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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: PayPal + China UnionPay = Nothing for mom?
Well I think we are starting to understand these UnionPay issues
Lets review:
Old news: 1. Can't withdraw funds from aboard with your UnionPay bank card.
Old news: 2. Can't buy things aboard with your UnionPay bank card.
New news: 3. Can't use UnionPay as a form of payment with Paypal to buy flowers for mom on mothers day.
Before I could do all three, but now, no, I thought maybe it was just the flower store or something, so we tried another site, didn't work. Tried to buy on ebay, didn't work, I tried to buy only as a test and it looks like UnionPay is blocked anyway you wanna slice it outside of China,
Up Next : 4. Can we still use UnionPay in Hong Kong?
7 years 47 weeks ago in Money & Banking - China
There are problems with online purchases with Chinese ATM card, even with CMB's Visa/Mc ATM card.
It's one of the Chinese bank regulations, that you can't purchase from non-Chinese websites.
It works with CMB Credit card, and laowai can get CC from CMB, however I still don't have it, but it is possible as Urumqi CMB manager assured me in 2013/14.
Will try with CMB CC next, however I am 200 km away from the first CMB in Guiyang, so 'we'll see'.
I don't need CC, but I must get Chinese ATM card, which will enable me to purchase stuff online from foreign web sites.
ironman510:
This was my Chinese wifes Bank card. She couldn't use it with the American flower shop we always used in the past.
icnif77:
You could make her open new account somewhere with Visa logo card. I usually get manager of CMB to purchase plane tickets and I gave her cash.
Manager of Training mill purchased online tickets to Spain in Feb, using his Chinese ATM card with Visa logo.
There are problems with online purchases with Chinese ATM card, even with CMB's Visa/Mc ATM card.
It's one of the Chinese bank regulations, that you can't purchase from non-Chinese websites.
It works with CMB Credit card, and laowai can get CC from CMB, however I still don't have it, but it is possible as Urumqi CMB manager assured me in 2013/14.
Will try with CMB CC next, however I am 200 km away from the first CMB in Guiyang, so 'we'll see'.
I don't need CC, but I must get Chinese ATM card, which will enable me to purchase stuff online from foreign web sites.
ironman510:
This was my Chinese wifes Bank card. She couldn't use it with the American flower shop we always used in the past.
icnif77:
You could make her open new account somewhere with Visa logo card. I usually get manager of CMB to purchase plane tickets and I gave her cash.
Manager of Training mill purchased online tickets to Spain in Feb, using his Chinese ATM card with Visa logo.
I just tried to send funds home, which in the past was no problem at all.. now, not happening! :(
That's how I pay off my CC back home..
ironman510:
It really is a serious matter for all of us. Lets say an expat worker leaves, how does he take his money if he's worked here for years?
ironman510:
Just found out from PingAn: For an expat worker to send his/her money home must bring China tax slips and prove you paid Chinese taxes during your period of work.
Shining_brow:
You mean the tax slips that we never get to see... cos we're just pawns in the system?
Also - I"d like to know exactly how that affects the electronics involved. What you're suggesting is it's simply a single customer issue that needs to be resolved. However, from what I can see, it's actually a system-wide thing!
Hotwater:
It's always been the case that for us to send money outside Chinese we have to prove we've earned it legally and paid tax on it.
Which is my my wife always transfers money back to the Uk for me. Unfortutanely others won't have that luxury.
Shining_brow:
Actually, Hots, not true. IIRC, only once have I had to show an employment contract to open a bank account - and never have I shown tax receipts.
The connection to Paypal was easy(ish)..
Even when I went to the bank to do a bank transfer, I didn't need any of those - only my own account there.
deborahjayne:
I've always had to get the tax receipts from the tax office and go to the bank with my work contract when I've wanted to send money home. It's quite tedious but apparently the only way to do it.
UnionPain is usually bad news but if you can get a Visa/Master Card credit card it usually goes very smoothly. In fact better than some EU banks that seem stuck in the 80s on many levels.
Like most people I'm at the CMB, they have one type of credit card you can use exclusively for non-RMB payements and cash withdraw outside of China, with actual conversion and no extra fees, which is so convenient I'm even using it over my cards back home.
China is forcefully trying to stop money from leaving
In the past I used Western Union, I only needed to have some money in my home bank to cover credit card payments and the like. There is a limit to the amount you can send though.
I also used my union pay card to pull out a lot of money, then banked it in my bank the last time I was home.
I liked the convenience of that so I opened another account and sent the card to a friend, so he could withdraw and bank my money for me but the card doesn't work for whatever reason. I don't know if my original card still works.
But I'm leaving China soon, will be needing my money and don't want to risk not having my card work, so my girlfriend has been transferring it to my home account using her I.D. It's easy and there is no limit to how much you can send.(well I think there is but I won't hit that limit)
The banking situation here is just fecking ridiculous.
My ex-colleage left China last year after spending many years working and only left as he got sick. His bank set him up with a Unionpay card which would allow him to take out cash internationally, anyway he said that he hasn't been able to withdraw cash from any atm and he tried over 10!! He phoned Unionpay who said that his card should work but there might be some glitch for a while and his bank also said something similiar, his account/savings etc.. are fine but he might not be able to take out any cash for a while.
No idea what a while means in the Chinese dictionary but he is losing his mind poor guy.
Please stop posting info about how you send money out. You can clearly see that they are trying to plug those holes.
this is something that should be kept going..... if China and Union pay are going to continue limiting acces to my own money, I want to know.
this article is 3 months old but it does show the movement to more regulation.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-03/card-swiping-currency-...
http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1862276/chinas-safe-slaps...
I have a real issue with believing anything controlled by the CCP there will be no warning, if they decide it is time to stop all international transfers of cash.
http://www.unionpayintl.com/en/