Traveler's Check / Money Order / Checks Accepted at Banks? Fees?
Sep 27, 2014, 2:57 pm
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 248
Traveler's Check / Money Order / Checks Accepted at Banks? Fees?
I have a checking account at Bank of China (from past visits) which I usually wire money into but this time I was thinking of bringing Traveler's Check / Money Orders or Personal Checks to fund my expenses. Just wondering if it is possible and if so what kind of delay and fees (from China Banks) should I expect? thanks.
Sep 27, 2014, 5:32 pm
#2
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
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I have a checking account at Bank of China (from past visits) which I usually wire money into but this time I was thinking of bringing Traveler's Check / Money Orders or Personal Checks to fund my expenses. Just wondering if it is possible and if so what kind of delay and fees (from China Banks) should I expect? thanks.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...cash-help.html
With respect to China, I haven't seen a traveler's check in many years. But, hotels still post rates for them on their fx boards so this is presumably --at least one would think-- a sign of continued acceptance. They are treated like cash.
Personal checks take a long time to clear. I have no experience with money orders.
Apart from wiring money in, the path of least resistance is to pull cash out of your foreign account when you get to a Bank of China CRS and immediately deposit it into your BoC account. This doesn't require any human interaction.
Sep 27, 2014, 6:07 pm
#4
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Sep 27, 2014, 10:47 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: China and Canada
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Right, it must take a while to clear back home. But I don't think that they have checks in China.
Sep 28, 2014, 12:56 am
#6
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For example: http://www.asia.ccb.com/hongkong/per.../checking.html
Sep 28, 2014, 7:08 am
#7
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While I can't recall seeing a check in person in China, they certainly exist.
For example: http://www.asia.ccb.com/hongkong/per.../checking.html
For example: http://www.asia.ccb.com/hongkong/per.../checking.html
However due to issue of trust it is still mostly Great Helmsman pictures or electronic transfers.
Sep 28, 2014, 8:55 am
#8
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: China and Canada
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While I can't recall seeing a check in person in China, they certainly exist.
For example: http://www.asia.ccb.com/hongkong/per.../checking.html
For example: http://www.asia.ccb.com/hongkong/per.../checking.html
Sep 28, 2014, 9:31 am
#9
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Did you miss the part about the Guangzhou (PRC) checks? If I had really combed Baidu, I'm sure I could have found an example of a domestic only product of a similar ilk, but the referenced link was the first one that I came across. I figured it was sufficient to prove the claim that there are checks in China (even if 9,999/10,000 people have zero interest in using them).
Sep 28, 2014, 11:12 pm
#10
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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You guys are right it's not called Checking Account...but rather deposit account or something. This is one area China's jumping past the US where I've seen more people now using cell phone banking/money transfer (to stores or each other) and bypassing checks/credit cards...still trying to figure out if bringing travelers checks is a good option.
Sep 28, 2014, 11:53 pm
#11
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What is your preferred translation for 支票账户?
How much money do you want to move, what other options are you contemplating, and where would you be exchanging the travelers checks?
...still trying to figure out if bringing travelers checks is a good option.
Sep 29, 2014, 11:30 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 248
if that 
My other option is cash and then withdraw from ATM.
Sep 29, 2014, 2:39 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2006
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When we first visited China 7-8 years ago, we stupidly brought traveler's checks.
While there were no transaction fees, the time wasted at the bank cashing the check. We spent a whole morning waiting in one line then another.
We could convert the checks at our hotel but their conversion rate was horrible.
We now bring enough cash or if the amount is significant, we wire it into our Chinese bank account.
Quick trips to China, we use the ATM.
While there were no transaction fees, the time wasted at the bank cashing the check. We spent a whole morning waiting in one line then another.
We could convert the checks at our hotel but their conversion rate was horrible.
We now bring enough cash or if the amount is significant, we wire it into our Chinese bank account.
Quick trips to China, we use the ATM.