Job Discussion Forums

dialogger · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 419 Location: China

20 % EC Cleric.
Hell that's tough!

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

This exact thing happened to me. I had a summer contract in China and left with my entire salary in RMB. I believe that you would lose about 25 percent of your salary in China by exchanging it in the United States. Other than Hong Kong and Taiwan, I don't think it is good to change RMB outside on the Mainland.

dialogger · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 419 Location: China

I think we need to be careful here about what we talking about.
'Exchange' as in transferring it via the Chinese bank to your home bank involves a processing fee as well as the rate.
Just exchanging RMB for US notes at BOC or one of those dodgy characters who loll around the lobbies doesn't involve a processing fee.
Just a tip to watch for counterfeits when handling 100RMB notes.
Mao's collar is rough on genuine notes but smooth on counterfeits.

waxwing · Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 719 Location: China

The legal limit for the border to Hong Kong is 20,000RMB. The checking/enforcement seems minimal, but I wouldn't want to be caught with more.

An interesting tidbit I learned a couple of years back: when entering England, there is NO LEGAL LIMIT of how much cash you can bring in, in ANY currency.

dialogger · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 419 Location: China

20,000 should cover most of us - say 4 months salary.

The Ever-changing Cleric · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 1523

Jayray · Joined: 28 Feb 2009 Posts: 373 Location: Back East

When I arrived in China this year, I was confronted with an agreement that I had to sign saying that I could change no currency from RMB to another.
I signed it with a note below that my signature did not denote agreement. I also wrote at the bottom of the agreement that I knew that I could convert and transfer up to 70% of my salary per Chinese law.

That agreement later disappeared from the FAO's desk while she wasn't looking.

When I opened my account at the main branch at the Bank of China, I asked the teller if I needed any special paperwork to transfer money or if I needed my FAO's permission. She knew that I was a teacher because I had divulge my occupation. She told me that I merely had to go to the international window (or something like that), present my bank passbook, my passport, and fill out the usual form giving my domestic bank account number, and a routing number or a Swift code.

That is what I did in '06 in a much smaller town. The FAO was with me, but I merely presented my passport and provided the above-mentioned information and the transaction was finished in fifteen minutes. The bank was not interested in info from the school or my occupation. The bank gave me papers for my next transfer and told me I didn't need the school's permission (or my FRP booklet).

I was surprised that the bank didn't need anything from the school. It could happen again for me. I'll find out at the end of the month when I try to transfer money. I'll keep you posted.