Chinese/English names banking trouble

[msittig]

Hi everybody,

 

We're running into a bit of trouble with names and bank accounts.

 

My wife and I have, at several points in the past years, received checks made out to her English name. My bank has added her to our (now joint) account, but will only do so under her Chinese name, which is on her passport, green card and driver's license. Since her English first and last names are both different from her Chinese first and last names, being added to my account doesn't help with being able to deposit these checks. What the bank has asked for is an official government IDs with all of her names on them.

 

Has anybody ran into this problem and succesfully gotten around it? Is there any government-issued document that would easily allow us to get all of her names on the bank account?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Randy W]

Hi everybody,

 

We're running into a bit of trouble with names and bank accounts.

 

My wife and I have, at several points in the past years, received checks made out to her English name. My bank has added her to our (now joint) account, but will only do so under her Chinese name, which is on her passport, green card and driver's license. Since her English first and last names are both different from her Chinese first and last names, being added to my account doesn't help with being able to deposit these checks. What the bank has asked for is an official government IDs with all of her names on them.

 

Has anybody ran into this problem and succesfully gotten around it? Is there any government-issued document that would easily allow us to get all of her names on the bank account?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Perhaps work with the bank personnel on this - would they process the check with a hold until it has successfully cleared? Even up to six months, if needed?

 

If not, how about an "also known as" addendum to her passport. I know you can get those at the Chinese consulates in the U.S. Is it possible to get one while in China?

 

Another possibility is to deposit the check to an American bank, whether by mail, or some will allow a camera-phone deposit (by taking a picture of the check from within their mobile phone app)

[msittig]

Thanks Randy! I think working with the bank personnel will be key on this, but so far they've been very inflexible.

 

And a clarification, this is all happening in the US so by her "Chinese name" I mean her name in pinyin, the checks are from American friends, and the bank is a local California bank.

[Randy W]

Thanks Randy! I think working with the bank personnel will be key on this, but so far they've been very inflexible.

 

And a clarification, this is all happening in the US so by her "Chinese name" I mean her name in pinyin, the checks are from American friends, and the bank is a local California bank.

 

Huh??!? The checks are made out to her name in pinyin, the bank account is in her name in Chinese characters, or is it in a different pinyin (or Western) name?? She doesn't HAVE any identification showing this name??

 

Unless the account name is in Chinese characters, why can't she have the checks written out to that name? If it IS in Chinese characters, why can't she have the checks written out to THAT name?

 

Bottom line seems to be - you need a different American bank, unless I'm not understanding the issue. Most of our spouses, I believe, would have a "Western", non-Chinese character name that they use on all legal documents. Most ALL of us have one or more nicknames that we go by and occasionally deposit checks made out to that nickname.

 

There should not be an issue here.

[Mick]

Randy is right. Maybe she should either have the check written in a way acceptable to the bank or even better, switch to a new bank. For example, my screen name here is Mick, a nickname I have had since I was five years old. My real name is Dwight. My initials are L.D. I deposit checks written to L.D., Dwight, and Mick. The bank accepts all three without question. I am not sure why the bank is creating such an issue here.

[msittig]

I should have been more specific from the beginning: her IDs and now the bank account all say "Zhou Zhou" (in pinyin), and the checks are made out to "Micah and Jodi Sittig".

 

The answer is probably as you suggest, to find another bank.

[Randy W]

I should have been more specific from the beginning: her IDs and now the bank account all say "Zhou Zhou" (in pinyin), and the checks are made out to "Micah and Jodi Sittig".

 

The answer is probably as you suggest, to find another bank.

 

You have marriage documents showing the basis for the name change (to Sittig), and Jodi would seem to be a reasonable nickname for Zhou. And YOUR name is one of the two names

 

Yep, I'd say you need a new bank, if they won't deposit it