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To open a bank account in China for a foreign-invested company you meet three authorities. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), created in May 2023, regulates the banks. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) writes the account rules. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) governs foreign currency, and since June 2015 banks have handled the foreign exchange registration of direct investment for it.
Everyday business runs through the basic deposit account, and PBOC rules allow each company one, at one bank. Since 2019 the bank opens it and files it with the PBOC, which no longer licenses it. Foreign currency capital follows a second track: once the business licence is issued, the company registers its investment details at a bank, which prints the certificate needed for the capital account. Agricultural Bank of China’s Zhejiang guide says capital accounts may be held at several banks anywhere in the country.
| Bank | Ownership | What its own pages state |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC Bank (China) | Foreign, incorporated in China | Checklist for mainland companies, foreign-invested filing receipt included |
| Standard Chartered Bank (China) | Foreign, incorporated in China | Resident and non-resident enterprises; foreign currency capital accounts |
| Bank of China | Chinese | Every document in original; opening in principle within three working days |
| ICBC | Chinese | Ownership papers for the beneficial owner check; three working days from the appointment |
| China Construction Bank | Chinese | Identity documents of the actual controller and beneficial owners |
| China Merchants Bank | Chinese | Legal representative in person at its Shenzhen and Guangzhou branches |
These are options in the market as each bank describes them; branches apply their own checks and any bank may decline.
The revised Anti-Money Laundering Law, in force since 1 January 2025, makes the bank identify the beneficial owners and the purpose of the account and, where risk is higher, the source and use of funds; it may check the owner filings the PBOC holds.
PBOC rules let the legal representative apply in person or authorise someone else, and the Company Law sets no residence rule for the post. Bank of China, ICBC and China Construction Bank each say they verify the company’s intention to open the account, without saying how. China Merchants Bank’s undated basic account page requires the legal representative in person at its Shenzhen and Guangzhou branches.
Foreign currency capital may be converted whenever the company chooses, with the renminbi held in a pending-payment account until spent. Banks check that each payment is genuine, and SAFE bars using the money outside the business scope, for securities investment or for property not for the company’s own use. The Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations leave current international payments unrestricted but forbid denominating or settling domestic transactions in foreign currency. HSBC in Hong Kong tells customers to address payments to the mainland by the receiving bank’s SWIFT code. China is outside SEPA.
Deposits at banks set up in China, company deposits included, are insured up to RMB 500,000 per depositor per bank under the Deposit Insurance Regulations in force since 1 May 2015. Foreign-owned banks incorporated in China are covered; branches of foreign banks are not.
A ready-made company in China that has received cash capital already banks somewhere, since that money must reach an account in its name. The account survives the equity transfer, but the bank re-examines the new shareholders, legal representative and beneficial owners and may keep the account, ask for more or close it, as our guide to shelf companies with bank accounts explains. We can supply an existing company or handle company formation in China, prepare the bank file and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, introduce you; the bank alone decides.
Tax and ownership are covered in our China company guide. A Hong Kong holding company banks under Hong Kong’s own rules, set out on bank accounts for Hong Kong companies; for a Singapore base see bank accounts for Singapore companies.
The account belongs to a company, usually one registered on the mainland, which outside the Negative List may be wholly foreign-owned with a foreign legal representative. HSBC and Standard Chartered publish account terms for such companies, Standard Chartered also for non-resident enterprises. The bank decides after due diligence on the controllers and beneficial owners.
Not under PBOC rules, which let the legal representative authorise someone else. Banks still verify the company’s intention and want the legal representative’s original identity document, and China Merchants Bank requires the legal representative in person at its Shenzhen and Guangzhou branches, so confirm the route with the branch first.
Bank of China, ICBC and China Construction Bank each open the account for a complete file in principle within three working days, the last two counting from the appointment. The business licence comes first and, for foreign currency capital, the investment registration at a bank, for which no bank compared publishes a time.
Yes. The Deposit Insurance Regulations of 2015 pay up to RMB 500,000 per depositor per bank, principal and interest together, and the PBOC confirms that enterprise deposits are included. Interbank deposits, senior managers’ deposits at their own bank and deposits at branches of foreign banks are outside the scheme.