Door Andrew

Ik ben gevraagd vaak of kunnen de kaarten van het Krediet en van het Debet in China worden gebruikt. Het eenvoudige antwoord is JA, in de meeste steden. Hongkong zou geen probleem moeten zijn, zouden Shanghai en Peking ook niet teveel problemen moeten geven. Nanning, Guangzhou en de gelijkaardige steden zouden ook O.K. moeten zijn.

Tipt… hoewel uw kaart spaander zal zijn en u in bijna alle gevallen zal gevraagd worden zal spelden „ondertekenen voor“ liet het niet uit uw gezicht.

Zij kunnen in de meerderheid van de grotere hotels worden gebruikt, maar niet zullen alle kaarten worden goedgekeurd, in mijn ervaring schijnt het VISUM te zijn het gemakkelijkst erkend en toegelaten. Alvorens u voor China weggaat, deel uw bank (voor de kaart van het Debet) mee en het creditcardbedrijf dat u in China op de bepaalde data zult zijn, zullen zij omhoog uw rekening dan markeren en u zou niet aan vele kwesties moeten hebben. U kunt ook nog vinden na uw eerste poging tot het gebruiken van één van beiden zij nog met het bericht „verwijzen naar leverancier“ zullen gedaald worden. Telefoneert de paniek enkel uw Bank of kaartbedrijf niet bij uw het vroegst. De uiteinden… Zo draag altijd uw kaart en bankaantallen van de contacttelefoon met u en ook aantallen aan verloren of gestolen rapport kaart.

On my last few visits to Nanning I used both my debit card and credit card in Hotels, Department stores and ATM machines with varying and erratic degrees of success. For instance, the ATM machines happily accept Debit cards but will vary on the daily amount given, I use Bank of China ATM’s only and found that at some Branches 2000RMB per day was permitted and others I was able to draw 3000RMB per day.

Tips…When the machines are empty of cash no indication was given, only that withdrawal was declined, it was only after asking the security guard (present in all Banks) that he informed me the machine was empty. So this could be misleading as the first reaction is to think someone has cleared your account out.

Tips… Also worth noting in the Department stores credit cards are preferred.There are numerous “pay” counters scattered around where you pay for your purchases, these vary in what they will accept, it is worth pointing out to the sales assistant that you will be paying by International card, she will then direct you to the correct counter. Internet connections are variable in China and as these transactions require Internet connection, sometimes this will be down and once again you will not be able to use your card. So in summary, Larger Hotels, Department stores and restaurants will in most cases accept International Credit cards and ATM’s will accept Debit cards.

Tips…Beware, never let the card out of your sight. Although your cards will be chip and pin it is highly likely that all transactions will be “sign for”

Do not be fooled by the reaction you might receive in smaller shops, they will appear at first to accept your card and go through the process of purchase, it is usually at this point the machine will reject it as they are not allowed to accept international transactions (only domestic transactions), it is likely that the shop staff have never encountered this before and it will throw them into orbit, managers will appear, your card will be passed from one to another, do not let it out of your sight and finally when all else fails they will probable offer to walk you to the nearest ATM to draw the cash. This happened to me in Nanning on my first visit, I declined there kind offer and walked away and ended up purchasing a similar product in the larger department store using my credit card.

Tips… When you do make purchases remember the Chinese are great hagglers. The only places where the prices are usually fixed and not negotiable are the large department stores but it might be worth a go. Everywhere else, especially the street vendors, Haggle, Haggle, Haggle the prices can be talked down. Ideally let a Chinese national do this for you. They know how to do it… and stay out of sight yourself, as soon as there is a glimpse of a westerner the price will double.

Andrew, mynanning.blogspot.com