The Ultimate Guide to Banking At The Beijing Language and Culture University

Image source

When most people arrive at the Beijing Language and Culture University one of the first things they want to know is where there's a bank. In this post I'm going to do my best to share all the information I know regarding banking in the BLCU area so that when you arrive you will already be one step ahead.

As I hope you've come to expect from this blog by now, I have put quite a few hours into preparing and writing this post so I hope the information and advice found below will be as useful to as many people as possible. I have also created a BLCU campus map noting points of interest relevant to this post which can be found at the end (click to enlarge).

Banking on-campus (ICBC)

Firstly, you should know that there is actually only ONE bank on campus and that's ICBC. If you're just after an ATM, you can find one beside the Conference Centre, next to the south gate or there's also a popular one in the same building as ICBC but in the south-wing (see map). With these four options, you should be pretty well covered for most of your financial needs on campus during your time at BLCU.

In spite of the convenience of having ICBC on campus, many students (including myself) still choose to open an account with the Bank of China instead. This is really just down to personal preference and I don't know of any reasons that would suggest ICBC is any lesser of a bank than the Bank of China. So it's really your choice. I would definitely argue that the convenience of being able to do all your banking from campus (if that's where you're going to be living) is a big bonus, thus making ICBC the most rational choice for new students who still aren't familiar with the area beyond the campus walls.

You can use your own credit and debit cards from banks back home at ATMs (as quite a few students decide to do) but you will definitely be charged for each withdrawal - possibly on both sides. Watch out that there may also be a charge for conversion into RMB. The best thing would be to check these details with your local bank before heading off to BLCU and China. If you are going to do it this way, try to take out as much cash as possible each time so as to minimise the charges you incur. Unfortunately I can't remember what the ATM limit per withdrawal is right now, but I have a vague memory of it being around the 3000 RMB mark.

Banking off-campus (Bank of China)

If you do, however, decide to open an account with another bank instead, the only one I'd really recommend is the Bank of China. The closest branch to BLCU is in Liudaokou, just north-east of campus. Take a left out of the east gate and continue in that direction for around 5-10 minutes until you hit a big crossroad. You should be able to see a Starbucks on the other side of the busy intersection if you're looking north-east, as well as a big towering building known as "Golden Towers" where you can buy everything from clothing and bedding (useful to know if you decide to move off-campus) to electronics and so forth. Be sure to haggle here though or you will get ripped off, much the same as everywhere in China. There is also a cafe on the top floor which serves decent and cheap food. Be careful when crossing as this really can be a dangerous area with a lot of traffic. Just next to the Starbucks you will find a Bank of China.

I'll also briefly mention here that there's a HSBC ATM (not an actual bank) in Wudaokou which can be found at the west gate to the Huaqing Jiayuan apartment complex. It's in a building just between a pizza restaurant on the corner and an estate agency, inside (through some glass doors) and immediately to your right. If you're near Macdonald's, it's on the same side of the road but just round the corner to your left. If you bank with HSBC back home, you may be better off withdrawing money here as you may not be charged as much.

I also saw a Royal Bank of Scotland in Zhong Guan Cun (the technology and electronics district that is a short bus ride or a fairly long, but do-able, bicycle ride from BLCU. It's also the place you should go to if you want to buy a Chinese-English electronic dictionary which I talked about in my post Building Good Study Habits At BLCU, or any electronics for that matter, during your time in Beijing), though I'm not sure if it was just an office building or actually offered banking services for its customers. Might be worth looking into if you're a Bank of Scotland or Halifax customer from the UK.

Opening a bank account

Wherever you decide to open a bank account in the end, the only thing you will need is your passport. Ask for a new account form and do you're best to fill it out. Don't be afraid to ask one of the staff for help if you are unsure about any of the details as they usually have someone who can speak good enough English to aid you in this task (at least that was my experience at the Bank of China and will definitely be the case at the ICBC on campus). If I remember correctly, the new account form is usually in both English and Chinese so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. You will have to include your address at BLCU, but it's not as if you're going to get any mail from them so don't worry too much about getting the details perfect. All you can do is try your best.

When you come to hand in the new account form you may want to inquire about using your card online, though this was not service I made use of during my time at BLCU. You will most likely also need to make an initial deposit just so that the account is in positive funds, but this can be anything from 1 RMB upwards I imagine. I would just deposit everything you plan to while you're there.

Bank cards

All bank cards should come with a 6-digit chip and pin which you can change at any ATM. Cards are usable at all supermarkets and anywhere else that accepts "Union Pay". The Union Pay system (the logo of which you'll be able to see on your bank card) also allows you to withdraw from other banks' ATMs for a very small fee (probably under 1 RMB though I don't know the exact figure), which makes it very convenient when you can't find one of your own branches but need some quick cash. I used to regularly withdraw from other banks' ATMs and recommend you take advantage of it too.

It's worth mentioning here that if you lose your bank card you may need to wait a few days for a new one to be issued and there will also be a charge, though I can't remember if it's as much as 100 RMB or closer to, say, 30 RMB. In the meantime, to withdraw money you will have to go directly into the bank and use the account book (mine was yellow) you received at the time of opening the account.

Telegraphic transfer and traveller's cheques

If you need money wired to your new Chinese bank account from abroad, you will need to ask in your local branch for telegraphic or international transfer details. You should be given a small slip of paper with the bank's address and a code which is needed to receive transfers from overseas accounts, along with your account number and name as it appears on the account. In my experience, you can expect to wait around 3-5 days for a telegraphic transfer to come through. Note that the person sending you money will be charged for this service (though you will not) so try to keep your transfers to as few as possible. The best scenario would be to get all the funds you need sent over in one go, so plan ahead.

If you are someone who has come with traveller's cheques (like I had), you shouldn't have too much trouble converting them into cash at banks in Beijing, though if you are travelling around other parts of China they can sometimes be a problem. Stick to big cities for changing your traveller's cheques and you should be ok - just don't be surprised if there's a bit of a wait involved or they don't at first understand what they are. They may have to call a manager to help out but it should all get processed in the end so be patient and remember to have your passport at hand.

What has your experience been of banking at BLCU? Did you have any problems?

BLCU campus map showing location of ICBC bank and ATMs

One last thing...

Access blocked websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and more from BLCU and China with PureVPN!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to The BLCU Blog for free updates. You can also follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page. Feeling generous? Why not buy me a coffee through our donation button at the top of the blog? Thank you very much for your support!