Sending money from the United States to China: the payments stack
Sending USD 200 from the United States to China cost 6.62% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 22 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 11 weekdays when banks in the United States are closed but China keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 6.62% of USD 200 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.2% across 18 services |
| Banks | 17.5% across 4 services |
| Collect in United States | FedNow Service, FedNow network limit, RTP network, Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH and Same Day ACH, Same Day ACH limit |
| 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 USD 200
The World Bank surveyed 22 services sending from the United States to China from 13 August 2025 to 20 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 6.62% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.2% and banks 17.5%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United States
- With few exceptions, each money services business must register with the US Treasury through FinCEN by filing FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of being established, and must renew the registration every two years; a business that is an MSB only because it acts as agent of another MSB does not register. source
- Money transmission is also licensed state by state. As of September 2026, 31 states have enacted the CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act in full or in part, and money transmitters licensed in at least one adopting state account for 99% of reported money transmission activity. source
- The Money Transmission Modernization Act sets a minimum tangible net worth of the greater of US$100,000 or 3% of total assets for the first US$100 million, 2% of assets from US$100 million to US$1 billion and 0.5% of assets above US$1 billion, and encourages states to run licensing, surety bonds and reporting through NMLS. source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United States.
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 11 dates when the United States is closed and China is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 12 dates when China is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United States | China | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 11 Nov 2026 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 26 Nov 2026 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year's Day | Both closed |
| Mon 18 Jan 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| 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 |
| Mon 15 Feb 2027 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 5 Apr 2027 | Open | Qingming Festival | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Open | Labour Day make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 4 May 2027 | Open | Labour Day make-up day off | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Memorial Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Wed 9 Jun 2027 | Open | Dragon Boat Festival | China banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 5 Jul 2027 | Independence Day (observed) | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 6 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, 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 11 Oct 2027 | Columbus Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 11 Nov 2027 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 25 Nov 2027 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund China the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
Full calendars: United States and China. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Fedwire does not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays; the Monday business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and every business day closes at 7:00 p.m. ET, with customer transfers cut off at 6:45 p.m. ET. source
- Federal Reserve holidays in the rest of 2026 are Veterans Day (11 November), Thanksgiving (26 November) and Christmas (Friday 25 December); in 2027, Juneteenth (19 June) and Christmas (25 December) fall on Saturdays, so the Reserve Banks open on the Friday before. 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 States, 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 States to China?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending USD 200 at 6.62% in Q3 2025, across 22 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.2%.
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 11 weekdays when the United States is closed and China is open, the first on Wed 11 Nov 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Holiday Schedules (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 to 2030, plus FedACH holiday processing) · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- 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.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator