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Using an ATM in China in 2023 | What You Need to Know

January 10, 2023 By Josh Summers

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.

How 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!

Which Chinese ATM Can I Use as a Foreigner?

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.

  • Which Chinese Bank? Typically you want to find a Bank of China, China Merchant’s Bank or ICBC. These banks are reliably friendly to foreign cards and have locked spaces to get your money. Many of the other banks will also accept foreign credit cards, just make sure you see signs for Visa and MasterCard above the ATM.
Bank of China sign
  • Which Cards do they Accept? You’ll usually see a sign in front of the ATM that tells whether it accepts Visa, MasterCard, JCB or any others. These are the most common. Unfortunately, I haven’t found many ATMs that accept American Express.
  • Do I Use Credit or Debit? Banks will accept both, but you’ll save yourself a lot of extra fees if you use your debit card to withdraw money. Make sure you know your PIN! If you want to get cash with either your debit or your credit card, you’ll need your PIN number. Didn’t know your credit card had a PIN number? Then don’t expect to get cash with it!
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  • How Much Money Do I Need? You may not know this, but your bank at home limits how much money you can take out per day, per card. Check your bank to determine how much that is. In addition, Chinese banks limit how much you can take out of an ATM at one time. This daily withdraw is capped at about 2,500-3,000 RMB depending on the bank. If you need more than this, you’ll need to go inside the bank or use multiple cards.

Pro Tips for Using a Chinese ATM

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:

  • Alert Your Bank at Home: Before you leave for China, call your bank and tell them where you plan to travel. They should put a note on your account so that any withdraw transactions shouldn’t be flagged as fraudulent. You don’t want to find yourself without cash because your account gets locked up!
  • Be Prepared with a Backup Plan: I’ve had friends who have alerted their bank about their travels and still had their account frozen. They were stuck at the airport without any cash to get a taxi to their hotel! Don’t let that be you. Either bring a backup debit/credit card or have some extra cash ready that you can exchange for RMB.
  • Know Your PIN: Every Chinese ATM will ask you for your PIN number, whether you’re using your debit card or a credit card. If you’ve forgotten your PIN number, do a bit of research to make sure you know what it is.
  • Factor in Fees: When you think about your budget, consider the ATM fees. They’re not much, but they will add up over time. ATM’s will sometimes charge you a fee, and then your home bank will likely charge you an international ATM fee (waived with some banks, so check before you leave). This, of course, is in addition to an international currency exchange fee. It’s usually about 3%. Like I said…it adds up. This is why it’s worth considering a global payment solution like ECARD (currently on hold during the pandemic). If you’re a U.S. resident and you are traveling or moving to China, that’s worth investigating further.
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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.

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Final Thoughts | Using an ATM in China in 2023

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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Further Reading & Resources

  • Exchanging money in China in 2021
    How to Exchange Money in China 2022 & Where To Do It
  • Tips for tipping in China
    Tipping in China in 2022 | How Much and When?
  • Using Alipay in China to Transfer Money tutorial
    How to Use Alipay to Transfer Money Outside China

Traveling or Moving to China Soon?

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Avatar for Josh Summers

About Josh Summers

Josh is the founder of TravelChinaCheaper.com who has been living in China with his family since 2006. Over that period of time he has traveled by plane, train, car, motorcycle and even camel to explore almost every corner of the country.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

    January 27, 2018 at 5:57 am

    I have purchased plane tickets many times within the country. You should check out my 5-step process for getting cheap China flights. Hope that helps!

  2. Avatar for Josh SummersDebbie Clymer says

    September 15, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    I read online that the Discover card is the most readily accepted. What do you know about that?

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      September 17, 2018 at 9:23 pm

      I don’t know about that. Visa and MasterCard seem to be accepted at most ATMs I go to.

  3. Avatar for Josh SummersPaul holmes says

    December 30, 2018 at 4:04 am

    I dont have visa plus or mastercard plus, just the regular cards issued in uk. will that hinder me at popular ATMs such as hsbc or boc, thanks.

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      December 30, 2018 at 8:48 pm

      That depends…what kind of “regular card” do you have?

  4. Avatar for Josh SummersHelen Macpherson says

    January 8, 2019 at 3:12 am

    verygood advice !! ta !! question —can you use a debit card at an ATM ??? (see can use in bank OK ) heard somewhere that chinese pin is 6 digits ?? we only have 4 digits in Australia ?? what to do if this I the case ?? thanks Helen

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      January 8, 2019 at 9:13 am

      Yes! I exclusively use a debit card to avoid the high fees of a credit card.

      And you’re correct, most Chinese PINs are 6-digits but the ATM will accept a 4-digit code.

  5. Avatar for Josh SummersDavid Donaldson says

    January 30, 2019 at 9:45 pm

    Friend of mine has traveled several times on business to china. He told me to plan on cash only, his last visit he had two debit cards confiscated by ATMs. He checked with his banks and everything was fine with his accounts on this end. no explanation, just taken and left with no debits. Luckily had fair amount of cash. For a week trip to beijing, xi’an, and shanghai how much cash would you roughly recommend having? I have no idea how much taxis, tourist site entrance fees, food, etc will be having never been before and not familiar with exchange rates for the yuan.
    thanks

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      January 31, 2019 at 8:15 am

      Hey David, there are a lot of variables to deal with here. I’ve known people to travel on $50/day while others tend to travel on closer to $100-$150/day. It depends on the food you eat, hotels you stay at, tourist sites you visit and type of transportation you take. If I were you, I would still try the ATM method even if you bring the cash – it will be easier to turn the cash into RMB.

  6. Avatar for Josh Summershorario de banco says

    February 21, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    ATMs in China can present to the unwary a series of unexpected and apparently unnecessary complications. When using a Chinese ATM, be careful.

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      February 21, 2019 at 12:16 pm

      Can you elaborate on what kind of complications you’re referring to?

  7. Avatar for Josh SummersLola says

    April 2, 2019 at 3:58 am

    Hello, I was RECENTLY told there is a standard minimum amount I must withdraw at atm’s in shanghai which amounts to roughly $440USD. Can this possibly be true?

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      April 2, 2019 at 11:43 am

      To my knowledge, there is no minimum amount and each bank is different as to their max allowance. Just keep in mind that each time you pull cash out of an ATM, you get charged fees, so I always recommend people to pull out the max you can use and just keep the cash securely so you’re not wasting money on ATM fees.

  8. Avatar for Josh Summerssarah says

    August 9, 2019 at 9:20 pm

    Hi – we are travelling to china next month. Out australian credit cards double as our debit cards – are we able to take cash from the debit account rather than the credit? thanks

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      August 12, 2019 at 8:56 am

      You’ll have to ask your bank to be sure.

  9. Avatar for Josh SummersSusan says

    September 23, 2019 at 5:32 pm

    I KNOW my visa debit card has only a 4-digit pin. is it really safe to assume that chinese atm’s will accept this?
    thanks.

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      September 24, 2019 at 12:47 am

      Yes, they will. I know because I have done it many times.

  10. Avatar for Josh SummersJohrey Bobby says

    October 18, 2019 at 3:33 am

    How much is deducted from customer account when withdrawing money using visa card through atm in china?

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      October 19, 2019 at 12:59 am

      It depends on the bank connected to the Visa card. Some have hefty fees, others are much better.

  11. Avatar for Josh SummersErica Laxamana says

    November 24, 2019 at 4:00 am

    HI! I am not bringing enough rmb with me, and I only Have u. s. debit card. Is it possible to use atm and withdraw RMB?
    also, can i use wechat pay without a Chinese bank Account? can i wire money to wechat PAY?

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      November 24, 2019 at 10:15 pm

      Yes you can withdraw RMB from an ATM using your debit card. No, you can’t wire money to WeChat Pay.

  12. Avatar for Josh SummersAdnan Abdulrahman⚓️ says

    May 28, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    I use a deBit mastercard and ICBC Atm accepts 6-digits and didnT accept my 4-digiTs

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      May 31, 2020 at 8:59 pm

      Try a different ATM. Some ATMs may require 6 digits, but others will not.

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