See Chinese Yuan-What’s With the Pink Money?

Cash:

When you first get to China, have a decent amount of your own currency handy so you can change it as soon as you get to the airport. Don't change all of it, however, it's always good to have cash handy for other occasions, since you don't know if you will always have the option to use a card or change traveler’s checks. When you change your money at a bank you will need to provide your passport. You will get a receipt, which you should always keep unless you don’t plan on changing your money back. Be aware that WITHOUT this receipt you cannot change the money back.

It’s best not to walk around with large sums of money so when you get to the hostel, lock it up in your locker or, usually, the front desk has a sort of safe where you can keep your passport and cash.

Credit Cards/Bank Cards:

The easiest way to carry money in China is with a bankcard, debit card, or credit card. There are many ATMs all over China, but apparently the most reliable is the Bank of China. This applies to most major cities. Be aware that if you are traveling to Inner Mongolia or Xinjiang Provinces, ATMs may be non-existent or at least hard to come by. Make sure before going to China your bank card has a Cirrus/MasterCard/Maestro / Visa/Plus / American Express sign on it or it will most likely not be accepted. In addition, make sure and let your local bank know that you will be leaving the country. Some banks tend to freeze cards that are used internationally so to avoid any problems tell them in advance when and how long you plan to travel to China.

Photo: Petr Kratochvil

In China, ATMs are the most convenient method of getting cash because they don't involve finding a bank and are available 24 hours. ATMs in China only dispense RMB and many times have a cash withdrawal limit of 2500RMB for foreign bankcards. At times, however, if you start a new transaction you can take out more. If you are going to travel in an extremely remote area, it’s best to take out enough to last you until you get to the next bigger city because most small towns don't have many places, if any, where you can change money and there might not be ATMs that accept international cards. Also, unlike Vietnam, for example, you can’t pay for things in US Dollars or Euros.

Photo: Catatronic

Keep in mind that most places in China don’t accept credit cards, and if they do it probably has a stiff fee added on. Budget travelers will often find that none of the places they frequent accept credit cards. For the most part, use them only for taking money out or buying things like plane tickets, although they might come in handy for the one time you want to splurge and go to a nice place for dinner or stay in a nicer hotel. It’s not generally advised to use credit cards in places like markets, so only use your credit cards if it is a reputable store.

Bring at least two cards with you and make sure and photocopy them both front and back and carry them separately. In general, it’s good to keep all of your documents separate anyways, just in case something should happen to your wallet.

Photo: Farm2static

Some people have complained that some ATMs in China only take a 6 digit PINs and will not accept your card if you only have 4. The best suggestion in this circumstance is to add a 00 right before your 4-digit PIN. This issue has apparently been resolved but just in case it happens to you, people have suggested this method and it is said to work.

Travelers Checks:

Travelers checks in China are the safest way to change money and to carry it as well because they provide the benefit of being able to recoup the money in the instance that it is lost or stolen. The only problem with them is that they aren’t as convenient because you can only change money at a bank or a specified American Express Office. The most convenient way to use travelers checks is actually in the form of a card. The American Express travelers check card can be used as a debit or a credit card. The nice thing about it is that it’s rechargeable and if you lose it you get your money back as well. You can even add money directly by transferring it from your American Express card.

Additional major brands of travelers checks or travelers check cards include Barclays, Visa, Citibank, and Thomas Cook.

***

Expat Corner> Detecting Fake Bank Notes
China Explorer> Practical information: Getting to China
China Explorer> Questions and Answers Section

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.