| International money transfer | |
|---|---|
| Mar 13, 2008 19:58 |   |
 | The subject heading sounds simple enough but I'm having a really tough time finding a simple, fast, and cheap means of sending money to a friend in China. It's a bit ironic to read all of the posts about China being number one now in the world in many areas. In terms of moving a small amount of money from outside China into China, I would have to quibble about the number one status. I went to two large banks today in my hometown of Guelph, Canada and neither of them were able to make out bank drafts in RMB. Sure they could get RMB in cash, (that would take several days) but they didn't have the ability to make out a bank draft in RMB so I could mail it to my friend. So far I've investigated Western Union ($50 service fee), PayPal ($50 service fee) and wiring the money bank to bank ($30 service fee). As mentioned above, bank drafts in RMB just don't exist here. I could send a bank draft in $U.S. or $CAN, but the downside to that is that by the time the mail arrives with the cheque (two weeks plus), the conversion rate between $CAN and RMB could have changed enough to screw up the initial RMB amount. Sending cash in the mail is risky as we all know, especially large amounts of RMB. The amount in question is 2500 RMB. Would anyone here have advice on the simplest, fastest, and cheapest way to send this money to China? Thanks! |
| Mar 13, 2008 20:09 | #1 |
| GUEST16753 | I do this all the time, but in reverse. Unfortunately, you are going to have to suck up the service charge and then transfer this money bank to bank. |
| Mar 13, 2008 20:29 | #2 |
| >> I do this all the time, but in reverse. Unfortunately, you are going to have to suck up the service charge and then transfer this money bank to bank. << Thanks Guest. If I don't have any other choice I guess that's what I'll have to do. Have you ever heard of Paystone? It's a company I just found on the internet that claims to be able to transfer the amount of money I want to send for just $10. Apparently they work together with the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in China. With all the other methods I mentioned there was always a 'catch' that boosted the actual fee price. I wonder if Paystone has their 'catch' too. |
| Mar 14, 2008 18:59 | #3 |
| Is this going to be a regular deal? I set up a bank account for my gal and sent her the ATM card. |
| Mar 14, 2008 19:20 | #4 |
| >>Is this going to be a regular deal? I set up a bank account for my gal and sent her the ATM card.<< This would be just a one-time payment (I borrowed some money the day before I left). Hey Griz, it's funny you should mention that. Last night as I was pondering my options I thought about sending her my ATM card. That way she could withdraw RMB cash and not have to deal with any currency conversion. I looked a little further into this company called Paystone and decided to give it a shot. I hope it will work out. I set up an account with them and initiated a funds transfer from my bank (online) to Paystone. It will take 2-4 business days until the funds reach Paystone. At that point Paystone says I can transfer the money to a Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) in her city, Guangzhou. Next I e-mail her the details of the transaction and she is supposed to be able to go to the SPDB bank and pick up the funds. She'll have to convert the $CAN into RMB at the bank as Paystone will only transfer $CAN or $US. It will cost a little less than making out a bank draft and mailing it to her. It will also take less time to reach her; about a week. I'll keep you posted on how things go. |
| Mar 15, 2008 20:34 | #5 |
| Surly the easiest way would be to send the funds via a TT made payable in the local $. Cost from Oz to China is arounf $30.00. The money is ther in 24 hours. Dodger. |
| Mar 15, 2008 21:30 | #6 |
| >>Surly the easiest way would be to send the funds via a TT made payable in the local $. Cost from Oz to China is arounf $30.00. The money is ther in 24 hours. Dodger.<< Thanks Dodger. She's not in a big rush to be re-paid. Is TT the same as bank-wiring? It costs $30 here to wire money bank to bank. We'll see how this Paystone works out. They have a promo on now so it's supposed to cost $8 to send. Of course my friend will still have to convert from $CAN to RMB at the bank... |
| Mar 16, 2008 03:52 | #7 |
| CD, I would guess that a TT and the term Bank Wiring would be the same. The cost does not seem to be linked to the amount of money. The Bank will convert at the currant rate at the reveiving end. I do not know of Paystone so cannot comment on it. Hope it works out OK. Dodger. |
| Mar 16, 2008 04:14 | #8 |
| Another way is to use a trusted foreigner who has RMBto spare. You transfer into his/her a/c overseas and he/shetransfers the agreed amount of RMB locally.. |
| Apr 5, 2008 06:24 | #9 |
| hi there Canadaguy, i send money from New Zealand to my lady in southern china using Western union. You can do it online or i go to the local post office.Online they list agents in your own area to use and you can go to the agent in your area. It costs me $25 to send any amount in NZ dollars and it is converted to yuan RMB at the daily rate in China. It is transfered in 15 mins or less usually. If you look up your friends city or town on the western union website they will list places where they can collect it.print it out and email it to your friend. Really easy and quick. very secure as only the person named can pick it up. There is a code that you give to them or photo id, Chinese id card is sufficient. cheers peter |
| Apr 7, 2008 23:41 | #10 |
| Thanks IBAussie for your response. Just a little follow-up on my Paystone experience. It turned out to be a very cost-effective way to send the money in the end. I don't know which countries are permitted to sign up with Paystone. The company is based in Canada and has been in business for about 8 years now. They have made a business deal with the Shanghai Pudong Dev. Bank (SPDB). If your recipient has an account with them the money can be transferred directly into their account. If they don't have an account at SPDB, which was the case with my friend, you can transfer the money to any SPDB branch in China for a pickup. You don't have to specify the branch. You just need to enter the city and the recipient can go to any branch in that city to pick up the money. You can transfer any amount up to $2000 US. It costs $10 to transfer up to $500. They have a $2 dollar discount at the moment, so it cost me $8. Overall I'm quite pleased how it turned out. It would have cost $30 to wire the money. A draft would have cost $7 plus at least $3 to mail and would take 2-3 weeks to get there. This way it takes just a few days and is the cheapest method I've found so far (barring sending cash in the mail). |
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