As a foreigner living and working in China, we benefit from the value that using WeChat and Alipay brings to our daily lives: buying food, splitting bills, getting train tickets in China and much more. However, when it comes to managing our money in a more global way, things get a bit trickier.
We've all read the "Who wants to exchange Dollars, Euros, Pounds, etc for Yuan" message in a WeChat group
Because of that, we would like to share some tools and banking accounts that could benefit any foreign professional living in China:
Chinese Visa/Mastercard Pre-paid "Credit" Card
Yep, those mythical cards that allow you to use your RMB on international websites and pretty much in any country that accepts Visa or Mastercard.
How do they work?
The bank gives you a "credit" based on a deposit that you place when you open the account. It is true that some employers may be able to help you get one, if they have good 'guanxi' with a certain bank branch, but its not very common.
Anyone that has part of their savings in RMB and would like to use them to buy flight tickets, invest in international saving accounts or simply to make online purchases.
International Bank Accounts
You live like an expat, eat like an expat, travel like an expat, but...
Do you also bank like an expat?
International bank accounts are simply that: accounts in a third jurisdiction (not your home country nor your host country). These accounts are tailor-made for individuals with a global lifestyle and allow you to store your wealth and plan for your goals in a safe and reliable jurisdiction.
Who are these accounts useful for?
If you want to have part of your savings in an international currency such as US Dollars, Euros or Pounds, these accounts are a great way to do it. Especially, if you regard yourself as a global citizen that could make an international move in the future.
Whether you want to buy a house overseas in the near future, have some funds for your childrens education or simply to store part of your savings in a stable currency, then this is the way to go.
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Multi-Currency Accounts
Have you ever calculated how much you lose when you withdraw cash from an overseas ATM?
It can easily go up to 6% per transaction! Insane, right? So how can a multi-currency account make your life easier?
Firstly, multi-currency accounts will have a better exchange rate (sometimes institutional preferential rates). Usually, these accounts will have 3 or more main currencies that you can load money in, and then you can easily exchange to the currency that you need to spend in depending on the country you have travelled to. They are basically tailor-made for global citizens.
Who are these accounts useful for?
Let's imagine you have some savings in US Dollars and you often travel to Europe for work. Often people will go to a currency exchange counter at the airport or withdraw from an ATM at the place they are visiting. Both options will incur hefty foreign transaction fees, and likely see you given an extremely poor exchange rate.
Instead, you could use a multi-currency account to exchange your USD to Euro (or whatever currency you need) at institutional rates, and once you make a transaction overseas it will directly come from the appropriate currency account. No overseas transaction fee and a good exchange rate, this will definitely bring your costs down!
Receive a guide with more details on each type of account and the available options for expats in China by scanning the QR code below:
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