Chinese who work in the U.S. are unavoidable to send money to relatives and friends in China during the holidays (Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.). With the recent USD/CNY exchange rate breaking below 7.3, interest in searching for USD-CNY exchange options has exploded.
Sending money from the USA to China is easier than before. Having the best method for transferring money to China is very important which may save a lot of money for you. There are many types of money transfer providers who offer different fees, exchange rates,s and speeds.
But which is the best? Let’s figure it out together.
- The traditional way- Bank to bank (Wire transfer)
Banks act as bridges in international money transfers through which foreign workers can send money home. Although it helps them move money home, it charges a high fee because profit is essential for banks.
How long and how much does it cost to transfer funds to China via bank?
Reliability: High
Transfer Fee: $35–45 along with currency conversion fees
Remittance Difficulty: Low
Speed: Relatively slow to medium (A few days to a few weeks)
We can see that bank transfer is reliable but expensive with slow speed. $35–45 is a high fee for ordinary students or workers. and the arrival speed is not acceptable for a few days to a few weeks.
2. The popular way- Paypal to bank
Due to the friendly user experience and high overall credibility, PayPal is one of the most popular money transfer tools for smaller amounts all over the world.
Reliability: High
Transfer Fee: 2.9% + currency altering fees
Remittance Difficulty: Low
Speed: Fast
Paypal is good except for the very high transfer fee. But it’s hard to resist the ability to send money anywhere right from your smartphone. It is worth noting that PayPal only supports withdrawals to your own bank account. If you want to send money to family members or friends in China, PayPal does not support it.
- The cheap and fast way- Epay to the bank account or Alipay
Epay is a remittance company that has branch offices in China, the USA, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Samoa, providing the fastest and cheapest way to send USD to RMB from the US to China.
It provides multiple channels to send RMB to individuals or enterprises in USD or EUR. You can choose to transfer to a Chinese bank account or an Alipay account. Both are cheap and fast, recipients will receive the money within 3 minutes.
Reliability: Very High
Transfer Fee: $10 per transaction
Remittance Difficulty: Low
Speed: Very fast, within seconds
Epay is the fastest payment channel compared to all other payment providers in the market. Some channels take 1 day, some take 1 week, but Epay takes 3 minutes. Most users say it is unbelievable. They were surprised after they tried to send RMB by Epay.
Finding the best method for transferring money from the US to China will need to consider several factors, including ease of transaction, speed, cost, and transparency of the process. Compare as much as you can, and choose the suitable one that you think is the best.