"study abroad fever" takes fire to go abroad for financial services. Families studying abroad can choose "mix and match"

■ A Huaxia Bank customer is waiting to handle overseas financial business. Reporter Liu Wenjing photo
Nowadays, studying abroad is becoming the choice of more and more families in China. According to the data released by the Ministry of Education, the total number of students studying abroad in China in 2018 was 662,100, of whom 596,300 were studying at their own expense, and the "study abroad craze" is spreading from first-tier cities to second-and third-tier cities.
During the summer vacation, many families in the provincial capital who are interested in going abroad are busy looking for intermediaries and contacting banks to pave the way for their children to study abroad. The "overseas finance" business of banks in provincial capitals has also ushered in growth. In order to get more cakes and win high-quality customers, banks have launched "one-stop service", various value-added services and public welfare activities to make it more convenient and practical for families studying abroad to get money.
"study abroad margin loan" is increasingly favored.
Ms. Wu, who works in an institution in the provincial capital, is busy with her daughter’s study abroad recently. My daughter is a senior three this year. Ms. Wu has contacted an American university. In her plan, her daughter does not have to take the national college entrance examination and goes directly to the United States to study at a university. During the formalities, she was told that she needed to open a deposit certificate of 500,000 yuan, but Ms. Wu’s family just bought a new house, and she really didn’t have 500,000 yuan at the moment. Do you still have to borrow money from relatives and friends? Just when she was in a dilemma, a friend told her that many banks now have "study abroad deposit loans", and they can issue deposit certificates after lending first.
Ms. Wu contacted the account manager of a bank and quickly issued a deposit certificate of 500,000 yuan. "Now the financial products are really amazing! I saved 15,000 yuan, pledged 500,000 yuan with the certificate of deposit, and then turned the 500,000 yuan into a large deposit certificate, so I can open a deposit certificate and finish it in one day. " Ms. Wu told the reporter happily that in the "study abroad deposit loan", the cost she had to bear was the spread between the loan interest rate and the deposit interest rate. She borrowed for six months and paid interest of 1,500 yuan per month, which was completely affordable, so she didn’t have to borrow money from her friends.
It is understood that the "guarantee loan for studying abroad" handled by Ms. Wu has almost become the main product of "going abroad for finance" of various banks, that is, first making loans, then making deposits, and then issuing deposit certificates, which is very suitable for families studying abroad. The reporter learned from Bank of China, Bank of Beijing, China Merchants Bank and Huaxia Bank that the "study abroad margin loan" business of these banks has been growing steadily in recent years.
Zhao Xuyang, from the Overseas Financial Center of Bank of Beijing Shijiazhuang Branch, said that it is necessary to open an asset certificate or a deposit certificate to study abroad. Although most families studying abroad are relatively rich in assets, with the enhancement of investment and financial management awareness, more families will invest their money instead of depositing it as a time deposit. Therefore, the "study abroad deposit loan" used to open a deposit certificate just solves this problem. For banks, this kind of loan has relatively low risk and belongs to high-quality business.
Zhang Bo, who is in charge of overseas financial business of Huaxia Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, also said that the bank has handled hundreds of "guarantee loans for studying abroad" in the past three years. Because of its low cost and high efficiency, it can be done in one day, which is very popular among families of international students.
A number of banks have launched "one-stop service"
In addition to the widely recognized "study abroad margin loan", banks have also developed a variety of overseas financial products, covering almost the whole chain of studying abroad. "One-stop service" has increasingly become the main card of banks’ overseas financial business.
In the brochure of China Merchants Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, from the initial selection of schools and visa application to various procedures, to remittance transfer and credit card processing after going abroad, the bank’s business goes with it everywhere. There is an "intelligent study abroad consultant" on the mobile banking client of China Merchants Bank. Click in and enter your own relevant information, and the system will automatically recommend schools, jump out of the profile of the recommended schools, and the growth of tuition fees in recent years. At the same time, it will also recommend children’s education fund planning and smart study abroad planning. During the formalities of studying abroad, the bank can print the transaction flow and deposit certificate. In the later period of studying abroad, there is also a credit card specially for international students, which is convenient for paying tuition and living expenses abroad, and the whole chain service.
In the overseas financial business of the Agricultural Bank of China, it also includes foreign currency financing, cross-border wire transfer, making an appointment to open an overseas bank account and other services, all of which have preferential treatment and reduction of handling fees.
According to the reporter’s investigation, at present, the study agent and the bank have jointly completed the complete chain of studying abroad. Intermediaries are responsible for handling visas, language training, applying for colleges and universities, submitting various materials, etc. Banks are responsible for printing running water, issuing deposit certificates, handling credit cards, overseas remittances, foreign currency financing, etc. In the continuous cooperation and running-in between the two sides, the "one-stop service" of banks is becoming more and more close to the people and practical.
Public welfare activities attract families studying abroad.
A few days ago, Bank of Beijing Shijiazhuang Branch just finished a "Jingying Practice Camp" for teenagers who plan to study abroad, which is the second phase of this summer. Each activity provides 10 places. The bank specially invites teachers to train relevant financial knowledge, and there will be practical operation. After the event, an "internship certificate" will be opened. The account manager said that such practical activities are purely public welfare, that is, value-added services for customers who intend to go abroad, and the internship certificates are also very useful. Many foreign schools pay great attention to students’ social practice.
Huaxia Bank and China Merchants Bank are holding public welfare activities like this. The practical activities of Huaxia Bank Shijiazhuang Branch have 30 people in each period, mainly to let these children learn financial knowledge and language, talk about currency, exchange rate, etc., and train them for 5-7 days, and also to provide practical certificates for these children. Every year, China Merchants Bank holds a "China Teenager Who Changed the World" activity, and accepts applications nationwide. After several rounds of competitions, 30 outstanding students are selected to participate in free high-end study tours. According to Yu Xue of China Merchants Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, this activity has been held for two times, providing a platform for excellent children to communicate. The year before last, students from Shijiazhuang won the qualification of free study tour through competitions. This year is the third session, and the registration process will be started soon.
In order to attract families studying abroad, the bank has launched various public welfare activities, including salons and lectures for families studying abroad and various competitions for teenagers studying abroad. China Merchants Bank also publishes a white paper on studying in the United States/Britain/Australia every year, collecting and sorting out the information of various schools from a third-party perspective to provide reference for families studying abroad.
Sword refers to "going abroad finance" intended for high-end customers.
According to the reporter’s investigation, a number of banks in the provincial capital have recently set up "overseas financial centers" and "overseas financial departments" in the past two years to separate overseas financial business from retail business and become bigger and stronger professionally.
Why do banks attach so much importance to "going abroad finance"? The target is still a potential high-end customer. "Going abroad for finance is a big cake. Now banks are focusing on the overseas students, mainly to develop some potential high-end customers." An industry insider said that after all, most international students come from middle-and high-income families with certain economic strength. For this part of potential high-end customers, banks are willing to launch various value-added services at a lower cost.
"Families studying abroad belong to our high-quality customers. First of all, in terms of assets, families who can send their children to study abroad must have certain assets; Secondly, such families also pay more attention to credit reporting. " Xiao Zhang, the account manager of the overseas finance department of a bank, said that she has accumulated many such high-quality customers by doing overseas finance business. As long as the service is recognized by customers, she can recommend bank wealth management products and high-end credit cards later, which will promote various businesses of the bank.
Families studying abroad can try "mix and match"
According to incomplete statistics, in addition to state-owned banks such as industry, agriculture, China, construction and communications, commercial banks such as China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, Bank of Beijing, Huaxia Bank, China CITIC Bank, Minsheng Bank, China Everbright Bank and Ping An Bank have launched services and products focusing on overseas finance, and are vigorously expanding such businesses.
Then, how should families studying abroad choose the products and services of overseas finance? The account manager of a bank put forward the suggestion of "mashup". She said that although a number of banks have launched "one-stop" overseas financial services, each bank has its own characteristics and advantages. Some banks have lower cost and faster processing of "study abroad margin loans", some banks have more credit card functions for studying abroad, and some banks have more reductions and exemptions in remittance fees. Families studying abroad can learn more about the advantages and characteristics of various banks’ overseas financial services, and then combine their advantages among different bank products and freely "mix and match".
However, people in the industry also pointed out that the product "mix and match" should not span too many banks, only two or three companies can match, which can facilitate the cooperation and continuation between different businesses. (Reporter Liu Wenjing)







