Exchanging money in China

[trusoulja2g]

I'm currently on vacation in China and just withdrew some cash from a Bank of China ATM with my Bank of Montreal card.

Question: which bank sets the exchange rate for this kind of transaction?

The rate I got was significantly worse than Bank of China's posted buying rate. Is there any way that I can get the Bank of China posted rate? Or is that only for Canadian dollars deposited in a BoC account?

[aaa111]

The ATM rate is usually 2-3% above the market rate and Bank of Montreal charges you another $3-5 PLUS system fee. To get the best Bank of China rate, you need to exchange traveler's cheques (AMEX), not cash.

[rf134a]

The ATM rate is usually 2-3% above the market rate and Bank of Montreal charges you another $3-5 PLUS system fee. To get the best Bank of China rate, you need to exchange traveler's cheques (AMEX), not cash.
Uh, no. The best rate is cold hard cash, preferably US greenback, with the local independent currency trader. Yes, this means the unofficial, back of the store type people. Be on the lookout for the massive amounts of counterfeit money. I've received counterfeit bills from a store as well as the local peddlers. Some counterfeit are really apparent while others are quite good.

[trusoulja2g]

Okay, it turns out that withdrawing RMB from an ATM with Canadian bank card still gives a worse rate than converting cash (either at BoC or private broker).

http://www.bank-of-china.com/en/common/service.jsp?category=ROOT%3Een%3EInformation+Cente r%3EMarket+Information%3EBOC+EXCHANGE+RATE+

The Bank of China website posts rates for buying, cash buying, and selling.
If I take CAD cash notes to a BoC branch, I can convert them at the cash buying rate. The normal buying rate is for CAD deposits in a Chinese bank account. The rate I got from the ATM withdrawl (BMO's rate) is about 3.8% lower than the BOC buying rate and 1.7% lower than the cash buying rate.

[ericw]

You should have got AMEX traveler's checks.

[IceMan77]

Okay, it turns out that withdrawing RMB from an ATM with Canadian bank card still gives a worse rate than converting cash (either at BoC or private broker).

http://www.bank-of-china.com/en/common/service.jsp?category=ROOT%3Een%3EInformation+Cente r%3EMarket+Information%3EBOC+EXCHANGE+RATE+

The Bank of China website posts rates for buying, cash buying, and selling.
If I take CAD cash notes to a BoC branch, I can convert them at the cash buying rate. The normal buying rate is for CAD deposits in a Chinese bank account. The rate I got from the ATM withdrawl (BMO's rate) is about 3.8% lower than the BOC buying rate and 1.7% lower than the cash buying rate.

Withdrawing RMB from a chinese ATM, you will get the BMO rate. From what I recall it wasn't that far off from the BoC rate. Cash exchange is always the best, but you also have to carry a lot of CDN into the country and you never know how much you're really going to need.

Shop around at the private brokers, the exchange rates varies a lot. The worst exchange of all has got be the credit cards, pure robbery.

[mystical2003]

I travel to China on Business and use RBC as a bank. If I need to withdraw RMB they always give me a competitive rate at an ATM but I get charged a $5 PLUS fee. Credit Card is the best way to go if possible. Always gives a great exchange rate on my card. Obviously in China though there are some things you won't be putting on CC. Lots of Cash only deals there.

[gmark2000]

I don't know where some of you are getting your information, but if you are withdrawing monies from a Chinese ATM through an interbank network such as the (VISA) PLUS system or the (Mastercard) Cirrus network, you are being charged the wholesale "interbank" exchange rate for currency conversion. This is the same interbank rate you can look up in the financial section of the newspaper.

Picture this scenario: You withdraw 5000 RMB in China from an ATM
Chinese bank is owed 5000 RMB from your Canadian bank
Chinese bank requests 5000 RMB amount from Canadian bank
Canadian bank remits amount equal to 5000 RMB back the Chinese bank (all at wholesale interbank rate - not any more than that)
Canadian bank withdraws same amount from your bank account (bank does not charge you any more than the interbank rate they remitted)
Canadian bank charges only a service fee for this "international" transaction (usually $5 but your type of account could waive these fees).
Interbank network fees are pooled by Plus and Cirrus and then doled appropriately to the member financial institutions.

So in a nutshell, the best rate (outside of the transaction fee) is through the foreign ATM. I've withdrawn throughout Europe and Asia and found this to be the most convenient method of getting local currency. I also have a level of bank account that waives these per transaction fees on foreign ATM usage. Note that some foreign ATMs (especially in the U.S.) can and will charge you a 'convenience' fee for using their machines - these are typically the machines you find in tourist areas.

[IceMan77]

I travel to China on Business and use RBC as a bank. If I need to withdraw RMB they always give me a competitive rate at an ATM but I get charged a $5 PLUS fee. Credit Card is the best way to go if possible. Always gives a great exchange rate on my card. Obviously in China though there are some things you won't be putting on CC. Lots of Cash only deals there.

I don't know which VISA you're using, but I have used the RBC Avion Platinum and various other platinum Mastercards and time and time again they give the worst exchange rate. For work I have to travel to various countries quite often and being a true RFDer I've always wanted to ensure that I'm getting the best bang for the buck.

For my tests on my travels, I have purposely used the CC and also made a subsequent withdrawal from an ATM on the same day to compare exchange rates for that day. Even calling the credit card companies, they will not be able to tell you the rate you will be charged. It's only when you get your statements do you see what the damage really is. Compare your statements next time and you'll see what I'm talking about.

There is no $5 plus fee. The only charge you get dinged for is the "other" ATM use by your bank. It'd be no different then using your BMO ATM card in a RBC ATM. I think BMO charges $2.50-3.50 for other atm usage. And like the poster states above, steer clear of the tourist ATMs (ones that aren't a bank), they charge a convenience fee on top of the other ATM fee.

The results of my tests are as follows for the best exchange rate.

USD Cash > CAD Cash > ATM > Credit Card.