Hi,who has managed to acquire a bank card recently here in kunming.l have visited a couple of banks and they seem to have reservations when it comes to a foreigner applying for one.

I have 3 debit cards fron three different banks. It wasn't a problem. Give us more details what happened.

I visited ICBC,the officer told me l can’t have an account with them,on making further enquiry they said it’s their systems that don’t allow.Then ABC said they would give me a call after finding out the requirements needed for a foreigner to have an account with them,haven’t heard from them since then.so l thought it could be a new thing or something

I have a card with Bank of China, Bank of Communication and Merchant bank of China. The Bank of China and Merchant bank of China I opened myself with my passport. The Bank of Communication was opened when I use to work for Web International. They open the account so they could pay me via the card. I believe all they needed was my passport. I recently tried to open an account with ABC (Agriculture Bank of China) and they told me they were not equipped to open an account of as now (I think they just didn't know how to do it).

Thanks for the feedback,l will try bank of china or the merchant bank.

What sort of visa or residence permit do you have? Banks in most countries are reluctant to open accounts for non-residents so if you are on a tourist visa they probably won't allow it. If you're a student or working there should be no problem.

@cloudtrapezer
That's a good point. I never thought of that. I also would think if it's a tourist visa, I would think you can't.

It also depends on what is meant by 'bank card'. A debit card is normal, once you open a bank account. A credit card is not usually possible on your account, but you can get a second card (on a Chinese person's account) in your name.

I don't think it is easy to get a credit card (so I've heard).

Here's a recent article on the topic regarding the debit/credit card process for foreigners in China.

If this guy managed it then it's not an impossible task getting a credit card, just need a debit card with certain amount of cash linked to it.

www.skmlifestyle.com/[...]

I've always stuck with my old UK card myself. Even though I did open a Chinese account, it's just left unused with a minimal amount in it.