Chinese account, live in Europe - rather get paid in RMB or EUR?
I'm currently living in Germany, but have a Chinese employer. I've got an account in both countries (ICBC in China and Sparkasse in Germany), and get my salary paid in RMB to my Chinese account, and can easily access it from Germany (for example by ATM).
Now I'm going to get a travel allowance, which is a fixed Euro amount. I have the option to get it paid as Euros or as RMB to my Chinese account. (It is paid monthly, and if I choose RMB it will be calculated each month according to the current rates.)
What is more beneficial for me, to get it as EUR or RMB? The Chinese account it goes onto is held in RMB, and I will want to have EUR in the end in any case. It seems it shouldn't make a difference, but I am afraid the conversion might cost more one way or the other.
If I get paid in EUR, my employer gets X €, brings it to the bank, there it gets traded for RMB, and when I withdraw EUR it gets traded again.
If I get paid in RMB, my employer looks up the current rate, gets the amount of RMB corresponding to EUR, and brings it to the bank. The only trade is when I withdraw money. It seems like this case would cost less fees, but I don't know.
Additionally, if I can convince them to wire the X € directly to my German Sparkasse account, that would be the best option (with respect to fees, and to availability), right? Or are there hidden pitfalls there, too?
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Always go with the option that avoids currency conversion.
Best Option: Get paid in Euro at your German bank account.
You mentioned "current rates" twice in your question. What you missed is the spread offered by (1) Your employer's bank and your employer (2) Your ICBC in China (3) Your German bank. Is it 0.02%? 0.5%? 1%? 2%, 2.5%? For ICBC it is likely around 2%.
The fee for receiving SWIFT at your German Bank is competitive, but the spread offered banks is not.
Even if your employer is willing to calculate RMB amounts using "current rates", how can you be sure that they are using USDCNH then EURUSD, or some indicative EURCNY that your employer believes to be fair (but a ripoff to you).
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