China's SAFE consults on letting close relatives handle more of your personal FX business

On 2 November 2026, China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) published for public comment a draft Notice on Further Optimising Current-Account Foreign Exchange Administration. Comments close on 1 December 2026. The draft contains nine facilitation measures and one supervisory requirement. Most of it concerns trading companies, payment institutions and insurers, but measure four, on agency for personal FX business, matters directly to families: the range of personal FX business a close relative may handle at a bank on your behalf would widen from buying and selling foreign currency to FX receipts and payments, domestic FX transfers, foreign cash and other current-account business.

For families already living in Singapore who still keep Chinese bank accounts with routine FX activity, this is worth knowing. One caveat first: this is a consultation draft. The final text may change, and the current rules apply until it is issued.

What are the current rules?

According to SAFE’s drafting explanation, individuals can already authorise someone else to buy or sell foreign currency for them. Other personal FX business at a bank sits outside that agency arrangement. The draft would extend agency to “FX receipts and payments, domestic FX transfers, cash deposits and withdrawals and other personal FX business handled at banks”.

What would the draft change?

Article 4 of the draft notice separates two situations:

• Buying or selling foreign currency within the annual facilitation quota: a close relative may act for you on presenting both parties’ valid ID, a written authorisation and proof of the family relationship.
• Buying or selling outside the annual quota, plus FX receipts and payments, domestic FX transfers, foreign cash and other current-account business: a close relative may act on presenting both parties’ valid ID, the authorisation and whatever documents the transaction itself requires. The authorisation must state the relationship. Where a non-relative genuinely has to act, the authorisation must explain why that is necessary.

In short, the agent handles business in your name that you could have handled yourself, and the documents required do not shrink because someone else walks into the branch.

Who counts as a close relative, and how is it proved?

The draft lists spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents (paternal and maternal) and grandchildren (paternal and maternal).

Proof can be the household register (hukou booklet), a marriage certificate, a birth certificate and similar documents. Where these genuinely cannot be produced, a signed undertaking confirming the relationship may be used instead. That helps families where someone has moved their household registration or does not have the papers to hand, though the undertaking must of course be truthful.

Does this change the quota or rules on money leaving China?

No. The measure only changes who may go to the bank for you. It does not touch the quota or the capital account. Article 10 of the draft adds that banks must carry out authenticity and legality checks, screen for and stop abnormal transactions and report them, and that SAFE may penalise institutions and individuals who do not follow the notice under the PRC Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration.

Reading this as “another channel” would be a mistake. It removes the inconvenience of having to appear at the counter in person when you live abroad. The standard for whether the transaction is genuine and compliant does not change.

When would it take effect?

The draft says the notice takes effect on the date it is issued. It is now in consultation until 1 December, and SAFE has not said when the final version will come out. For document checklists and the form of authorisation, follow the final text and your bank’s requirements.

Frequently asked questions

I live in Singapore. Could my parents handle the FX side of my Chinese account? Under the draft, parents are close relatives and could act for you in buying and selling foreign currency, FX receipts and payments, domestic FX transfers and foreign cash, with both parties’ ID, an authorisation and the relevant documents. This applies only once the final notice is issued.

Could a friend or colleague do it instead? The draft lets a non-relative act for business outside the quota only where genuinely necessary, and the authorisation must say why. The bank reviews that explanation; it is not an open choice.

Can an agent help me convert more than my quota? No. Agency does not change the annual quota or capital-account rules. The agent acts in your name, and the quota and authenticity checks apply to you.

Does the authorisation have to be notarised? The draft says nothing about notarisation. Follow the final text and the requirements of the bank you use.

Seeing it as part of the family plan

After a move to Singapore, Chinese accounts, property and income often continue for some time, and family members living in two places is normal. The draft would make it easier to handle routine FX business compliantly through a close relative while you are away, but it reinforces the same principle as before: in your own name, for a genuine purpose, with complete documents. At PASSION INTERACTIVE we plan day-to-day arrangements for Chinese accounts together with Singapore residency, tax residence and the family’s cross-border allocation, so the records in both places stay consistent.

This article is general information and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Rely on written advice from a licensed professional for any specific arrangement.