Hi there,

does anybody know of a bank in Kunming where they actually have Euros all the time, as in if you turn up you can be pretty sure that they will not tell you "call us tomorrow and we'll tell you if we happen to have euros on hand"?
Or else, does anybody know if I can change rmb to euros at the new airport?
Thanks!

bank of china all branches should be able to do it. 100% at the main office.

bank of china main office, on Dongfeng xi lu (across wangfujing), should have it all the time.

The Bank of China actually has Euros if you don't mind that they only have 500 Euro bills which is especially funny since you are not allowed to change more than 5000 Yuan as a foreign passport holder, assuming that you are a foreigner. So if you need smaller bills you have to order and wait as well. Not exactly tourist friendly for a tourist hotspot in terms of money exchange.

Right in front of the Bank of China near Nanping Jie are many money changers. They will not cheat you or give you any counterfeits as this is their job and they will do it much faster than any bank. I never had a problem with any of the money changers. No passport or copies or filling out forms required. Their rates as nearly the same as the banks. I prefer to give the profits to a person on the street rather than a bank that is already rich and corrupt.

You are assuming that by using the money changers you are not getting involved in illegal currency flow, i.e. money laundering, linked to organized crime.

Although agreeing that the bills are real, at least the times I used the money changers outside the BoC, the rates they give are terrible. Keep in mind that the rates at the bank are already pretty bad.

So before you go there, get online to xe.com or other currrency converter sites and find out your pain-limit, and bargain like there is no tomorrow.

The last time I went, they were almost 1 RMB below the BoC rate. Maybe if you only change a few spare Euro then, 'what the heck' but I had a bit more to change and that was a bit too bad and the time I seemed to have saved in the bank, I had to spend bargaining for better rates outside.

As Dazzer said it's not exactly legal to say it nicely. But the funny story is, the BoC staff referred me to them, guess they operate for the bank or a money changing ring. So I guess the poor lonely money earning -money changer is a no go. They work for a rich laoban I would assume.

Hi,

I would like to exchange a reasonable sum of Yuan into EUR to take it back home.

Is it possible to ask my China Construction Bank to convert the Yuan in my bank account into EUR and then ask them to wire it to Europe (I have a work permit, contract, etc.)? Or do I need to withdraw the money, then get it exchange myself (where I run into the known difficulties of exchanging money) and then deposit it into my account in EUR?

Is the rate okay when the money is converted (whilst staying in my account) compared to other ways of exchanging a large sum of money?

Are there daily limits for Chinese nationals of how much money can be exchanged (e.g. BoC)?

Thanks!!!