Sending Chinese Yuan (CNY) payments
This guide is to help you with sending CNY payments. It has all the information you need to know, including when you can usually expect it to arrive and what you can do if it doesn’t.
Can I send CNY payments to a business?
🟠 Sometimes, you can always send CNY payments to an individual. But you can only send a payment to a business from a business account.
Is the name I use on a payment checked?
🟠 Sometimes, if the receiving bank manually reviews the payment. It’s really important that you use the correct account number. If the incorrect account number is used and it belongs to someone else, the payment will likely be returned.
What details do I need to use?
If you’re sending via AliPay
Recipient type (Person/Business)
Recipient full name (up to 256 characters, Pinyin only)
AliPay ID (email address or phone number)
Recipient country
Purpose of the transfer
Reference
If you’re sending via SWIFT
Recipient type (Business)
Recipient full name (up to 59 characters, Pinyin only)
Recipient address (up to 69 characters, Pinyin only)
Recipient country
Purpose of the transfer
Reference
How much money can I send?
If you’re sending via AliPay
You can send up to ¥50,000 per transfer.
If you’re sending via SWIFT
There is no limit on CNY payments sent via SWIFT.
If you’re sending more than your transfer limit on the Monzo app, you’ll need to request a limit increase from us before you put your payment through.
How long will my payment take?
Most payments arrive within 1 hour, and nearly all arrive within 24 hours.
In some cases, because of bank holidays or if there are any extra checks on the payment it can take up to 3 working days.
You can see how long we expect your payment to take before you send it in the app, and after you’ve sent it by tapping it in your feed.
How will my payment be sent?
We’ll send your payment as a local bank transfer through the AliPay or UnionPay networks or as a SWIFT payment with partner banks in China, depending on what you tap when you set up the payee.
When do I have to make a payment for it to be sent out on the same day?
If you’re sending via AliPay
There is no cut off time. Any payment you make will go out on the same day you send it.
If you’re sending via SWIFT
Payments must be made before 08:00 GMT to go out on the same day.
Can I trace a payment to check if it has been received?
❌ No. Because of restrictions with our partner banks, we can't trace payments made in this currency. If a payment hasn't arrived, please ask the person you paid to check with their bank.
Can I recall a payment I made by mistake?
❌ No. You can’t recall a CNY payment you’ve made by mistake under any circumstances.
Other useful information
All CNY payments need a transfer purpose.
You can only send CNY payments via SWIFT to businesses at the moment, and only if you're sending from a business account.
If you're sending a payment through Alipay the recipient must be a mainland Chinese citizen or a Hong Kong/Macao resident with a mainland China travel permit.