Definitely, it would be the most secured and convenient way to pay your tuition fees and accommodation fees before your
departure to your university’s International account for that the university will arrange everything for you fully and completely
in advance. Of course, there are also cases that some students would like to pay the fees to the university after your arrival
in China. About making the payment on arrival, you have to remember that most Chinese universities only accept payment
in cash (RMB), so please do the money exchange before your registration.
Cash
This way is accepted and welcomed by all the Chinese universities.
SICAS Reminder:
This is the best choice and will bring you no troubles.
Traveler's Cheques
Some universities may accept traveler’s cheques. Be sure to contact service@sicas.cn or check with the school in advance.
You can also cash your traveler’s cheques (sold by International commercial banks and traveler’s cheques companies) at
a branch of the Bank of China if they are refused by the school.
SICAS Suggestion: this is not the best choice.
Credit Cards
Some universities accept payment by credit card, but a service fee of 3%-4% will be charged. Most credit cards with International networks like American Express/Visa/MasterCard/Cirrus can withdraw
money from Chinese ATMs who accept International card. A small fee will be charged when use this service.
SICAS Reminder:
This is not the best choice. Universities don’t accept cards payment directly. You will have to go to bank or ATM to withdraw
money and it is not sure that which bank will accept your card.
Western Union
Western Union transfer allows instant money wiring to and from 100 countries. It only takes less than 1 hour for you to
receive your money from most of the countries in the world through Western Union. The service charge is much higher.
SICAS Reminder:
All fares will be calculated according to the daily exchange rate to RMB. Currently it is 6.5 RMB≈1 USD.
Please note that there are some cases when International bank cards are not accepted by Chinese banks because they
don’t have any cooperation. Check with your credit/debit card provider for specifics before leaving your home country. Notify
your bank that you’ll be in China because foreign banks sometimes frozen bank cards if they see unexpected overseas
service to prevent fraud. The late payment of tuition fee may lead to the suspicion from your university about your financial
status thus they may not support you to get your residence permit. Then it will be an illegal stay for you if you can’t get a
resident permit. Please be aware of the deadline of tuition payment.
Also, many banks in China has a limit on how much money an International bank card can withdraw a day so please
plan ahead and inform the bank the exact amount that you are going to withdraw at least one day in advance. In that case,
they can prepare for you. Lastly, be careful while using the West Union because a slight mistake of spelling will lead to
the failure of money transition.