Banks Compete to Offer Chinese Americans Money Transfers, Other Services

Deals heat up in time for Chinese New Year

By Yang Yang

Jan 19, 2007 - With Chinese New Year approaching, many Chinese in the U.S. have started once again to send money overseas to their families in China. In an effort to capitalize on these consumers, banks, in competition with each other, are providing financial products targeted at Chinese Americans.

Some, such as Citizens Bank and United Commercial Bank, are focusing their services on ever-increasing international money transfers -- or remittances -- especially during the Chinese New Year period, which this year falls in mid-February.

As a New Year's promotion, Citizens Bank recently announced a service allowing customers in the United States to send money to China through a new remittance service offered in collaboration with Bank of China.

Remittance Plus, the new service, enables any Citizens customer with a checking account to transfer up to $1,000 per day to any account in China for a $10 service fee now through Chinese New Year, or February 18.

"The Chinese community is a growing segment of our nation's population," said Robert M. Mahoney, executive vice chairman of Citizens Financial Group, in a press statement.

"As the number of Chinese living, working and studying in the U.S. increases, the demand for safe, reliable and convenient remittance services also is increasing," said Jun Wang, President of New England Chinese Information and Networking Association.

United Commercial Bank, which specializes in serving Chinese Americans and non-Asian Americans involved in business with China, also offers transfer services to China.

According to Sandy Yang, vice president of advertising and public relations at United Commercial Bank, UCB provides money transfers to China for anyone in the U.S., even those who are not UCB account holders.

The rate is $14 per remittance for non-UCB account holders; $12 for UCB customers.

The bank also offers promotional discount plans for its customers who make several transfers.

This could be good news for people like Zhang Dehua, who works at a Chinese restaurant near Boston. He said that since he arrived in the U.S. three years ago, he has often transferred money to his wife and son in Guangdong province, China, especially during Chinese New Year.

In fact, Zhang said that he sends nearly all his extra income to Guangdong.

"This is all the money earned by hard work," he said. It would be best if I can pay less handling and processing fees and give more to my wife and child."

When told about the remittance services provided by the two banks, he looked very happy.

Besides remittances, many U.S. banks have started serving customers together with banks in China in other joint efforts, to make cash withdrawals and consumption more convenient for those Chinese who travel between China and the U.S.

Customers who have checking accounts and ATM cards with Bank of America, for example, can get cash in the ATMs of China Construction Bank in major Chinese cities, without any processing fees and at a competitive exchange rate.

Angela Mah, vice president of retail banking in the New England region for United Commercial Bank, said that in the competition for the Chinese market, banks must offer more than convenient service and hire Chinese-speaking clerks. She said they must also offer financial products that are customized according to the consumption habits and special cultural traditions of Chinese living in the U.S.

"In short, we should 'regard people as the roots,'" she said, citing the bank's Chinese slogan, "and be as thoughtful as possible for the consumers."