Changing money in Chinese: banks, rates and ATM fees
China runs on QR payments, but cash still matters at markets, small temples and the occasional luggage desk — so most visitors change money or use an ATM at least once. The good news is that the conversation is always the same four questions: where, what rate, what fee, and how much.
One practical rule before any of the phrases: fees are charged per transaction, whether you're changing notes or withdrawing cash. Fewer, larger transactions beat several small ones almost every time.
5 steps · 5 phrases · tap any phrase to hear it
Listen to all 5
Hands-free playback — good for a taxi, a queue, or the plane.
Back-to-back Chinese — good once the phrases are familiar.
- 1
Find somewhere to change money
You may hear
银行可以换，带护照。
Yínháng kěyǐ huàn, dài hùzhào.
Banks can change it — bring your passport.
Banks give the honest rate but want your passport and a queue ticket; airport counters open the longest hours but the rate is noticeably worse. Self-service exchange machines (自助兑换机) now sit in malls and metro hubs and take passports too — the machine often has an English screen, which makes this whole page optional.
- 2
Ask the rate before you commit
You may hear
今天汇率是七点一。
Jīntiān huìlǜ shì qī diǎn yī.
Today's rate is 7.1.
点 is the spoken decimal point, so 七点一 is 7.1 — the numbers page doing its job. Check a currency app for the mid-market rate first; if the counter offers more than a couple of percent worse, the difference is the real fee, whatever they claim about charges.
- 3
Check which notes they take
You may hear
收美金，但要新钞。
Shōu Měijīn, dàn yào xīn chāo.
We take US dollars, but only crisp bills.
Exchange counters reject worn, torn or written-on notes — US bills especially — so bring undamaged cash from home. The same 收 frame answers the general question of paying in dollars directly: outside these counters, almost nobody takes foreign cash.
- 4
Ask what the fee is
You may hear
每笔手续费五十块。
Měi bǐ shǒuxùfèi wǔshí kuài.
The fee is fifty yuan per transaction.
笔 (bǐ) is the measure word for a transaction, and 每笔 means per transaction — the detail that decides strategy. Hotel desks often waive the fee but quote a worse rate, so compare the final yuan figure, never the headline rate alone.
- 5
Or just use the ATM
You may hear
请插入银行卡，输入密码。
Qǐng chārù yínhángkǎ, shūrù mìmǎ.
Please insert your card and enter your PIN.
Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards work in the ATMs of the big banks — 工商银行 (ICBC), 中国银行 (Bank of China), 建设银行 (CCB) — and usually in convenience-store ATMs. Withdraw the maximum your home bank allows, since charges apply per withdrawal; if the card is declined, 我的卡不能用 plus showing the screen is the whole conversation.
Also worth having ready
Not part of the flow, but the ones people wish they'd practised before this situation.
Common questions
- Can foreigners use ATMs in China?
- Yes. ATMs at the big banks (ICBC, Bank of China, CCB) accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards, and many convenience-store ATMs do too. 我要取钱 (I need to withdraw money) is the phrase you'll rarely need to say aloud — but 手续费多少 (how much is the fee?) is worth knowing, because both your home bank and the local one may charge per withdrawal.
- Should I exchange cash or withdraw money in China?
- A mix works best: QR payments cover almost everything, so you only need small amounts of cash for markets, temples and the old-economy corners. If you do change notes, banks beat airport counters on rate; if you withdraw, take out larger amounts less often, because fees are per transaction.
- Do I need cash at all in China?
- Much less than you'd expect — street vendors, taxis and even temple donation boxes increasingly take QR codes. Keep a few small notes for the exceptions (some markets, luggage storage, rural buses), and ask 哪里可以换钱 (where can I change money?) before you actually need to.
Every phrase used here, in full
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