International money transfer policy: China

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STICPAY

5 min readNov 14, 2019

According to ChinaDaily.com, China is the global market leader in mobile payments with 538 million active users in 2018. China has an ambition to be a global leader of a cashless society (TOP-10 for now) as well. The country carefully supports local players while limiting international players entry.

Government control

People’s Republic of China has complex laws and regulations for financial processes in the country, moving of money in or out of the country is only accepted in accordance with strict rules. Government protects the national currency and national players very carefully, compared with many other countries.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC, the central bank) and State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) regulate the foreign exchange, money transfer in and out of the country.

According to Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Regulations, Chinese banks and other financial institutions in China have to report all single or accumulated value of all transactions, overseas or domestic, within a day and should not exceed 50,000 RMB (about $7,000), or $10,000 or the equivalent. For cross-border fund transfers, money in and out of individual customers that exceeds 200 000 RMB ($28,000) and foreign currency equivalent of $10,000 should be reported.

Bank wire fees and limits to send money from China

The Chinese government limits the daily amount of remittance of money abroad to not more than $50,000, and there is no limit for the whole year. If more than $50,000 a day, additional proof and information are required.

Remittance handling fee varies from bank to bank, but on average it’s 1% of amount. Below you can see a comparison of fees charged by the leading Chinese banks.

ATM withdrawals limits and fees

The Chinese government limits the daily and yearly amounts of ATM withdrawals: 10 000 yuan per day ($1,400) and 100 000 yuan per year ($14,200).

Withdrawal fees by different Chinese banks and split by withdrawal method (UnionPay, VISA/Mastercard) you can see in the table below.

Usage abroad of issued in China credit and prepaid cards

According to the notice of State Administration of Foreign Exchange, all card issuers are required to report any overseas credit card transactions over 1,000 yuan ($140). This includes, but is not limited to, credit cards and debit cards.The banks will report that data to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) daily. The reason is Chinese people are active shoppers overseas, particularly of luxury products. The new regulation appears to be about collecting information on transactions, rather than any changes in usage bank cards abroad.

Chinese nationals and residents face restrictions on withdrawing of large cash amount from overseas by bank card.

Individuals who hold domestic bank cards to withdraw cash abroad shall not exceed the equivalent of RMB 100 000 ($14,200) per natural year. If the annual limit is exceeded, cash withdrawal from overseas with domestic bank card will be suspended in this year and the next year.
When individuals use domestic bank cards to withdraw cash from overseas, each card not exceed the equivalent of RMB 10 000 per day ($1,400).

UnionPay is major card issuer in China and its primary network of these Chinese banks. All big Chinese banks issue cross-border international cards. But China’s Central Bank still delays market entry for Visa and Mastercard.

Besides UnionPay prepaid card, there are several other issuers of prepaid cards in China: OK card, vip商通卡 , 福卡 and others.

Users should not forget about foreign transaction fees when they use cards abroad, that typically vary from 2% to 3% per transaction.

Non-bank online remittance providers

Non-bank online remittance providers are not only under anti-money laundering law control, but the People’s Bank of China has more specific requirements for anti-money laundering obligations that non-bank payment institutions should perform in Administrative Measures on Payment Service of Non-financial Institution (‘Measures’).

Non-financial institution must get a Payment Service License from the PBOC, as well as an approved business license. To be eligible for the Payment Service License, the Measures prescribe several requirements including the establishment of the organisation in China, 170 minimum registered capital and the establishment of an anti-money laundering compliance system.

Largest non-banking third-party payments: Alipay, WechatPay, UnionPay, LianLian Pay. The smaller ones, not registered on Mainland territory but serve China: Xoom (PayPal), Skrill, Paysend, STICPAY, others.

Alipay and WeChatPay are the most commonly used online payment platforms. They have a 92.7% share of the mobile payment market.

In Wechat, the payment function is only available for users with a Chinese bank account and bank card that is registered in their own name. Both sides of the money transfer need to have a Chinese bank account and WeChat. Unlike WeChat, at Alipay users can also add a credit card. Not only individuals but also companies can use WeChat or Alipay accounts for money transfers.

Bank wire fees and limits to send money to China

There’s no legal limit on the amount of yuan people can send to China. But Chinese citizens do have a limit on the amount of converted or purchased foreign currency per year — US $50,000, limit also applies to money being sent out of China as we wrote down above.

Cryptocurrency policy

China does not recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender and the banking system is not accepting cryptocurrencies or providing relevant services. ICOs is banned and illegal in China.

However, if we are talking about not crypto currency but about a blockchain technology, China actively uses it. China launched a nationwide blockchain-based service network this year, which aims to serve the development of smart cities and the digital economy.

China also has an ambition to become a leader in the global best case of the launching of the central bank digital currency.

STICPAY for China

STICPAY offers to open a local currency account in CNY, local bank wire deposit and withdrawal payment method in China within 1–2 days, and our very own prepaid STIC card available in more than 177 countries for withdrawals and offline purchase.