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Q: HSBC, CitiBank- international banks, not in China though!
Here is a fun thing to do in your spare time, that will blow your mind on so many levels...
if you watched an HSBC advert abroad, the one that goes "HSBC, the world's local bank." you would think that they will help you and be of service to you, no matter where in the world you might be...- I banked with HSBC for quite some time, and I had no problem with them. I opened my account at a branch in my home country and when ever I went abroad (not China), I could easily walk in to a HSBC branch and they would treat me like their customer.
When I went to a HSBC branch in China, they looked at me as if I was going to rob the joint. Their confused faces said it all, those blank, soulless eyes just made me want to leave, before I even walked up to the counter.
"I would like to deposit some money, please" I said politely.
They asked for my card, and I gave it to them.
"This isn't a Chinese card" the little voice explained.
"Yes, I realise that, but I have an account with you."
To cut a long story short, they said that the system in HSBC China has NOTHING to do with the international system and that if I wanted to make a deposit, I would have to go to Hong Kong.
Same story in CitiBank. I just find it amazing how China must have their own everything; own search engine, own video sharing site, own social network, own banking system... etc. None of which work as they should, but I guess that's the only way they can keep control over what happens here.
9 years 13 weeks ago in Money & Banking - China
And this attitude is exactly why China is never going to catch up with the rest of the world, they don't really want to. I have an HSBC Premier account which I can use anywhere except China of course, because they do not even know what a Premier account is. With Xi Jinping trying to turn the clock back in certain areas the banks are probably as good as they are going to be for a few years at least.
dgz:
I feel that in China, all of these "international banks" are simply brand names, run by cretins.
another little thing I have unfortunately learned, the Bank of China (China), has absolutely nothing to do with Bank of China (Canada)...same issue, just another couple names... expect extravagant fees if you think they can or will work together. might as well throw in the Royal Bank of Canada in this blurb.... they are the ones that led me to Bank of China (Canada) to deal with Bank of China (China). Their advice cost me money!! Everything in China is separate and, shall we say, "different" than anywhere else.
