Accidentally opened wrong bank account

I’m interning in Hong Kong for the summer and I did the worst, most stupid thing— I accidentally opened a weird bank account at Citibank. I told him that I only needed it so that payroll could pay me and I guess he took that as I want a payroll account.

I have no idea what that is and I couldn’t really understand his English either so I didn’t really understand what was happening. When I got home and looked at the paper work, I noticed it said payroll account and I looked it up and that is just not what I wanted.

I have really bad anxiety, specifically social anxiety and he already stayed past closing to set it up for me. With that being the case these are my options: 1) forget it ever happened, ignore it exists , open up an account at hsbc and never go to pick up my ATM card at Citibank, 2) take some anxiety medication and go in and tell him that I opened the wrong type of account, or 3) go to a different Citibank branch far away in a different part of Hong Kong so I don’t have to disappoint the guy who opened the account and tell them what happened . I will probably have a heart attack doing the second option.

SOS.

5 replies

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LoVicky · 8 May

Hey, the first thing you should do is call someone close to you to help you feel better! The consequences for opening the wrong account are not bad. Sometimes the English here is really hard to understand, so the communication is somewhat hard.. so believe me, you are not alone regarding this! If talking to the guy that opened the account is too much for you, I think you could go with option 3. And if I can give you one last advice, before you go to the bank, write on a paper exactly what you want to say and explain. This always gives me more confidence and calms me down when I need to do something I'm nervous about, because I go more prepared.

mycrystal · 8 May

What wrong is the account? A saving account?

neil5m · 8 May

Hi PTX144 Sorry to hear about your anxiety. Don't worry about your bank account. You must remember that it all works on computer systems nowadays so any changes would mean a button being pressed to change things. The account representative esp at Citibank in Hong Kong are very accomodating, so you will be fine!! As LOVICKY said, write it down on paper and show the Rep. This is not the US/UK where everyone believes they are doing you a favour. Here is Hong Kong, people do their work efficiently and are focussed on their work esp in financial services. So don't worry about your account or making changes. Relax about it. A way to combat your anxiety especially since you are doing an internship and entering corporate life very soon is to write down your FOCUS statement which you need to make bold and keep it in an accessible place. Everytime you feel the anxiety pangs, keep looking and reading your focus statement. Over time, focussing on cognitive aspects will help you overcome your anxiety. Also work on creating a PROCESS in everything you do. Think about it and WRITE DOWN the steps you plan to take and FOLLOW those steps, inserting changes as and when required. This will help you focus on the steps of implementing rather than panicking or developing anxiety around it. You are now starting corporate life and may face numerous challenges from colleagues, work, bosses, the economy etc.

neil5m · 8 May

You need to manage those challenges. Everyone goes through them and have different methods of how to manage their own challenges. Have a GO TO PERSON you can call when you are in such positions. Take breaks through the day to just close your eyes and breathe. It will make a difference to how you view the world. I don't speak Chinese, but if you need me to come with you to Citibank, I'm happy to. I'm in Central too. Citibank staff speak English v well. Message me.

THEHASSTRUP · 8 May

Now have you gotten it fixed? did you get any help from the bank workers?