I have enrolled my 12 year-old (American) son in a Chinese school in Wuhan that he will be attending for about 7 weeks. Have about 4 weeks of tuition in cash, but need to pay for another 3 weeks (roughly $600 to $1200 depending on the activities he chooses.)

Paypal claims that it can be used in China. Wondering whether anyone has any experience with it. Also, I am getting a discount for paying cash for the tuition, and if anyone has any other suggestions as to how to get the money to the school from the U.S. (I am returning to U.S. on 5/26), I would appreciate their insights.

DB

Direct bank transfer is the usual method.

But there are wire fees you need to pay.

Why can't you leave the cash with your son's guardian?

If you have a Bank of America account, withdraw the cash from China construction bank ATMs -- by far the most inexpensive method and pay in cash to get your discount.

You can't withdraw US$1k from one ATM transaction -- the most is usually 10k-20k RMB, but you can sometimes just repeat the process at the same physical location. A quick call to BoA to make sure the ATM doesn't eat your card may be warranted.

tb

Taiwaned: Can't leave the cash because I didn't anticipate this much in expenses. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Should mention that I live in Cincinnati, and BOA is not there.

DB

Why can't you just withdraw from your ATM (CASH ADVANCE) the needed money? If you don't have the money then a cash advance from a credit card.

Taking an cash advance from your credit card and giving it to the guardian in China then dealing with the extra hassle of paypal, wire transfer, unionpay etc.... Whatever extra fees or interest you may be in a credit card advance would be still cheaper then the various workarounds that will be discussed.

For an amount of 600-1200.
Western Union is cheapest. $14 total fee to sender...none to receiver.

Paypal 3% to receiver, or if you claim gift can waive fee.

Bank wire 30 - 50 dollar fee on each end.

If the school can't figure out how to collect from the above.....they need to
take a course in money collection.

PayPal isn't really used in China; everyone uses Alipay (支付宝) instead and it's extremely unlikely that the school would be set up to receive money through PayPal. Within China, almost everyone would just do a bank transfer or pay cash.

If you need to get money from home, pretty much any Visa/MC debit card will work in an ATM without issue and cost at most 3% in forex fees. Credit card cash advances are also a viable option, though obviously more expensive.

If all else fails, you can do an international wire transfer once you're back in the US, but expect to pay $40 or so in fees at most major banks.

Although $40 in fees sounds like a lot, it is actually only 3% on $1200, so the same as using the ATM if not fee-free. However, it's the hassle of transferring money to China that makes that a less desirable option imo.

tb

If the school students are primarily foreigners, then paypal would be
a payment system they need to acquire.

I was a student at WZ University for a semester to tweak my language skills, they required bank transfer or cash on arrival ONLY. No credit cards, no union pay, no paypal - no other options period.

I agree that Chinese schools should have other options but the reality is, cash is king over here.

I am sure that the OP wants to do what is going to be the least amount of hassle for him and his child. Less hassle, less stress for the child.

I find trying to care for things from overseas to be stressful because things just don't work the way they work back home. I am not talking just about the language barrier alone but the way the Chinese businesses do things.

When a 12 year old is involved, personally I would find a way to withdraw the cash while you are still in Wuhan and give it to the guardian. I am assuming that since you trust your guardian with your son, entrusting him/her with a few hundred dollars in cash would not be an issue.

deleted

+1

tb

I know we have been in email contact about this issue, but since you started a thread, I might as well provide my opinion for all to benefit:

1) getting a bank/CU account that reimburses ATM fees is always a good idea for international travelers
-I have Schwab, which is awesome, but if I didn't, I would revive one of my CU accounts from years' gone by

2) international wires usually aren't crazy expensive, and they are surprisingly easy to set up
-in addition to your bank, all of your brokerage accounts and mutual funds can send them
-all (tmk) Chinese banks can accept USD wires
-the caveat is that the $50,000/year limit is fairly strictly enforced (most of us use friends when we go over this amount, but must ensure that we trust them a great deal because when the money arrives, it is theirs... full stop)

3) PayPal is perhaps the worst possible way to transfer money in existence; even for an amount like $600, I wouldn't even consider it (principle)

Paypal does offer some form of protection for the buyer.
In this case one would be buying educational services.

You can file a dispute and possibly get your money returned for whatever reason you come up with. Unlike wire or western union there is no recourse after money is sent..

Also the seller pays the 3% fee, receiver doesn't have to go to a WU branch and collect the payment.
For WU the sender has to pay cash, if using a cc they tack on an extra fee.

So, for this amount 600usd, paypal is the easiest.... that is if transfering funds from US to China. Especially for a one time transaction.

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Btw there's no such thing like buyer protection for person to person transfer for PayPal, and btw it cost you 3-4% for international transfer. Not to mention PayPal isn't really a player in China payment business.