How to transfer US dollars across borders
Recently, I have been transferring US dollars across borders. Due to applying for a new BOC Mastercard Debit Card, I discovered that my BOC HK account has been marked as inactive.
The BOC HK app indicates that the account is inactive because the account has not made any transfer transactions in the past 2 years. The solution to the problem is to transfer transactions to the BOC HK account to reactivate my MTC account.
Firstly, I transferred HKD from HSBC HK to BOC HK and transferred HKD from BOC HK to HSBC HK. But it doesn’t work. So I decided to go to the branch of BOC HK in person. In fact, I later learned that transaction currency required USD, CNY, or other currencies other than HKD to reactivate the MTC account.
1000 USD is enough for me. After I transferred 1000 USD from BOC HK to Airstar Bank, I received an email that indicates I have reactivated my MTC account. Therefore, I finally succeeded in applying for a new BOC Mastercard Debit Card.
Endorsement of Exit and Entry Permit (EEP)
Date: 2026-02-09 night
Prepared:
- Valid ID card
I have just prepared the physical EEP card, and I applied for a new permit in person through the automatic endorsement machine located in EEA office in Guangzhou.
When issuing the endorsement, there are two types of exit endorsements. You can choose from 1. 个人旅游 (G) and 2. 团队旅游 (L).
Address: Tianhe Government Affairs Service Center 1st Floor, Self-service Service Area
Fees: 15 RMB /per (Hong Kong) + 15 RMB /per (Macao)
Transfer USD from SPDB to BOC
Date: 2026-02-10
Prepared:
- Valid ID card
- Valid physical bank card, please do not use a virtual bank card and ensure you have exchanged the foreign currency you want to transfer and that your account balance is enough.
Process:
- 10:51 - Start applying for transaction to transfer USD from SPDB to BOC.
- 12:37 - Finish the application and receive approval notice.
Fees: Includes a 10 RMB domestic personal foreign exchange transaction telecommunications fee and a 50 RMB personal cross-border remittance handling fee.
费用：包括 10 元个人外汇业务电讯费境内和 50 元个人跨境汇款手续费
Note: The second fee is 50 RMB, involving interbank (SPDB - BOC) and interregional (Shanghai - Guangzhou, Guangdong) foreign exchange (USD) transfers.
第二笔费用 50 元，涉及跨行（浦发银行 - 中国银行）和异地（上海 - 广东广州）外汇（美元）转账
When transferring foreign currency from one bank to another, different banks have different fee rules.
For example, the fee rules of SPDB are as follows:
- Telecommunication fee: 10 RMB (fixed)
- Cross-border remittance handling fee: 50+ RMB (minimum 50 RMB)
In summary: transferring foreign currency required you to go to a bank in person to submit an application, and it took quite a long time, but the transfer was quite fast.
Transfer USD from BOC to BOC HK
Date: 2026-02-10
After receiving the approval notice, I submitted an application for transfer USD from BOC to BOC HK.
This step took about 10 minutes and can be done online via the BOC app.
Prepared:
- N/A
Process:
- 15:21 - Start applying for transaction to transfer USD from BOC to BOC HK.
- 16:23 - Finish the application and receive approval notice.
Fees: Free of charge.
note:
- When filling in the recipient’s address on the transfer slip, you need to fill in a Hong Kong address. However, since you don’t yet have a valid Hong Kong address, you should instead use a pinyin address without specifying a province, city, or district.
- When filling in the recipient’s account on the transfer slip, you need to fill in a BOCHK MTC account. Otherwise, you will suffer losses from converting currency into HKD.
Transfer USD from BOC HK to Airstar Bank
Date: 2026-02-11
This step took about 30 seconds and can be done online via the BOCHK app.
Prepared:
- N/A
Process:
- 12:12 - Start applying for transaction to transfer USD from BOC HK to Airstar Bank.
- 16:35 - Finish the application and receive approval notice.
Fees: Free of charge.
Apply for a new BOC Mastercard Debit Card
Date: 2026-02-11
This step took about 10 seconds and can be done online via the BOCHK app.
Prepared:
- N/A
Process:
- 11:18 - Start applying for a virtual BOC Mastercard Debit Card, and it was successful immediately.
- 11:37 - Start applying for a physical BOC Mastercard Debit Card and receive approval notice immediately.
Fees: Free of charge.
Updated Feb 25, 2026, I still have not received the physical debit card from Hong Kong. And I contacted online CS (Customer Service). They indicated that delivery to an address outside of Hong Kong would take one month.
Me: I need to track the delivery status of my physical Mastercard debit card, which I applied for two weeks ago.
Pick up and claim a 500 RMB coin purse
Date: 2026-02-10
As the Chinese New Year approaches, I picked up and claimed a 500 RMB coin purse from Industrial Bank in person.
Address: Industrial Bank (Development Zone Sub-branch)
Reference
- EEP: Hong Kong and Macao Travel Permit
- BOC HK: Bank of China (Hong Kong)
- HSBC HK: HSBC (Hong Kong)
- BOC: Bank of China
- CIB: Industrial Bank
- SPDB: Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
- Airstar Bank: Airstar Bank