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?
✅ Yes, you can send CNY payments to an individual or a business.
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)
Name of the business/organisation (up to 59 characters, Pinyin only)
SWIFT code (8 to 11 characters)
Recipient country
Recipient city
Recipient address (up to 69 characters, Pinyin only)
Recipient post code
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.
How long will my payment take?
Most payments arrive within seconds, and nearly all arrive within 1 working day.
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 network or as a SWIFT payment with partner banks in China, depending on what you tap when you set up the payee.
If you're sending money to a business, we'll send through SWIFT.
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 00:30 GMT to go out on the same day.
Can I recall a payment I made by mistake?
✅ Yes, but only if you think it’s fraud. Let us know right away so we can help.
⏰ We can send the recall immediately.
Other useful information
All CNY payments need a transfer purpose.