Money, Foreign Currency Exchange, Credit Cards, Banks

Money Matters

Currency

The currency in China is called Renminbi, and is issued by the national bank — the People's Bank of China. The units of Renminbi are Yuan, Jiao and Fen. Jiao and Fen is the fractional currency. The paper money comes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 Yuan. The Jiao's denomination can be 1, 2, 5; similarly with the Fen. Ten Fen is one Jiao and Ten Jiao is one Yuan. There is also coinage for One Yuan, Five Jiao as well as One, Two and Five Fen. But Fen is not commonly used in the coin form in daily life. The abbreviation of Renminbi is RMB or CNY with its symbol of ￥. Colloquially, Chinese, people often say Kuai and Mao instead of Yuan and Jiao.

Foreign Currency Exchange

Foreign currency and traveler's cheques are not to circulate in China, so you have to exchange them for Chinese Yuan only at Bank of China or the banks' cash centers at major airports and hotels.

Foreign credit cards available in China

Master Card
Visa Card
American Express Card
JCB Card
Diners Card

Actually China is still a cash-dominated country. But there are places like star-rated hotels, chain international shopping malls, etc, which do accept credit cards/ traveler's cheques. But most other places might have difficulty handling credit card/TC payment. ATM of Bank of China is so extensive that you can easily go and draw RMB with your credit cards whenever you need.

Banks

All Chinese Banks including BC (Bank of China), CCB (China Construction Bank), ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and ABC (Agricultural Bank of China) and their branches, plus some other banks will transact financial affairs for foreigners.

It is quite easy to open a Chinese RMB account with Bank of China that opens 7 days per week. You only need to show your passport (ID attached) with valid visa. You will get issued with a passbook and card on the spot for a small fee of about CNY10 then you can use any of the ATM to withdraw cash.

When you withdraw your $US currency over the counter, you can then easily exchange it into Chinese RMB before you leave the bank. It is safe to carry cash but of course you need to be discreet about it.

The following are some of the banks in Beijing.

Name	Address	Tel.
Beijing Branch of BC	No.8, Yabao Lu, Chaoyang District	010-65199988
Beijing Branch of CCB	No.28 Building, Xuanwumen Xijie, Xuanwu District	010-63603634
Beijing Xidan Branch of ICBC	No.176 Xidan Beidajie	010-66054180
Beijing Dongcheng Branch of ABC	Hua Li Mansion, No.58, Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District	010-65286170
Bank of Beijing	No.156, Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng District	96169
Beijing Branch of CITIC Industrial Bank	Investing Square, No. Jia 27, Jinrong Jie Jia, Xicheng District	010-66219988

Comments and Questions

can L visa holders open account in BOC ? Please let me know.

Reply1/21/2012 2:45:15 PMMayur gondaliya, India

Kelly :1/24/2012 10:44:33 PM

yes,
L visa holders can open account in Bank of China with your valid passport.

I WANT TO KNOW PROSSES OF INR CONVERTED INTO RMB.
PLEASE HELP ME.

Reply1/12/2012 3:22:56 AMRRchoudhary, India

Frank :1/12/2012 4:47:03 PM

I'm not sure what you mean by 'PROSSES', but 1 Indian rupee equals 0.122652178 RMB.

how can I convert indian rupees to rmb in beijing?

Reply9/2/2010 1:23:00 AMkanwaljeet singh, China

Elva :9/4/2010 9:33:00 PM

you can go to the Bank of China.

Theodore ( China ) :9/27/2011 1:57:45 PM

Are you sure? I went to Bank Of China yesterday and they said no.

Blaire :9/27/2011 7:30:04 PM

not all the Bank of China provide foreign currency exchange service, you need to try more.

hai, im in guangzhuo, can i take my US dollar from my account in guangzhuo but my acount branch bank at nanning, Guangxi?
my account bank is bank of china by the way...

Reply1/27/2011 7:29:00 AMchristopher, Indonesia

Hank :1/27/2011 8:19:00 PM

Yes, you can draw the money out from the bank in Beijing, but you have to pay some additional fee for that.

am a bussiness lady am in china want ma bank to send a fund transfer to my icbc account how long will take for me to receive the money

Reply7/16/2010 1:16:00 AMjoyce, Kenya

rosina :7/17/2010 9:45:00 PM

hi Joyce,
i think you need to consult the ICBC, here is the official website of ICBC http://www.icbc.com.cn/icbc/sy/default.htm

hi there, i'll be in china for about 2 months and i do not want to carry so much RMB with me. i'll be studying for a month and then traveling for another.

Will it be possible for me to open an account with the bank of china, given my short duration of stay there, or what are the other alternatives that I have?

i'll appreciate any help i can get! thank you for your time!

Reply6/10/2010 2:31:00 AMcam, Singapore

Brenda :6/10/2010 8:58:00 PM

hi, i think it is possible for you to open an account. or many foreign credit cards are available in China as mentioned in this very page.

Hi, i will relocate to shanghai for 1 year working. i will open an ICBC account for my salary payroll by company. Is ICBC has multi currency account? which means i receive salary in Renminbi at China, then when i go back to Malaysia, i can withdraw Ringgit? I just want to avoid remittance from China to Malaysia. Any other suggestion?

Reply6/2/2010 9:53:00 AMsinwei726, Malaysia

Linda :6/2/2010 9:09:00 PM

hi, ICBC has multi currency account, but i'm not sure whether it is available for Ringgit. here is the website of ICBC, hope it will help you.http://www.icbc.com.cn/icbc/sy/default.htm

pls i sent a wire transfer from FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK in NIGERIA to ICBC BANK, 55 FUXINGMENNEI DAJIE, XICHENG DIST BEIJING 100031, CHINA since on the 21st of may 2010. The money has not gotten to the account till now,How would i know when it gets to the account or can i have a number to call.

Reply6/2/2010 5:45:00 AMOBIALOR KELECHI MARK, Nigeria

anna :6/2/2010 6:04:00 AM

you may try the official website of ICBC. http://www.icbc.com.cn/icbc/sy/default.htm
and here is the telephone number of the bank =86 010 66038060, but i'm not sure whether they provide English service.

hi, i'm in china right now... will someone be able to guide me where i can get my Indian rupees converted to yuan in beijing???
thanks

Reply5/27/2010 3:22:00 AManu

Joey :5/27/2010 8:45:00 PM

you can not exchange rupees into RMB in any Chinese Bank. i think you can enquire some foreign banks.

Question: can I exchange South African Rand? If so, are the rates much different in a hotel than using an ATM? Thanks

Reply5/24/2010 3:39:00 PMJeff, South Africa

anna :5/24/2010 9:50:00 PM

Hi Jeff,
you can not exchange Rand in any Chinese bank, you may try some foreign banks. for the rates, it may be different in a hotel and at the bank.

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