1. Account opening information and process
ZA BANK is a virtual bank in Hong Kong jointly established by real estate company Bestar Holdings, Zhong An Insurance, Chow Tai Fook, and AIA. It is currently one of only two Hong Kong banks that support mainland residents to open accounts through ID cards (the other is livi Bank). As long as you are physically in Hong Kong, download the app, and open an account in 20 minutes. You can have a Hong Kong bank account and pay for a physical Visa savings card (mailing fee is HK$25).
Account opening conditions:
- The actual location is in Hong Kong
- Mainland mobile phone number, international roaming must be enabled, and verification code can be received
- Hong Kong and Macau Pass and valid visa information (those entering Hong Kong through passports also need to provide Hong Kong and Macau Pass)
- ID card
- Mainland bank savings card number
- Search for “Immigration Bureau” in WeChat/Alipay applet to download entry and exit records
Registration process:
- Verify mobile phone number
- Take photos of the Hong Kong and Macau Pass from multiple angles (be sure to check whether the information generated by the automatic scan is correct. It is recommended to choose a good and soft environment for shooting. This step may need to be repeated several times, which will delay 5-10 minutes)
- Take photos of ID cards
- Verify mainland bank card information
- Submit entry and exit record documents
- Wait for review and approval, which usually takes 3 working days
Notes:
- During the registration process, you will be asked to set up a username and password, which you need to save yourself. You can only log in with your account and password after successfully opening an account.
- If it prompts that a virtual positioning software is used, but it is not actually used, just exit and re-enter. You may be prompted to connect to Wi-Fi, find the operator’s Wi-Fi or the Wi-Fi of a large shopping mall and connect to it.
- Scan the Hong Kong and Macau Pass or ID card. The automatically recognized information is generally wrong and needs to be manually modified; if there is no manual modification, continue, and you cannot return to the previous step. As long as you have not entered the waiting stage for review, you can exit the App and find the re-apply button in the upper right corner.
2. Remittance/Deposit Related
Remittance from Mainland Bank to ZA BANK
The operation of transferring money from a mainland bank to ZA BANK is the same as other Hong Kong bank accounts. You need to buy foreign exchange in the mainland bank app and then transfer money through the SWIFT channel. The purchase of foreign exchange occupies a foreign exchange quota of 50,000 US dollars. At the same time, mainland banks generally have various fees such as telecommunications fees, ranging from 50-250 yuan. It is generally recommended to choose a joint SHA for remittance fees, that is, both parties need to share the handling fee. The handling fee on the Hong Kong side is generally less than 10 Hong Kong dollars.
The SWIFT payment network is a global network. Large banks and even some branches have their own proprietary SWIFT codes. Knowing the SWIFT code and bank account information allows you to remit money worldwide. It usually takes 2-5 days to complete the remittance, which is inefficient and has high fees. It is mainly used for commercial purposes or large amounts.
Click here to view the official tutorial of ZhongAn Bank.
ZA BANK remittance to mainland banks
The first is telegraphic transfer/SWIFT, which is the same as remittance from the mainland to Hong Kong; it is generally not recommended due to handling fees and time issues.
The second is to use WeChat Pay HK and AlipayHK built-in functions to remit to the mainland. Because AlipayHK no longer does real-name authentication for mainland passport users, it can only be used for small transfers at most.
The third is ZA Remit/Wise remittance. ZA Remit is ZhongAn’s cooperation with Wise, a world-renowned cross-border remittance tool, with Wise cross-border remittance built-in and a new name. Wise remittance can be used for remittance to other regions. If you remit money to the mainland, you can also compare products such as Panda Express, which may have reduced handling fees.
Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, is a world-renowned cross-border remittance tool. Compared with other competitors, it has a good exchange rate, low handling fees and fast arrival. Global accounts can pay to mainland accounts through Wise, and many friends who earn foreign exchange also transfer money through this. However, all banks in mainland China have banned Wise merchants, so it is impossible to remit from mainland China through Wise.
For specific operations, you can also check the official tutorial of ZhongAn Bank.
ZA BANK transfers to Hong Kong banks/mobile wallets
All banks and mobile wallets in Hong Kong support Faster Payment System, which can be simply understood as the Hong Kong version of UnionPay. After registering with a mobile phone number or email address, you can transfer between various bank accounts and mobile wallets. Transfers support Hong Kong dollars and RMB, real-time arrival, no handling fees, and a daily limit of 10,000-20,000 Hong Kong dollars.
Register the payee information in the bank APP to increase the Faster Payment System limit, which is generally 1 million Hong Kong dollars, depending on the specific bank.
Deposit funds from ZA BANK to securities accounts
Many people open accounts mainly to facilitate deposits to Internet securities such as Futu NiuNiu, Xueqiu, and Changqiao. The specific deposit method needs to be checked on the deposit details page of each brokerage. If it is a Hong Kong dollar deposit, it generally supports FPS, without any handling fee; there are also those that support eDDA quick deposit, which mainly depends on the cooperation between the brokerage and the bank.
If it is US dollars, it is generally recommended to buy US dollars directly in China, transfer them to a Hong Kong bank account, and then transfer them to a securities account through a Hong Kong account. There may be a small fee for transfers between Hong Kong banks, but it avoids exchanging currency in the brokerage account, and the exchange rate is generally not very good.
3. Consumption issues
Even if you don’t receive the physical card, you can still add the ZA BANK savings card to Apple Pay for easy consumption in Hong Kong. If you already have other Hong Kong bank accounts and withdrawal cards, you can directly bind them in ZA BANK, and automatically recharge 2,000 Hong Kong dollars each time for small purchases.
It should be noted that all non-Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong dollar consumption will incur a currency conversion fee of about 2-3%. Currency conversion fees are actually a global banking practice, because VISA and Mastercard in mainland China generally waive them in order to seize market share, so mainland Chinese consumers may ignore the issue of currency conversion fees.
4. What is a ZA BANK bank account suitable for?
Suitable for transfer to purchase fund stocks
Internet funds such as Futu NiuNiu, Xueqiu, and Changqiao all require a bank account with the same name to make a deposit. Domestic bank cards generally do not support cross-border transfers to brokers, so it is more convenient to transfer through Hong Kong banks.
Not suitable for US dollar fixed deposits
In ZA BANK, the one-year fixed interest rate for HKD is currently 3.01%; the one-year fixed interest rate for USD is currently 0.2%; it is much lower than the 4-5% one-year fixed interest rate of other physical banks. If you want to deposit USD regularly, there is no need to open this bank account.
If you need a USD regular deposit, download the Wing Lung Bank App to submit the information remotely. You can verify your identity and open an account at a Hong Kong branch in 15 minutes (without queuing) and get the card on the spot. Mainland banks can also support USD deposits, and foreign currency deposits are also protected by the 500,000 yuan deposit insurance regulations. Directly calling offline branches can generally provide good interest rates, which will be much better than the online display.
Not suitable for daily consumption
If you often go to Hong Kong, you can use UnionPay cards, Alipay, and WeChat for daily consumption. The MTR also supports UnionPay cards to enter the station directly, without the need to hold Octopus.
If you have Apple Pay in Hong Kong, you may need to bind a Hong Kong savings card for consumption.
5. Possible risks of ZA BANK
- It was tested that the SWIFT remittance of USD from China Merchants Bank in the mainland to ZA BANK was unsuccessful, even when it was processed at the counter.