Why too good to be true?
To open HSBC China as a non-resident you need to have premier status in another country and visit a branch in China within 10 weeks of your account opening to fully activate it.
I thought ICBC was the go to for tourists opening an account in the mainland. Would you say China Merchants Bank is a better choice than them? If so I’ll go there first if I try to open an account.
Regarding the HSBC HK ATM card. It can be used for payments within HK via chip and pin or Apple Pay. It can also be used overseas to withdraw cash at any ATM that accepts UnionPay, it was accepted at a Barclays ATM for me. I am not sure about payments overseas, might test it out. The Mastercard is regular debit card and will incur the regular 3% fee on amounts above 300rmb on WeChat and Alipay for foreign cards. This fee is only waived for foreigners when using a UnionPay card.
Well it’s a fully fledged EU bank account with an EU IBAN and a free physical card with an EU country bin number. On top of that it has no maintenance fees, no foreign transaction fees and fully English app and support (Well tbf English is an official language in Malta).
Or be an employee, just as I said.
CMB is privately owned and everything was smooth as butter, the English app is super fleshed out.
I’m really confused about how you guys are using the ATM card. It doesn’t have a card number on it - says 583 - XXXX - XXXX, that’s the account number. Maybe the product I have is not the same.
How are you guys using it for POS/Apple Pay?
The Blue MasterCard is of course a full debit card.
I know that HSBC employees also get premier accounts.
Here’s the official instruction on how to add your ATM card to apple pay Apple Pay | Credit Card Payment Service - HSBC HK
You need to enter the entire number at the front and it will then require sms verification. It works as a UnionPay card in Apple Pay.
I will then attempt to open a CMB account when I’ll be in China then. Their app does seem better after I just downloaded it, it immediately suggested an English layout for me.
I’m in China right now. And I’m tempted to go ICBC but given that Alipay and WeChat have opened up to international users in 2026 and it even features Apple Pay, banks are less keen to open an account for those on a tourist visa.
You need a local China number, address and student or work visa to stand a chance nowadays.
I was tempted to open an Bank of China account … in Panama 
but they never had any staff at the stand while I was there.
For an actual China account, I don’t see much point any more as a tourist. As @ahj87 said, Alipay and WeChat are now open for tourists so all transaction can be done with our own local cards.
Some merchants will charge a fee for foreign cards though - so maybe that’s a reason to get a Chinese bank and card.
Yeah, watch out for the fee for any transaction over 200RMB however most vendors will let you split the transaction up into smaller amounts to avoid the 3% fee.
You’re likely to only incur this when shopping or at hotels, in which case they’ll accept visa or Mastercard. Amex is quite popular too.
Let us know if you end up attempting to open it 
Will do.
in all my three weeks here I haven’t seen a single debit or credit card be used. AliPay is the dominant method to pay in shops.
Even have their version of tap to pay. You tap the glowing blue circle with a NFC enabled device including iPhone or show your QR to the camera.
AliPay even has palm pay. You just wave your hand across it. Seen a few people use that it’s quick. And I have no idea how it can differentiate given the population.
Lol they copied WePalm. Used to be a Weixin feature at 7-11.
Oh, maybe it’s because I had a flat, family, several SIMs, job then. But when I was younger I had no issues at Bank of China just took time. I also had a family member with me.
I do know of friends on tourist visas who have had success with CMB/BOC. ICBC turned me away in 2024.
In the spirit of card collecting, I have 5 diff cards. Alipay/Weixin Pay don’t work for everything, often you get “merchant doesn’t support international card”, like Meituan for food delivery.
ALSO - the Alipay/Weixin pay with international cards is processed as a card not present and often brings up extra authentication and needing to auth using the mobile app of your UK account. Not particularly fast especially with UK servers.
That doesn’t exist anymore though? Or does it. I haven’t seen a Weixin version.
It depends if you have WeChat or Weixin, they aren’t the same thing. (Though you can largely chat and pay the same).
There’s added features like live streaming for Weixin users.
WeChat colloquially is used in English but WeChat is provided by a company in HK/Singapore depending on location and Weixin is Tencent in Shenzhen.
Weixin = +86
WeChat Pay HK = +852
Anything else = WeChat
I don’t believe WePalm is a thing for WeChatters. It’s on my app and I used it religiously, but 7-11 is expensive, head to Hao Xiang Lai
My payments have been pretty much instant and I’m using UK credit and debit cards.
I wouldn’t say it was any slower than using Apple Pay, tapping your card or using chip and pin.
You using the Alipay NFC thing on those readers? It’s rapid. You tap your phone on the circle on the right.
P.S.: You should eat at Ma Yong Ji (Lanzhou noodles) and Haidilao 海底捞 (hotpot). Ma Yong Ji is affordable I ate it twice a day for a year. Hao Xiang Lai is a chain snacks store. No need to pay too much. Depends where you are, but those 3 are usually everywhere.
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Yeah, you just have to make sure your phone is unlocked.
Don’t follow any English speakers to tearooms/cafes/taxis either. Call a Didi. Taxis are expensive, for everyone not just laowai. Didi is often 10-30% of the cost of a taxi. there’s also Gaode.
Haha yeah I’m aware of those quirks. pretty clued up on China. I’ve been here quite a few times. This time it’s just for leisure (making use of the visa free situation)
You can use Meituan, you just need to get a China number. Or I use a friends or ask the hotel, they order and I WeChat them.
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My Charles Schwab Debit Card has arrived!
DHL flown all the way from Omaha.
Surprised to see its got no conactless. Got it all activated on the phone and PIN number all setup too.
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