danb Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hello, I did a search for transfer money from the US to China. Didn't find anything that answers my question directly or the topics were somewhat dated., 2008, 2009. There was more info on transferring money from China to the US. Maybe I wasn't searching with the right words. Maybe I can get some help. I have a couple of questions. Are there limits of how much money that can be transfer from the US to China? Can only a certain amount of money per time period be transferred? Can more than 52,000 USD be transferred in a month's time? Here is a specific question. I have B of A account in the States, would transferring the money to a China Construction Bank be any easier or cheaper because they have have some type of partnership agreement, I think they still do??? I am trying to look at my Bank of America but the internet connection is very spotty at the moment. Thank you for any help you all can give me. Danb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 You can transfer whatever amount you wish, the banks are obligated to report any amount 10,000 or more to the IRS, HOWEVER do not attempt to break it up into smaller amounts, the IRS has detected that and seizes money if the small transfers are suspicious "Red Flags". Here are the red flags to avoid. http://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/documents/red_flags/wire_trans.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) Hello, I did a search for transfer money from the US to China. Didn't find anything that answers my question directly or the topics were somewhat dated., 2008, 2009. There was more info on transferring money from China to the US. Maybe I wasn't searching with the right words. Maybe I can get some help. I have a couple of questions. Are there limits of how much money that can be transfer from the US to China? Can only a certain amount of money per time period be transferred? Can more than 52,000 USD be transferred in a month's time? Here is a specific question. I have B of A account in the States, would transferring the money to a China Construction Bank be any easier or cheaper because they have have some type of partnership agreement, I think they still do??? I am trying to look at my Bank of America but the internet connection is very spotty at the moment. Thank you for any help you all can give me. Danb BofA sold its stake in CCB a couple of years back. The terms of the BofA/CCB agreement are still in effect as far as benefits for consumers, but pretty much only on paper. For example, BofA now has a 3% foreign currency transaction on CCB ATM withdrawals. You might be better off going somewhere else. They have some hoops to jump through if the amount is over $1000. I still have both BofA and CCB accounts, but for wiring money, I use my TDAmeritrade account for free transfers. Shop around for what works best for you. When I send money to myself, I have to send them a FAX (yes, a telephone-line FAX) in the (their) morning, wait for them to get around to my request (usually around their lunch time, which is 2AM my time), and then call so I can be read the "disclosures" (about International wire transfers), and verify that yes, indeed, it's ME making the request. The money then shows up at the bank the next day. I have to go there to convert to RMB, and deposit to my account. No fees anywhere, but I get a slightly (around 0.1%) lower conversion rate than I used to with the ATM transfers. Edited December 28, 2014 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuehan123 Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 I no longer see any benefit to the China Construction Bank / Bank of America so called relationship. 3 weeks ago I asked B of A in Austin, Texas about a wire transfer to CCB. The answer: "Sorry, you need to provide us with the Intermediate and Final Bank's Swift code. Ditto for my major Brokerage. However, go on line at B of A, do the transfer electronically as a Remittance. It's all available on line for $45, or so. Lot's more than free. You will still need the Swift Code and the receivers Name and Account number. A Chinese businessman here in the US stated the limit, at least for him, was $50,000 USD transfer to China per year. As for the 3% fee foreign transaction fee by B of A (and others), I be considered it outrageous. I will no longer use ATM withdrawals in China for USA accounts. I will send my wife'sChinese account the money by wire and/or I will use Paypal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted January 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hello again, I did some more searching and found some more info on money transfers. I don't know what I was doing before. But a lot of the info is still some what dated. Last week ( last Friday) I tried to do a wire transfer for a small amount( a test case) and the money still hasn't shown up. BOA to BOC. I am sure that I had all the info correct. Everyone is getting nervous. I am hoping that the delay is cause by the weekend and that this the first time setting up the accounts to do wire transfers. Is this a reasonable assumption? Will the 2nd and third transfers take a lot less time. Typically, how long does a money transfer take? Anyone know? In the past I liked using Western Union. I am running into several different issues. First I am hearing that there is an a limit of 50,000 dollars a year that a Chinese person can receive from outside of China. Today, on several different posts on this forum I found confirmation of that rule. Previously I thought that I could send more than 50,000 USD. So how should I get more than 50,000 USD over to China? About 60,000 USD? In the past I have normally used Western Union. I liked WU. I knew the rules and I knew how it works but I always sent less than 5000 USD at a time. I know that Randy has suggested Amertrade but I do not have an account with them. I am assuming that type of account has to do with stocks. Also what is the real difference sending the money in USD or RMB? Is it a matter of time or money or convenience? My prior experience with sending money( smaller amounts) to China has been with Western Union. Trying to send a larger amount is something that I am not use to doing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Danb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
credzba Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I once tried mailing one of our relatives a personal check. It actually worked, though it took almost a month for the funds to be available in China. If a bank there will accept a check, that would be a cheap, though long, way to transfer money to China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted January 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Thank You for your reply. I am trying to transfer money in shorter period of time. I am afraid that a check will be too slow. Danb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan1984 Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hopefully I can shed a bit of light on this topic. At about this time last year I was getting ready to start my own translation company based on all the translating experience I had, and I remember making a few posts about that here on Candle. However, sometimes you have to roll with the punches and take advantage of the opportunities life gives you. As such, over the past 8 months I have started my own international trade company with my lady and also an old classmate of mine who I met and studied Chinese with here in China. She's from Kazakhstan and her whole family is involved in international trade and have factories and lots of business/government relationships in Kazakhstan and are involved with different projects. After learning the ropes of the family business, she wanted to set off on her own and also start her own company, and for that needed partners in China, so, that's how we got started. She takes care of everything on the Kazakhstan/customer side of things, and we take care of dealing with factories in China, negotiations, navigating customs, shipping, etc. In receiving money for orders quite frequently from abroad while in China, we've learned the ins and outs of all these regulations, be it for business bank accounts, personal bank accounts, etc. In answering danb's question, how would one deal with $60,000 USD in personal money (not money for business or work or whatever)? Each year you can transfer an unlimited amount of money to China. However, the person that receives it can only directly exchange $50,000 USD each year. This means that you receive the $50,000 to your China bank account, and can exchange it directly at the best/current interest rate and receive $50,000 in RMB. If you receive $60,000, the first $50,000 is completed as described above. The remaining $10,000 can be withdrawn and accessed by the person receiving the money in China, but you can not directly exchange it, and only withdraw the $10,000 in USD. So in receiving the $60,000, you could leave the bank directly with $60,000 in USD if you wish. If you want this $60,000 in RMB, the bank can directly exchange $50,000 USD into RMB at the current exchange rate and give you this amount in RMB. The remaining $10,000 you withdraw and then use this $10,000 to buy RMB, and this buying rate is lower than the exchange rate, so you're getting less bang for your buck if you know what I mean. So, in receiving money from abroad, you can only EXCHANGE $50,000 directly into RMB each year. After that, you withdraw the money and then BUY RMB, for which you receive less bang for your buck based on the current buying price offered by the bank you're at. Also, a Chinese person can exchange $0.01 - $50,000 in one bank visit. Non-Chinese people can exchange up to $50,000 in a year, BUT, have a limit of only $500 per day. So, if you need to exchange a large amount of money, best to ask a Chinese relative or friend to help out. I'm not good at describing things like this, but hopefully this makes sense and helps a bit! Also, for our business, thus far mainly been dealing only with China-Kazakhstan trade. But if any of you or your friends or company or whoever in the US or elsewhere ever needs to buy anything in bulk from China, let me know! Dan~~~ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Hi Dan, Thank you fro the reply and the information. I just heard about the USD to RMB 50,000 limitations. But I didn't know all the details. For me getting this done is a bit frustrating. I don't want to make any mistakes and have all or part of the money held up somewhere, whether it is China or the US. Initially I went to the Bank of America and set up a wire transfer. I sent a test wire money transfer. It took some time to show up in China. And when it did show up there is a problem accessing the fund because of the wording of the reason for the money transfer. Also I was told to do another transfer that I have to go into the bank to do the transfer. I can not do it online. That is not too much trouble. I just want to get it done right. My family think that maybe I should send the money via WU. That is how we have always done it for much smaller amounts. I called WU to get details and it is hard to get exact details details from them over the phone. I wish I could go to a WU store but instead I only have Food Stores customer service desks that represent WU, who will send money for me. They usually can't answer the my questions in detail. WU has two ways to send the money. One is call Money in Minutes. Real simply to use. That is the method that I have always used .The other WU method is to send the money to a family member's bank account. The problem with both of them is that my family has said that they can only convert a certain amount of USD to RMB per day. That is different than what you mentioned above: "Also, a Chinese person can exchange $0.01 - $50,000 in one bank visit. Non-Chinese people can exchange up to $50,000 in a year, BUT, have a limit of only $500 per day. So, if you need to exchange a large amount of money, best to ask a Chinese relative or friend to help out. " I think that they probably have the story wrong. This is not something that they do on a regular bases. You on the other hand have first hand experience. I am glad that you posted the info here. Actually they have never dealt with more that 5K before. I will ask them to go back to the bank again. That way they will understand how it works. Thank You again for your post. Also wish the best of luck with your business. A few years ago there was a family that moved into the multifamily next door. I could swear that they were just off the boat from China. Turn out that they were from Kazakhstan. They did not speak Chinese. They spoke Russian and a little English. They were friendly people and have since moved to the Russian part of town. Danb PS, dnoblett. Thanks for posting that list. I will try to follow those guidelines. I hope my moneytransfer goes thru quickly and smoothly. We would like to close on the house soon. Edited January 30, 2015 by danb (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
credzba Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 DanB, We moved more than 50,000 in 1 year and converted it to rmb to buy apartments in China. However, the 50,000 rule is correct, just easy to circumvent. We had my wife convert 50k, her mom went by with her residential card and converted 50k, I went by while I was there. It is not hard to work around the limit with Chinese family members. They don't have to touch the money, just present their residential card to the bank so that portion of the money can be converted. If your converting a million dollars, maybe you'll run out of family, but then just offer strangers on the street 100 yuan to act as a converter for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 You should be able to wire the money from one (U.S.) account to another (Chinese) account with only the account numbers and the SWIFT number of the receiving bank. We can do this for free, overnight, with the money showing up at the Chinese bank in the morning. Bank of America has a few security hoops to jump through if the amount is over $1000, which may not be a problem when you're in the U.S. It's up to you to find the best method for your own circumstances. It's mostly just a matter of finding a bank that will cooperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hi Guys, Thanks for you replies. I am in the states now. We are going to have the family help out with the USD to RMB. Before I started this post I didn't know anything about this restriction. It is great that I get you all to help me out with things. I am leaning toward using the Bank of America. If any problems come up they are right there. Using Western Union I don't have a" live in person" to deal with. I have to go the phones. Each time I talk to them it seems like the story keeps changing a little and they keep saying that I have to talk to different department. Thanks again Danb PS BoA charged me 45 dollar for the transfer, WU said that the limit is$ 20000 and they would charge me 27 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hi Guys, Thanks for you replies. I am in the states now. We are going to have the family help out with the USD to RMB. Before I started this post I didn't know anything about this restriction. It is great that I get you all to help me out with things. I am leaning toward using the Bank of America. If any problems come up they are right there. Using Western Union I don't have a" live in person" to deal with. I have to go the phones. Each time I talk to them it seems like the story keeps changing a little and they keep saying that I have to talk to different department. Thanks again Danb PS BoA charged me 45 dollar for the transfer, WU said that the limit is$ 20000 and they would charge me 27 dollars. With Western Union, you should be able to go to an agent location (here in Houston, that's the H.E.B. grocery stores) and send the money for a $10 fee. It goes up a little the more you send up to $50,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Hello, First i would like to say thank you for all the replies. I did get all my money transferred over to China about 2 weeks ago. Not all went smoothly but I did finally get it done. Sometimes it is hard to get things done when there are several different people that one has to deal with in China. And to be truthful sometimes the stories changes. And sometimes I think that they don't know the whole story. Of course neither did I. But with you all's help we got it done. First I want to mentioned about Western Union. That is the way that I usually send money over to China, but it is usually less than $2,000. We usually use their Money in Minutes program. I go to my local WU agent which is a local supermarket. I fill out the form. show an ID and give them the money. They enter the info into the computer and tell me what the fee will be. Usually it is less than $15. I pay it and the computer spits out a MTCN number. It is the secret code number that I email to my wife. She is then able to pick up the money in less than 30 minutes with her ID card, the MCTN and some details about the money transfer.. Not 100% what the pick up details are. With this process I am often asked if I want the money delivered in USD or RMB. I usually send in USD. Not really sure what the cost difference is , if there is one. For some reason my wife was pushing me to send the money via Western Union. I tried but it didn't work out. Money in minutes for smaller amount is quite easy. But to send larger amount was a big pain. To do a larger amount they ( the WU agent at the local supermarket) said that I would have to transfer the money to a Chinese bank account. And then there were so many requirements and conditions. They wanted me show my social security card. Not my S.S. number but my actual S.S.card. That card was issued to me over 45 years ago. Who knows where it is. They also said that they would take my money, process my request, and then they may transfer it. If there was something wrong or did not fit fit the rules and conditions my transfer would be held up and it was unclear for how long. It also sounded like i could not get my money returned to me immediately. Therefore my money may have been tied up for sometimes. I also called WU several times. The story that I was getting was not consistent. I will say WU's fees low, but their service did not seem that good. I opted to take my business elsewhere. Again, Thank You for your help . Danb Edited March 1, 2015 by danb (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hi again, I want to separate my money transfer story into two parts. Since using WU was going to be a hassle for me, I went with doing my transfer with the Bank of america to a Chinese bank in China. That bank happened to to be Bank of China. My first bank money transfer attempt had a glitch. I tried to send a" test" bank money transfer. I had to give a reason for sending the money. I had several stock answers to choose from. I used "trade related." Boy was that the wrong choice. The money got over there into the person's bank account but they are unable to get the money out. Not really sure what the problem was. So I tried it the next week. I gave the "family related" reason option. The transfer from BOA to the BOC went smoothly. They had access to money in less that a day. It cost me 45 dollars. There didn't seem to be any exchange rate difference, just the$ 45 fee. The $50K USD to RMB exchange limit was dealt with by sending the excess amount to another relative. I tried to explain the options that you all suggested but something was getting lost in the translation so we just went with another relative. It was simpler for me. Thank you again for all your help. With out your help I think this would have been a much bigger ordeal. Danb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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