Launching payments in China: the stack

By Polynopsis team · Last updated 29 October 2026

Paying out to individuals in mainland China means delivering renminbi through a licensed Chinese bank or a licensed payment institution such as Alipay, which accepts inward remittances and settles foreign exchange through a partner bank, or Tenpay; individual recipients convert up to USD 50,000 a year with ID only under SAFE's annual facilitation quota, and above it with supporting documents. Because an offshore non-bank must set up a licensed payment institution in China to serve mainland users directly, foreign remittance companies typically connect to Alipay's remittance platform, Tenpay Global's Weixin remittance service, UnionPay card payouts or Chinese bank partners, often through networks such as Thunes, Nium or TerraPay.

Currency	CNY
Local payout rails	IBPS (Internet Banking Payment System), HVPS (High-Value Payment System), CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System)
Holiday calendar	China bank holidays 2026 and 2027

The China market

China received US$30.00 billion in personal remittances in 2025, up from US$24.98 billion in 2024 (World Bank data, last updated 8 October 2026). source
Sending the equivalent of US$200 cost 4.27% on average from the United Kingdom to China (23 services surveyed) and 6.62% from the United States (22 services) in Q3 2025, according to the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset. source
In 2025 non-bank payment institutions processed 1,325.445 billion online payment transactions worth RMB 337.81 trillion (PBOC). source
In 2025 the Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) processed 17.041 billion transactions worth RMB 280.67 trillion, and CIPS processed 8.4419 million cross-border RMB transactions worth RMB 180.15 trillion (PBOC). source
Tenpay Global has partnered with more than 40 remittance providers, including Visa, Wise, Panda Remit and Remitly, so that recipients in the Chinese mainland can receive money into Weixin Pay from over 60 countries and regions (Tencent, March 2024). source

Licensing: who can pay out in China

Under the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions (State Council Decree No. 768, in force 1 May 2024), a non-bank payment institution needs PBOC approval and a payment business licence and minimum paid-in registered capital of RMB 100 million, and an offshore non-bank institution that intends to provide cross-border payment services to mainland users must establish a non-bank payment institution in China, unless the State provides otherwise. source
Under SAFE's Measures for the Administration of Foreign Exchange Business of Payment Institutions (2019), which cover payment institutions' FX services for cross-border e-commerce purchases of goods and services, payment institutions handle foreign exchange settlement and related receipts and payments only through cooperative banks qualified for FX settlement, in principle with no more than two banks, after a directory registration valid for five years; a single transaction is in principle capped at USD 50,000. source
Individual FX settlement (selling foreign currency for RMB) and domestic individual FX purchase are each subject to an annual facilitation quota of USD 50,000 per person; within the quota an individual needs only valid ID at the bank, under SAFE's Current Account FX Business Guidelines (2020 edition). source
Alipay Payment Technology states that it provides acceptance of inward remittances of foreign exchange from overseas and foreign exchange settlement through its bank partner, paying users in RMB at the bank partner's exchange rate. source
A February 2026 notice from the PBOC and seven other authorities (Yinfa No. 42 [2026]) treats virtual currency activities as illegal financial activities, bars overseas organisations from providing virtual currency services to domestic entities, bars financial institutions including non-bank payment institutions from providing account opening, transfer, clearing or settlement for them, and prohibits issuing RMB-pegged stablecoins overseas without approval. source

This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal or regulatory advice. Check the primary source and take advice on how the rules apply to your firm.

Payout rails in China

Rail	Operator	What matters for payouts	Source
IBPS (Internet Banking Payment System)	PBOC China National Clearing Center (CNCC)	Retail interbank system that operated on all 365 days of 2025, averaging 46.69 million transactions a day.	source
HVPS (High-Value Payment System)	PBOC China National Clearing Center (CNCC)	From 19 October 2026 HVPS accepts business on statutory working days from 19:00 the previous day to 17:15, with a 17:15 to 17:30 clearing window; at weekends and on public holidays it handles only specific business and takes no transfers initiated by the public or companies.	source
CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System)	CIPS Co., Ltd., approved by the PBOC	Runs 5x24 hours plus 4 hours: a day session from 8:30 to 17:30 and a night session from 17:00 to 8:30 the next day on business days, with the day session starting at 4:30 on the first business day after a public holiday; it also supports services during domestic holidays as announced.	source

The China payments stack, layer by layer

The providers below are a starting shortlist for each layer, described from their own documentation. Confirm terms, coverage and licences with each provider.

Payout and collection partners

Provider	What it does in China	Source
Alipay cross-border remittance	Alipay's inbound remittance page lists partner senders including AlipayHK, Alipay (Macau), Western Union, Panda Remit, Remitly, Wise, GME, WireBarley, Hanpass and OrbitRemit, paying into Alipay accounts in China.	source
Tenpay Global (Weixin Pay)	Tencent's cross-border payment platform supports remittances from 60+ countries and regions to the Chinese mainland, received into the Weixin Wallet balance or bank cards linked to Weixin, working with banks to safeguard funds; it says funds can be sent and received in as little as one minute.	source
Thunes · our guide	Sends payments to Weixin users in China and, through a direct connection to UnionPay launched in January 2026, to UnionPay debit cards at 79 Chinese banks, credited in real time or within 12 hours.	source
Nium · our guide	Lists CNY payouts by local bank transfer, wallet, local wire, Visa Direct and UnionPay; B2B bank payouts require order details such as order number, amount and commodity.	source
TerraPay · our guide	Its network page lists China for wallet, bank and card payouts in CNY and USD, with USD available only for banks.	source
Wise	Personal customers can send from 25 currencies to Alipay, credited to the recipient's Alipay wallet or linked bank account, up to CNY 50,000 per transfer; recipients must be Chinese citizens registered with a Mainland Resident ID card.	source

Local banking and settlement accounts

Provider	What it does in China	Source
HSBC China (NRA accounts)	Offshore entities can open onshore foreign currency or RMB non-resident accounts (NRA) to receive funds from domestic or offshore payers and pay offshore beneficiaries; NRA FX settlement applies only in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.	source
Bank of Communications (cross-border RMB vostro)	Handles cross-border RMB settlement for overseas participating banks that open RMB vostro accounts with it, including RMB purchase and sale against major currencies and T+0 account financing.	source

FX and liquidity

Provider	What it does in China	Source
CNY central parity (CFETS)	CFETS, authorised by the PBOC, publishes the RMB central parity at 9:15 each business day, and USD/CNY spot trades on the interbank market can move up to 2% either side of it.	source
Interbank FX market (CFETS)	Since 3 January 2023 the interbank FX market trades from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Beijing time, covering Asian, European and North American hours.	source

KYC and KYB providers

Provider	What it does in China	Source
bronID	Verifies name and 18-digit national ID (and date of birth and address) against the China National ID Database, with 95% adult coverage, plus a consent-based UnionPay source and company registry checks.	source
QCC KYC	Company reports built from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, court judgments and enforcement records, including UBO reports tracing ownership to natural persons.	source
Know Your Customer	KYB API retrieving China company records live from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, with controlling parties, shareholders and a registry report.	source

Funding and prefunding CNY payouts

The interbank FX market is closed for CNY on weekends and on 19 weekday holidays in 2026, including 16 to 20 and 23 February and 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 October; CFETS publishes separate holiday lists for USD and other traded currencies. source
Mainland public holidays move working days onto weekends: in 2026 the State Council made 4 January and 20 September (Sundays) and 14 February, 28 February, 9 May and 10 October (Saturdays) working days. source
HVPS takes no public or corporate transfers at weekends and on public holidays, so high-value RMB funding has to land by the 17:15 cut-off on the last working day before a break, while IBPS runs every day. source
For cross-border e-commerce transactions, payment institutions must complete foreign exchange settlement and sale within the first working day (T+1) after the date funds are received (T), and hold client foreign exchange in a dedicated 'PIA' provision account at each cooperative bank, checked daily. source
Recipients who have used their USD 50,000 annual conversion quota must give the receiving bank supporting documents on the use of funds, while salary remittances verified by the processing bank do not use the quota (HKMA guidance on Mainland rules, July 2026). source

Size the prefund to your runway target with the corridor runway calculator and the China holiday calendar.

Launch checklist

Plan: launch volume, the prefund sized to your runway target including weekends and holidays, the contracting entity and the funding route.
Open accounts: shortlist payout partners and a local banking route from the layers above, and prepare the onboarding pack.
Set up: read access to every new balance, a runway target with alerts, and the corridor in your daily reports.
Go live: the first prefund and a test payout, then daily monitoring.

Polynopsis turns this into one plan with named approvals, then shows every China partner, bank and wallet in one live position. See how a corridor launch works.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign money transfer operator pay out directly to Chinese individuals?

Not as an unlicensed offshore non-bank: under the 2024 payment regulations it must set up a licensed non-bank payment institution in China to serve mainland users. Most foreign remittance companies connect instead to Alipay, Tenpay Global's Weixin service, UnionPay or Chinese banks.

What is the USD 50,000 quota?

SAFE's annual facilitation quota per person for individual FX settlement and for domestic individual FX purchase. Within it a recipient converts with ID only; above it the bank asks for documents on the use of funds.

How fast do payouts to China arrive?

Thunes credits UnionPay debit cards at 79 Chinese banks in real time or within 12 hours, and Tenpay Global says Weixin remittances can be received in as little as one minute.

Can stablecoins be used to fund China payouts?

No. A February 2026 PBOC-led notice treats virtual currency activities as illegal, bars financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions from serving them, and prohibits issuing RMB-pegged stablecoins overseas without approval.

When can large RMB payments settle?

HVPS accepts business from 19:00 the previous day to 17:15 on statutory working days, and takes no public or corporate transfers at weekends and on public holidays. CIPS runs 5x24 hours plus 4 hours, and IBPS runs every day.

How much can be sent to an Alipay user in one transfer?

Wise allows up to CNY 50,000 per transfer to Alipay, to recipients who are Chinese citizens with a Mainland Resident ID card.

Other markets

Sources

Know where all your money is.

Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.

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About Polynopsis

Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.

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