ATM limit at PEK
 

Anyone know what the maximum withdrawal would be at an ATM at PEK if I am using a foreign bank card? I'm hoping to get RMB1,000.

Upper limits vary from as little as ¥2000 to ¥3000. ¥2500 is fairly typical, but multiple extractions from the same machine are anyway usually possible. The airport also has exchange counters and machines that take in foreign bills and spit out RMB. In short, you'll have no trouble at all getting as much money as you want, and ¥1000 is no problem at all.

Peter N-H
China

Sorry, my bad math, I really meant RMB4,000. (about $US600). Sounds like the sensible thing to do, rather than multiple ATM x-actions, is to take US currency and convert at the airport.

RMB4000 would only be 2 transactions so not that big a deal. You'll get a better deal that converting cash at the airport.

One thing to watch for is any limits set by your bank on how much you card draw from an ATM in one day.

It's been a while since I tried, but at last check, the majority if not all of the banks within the arrivals lobby charged y50 per transaction to persons without accounts at the respective banks. The forex machines otoh don't charge fees iirc. Personally, I try to find Construction Bank ATMs and withdraw from a BofA account (no fees).

The HSBC ATMs at PVG (T1 and T2 International, in baggage reclaim, after the passport check) and PEK T3 allow up to 3000 RMB per transaction. But you can do multiple withdrawals up to the limit on your card. I have a HSBC card from the UK so don't get charged - not sure what (if any) charge applies to other cards.

ATMs are definitely the way to go, and are easy enough to find in the big cities - many upscale hotels will have one or more in the lobby, as will larger office buildings and major shopping malls/streets.

i've been able to take out 10,000 RMB in a single visit (4 different withdrawals of 2500 RMB) at ICBC with my european card. It wouldn't allow me a fifth withdrawal.