Elaine
- 2016-04-08
I will take steps to blacken the BOC on the Net. I suspect that other Chinese banks licensed to accept foreign currency transfers to Westerners in China won't be so picky re name abbreviations!
When a foreigner opens a bank account in China, the name of the account holder must match the name on his or her passport. That name is invariably a full name. It has no abbreviations!
Not all Chinese banks are permitted to accept foreign currency transfers as wire transfers from abroad for their account holders. There are others in addition to the Bank of China that you could use as alternatives to the Bank of China. It is highly likely that one would encounter the same problem in the event of a wire transfer bearing an abbreviated name such as A N Other instead of Ann Noreen Other at all such Chinese banks. It would seem to be the case that the foreign transferor is at fault if you had provided your account name exactly as shown in your passport. Then Citibank is undoubtedly blameworthy. Their goof has caused the problem. Foreign transferors should not use abbreviated names for proposed wire transfers of foreign currency to foreigners in China. Were they to be on the ball in this respect, foreigners in China like you wouldn't have proposed wire transfers of foreign currency such as USD, Eurodollar and GBP rejected.
From me to SPPA:
"Dear [],
The BOC returned my pension to Citibank on the 3rd of April, China time, I'm surprised Citibank didn't realise this before you e-mailed me!!
So, a new transfer will need to be instigated by Citibank, this time according to the details on my cross borders pdf, which your outfit had demanded me to complete, and then was sent to SPPA by me, but said details haven't been followed precisely! Your fault or Citibank's?
The BOC is intransigent, and my wife and I raised such a disturbance there this morning more than good enough to get me arrested in good ol' Blighty, but this is China, so we got away with it...LOL!
It seems the BOC doesn't follow international banking conventions in the respect that they refuse to accept abbreviated names. In my case they will only accept Alexander William Reid, even though my account number quoted by Citibank agrees with my bank account number here.
I had flagged this up a couple of years ago, when there had been an identical problem. However, this has since been forgotten at your end or at Citibank's end, or at both ends? A comedy of errors, in fact!
I will take steps to blacken the BOC on the Net. I suspect that other Chinese banks licensed to accept foreign currency transfers to Westerners in China won't be so picky re name abbreviations!
Regards,
Alexander William Reid (A WReid)
PS - Citibank's employee has rubbishy English - 'there' should have been spelt 'their', a dumb Yank, pay peanuts, get monkeys!"