Banking abroad

See if you can open an HSBC account in Shanghai and have your money deposited in there. Open an HSBC account in the USA before you leave and transfer between (if you can't just make it one account). I pay no fees transfering money from my USA account (where my pay is deposited) and the HSBC account I created online.

Thanks everyone. I've been checking with banks here in the US, including HSBC. It looks like the only way to do this is to wire money. The bank in my small hometown says this will cost me about $120 each time, but I'm looking into larger banks. I feel like this should be easier than it appears to be, but I don't think it is!

Yes, I was planning on transfering money monthly, but may end up doing it less, since it looks like it might be a hassle.

Oh, well. Thanks again for the input.

OP

That is an INSANE amount of money. There is no way you should be paying $120...is that a typo?

See #10 for advice on how to go about doing it. Note the cost of 200rmb which is around $25 US.

Here in France I get my paychecks deposited directly into my French bank account, then transfer my money back to canada once or twice a year in lumps of ~3000eur a shot, it cost me about 30eur each time. My french bank is a tiny one, but i made sure it had international transfer capability and internet banking before i signed up - i chose it purely on convenience (small friendly office nearby and she spoke english...ha). At my canadian account I have it set up to automatically pay my loans each month, so local monthly payments, and only a couple international transfers a year. I do all my banking online, check that your local log in and online account function before you leave or its a pain to organize from abroad.

$120 sounds too high, but what exactly is a wire transfer when a click of a button puts some exra numbers in an account ...banks are the devil...

I also had student loans at home and took the step of borrowing money from where I now live and paying off my loans at home. Now my payments come directly out of my account here. Although I pay slightly higher interest, I don't have to worry about paying a fee to wire money each month or fluxuating exchange rates. I'm a Canadian, so now that the dollar is high I've actually saved money on the exchange. I imagine this would only practical if you are going to be staying in China for a while.

G'luck.

$120 certainly seems crazy and I'd suggest your local people aren't quite up to it in terms of knowledge.
Advice on using ANZ or other international banks like HSBC, even perhaps Bank of HK if they have a presence in Shanghai is way to go.
I would contact those banks before you go and you should be able to get advice on setting up appropriate accounts before you go and have accounts already opened.
Even if you still need to go through your local bank to pay bills etc., no reason why you could not have the money transferred into another bank back home and then do your transfers locally online

A few years ago (2002 - 2005), I worked in Shanghai as an English teacher and then for a year at an international school (not a very good one, mind you).

While I was teaching English at a Chinese University, I had a little book that declared I was an expert working for the Chinese government (being a teacher at a public university), which allowed me to transfer a certain percentage of my pay to hard currency through the Bank of China. I think the percentage was 75 - 80%. I never got anywhere close to that percentage because I spent my money on travel and having a good time (eating, drinking, bowling, darts, karoke, dancing, etc.). Let me assure you that it's pretty easy to spend money in Shanghai.

When I taught at the international school, half my pay was in RMB (yuan) and the other half was in a Hong Kong bank account in US dollars. It was actually a pain in the rear to deal with the Hong Kong bank, but I was able to transfer money to US accounts. However, I wasn't able to convert the RMB because I didn't have the expert card any longer. The international school was a private school, so I wasn't able to convert the money to hard currency.

Two other things about converting money, there are always people looking to convert money on the black market, but you risk getting conterfeit money and other problems. It was also possible to convert RMB at international airports in Asia. I think I did it in Bangkok, Manilia, Hong Kong and Singapore. As I recall, the rates were pretty bad, but it was in small amounts.

In general Shanghai was starting to get more places to use Chinese debit cards and atms for withdrawing RMB. A lot of Chinese were not used to the machines and it could take forever if there was a line of people. It is still primarily a cash-based country. I always felt rich (and a slight bit nervous) carrying around a fat wad of pink 100 yuan notes to pay my three months of rent at a time.

Have fun in Shanghai. Be prepared for some stinking hot weather in August.