Hong Kong bank cards are recommended to be applied for as early as possible to avoid doubling the difficulty later.#
Bank Card
Physical Bank
Bank of China Hong Kong: 0 management fee, 0 handling fee for transferring money from mainland to Hong Kong
ICBC Asia: 0 management fee, the bank relied on for Hong Kong securities is ICBC, free deposits and withdrawals (you can directly withdraw Hong Kong dollars from the mainland)
China Construction Bank (Hong Kong and Macau): 0 management fee, 0 handling fee for directly withdrawing offshore RMB from the mainland (I haven't applied for this)
HSBC Hong Kong: 0 management fee, transferring money between HSBC globally is 0 handling fee
HSBC One - Savings Account
HSBC Mastercard - Debit Card (linked to One account, sharing the same account)
Standard Chartered is also said to be good; I see many ATMs in the city center, but I haven't researched it deeply!
These channels have 0 handling fee for remittances
Same name mainland Bank of China -> Bank of China Hong Kong
Same name mainland Industrial Bank Universal Life Card -> HSBC Hong Kong
Same name Greater Bay Area account opening Industrial Bank card (apply at the business hall in Shenzhen) -> ICBC Asia
When purchasing foreign exchange from the mainland to transfer to Hong Kong, do not exceed 3 transfers with the same mainland card within the same month, and no more than 6 times a year.
Digital Banks (this is optional)
ZA Bank (referral code: T9AB76, opens US stock trading services, can receive a reward of 320 HKD fund holding voucher)
Tianxing Bank
livi Bank
Ant Bank
Fusion Bank
Welab Bank
PAO Bank
Mox
Preparation materials (to Hong Kong)
Passport (valid for at least six months)
Hong Kong and Macau travel permit
ID card
Customs ticket (when passing through customs, I went through the manual channel, they will check the Hong Kong and Macau travel permit + they will give you a ticket)
Hong Kong dollars (up to 20,000 RMB, exchanging 20,000 HKD is enough, I directly deposit it into different banks)
Proof of address (credit card bill / utility bill / housing contract, etc. from the last 3 months is acceptable)
Proof of assets (I used: Tian Tian Fund, which Bank of China cares about!)
Fliggy, book flights and hotels (still very convenient)
Roaming SIM card (for example: this phone SMS roaming + this phone data roaming / Pinduoduo Hong Kong data card)
Roaming and data cards are indeed much cheaper, 50G/5 days, only over 30 yuan!
(I bought one that requires real-name authentication, needs to be activated in mainland a day in advance, and the review takes time, can be used directly in Hong Kong the next day)
Share experiences
Experience with bank appointments
Be sure to make an appointment in advance via WeChat official account, tickets are released on time every day at midnight
HSBC Hong Kong about a month in advance. (First confirm HSBC's time, then book Bank of China's time)
ICBC Asia about 10 days in advance. (I applied on December 21, 2024, for January 2, 2025)
ICBC Asia, after making an appointment with Bank of China, just go online to apply (this is a non-mandatory choice)
Leave a gap of 1.5 hours between banks, otherwise it will be very rushed, especially if the two banks are far apart
After making an appointment, print it as a PDF document and save it to WeChat favorites, so you can directly open it when needed without searching everywhere!
[Key point: The time can be modified, based on HSBC, grab tickets at midnight every day, grab first (if wrong, you can modify or cancel the appointment), try to gather as much time as possible in one day]
Key data card
Remember to activate it in advance and confirm several times (because Mr. Gao's phone card had a problem, and he had no signal in Hong Kong, very awkward)
Mr. Gao encountered this issue, luckily mine was activated, and I contacted domestic customer service for phone roaming. (My phone roaming: 1 yuan/minute, receiving SMS is free)
Crossing customs in Shenzhen
We made a plan; the temperature in Shenzhen is very high, just a jacket is enough.
Fly from Wuhan to Shenzhen, then search "Shenzhen -> Shenzhen Bay Port" on "Gaode" (direct subway)
When passing through customs, I used the "Visitor - Manual Channel," they will check the Hong Kong and Macau travel permit + they will give you a ticket (if unsure, just ask if it's the customs ticket)
After passing customs, you also need to go through security, holding the "Hong Kong and Macau travel permit" to open the first door, then use your "thumb" to open the second door.
We went to Tuen Mun, so we took the bus directly; Apple users can recharge their Octopus card in advance, and Android users can use Alipay to activate the Octopus card to avoid awkward situations on the bus.
[If you don't understand, be sure to ask others more and say thank you 🙏]
Applying for a card in Hong Kong
-- It's better to arrange in one location, no need to run back and forth 😂 otherwise it's really tiring!
HSBC One in Hong Kong, I went to the Tuen Mun Town Plaza branch
Overall: 40~50 minutes to complete, relatively fast (there were many people, remember to arrive half an hour early, take the ticket 15 minutes in advance)
Note 1: An appointment at 10 o'clock does not mean it will be your turn at 10 o'clock
I had a 10 o'clock appointment, but I didn't take the ticket early (you must queue at the ticket machine on the right to take a number), which caused me to wait over 20 minutes before it was my turn
Note 2: After opening the card, remember to activate it, change the password (the envelope will give you a default password that needs to be changed) and deposit money
HSBC, very fast, completed the card in 20 minutes, just actively cooperate to fill in the information, very quick to issue the card, then activate it at the ATM, change the password, deposit money (any amount)
Bank of China Hong Kong (general account), I went to the Tuen Mun New Market branch
Overall: 1.5 hours to complete, not fast but not slow
Note 1: You can go fill in the information 1 hour in advance, as it is purely a lot of information to review and process!
I was there at 2:30 (arrived at 2), then directly started filling in the information for 20 minutes, but queued for 40-50 minutes, then opened for another 20 minutes.
Note 2: If you haven't made an appointment, queue 2 hours in advance
It opens at 9 o'clock in the morning; a brother queued at 7 o'clock! (Second in line! But the account opening speed is very fast, no waiting)
When I passed by around 9:30, I found that there were over 50 people queued, basically the tickets for the day were gone.
ICBC Asia (general account), I went to a less busy branch
Very small, and not many people, making business convenient. Basically no waiting.
However, the SMS was delayed for a long time, ah! So anxious! But at that time, I was the only one opening an account, so it was relatively relaxed.
Hong Kong consumption
[By the way, Alipay cross-border payment has discounts, remember to claim it first before spending]
Of course, the prices in Hong Kong are relatively high, but there are many 7-Elevens, so you never have to worry about not being able to buy food and drinks, and they support Alipay.
Prices are relatively high, but still acceptable, similar to tourist area prices, 😂 but the soda water drinks I bought were indeed good, really tasty.
Daily meals are eaten at tea restaurants, with expenses around: 50 HKD. (Street snacks around 30 HKD, we had a great meal on the last day at a shop run by a mainland sister)
Recently, mainland netizens went to a concert and casually interviewed a cleaning lady; she said: I earn 30,000 a month, I don't understand why you earn a few thousand a month and travel so far to see a concert, I can't comprehend.
[In Hong Kong, as long as you are willing to work, you can work until you drop, no fear of unemployment! The minimum wage standard is about 40/hour, and waiters easily earn over ten thousand]
Duty-free allowance
Content: When leaving Hong Kong customs for Shenzhen, the duty-free allowance for personal consumption is 15,000
Address: http://www.szzj.gov.cn/art/2024/9/29/art_1229496929_59093010.html