In May 2024, CITIC Bank seized the initiative: it became the first to announce a Mastercard debit card supporting both RMB and USD—what we now call the Mastercard RMB debit card.

Interestingly, CITIC directly slapped on the label “China’s first,” clearly aiming to be the first to take a bite.

So I’ll take the first bite too—let’s open one and give it a spin.

Opening the Card

Applying for a CITIC card online is a breeze. For a debit card, just head to the CITIC Bank App → All Services → Card Supermarket. The Mastercard dual-currency card you want is under Standard Card Series, alongside three CITIC UnionPay cards, the American Express RMB card (which I’ve covered before), the Mastercard foreign-currency card, and the VISA foreign-currency card.

Tap Apply, and you’ll be redirected to the application form—just fill it out as prompted.

Opening the card costs 5 RMB, which will be credited back into your account.

Once you’re done, just wait at home. You’ll receive a card like the one below.

CITIC even gave this card its own dedicated packaging (I lost mine), which shows they at least invested in the design.

The BIN is 522401, and the card is valid for only five years. But CITIC doesn’t require a branch visit for card replacement or renewal—you can do it all in the app by entering the card number, CVV, and ID info. So, unless something else comes up, you’ll only need to visit a branch once to get this card in hand.

Activation at the Branch

That one branch visit for activation was because I, being the idiot I am, entered the front number incorrectly three times while reissuing my Amex, which locked the card. That was the real reason for the visit, so I had this Mastercard activated at the counter as a bonus. The staff didn’t ask much—maybe they just copied the Amex details—but either way, the card was activated smoothly.

Usage

Binding to Google Play works fine, as does WeChat and Alipay. Pixiv binding succeeded, though I haven’t tried making a purchase yet. PayPal binding, however, failed—the same old story with the high decline rate.

Afterword

CITIC, that decline rate of yours—I’m speechless. You clearly did two good things, so why this?

I guess I’ll have to resort to some unconventional methods (stay tuned for future posts).