Hi all. Can somebody tell me the cheapest way to wire money to China? I need to wire about $1000 HKD to a friend in China this time, but I have more family and friends in China that I would like to wire money to in the future. Here are the two best options I can think of so far:
1) Try a Western Union outlet in Hong Kong. However, for $1000, won't I be charged an exorbitant fee?
2) Open a China bank account in Shenzhen. Does anybody know the bank to bank wire transfer rates? Will there be problems if I repeatedly wire money to other friends and family on a continual basis?
3) Try a money changer in Hong Kong. People say this is the riskiest way because they might just rip me off and never transfer the money over.
I heard that you can't transfer money from Alipay to Alipay account unless I purchase a product (ie. purchase on Taobao) - is this true? Can I transfer from Paypal to Alipay? (I can't read Chinese well so I can't read any information on Alipay).
Anybody else have any good suggestions?