Banking in Shanghai: opening an account and getting your salary to Australia

Short answer: open a Chinese account in your first month, keep your tax paperwork tidy, and plan your transfers home. China lets you send your legal salary out. It just wants to see the receipts.

The short version

• You can open an RMB account at a Shanghai branch with your passport. The bank may ask for extra documents if it can't verify you [1][2].
• A Chinese bank card linked to WeChat Pay and Alipay removes the limits and fees that apply to Australian cards [2].
• Foreign individuals have an annual foreign exchange quota of US$50,000 [3]. Salary above that can still be converted with proof that it's legal, taxed income [3][4].
• Shanghai's Fast Pass lets eligible foreign professionals exchange salary without bringing contracts and tax certificates each time [5][6].
• Bank transfers into Australia don't need an AUSTRAC declaration. Carrying A$10,000 or more in cash does [8].

Opening a Chinese bank account

China doesn't have Australia's "open it in an app in ten minutes" culture for foreigners. Expect a branch visit, a queue and a fair bit of paper.

What the rules say

You can open an RMB account at bank branches in Shanghai with a valid passport or a Foreigner's Permanent Resident ID Card [1][2]. If the bank can't verify your identity accurately, it can ask for more. Examples on the Shanghai government's list include a work or embassy ID, a driver's licence, a tax payment certificate or a utility bill [1].

The Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law also requires banks to carry out customer due diligence, lets them refuse "abnormal" applications, and caps how many accounts one person can hold [7]. That's why a teller might ask why you want the account and where your income comes from. It's not personal.

What to bring

1. Passport with your residence permit inside.
2. A Chinese mobile number registered in your name. The law doesn't list it, but branches use it for SMS codes and app sign-in.
3. Your Shanghai address in Chinese.
4. Employment proof, such as a letter from your employer or your work permit, in case the bank asks why you're opening the account.
5. Patience. Branch visits can take an hour or more.

Which bank?

Most employers pay salary into an account at a specific bank, so ask HR first. If you have a choice, consider the branch close to your office or home, whether its app has an English version, and how it handles outward remittances. The big state banks, including ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China, have branches all over Shanghai. Foreign banks such as HSBC also operate locally and publish English guides [3].

Linking your card to WeChat Pay and Alipay

Once you have a Chinese card, add it to WeChat Pay and Alipay the same way you'd add any card. The difference is big.

The real-name details must match. Your name on WeChat, Alipay and the bank account needs to be identical to your passport. If your bank holds "SMITH JOHN PAUL" and WeChat holds "John Smith", expect a failed link.

One more rule: never let anyone else use your bank account or payment account, or verify an account for them. Chinese law bans trading, leasing or lending bank and payment accounts, with fines of up to RMB 200,000 in some cases [7].

Getting money out: the foreign exchange rules

This is the part nobody explains at the branch until you're standing there.

The quota

Under China's foreign exchange rules, individuals who aren't Chinese mainland citizens have an annual facilitation quota of US$50,000 for buying and selling foreign currency. Foreigner's Permanent Residence ID Card holders are included [3]. Within the quota, the process is simple. You can't borrow someone else's quota or lend yours [3].

Salary above the quota

Your legal, taxed income isn't trapped. Banks will convert income from employment if you show it's legitimate. ICBC asks overseas customers for ID plus supporting documents such as an employment contract with a Chinese company, income details and a tax payment document [4]. HSBC China's guide, effective 31 May 2025, lists an employment or service contract, an income statement from your employer and a tax payment certificate [3].

Make the paperwork a monthly habit. Trying to reconstruct two years of tax records on the day you leave China is a miserable afternoon.

Shanghai's Fast Pass

Shanghai offers a Fast Pass for Foreign Talent Salary Exchange and Remittance. Holders don't need to bring employment contracts, proof of income or tax completion certificates when exchanging yuan at a bank [6]. It's aimed at foreign professionals in roles China considers in short supply, working legally in Shanghai, and employers must meet conditions including paying tax and social insurance [5].

The pass is valid for two years and must be shown to the bank for each salary exchange [5]. Your employer applies through the Government Online-Offline Shanghai system, then documents go to a service window, such as 1500 Minsheng Road in Pudong or the Shanghai Talent Tower at 77 Meiyuan Road in Jing'an [5][6]. Ask HR whether you qualify. If you do, it saves real time.

Cash

If you want foreign cash rather than a transfer, HSBC's guide says same-day cash up to US$10,000 needs only valid ID, with extra paperwork above that [3]. Converting leftover yuan back to foreign currency when you leave is easy for small amounts with ID, and larger amounts may need your original exchange receipt [3][4].

Sending money to Australia, step by step

1. Confirm your quota and documents with your bank, especially if you're over US$50,000 for the year [3].
2. Convert yuan to foreign currency. Currencies available vary by branch, so ask whether yours can sell Australian dollars or only US dollars [4].
3. Collect your Australian bank's details. You'll need the account name exactly as it appears, BSB and account number, and the bank's SWIFT code.
4. Submit the remittance at the counter or, where your bank allows it, in its app. A remittance from a savings account needs valid personal ID [3].
5. Check the fees. Chinese banks typically charge an outward remittance fee and a cable fee, and intermediary or receiving banks may take a cut. Ask for the fee schedule before you send.
6. Send a small test amount first to a new account.
7. Keep every receipt. You may need them for Chinese tax, for the ATO, or to prove where money came from.

Don't be tempted by informal "currency swaps" with friends or brokers to dodge the paperwork. HSBC's guide lists fictitious trades and underground banking among prohibited activities [3], and lending your account to anyone breaches the anti-fraud law [7].

The Australian side

• AUSTRAC. Money sent through a bank or remittance provider doesn't need declaring. Carrying, posting or couriering cash or similar instruments worth A$10,000 or more does, and splitting amounts to stay under the threshold, called structuring, carries fines and imprisonment [8].
• Tax residency. Moving your own savings home isn't income. Whether your Chinese salary is taxable in Australia depends on your tax residency, and the Australia–China double tax agreement decides which country has first claim. See our guides to Chinese income tax and Australian tax residency.
• Australian accounts. Tell your Australian bank if you become a foreign resident, so it withholds the right tax on interest.
• Emergency money. DFAT offers emergency loans only in exceptional circumstances. Keep a buffer in an Australian account you can reach from China.

Want to know which bank branch near you has staff who speak English? Ask in Cooee China, our Facebook group for Australians in China (join here).

Sources

1. What documents do I need to open a bank account? – Shanghai Municipal People's Government
2. Payment methods for foreigners – Shanghai Municipal People's Government
3. Individual Foreign Exchange Business Handling Guide (effective 31 May 2025) – HSBC Bank (China)
4. Personal purchase of foreign exchange – ICBC
5. Remuneration in Foreign Currency Exchange (Fast Pass) – Shanghai Municipal People's Government
6. Fast Pass for Foreign Talent Salary Exchange and Remittance – Shanghai Municipal People's Government
7. Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law of the People's Republic of China – National People's Congress (China Daily)
8. Moving money across international borders – AUSTRAC

Keep reading

• Daily life in China: visas, apps and paying with WeChat and Alipay
• Income tax in China for Australians: the IIT app and the six-year rule
• Sending money home without losing it to fees
• Are you still an Australian tax resident once you move?