| title | tags | date | img | describe | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apply and Fund a Foreign Card, OCBC Physical Card + Wise Virtual Card, No Address Proof, No Income Proof Required |
Experience |
2024-06-29 |
/images/posts/2024-06-29/cover.jpg |
A tutorial for mainland China residents on how to apply for a foreign bank card, OCBC physical card + Wise virtual card, without address proof or income proof, and how to fund it. |
en |
Today, I finally activated my Wise card. I wanted to do this six months ago, but the requirements were too strict, so I gave up. I applied for the OCBC physical card half a month ago, but my Cloudflare payment was rejected. Since the OCBC card can be used as a same-name card for funding, I gave it a try. Wise's registration process changes quickly, but after researching and experimenting, I finally succeeded, and my Cloudflare renewal went through smoothly. This tutorial requires no address proof or income proof.
Our approach is to apply for the OCBC physical card, fund it via a wire transfer from a CMB (China Merchants Bank) foreign exchange account, apply for and activate the Wise card, and then use the Wise card for payments.
The Wise card is currently the most widely used and best-performing virtual card. After using it for a month, I’ve almost never experienced a payment rejection. However, to activate and fund the Wise card, you need a same-name card (a bank account under the same holder name), and most domestic banks in China do not support Wise virtual card wire transfers; even if they do, it’s likely to be rejected. That’s why we fund the Wise card through the legitimate OCBC card. Since this tutorial covers everything from applying for the OCBC physical card to the Wise virtual card, we'll start with the OCBC physical card application.
You’ll need to prepare:
- A valid mainland China passport and ID card
- A domestic bank account in China that supports wire transfers (CMB is recommended)
- Some funds in the bank (recommended at least 650 CNY for funding)
- An iOS device with an international Apple ID (recommended for this tutorial, must support NFC)
By following this tutorial, you’ll obtain:
- An OCBC Singapore bank account and physical card
- A Wise virtual card
- Funding methods: CMB wire transfer + PandaRemit
- Search for "OCBC" in the App Store, download OCBC Digital, and register using your "electronic passport". You can use my referral code JH2Q37JB to get a 15 SGD bonus; otherwise, there are no discounts if you don’t enter a referral code.
- Follow the instructions to scan your passport and ID card, and fill out the registration information. When filling out the "employment information," it’s recommended to choose a stable option, with an income around 20,000 CNY; your China tax ID number is your ID card number.
- After completing the registration process, your account will be set up with two default accounts: a Statement Saving Account (SGD) and a Global Saving Account (USD).
- The default accounts cannot apply for a bank card. Next, we will open a 360 account, which comes with a debit card, and the physical card will be mailed to you after 10 days. Apply for the card via Menu - Apply - Account - 360 Account - Apply Now. Fill in the information truthfully. It’s recommended to include a phone number with the mailing address since the default registered mail does not include contact information, making it difficult for the courier to reach you. You can request the tracking number from OCBC's internal "secure mailbox" feature, but it usually takes three days for a reply.
- About a week later, you will receive registered mail from China Post. You can activate the card directly through the app by clicking Menu - Card Services - Activate Credit/Debit Card and following the instructions. After this, you can use this OCBC card for normal payments, binding it to Apple Wallet, etc.
- Register for a Wise account. First, register with your real information, including your domestic address and phone number.
- After registration, select to fund the account using a Singapore account in SGD. Use the PayNow QR code for instant transfer. For domestic bank funding to OCBC, refer to the CMB Funding section below.
- On the desktop version, change your address to Malaysia in your profile. Wise cards are not currently available in China, and when I tried switching to Singapore, it required address proof and other materials. Switching to Malaysia does not require address proof.
- Apply for the Wise virtual card, activate it, and it can be added to Apple Wallet successfully.
The first same-name account funding follows the path of CMB Wire Transfer - OCBC - Wise. The wire transfer has a significant loss; 100 SGD (500 CNY) will incur an additional cost of 150 CNY. After activation, you can consider using PandaRemit, which only costs 80 CNY, and new users get a discount.
- Purchase foreign currency: On the bank app homepage, search for "foreign exchange purchase," select SGD (Singapore Dollar) to buy. Foreign exchange purchases have time restrictions, so it’s recommended to avoid night-time transactions.
- After purchasing, search for "overseas transfer" to transfer funds. You may need the following information:
Swift Code: OCBCSGSGXXX (OCBC bank displays an 8-digit OCBCSGSG, but the bank may require 11 digits when transferring; fill the remaining with X)
Bank Name: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited Singapore
Bank Address: 63 Chulia Street #10-00, OCBC Centre East, Singapore 049514 (Translate "Singapore" to English, and China Merchants Bank may require removing the "#")
Choose the shared SHA fee structure: For SHA, the domestic bank fee and telegraphic transfer fee total 150 CNY, directly deducted from the domestic savings account. Select "other private travel" as the transaction code, and "personal private overseas travel expenses" as the remittance purpose. The remittance note can be left blank, but do not mention "funding" or similar words, as CMB may reject the payment. Other information is shown below:
