Postcard from China: Banking Accounts, Part 1 | PFBlog: The Unique Personal Finance Weblog

A few "look-ins" from PFBLOG's discussion of Banking in China.

Postcard from China: Banking Accounts, Part 1:

* "It is important to understand that the current regulations in China does not allow a bank to offer insurance or brokerage products, so a bank is a bank and a bank only."

* "Although checking account is among the core offerings, there is no personal check per se. Access to checking accounts usually includes ATM, deposit/withdrawal at bank branches, or debit-card-based purchase. For one thing, it is probably cost prohibitive to enforce the security of personal checks -- it is so easy to produce counterfeit copies of whatever products in China"

* "The automation of consumer banking in China is no less advanced than that in the States. Everything from transaction tracking, transfer between accounts, opening CD, online bill payment, inter-bank transfer, and many other things can be done online."


good stuff! Be sure to check it out!