Many people have a big misunderstanding of "opening a bank account in Hong Kong", thinking that you can easily open an account in a different place through video, or simply bring your company registration documents and ID card to the counter of a Hong Kong bank to go through the procedures, and you can get a bank account in a week or two.
In fact, after the HSBC incident in 2012, one stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the banking industry was panicked, and no one wanted to be the next "lucky one". The documents and requirements required to open an account are also very different from before, which greatly increases the difficulty.
Taking China Merchants Bank as an example, according to the Notice on Adjusting the Threshold for Mainland Witness Account Opening of Overseas Accounts issued at the beginning of last year, the asset threshold for mainland customers to open Hong Kong accounts has been raised from 50,000 yuan to 5 million yuan since February last year.
So how hard is it to open an account? How to get approved efficiently?
NO.1. Is it difficult to open a bank account in Hong Kong?
01 High threshold
In recent years, there has been an increasingly strong demand for mainland funds to go overseas, and mainlanders have been pouring into Hong Kong to open accounts.
However, at the same time, the number of bank accounts in Hong Kong is close to saturation, and in view of the high cost of opening accounts, the screening of high-quality customers has become an unspoken rule in the industry.
02 Strict audit
In addition, banks in Hong Kong strictly prevent "money laundering" and strictly review the number of account opening quotas, and the account opening policies of major banks are being tightened, and the review will become stricter and stricter.
Many customers and friends reported that they were rejected to open an account in Hong Kong in the past, or they were not accepted directly, etc., and even left a bad record of unsuccessful account opening in the bank, why is this? It may be because the bank doesn't think you're worth much.
From the point of view, the profit of account management fees brought by ten ordinary customers to the bank is not as good as the profit created by one high-quality customer to the bank.
The cost of managing one high-quality customer is much lower than the cost of ten average customers.
NO.2. How to reduce the probability of rejection
Mainland clients who want to open an account in Hong Kong must be well prepared to effectively deal with the due diligence of their relationship managers on money laundering, tax evasion and foreign exchange evasion, and reduce the probability of rejection.
01 Prepare as many materials as possible
Including the list of banks to be opened and map markers, Hong Kong and Macao travel permits, Mainland identity cards, entry receipts, address proofs, passports, etc.
It should be noted that the threshold for opening an account in a foreign-funded bank is generally higher than that of a Chinese-funded bank, and it is understood that opening an account in a foreign-funded bank often requires the purchase of a certain amount of wealth management products, which needs to be checked clearly in advance.
02 Gain the trust of the bank
During the account opening process, the account manager will review the account opening personnel and the company, so be prepared before the interview, be familiar with the company's business, products and operations, so as to respond to the bank manager's questions, vague answers will lead to the bank's trust in the account holder, and eventually lead to not opening an account.
03 Maintain the account
Once the account is successfully opened, it is best to deposit money into the account within 60 days to activate the account.
PS: Since many non-Hong Kong resident customers deposit money to buy Hong Kong stocks and insurance after opening an account, banks are worried about the abnormal capital inflow and outflow of such accounts, and such accounts will be the focus of supervision.
NO.3. What issues should I pay attention to during the interview?
All the questions of the bank account opening manager in Hong Kong revolve around one core, that is, "know your customer", and the questions of the bank account opening manager are also summarized around this core.
There are also a few details to pay attention to to help you easily improve your success rate of account opening:
01 The business scope is specific and true
When the bank consults the business scope of the enterprise, the account opening enterprise only needs to clearly describe the specific business of the enterprise, such as what products to launch or what services to provide.
02 The business situation is reliable and realistic
When the bank asks about sales, although there is a demand for corporate profits, the specific number is based on their own turnover, after all, the bank's past experience is that they know how much turnover each industry has.
03 Do not deal with sanctioned countries
When preparing business documents and answering questions, you must try to avoid involving sensitive countries and regions, so as not to reduce the success rate of account opening. It is better to say that it sells to reputable regions and countries such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, etc.
04 Answer the mainland situation truthfully
When filling in the bank details, the address must be filled in with a real address that can receive the letter.
When the bank asks if there are companies or factories in the mainland and how many employees there are, you must answer truthfully. When asking about specific products, it is enough to briefly describe a few products or main services, and at the same time, you can also show the bank the color page of the relevant company's products.
Do not fabricate information in order to show the scale, if the bank asks for relevant information and supporting documents of the mainland company and fails to provide it, it will be considered as a dishonest customer and there is a high chance that you will be refused to open an account.
05 Try to deal with the bank
Pay attention to your appearance and dress on the day of account opening, and appear at the bank as a successful business person.
If the information is not complete, you can go back and supplement it to the bank. Try to negotiate with the bank (e.g. deposit a certain amount of money) and try to show the sincerity of long-term cooperation with the bank.
06 About wealth management products
Under normal circumstances, banks will not mandate the purchase of wealth management products, but it is undeniable that the purchase of wealth management products will help improve the success rate of bank account opening to a certain extent.
In the process of opening a bank account and signing for a face-to-face account, if necessary, you can appropriately express your interest in wealth management products, which can enhance your favorability.