Is cash accepted in China in 2026?
Yes, in law. Since 1 February 2026, a national rule says government bodies, public institutions and businesses must take yuan cash when a person collects payment or serves you face to face. The rule bends for unattended machines and for purchases completed entirely online. It covers yuan banknotes and coins only, and says nothing about foreign banknotes, foreign currency exchange or ATMs for foreign cards.
Is it illegal to refuse cash in China?
Refusing cash when a person takes your payment is against the rules and can be penalised. The rule's Chinese name is 人民币现金收付及服务规定 (roughly: rules on taking and paying RMB cash, and on cash services). Three agencies issued it: the People's Bank of China (PBC), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Financial Regulatory Administration (金融监管总局). It is Announcement No. 29 [2025], dated 27 November 2025, in force from 1 February 2026 (Article 19).
Articles 2 and 3 name who is bound: administrative bodies, public institutions, public-service fee collectors and business operators (经营主体). They must not refuse cash, ask or induce others to refuse it, or discriminate against cash payment. The one exception is where a law, regulation or rule requires a non-cash payment tool to carry out a duty or legal responsibility.
The refusal rules speak of the public (社会公众), not of citizens or foreigners. Overseas persons (境外人士) are named only in Article 12, on bank cash services for them and for older and disabled people.
Article 16 has the PBC and NDRC publish the names of parties penalised for refusing cash, and calls them law-breaking parties (违法当事人). In March 2024 NDRC official Chen Hongwan described refusing RMB cash as illegal (违法).
Which places must take cash, and where can you be told to pay another way?
Cash must be supported where a person takes your payment or serves you face to face. The 2026 rule goes by how you pay, not by type of place.
| How you pay | What the rule says |
|---|---|
| Staffed collection, face-to-face service, or an online booking where the service or goods are handed over offline and payment can be collected in person | Cash must be supported (Article 4) |
| Unattended or machine-based self-service | Operators must show payment methods, how cash is collected or converted and a service phone number. In special situations such as no mobile payment, network failure or equipment failure, cash needs must be met in an appropriate way. The rule does not say every machine must take cash or what the appropriate way is (Article 5) |
| A one-card system in a park, factory, scenic area or school | Convenient cash top-up and card refund must be offered (Article 5) |
| Everything done online | Payment methods must be announced in advance and explained during the service. The rule does not require cash (Article 6) |
Do museums, scenic areas and hotels have to take cash? The 2024 documents
Large key venues, among them scenic areas, museums, hotels, transport hubs and hospitals, must be equipped to take mobile payment, bank cards and cash, says a State Council General Office document of 1 March 2024 (国办发〔2024〕10号). Smaller ones are only encouraged to. The document calls cash the fallback (现金兜底).
A circular of 1 April 2024 (银发〔2024〕76号) came from the PBC, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and the National Cultural Heritage Administration. It tells local authorities to push key sites to keep manual ticket windows, support cash and post signs saying so (支持现金支付). Its card goal: full acceptance of domestic and foreign bank cards at sites including national 5A and 4A scenic areas and tourist hotels of three stars and above. Both predate the 2026 rule and set instructions and goals, not a count of what exists.
What can you do if a shop, restaurant or hotel refuses your cash?
- Check it is not an exception. The rule does not count an occasional note unfit for circulation as refusal (Article 10). An operator facing a pile of coins or small notes it cannot normally count may send you to a bank to swap them, but may not refuse on that ground alone (Article 11).
- If a person at a counter still refuses an ordinary yuan note, keep evidence: a photo of the sign or till, the business name and the time.
- Apply to the local People's Bank of China branch to have your rights protected under the law (Article 15).
The announcement gives no hotline number, no fine amount and no separate channel for foreign visitors.
Should you carry cash in China in 2026?
What we would do
Carry some small notes and a backup card. Article 8 says operators that take cash should keep a reasonable stock of change. For Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card, see the payment section of the China essentials guide.
Officials described payment difficulties at a March 2024 briefing; their statements are not a measurement of conditions in 2026. At a State Council Information Office briefing on 1 March 2024, NDRC official Chen Hongwan said foreign visitors had reported difficulty paying cash in culture and tourism. PBC Deputy Governor Zhang Qingsong named three pain points for foreign visitors: swipe fees on foreign cards far above domestic payment rates, few merchants taking foreign cards, and merchants sometimes having no change.
Where can you exchange money in China: airport, bank or hotel?
At bank counters, airport self-service machines and hotel exchange points. Bank of China (BOC) publishes the details below. Its English product pages are undated (web addresses show January 2026).
- BOC exchanges up to 39 currencies, some only for cash or only in some regions.
- It has self-service machines at major city airports and works with institutions, including more than 1,700 hotels nationwide, to run exchange points.
- Its 2024 visitor guide says that for small exchanges you can show your passport or other valid ID without opening an account.
A place showing the 个人本外币兑换 sign (two designs, one with text and one without) can exchange currency, SAFE's Liu Bin said on 1 March 2024.
On limits, BOC says each individual has an annual quota of US$50,000 equivalent for converting foreign currency into yuan. Valid ID is enough within it; above it you need papers proving the transaction and its amount. Small cash exchanges at its airport machines and hotel points need valid ID and do not use the quota, and the page does not say what counts as small.
SAFE's personal foreign exchange rules (汇发〔2007〕1号, as amended; page dated 30 April 2024) set the same annual total in Article 2. Neither the rules nor BOC explain how it applies to a visitor swapping banknotes, so US$50,000 is not a stated ceiling on a tourist's exchange.
Can you withdraw yuan from a Chinese ATM with a foreign card?
Yes, at ATMs that take your card. The PBC's Shanghai-branch page (dated 16 March 2024) says to look for an ATM or CRS machine showing your card network's logo, and that Shanghai's ATMs and CRS machines all support UnionPay withdrawals.
Bank of China's ATM page says its ATMs take cards issued outside China, including UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, JCB and American Express, around the clock. The single-transaction limit for foreign cards is 3,000 yuan. Your card's issuing bank sets the other limits, such as daily and annual totals, and the fees. The page does not say whether other banks use the same 3,000 yuan limit. If a BOC ATM keeps your card, ask branch staff or call 95566.
Can you change leftover yuan back into your currency?
Yes, with conditions. Under Article 13 of the SAFE rules, individuals outside the mainland (境外个人) can convert unused yuan from an earlier exchange back. They need valid ID and the original exchange receipt (水单), usable for 24 months from the exchange date. Valid ID alone is enough for up to US$500 equivalent a day, or US$1,000 equivalent a day at places inside China beyond customs before departure (离境前在境内关外场所). Bank of China adds that foreign customers have no annual quota for this and can only do it at branch counters.
So keep your exchange receipt. For yuan taken from an ATM, neither the SAFE rules nor BOC explain what applies, so ask at the counter first.
Can you pay in US dollars or euros in China?
Don't plan on it. Article 8 of the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulation (State Council Order No. 532 of 5 August 2008, as posted on SAFE's site) says foreign currency may not circulate inside China and prices may not be set or settled in foreign currency, except as the state otherwise provides. It does not list those exceptions.
