Access to currency when traveling abroad 4

[Sparweb]

I was recently traveling in China.
I didn't give much thought to currency before leaving; not enough it turned out. I planned to stop at a currency exchange desk once landing at the airport, get some Reminbi's, and pick up a SIM card for my phone. I also had loaded Wechat app on my phone, and located a couple of banks in the vicinity of my lodgings (Changsha city).
The plan started to break down when the price for the SIM card turned out to be rather inflated at the airport, however I needed the phone to work to get in touch with my ride from the airport. So that used up most of the RMB cash supply I had just changed. I didn't take this too seriously, expecting to top up at a bank or an ATM, once I got settled.

No luck. Among the things attempted, which failed:
[ul][li]Accessing my bank at either the China Bank of Communications or Bank of China branches,[/li]
[li]Accessing my bank at any ATM,[/li]
[li]Accessing my credit card using an ATM,[/li]
[li]Phoning my credit card company (in the middle of the night),[/li]
[li]Transferring money from my credit card into Wechat (but I could enter the card data),[/li]
[li]Using credit cards at point-of-sale[/li]
[/ul]
The only solution that finally worked was to have a friend transfer money to me, and that money already had to be RMB.
I could guess that anti-laundering laws would prevent currency conversion in the Wechat phone app, so I didn't even bother asking my friends with north american currency to transfer money to me, because it would also be a dead end.

So now that I'm back and I've paid back all my friends, clearly I need to think that through much better next time. Any recommendations?
This kind of travel may become more frequent for me and my co-workers, so I'm thinking of asking the company to open a bank account in China for us to use. Settling the balance when several of us are using the account at once will not be easy, but I've already noticed that they are all pretty diligent with receipts. Anyone expect any problems with that idea?


No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
STF

 

[berkshire]

One service I use is a company called TransferWise. They exchange over 50 currencies. The way they work is a bit like the old western union wire service. Somebody wires money to you via Western union. You go to their office with the telegram authorizing payment, the clerk pulls the money out of the drawer and gives it to you. They work in a similar way, however you do need a bank account where you are going to receive the money. So you set up a program with them. you set up a bank ,say for example, in China, your sender sends the money to you in US dollars, TransferWise takes your dollars and pays somebody who is Chinese who wants US dollars in the USA with your money. They then pull Chinese currency out of that persons local account and give it to you. The respective currencies never leave their own country. You also get a much better exchange rate.
In Europe when Chip and PIN first came in a lot of stores would not accept credit cards without them. I had a local bank account in the UK with a chip and PIN card which was accepted all over Europe where American credit cards were not.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[CWB1]

My standard rule of thumb when traveling is to be prepared ahead of time. I usually take the equivalent of a few hundred dollars cash split between local and American currency, enough to comfortably last a few days at least. For phone service I often will have a local contact mail me a burner phone ahead of time, but in either case my phone generally isn't used for communication overseas as a security precaution.

 

[Latexman]

On my first trip to Brazil I was in the same pickle. My company card was useless, as they forbid cash advances. And, my CU debit card would not produce any Reals in the ATM either. Back home I learned Brazil is blacklisted by my CU. Before the next trip I called my CU and had the blacklist removed for me from date of entry to date of departure, inclusive. Problem solved.

Good luck,
Latexman

To a ChE, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.

 

[MintJulep]

Well, the internet says that you should not have found it so difficult to use your ATM card in China.

I've never been to mainland China, but colleagues have. They bitch about the food, about the pollution, about the internet restrictions... But I've never heard them bitch about not being able to get cash.

I'd recommend going to your bank and ask them to review the records of your attempted transactions to see if they can determine why they failed. Assuming that a transaction was actually attempted by the ATM, and it didn't simply reject your card on its own initiative.

If that doesn't pan out, then ask your bank exactly what you need to do to have ATM access in China. Same with your credit card.

 

[ProEpro]

I traveled from Shanghai to Shenzhen this year. No issues with credit card or ATM. I did tell the banks before I left I would be in China.

My phone also was set to work there before I left. Little trouble with Verizon for voice or data. I used Wechat or Skype on hotel Wifi to call home. I also used Wechat for talking with coworkers from China while there. Google does not work well.

Wechat pay only works with credit cards from China.

If you stay at an "international" hotel they should be able to help with exchanging or getting cash. I could even choose to pay the bill in RMB or USD with the credit card.

Getting a little foreign currency from your bank or at the airport before you leave is safer.

 

[IRstuff]

The only issue with banks and money exchanges at the airport is the markup. But, it's admittedly tough to comparison shop for the best exchange rates.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[ornerynorsk]

I find that ATM's and even credit cards can be hit or miss, depending on where you are. Cash is king, in my opinion, and like CWB1, I try to carry a couple hundred dollars worth of US and the local stuff. While in mainland China, I have never used anything except a bank to exchange USD for RMB, the rate is the current exact exchange rate and is always the same at every bank, by law. I always keep a stash of Euro, RMB, and Taiwan Dollars for the next trip, and make sure that I replenish it right before coming back home. Many of the larger Wells Fargo main branches in the US keep foreign currencies on hand and have somewhat OK exchange rates. Most any bank has the ability to order any currency, but rates can be atrocious depending on which service they're dealing with.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[Sparweb]

Everyone is right, of course, that my neglect in exchanging some dollars for RMB before leaving was my biggest mistake.
I'm not sure how I overlooked it; done it before going to Europe and the USA, which are hardly as foreign as China, so why did I forget this time?
There was a Hampton Inn within walking distance of my quarters. Maybe somebody there could have helped me out of my pickle sooner.
In my searching about, I did discover "swapsy" (called USYNO, now) but it only works between USD and CNY. My home currency is CAD, not USD, incurring yet another conversion if I tried to use that. TransferWise looks much more versatile.

"Bing" was my search engine of choice while in China. Bing Translate on a desktop web browser is actually easier to use than Google Translate.

Also, Eng-Tips was sometimes blocked, and frequently throttled to the point of uselessness, while in China.

No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
STF

 

[braddles90]

I would have a chat with your banks to make sure they've opened up the access to foreign currency withdrawals before travelling (I guess you have, but just a general comment).

Honestly for China, the easiest is just to withdraw a stack of RMB before you get there, and make sure work will reimburse you your home country amount that you withdrew.

I live in Shanghai at the moment, and just went through this issue with family visiting - we told them that withdrawing from these travel money cards pre-loaded with currency does not work great all the time, and they're not accepted everywhere, so it can be an issue. As much as everything is digital through Wechat now (I don't carry a wallet with me day to day anymore), it only really works with local cards, very hard to set up properly with foreign cards.

I know lots of travellers that don't have an issue withdrawing cash from banks here, as long as the bank knows you're doing this beforehand. But, it can be an issue in smaller cities, that's for sure.

The better banks to use in China to withdraw from foreign cards would be ICBC, Bank of China, China Merchant's Bank - I haven't had an issue with those when I'd needed to do that.

 

[rotw]

Hi SparWeb,

I see many ICBC banks here in Canada, BC. Richmond, BC is mostly population of Chinese origin. Probably there have some banks in other provinces as well (not sure). Maybe you could walk by one of their desk and ask what they would recommend as most effective option?

 

[Sparweb]

There's one ICBC in Calgary... does not inspire confidence.
But now that you mention it, I have done business with the HSBC in the past. In this context, they probably would have had more options for me.

No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
STF

 

[ProEpro]

IRstuff
I was once told by accounting to get one receipt for a relay bad exchange rate and use that for the entire expense report. Could get you a small benefit on a big trip.

 

[berkshire]

I do not know if HSBC still does it, since I do not do business with them any more, But they used to have a " Non standard currency handling fee.", which they would hit you with, after, they had done the currency exchange. It would generally be 4% of the transaction.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[EdStainless]

In the US federally chartered banks will sell you foreign currency, but usually the branches have to order it from the 'mother office' and it takes a few days. I run downtown Milwaukee when I am preparing for a trip.
ProEpro, I use that trick. I have a large amount of RMB that I got a better rate, then exchange just $50 at the airport to establish the rate for my expense report.
And when you take cash the $50's and $100's must be of the latest versions. And don't take a pack of $100's, there are some series that are difficult to exchange because they have been counterfeited so much, take a mixed batch. I have stood at a counter sorting $100's looking for ones that they would take.

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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[TenPenny]

When I was in China (granted it was 5, 17, and 20 years ago) we did all the currency exchanges at the hotel front desk. On the last trip, I saw lots of ATMs, and oddly enough HSBC was my bank at the time, but I never tried to use one.

One thing to note about international travel and ATMs: some areas have restrictions on PIN numbers; when my daughters went to Europe, they were told by the bank to make sure their PINs were only 4 digits.

 

[Sparweb]

While I don't think the PIN was a problem (4 digits, here) I'm starting to wonder if it simply wasn't worth their time.
I can see why every Bank of China branch needs to do business with USD, but how often does any branch have to connect to a bank from Canada?
Canucks like me are pretty rare, especially in China's medium-sized cities.

No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
STF

 

[hokie66]

As an American living in Australia, it hadn't occurred to me that other countries have difficulty with foreign exchange. The foreign exchange kiosk in my neighbourhood shopping centre can give me a reasonable amount of cash in most world currencies, including all the major ones, at a better rate than the banks. But then, it is a whole different world. The shopping centre, a 10 minute walk from my home, has branches of about 8 banks, and 3 large travel agencies which all have money exchanges. Aussies travel a lot, perhaps because they are so far removed from the rest of the world.

 

[ProEpro]

Sparweb

However, there are lots of Chinese in Canada (at least Vancouver)...

 

[Sparweb]

Yes, the flow has been 99% one-way for about 200 years.

This reminds me of an interesting conversation I had with one of my Chinese friends:
Since Canada has had immigration from China for such a long time, there are many Canadians who claim Chinese heritage, but they are born 3rd- or 4th-generation from the original families who immigrated long ago. (The next part needed to be explained in excruciating detail...) These 3rd/4th gen's do not speak Chinese, and they do not feel any need to learn it (Mandarin/Cantonese/etc.) My friend was dumbfounded by this.
If you think about it, it's for similar reasons that I do not speak Gaelic/Celtic.


No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
STF