Wire transfers to Chinese bank account

[marcop1]

Hey guys, based on past experience how long do you think it takes to receive a wire transfer in your Chinese bank account from your home country?

[Jim]

I get mine from a UK account in two days using the normal, not the express service. 

[DavyJonesLocker]

As Jim. Usually two days  from UK account (standard transfer)

I transfer either GBP → RMB (at a highly uncompetitive FX rate) or GBP → GBP.(and then do the conversion in China, better)

 

[Jim]

Yes, I get GBP into my account then sell it to the bank, think the rate is a touch better.

[889]

Is Transferwise any cheaper or quicker for inbound transfers to China than traditional bank routes?

[mungouk]

1 hour ago, 889 said:

Transferwise

 

I hadn't heard of this until now, thanks @889.

 

I stumbled across this video about Transferwise on youtube and the chap presenting it seems familiar... does he do a Chinese podcast?

 

Here's what they say about USD to CNY... Xoom looks cheaper.

 

 

And for GBP-CNY... looks better.

 

 

They don't yet do outward transfers of CNY, but for that there's always Swapsy if you want to do it online I guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[roddy]

12 minutes ago, mungouk said:

does he do a Chinese podcast?

He's the 老外 in 老外看中国, it seems.

[889]

Note that TW often offers quicker and cheaper services because they sometimes transfer domestically, not via international bank transfers. So look into this carefully beforehand if you need to show your funds came from overseas.

[Jim]

I've had clients use TransferWise to pay me and save on fees but hard to say how fast it went through as usually not told when they make the payment their end. Worked fine though.

[889]

Just a caution about TW. If you are funding from a US bank account, they will ask for your online banking login and password (!!). They may hand this over to a third party, which then proceeds to scrape everything off your account, including balances, account transactions, credit card purchases, etc in order to create a big-data big-brother private profile of you. That TW is very sketchy about this raises great alarm it may be true.

 

So I would not suggest using TW if you're funding from a US bank account. The mere fact they want your online banking password should be concern enough.

 

[mungouk]

For what it's worth... I just set up a TransferWise account, with GBP balance funded from my UK bank account.  (It didn't ask for my bank login details!)

 

I can convert to CNY but when I tried to transfer it to one of my Chinese bank accounts it didn't work.

 

When I tried to send to my ICBC account it said it can only send to UnionPay cards held by Chinese Residents (I have residency, but hadn't when I opened that account).

 

When I tried to send to my CMB account it said that the bank is "unsupported". 

 

After a bit of googling it turns out that TW say the following banks can't accept overseas remittances:

 

Agricultural Bank of China
China Merchants bank
China Minsheng bank
Industrial Bank Co
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
Bank of Nanjing

 

It also says "We can only pay out to UnionPay accounts opened using Chinese National ID cards", which isn't the same as "Chinese Residents" is it?

 

I've come across this before when trying to send a transfer from my DBS account in Singapore... they expect you to provide a Chinese citizen's ID number with the transfer, and obviously I don't have one. 

 

So, I can't see much use for TransferWise right now.

 

How are you guys transferring your remittances to Chinese bank accounts?

 

[889]

That's interesting. I set up a TW account but haven't actually used it.

 

And that FAQ you linked to says, "We can only pay out to UnionPay accounts opened using Chinese National ID cards." That suggests even foreign residents in China can't use TW.

[mungouk]

This was the error message with my ICBC card.  It says residents not citizens here, which is not consistent with the FAQ.

 

 

@Jim, @DavyJonesLocker how are you getting around not sending to a Chinese citizen with ID number?  Are you doing transfers between the same bank, e.g. HSBC in UK to HSBC in PRC?

 

[889]

I believe this is a restriction that arises because of the particular way TW does its transfers. (See my comment above.) I don't think it applies to transfers through traditional international banking channels.

 

[mungouk]

22 minutes ago, 889 said:

I don't think it applies to transfers through traditional international banking channels.

 

Well, as I said my Singapore DBS account will only allow me to set up an online transfer to a PRC citizen. 

 

Same for my Smile (co-op bank) account in the UK, I think.  EDIT: Maybe not, but I can only send USD or GBP.

[889]

Were you trying to make a remittance in RMB with DBS?

 

If you make a SWIFT transfer through TW to China, apparently the Chinese ID requirement doesn't apply, but you have to transfer in USD, and maybe the recipient has to be a business, it's not clear.

[mungouk]

Yes that was trying to send RMB.  I don't know if my ICBC account will allow me to receive any other currencies.

 

[DavyJonesLocker]

5 hours ago, mungouk said:

@Jim, @DavyJonesLocker how are you getting around not sending to a Chinese citizen with ID number?  Are you doing transfers between the same bank, e.g. HSBC in UK to HSBC in PRC?

 

 

I've had no problems sending money to myself or a Chinese person

I.e HSBC, HALIFAX to HSBC (China), Guangfa, ICBC etc

All sorts of combinations. 

Just Chinese bank account details and bank address . 

[889]

When you send RMB, whether by TW or a bank, you're not engaging in a traditional foreign exchange wire transfer. It's sort of domestic, as I explained above. Try sending USD, SGD, GBP, etc.

[Jim]

9 hours ago, mungouk said:

@Jim, @DavyJonesLocker how are you getting around not sending to a Chinese citizen with ID number?  Are you doing transfers between the same bank, e.g. HSBC in UK to HSBC in PRC?

I'm only ever sending from my UK bank to a Bank of China account, not sure how my clients arranged the TW remittances I've received.