The branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; the branches of the SAFE in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; national Chinese-funded banks; and China UnionPay Co., Ltd.;
To intensify regulation against money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion during cross-border use of bank cards, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) would hereby clarify relevant issues on large-sum overseas cash withdrawals, in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration (Regulations):
I. In overseas cash withdrawals by individuals with domestic bank cards, the sum of withdrawals using the bank cards under the name of the individual (including supplementary cards) shall not exceed the equivalent of RMB 100,000 in every civil year. In case of overseas cash withdrawals in excess of the annual quota, the individuals will not be allowed to withdraw cash overseas with the domestic bank cards in the current and second years.
Individuals are prohibited from borrowing others' bank cards or lending their bank cards to evade or help evade the management of overseas cash withdrawals.
II. The SAFE will send on a daily basis the list of individuals suspended from withdrawing cash overseas with domestic bank cards, from the foreign exchange administration system for overseas transactions with bank cards, to the financial institutions that issue the bank cards. The card-issuing financial institutions shall suspend the individuals on the list from withdrawing cash overseas with the bank cards they issue no later than 5pm of the day Beijing time.
The card-issuing financial institutions shall ensure the setup of their business systems to strictly implement the provision above. In the event of system rebuilding, the financial institution shall ensure the system will be completed no later than April 1, 2018.
III. Any individual on the list may inquire of the branch or sub-branch of the SAFE about the details of their cash withdrawals overseas by presenting their valid ID cards. Any individual who entrusts an agent with the enquiry shall provide the valid ID cards of their own and the agent, as well as the certificate of authorization they issue.
IV. For overseas cash withdrawals by individuals with their domestic bank cards, the ceiling for every foreign currency card per day is to be adjusted from the equivalent of USD 1,000 to the equivalent of RMB 10,000, which will be ensured by the card-issuing financial institutions through their business systems. The RMB card will continue to be subject to the ceiling of the equivalent of RMB 10,000 per card per day, which will be ensured by the domestic RMB card clearing organizations through their business systems.
V. The card-issuing financial institutions shall enhance customer management, increase policy promotions, notify cardholders who have withdrawn cash overseas to pay attention to policy changes, guide individuals to reduce their extensive use of cash overseas and properly keep the information on individuals who are suspended from withdrawing cash overseas with their domestic bank cards.
VI. Any card-issuing financial institution, domestic RMB card clearing organization or individual who violates the provisions of this Circular shall be punished in accordance with the Regulations.
VII. This Circular shall take effect as of January 1, 2018. Paragraph 7 of Article 3 of the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Regulating Administration of Foreign Currency Bank Cards (Huifa No. 53 [2010]), and the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Intensifying Administration of Overseas Cash Withdrawals with China UnionPay RMB Cards (Huifa No. 40 [2015]) will be nullified on April 1, 2018.
Upon receipt of this Circular, the branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the SAFE shall immediately forward it to the central sub-branches, urban commercial banks, rural commercial banks, wholly foreign-owned banks, Chinese-foreign equity joint banks, branches of foreign banks, rural cooperative financial institutions, and county banks within your respective jurisdictions.
State Administration of Foreign Exchange
December 29, 2017
