What is the best way to convert yuan to USD? I'll be leaving the country soon and may only return for short business trips in the near future (even those odds are less than 50-50). I have a few thousand yuan becasue I bought some iphone 4S for my friends on my last trip out of the country and they paid in RMB.

I've heard there are restrictions on how much you can convert? Also will I need an account at a local bank or a local friend to help me?

Thanks.

Yes, maximum 50.000RMB each year.
Maybe you can find a person who will change your RMB back to $US, if not there is no other way than to change it at a bank.

Yuan will probably appreciate against the USD in the future as it does now.
So, I would keep the yuan.

Normally you can re-exchange USD $500 equivalent worth of RMB to foreign currency (USD or other), without any receipts. So about RMB 3000-ish. I think if you change back at an international airport bank counter on the way out, this limit goes up to USD $1000. If you originally exchanged USD for RMB at a bank teller (airport or in any town) and kept the receipt, you can pretty much exchange up to the amount you originally changed, back into USD. Your passport will be needed to effect the change anywhere, of course.

I personally would hold back at least some amount of RMB for your future trip, and retain it. It will appreciate.

I recall this was discussed before, but haven't located the thread. I'm rather interested in this issue as a PEK resident now, but with significant 'interests' overseas in US and UK.

I'm now paid solely in RMB, but still have liabilities (such as UK mortgage) that I need to pay. I do have some cash squirelled away overseas that will keep me going for a while, but not indefinitely. How does this work.

Upthread a limit of 50k RMB/year is mentioned: who keeps track, and how? Can Chinese ATM cards (I have a CCB account) be used overseas -- they don't have a visa symbol, so I am rather dubious.

Help from others in similar situation would be appreciated.

tb

Check out our FAQ/Guide please.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/16200895-post5.html

There are separate rules if you are working in Beijing with a Foreign Experts Certificate (which I assume you are - if not the office can sort this out for you).

I think the standard FEC contract allows you to change up to around 70% of your salary per year. In theory your danwei (employer) should keep track of this and provide you with a certificate to allow you to exchange the RMB into USD/GBP/Euro.

I believe the regulations for those working in China (either Work Permit or Foreign Experts Certificate) and on Residence Permits, are now allowed to exchange up to 100% of their RMB salary back to foreign currency which can then be exported. Seems to me the old limit was 70% but this was changed. I'm willing to stand corrected, though.

The key is to prove that Chinese taxes have been paid on the salary. Trueblu, ask your paymaster for copies of the chopped monthly tax certificates that have been remitted by them to the Tax Bureau on your behalf--they should be able to photocopy these for you. They may also have a special standard form for this purpose. As you have a famous and beyond-repute employer, no bank should refuse something official from them.

I know HSBC requires these tax payment certificates, copy of Work Permit or (FEC for a teacher), passport, and copy of employment contract/engagement letter which identifies the salary. Not sure what your bank requires but likely it's similar. It's a minor pain to gather this stuff up and trek in person to the bank, so best to try to limit the number of times per year you have to do this...maybe quarterly rather than monthly? Once you can get the RMB converted and put into a foreign currency account, it should be exportable by actual currency notes withdrawn, or by wire transfer (though watch out for ruinous wire fees!).

Ignore that "limit of 50,000 RMB post above"--it doesn't apply to the situation you are describing, and I believe is a bit garbled as to accuracy.

As to using Chinese cards overseas, I certainly in the USA (in Misssissippi of all places) have seen the UnionPay logo in a variety of shops and supermarkets. Probably wherever Discover Cards are taken, UnionPay should work also, with settlement coming from your Chinese RMB account. Don't know about ATM cash transactions. I'm really not clear on how this works, but you might contact FT'ers tauphi and/or percysmith who are both into this banking minutiae, and see if they have any insights. It won't help on your overseas mortgage, but being able to travel abroad and being able to either use ATM or debit purchase from the Chinese RMB account would help ease the amount of conversion to USD/GBP you'd have to do.

It should be 100% of your salary after tax, which may indeed be 70% of the pre-tax amount

For ATMs that accept UnionPay cards, you can refer to en.unionpay.com. For example, I was in Germany recently and found that all Sparkasse ATMs were able to accept UnionPay cards even though they don't display the UnionPay logo.

Do ATM receipts count? I've never needed to exchange with a physical teller? Any time restriction on the receipts?


Future return is less than 50-50 (new job role). Thought about keeping some just as an investment, but the overhead to convert in the US is a high hurdle that would make a decent return a long term play which could open me up to future policy change risk.

Thanks for all the useful info re: my enquiry, and apologies for a partial hijack of the thread.

Will try to speak with payroll -- once I find out who they are!

tb

They should work but I've never tried it. They should be good for 18 months.

However, unless you have a large amount of CNY it's irrelevant as you can always exchange up to US$500 per day without any receipts. So just keep going back to the bank until you're done

I'm always willing to buy RMB from good FTers.

Good to know...you don't do DCC do you?

tb

two weeks ago, on a return trip to the US & needing some US cash for this trip. So at the T3, Beijing Ice exchange window, the rate was 6415 rmb = $1000.