For travelers, the easiest way to get Chinese renminbi (also called “yuan” or “RMB”) is via a local ATM machine. While it may sound daunting to pull money when you can’t read Chinese characters, it’s thankfully not that hard. Still, there are a few things to keep in mind if you want to use an ATM in China.
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For most travelers, using cash is going to be the easiest way to pay for things around China.
While it’s true that WeChat has become the most popular form of payment for local Chinese people, it still requires a Chinese bank account to use, which most traveler’s won’t have access to.
Credit cards branded with Visa and MasterCard won’t be accepted every place you travel in China, so make sure you have enough cash.
Oh, and if you decide to bring foreign cash with you, you’ll need to consider how to exchange cash for Chinese yuan.
For the purpose of this article, though, I’d like to share with you a few tips I’ve learned about finding an ATM in China and making sure you don’t run into any problems while trying to get cash to fund your travels.
Note: Some links in this article are affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may be compensated if you choose to use one of the services listed. I only recommend what I’ve personally used, and I appreciate your support!
There are ATMs on almost every corner in China, but not all of them are foreigner-friendly. There are a couple things you need to ask yourself when finding the right ATM in China to use.
All Chinese ATMs give you the option to choose “English” as the language in their menu, so don’t think that your language skills are going to hinder you from getting money.
To avoid any further problems, it’s best to keep the following tips in mind:
The one downside to using an ATM is that it will only spit out 100 RMB bills.
You’ll need to find other places – like restaurants and grocery stores – to break this down into smaller bills because some services (such as a Chinese taxi) don’t like breaking 100’s.
As you can see, finding and using an ATM in China isn’t terribly difficult, but it’s very easy to get stuck in the mud if you don’t know your card PIN or you don’t alert your bank to your travels.
Oh yea…and don’t forget to be safe as you walk around carrying wads of cash!
Personally, I try not to keep it all in one place, but that’s just me. You can take advantage of the convenience of an ATM or you can try to send money to China via another means.
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