Job Discussion Forums

[johntpartee]

Apparently if you withdraw money from a Chinese bank in a different province from where you opened the account, there is a fee. That's what a guy at Bank of China told me, anyway. Anybody know what the fee is? Is it for point of sale (debit card) transactions as well?

[smutbagdisco]

There was a 20 yuan fee accessing money in my Guangdong ICBC at the Fujian ICBC. Don't know about POS

[KarenB]

Does anyone know whether you can withdraw money from a Chinese bank in another country -- say for instance -- you're in America -- can you withdraw money from your Bank of China or ICBC account?

Or...is it possible (while in China) to transfer money from a Chinese bank to an American bank (say...Bank of America)?

If there's a way to do it -- which banks?

[johntpartee]

[ec]

The fee varies depending on which bank your account is with - usually it's a fixed fee of 2RMB + 1% of your withdrawal amount.

I suggest you open an account with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB). They offer free withdrawal throughout the country.

[johntpartee]

[Von Dut]

Most Chinese ATM cards are UnionPay. Most ATM's outside of China don't accept them. Most ATM's are Interac. I went through this problem last summer. I was told that I can use my BoC card from China and access my account at the BoC branch in Canada. Turns out that wasn't the case. I went through a whole mess of things to get my money. I was told (at the Canadian branch) the only places in N.America to use a UnionPay ATM card was in New York or San Fransisco. What a headache that all was.

I have a Agriculture Bank account. I HAD a Bank of China account. Now I have the Agri account and an HSBC (China) account which is tied to my HSBC (Canada) account. I can deposit money to the China HSBC account and simply get on the internet and transfer to my Canadian account.

With using your bank card in another province of China. With my Agri account I pay 1rmb per 100rmb I withdraw. Not much but if you are spending lots of time out of province it adds up.

[sojourner]

"Most Chinese ATM cards are UnionPay. Most ATM's outside of China don't accept them".

---------------------------------------------------------

I have definitely used my China Construction Bank card (with the UnionPay logo) to withdraw local currency in Vietnam, HK and Macau. (I also vaguely recall doing the same in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand).

Von Dut, did you have to go through a lot of hassles in order to get an HSBC card ? A couple of years back, in both BKK and Melbourne, I tried to get such a card - the red tape was unbelievable ! Inter alia, I even had to get a letter of reference from another bank ! I think that they are only after people from the "top end of town", as evidenced by all the questions re my financial situation, as well as to their list of fees. Maybe, it's a different situation in Canada.

Still on the subject of banking, does anyone know what is the normal interest rate that we receive on our ATM-linked savings accounts, here in China ?

Peter

[China.Pete]

"Does anyone know whether you can withdraw money from a Chinese bank in another country?" -- Karen B

When using an ATM card overseas, there are a number of issues to consider. One is the entity that handles settlements, be it UnionPay, Cirrus (MasterCard), Plus (Visa), or whatever. That's where all those logos appearing on ATM machines are important. If there's no match, then no money. Another issue is the PIN number. China uses six-digit pins, whereas many international ATMs may only accept four. Any disparities will need to be rectified before you travel. Fees are a whole other issue. The best deals from the issuing banks have been a flat rate of around $2 per transaction, although most will charge a percentage of the amount withdrawn with a per transaction minimum. Fees charged for the machine will depend on the ATM's owner and location. These can range from free to $5 and up.

Using an international debit card affiliated with either Visa or MasterCard at participating merchants should present fewer problems. These are widely accepted, and the merchants cover any fees. If used in a POS transaction, you will face the same limitations as using UnionPay at any ATM. Either the merchant's POS terminal is linked with UnionPay or it isn't.

"Is it possible while in China to transfer money from a Chinese bank to an American bank?" -- Karen B

There are various ways to transfer money overseas, ranging from mailing a cashier's check to using Western Union. For significant amounts of money, I'd recommend a wire transfer. You will need to find out the ABA routing number of the American bank branch (see http://www.routingtool.com/), together with some other details that the beneficial owner of the account should know. The fee charged by the transmitting bank ought to be about $15. The fee on the part of the recipient bank can range from nothing to around $5.

[Von Dut]

My bad. I should have said "outside of Asia".

As for HSBC. It's technically 2 different accounts. Not actually linked. Just there to have easy transfer. Fairly easy for me. It helps to have a friend that works there. Gotta love Guangxi!!

[roadwalker]

I was told (at the Canadian branch) the only places in N.America to use a UnionPay ATM card was in New York or San Fransisco.

I used a Union Pay card last year (2009) in the US, but not NYC or San Francisco. I think they have an arrangement with Citibank and Citi has ATMs in 7-11 stores. So you should be able to use it in any 7-11 that has an ATM. Also check Wikipedia for other locations outside of China.

[LongShiKong]

It cost me 50 RMB to transfer 32,000 from a Shaanxi B of China to a branch here in Shandong. I was told it's 1% up to a max of 50 RMB. I guess to avoid the 50, topping the account to an even figure through a transfer then subsequent daily withdrawals to a zero balance would do it.

[ShanghaiSurprise]

1% of 32,000 = 320.

[johntpartee]

[KarenB]

OK, thanks for everyone who contributed to my question -- there's lots of useful information here.