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-   -   ATM's in China (https://www.fodors.com/community/asia/atms-in-china-728121/)

Ruben Aug 11th, 2007 01:42 PM

ATM's in China
 
I'll be leaving in two weeks for China. Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Can I used ATM cards isuued by US banks in China? How prevalent are ATM machines there?

pat Aug 11th, 2007 02:53 PM

Do a search. It has been discussed a lot on these boards. I had no problems finding ATM`s in China and of course I had a US bank card.

sari80 Aug 11th, 2007 09:40 PM

I was also worried about using my US card in China because of various discussions on these boards. However, I found that ATM machines seemed quite prevalent in the three cities we visited, Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. In fact, there were machines in the hotel lobbies of all three hotels we stayed in while we were in China and I had no problems using my ATM card.

Sara

WeiLong Aug 11th, 2007 11:03 PM

Bank of China ATMs accept cards with Cirrus/Maestro or Plus, other machines you might be lucky.

http://www.travelsinasia.com/China/China.htm

gard Aug 12th, 2007 12:03 AM

Hi

My wife and I went to China in 2003 and we found ATM's to use in Beijing, Xi'an and Hong Kong. Here is my trip report with pictures and links: http://gardkarlsen.com/china_beijing.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Jayna Aug 12th, 2007 04:24 AM

ATMs are everywhere...I'd check your card's website to see which ATMs accept your card, though. I did run into a problem the first time I tried to use my card in China. I tried a few ATMs, and their banks didn't take my card type...which the machines only told me AFTER I'd entered my PIN. So because I tried more than three times, I couldn't access any ATM until the next day.

Jayna
travels at www.ususbaby.com

Shanghainese Aug 12th, 2007 11:21 AM

Let your bank know you are going overseas and will be using your ATM card. Some banks block the card usage overseas in case of fraud, Bank of Amerca started doing that 2 months ago.

tonguetied Aug 14th, 2007 03:53 PM

My U.S. ATM card worked at all Bank of China locations and also at all IBSC locations. Don't be discouraged if your card is not accepted at a particular bank. Just walk to the next bank and give it a go. Banks are everywhere in the larger cities.

ggreen Aug 14th, 2007 04:39 PM

China Construction Bank is affiliated with one of the big US bank (Bank of America, I think). Regardless of affiliation, I had no problem using their machines with my HSBC card. The good thing about this bank is, like Bank of China, it's everywhere! :)

(I also had no problem using HSBC ATMs, and a DeutcheBank near where I was staying in Beijing only took non-Chinese cards. The exchange rate was very similar at all of them.)

sisduoinchina Aug 14th, 2007 04:50 PM

I ended up paying for a co-worker's hotel room and meals because diners club froze his account due to overseas charges. It was terribly inconvenient. Take Shanghainese's advice - call your credit card company before you go!

Is there any truth to the rumor that certain ATMs will fail to provide cash but will debit your account? I heard this rumor in March, but have never experienced this myself.


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