I tried to set up a bank account in Argentina, and I will admit it was to buy cheap digital PC and Xbox game licenses. Incredibly hard to do so as a foreigner.
> Many other countries make it super easy for foreigners to get bank accounts.
This is false and I challenge you to name these countries. Also, not certain about your definition of "super easy". I interpret it as say "hi" to the teller, give my ID and get my bank account.
It's about that easy in China. (In addition to your ID you also need an +86 mobile number, which you can get in about 5 minutes by showing your ID at a China Mobile store.)
Are we talking about a bank account or a digital wallet. Your experience is atypical: https://wise.com/en-cn/blog/how-to-open-a-bank-account-in-ch... That being said, I read about them making it easier for foreigners to open digital wallets (though that still says nothing about real bank accounts).
If you do know a bank/branch that supports opening for tourist foreigners with just an ID+Phone, my email is in my account page and I'd appreciate if you pass that info.
1. Get a +86 phone number at any China Mobile. You only need your passport and some initial (e.g. 100RMB) cash
2. I opened a bona fide ICBC account at one of the ICBC branches in Shanghai with that +86 phone number, passport with 10-year tourist L visa, 100RMB initial deposit cash, and using my hotel address.
Note that not all branch tellers know HOW to open an account with a foreign passport. Go to one of the larger branches, not the hole-in-the-wall ones. If one branch refuses you the account on grounds of a tourist visa, try another branch. It's not illegal, just not every worker knows the rules. Their electronic system is most definitely able to handle it. I was able to open the account at the 2nd branch I hit up.
They did not ask for proof of address, proof of work, or residence permit. I just told them I frequently visit China for business and may relocate in the future for work (true at the time, I was there frequently for my startup), and the dude was cool with that.
I was able to link that ICBC account to AliPay and WeChat and use everything normally, including flight, train, and hotel bookings. Access to day-to-day mobile payments was the main reason I created the account.
This was 2016, by the way, I don't know if anything has changed, but my account still works fine.
Caveats:
- Your +86 phone number will not work outside China and you cannot enable global roaming until you have had the number for 6+ months according to what I was told. So before you leave China, switch it to the cheapest phone plan and load the account with prepaid cash so that the phone number doesn't expire and disappear. If it disappears, your bank account's electronic UI may also become inaccessible (due to the stupid SMS verification) until you go back in-person to the branch and show them your ID and get it re-linked to a new phone number.
- After your passport expires, all bank transactions including WeChat/AliPay transactions will also fail. You will need to go in-person to a branch with your new passport to get that updated.
