Does Revolut work in China?

Are you an expat living in China? Whether you’re stationed in Beijing, enjoying delicacies like crispy Peking Duck, or whether you’re in the humid and spicy province of Sichuan, you’ll certainly need to pay for your dining out.

In China, in particular, there is a strong culture of fighting for the bill. The importance of having a good payment method for this kind of situation is paramount.

There are a variety of payment options, including many card options, but does Revolut actually work in China?

Table of contents
Does Revolut work in China? Can I use a Revolut card in China? Fees for using Revolut in China Can I open a Revolut account in China?

Does Revolut work in China?

The short answer is that Revolut users can use their account and card in China. However, Revolut users can only send USD to China, and no currency accounts are available in CNY.¹ In fact, you cannot carry out an international transfer using CNY.

Can I use a Revolut card in China?

Although Revolut users can use a Revolut card in China, it’s important to know that there are limitations.²⁺³ For example, many merchants in China may not accept Visa or Mastercard. You could get caught high and dry if you don’t have cash!

If you don’t have a back-up payment method, you had better ensure that you’re comfortable having your dinner guest foot the bill–at least for that one restaurant where they don’t accept Visa or Mastercard.

Otherwise, you can try to find an ATM. You may withdraw CNY from ATMs in China using your Revolut card.

You might also be able to link your Revolut card to Chinese e-wallets like Alipay and WeChat, but you should double check whether these options are available.

Fees for using Revolut in China

There are certain variable fees for foreign transactions and ATM withdrawals in China. These fees also apply to Revolut transactions and withdrawals.

Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) fees aside, most transactions may be completed using either: the local currency, GBP, or a third currency for which there is enough balance. However, since Revolut doesn’t support CNY, you’ll always either pay in GBP or a third currency, and you’ll often inflict a currency conversion fee.⁴⁺⁵

Revolut’s fees for conversion are tiered, and change according to your plan.

For the Standard plan, some currency exchanges conducted over weekdays will be free of charge, while other exchanges conducted over the weekend will inflict a 1% weekend fee. Keep in mind that currency exchanges that are over 1,000 GBP will always inflict a 1% base fee, whether they occur during the workweek or not.

For the Plus plan, you can count on paying 0.5% on conversions over 3,000 GBP.

For Premium, Metal, and Ultra, there are no exchange fees during the week, and you need only mind the weekend fee.

Can I open a Revolut account in China?

As a further complication to the matter of footing the bill, consider that residents of China cannot open a Revolut account.⁶ It is only the expats who open their accounts with Revolut before living in China who may make use of Revolut within China.

Until recently, residents of Macau could open a Revolut Lite account. However, this is no longer available in the region.

Paying the dinner bill in a work or personal setting is only one use case, but it is an important one. In Chinese culture, it is common to fight for the bill, and not being able to pay up could be extremely embarrassing.

Luckily, there are many payment options out there. Revolut may work in some cases, but if you want to send money from China, you can consider using Wise, which is cheaper, faster, more convenient and more transparent. It is an alternative to traditional banks, and allows you to send money at mid-market exchange rates in 50+ currencies, to 70+ countries.

Expats in China can now send money from China with Wise as long as they are working or have worked in China and are able to provide necessary documents including a valid tax record issued by the China tax authority.

This service is provided in partnership with a licensed third-party payment provider in China.

Send money with Wise

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Sources:

1. Revolut: Unsupported outbound bank transfers
2. Revolut: Which countries can I use my Revolut cards in?
3. Revolut: What currencies are supported for spending?
4. Revolut: Spending in other currencies
5. Revolut: Withdrawing in other currencies
6. Revolut: What are the supported countries where I can sign up for Revolut?

Sources last checked on 17 Jun 2024