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Q: Do you have to book foreign currency in advance at Chinese banks?
I want to changed RMB for some Euro and was wondering if they have enough foreign exchange reserves to give it to you on the spot or whether you actually have to give them a few days/weeks notice. I'm with Bank of China.
10 years 24 weeks ago in Money & Banking - China
No, at China Merchants Bank, I just appear in the Bank (same Province as I opened account), and tell them to converse Rmb to any Forex I desire. CMB use 'spot exchange rate' for conversion. I can make 'paper' exchange, or I can walk home with Forex cash. Unlimited, too.
I hold ATM card with Visa/Mc logo, and I opened Gold Visa CMB account with 1000 Rmb deposit.
Last year, I mostly did 'paper exchanges', and when I moved from Liaoning to Xinjiang in May, I didn't close my Dalian CMB account.
At Urumqi CMB, I must pay 0.5% for (40 days long) funds transfer. You must close your account, when you're moving out of the Province. Chinese banks with the same name in different Provinces are 'independent' entities.
I'd say it depends on the bank and branch where you are.The main branches in cities have a stock of foreign currency, however, the smaller branches that say they do foreign exchange will normally need a few days notice to do the exchange.
sorrel:
this is correct - i had to go to the main branch of Bank of China to get euro. Even them there is an upper limit to the amount you can take.
Some of the smaller branches will send you to bigger branches as they are not trained to deal with "currencies"
Usually you can get USD and € right away, but go to a bigger branch. We do all our currency dealings in Bank Of China as it is free for us there (typically we need HKD and MOP)
I'm with China Construction Bank in a 4th tier city. If I want to withdraw USD, I usually have to book it a day in advance. Like others have said, just depends on how big your branch is. If you go to the biggest Bank of China location in your city, I would guess you can get what you need same day (assuming you'd be limited in your transaction due to being a foreigner, e.g. $500 usd equivalent/day). If you require a larger amount, might be better to book in advance anyways.
it very much depends what City you are in and which branch you go to. For big Bank of China branches in 1st/2nd tier cities I have had no problem walking in, asking for $, GBP, or Euros and being given it there and then.
Though it is worth remembering that there is a limit as to how much you can take out each day. I think it is 3000 RMB worth each time, but i could be wrong. If you need more than that be prepared to go in everyday. Before going home I had to go everyday for a week to get all my cash, and then had to stuff it about my person for the flight.
