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scb222
Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 175 Location: Brisvegas, Oz
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 10:47 pm Post subject: Sending Money Home |
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how difficult is it to send money home - deposit into my aussie bank account? i need to pay off loans and whatnot. any tips from those that have done this would be much appreciated. i heard that in china you cant send money out of the country, is that true? |
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Roger
Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 2:12 am Post subject: |
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Anyone can open a bank account in China, but remitting funds is strictly controlled due to the RMB's being non-convertible.
If you have a legal job, you can legally convert up to 70% of your salary and transfer it to Oz. You probably will feel the procedures hasslesome.
They also seem to cost a stiff charge.
An option is to open a foreign-currency account here and buy foreign currency on the black market - not that I would strongly recommend it. It saves time and certainly does not cost more although in some places it is difficult to find illegal money-changers.
A third option is via Hong Kong. If you live in Guangdong, then this is an ideal solution.
Note that no foreign bank has any branches here - neither the American Bank nor HSBC are "branches". They only maintain "representative offices".
Courier services are not allowed to carry money out of China!
Only Western Union in Hong Kong will do that from there, not from the mainland! |
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Mavrik
Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Posts: 7 Location: Guangzhou
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 8:38 am Post subject: |
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Get your school to pay you in American Dollars, and then use Western Union, available all over China. Even though I am sending it to Canada, I still need U.S. Dollars. The fee is $15US for under $500US and $20US for under a $1000. It's sent in an hour and still cost less than going through the banks. Good Luck |
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Per Scott
Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 10
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Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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I'm American and send money home using travelers' checks in U.S. dollars. The fee in China is 1%, and this means you save money if you're not sending much home. You can send a thousand dollars home for $11. I did this in Korea and saved $25 each time.
The main drawback for me is that only one bank in a big area may sell these. In Sichuan it's the provincial branch of the Bank of China in Chengdu. My bank doesn't have a problem with these checks. I just endorse them to the bank for deposit only and give my account info.
About money changers, I read that they're licensed by the government.
That makes sense because I see them out in the open in front of the banks in plain view of the police. Just bring a magnifying glass and know what to look for to spot a fake bill. |
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