Financial dealings in China

[Kaige]

I have been through this also, but never had a problem with travelers checks, I have found that some branches of Bank of China will not let you use your visa card at there branch and you have to go to another and you find this out after waiting 15 minutes, as far as the postal service I mailed 2 post cards to the u.s. and it took two months for them to get here

[markimwaiting]

Mick really is not making this up.  I have had essentially the same conversation.  Of course I have had to explain to a number of people here why we can't just take the train to get to America, since my wife is afraid of flying. 

"You can take the train to Russia."

"Yes, I know that."

"Russia is very close to America." (Alaska)

"Yes but there is no train."

"Why?"

"Because of the ocean."

"Really?"  "I think you must be wrong."

 

 

Also, related to the money exchange issue and to the post office experience that Mick mentions:

Bank of China, a branch located in an economic development zone, where they were used to dealing with foreigners, mostly Koreans and Japanese.  Luckily, with a clerk that actually could speak very good English, a rarity.

"I want to withdraw 20,000 Renmembi from my account and convert it to dollars."

"Why?"

"I need to wire the money to my bank in America."

"I don't think we can let you do that."

"What do you mean? Its my money."

"No, its Chinese money, you need American money."

"No, I mean the money belongs to me."

"Why do you want to send it to America?"

"To have money in America to pay my bills with there."

"You can't send Renmembi to America."

"I know that, that is why I want to change it to dollars."

"Oh, why didn't you say so?"

All this is going on while Chinese customers are trying to push me back from the window and are reaching around me and shouting at the clerk in Chinese.  Just normal procedure in China.  I have planted myself firmly with elbows spread to take possession of the window and am refusing to move.  RMB were finally drawn out and I had to physically count them myself.  I then have to fill out another form and take them to another window to change them to dollars.  Same routine of claiming your space at that window.

"You can only exchange 15,000 RMB to dollars."

"Why?"

"That is the government regulation."

"What do I do about the rest?"  "That will mean that I have to pay the fee twice."

"I don't know."  And the obvious, unspoken, I don't care either.

We discussed this for some time with me arguing that I had never heard of that before.  Which I knew had nothing to do with the situation, but it was worth a try.  Finally I gave up and changed the amount on the paperwork, figuring that I could always do the rest tomorrow.  I went back to the window and handed them the new paperwork and the 15,000 RMB.

"What about the other 5,000RMB?"

"Its right here."  Placing the packet on the counter in front of me.  "You said that I couldn't exchange it."

Without a word, they pick up the packet and start to walk off with the entire 20,000. 

"Hey, were are you going with that?"

Very puzzled, "To exchange it for dollars."

"You said I couldn't do that."

A look like I am a complete idiot and they continue on their way.  I am able to watch them and they take the wad of money to another desk where it is machine counted three times, hand counted, then handed to the person at the desk.  They machine count it three times, hand count it and machine count it again.  They then physically count out the American dollars which are machine counted three times, hand counted, handed to the next person........etc.  Remember, I wanted to wire funds to America.  I don' t need the dollars.

She brings the dollars back to me and I have to verify the count.  She then takes the dollars to another desk where she machine counts them three times.......you get the routine.  That person is the one to make out the wire transfer it turns out.  Now another problem, they need the wire transfer fees in RMB, not dollars.  Being fresh out of RMB, I have to go back to the ATM machine to get cash.  That means that they have to give me back my dollars and we go through the counting routine again.  I walk the quarter of a mile through their luxurious stone lobby to the ATM machines.  They are all out of order.  I go back to the window to get cash.  They need my passbook, not the card.  I go home to get that.  I return and go back to the window for withdrawals.  But now it is 1130.  Lunchtime!!  I come back at 1430.  Nobody but a couple of clerks playing cards.  (This is a major main bank!)  I wait until 1500 because only the proper people can deal with dollars.  Finally, rubbing sleep from their eyes, the "proper people" arrive.

We go through the whole counting routine again.  This time no argument about how much and finally the transfer is complete.  Or is it?  It took over two weeks for the "wire transfer" to show up at my Bank of America account.  Their only comment was that it was actually pretty quick for Bank of China.

Is this the reason most people in China use cash mostly?

 

Could be!

[Guest enight]

wow, your guys are sooo good in writing!