past 5 years + the interest rates you can currently get in the West.
wagon:
I agree with Andy. In the past 4 yrs the RMB had appreciated ~9% against the USD. Couple that with interest rates on term deposits, it's not a bad play. The forecast isn't rosy for this year, however, with the RMB predicted to be anywhere from 6.12-6.25 vs USD. That's for you to decide. If you're talking about investment strategy, that's a whole 'nother subject.
Oh, and the gov't is supposed to introduce some sort of deposit insurance sometime soon.
More to the point, why would a foreign national want to deposit a large amount of money in a Chinese bank anyway? My instinct is to get money out of China as soon as possible and only bring in money that is needed for basic living and essentials. I trust the HK banking system more than the mainland as well.
I've never had problems with the banks here. Never had money disappear and never heard of anyone who had experienced such a thing. They seem no more or less safe than their counterparts where i come from.
The western banks stole massive amounts of my tax money a few years back. The money I had paid in good faith to the Government to pay towards education and health etc.
Scandinavian:
better than seeing an entire country on its arse isn't it....
No, I only keep the minimum to live here, I have no desire to spend my money in China.
My salary is deposited into one of the "big four" state-owned commercial banks. As soon as I get the sms notice of deposit, I immediately withdraw it and deposit it into a private Chinese bank that I trust to hold it for the short term. At the end of of every school year, I deposit my savings into my U.S. account.
