Sending money from the United Kingdom to China: the payments stack
Sending GBP 120 from the United Kingdom to China cost 4.27% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 23 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in China typically run over IBPS (Internet Banking Payment System), HVPS (High-Value Payment System); between now and the end of 2027 there are 8 weekdays when banks in the United Kingdom are closed but China keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 4.27% of GBP 120 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.27% across 23 services |
| Collect in United Kingdom | Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs (Direct Credit and Direct Debit) |
| Pay out in China | IBPS (Internet Banking Payment System), HVPS (High-Value Payment System), CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System) |
What it costs to send GBP 120
The World Bank surveyed 23 services sending from the United Kingdom to China from 8 August 2025 to 20 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 4.27% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.27%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United Kingdom
- Money remittance and the execution of credit transfers and direct debits are payment services under the Payment Services Regulations 2017; a firm providing them must be an authorised payment institution or a small payment institution unless it is already another type of payment service provider or is exempt. Issuing e-money requires authorisation or registration under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. source
- Initial capital for an authorised payment institution is 20,000 euros for money remittance only, 50,000 euros for payment initiation and 125,000 euros for the services in paragraphs 1(a) to (e) of Schedule 1, such as executing payment transactions (PSRs 2017, Schedule 3). source
- An authorised e-money institution needs initial capital of at least 350,000 euros; a small e-money institution with average outstanding e-money of 500,000 euros or more holds at least 2% of that amount (EMRs 2011, Schedule 2). source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United Kingdom.
The payout side: China
| Payout partner | 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 |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in China: launching payments in China.
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 |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 8 dates when the United Kingdom is closed and China is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 11 dates when China is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United Kingdom | China | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year's Day | Both closed |
| Fri 5 Feb 2027 | Open | Spring Festival (Lunar New Year's Eve) | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 8 Feb 2027 | Open | Spring Festival (third day) | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 9 Feb 2027 | Open | Spring Festival make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 10 Feb 2027 | Open | Spring Festival make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Easter Monday | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 5 Apr 2027 | Open | Qingming Festival | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Early May bank holiday | Labour Day make-up day off | Both closed |
| Tue 4 May 2027 | Open | Labour Day make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Spring bank holiday | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Wed 9 Jun 2027 | Open | Dragon Boat Festival | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 30 Aug 2027 | Summer bank holiday | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Wed 15 Sep 2027 | Open | Mid-Autumn Festival | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 1 Oct 2027 | Open | National Day | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 4 Oct 2027 | Open | National Day make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 5 Oct 2027 | Open | National Day make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 27 Dec 2027 | Christmas Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Tue 28 Dec 2027 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
Full calendars: United Kingdom and China. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Faster Payments is available to customers 24/7, but net settlement between participants takes place in the Bank of England RTGS system three times each business day. source
- CHAPS does not run on weekends or England and Wales bank holidays, and the customer payment deadline is 17:40, so any same-day sterling funding of an overseas account must be instructed before then. source
- 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
Running the corridor
Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in United Kingdom, the payout partners and banks in China and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the China balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from the United Kingdom to China?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending GBP 120 at 4.27% in Q3 2025, across 23 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.27%.
Which rails pay out in China?
Local payouts run over IBPS (Internet Banking Payment System), HVPS (High-Value Payment System), CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System).
When do I need to prefund China payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 8 weekdays when the United Kingdom is closed and China is open, the first on Fri 25 Dec 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- UK bank holidays (JSON feed) · GOV.UK
- UK bank holidays · GOV.UK
- State Council Decree No. 795: Decision on amending the National Holidays Measures · Central People's Government of the PRC
- Notice of the General Office of the State Council on the 2026 holiday arrangements (Guo Ban Fa Ming Dian [2025] No. 7) · Central People's Government of the PRC
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.
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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