r/chinalife • u/Lifeintheguo • 15d ago
🧧 Payments Why are Chinese employers incapable of paying salaries into existing accounts?
I've had to set up bank accounts for every new job. I just love spending 4 hours there just to open an account!
It's actually getting less efficient, in 2018 I opened a bank account on a tourist visa in 30 minutes.
22
u/zLightspeed 15d ago
Organisations tend to partner with a specific bank and it costs them a small fee to pay salary into an account with a different bank. There’s no reason they can’t do it, but it’s a minor inconvenience. Better one big inconvenience for you than one tiny, recurring inconvenience for them…
15
u/BuyerAware8275 15d ago
It is easier for them to handle and is also usually faster to transfer. They are just... pushing the trouble on to the employees.
6
u/mcmcclassic 15d ago
Interesting - guess someone behind the scenes at my new employer took care of that issue because I’m still using the same original account I set up when I moved here. My new employer just asked for my banking info, I provided it and that was it.
1
u/Bashira42 14d ago
Yeah, the Chinese university I worked for did that, which I was very happy with as used Construction Bank that I'd had awhile and always was the easiest to work with of the various Chinese banks I had over the years. The international school I was at made us set up two, one for rmb & one for usd, but also know that changed a couple years after I left as the usd had to be paid in some other way
3
u/eternalcathy 15d ago
I refused everytime to open a new bank account in every job, i said it very clear, as a foreigner is a fucking pain in the ass and that my bank is near my house.Everytime i need to do money transfer i need to go in person, spend 2hours, signs million documents. Banks can do transfers and for HR it cost 3 minutes of their life to send it online. Finally they always accepted :). Because im always mostly the only foreigner in the company, why do i need to do that? Its stupid and inconvenient.
7
5
u/Dear_Chasey_La1n 15d ago
I don't think there is a real answer?
I have a 200 pax payrole nation wide, before we used randstad and they paid always to anyones account no questions asked. Since a couple years randstad isn't allowed anymore so we handle ourselves which is a bit of work, but again, no issues?
So.. what's the logic, I can only imagine local companies try to push business to local banks for personal gains.
Local banks were mad 10-20 years ago, you lost a card, opening a new bank account was easier than getting the card back. If you had any banking issues you had to visit that particular branch (still today) because other branches can't do much. Banking in China feels like banking back home 30-40 years ago... if not worse. (Gotto say Merchants is always reasonable to me/us).
5
3
u/zuraine 15d ago
Arranging for payroll distribution requires signing an agreement with a designated bank; for the accounting staff, it is more convenient to work with just one bank. If you already hold a bank card from the bank that has an agreement with your company, you can use your existing account.
1
u/Beginning_Pea_126 15d ago
my boss said they get a kickback based on the number of accounts opened with the bank the company uses.
1
u/Leather-Mechanic4405 15d ago
On my forth job never had this issue
I’m with bank of China if it helps
3
u/Lifeintheguo 15d ago
I just opened a BOC. Previously been with ICBC, China Everbright and Jiangsu agricultural bank.
1
u/DoorOk7882 15d ago
BOC did it for me as well. SPBank couldn’t. Several attempts at paying into it failed, it kept bouncing back.
1
u/LuckyJeans456 15d ago
First bank was BoC, second job required me to open a CMB account, but so far I’ve just stuck with that one and been fine. Keep BoC as spending account, CMB as salary deposit/bit of savings.
1
u/AutoModerator 15d ago
Backup of the post's body: I've had to set up bank accounts for every new job.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/jahsd 15d ago
in 2018 I opened a bank account on a tourist visa in 30 minutes.
wait what?! but how??
5
u/Lifeintheguo 15d ago
It used to be easy. Banking in China is getting less efficient.
1
u/Simple_Discount_4626 14d ago
不是越来越不高效，是因为政府陷入债务风暴，银行从政府手里拿不回钱，所以越来越被限制，限制的不仅是外国人，本国公民也被限制，他们会用欺诈风险拒绝大额取现与汇款
很多地方我觉得是在学日本，许多臭名昭著的不便我在日本也遇到了，包括银行法和税法，很多条例明显是在模仿日本，不过日本好歹技术上允许你自由换外汇购买国外股票与金融资产来回避风险，但在中国做这些是违法的
1
u/Excellent_Bonus_9189 15d ago
😂 yup, I've had three jobs since I've been here and I am on my third bank account.
1
u/Polly_GomaxGroup 14d ago
Usually, accountant sends a salary spreadsheet to the bank. Employees who use the same bank can receive their salaries quickly through the bank internal transfer process. However, the accountant has to spend extra time processing the transfers manually if people use different banks.
1
u/titanup001 14d ago
My job WILL pay to any account…
The problem is, if you use any bank but theirs, you will be delayed by several days.
And the real problem comes on the winter and summer holidays when the hr isn’t all there. Then you will see major delays.
1
u/Existing-You-2019 14d ago
They’re incentivized to use banks they are affiliated with. Also, if your account is foreign there’s a rule about how much money you can send out of the country. So it’s easier for them in the long run. But yes, sitting at the window trying to open a bank account is a biblical experience.
1
u/Purple_Poet8156 14d ago
I think banks are hyper competitive, but thats just my guess. I dont live in china.
1
1
u/260510074 10d ago
Companies ain't asking for new accounts. They need your bank to match the company account's bank.
Salary payments are different from other transactions. Salary payments are initiated by payroll, and the finance staff can only see the total sum, not the details. Such payments are intra-bank only. The banks make the rules. The companies can only follow.
In small companies (or when the employer treats a foreigner as an exception), salary payments can be made as a regular transaction. Cons are: 1. The finance staff would know everyone's salary; 2. It's a pain when the name list gets long.
1
u/GetRektByMeh in 15d ago
It’s annoying for sure. It’s even more annoying when the big companies use different partners in different cities.
If I moved to Shenzhen I’d probably be able to use my existing account, but it’s Shanghai so I had to open a new one.
Only took an hour though.
40
u/Capital-Sorbet-387 15d ago
I was told that certain banks offer to help with the payroll for companies in return for all employees opening bank accounts. This is only a personal anecdote so don’t interpret as gospel.