Transfer money from China to USA options?

China Merchants Bank does not have any retail banking operations in New York or elsewhere in the United States nor are they licensed for such. What they do have is a single branch in NY licensed as a wholesale bank. As a result, it would be impossible for them to transact retail clearing operations via FedWire.

The same applies for China Construction Bank. It is not authorized to conduct retail banking operations in the United States.

One nifty feature of HSBC Premier is that if you have status in one HSBC entity, that allows you status in every HSBC entity without having to meet minimum balance requirements in that entity. I opened an HSBC Premier account back when the minimum balance to avoid fees in the US was $50,000. I then used that to obtain status in China with an account that rarely sees more than a few thousand RMB in it.

There are restrictions.

Unless, for the most part, you are converting RMB earned from lawful employment into US$ and have supporting documentation, an expat is limited to $500 per day in foreign currency purchase. Those people Chinese regulations consider as domestic individuals are limited to $50,000 per year. Exchanging US$ for RMB is capped for all at $50,000 per year.

The idea of being able to us US$ cash one already possesses to circumvent restrictions may seem doable, but it is not. First, there is a restriction on foreign remittances for everybody but those who are remitting earnings and have the appropriate documentation. The limit otherwise is $50,000 per year.

There are other problems with using US$ cash in your possession. First, is the additional fee involved. There are two kinds of US$ in China. There is US$ cash (chao : 钞) and there is US$ forex (hui : 汇) and they are not the same. Only forex can be remitted abroad. If you have cash, it must be first exchanged into RMB and then back to forex before it can be used to buy a demand draft or any other type of remittance. So, if you have, for example, $100,000 in cash and you need a demand draft, you need to “sell” the cash and then “buy” forex. However, there is a $50,000 limit on how much US$ can be converted into RMB each year.

Even if you have only $50,000 in cash, this would be a stupid way to remit money abroad instead of using RMB directly to buy forex. I’m certain some Einstein will come along and challenge the idea that the cash is sold to buy RMB and then further the RMB is converted into forex. However, they would be wrong. While you may not see or be aware of any “sale” or “purchase,” they do occur. It occurs behind the scene in the State Administration of Foreign Exchange database which must in realtime any foreign currency transaction in any Chinese bank, and it occurs in the fee you will be charged.

Fee? Yes. An amount in RMB equivalent to the spread the bank would have earned from physically exchanging your US$ cash into RMB and the resulting RMB then further converted back into US$ forex will be tacked onto the cost of the remittance or demand draft.

So, unless you have no other way to buy the US$ you will need to remit abroad, using your “huang niu” means you are getting FITA for an extra 2% above and beyond the initial 1% spread you pay between the buy and sell rate.

I have sent wires and also bought demand drafts for over $10,000 and have never had to fill out any additional forms.

Transactions $10,000 or more per day trigger an automatic currency transaction report (CTR) to the Treasury Department FinCEN that the IRS has access to. Keeping the amounts below that figure and staggering payments will keep you under the radar.

However, don’t do anything stupid like conducting transactions of $9,990 today and $9,990 tomorrow. Also crazy would be $500 today and $500 tomorrow. Keep transactions well under $10,000 and make them very infrequently — such as two or three times per month. Or even less.

The minimum amount to have a HSBC Premier account vary from country to country. One can use the lower amount to meet the requirement, if the required amount is lowery in your home country than RMB 500k as it’s in China. And it doesn’t need to be in form of deposit. It can be any banking products / stocks with HSBC investment account.

USAA developed remote capture deposit.

True, they do have a restricted membership base. But from time to time they do let the general population in and allow them to open general, basic accounts like savings, checking and credit cards.

I stopped by a big ICBC on a Sunday to buy a demand draft. The fee was 30 rmb for about 30,000 rmb. Of course, you lose a little money in the currency exchange as well, but overall, not too bad. However, I was told to come pick it up in 5 business days which I wasn’t expecting, but should’ve figured since something like getting a replacement ATM card takes 5-7 days.

Yes, I’m aware the exchange rate is the same as when buying USD.

Went to ICBC’s main branch in Jing’an today and inquired about how long it would take for the Demand Draft. They told me 5 days. Afterward, went to a small Bank of China sub-branch across the street from my apt and asked them how long it would take to issue one, they said if I purchase today (Saturday) or tomorrow I could pick it up on Monday. They also mentioned having a Bank of China account is required to purchase one.

Would it be possible to have a foreign draft made at China Construction Bank?

Or can you do one without having an account at ICBC?

I’m trying to find the best route to send money back home but I’m not sure USAA will accept the foreign draft through the deposit moblie. I know for sure they can take a travelers check but I’m not sure what the cost on that are and if I need an account with another chinese bank to do it. I just got a China Consruction account two days ago.

Any other suggestions are welcomed!