Never buy US dollars through domestic banks

1. Most banks offer poor exchange rates
2. Almost all banks do not support interbank foreign exchange transfers. When you want to send USD abroad, you either pay high fees to transfer to an overseas card or withdraw cash manually and transfer it yourself
3. For large transfers, they will call you for due diligence
The best way to buy USD foreign exchange domestically
1. Use cross-border payment channels to transfer offshore RMB to a Hong Kong card
2. Open an IBKR account and buy USD at the mid-market rate by transferring funds into IBKR
Below are the prices for buying $10,000 USD through domestic banks and IBKR respectively.