1. Credit card
Students who want to study abroad should all have credit cards and should be familiar with them. Credit card payment is very convenient abroad, as long as you enter the credit card information (cardholder information and billing information), you can pay. A password is usually not required, even if a consumption password is set. There is no upper limit for payment. Of course, it mainly depends on how much credit you have.
2. International wire transfer
This payment method should be one of the most commonly used methods at present. The school gives you his account number and bank information (RoutingNumber, etc. ), and you transfer the money directly to the school account. Generally, it will arrive in 2-3 working days. Of course, transfer money also costs money, which is generally divided into post and telecommunications fees and handling fees. Posts and telecommunications fees range from 80 to 150, which is fixed, so much is charged for any transfer. The handling fee is proportional, and most banks charge 0. 1%. At the same time, there are upper and lower limits for handling fees, such as at least 100 and at most 1000. ICBC seems to have a ceiling of 300. Bank policy changes every year, so you must consult your local bank.
Some precautions:
A. there is a handling fee for arrival. This is quite different from our habits. The payee must be charged by the bank, ranging from 0 to 20 dollars, and the bank of America is 16 dollars.
B. there is a handling fee for changing careers. When you go to the counter (or online banking) to transfer money, the bank staff in charge will tell you that during the transfer process, other transfer banks will deduct fees from it. No one knows exactly how much. It may be a lot of money, or it may be as high as 50 dollars. Usually, people in the bank will advise you to buy insurance in 25 yuan to ensure that the amount of wire transfer can be paid in full.
3. Draft
This method is very popular abroad and rarely used in China. It is opened by a domestic bank, and the overseas payee (who can be himself) draws money or transfers money at a designated overseas bank with his passport. Press 1? A handling fee will be charged, and there will be no extra charge for overseas exchange. Its advantages are convenient carrying and relatively cost saving. However, the shortcomings are also very prominent, which makes this method not suitable for paying tuition fees.
Some precautions:
A. The handling fee of the draft is low, which is the cheapest among several methods.
B. drafts need to be handled at designated banks.
C. once a bill of exchange is lost, it needs to be reissued after it expires. The validity of a bill of exchange is usually as long as six months to one year.
D. If you plan to pay the tuition directly by draft, the payee should write the English name of the school, and the amount is the tuition paid.
E. It takes a long time and is troublesome to pay by bill of exchange, so many schools do not directly accept the payment by bill of exchange.
F. because the school doesn't accept it, it can only be carried with you and paid by itself after opening an account in a foreign bank. Because it takes a long time to pay the bill (this time is not generally long, sometimes it takes months to calculate, and of course it will arrive in a few weeks), and the time to arrive in the account is also long, so it is not suitable for freshmen who need money urgently.
G. Schools often require that tuition fees be paid in advance, usually before the landing date. To sum up, it is not feasible to pay tuition by draft. It is quite reliable to use it to bring living expenses.
4. Traveler's checks
Travel expenses are similar to money orders, but much more convenient than money orders. Travel expenses have the characteristics of bills of exchange and checks (cash), and have different denominations, which can be directly used for payment. Travel expenses are also very safe. You can sign when you need to pay, and you can report the loss in case of loss. At present, most domestic banks can handle the travel expenses of American Express. Because it is convenient to use, the cost is relatively high, and the handling fee is 0.5%- 1% of the processing amount (mostly 1%).
Several explanations
A. There is no need to spend extra money when paying for travel, but valid documents (passports) will be required.
B.the maximum amount of travel expenses is usually $500. In the face of tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees, we must count them clearly.
C. Travel expenses are also paid on the spot. Because of its cash characteristics, it cannot be mailed (some schools require travel expenses to be mailed, and it is said that endorsement transfer is prohibited). Therefore, there is also a problem that the tuition payment date is earlier than the landing date.
5. Third-party tuition payment company
Third-party tuition payment companies have only emerged in recent years. How many big companies have peerTransfer and Westernunion? . Now more and more schools tend to use third-party payment companies. From the perspective of the school, the third party helps it sort out and screen the students' fees. It is not difficult to imagine that for a school with only a few people like Adminoffice, it is a headache to flood thousands of tuition fees in a short time. From the students' point of view, the third party allows students to pay in money and track the payment themselves to avoid unnecessary disputes between students and schools. This is undoubtedly an extra advantage for China students, because they don't have to worry about the damn regulations of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange: each person can only exchange 50,000 dollars a year.
Here are a few large payment companies:
PeerTransfer(pT): Headquartered in the famous university town of Boston. Cooperate with more than 360 universities in the United States, Britain and Australia to serve international students and help them pay their tuition. Support payment in 45 currencies. The most awesome thing is to find that they not only support RMB, but also support Alipay? PeerTransfer is undoubtedly the first in the tuition payment industry. Although it is still a young company, it has done a very good job in the localization of China, and the emails sent in succession are all authentic Chinese. Its biggest advantage is that it has no remittance fee, supports online payment and RMB payment, and can track payment. Because it is specialized in paying tuition fees, don't worry about the wrong address and account number, just choose the right school, which is very convenient.
Website: (Due to the restriction of WeChat, the website can't click and jump, and children's shoes can be copied to the browser ~)
Western Union? Some students may have heard of this, which is also commonly known as Western Union. This is an old remittance company with a history of 140 years. Specializing in international remittance, very professional. It also supports RMB payment, and the payment can be tracked. The disadvantage is that each remittance has to pay a handling fee of $30 (30 for all over $9,000), and online remittance is not supported (except Everbright Sunshine Debit Card Online Banking). Fortunately, Western Union has enough outlets, supported by Agricultural Bank of China, China Everbright and Postal Savings. In terms of business, Western Union pays more attention to business remittance, and tuition payment is only a small part of its business. Therefore, although the Western Union plate is very big, personally, it is not as good as peerTransfer to pay tuition fees.
Website:/Home Page
Since the third-party payment company has only used pT, I will refer to the third-party payment company with pT below.
Next, let's talk about which payment method is better for different needs. Payment types are divided into deposit, tuition and living expenses:
1. deposit: I'm afraid the deposit should be the first payment that students face. A non-refundable deposit is required before formal admission. In view of the nature of this payment, neither the draft nor the travel expenses are easy to use. For deposit, it is recommended to use credit card or pT.
A. credit card? Advantages: the payment is convenient, the account will be received immediately, the deadline will not be missed, and more time will be won for students with more offer; Disadvantages: Different schools charge 2%-4% of the handling fee, which is equivalent to paying several hundred RMB for the deposit of several thousand yuan.
b.pT？ Advantages: convenient payment, no handling fee, and support RMB payment; Disadvantages: According to the payment method you choose, it will arrive in 1-3 working days. It should be noted here that pT also supports credit cards. The advantage is that there is no 2%-4% handling fee. However, due to the need for transfer, it takes 1-2 days more than direct payment by credit card.
Note: it is best not to use telegraphic transfer for deposit payment, because telegraphic transfer is slow to arrive, and the deadline may have passed when the money arrives. Moreover, it may be charged by transfer on the way, resulting in the inability to receive the account in full. It won't be cost-effective to make up the difference if you can't tell the school clearly then.
2. Tuition: Tuition is characterized by a large amount, and if it is late, it will also produce late fees. For freshmen, the deadline for tuition is often earlier than the date of landing, so it is suggested that pT or T/T be the tuition fee.
a.pT？ Advantages: RMB payment is not restricted by the purchase of foreign exchange of $5 per person per year. Easy to pay, you can pay online. The arrival speed is fast, because pT has a domestic account, so it only needs domestic transfer, which basically takes one or two days to arrive. Because pT is closely connected with the school, once the money is transferred to pT, pT will contact the school. In this way, even if the money does not arrive at the school, the school will not charge late fees. Avoid intermediate deductions. As mentioned earlier, it may not be possible to receive the full payment by wire transfer. Traceable payment, pT provides accurate payment tracking; Disadvantages: Not yet.
B.wire transfer? Advantages: it is quite satisfactory, with no outstanding advantages, and it takes a little longer to arrive at the account, usually about 2-3 days; Disadvantages: it is easy to generate intermediate bank deductions, so it is recommended to buy insurance. It is complicated to fill in the telegraphic transfer information, so it is necessary to know the routing number and account number of the other party, and also indicate the payer's student number and other information in the proof materials. Once filled in incorrectly, it will lead to loss or payment mismatch.
Note: it is not recommended to use the draft for tuition payment. Many schools don't accept money orders directly, but ask you to pay a check after payment, and the payment time of money orders is long, which is easy to cause unnecessary trouble. If you pay by credit card, the handling fee is too high. If you pay tens of thousands of dollars by credit card, you have to pay thousands more. Travel expenses also have this problem, and the handling fee of 1% under such a large denomination cannot be ignored.
Living expenses: Living expenses, although there is no particularly urgent time requirement. But I am afraid it is also a headache for many students. There are many ways to choose living expenses. Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages one by one.
A.T/T: This way is relatively safe. You can stay in the local area for a month with some cash. When going abroad, apply for a local bank account at the first time, and then tell your family about the transfer information. It usually takes less than a week to remit the money. Of course, the problem is that the cost is slightly higher. In addition to the wire transfer fee and remittance fee (see the wire transfer instructions), there may also be intermediate bank deductions and consignment fees (charged by Bank of America, that is, you have to pay a fee when you receive international wire transfer).
B. Draft: The handling fee is very small when it is issued, but it needs to be carried with you, and the safety factor is moderate. The problem is that it takes a little longer to cash, which may take more than a month. Students who don't need money urgently or bring enough cash can consider it.
C. Travel expenses: very safe, with payment function. You can spend directly and even pay tuition. If you lose it, you can reissue it at the local bank, which is very convenient. The disadvantage is that the handling fee is high, 1% handling fee.
D. credit card: for students who exchange for a short time, credit card is an option. In the United States, credit cards can solve all needs except parking and laundry (parking and laundry need a quarter). At present, there are many credit cards designed for international students in China. Students spend money abroad, and the mode of repayment by parents at home is more and more popular. It should be noted that the purchase of foreign exchange by credit card is also included in your annual foreign exchange purchase quota of 50,000 yuan. Of course, if it's just living expenses, 50,000 yuan is more than enough.
E. cash: highly recommended, risky. Once lost, it will cause great losses. If you must bring it, there is no limit to $5,000. Foreign currency carrying certificate issued by local bank for more than USD 5000 10000. If it exceeds 10000 USD, it needs to apply to the local foreign exchange administration, and then issue a carrying certificate. In fact, it doesn't matter if you don't open your carrying card, as long as it's not found. The first time I took 10000+ dollars abroad, the customs (that is, the domestic customs) did not check it. However, it is said that once it is found that there is no foreign currency carrying certificate, it will not be allowed to go through the customs. It is best to carry it in multiple places to prevent theft and loss of luggage. Besides, don't put it in the checked baggage. Foreigners all know that China people love to bring cash, and they will rummage through the luggage checked by China people.
In fact, having said so much, it is difficult to generalize what method to choose in the end according to everyone's different situation. Students who want to leap forward had better prepare in advance, ask more questions in the bank, or go to a third-party payment company to browse its payment process. This way, you won't be in a hurry when you pay. I hope I can help everyone ~