Where to Exchange Money in China: ATMs, Banks and Airport Counters

For most visitors, the best way to get Chinese yuan (人民币, rénmínbì, often written RMB or CNY) is to take most of your cash out of an ATM in China with your own bank card. Use a bank counter only if you are carrying a large amount of foreign cash you want to change, and treat airport and hotel exchange desks as a place for a small emergency amount, such as enough for the taxi into town. You can exchange a little at home before you fly, but you do not need to. And you probably need less cash than you think, because most everyday spending in China goes through Alipay and WeChat Pay. Our guide on how much cash you need in China covers that question in detail.

The Short Answer: ATM First, Bank for Big Sums, Airport Only for a Little

China's central bank lists the same set of options for visitors: ATMs that take international cards, licensed exchange businesses, some hotel front desks, bank branches and self-service exchange machines, at the airport when you land and in the city afterwards. Places that change money usually put up a clear currency exchange sign. Here is how we would use them:

• ATM in China — for most of your cash. It works at any hour, you need no paperwork, and you get yuan straight from your own account. Your home bank's fees are the main cost, so check them before you go.
• Bank counter — for large amounts of foreign cash. If you arrive with a stack of dollars, euros or yen, a bank branch is the most reliable place to change it. Bring your passport.
• Airport or hotel desk — for a small emergency amount. These desks are convenient, but their rates are usually noticeably worse than a bank or ATM. Change only what you need for the first few hours.
• Exchange at home — optional. A small starter amount gives you peace of mind on landing. Compare your home bank's rate with an ATM withdrawal in China before you change more.

For day-to-day spending, cash is a backup. Link your card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you leave (see our guides to using Alipay with a foreign card and using WeChat Pay with a foreign card), and keep some yuan for the places where a phone payment does not work.

One rule to know before you pack: each person may carry up to 20,000 yuan in Chinese cash in or out of the country per trip, and you must declare foreign cash worth more than US$5,000 in writing when you arrive. When you leave, carrying cash above the set amount is also one of the cases that must be declared to customs in writing. Taking foreign cash out has its own paperwork rules, so if you plan to leave with more foreign cash than you declared on arrival, check with your bank or the customs desk first. Most tourists never come near these limits. Our essential items checklist and departure guide cover the customs steps on each end.

Exchanging Cash at a Bank Counter

A bank branch is the right place to change a larger amount of foreign cash. Bank of China (中国银行, Zhōngguó Yínháng) is the bank most used to serving foreign visitors, but other large banks also exchange money. In Shanghai, for example, the city government lists Bank of China, ICBC, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Communications, SPDB, Industrial Bank, China Merchants Bank, CITIC Bank, Standard Chartered and HSBC as banks that offer currency exchange. Not every branch does it, though, and the Shanghai government's banking guide tells visitors to look for the green "EXCHANGE" sign usually shown outside the branch.

Which currencies you can change

The major currencies are easy. China Construction Bank's Sichuan branches, for example, exchange nine currencies: US dollars, euros, British pounds, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, Swiss francs, Singapore dollars, Hong Kong dollars and Japanese yen. They do not exchange foreign coins, only notes. Bank of China handles a much wider range, up to 38 currencies. Not every branch offers all of them, so check by calling Bank of China on 95566 before you make a trip for a less common currency. If your currency is not one of the major ones, it is often simpler to change it into US dollars or euros before you leave home, or to rely on an ATM.

What to bring and how it works

Bring your original passport; a photo or a copy will not do. For a small exchange, your passport is all you need, and you do not have to open an account. As a foreign visitor you can exchange foreign cash worth up to US$10,000 a day on your passport alone. Above US$10,000 in one day, the bank also needs your customs-stamped entry declaration form or the cash withdrawal slip from the bank that held your foreign cash. So if you bring a large amount of foreign cash, declare it when you land and keep the stamped form; cash above US$5,000 has to be declared on arrival anyway.

There is also a yearly cap. Exchanges by foreign individuals count against an annual allowance worth US$50,000 per person; only exchanges backed by documents showing what the yuan is for fall outside it. A normal holiday will not get close.

The visit itself is simple:

1. Take a queue ticket and tell the staff you want to exchange foreign currency. A note on your phone that says 外币兑换 (wàibì duìhuàn, "foreign currency exchange") helps if nobody speaks English.
2. Hand over your passport and cash, and fill in or sign the form the teller gives you.
3. Count your yuan at the counter before you walk away.
4. Keep the exchange receipt, called a 兑换水单 (duìhuàn shuǐdān). You may need it to change leftover yuan back later.

Bring clean notes. Banks check every note, and torn, written-on or very old notes can be refused. Opening hours vary by bank and branch, and many branches keep shorter hours or close at weekends, so check the hours of the branch you plan to visit on its map listing or by calling the bank.

Taking Cash Out of an ATM

For most travellers, an ATM is the easiest way to get yuan. Bank of China ATMs take UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, JCB and American Express cards issued abroad, work around the clock, and let you take out up to 3,000 yuan per withdrawal. Any fees on top are set by your own bank. Bank of China's foreign card page has the current details.

Other banks work too. A China Construction Bank guide published by its Sichuan branch lists UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa and JCB cards issued abroad, but not American Express, and some of its guidance limits this to ATMs inside branches, so check for your card's logo on the machine before you try. In Guizhou, the provincial foreign affairs office lists ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, SPDB, China Everbright Bank and China Guangfa Bank as banks with ATMs that take foreign cards. Not every ATM of those banks does, so look for your card's logo on the machine. Some machines are especially useful: an ICBC branch in Beijing, for example, has an ATM that pays out 10-yuan notes to Visa and Mastercard holders, which is handy for small purchases.

At other banks, the withdrawal limit and any local fee are set by the bank and by your card issuer, so read the ATM screen before you confirm. The government has told banks to keep upgrading ATMs so that foreign visitors can withdraw yuan with cards issued at home or abroad, and banks are adding foreign card support to more machines.

If a machine offers to charge you in your home currency (dynamic currency conversion), choose yuan. Visa's rules require the machine to show both amounts, the exchange rate and any markup, and to let you decide; if that information is missing or you feel pushed, Visa advises turning it down.

If your bank charges a lot for foreign withdrawals, a card from a service built for travel, such as Wise, is worth setting up before you leave; confirm its current fees and China ATM support in the app. For what else a foreign card can and cannot do in China, read our guide to using international cards in China.

Airport and Hotel Exchange Counters

You will see exchange desks soon after you clear customs, and some hotels change money at the front desk. Shanghai's two international airports, for example, have exchange service points, and there are pilot exchange points at the Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 and Pudong Airport Terminal 1 & 2 metro stations. Bank of China also runs self-service exchange machines at airports, ports and hotels that take 20 foreign currencies and pay out yuan cash. National policy asks for more exchange counters at airports and ports and in hotels where many foreign guests stay.

The downside is the rate. Airport and hotel desks typically give a rate around 5–10% worse than a bank, sometimes with a fixed fee on top, so ask for the rate and the fee, or check the rate board, before you hand over any money. Many hotel and airport desks exchange money as authorised agents of Bank of China, and there you can change up to 10,000 yuan worth a day and 50,000 yuan worth a year. These limits are in yuan, not dollars, so they are much lower than the US$10,000 a day you can change at a bank counter. Our advice: change just enough for a taxi, a meal and a SIM card, then get the rest from an ATM in the city. If the arrivals hall has a Bank of China ATM, that is usually a better first stop than the desk next to it.

How to Read the Exchange Rate Board

Two kinds of rate matter. The first is the official central parity rate (中间价, zhōngjiān jià). The China Foreign Exchange Trade System calculates and publishes it every day under the authority of the People's Bank of China. It is a benchmark for the banking market, not the rate you get at a counter.

The second is the bank's own board, shown on a screen in the branch and on the bank's website. Bank of China's rate board quotes each currency as yuan per 100 units of foreign currency, and has five columns: spot buying rate, cash buying rate, spot selling rate, cash selling rate and the Bank of China middle rate. The board is for reference only; the rate you get is the one at the moment of your transaction.

Here is how to find your number. "Buying" and "selling" are from the bank's side:

• You hand over foreign cash to get yuan: the bank is buying your notes, so look at the cash buying rate (现钞买入价, xiànchāo mǎirù jià). The figure shows how many yuan you get for 100 units of your currency.
• You change yuan back into foreign cash: the bank is selling you notes, so look at the cash selling rate (现钞卖出价, xiànchāo màichū jià). It is higher than the buying rate; the gap is the bank's margin.
• The "spot" columns apply to money moved between accounts, not to banknotes, so you can ignore them at the counter.

To judge whether a desk is fair, compare its rate with the cash buying rate on a big bank's board for the same day. A small gap is normal. A big gap means you are paying extra for convenience.

Avoid Street Money Changers and Fake Notes

Do not change money with people on the street, in shops or through private chat contacts, even if their rate looks better. Private currency trading is illegal in China; for larger amounts, the foreign exchange authorities can confiscate the profits and fine up to 30% of the amount involved, more in serious cases. The bigger practical risk for you is fake or old notes slipped into a bundle.

Change money only at banks, ATMs and counters with an official exchange sign, and you will not have this problem: notes from a bank counter or an ATM have already been machine-checked. A few habits help with any cash you handle:

• Count your money at the counter, in front of the teller, before you walk away.
• Watch anyone who takes your note and hands it back. A known trick is to take a real note, say there is a problem with it, and return a fake one. Keep your eyes on your own notes.
• Know the basic security features. Yuan notes have a watermark and other features you can feel and see; the People's Bank of China publishes guides to them, so check its official description if you want to learn them.

If a bank teller finds a fake note in cash you hand over, at least two staff members confiscate it in front of you: a fake yuan note is stamped as counterfeit, and fake foreign notes are sealed in a bag. They then give you a confiscation receipt. If you think the note was real, you can apply in writing for a free check within 3 working days, using that receipt. For other money tricks aimed at visitors, see our guide to tourist scams in China.

Changing Leftover Yuan Back Before You Leave

You can change unused yuan back into foreign currency in the city or before you leave the country. China Construction Bank, for example, does this at any of its branches: up to US$500 worth a day needs only your passport, and above that you also need the original exchange receipt, which stays valid for 24 months from the day you exchanged. Bank of China's rules are the same in outline: the original receipt is valid for 24 months, up to US$500 worth a day can be changed back without it, and at an exchange point in the departure area after customs the limit without a receipt is US$1,000 worth a day. Keep every 兑换水单 until you are home.

Some practical points:

• Do it in the city if you can. A bank branch on your last full day gives you more time and a better rate than a desk at the airport. The higher no-receipt limit at the departure-area exchange point is a useful backup, but counter hours vary, so do not leave it to the last hour.
• Spend coins and small notes first. Coins are hard to change back, and small amounts are rarely worth the queue.
• Keep the 20,000-yuan limit in mind if you plan to take Chinese cash home for a later trip.
• Withdraw in smaller amounts near the end of your trip. It is easier than having lots of yuan left over.

Our departing China guide covers the rest of the departure day, including the tax refund for shopping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

Get most of your yuan from ATMs in China; Bank of China machines are the most reliable for foreign cards. Change large amounts of foreign cash at a bank counter with your passport, and keep the receipt. Use airport and hotel desks only for a small amount, choose yuan when a machine asks, avoid street changers, and change leftover yuan back at a city bank before you fly. Before you go, read how much cash you really need in our cash guide, and set up Alipay or WeChat Pay so cash stays a backup.

Last updated: October 2026