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Sending USD to Chinese bank account (small amount)

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    Sending USD to Chinese bank account (small amount)

    What's the best way to send a small amount of USD to a bank account in China? ~$40USD to Bank of China in China.

    With Transferwise we're unsure how much will be eaten up in fees on the other side so we don't know how much to "top up" the payment.


  2. #2

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    With transferwise nothing will be eaten up in fees because the transfer comes from a bank in China.


  3. #3

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    Oct 2012
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    True for transfers in local currency (CNY), but not necessarily true for sending USD. I just tried it for fun and got this warning from transferwise's website.


  4. #4

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    Oct 2012
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    Seems I don't know how to post an image. Basically the image said "Since you’re sending USD outside the US, your transfer might pass through intermediary banks that take out more fees. So your recipient might get less money than what we show here."

    Morrison likes this.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by 441211:
    Seems I don't know how to post an image. Basically the image said "Since you’re sending USD outside the US, your transfer might pass through intermediary banks that take out more fees. So your recipient might get less money than what we show here."
    Because going trough swift transfer. Direct transfer using transferwise working only with Chinese account holders (Chinese name).

  6. #6

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    If I remember, USD to my Bank of China (Beijing) in the past incurred a $30 USD processing charge at their end - which they deny, but the money clearly disappears from their ledgers. More likely a common case of "company employee has no idea what she's talking about".

    I remember not being charged this when sending money to China Merchant's Bank, though they'd of course profit of any exchange rate changes, and you'll lose money in Hong Kong too on the outgoing wire.

    USD not a problem as "receiving foreign remittance" and "currency exchange" are two separate steps in the process. The latter utilises one's annual $50K USD limit, whereas the former doesn't, obviously. However the "receiving" process may require declaring use. Some banks make it easier than others. USD $40 is not a huge number so any number of excuses would suffice.

    However best solution is just to find a friend who has a bank account in China. Do you specifically need USD?

    shri likes this.