The ZA Bank card was also successfully processed, and the purpose of this trip to Hong Kong was smoothly completed.

Many teachers have already written about the process of opening a bank account in Hong Kong, and you probably have collected quite a few. I won't go into details here, but let me share the key points and the pitfalls I encountered.

1️⃣、Preparation

Travel permit, ID card, power bank, enable international roaming on your phone, pre-download the apps you need to open, bank card (required by some banks), bank statements (needed for opening securities accounts).

2️⃣、Customs Clearance

Make sure to distinguish between the visitor channel and the Hong Kong resident channel, and don't go the wrong way. Have your travel permit ready in advance. You need to scan it twice for both exit and entry. The second scan for exit is done manually. If everything checks out, they will give you a small slip (which is useless).

This time, I went through the Luohu port. After clearing customs, you can directly take the subway. I got off at Kowloon Tong. Exit C leads directly to Festival Walk shopping mall. Go up to the top two floors where there's a food court, find a seat, and you can start opening accounts.

3️⃣、Account Opening

First, download the entry-exit certificate. This is the most important. Search for "Immigration Bureau" in the mini-program --> Chinese Citizen Services --> Entry-Exit Record Query --> Download Record --> Save to Local.

Ant and Elephant went through very smoothly. On the other hand, ZA Bank, which everyone says is easy, blocked me several times, constantly prompting that facial recognition failed. I almost gave up. Later, I switched to a mainland mobile network and it went through instantly. I had been using a Hong Kong card's network before, so my cleverness backfired. 😂 If you encounter problems, just switch to a different network, try a different phone number, or use another phone.

I also wanted to apply for BOC (Bank of China), but it required taking a photo of the travel permit, and it kept prompting a reflection issue that prevented recognition, so I gave up. Other brokers required proof of bank statements to open accounts, which I hadn't prepared in advance, so I gave up on those too. As for phone cards, I asked the 7-Eleven inside the subway station and they didn't have any; you need to ask at outside stores.

4️⃣、Summary

Since I was pressed for time on this trip, I just got the card done and came back. If you are going there for fun, you should still do some research in advance.

This was also my first time in Hong Kong, and I made many wrong turns, but I know the saying "if you don't know, just ask." Whenever there's something unclear, just grab someone and ask anytime.