How to easily pay your China-based suppliers

Opening the door to Asia

Although buying from China is easier than ever thanks to advances in transportation and communication, it can still seem daunting.

WorldFirst can help your business pay Asian suppliers like a local, with fast and secure same day and next day transfers in CNH, EUR USD & HKD to Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Speed up payments, and your supply chain

Access our networks and over a decade of experience helping businesses pay into China.

Currency	Settlement time	Payment cut off time	Full value transfer*	Pay "on behalf of"**
CNH	Same day	GMT 10:00	Yes	Yes - notes required**
USD	Next day	GMT 17:30	Yes	Yes
CNH	Same day	GMT 12:00	Yes	Yes
USD	Same day	GMT 10:30	Yes	Yes
HKD	Same day	GMT 10:30	Yes	Yes
USD***	Same day	GMT 17:30	Yes	Yes

^{* Full value transfer: Your beneficiary will receive the entire funds, without any foreign bank charges.}

^{** Pay on behalf of: WorldFirst send payments on behalf of you the customer, providing clarity and ease of reconciliation when payments are received by the beneficiary in your name. Please note: for CNH payments you also need to include "on behalf of [customer name]" in payment notes.}

^{*** When opting to pay suppliers on Alibaba.com by transfer to Singapore or Hong Kong, settlement accounts}

Benefits to your business

As part of our mission to make it easy to do business anywhere, we offer enhanced payment capabilities West to East.

Speed up international payments

WorldFirst can reach banks anywhere in China. Transactions can be settled directly in CNH with same-day and next-day payment options
Extend your business reach with same-day USD and HKD payments to any Hong Kong-based account
Hong Kong-based beneficiaries can receive funds more efficiently with WorldFirst’s local pay-out capability

Increased flexibility

Increase your negotiation power. Making payments directly in CNH rather than USD is quick, convenient, and can save you money
Flexibility to pay Chinese suppliers in CNH, USD, HKD, or EUR
Open CNH* and HKD* currency accounts, to collect, convert or make payments

^{*Currency accounts located in Hong Kong}

Experience and networks

WorldFirst has made more than 1 million payments into China over the past 12 months, valued at almost €14.8bn
Since 2019, we've been part of Ant Group, the operator of digital lifestyle platform Alipay. Alipay serves 1.3 billion users worldwide with its global e-wallet partners, allowing us to leverage one of the largest global commerce ecosystems in the world

FAQs

China’s currency is officially called the renminbi.

Renminbi comes in two forms: onshore and offshore. Onshore renminbi (CNY) is used in mainland China and offshore renminbi (CNH) outside China.

The yuan is actually the unit of account. It was first issued by the People’s Bank of China in 1948. Whilst the two terms are used interchangeably, the relationship is similar to that of Sterling and pounds in the UK.

The main differences between the CNH and CNY are the regulations and restrictions imposed upon them and their use. Transactions in CNY are restricted to onshore use while CNH is not. While the local value of CNY is dictated by the People’s Bank of China, CNH is freely tradeable like most other currencies. This can lead to the value of the currencies diverging and on any day of the week an offshore yuan (CNH) being valued by the markets as worth more or less than one available on the Chinese mainland (CNY).

A Chinese seller may not have the required regulatory documents in place in China, i.e. an export license. This often results in returned CNH payments as the China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) will block the payment. Always check with your supplier to ensure they are licensed to export goods, and that they can provide the necessary documents to their bank in China.

More information about SAFE

According to SAFE guidelines, when a corporate (the beneficiary) handles the foreign exchange receipts and payments for goods trades, the bank may inquire about the corporate directory information and classification information.

This is conducted via the SAFE system in accordance with the business development principles of "know your customers", "know your business", and "due diligence" and the provisions of these guidelines to confirm the authenticity, rationality and logic of the receipt and payment.

The bank may confirm, but are not limited to: nature of the fund, the transaction entity, amount, and other elements listed in the transaction document are consistent with the foreign exchange business.

More information about SAFE

Pre-payment (payments before the export of goods): sales contracts, commercial invoices, etc. The bank may require receipt of the final payment within 30 days and the corresponding export certificate.

Post payment (payments after the export of goods): sales contract, commercial invoices, bill of lading, customs declaration and other information required by the bank.

Note: The above is not a comprehensive list. Please check with your supplier to ensure you are supplying all necessary documentation.

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