Hanshan Remittance: Your full guide

Hanshan Remittance has been helping Singaporeans send money to Asia and abroad since 1996. And while they offer same business day transfers in RMB, Hanshan is expensive to use for sending global transfers.

And Hanshan will require you to physically go to the branch to get started. Read on to learn more about how Hanshan works and if it could be an option for your next global transfer.

Table of contents
Send money abroad How to open an account Charges and fees Transfer limit Time it takes The true cost of international transfers A cheap, fast and transparent alternative

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Send money abroad with Hanshan

Hanshan lets you send money to 17 different countries, with a focus on destinations in the Asia region. On top of sending money to China, you can remit to:

China	Malaysia	Taiwan	Thailand
Euro	United States	Great Britain	Hong Kong
Australia	New Zealand	Vietnam	Philippines
South Korea	India	Japan	Canada

Hanshan will soon be launching a way to send money through your mobile, but until then you will have to either go to the branch or send an email to complete your remittance home. Hanshan takes cash, cheques, PayNow, bank transfers, and NETS for payment.

When you are ready to send money with Hanshan, make sure you have all the recipient’s details like their account and bank information. You will have to put down your details, including an identification number, and the purpose of the remittance. Depending on the country you are sending to you, you will also need to provide a SWIFT, IBANor Sort Code for the destination account.¹

How to open a Hanshan account

If it is your first time working with Hanshan, you will need to go to the Hanshan branch at 1 Park Road in People’s Park Complex to get started. Make sure you carry your identity documents like a passport, IC or other work passes to register.

If you have already used Hanshan Money Express before, at the counters, you can send them an email at hello@hanshanmoney.com or call the branch at +65 65386280 to complete your remittance by email.²

Hanshan charges and fees

It is easy to see how Hanshan can be more expensive than other global money transfer services out there. Customers of Hanshan can expect two fees when they want to remit money home. The first is a high service fee for the transfer, and the second is a hidden fee in the exchange rate.

The service fee is a flat fee, no matter how much you are sending. This may be advantageous if you are sending a very large amount home. But in most cases, it will feel expensive, especially if you are sending money frequently. The service fee to expect is:³

Currency	Service Fee
Chinese RMB	S$ 18
Malaysian Ringgit	S$ 10
Hong Kong Dollar	S$ 20
New Taiwan Dollar	S$ 30
Indonesia Rupiah	S$ 10
Thailand Baht	S$ 15
Vietnam Dong	S$ 8
Philippine Peso	S$ 5
Remaining Currencies	S$ 30

The other fee you can expect can be found in the exchange rate you are receiving from Hanshan itself. Hanshan sets their own exchange rates for clients, which is normally lower than the real exchange rate. The real exchange rate is the one that you see on Google and is the one the banks use themselves. By setting their rate lower, Hanshan is able to sneak in a hidden fee to you as a customer on every Singapore dollar you convert. Take a look below on what this can mean for your wallet.

Hanshan transfer limit

There is no clear transfer limit, but if you need to send more than S$ 30,000 using Hanshan, you will need to provide additional documents like a monthly salary slip and a bank withdrawal slip to verify your income.⁴

Time it takes with Hanshan

The time it takes for money to be delivered with Hanshen is based on where you are sending the money. For most of the currencies, the money will be delivered in 48-72 hours. But if you are sending money in RMB, it can be deposited the same day if it is a business day, or by the next working day. But check with Hanshan for how long your specific transaction will take.⁵

Hanshan customer support

You can contact Hanshan’s customer support in a few different ways. First, you can always head down to the branch at People’s Park Complex in person for any assistance. But you can also reach out to them by email at hello@hanshanmoney.com or by phone at 65386280. In other options, you can also contact them on their Facebook page which you can find at @hanshanmoney or on WeChat at @hmeremit.

Want to send money to more countries around the world but from your mobile? Check out Wise. Wise is the cheap, easy, and fast way to send money to your loved ones directly to their local bank accounts. And all from your computer or mobile.

The true cost of international transfers with Hanshan

Hanshan has a legacy in the remittance business, but that doesn’t mean it is the cheapest option out there. Between the service fee and the marked-up exchange rate, you can find yourself sending less than you had hoped back home.

Let’s take a look at how much a Hanshan remittance can cost you if you are sending S$ 1000 to Indonesia. For comparison, here is how Wise looks for the same exact transaction:

	Hanshan⁶	Wise
Amount to Send	S$ 1000	S$ 1000
Transfer Fee	S$ 10	S$ 6.39
Exchange Rate	10610 IDR	10,782.8 IDR
Recipient Gets	10,503,900 IDR	10,713,898 IDR

as of 20 August, 2020

As you can see, the high transfer fee and weak exchange rate from Hanshan makes this transfer more expensive than it needs to be. With Wise, your family at home can receive more than 200,000 IDR more than Hanshan. That is because Wise uses smart technology to make the transfer fee cheaper and give you the real exchange rate on every transfer.

Wise can save you even more on a transfer when you are looking to send money to Europe, the US, or the UK. Check out the Wise app or website to see how much you can save on your next transfer.

Open your free Wise account now

A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

Leave the days of going to a branch to remit money behind, and join the future with Wise. You can send money to over 150 countries from the free Wise award-winning app, right from the comfort of your home. And as always at the real exchange rate.

With a low transfer fee on every transaction, you can send more money to loved ones more often with Wise. Plus a Wise account is completely free to sign up and use. Join the over 8 million people that use Wise to send their global money transfers today.

Sources used for this article:

1. Sending money with Hanshan
2. Opening an account
3. Charges & Fees
4. Transfer limit
5. Transfer time
6. Hanshan exchange rate for IDR

All sources checked as of 20 August, 2020