Send Money To China

The People's Republic of China is the most populous country in the world. In 2017, the country’s population stood at 1.386 billion. In terms of the diaspora population, China is third globally at 10.7 million, the top being India (17.5 million) followed in a distant second by Mexico (11.8 million).

The top five destinations for Chinese emigrants are the United States of America (2.9 million), Hong Kong SAR (2.27 million), Japan (0.785 million), Canada (0.689 million), and Australia (0.641 million).

In 2018, China received $67 billion in remittance inflows, making it the second-largest recipient globally after India which received $79 billion over the same year. The United States and HongKong contribute over 50 per cent of the remittances.

Overseas Chinese send money from time to time to their families back home. The money helps insure their families against economic shocks as and cater to daily living expenses.

Whatever the reasons, if you want to send money to China, it helps to know the various methods to use, how the recipients will get the money, and other crucial factors to bear in mind. Read the sections that follow for more on this.

How To Send Money To China

Sending money to China is simple and easy. Follow these steps to get started.

Find a Trusted Provider

Use our comparison table to find the best provider for your needs.

Sign Up and Deposit

Sign up with the provider and deposit the amount you want to transfer.

Transfer Money

As soon as you're ready, you can start sending money online.

Ways To Send And Receive Money In China

There are multiple ways to easily send and receive money in China but these will largely depend on the provider you decide to use. Below you will find everything you need to know about sending and receiving money.

Ways to Send Money to China

There are several ways Chinese in the diaspora can send money home. However, the main channels are banks and online money transfer services.

International Wire Transfers

You can transfer money from your bank abroad to your family in China through inter-bank transfers. However, both of you must have bank accounts. If you transfer money from your bank to a local bank in China that is state-owned, regional or rural, your transfer may cost more and take a long time to get to the recipient.

There are international banks and branches of foreign banks in China that you can send through. For instance, transferring through Citibank, Bank of Montreal, Societe Generale, Banco Santander, and other international banks all of which have branches in China, can give you faster times and lower transfer fees.

Typically, inter-bank transfers require that you visit the branch to initiate the transfers. Thanks for the internet, many banks now allow for online transfers. Customers who have a good standing with their banks can transfer money through phone calls.

Money Transfer Services

Apart from banks, money transfer service providers such as Western Union, MoneyGram, WorldRemit, Xoom, TransferWise, Transfast, and Ria can help you move money to China in minutes.

Before you transfer money using money transfer operators (MTOs), you’ll first have to sign up for an account online. The process is simple and takes a few minutes. After the account is set up, decide how you want to transfer the money and pay for your transfer.

There are three ways you can pay: using a debit card, a credit card, and a bank transfer. The credit card payment method is the fastest and the bank debit method, the slowest. Once you’ve paid, you can send the money through the website or a mobile app. There is also the option of depositing and sending from in-store.

If you decide to send to your family or relatives in China from the online platform, there are two options you could use.

Bank Transfer – This method is similar to inter-bank transfers. However, it happens on the MTO platform. It is cheaper and faster than the traditional bank wire system. For instance, TransferWise can help you send to a UnionPay account in China within a few minutes. Bank transfers are the best for transferring large amounts.

Cash Pickup- Through this method, Chinese in the diaspora can transfer money to their loved ones in China. The recipients collect the cash from any of the locations listed on the provider’s payout network. Western Union in partnership with the Bank of China has 32,000+ agents nationwide.

Money transfer through the blockchain network had started gaining popularity. However, in 2017 China banned all digital currency exchanges from operating in the country. This move makes it illegal to send money to China using digital currencies like Bitcoin.

What’s Needed to Send Money to China

When sending money to your family in China, you’ll be required to provide some information. There might be slight variations in the information needed by each money transfer service. However, the following general list has everything you’ll need to send to China.

Your government-issued Identity Card
The amount you want to send
The name of the recipient as indicated on their official documents
The address and phone number of the recipient
If sending through a bank transfer you’ll need the recipient’s SWIFT code, bank name, branch and account number

Depending on the circumstances, you may have to indicate the source of the money and the reason for the sending.

Common Reasons for Sending Money to China

Chinese in the diaspora have families and businesses back at home. From time to time, they send money to support their loved ones or add capital to their businesses. Here are some of the top reasons why overseas Chinese send money home.

Basic Family Support

Families in rural China use remittances mainly to boost basic consumption. According to a study conducted on households receiving remittances, it was established that many of them use the money sent to buy food, clothing and other basic supplies.

The study used propensity score matching in 6 provinces in rural China and found a strong relationship between remittances and consumptive investment.

Housing

Chinese in the diaspora have increasingly been taking up mortgages from banks such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and many others. The real estate market has also witnessed increased inflows from overseas Chinese. Some of the houses are for family occupation while others are for commercial interests.

Debt Repayment

Apart from mortgages, remittances can be directed towards other debt repayments. They could be aged debts taken before the emigrant left or debts incurred on a rolling basis to bridge consumption and other needs.

Education

China has a mixture of national and international schools. Most immigrants want the best for their children and family members. As a result, they enrol them in international schools.

Rural households in China may not necessarily be looking at enrolling their children in international schools but may use the remittances to enhance skill levels for their school-going children.

Healthcare Needs

Healthcare in China comprises both public and private medical institutions. The population largely benefits from basic health insurance. However, for top-end medical care, individuals must be willing to spend more money. Families with their loved ones in the diaspora have been found to have better health outcomes.

Savings and Investments

The Chinese have a strong work culture. They follow maxims that encourage them to save and invest both abroad and back at home. Some of the investments are in physical assets and others in financial assets like equity and fixed-income investments.

Households in rural China invest heavily in farming and other agriculture-based businesses.

Social Contributions

Chinese, much like most Asian families, love family and social life. The annual festivals, weddings, and other social gatherings in China attract a lot of participation from both the local and diaspora populations.

Remittances often increase during festivals such as the Chinese Spring Festival, Duanwu Festival, and Qixi Festival festival.

Why Send Money with a Money Transfer Service?

With China gradually opening up to the world, money transfer service providers such as Western Union, MoneyGram, TrasferWise and Xoom are spreading their wings in the country.

If you’ve never found a reason to use a money transfer service to send money to China, below are some benefits you’ll find interesting.

Faster Transfer Speeds

Transferring money to China is no longer a waiting game. Money transfer service providers can help you send to your loved ones in minutes. When funding your transfer, use a debit or credit card for even faster speeds. Bank transfers may take up to three days.

Low-Cost Transfers

On average, money transfer service providers are way cheaper compared to traditional remittance channels. There are two cost elements: third party charges and provider fees. The third-party charges are mostly from card-issuers.

Generally, money transfer services bill their clients on a percentage basis. MTOs leverage a large number of transactions to lower the cost of sending per transaction.

Easy To Set Up

Signing up for an account, paying for your transfer, and sending to loved ones is such a simple process with money transfer service providers. It takes a few minutes to set up online. On the contrary, banks and other traditional remittance channels require more information and take longer to set up.

Favourable Exchange Rates

MTOs use the mid-market rate in translating currencies. This rate falls exactly midway between the Buy and Sell exchange rates. It is fair and has no hidden fees or overheads. What you get is more of the Chinese Yuan (CYN) per unit of the source currency.

Geographical Spread

Whether you are sending to your loved ones in Heilongjiang Province or Zengmu'ansha in the south, money transfer service providers have an extensive payout network. Their agents are present even in the rural and remote parts of China.

Multicurrency Support

MTOs give overseas Chinese a simplified way to send money home. Some of the host countries have currencies that are not regularly traded on major exchanges. Ordinarily, this would pose a challenge when translating such currencies to the yuan.

Thanks to the MTO multicurrency support platform, every Chinese in the diaspora can send money.

Stay up to date with CNY exchange rate

Thanks for subscribing.

Things to Consider When Sending Money to China

Every time the Chinese economy is mentioned, the mind recalls the protracted battle with the United States. As a result, currency movements have been volatile on both ends. This development and many others are worth considering when you are sending to China:

Currency Instabilities - The trade disputes and wars between the United States and China have brought the Yuan onto the limelight. In fact, economic analysts argue that the People's Bank of China could be using the currency as a weapon to undermine the bilateral trade with the United States. However, as the yuan goes down against the dollar, Chinese in the diaspora are getting better deals when sending money to their families back home.
The Remittance Limit - There are no transfer limits for both residents and non-residents sending to China. However, sending money from China to other countries is subject to a limit of $50,000. These measures are part of China’s controls on money laundering and terrorism financing.

China is yet to open up all its doors to allow every money transfer company to operate in the country. With that said, there is nothing stopping you from maximizing on the available money transfer services on the Chinese remittance corridor. The information in the sections above will go along way into helping you get a handle on what it entails to send money to China.

Your Questions Answered

What’s The Fastest Way To Send Money To China?

The fastest way to transfer money to CHN (China) is through Western Union’s fast service. The money will reach it’s destination in a matter of minutes usually, but the recipient will have to pick it up at the Agricultural Bank of China or an applicable post office. The only downside to Western Union’s fast service is that it is among the most expensive money transfer services.

Another fast way to transfer money to China is through Xoom. Xoom only transfers from USD to CNY, but they complete the transfer in a matter of a few hours. If you send the money during peak Chinese banking business hours (07:00-22:00), then it will get to the destination in only a few hours. They also only charge moderate up-front and hidden costs.

What’s The Cheapest Way To Send Money To China?

TransferWise offers the best rates to transfer money to CHN (China). Their rates are always low, and their rates for China are no different.

There are a few differences in the way TransferWise operates in China, however. TransferWise teamed up with UnionPay, which is the company that actually moves the money across the Chinese border. TransferWise just handles the money once it has arrived and distributes it according to client demand. As a result of this, you can expect a small hidden exchange fee when using TransferWise to send funds. The hidden fee wouldn’t be a significant figure compared to other transfer services. However, it’s worth mentioning, as TransferWise doesn’t carry hidden costs for most countries.

What’s The Easiest Way To Send Money To China?

The easiest way to send funds to CHN (China) is through Wyre. Wyre makes it very easy and convenient to send funds to a Chinese account, and it’s pretty fast too. The only downside is that it is a new business-oriented service, and they don’t transfer money to personal accounts. However, they can deliver to other Chinese bank accounts or Alipay accounts in less than 6 hours.

Current Exchange Rates For China

As of the time, this was written, the exchange rate for the Chinese Yuan (CNY) is 6.8597 CNY per American Dollar (USD). The 90-day average exchange rate was 7.0027 CNY per USD. The 90-day high was 7.0772 CNY per USD, and the low was 6.8597 CNY per USD.

The volatility of the Chinese Yuan against the USD was 0.2% over the last 90 days. Trade and economic factors have seen the CNY fluctuate fairly intensely over the course of the last two years. Current and continuing economic news will affect conversion rates. You can reasonably expect exchange rates to fluctuate moderately going forward, barring unforeseen circumstances.

What’s The Overall Best Way To Transfer Money To China?

The overall best way to transfer funds to China is through TransferWise. They offer the best overall deal considering the specific challenges to sending money to CHN (China). There are other good options, but TransferWise offers the best package when all things are considered. TransferWise is also an optimal version to transfer your funds to Pakistan, Mexico and India.

How we compare

What do we mean by the top provider?
The top provider is the money transfer service that we believe is the most suitable for the country you’re sending money to. In order to keep our service free we factor in the commercial agreements we have with partners into this ranking.

How do we choose providers to display?
We make sure that each table displays the most relevant brands to the country you are sending money to and from. We consider many factors when choosing the providers to display in the table.All of the providers we display are fully regulated to provide money transfer services in the jurisdiction you are searching, relevant regulatory authorities are the FCA, ASIC, Fincen, FINTRAC & AMF. Alongside being regulated the services are manually checked by our team for both quality of service and online trust from such platforms like Trustpilot and Google reviews.We base our rankings primarily on the quality of the service provided, the benefit to the consumer and to keep our service free - the commercial agreements we have.

How do we order our comparisons?
We are affiliated with some of the partners displayed in the tables. However, the order of the providers is based on the quality of the service for the particular country corridor followed by the commercial agreement in place. You don’t pay any extra and the deal you get isn’t affected by our commercial agreement with the money transfer provider. We may receive a commission when you click through to a listing or when you make a transaction.We aim to find the balance between the quality of the service, customer satisfaction and the commercial agreements we have, and continue comparing services in a transparent way.If you have any questions about our listings, please don’t hesitate to email us at contact@moneytransfers.com

Looking to Send Money Somewhere Else?

Sending money anywhere else in the world is as easy as sending money to China. If you're looking to send money to another country, here is the list of the most popular destinations.