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Best way to wire money to bank account in China?

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  1. #1

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    Best way to wire money to bank account in China?

    Hi all. I have opened a Bank of China account in Shenzhen. What are the different options to wire money to my Bank of China account?

    I suppose the cheapest way is to simply bring a load of RMB as cash across the border to Shenzhen, go to a Bank of China branch, and deposit the cash in my account. Unfortunately, the MTR fare is $39 to and $39 back for an approximate cost of $80, not to mention the huge amount of time wasted. Also, I could potentially misplace the money or even worse, get robbed because somebody sees I have a huge stack of cash.

    A second option is a money changer. Unfortunately, money changers are not reliable and there is a risk I get ripped off (if you know of a reliable money changer in TST that is trustworthy to wire money to China, please let me know which one).

    So what options do I have for wiring money to my Bank of China account in Shenzhen? I'm looking for a cost effective way. Speed is not that important (I don't mind waiting several days for the money to clear). Rather, I'm looking to minimize my costs to wire money to my Bank of China account in Shenzhen. I would even consider opening a new account with a different bank in Hong Kong and China if there is a bank that offers cheap wiring services with a reasonable exchange rate. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks


  2. #2

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    Can you not take it to Bank of China in Hong Kong and see if they can assist depositing it to your account?


  3. #3

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    Depending on the amount, how much are we talking about here?

    for your reference: BOC Card | More | Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited

    assuming you are doing the traveling yourself and picking up the money yourself? why not just use BOC card and withdraw when need, I have done this multiple times and never had a issue, but do be careful about someone snooping over your shoulder to either rob you or plan to pick pocket you after they see you have entered your PIN.

    If you need to transfer money and your co-worker is picking it up, if you trust them you can leave your bank card with them and have them pick it up at their convenience, I am actually doing this right now, I opened a bank account in BOC and I leave that card in the China office, when my co-worker needs cash, I just wire it directly to that bank account from HK and he can pick it up via ATM in China, hassle free, no charges aside from HK to RMB exchange rate, it's pretty safe since I only deposit what he needs.

    If you are planning to wire a lot, increments of over $10K a day, there are no "best or easy" option that I know of. China has a lot of anti-laundering practice in place and I hear different stories in every branch.


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Trebor:
    Can you not take it to Bank of China in Hong Kong and see if they can assist depositing it to your account?
    I was just at a Bank of China in Hong Kong branch today. The receptionist there told me they don't offer any special services to wire money from Bank of China Hong Kong to Bank of China in China. She kept insisting that both banks were separate. I already know they were separate but I thought that because they both operated under the same name, that they would have cheaper services to transfer from Bank of China in Hong Kong to Bank of China in China.

    But the receptionist said there wasn't any special discount or any advantage of going with Bank of China in Hong Kong. I checked on the Bank of China Hong Kong website and they charge $100 remittance to Bank of China in China:

    Service Charge | Cross-border Financial Services | Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited

    For comparison, it seems that Hang Seng bank charges $110 to remit to another bank in China:

    Remittance FAQ

  5. #5

    I use RMB moneychangers operated by HK Chinese most of the time I wire money to Mainland China, mostly to banks in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou Shanghai, Beijing etc The process is simple and mostly reliable. They have shops in HK, they have licence from HK government, they are open every day, the chance of you getting scammed is very small. The exchange rate is better than the banks in HK in areas where RMB moneychangers concentrate. The fee is waived by some moneychangers if you wire more than 10K or 20K RMB. Most RMB moneychanging shops in different esidential or commerical areas of HK full of local Chinese are reliable. People have been using these shops even before 1997.

    You are not allowed to bring more than RMB20,000 cash aross the Mainland Chinese border according to regulation of Mainland Chinese customs.

    With banks, there are more regulations espcially on the maximum amount of transfer and whether the receiver and sender are the same person. HK Chinese prefer using small moneychangers because they don't have much rules, just show them your passport or HKID card, provide the correct account name and number, your RMB will be deposited in Mainland in 30minutes to at most usually 3 hours.

    Last edited by Mingchings; 09-11-2015 at 05:19 PM.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by justsomebody2:
    assuming you are doing the traveling yourself and picking up the money yourself?
    No. I am not physically travelling there to pick up the money myself.

    Quote Originally Posted by justsomebody2:
    I just wire it directly to that bank account from HK and he can pick it up via ATM in China, hassle free, no charges aside from HK to RMB exchange rate, it's pretty safe since I only deposit what he needs.
    May I ask how much do you pay to wire from HK to China? From which bank account in HK do you wire to in China?

    Quote Originally Posted by justsomebody2:
    If you are planning to wire a lot, increments of over $10K a day, there are no "best or easy" option that I know of. China has a lot of anti-laundering practice in place and I hear different stories in every branch.
    No, I won't be wiring $10K a day. I will probably be wiring a lump sum of over $10K to minimize the transaction fees.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mingchings:
    I use RMB moneychangers operated by HK Chinese most of the time I wire money to Mainland China, mostly to banks in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou Shanghai, Beijing etc The process is simple and mostly reliable. They have shops in HK, they have licence from HK government, they are open every day, the chance of you getting scammed is very small. The exchange rate is better than the banks in HK in areas where RMB moneychangers concentrate. The fee is waived by some moneychangers if you wire more than 10K or 20K RMB. Most RMB moneychanging shops in different esidential or commerical areas of HK full of local Chinese are reliable. People have been using these shops even before 1997.

    You are not allowed to bring more than RMB20,000 cash aross the Mainland Chinese border according to regulation of Mainland Chinese customs.
    Are there any reliable RMB money changers in the TST area that you recommend? Name of the shop and location?

  8. #8

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    I wire it via online banking from a BOC account to a BOC account, its free.


  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by justsomebody2:
    I wire it via online banking from a BOC account to a BOC account, its free.
    Hi Justsomebody2. Did you mean you wire via a BoC HK account to a BoC China account? Because according to BoC HK's website, you are charged $100 to wire from BoC HK to BoC China. Here is the description and link to the $100 charge:

    "BOC Remittance Plus
    Remittance to branches of Bank of China in the Mainland of China and designated overseas branches"


    Service Charge | Cross-border Financial Services | Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by orionx999:
    A second option is a money changer. Unfortunately, money changers are not reliable and there is a risk I get ripped off (if you know of a reliable money changer in TST that is trustworthy to wire money to China, please let me know which one).
    Before you make a statement like that do you know or have experience of being ripped off by money changer for wiring? Do try those in the shops, they are more reliable than those standing on street corners with long trench coats trying to get your attention

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