Jump to content
Chinese-Forums
  • Sign Up

ATM Withdrawal Problem?


gato

Recommended Posts

Has anybody else been experiencing problems withdrawing from Chinese bank ATMs with foreign bank cards?

I've been getting error messages this whole last week withdrawing from China Construction Bank ATMs in Shanghai with a Bank of America card, which had worked many times before. I've contacted Bank of America, which told me that there's no problem with my account, so far as they could tell. A couple of my co-workers also had similar problems recently with Chinese bank ATMs. One was able to complete the withdrawal using a Citibank ATM.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have contacted China Construction Back Shanghai’s local service hotline 021-95533. The operator said that the problem which might be caused by some communication technology problems (通信技术问题) has been solved. You can check it again today.

Anyway, good luck!

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try Bank of China. If that doesn't work, you're pretty much screwed. Citibank and HSBC should always work because they're kind of not Chinese.

My boyfriend could withdraw from 工商 (ICBC??) and Bank of China last year, but this year only Bank of China works. I've got a great Swedish card which works for even the most obscure ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

i had problems with my bank card aswell sometimes when i was in beijing. and i acutally called up mastercard international line etc...anyway what they said was that there are times when mastercard and the bank dont connect..like for example there could be a period between 10pm and 3am when it doesnt work on some days...but they said that i could still use my card to acutally pay for things...just that couldnt withdraw money. but yerh so just try and withdraw money in advanceeeeee i guess..just to keep safe =)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah, i forgot to get back my card, only the money ~~~

god... ...

Then you might be interested in this story: a friend of mine forgot his card in the ATM at Yaxiu. He went back there the other day, and asked the lady that worked there. She took him to her desk, pulled open the drawer and asked him what color his card was. He said red, she handed him the first red card she could find and turned away...

(I told him he was an idiot; should have said gold)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes the problem can be REALLY simple: the daily withdrawal limit can be quite small (depending on the bank NOT your card's usual limit) AND it appears that occasionally the "daily" time is calculated at a bit more than 24 hours so you think you should be able to withdraw but you just have to wait an hour or two.

Mado

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, according to the current issue of City Weekend, the daily limit was just raised to RMB 20,000 to alleviate lines. The limit for individual transactions is still somewhere around 2,000, depending on the bank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had issues recently with trying to get my balance from an ATM. Said it couldn't be done (I was using a New Zealand EFTPOS card, and it's worked fine in the past), but I was still able to withdraw money, which seemed kinda weird.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never withdrew money on ATM in a foreign country before and have a few questions about this. Is it possible to withdraw money with normal bank card? I've heard that if it is in a Cirrus system, that then it is possible. Is it true?

Maybe my question is silly, but let it be.....:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It depends on your card. The answer is usually "yes" as most cards use either the Visa or Mastercard system.

Better to use "debit" (I think you yanks call that "checking account") cards rather than credit cards though.

Best is to ask your bank!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Click here to reply. Select text to quote.

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...