News Analysis
Many banking customers in China’s Shenzhen city took to social media earlier this month, claiming they couldn’t withdraw cash or transfer money because their accounts were frozen. Chinese media reported that banks collaborated with authorities to freeze bank accounts.
Moreover, a financial expert believes Beijing’s real intention is to prevent capital outflow.
According to an Aug. 12 article by China’s First Financial News, several residents in Shenzhen said that their debit cards issued by Bank of China’s Shenzhen branch were suddenly frozen. They noticed the problem when they found that they could deposit money into their accounts but couldn’t withdraw any. They could neither transfer funds using Alipay, an online payment platform and China’s equivalent to Paypal. Furthermore, they also could no longer sign into their mobile banking apps….