A small RMB cash reserve can help if your mobile payment or card is temporarily unavailable. The State Council’s payment-services opinion calls for cash to remain a backstop, bank branches to provide small-denomination options, and improvements to ATM access for overseas cards. It does not mean every ATM accepts every card.
Prepare the backup
- Choose a reasonable amount for your own travel and daily needs; there is no universal reserve size.
- Ask a commercial bank about obtaining smaller RMB notes. The national working-and-living guide describes small-note exchange at bank outlets, including counter and self-service options where provided.
- If using an overseas card at an ATM, look for the accepted network and confirm withdrawal availability, fees and limits with the ATM operator and card issuer before relying on it.
- Keep your backup cash secure and separate from the card you use most often.
If an ATM or card fails
Note the machine, time and message. Check whether your account was debited before repeating a withdrawal. Contact the card issuer and ATM operator through their official channels; ask a bank branch which nearby service can help. A failed ATM does not identify whether the cause is a network, card, issuer or machine issue.
Foreign-currency exchange is a separate transaction from changing large RMB notes into smaller notes. If you need foreign-currency exchange, ask the bank about its current service, accepted documents, rate and fees before handing over funds.