ICBC has rolled out a new service nationwide for personal customers to trade foreign exchange via accounts, said in a recent announcement of the Bank. The new product - "ICBC Account FX", allows investors to buy/sell RMB against 5 foreign currencies, namely Euro, Pound sterling, Swiss franc, Australian dollar and Canadian dollar, offering more choices for personal customers in China to invest and trade foreign exchange.

According to an ICBC official, "ICBC Account FX" is designed for personal customers to trade foreign exchange via accounts, while only FX shares are counted and no FX can be drawn. RMB is used for buying/selling against foreign currencies. FX shares in the account cannot be drawn in foreign currency or for transfer/remittance. The main difference between account FX and FX trading is that in account FX business, RMB is used for transactions and no buying/selling between foreign currencies is allowed, while the FX trading business allows buying/selling between different foreign currencies. Meanwhile, the Account FX business is different from "Personal exchange settlement and sale" since the FX shares bought via account cannot be drawn in foreign currency, and the account is not restricted by the annual FX purchase ceiling.

At this stage, "ICBC Account FX" only allows "buying first, selling later". If a foreign currency is expected to appreciate, customers can buy first, then sell to earn the difference between the ask price and the bid price. ICBC provides customers with buying and selling quotations of different foreign currencies on a continuous basis, referencing international FX market prices and market liquidity.

The trading hours for "ICBC Account FX" are from 7:00 am Monday to 4:00 am Saturday. The Account FX business can help customers get the most out of the funds in that it sets low threshhold for investment, provides flexible and multi- channel transaction, offers real-time clearing and settlement for trading capital and allows multiple transactions within one day. Currently, the starting trading amount of each currency is 10 units of each foreign currency, and the minimum increment is 1 unit of each foreign currency. "ICBC Account FX" transactions can be conducted via ICBC Internet Banking, Mobile Banking or Telephone Banking, and customers can either buy/sell in real time or place an order (valid for 120 hours at most).