Banking

Can I pay hotel bills with my credit card?

If you stay in 4-5 star hotels, then it is quite likely that they would accept international credit cards. 
Yet, make sure you would check in advance.

In general, except for venue dedicated for foreign patrons, otherwise, most of the 2 star, 3 star hotel, local restaurants or normal shops by default would not accept international credit card, even if they have the sign for Visa and Master cards boldly printed on their counter, mostly likely they may accept RMB credit card only, which is much more popular than international credit card.

So, you need to estimate the money you need to spend in China in advance.

Exchange RMB

A typical Chinese service center, usually have long queues of people so you might have to wait on line for a long time in order to change your foreign currency into RMB.

Unless you have keen interest to get a taste of such typical Chinese experience, but if not, try to calculate the total liquid you need to carry per day or per week during your stay here and exchange all the money you need at once at the service centers to minimize frequent visits to the service centers.

Besides, not every bank in China offers currency exchange service.

Usually, USD, JPY, HKD, GDP, CAD, EUR, CHF, AUD can be exchanged in any area branch of Agricultural bank (Including weekends), China Construction Bank (Including weekends) and Bank of China (excluding weekend).
Usually, USD can be exchanged in any area branch. 

Most branches of The Bank of China can exchange different types of currency。But the service is only available during weekdays.

ATM

Generally, you should be able to make cash advance from ATM machines, with service charge.

There are ATM machines and Bank of China branches in Pazhou and Liuhua complex of the canton fair, though with long queues at the ATM and banking service most of the time, therefore, do not wait until the last minute that you need the money or you would then complain you need to waste a lot of time in getting such simple task done in China.

Before you leave for China, make sure you remember the PIN no. for your ATM card. 
Maybe this would sound stupid to you, but the truth is, when you come to China, and find the arrangement of number in China different from your home country, you will not have to type in the wrong PIN number several times, which could get your account frozen making it impossible to retrieve money and putting you in a difficult situation.

Should I open an account in China?

If you are considering spending a long time in China and also if you would buy from small vendor in wholesale market and need to remit small amount of money to them from time to time, opening an account with a local bank in China will be ideal.

At various time intervals you can remit a large sum of money from your account in your home country to your own bank account here in China.
Then every time, if you need to facilitate payments in RMB, you can use Ebanking to remit the money, paying small sum for handling charges, and the payment can reach their accounts in good time.
You can also use your own RMB ATM card to take cash without paying the more expensive handling charge when you use your own foreign ATM card.

As a foreigner, when choosing a bank you should check for the ones that have an English website. We found ICBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have the relatively comprehensive English online banking website, and since the minimum deposit in opening the account is only RMB10, we would recommend you to open a bank account in ICBC.

But again, make sure you would have extra spare time when you try to go to open an account. It is hard to explain, but at least, expect to spend 2-3 hours, in waiting and handling the related application document.

Can I expect better service from international bank?

Yes, and you do find branches of international bank in China, yet, usually they would impose a much higher minimum deposit in opening an account, for example at HSBC, the minimum deposit is RMB 100,000. So, see if this is the amount which you would like to commit in an account in China.

HSBC Hotline: 800-830-1880 (within mainland China)

HSBC Opening time from Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday only for consultant service . HSBC Service is excellent, and with its employees commanding good English skill, clients no need to wait in long queues. But the commission charge is expensive than other Chinese banks. They provide extensive service, include Travel check exchange.