Job Discussion Forums

[Gawain]

I have no credit card and if my cash runs out I will depend entirely on my ATM card. This card uses the CIRRUS and STAR ATM systems. My bank says it should work in China because those are international systems.

BUT a post in this forum says my ATM card will NOT work in China because Chinese PIN numbers are 6 digits, while my American ATM card uses only 4 digit PIN. Who is right? Have you used your American ATM card with 4 digit PIN in China?

[grwit]

I am from Australia now living in China
My ATM works ok in China. I have a VISA ATM card and my mother and father also came for a holiday and used their VISA and MASTERCARD.

I am unsure about CIRRUS and STAR ATM as I am not familiar with them.

There are many banks in china and I have to look for BANK OF CHINA no others will accept international cards. Luckily BANK of CHINA is the biggest branch of chinese banks and are plentiful in every city I have been too.

As for the 6 digit pin - In Australia we also only use 4 digit pins but all you have to do is add 00 at the begining or the end of your 4 digit pin and it will work. (For memory I think the 00 goes at the end)

Another thing... the Bank of China ATMs are in english and Chinese so you wont need to worry about not understanding the screen when you use it.

Next time I am at the bank I will look for the CIRRUS or STAR logos and I will get back to you on that.

[saint57]

Just to confirm what grwit said, only The Bank of China will accept it. My Canadian 4-Digit card only worked at two machines in my "town" of 1 million. I was on the outskirts of town so it took 20/40 minutes by bike to get to them. You should always carry a credit card cause you never know when you will be in a tough spot.

[Calories]

I use my credit card like a debit card to access my bank account back home. I have a 4 digit pin and never had a problem using a Bank of China atm. I never even bothered to try using something else.

[prof]

You should be okay.

Why not post this on the China forums???

[Sgt Killjoy]

No problem, BUT some US Banks are limiting where cards can be used as a fraud prevention mechanism. For example. Wells Fargo has blacklisted 25 countries. My suggestion, and it is a strong one, is to call your bank and let them know you are going to China so they can make that notation in your account. #1, they can let you know if the country is blacklisted and #2, if their fraud programs pick up that someone is using your atm in China, they won't ban your account straight away. I know more than a few teachers who came to Thailand, used an ATM ok the first day, but then had to contact their banks back home just to have access again to their account.

[China.Pete]

CIRRUS is to MasterCard as PLUS is to Visa. Therefore, any ATM bearing the MasterCard/CIRRUS logo should work with your ATM card. The Star system is, I believe, a US interlink system, and is irrelevant overseas. In addition to bank of China ATMs, you should be able to use your card in the ATMs of international banks, such as HSBC, Citibank, etc. Admittedly, these may be few and far between outside of the major trading centers.

[JDYoung]

Things change in China fast. When I came three years ago I couldn't use my card anywhere. Now I can at any machine that will accept foreign cards. The machines that have UNIONPAY seem to accept only cards from certain Chinese banks but I have used it with Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong, Everbright and others. As to the PIN, mine is four digits. I just press "ENTER" after the four digits and haven't had a problem.

[diana83709]

We use our US credit union ATM cards that have the CIRRUS and STAR logos at Bank of China with absolutely NO problems. Enter your 4 digit pin, hit ENTER and you are good to go!!