New Money

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

If you stay in a hotel then the hotel will register you. But, if you stay in a private residence then you MUST register with the local police. I strongly suggest you avoid listening to the advice of most Chinese when it comes to whether or not you register. Chinese people who do not work for the police of immigration bureau are typically wrong when it comes to things foreigners must do to be in compliance with immigration law.

Edited December 6, 2013 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)

[True Blue]

I only exchanged money one time and that was on my first trip to China. On the other trips I just Western Unioned a load of loot ahead of the trip to my girlfriend (then wife) and let her deal with making sure the Chairman Mao's were new....LOL Too easy and No fuss, no muss.

 

I never even carried any money on me the whole 7 trips. My wallet usually stayed in our home or a hotel safe and Wenyan carried my passport for me. Hell, I don't even have any cash in my wallet in America. I've been "trained" well by Chairman Moe's daughter. or is that

 

tsap seui

 

Thanks to all who posted pictures of money in this thread. It looked somewhat familiar.... Since I got married I pretty much erased all memory of what it looks like, The bright side is I have a large vacancy in the middle of my wallet for which to carry coupons and to produce them at "The Banker's" request. I guess my life pretty much mirrors the United States - no money in my pocket and the only way to get bills paid is by sweet talking the Chinese banker

 

TB

[danb]

Just an update, This morning I just was able to log into my BoA account. I have taken money out of several ATM's at various CCB recently. All I saw for was a $4.94 per transaction. I was withdrawing 1000 RMB at a time. That was the limit per transaction. I was hoping to do 2500-3000 RMB at a clip but couldn't. It took me a long time( seemed like 8-10 minutes) to establish a secure connection with BoA this morning. So far I can't establish any connection with my " American Federal" credit union account. I was able to connect with them last year. Getting a... Website not available/ unhappy smiley face /Reload page/ More page.... after about 1 minute of trying. Hopefully it will work later. Danb

[Randy W]

Just an update, This morning I just was able to log into my BoA account. I have taken money out of several ATM's at various CCB recently. All I saw for was a $4.94 per transaction. I was withdrawing 1000 RMB at a time. That was the limit per transaction. I was hoping to do 2500-3000 RMB at a clip but couldn't. It took me a long time( seemed like 8-10 minutes) to establish a secure connection with BoA this morning. So far I can't establish any connection with my " American Federal" credit union account. I was able to connect with them last year. Getting a... Website not available/ unhappy smiley face /Reload page/ More page.... after about 1 minute of trying. Hopefully it will work later. Danb

 

Yes - that's a new (as of Dec. 1) charge for foreign currency conversion at 3% of the transaction. We have a limit of 4500RMB per day, but have 2 cards which have different numbers even though they're linked to the same account at the U.S. end. This allows up to 9000RMB.

 

As of next month, we'll be wiring all of our money from the states. BofA has a $1000 wire transfer limit, unless you have a SafePass device or are able to receive verification codes on your cell phone. We can get around that, though, by wiring from TDAmeritrade.

 

No web connectivity issues here, but I keep my VPN on all the time.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Speaking of "New Money" -

 

The Bitcoin Pizza Purchase That's Worth $7 Million Today

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2013/12/23/the-bitcoin-pizza-purchase-thats-worth-7-million-today/?partner=yahootix

 

“It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” Mr. Hanyecz told the New York Times recently.

 

In those distant days before twerking went mainstream, Hanyecz estimated that each Bitcoin his computer had earned through basically crunching numbers was worth a fraction of a cent, like the cash value of a coupon you might receive in the mail, only much less.

 

So at the time, it seemed like something of a coup to score two piping hot pies with money that some software had essentially willed into existence through some fringe mathematical magic.

 

Then 2013 happened. Speculators, the media and who knows who else got wind of Bitcoin, and the price shot up to over $1,200 at the beginning of December. As of this writing, after taking a hit from a ban on new purchases by the Chinese government, the price is down to about $700 per Bitcoin. If you’ve got your calculators out (or up on your desktop), you already know that Hanyecz’s pizza purchase would be worth about $7 million at current Bitcoin prices. These days Bitcoins are more likely to be accepted for a purchase from Tesla Motors than Papa John’s.

 

. . .

 

Now, some analysts project Bitcoin could climb as high as $10,000 per in the months and years to come. But for now, I’m standing on the sidelines and ordering plenty of pizza, because unlike Bitcoin, I still love a slice of pepperoni, even if I get burned by it on the first bite.

[Randy W]

. . . and a little lesson in bitcoin security

 

Bloomberg anchor gets Bitcoin on live TV and is promptly robbed by a viewer

 

Reddit user milkywaymasta said he used his smart phone to scan the QR code that was displayed in high definition for about 10 seconds, allowing him to take the money.

“I took it, it was only $20 worth,” milkywaymasta said. “It was exhilarating nevertheless.”

 

He promised to return the money if Miller provides a new address so the QR code can’t be swiped again, but the anchor said he could keep the Bitcoin.

 

“So freaking classic but also a GREAT lesson in bitcoin security!” Miller tweeted. “You can keep the $20 — well earned.”

 

[lche195]

I was told by Bank Of America that they will charge a $4.94 fee on all ATM withdrawals at CCB starting in October 2013

Edited January 10, 2014 by lche195 (see edit history)

[Randy W]

I was told by Bank Of America that they will charge a $4.94 fee on all ATM withdrawals at CCB starting in October 2013

 

We just did a wire from TDAmeritrade, and a BofA withdrawal the same day. The wire from TDAmeritrade had an exchange rate of 6.04. The ATM withdrawal exchange rate was 6.05. The wire was FREE (nobody charged anything), while the ATM withdrawal came with a 3% charge - giving a net exchange rate of 5.87. The official exchange rate (on oanda.com) was 6.10.