New Rules on Accessibility Services and Account Opening with Rare Characters at Shenzhen Banks Take Effect: How Should Enterprises and Individuals Safeguard Their Rights in Accordance with the Law?
During National Quality Month in September 2026, China CITIC Bank Shenzhen Branch, in response to the call of the People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch, carried out the themed activity Financial Standards Benefit the People and Enterprises. The activity focused on publicizing the National Standardization Development Outline and financial standards policies, and implemented the Accessibility Construction Specifications for Bank Business Outlets and the Guidelines for Handling Rare Chinese Characters in Financial Services, opening green channels for special groups and resolving the difficulty of opening accounts for enterprises whose names contain rare Chinese characters. From a legal perspective, this is not only a manifestation of the bank fulfilling its social responsibilities, but also implicates the protection of financial consumers' rights and interests, anti-discrimination obligations, and compliance red lines in contract formation.
1. What legal liabilities might a bank bear for refusing to open an account or engaging in service discrimination?
When an enterprise or individual handles account opening, deposits, withdrawals, and other business at a bank branch, if they are refused or treated differently because of disability, uncommon characters in a name, or a special enterprise name, the bank may violate multiple legal provisions. First, Article 5 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks provides that in business dealings with customers, commercial banks shall follow the principles of equality, voluntariness, fairness, and good faith. Refusing to open an account for a lawful entity constitutes a violation of the principle of equality. Second, Article 14 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests clearly provides that consumers enjoy the right to have their personal dignity respected, and Article 20 prohibits business operators from setting unfair and unreasonable transaction conditions. A bank's refusal to open an account on the grounds that its system does not support uncommon characters amounts to shifting its own technical deficiencies onto consumers and is suspected of setting unreasonable transaction conditions. In addition, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Construction of a Barrier-Free
II. The Challenge of Opening Accounts with Rare Characters: Technical Excuses Cannot Override Statutory Obligations
Where an enterprise name or a natural person’s name contains rare characters, opening a bank account often runs into difficulties such as the system being unable to enter the characters and requests to change the name. CITIC Bank Shenzhen Branch’s systematic resolution of this issue in accordance with the Guidelines for Handling Rare Characters in Financial Services deserves recognition. Legally, however, a bank cannot refuse to open an account on the ground that the system does not support it. The Measures for the Administration of RMB Bank Settlement Accounts provide that when a depositor applies to open a bank settlement account, the bank shall handle it in accordance with law and may not impose additional barriers. The People’s Bank of China has also issued multiple documents requiring financial institutions not to refuse account opening on the ground of rare characters. If the bank insists on refusing, the enterprise may, under Articles 496 to 498 of the Civil Code concerning standard terms, assert that the account-opening conditions unilaterally set by the bank are invalid; it may also complain to the People’s Bank of China Shenzhen Branch or directly file a civil lawsuit, demanding that the bank perform its account-opening obligation and compensate for the economic losses caused by the delay in opening the account. In legal practice, there was a Shenzhen enterprise that was unable to pay a bid bond because the bank refused to open an account, and the court ultimately ordered the bank to compensate the direct losses. Enterprises should retain written evidence or audio recordings of the refusal to open an account and promptly seek a lawyer’s involvement.
III. Accessible Financial Services: Paths to Rights Protection for Special Groups
When persons with disabilities, older adults, and other special groups encounter problems at bank branches such as missing accessibility facilities, refusal to allow guide dogs to enter, or inability to use self-service equipment, they may, in accordance with Article 58 of the Barrier-Free Environment Construction Law, require the bank to rectify the situation within a specified period, and may complain to disabled persons' federations and financial regulatory authorities. Article 63 of the law provides that anyone who violates the provisions on barrier-free environment construction and causes damage shall bear civil liability in accordance with law. In a 2025 judgment, a court in Shenzhen held that a bank's failure to provide an accessible passage, which prevented a wheelchair user from entering, constituted an infringement of the consumer's human dignity, and ordered the bank to pay compensation and make rectifications. Lawyers suggest that before conducting business, special groups may first call the branch to confirm the accessibility facilities; if they are refused, they should record the time, place, and employee number, complain to the People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch or the Shenzhen Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, and, when necessary, entrust a lawyer to send a lawyer's letter or file a lawsuit. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has represented multiple financial consumer rights protection cases and has accumulated extensive experience in the field of accessibility service disputes.
IV. Financial Standards and Legal Compliance: How Can Enterprises Leverage the Momentum to Improve Internal Controls?
Although financial standards are not laws, once they are cited in regulatory documents or incorporated into contracts, they become legally binding. For example, the Bank Business Outlet Accessibility Construction Specifications have been implemented by the People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch as a regulatory requirement, and banks that violate them may face regulatory penalties. For enterprises, understanding financial standards helps protect their rights and interests in account opening, financing, and payment settlement. If an enterprise suffers losses because a bank fails to implement the standards, it may claim that the bank has failed to fulfill its prudential operation obligations. At the same time, enterprises themselves should also pay attention to financial standards requirements in areas such as anti-money laundering and data security to avoid having banking services terminated due to non-compliance. As Shenzhen is a major fintech hub, enterprises should regularly review their service agreements with banks to ensure the terms comply with the latest standards. If a bank refuses service on the basis of internal standards, the enterprise may require it to provide the basis and consult a professional lawyer to determine whether the refusal is lawful.
Financial standards cannot move from documents to services without legal safeguards. Whether individuals or enterprises, when encountering problems in Shenzhen such as being refused a bank account opening, lack of accessibility services, or inability to input rare characters, they should promptly preserve evidence, file complaints with regulatory authorities, or protect their rights through litigation. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has long been deeply engaged in Shenzhen’s legal services market and has a professional team in the fields of financial consumer rights, contract disputes, and corporate compliance, and can provide citizens and enterprises with precise legal support.
