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Recently, I saw on the forum that a netizen shared his experience in applying for a foreign currency debit card at CITIC Bank, so Xiaoz also tried to apply for two foreign currency debit cards from CITIC Bank. This kind of debit card is different from credit card, and there is no overdraft limit, so it needs to be self deposited in advance. Xiaoz has applied for "MasterCard Foreign Currency Debit Card" and "Express Gold Card Debit Card" respectively, and has completed offline activation. After actual use, I found that it was a bit lame. This article will talk about the card opening and use experience of Xiaoz.
Apply for foreign currency debit card of CITIC Bank
Search "Overseas Finance" in the CITIC Bank APP, find the special debit card column, and then select an application as required (if you are not a CITIC Bank user, you need to register first).
Xiaoz has applied for a "MasterCard Foreign Currency Debit Card" and an "Express Gold Card Debit Card" respectively. When applying, you need to fill in your name, ID card number, and detailed address of the recipient. The "American Express Gold Card Debit Card" requires a 5 yuan card printing fee, which will be returned to the account balance after activation, while MasterCard foreign currency debit card does not require any card opening fees.
MasterCard foreign currency debit card
MasterCard foreign currency debit card is divided into platinum card (red) and world card (silver gray) (it is unclear what the difference is). Xiaoz applied for the silver gray world debit card, which has the following characteristics:
- Free of handling charges for the first three overseas ATM withdrawals per month
- Free of overseas ATM balance inquiry fee
- No currency conversion fee for overseas transactions
American Express Gold Card Debit Card
- Free of handling charges for the first three overseas ATM withdrawals per month
- No currency conversion fee
After application, you can search "Card Application Progress Query" in the APP to track the card progress. Xiaoz applied on 01.28, sent it on 01.30, received it on 02.01, and used EMS express.
The MasterCard foreign currency debit card was issued from Huangshi, Hubei Province, and the American Express gold card debit card was issued from Zhuhai. There was no name on the card, so it was assumed that they were all prefabricated cards.
Offline activation
Xiaoz found a nearby branch of CITIC Bank on the map and went to activate it. The lobby manager helped to line up a number, then went to the counter for processing. The processing took about 10 minutes, and asked for the following information:
- ID
- Check the recent social insurance payment
- Ask about specific purposes (overseas shopping and overseas tourism I answered)
The staff did not deliberately embarrass me, but because I already had a first-class account in CITIC Bank, the American Express Gold Card debit card was opened as a second-class account with a limit of 1k. MasterCard foreign currency debit card says the limit is 5k, but actually it seems useless for MasterCard, and MasterCard does not have a second class account.
use
MasterCard foreign currency debit card
MasterCard foreign currency debit card is settled in US dollars. You need to purchase US dollars through APP and transfer them to MasterCard foreign currency debit card account. Only the first class account of CITIC Bank has the right to purchase foreign exchange. If you do not have the first class account of CITIC Bank, you must ask the staff to open the American Express card to you as the first class when activating, otherwise you cannot transfer dollars to this card.
After foreign exchange purchase and transfer in, Xiaoz conducted some binding and payment tests, and the results are as follows:
- Binding Alipay: failed
- Binding PayPal: verification in progress (netizen said no, probably failure)
- Pay Stripe: Failed
- Recharging Namesilo: Failed
- Binding Google Play account in the US: successful
- Recharging Google Play account in the US: successful
American Express Gold Card Debit Card
This card is settled in RMB, so it can be used directly by transferring to RMB without foreign exchange purchase. It is basically the same as the domestic UnionPay card. Another advantage is that you can pay at the service provider that supports the express card. Xiaoz conducted some binding and payment tests, and the results are as follows:
- Binding Alipay: successful
- Binding cloud flash payment: successful
- Binding Backblaze B2: Successful
- Alipay withdrawal: successful
- Cloud flash payment transfer to the express card, prompt not supported
- Recharging Namesilo: Successful
epilogue
The MasterCard foreign currency debit card provided by CITIC Bank is relatively weak and severely emasculated. Many scenarios cannot be paid, and it needs to purchase foreign exchange in advance, which is not convenient to use. If you already have VISA or Mastercard credit card, it is not recommended to apply for MasterCard foreign currency debit card provided by CITIC Bank. If you are still a student unable to apply for a credit card, you can try to apply.
The American Express Debit Card is much more convenient. It can be used by directly transferring to RMB. It is similar to the domestic UnionPay card in use. If you don't have an account with CITIC Bank, you can try to apply for an American Express Debit Card and let the bank open a first-class account.
