We are thinking of using Commerce Onine Banking as our source of banking while in Shanghai. They are a completely online bank based out of the US.

They offer :
No transaction fee
No conversion fee

Anyone have experience with them? Anyone know if they have affiliations with any Chinese banks?

Thanks as always,
Eggplantress

Commerce is online-focused, yet they definitely have branch offices and many ATM/bank machines in the NY Tri-state area and a few other US states. For fee minimization potential, they are supposed to offer accounts with no transaction fee ATMs (both at any of their branches and ATM/bank machines/ AND when using other banks' ATM machines).

Like any bank, Commerce obviously takes a piece of the action with FX conversions. No FX conversion fees perhaps, but you simply don't get as good a currency conversion rate (One way or another, Commerce and any financial institution finds a way to generate fee revenues). http://bank.commerceonline.com/informat ... ons_hours/

Eggplantress wrote:Anyone know if they have affiliations with any Chinese banks?

They are not directly affiliated with any.

I opened a Commerce account and closed my Citibank accounts. Commerce is very customer oriented. Citibank just added a 2% fee to all ATM's (including their own ATM) and they are no longer doing their ATM global transfer; now you have to wire transfer.

^ Citibank has taken a big hit on the subprime problem.

Yup. Banking and oil.

Because then nobody would pay their inflated house prices and the banks and construction industry wouldn't have the cash to a) have coke parties, b) buy mansions & yachts, c) bribe congressmen & presidents and d) contribute millions of $$ to half-baked presidential candidates. Oh, and did I mention bribe congressmen?

Of course, that shortfall in taxation is made up by ... you guessed it!! ... artificially high income tax rates as it is.

BTW, even in upstate New York $150k isn't that great unless you like living in an "equal opportunity" environment.