The country prohibits third party money transfers to China!
A few days ago, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a late night notice announcing that from January 1, 2024, all cross-border remittance companies in Singapore can not help customers remit money to China through third-party agents, only through banks or UnionPay cards and other remittance channels.
The ban is for three months. After March 31, depending on the actual situation, it will decide whether to continue to extend the ban, end the ban, or adopt other policies. In the announcement, the MAS Monetary Authority pointed out that the 14-day window is provided to allow remittance companies to make adjustments and complete the third-party remittance business that has received orders from “non-banks and non-UnionPay” on hand. The HKMA urges the public to avoid rushing to use third-party agents to send money during the 14-day window. If you need to send money to China, you should use other channels, such as banks or card institutions (such as UnionPay International).
Lifesaving money into “black money”, against prosecution!
Sending money home through money transfer companies is the most common way for many Chinese working in Singapore to send money. In the vast majority of cases, the money is transferred smoothly to the recipient’s account in China. In order to reduce transaction costs and allow customers to pay less money, many remittance companies do not transfer money directly from Singapore to China through banks, but use third-party licensed agents overseas to process the money transfer.
Hundreds of victims went to the Chinese Embassy in Singapore on Wednesday to complain that the money they sent back to China was frozen, saying the money they sent was related to money laundering. Money transfer companies refuse to help on the grounds that they cannot disclose trade secrets, or even Sue the victims.