How to open an account at the Bank of China

Written by Hongxingtai Kang

Prerequisite of opening an account: Clients have to be over than 18 years old, if a person is over 18 years old, he or she could apply for any kind of card depending on his or her economic condition. If the client is younger than 18, the card has to be applicable to a joint account, the joint account must be with the guardian, and relevant documents need to be provided to prove the guardian relationship (e.g.: household register/birth certificate) and clear purpose of account opening.

To open an account, clients have to provide their passport or ID card, employment certificate, valid labor certificate, labor contract, or school degree certificate, and provide their current residence address or relevant supporting materials. For example, foreign students should provide a rental contract.

Foreign Students

For foreign students, if they want to apply for a card in BOC, they need to provide their passport with a visa, their admission letter, and their current living address(renting or host family).

Tourist

For tourists, normal tourists are not allowed to apply for any card in BOC. The only exception is people who have a 3-month valid business visa, and they also need to provide the same things as foreign students.

Clients must fill out the INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT OPENING APPLICATION FORM or JOINT ACCOUNT OPENING APPLICATION FORM to apply for the cards. This is the form to know the client’s basic information (Name, Gender, Identity, Address, etc.).

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT OPENING APPLICATION FORM:

JOINT ACCOUNT OPENING APPLICATION FORM:

Once clients get a debit card, they can get to use it. The only thing they need to do is go to the ATM, and save 10 Yuan into the account, or use online banking put a 10 Yuan deposit from WeChat or Alipay into the bank account.

For debit cards, there is no cost to have one, and also no annual fees. Cardholders could manage all of the services and deposits by themselves and all for free. For some rich students who want to apply for a credit card, there will be an annual fee required depending on their card quotas and card services.

This article was written by Hongxingtai Kang, a graduate student at NYU.

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About me. George Benaroya

References

https://www.bankofchina.com.kh/sc-kh/segment/self-services/PersonalAccountOpeningGuide.html; https://www.bankofchina.com/custserv/fd5/; https://www.bankofchina.com.kh/dam/sc-kh/segment/self-service/personalAccountOpeningGuide/INDIVIDUAL_ACCOUNT_OPENING_APPLICATION_FORM.pdf; https://www.bankofchina.com.kh/dam/sc-kh/segment/selfservice/personalAccountOpeningGuide/JOINT_ACCOUNT_OPENING_APPLICATION_FORM.pdf;https://pic.bankofchina.com/bocappd/pricelist/202302/P020230213279391098840.pdf