Chionggirl in Shanghai

I have been trying to send money over to Singapore and have met with much challenges.

Yes, challenges because in China, you can only remit up to USD$500 if you are an overseas passport holder, while the locals can remit up to USD$50,000. That is a very tight rein on money earned by foreigners here.

So when I got to know that I am unable to remit as much money as I need, i decided to open turn on the internet bank service with ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), cos the page on the website says I can do remittance online. Because of the size of the country and notable banking crimes in China, I was given a USB key to proceed with the online transaction, which I didn't use eventually, because... yes, the service is only reserved for Chinese. Oh well.

I finally tried to remit the money across using Western Union. The money was converted into USD (mandatory procedure in China when bringing/sending money out)P at the agent and then banked into the Singapore Western Union branch. I addressed the receipient to my brother, and he was able to collect the money from the Singaapore branch (any). If you would like to take this route, do note:

1) Money is remitted within 15 mins.

2) Ensure that you provide the EXACT name of the recipient, otherwise, it will be bounced back. THe receipient should also have an identification document to prove his identity.

3) If you wish to convert RMB to USD that is over USD$500, you must provide your employment  contract for verification. Don't ask me why. Otherwise, you can bring USD directly to the Western Union agent and they can deposit for you.

4) There are charges to the Western Union service is about 15%, which is relatively compared to remitting it through the banks, which will cost a few hundred dollars for each USD$500. (Speaking of which, in order to remit one lump sum, you can only put in USD$500 at a time and there are charges EACH TIME you put in the money. Not very worth it.)

So there you go. I am sure there are other more intelligent ways to send money home. But for now, this is, to me, the most hassle free method. I will post up any updates pertaining to this matter.

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IKEA membership here in Shanghai is FREE :) Yay! We only need to fill up a form, provide an identification paper, and voila, I was given a card! :) Unlike Singapore, you need to spend SGD$300 to qualify for a card (well, China has the numbers, Singapore doesn't, I reckon that's why).

There are nice privileges that comes with this card. Like a set of loungewear I bought at RMB49 (UP RMB199) :D oh, and of course, the free coffee. I didn't redeem that cos there were too many people at IKEA when I went there last Saturday.

But IKEA, like McDonalds and Burger King, really made me feel like home, cos the food taste pretty similar to those restaurants back home, ie, they stay true to their international standard taste (is that the right way to put it? Haha. ). I have tried KFC the same day I applied the IKEA card by the way  *Shakes head* Ur-uh. Not the same, KFC, no good.

Okay, report over :)

So, I had this massage, and then realised that I am running short on cash before my paycheck. I had some Singapore dollars with me, and thought it would be good that I could change them for some RMB.

So after the massage, i researched through the night for money changing service so that I can do it today (Saturday). Yeah, so much for a sleepy massage, haha! :)

So while doing my research, I came across these articles:

http://shanghai.asiaxpat.com/forums/living-in-shanghai/threads/85665/money-changer/
http://www.shanghaiguide.com/faq/index.php?page=index_v2&id=61&c=2
http://www.shanghaiguide.com/faq/index.php?page=index_v2&id=61&c=2

The last one is absolutely a very enticing suggestion. I am without my passport currently, as it is being sent for work permit application, so I need to get money with little hassle. I decided to try my luck.

I will try the legal means first, of course. I woke up today to to go to Huaihai Lu Bank of China (BOC) branch to see if I could change the currency without my passport. The security guard told me, no way, not possible. I was disappointed, so I went to my next bank to try again. Took the subway to People's Square 人民广场 station and went to look for the Bank of China branch there (at Park Hotel).

I can't find the BOC bank Chinese Merchant Bank nor Park Hotel, but I spotted a Chinese Merchant Bank with an money exchange sign. Ah! Finally some help, I thought. Yeah, i thought.

Went in to enquire with the information counter, and again, no passport, no money exchange, and even worse, they don't take Singapore dollars (and you think they like us so much...). I was about to leave when a very interesting thing happened.

A Chinese man in his 40s came to me and ask if I would like to change money, and that he can do the changing for me. Well, of course I am prepared for these situations after reading the articles, so I was interested to find out more. Yes, as they wrote, this actually can happen within the premises of the bank!

He said he will give me RMB for my SGD in accordance to the current rate. He brought me to the bank's machine that shows the current Forex rate and showed me the current bank buying rate, and motioned me to the ATM within the bank. Before I know it, he was putting in his atm card and cashing in the amount for my SGD! Well, he seems to trust me alot, I must say... You would think we are the ones who would have trust issues, but what do you know? They are more eager to do us a service than for us to trust our cash with them...

So, the transaction was completed. I had a thought and wondered if the cash are fake or real, but I guess I could trust money that comes out of an ATM machine right? And so far, I haven't had any issues using the notes I have, which really hasn't been much. But I am pretty sure that I will not have much or any problems at all using the remaining notes.

I am glad that I decided to go ahead with my decision to check the legal means first before I do the illegal ones. But it wasn't that bad, and the money changer was not trying to make me part more money for less. Would you dare try it?

If you are keen to have some safety precautions in case you are in a similiar situatio like myself (no cash, no passport) and is interested to do the above process, take note of the following:

1) Even though at the station, it says it will bring you to the BOC branch at Park Hotel 国际饭店, Exit 8 actually takes you to the abovementioned bank. The bank is just diagonally opposite this exit， below the  sign of the Pacific Hote 金门大酒店. The currency exchange sign is very prominently displayed outside the bank. Unless you want to go to the BOC branch at Park Hotel, which you shall come out from exit 9, do take this exit.

2) The money changers carry a slingback bag with them. They will not walk too close to you to give you a nasty shock, but will approach you and ask you politely if you would like to change your cash with them. Do note that they speak in Mandarin. And I guess speaking in Mandarin puts me at a friendlier position.

3) Getting them to withdraw the money from the atm is the safest way to ensure that you do not get fake notes. Do insist that you want the same rate that the bank offers, I did not do so cos I guess the rate I got based on the machine is trustworthy and I need not pay any admin fee.

4) If you really feel safer doing the currency exchange through the legal means, please note that BOC assures you of changing SGD to RMB, the other banks do not offer that. These banks are opened till  5pm everyday.

5) Remember to bring your passport. Only oiginal passports are allowed, no photocopies.

6) If you don't mind paying administration fee, there are visa/mastercard atms machinese littered all over town, so you will have no problems withdrawing cash from your credit card.

7) Don't ask me about travellers cheques; I don't think Singaporeans carry that with us when we go overseas.

Now you will be more equipped to do your shopping in Shanghai! :)