Sources: People's Bank of China and provider disclosures, 2024–2025.
How China pays
China is the world's most wallet-driven market. Two super-apps, Alipay and WeChat Pay, carry everyday payments online and in store, mostly through QR codes, and shoppers rarely type a card number. Underneath sits UnionPay, the domestic card scheme on almost every Chinese bank card, which is also the card Chinese travelers and cross-border shoppers carry abroad.
The People's Bank of China supervises payments, and buying from abroad in yuan involves cross-border rules and currency controls. For an international merchant selling to Chinese buyers, the question is reaching them in the way they already pay: cards, wallets and local methods behind one integration, routing across acquirers to protect approvals, and 3DS on card-not-present payments, with FX handled for you.
Why merchants run on us here
Wallets first
Alipay and WeChat Pay are how China pays, so a checkout for Chinese buyers starts there.
UnionPay-aware routing
Most Chinese cards run on UnionPay, so routing by card scheme and origin matters.
Cards and wallets in one integration
International cards and the express wallets, with 3DS and retries across acquirers.
Yuan pricing and FX
Show prices in CNY and settle in your base currency, with FX handled for you.
Payment methods
Cards
Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
Diners Club
JCB
UnionPayBuy Now, Pay Later
Sandbox BNPLDigital wallets
PayPalExpress checkout
Apple Pay
Google PayGateways
Sandbox BNPLPayPal
Airwallex
Stripe
Adyen
Unlimit
Worldpay
Checkout.com
Authorize.net
MPGS
Cybersource
Sandbox GatewayAirwallex (Enterprise)
Braintree
CommerceHub
Fiserve
NMI
Nuvei
OrbitalBuilt for enterprise
Everything it takes to run payments in China
Local payment methods are only half the job. We carry the operational weight — acquiring, settlement, FX, licensing and reconciliation — so you can treat China like any other market in your stack.
One integration, every local method
Connect once and reach every card scheme, wallet, bank rail and installment provider in China through a single API — no separate contract or integration per provider.
Local acquiring, higher approvals
We route to local acquirers and retry failed payments across alternate rails, so domestic cards and wallets authorize at local rates instead of being declined as cross-border traffic.
Settlement, FX & repatriation
Collect in the Chinese yuan renminbi (CNY) and settle in your base currency. We handle the FX conversion and the local rules for moving funds out of the country — the part most global merchants underestimate.
Licensing handled locally
Process through our locally licensed partner entities. You launch without standing up a local entity or chasing a payments license of your own.
Payouts & reconciliation
Pay out to sellers and process refunds on the same rails you collect on, and reconcile every flow — pay-in, payout, refund — in one ledger, in local or base currency.
Fraud, disputes & compliance
Real-time screening, chargeback and dispute handling, and KYC/AML that matches local regulator expectations — built in, not bolted on.
Ready to launch in China?
Talk to our payments team about going live in China — coverage, local acquiring, settlement and timelines for your business.