money order for foreign currency?

[etcetera24]

Does anyone know if Chinese banks issue foreign money orders? I'm currently in Beijing and need to acquire a money order in Canadian dollars (unfortunately, wire transfer isn't an option).

Incidentally, what is the hanzi for "money order"?

Thanks so much!

[studentyoung]

Sorry, I am not very clear what your problem really is, because I haven’t experienced this kind of things before. But I hope the links below can slightly give you some reference.

HSBC’ FAQs

http://www.hsbc.com.cn/cn/general/gn09001g.htm

HSBC’s branches and contact details

http://www.hsbc.com.cn/cn/general/gn04001b.htm (English version)

http://www.hsbc.com.cn/cn/sc/general/gn04001b.htm (Chinese version)

Incidentally, what is the hanzi for "money order"?

It is 汇票 (hui4 piao4).

Thanks!

[roddy]

Do you currently have foreign currency? If not you're going to have to go through the rigmarole of getting hold of some besides the hassle of getting the money order.

[etcetera24]

Roddy - unfortunately not... what kind of red tape do I need to hack through for the entire process? I gather it's going to be 非常麻烦

[roddy]

I'm not even sure I'm up to date on money-changing as it's a long time since I've needed to do it, but it's not easy. To do it officially at the Bank of China (which is the only place to officially do it) you need to prove that you have the right to foreign currency - ie that you are converting a certain percentage of legitimate income, or that this was originally foreign currency which you are now changing back (got any old exchange receipts?), or if you are a Chinese citizen that you need these funds for study / travel abroad, etc. If I remember correctly you're a student and I'm not sure the Bank of China is going to be willing to help you.

The other options are changing it privately - if you are a student you may well be able to find someone who brought over foreign currency and would need to change it into RMB anyway. There are also black market money changers often hanging around the Bank of China branches which do currency exchange. Obviously, the caveats that always apply to the words 'black market' apply.

Once you've got that sorted, you can start worrying about whether or not Chinese banks issue foreign money orders. Is this what you need?