Once a bank opens your business account, set it up for use before you give the details to a customer. Check how you will receive that payment and then pay your supplier. Start with access, currencies, records and approval roles. Having an account number does not mean every payment is ready to go.
This guide is mainly for overseas companies with a China NRA, or non-resident account, at a bank in mainland China. Hong Kong business account holders can use the same checks. The bank's exact rules still apply.
Why waiting after account opening creates problems
Our team has helped clients open and use these accounts for real payments. We have seen clients receive the account details, put them aside and plan to learn the system later.
By the time they need to pay, some have not activated the account. Others have forgotten a password or do not know who must approve the payment. They have to ask for help just when they need to use the funds.
We urge clients to act as soon as the account details arrive. Follow the bank's instructions and learn how to prepare and approve a payment. Plan the first real use with your bank or your Bank Service team, before a supplier deadline is close.
Check your NRA account before the first receipt
Use this checklist with your bank or your agreed Bank Service provider. Record the answer for each account, including accounts kept as backups.
| Check | What to confirm | Who needs to act |
|---|---|---|
| Activation and initial funding | Complete the bank's activation steps. Confirm whether initial funding is required, its source, amount and deadline. | Your team, with bank instructions; EZIPD guides where Bank Service is agreed. |
| Access and payment approval | Test access for the people who prepare and approve payments. Check security devices, limits and password recovery. | Your authorised users; the bank enables the agreed permissions. |
| First customer receipt | Confirm the payer, currency and account details, including any subaccount needed to hold that currency. Explain how the receipt relates to the sale. | Your team provides the facts; the bank confirms requirements. |
| Transaction evidence | Match contracts, invoices, account names and the roles of the companies involved. Prepare trade and source-of-funds evidence requested by the bank. | Your team supplies records; EZIPD helps check and explain them under Bank Service. |
| Supplier payment | Confirm the supplier's bank details, payment currency, charges, the bank's daily payment deadline and any currency conversion needed. | Your team checks the supplier details; the bank confirms available services and conditions. |
| Follow-up responsibility | Name the person who answers bank questions and the person who gives final payment approval. | Agree the roles before funds arrive. Your company retains final approval. |
This checklist helps you prepare for the bank's review. The bank still decides whether it can accept and process the payment.
Connect the first customer receipt to the supplier payment
Before the customer sends money, explain the trade to the receiving bank. Say who is paying, why they are paying and which supplier you will pay next. A Hong Kong company receiving overseas payments needs to make the same checks. It must still meet the bank's rules for that payment.
With Bank Service, we review the trade and records with you before contacting the bank. If it asks for more, we help you prepare the next response and follow up. That work draws on our experience with first-receipt bank reviews. Here, the aim is to prepare ahead, not wait for a delay.
Before paying the supplier, check that you can use the incoming funds and that they are no longer awaiting review. Check any currency exchange separately. If you need to pay suppliers in China, confirm the receiving account and the documents needed for that payment. Receiving one currency does not mean the bank has agreed to convert it or send it on.
Your company's authorised person gives final approval. If our role includes preparing a payment instruction, we only perform tasks you authorise and the bank permits.
Keep every account ready for its next use
With several accounts, it is easy to activate the main one and forget the others. Check initial funding and activation separately for each account. A backup that has never been set up for use may not help when you need it.
We recommend a monthly bank account maintenance check, with genuine activity planned in line with each bank's rules. Check account status, bank notices and open requests. Make sure staff still have the access they need. If an account will stay unused, ask the bank how to maintain it and what counts as activity.
There is no single monthly-transfer rule for all NRA or Hong Kong accounts. Inactivity may lead to restrictions or closure under the bank's terms. A login or occasional transfer is not a guarantee against restrictions, and ongoing bank reviews still apply.
For Hong Kong accounts, the HKMA's account opening and maintenance guidance explains that banks continue reviewing customer information after opening. Keep your business details current and respond to bank requests.
What does post-opening Bank Service cover?
With EZIPD Bank Service, you receive guidance from activation through first use, plus bank communication and follow-up within the agreed scope. Before work starts, agree which tasks we handle and what you authorise us to do. Your company keeps final payment approval.
Without Bank Service, our account-opening assignment ends when the account has been opened and the bank's account materials have been delivered. Your team then deals directly with the bank for activation, operating guidance and later use. Contact the bank promptly after handover and make sure someone can both operate the system and manage follow-up.
Some clients prefer to manage accounts themselves because of privacy, internal control or cost. That is a valid choice. The important decision is who will do the work, not whether every client outsources it. Never share approval passwords or one-time security codes; use the bank's formal permissions where assistance is authorised.
How EZIPD helps clients make better decisions
Our decision engine brings together experience from completed client work, discussions with banks and the facts of your business. It helps us spot what is missing before your team relies on an account.
We call this practical judgment Banking Intelligence: understanding what the bank needs for the intended receipt and supplier payment. Structure Intelligence checks that the company receiving the money, the contracts and the supplier payment fit together. Service Intelligence turns those findings into named responsibilities, documents and follow-up actions.
You can then judge whether the account is ready for the planned receipt and supplier payment. You know which gaps to fix, who will follow up and what still needs the bank's confirmation. During first use, we record the bank's questions and the documents it needs. We use that experience to prepare later payments.
That is Design First, Action Follow in account use. Preparation gives clients more information and clearer choices before a supplier deadline forces a rushed decision.
Questions before the first payment
Does a SWIFT code mean the account can receive any overseas payment?
No. A SWIFT/BIC code identifies an institution. It does not mean the bank will accept every payer, currency or payment. Ask the bank for the instructions for your receipt, including details of any other bank that must handle it along the way.
What if the new account has been unused for some time?
Contact the bank before sending funds. Ask it to check the account status and access. Find out whether you need to reactivate the account or update your documents. Do not assume that an old welcome letter means the account is still ready to use.
Is an initial deposit the same as the first customer payment?
Not necessarily. The bank may ask you to fund the account to activate it. It will also review why your customer is paying you. Check both steps; completing one does not mean the bank has accepted the other.
Related reading
- Corporate Bank Account Preparation: understand the evidence needed before opening an account.
- When a Business Needs Multiple Bank Accounts: give each account a clear role.
- China or Hong Kong Company: clarify which company performs each part of the business.
Tell us which company holds the account, what your customer will pay and which supplier you need to pay next. Include the currency, timing and any bank questions already received. We can review the preparation and discuss whether you need Bank Service. You can contact us directly; using the Bank tool is optional.