Hong Kong bank cards are better to apply for as early as possible to avoid increased difficulty later.#
Bank Card
Physical Bank
Bank of China Hong Kong: 0 management fee, 0 transfer fee 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 Mainland)
China Construction Bank (Hong Kong and Macau): 0 management fee, 0 transfer fee for directly withdrawing offshore RMB (I haven't applied)
HSBC Hong Kong: 0 management fee, transferring money between HSBC globally is 0 transfer 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 transfer fees
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 ICBC card (apply at the business hall in Shenzhen) -> ICBC Asia
When purchasing foreign exchange in 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 (recommended code: T9AB76, open US stock trading service, 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 used 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 sufficient, 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, this is very important to Bank of China!)
Fliggy, book flights and hotels (still very convenient)
Roaming SIM card (for example: this phone SMS roaming + this phone data roaming / Pinduoduo Hong Kong SIM 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 advance on the Mainland, and the review takes time; it can be used directly when arriving in Hong Kong the next day)
Share experiences
Experience with bank appointments
Be sure to make an appointment in advance through the WeChat public 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 2024-12-21 for 2025-01-02)
ICBC Asia, after making an appointment with Bank of China, just go online to apply (this is a non-mandatory option)
Leave a gap of 1.5 hours between banks, otherwise it will be 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 open it directly when needed without searching everywhere!
[Key: Times 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 problems, and there was no signal in Hong Kong, very embarrassing)
Mr. Gao encountered this issue, but fortunately 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 make an appointment at one location, so you don't have to run back and forth 😂 otherwise it’s really tiring!
I went to the HSBC One branch at Tuen Mun Town Plaza
Overall: It took about 40-50 minutes, which is relatively fast (there were many people, remember to arrive half an hour early, and 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 an appointment at 10 o'clock, but I didn't take the ticket early (you must queue to take the number at the ticket machine on the right), which caused me to wait for more than 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 was very fast, completed the card in 20 minutes, just actively cooperate to fill in the information, very quickly issued the card, then activated it at the ATM, changed the password, and deposited money (amount is flexible)
Bank of China Hong Kong (regular account), I went to the Tuen Mun New Market branch
Overall: It took 1.5 hours, not fast but not slow
Note 1: You can go fill in the information 1 hour in advance, as the review of information and processing content is more!
I was there at 2:30 (arrived at 2:00), then directly started filling in the information for 20 minutes, but waited in line for 40-50 minutes, then took another 20 minutes to open the account.
Note 2: If you didn't make an appointment, queue 2 hours in advance
They open at 9 o'clock in the morning, and a brother queued at 7 o'clock! (He was second in line! But the account opening speed was very fast, no waiting)
When I passed by around 9:30, I found that there were more than 50 people queued, basically the tickets for the day were gone.
ICBC Asia (regular account), I went to a less busy branch
It was particularly small, and there weren't many people, making it convenient to handle business. Basically no waiting.
However, the SMS notifications were delayed for a long time, ah! It was so frustrating! But at that time, I was the only one opening an account, so it was relatively relaxed.
Consumption in Hong Kong
[By the way, Alipay cross-border payment has discounts, remember to claim it 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 prices, 😂 but the soda drinks I bought were indeed good, really tasty.
For daily meals, I eat at tea restaurants, spending about 50 HKD. (Street snacks are around 30 HKD; we had a great meal on the last day at a shop owned by a Mainland sister)
Recently, a Mainland netizen went to a concert and casually interviewed a cleaning lady, who said: I earn 30,000 a month, I don't understand how 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 die, and there's 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