On today’s numbers, sending $1,000, Remitly delivers ¥6,619.97 and Wise ¥6,585.31: ¥34.67 more with Remitly.
There’s no way to pay into Alipay directly from a US bank, so you use a licensed transfer service that pays out to the recipient’s Alipay in yuan. Wise, Remitly and Western Union all do; here is what each delivers today, paid from a US bank account.
What arrives in Alipay today
CNY that arrives and total cost versus the mid-market rate
Amount
WisePay by bank (ACH) → bank card / AlipayLive
RemitlyBank account or debit cardLive
Western Union → Alipay / WeixinPay from bank accountEstimate
You pay $500
¥3,281.07Total cost $8.52 (1.70%)
¥3,303.39Total cost $5.18 (1.04%)Most received
¥3,287.03Total cost $7.63 (1.53%)
You pay $1,000
¥6,585.31Total cost $13.57 (1.36%)
¥6,619.97Total cost $8.38 (0.84%)Most received
¥6,580.59Total cost $14.28 (1.43%)
You pay $5,000
¥33,019.20Total cost $53.97 (1.08%)
¥33,269.45Total cost $16.48 (0.33%)Most received
¥32,929.03Total cost $67.48 (1.35%)
Computed at the mid-market rate 1 USD = 6.6759 CNY (Frankfurter (blended central-bank rates), 2026-10-20); bank wires in USD use Bank of China’s TT buying rate 6.6664. All of today’s rates
Remitly’s quote is its standard rate from the comparison feed for China; it pays out to bank accounts, Alipay or Weixin. Western Union → Alipay / Weixin is from its estimator on the date shown (estimate).
Fees, exchange rate and data source
How each one is priced (at $1,000)
Provider
Fees
Delivery
Data
Wise · Pay by bank (ACH) → bank card / Alipay
$3.47 + 1.01% sending fee, converts at the mid-market rate
Online. Pays out CNY to a UnionPay card, Alipay or Weixin.
Wise: Alipay and Weixin up to 50,000 CNY per transfer; UnionPay cards up to 33,000 CNY.
Wise says it converts at the live mid-market rate and charges an upfront fee. The fees above come from Wise’s live price table (flat fee plus the effective percentage at $1,000) and refresh automatically.
Recipient must be a mainland Chinese citizen (Alipay also accepts HK/Macao residents with a Mainland Travel Permit). Alipay caps apply across all services, e.g. family support 800,000 CNY a year.
Wise gives a discount on amounts over 25,000 USD a month, not modelled here.
Online. Pays out to a bank account, Alipay or Weixin.
Remitly publishes a $1.99 fee for China but not its exchange-rate markup. The fee and markup here are Remitly’s standard quotes at $100, $1,000 and $5,000 as recorded by Wise’s price comparison (time shown above).
New customers: no fee on the first transfer and a promotional rate on the first 2,000 USD (not modelled).
Remitly’s US maximum is 300,000 USD; your own limit depends on verification and delivery method.
Online, paid out to the recipient’s Alipay or Weixin wallet.
Western Union says it “makes money from FX” but publishes no markup or China fee table. Fee and rate here are what its online price estimator returned for $1,000 on 2026-10-18 (rate 6.5974 vs mid 6.6865); they vary by amount and day.
First online transfer: $0 transfer fee (not for credit cards; FX gains still apply).
Other services that pay out to Alipay (not ranked)
Their exchange rates are shown only inside a quote, so we can’t compute them. Published facts only.
Xoom (PayPal): To bank cards, Alipay and Weixin. Published: no Xoom fee on USD transfers of $1,000+ funded by bank account or PayPal balance. Rates are shown only in a quote.
With Wise, Remitly, Western Union and similar services the conversion happens before payout, and the recipient receives CNY. We found no official SAFE statement on whether that counts against the recipient’s $50,000 quota.
The closest rule (Guide art. 137) says FX settlement under Chinese payment institutions’ FX business doesn’t count toward the quota, but it covers specific licensed payment-institution business, mainly e-commerce. Don’t assume it applies to your transfer.
Providers apply their own limits instead, e.g. Alipay’s per-transfer and annual caps.
What is the cheapest way to send money to Alipay from the US?
On today’s numbers, sending $500, Remitly delivers ¥3,303.39 and Western Union → Alipay / Weixin (estimate) ¥3,287.03: ¥16.35 more with Remitly. On today’s numbers, sending $1,000, Remitly delivers ¥6,619.97 and Wise ¥6,585.31: ¥34.67 more with Remitly. On today’s numbers, sending $5,000, Remitly delivers ¥33,269.45 and Wise ¥33,019.20: ¥250.25 more with Remitly. Confirm the final quote in the provider’s app before sending.
Can I send money with Alipay itself from the US?
Alipay has no consumer product for US senders; its Alipay+ Remittance network works only through licensed partners such as those above.
How much can I send to Alipay, and who can receive?
Wise: Alipay and Weixin up to 50,000 CNY per transfer; UnionPay cards up to 33,000 CNY. Recipient must be a mainland Chinese citizen (Alipay also accepts HK/Macao residents with a Mainland Travel Permit). Alipay caps apply across all services, e.g. family support 800,000 CNY a year.
Does money that arrives in Alipay count against the $50,000 SAFE quota?
With Wise, Remitly, Western Union and similar services the conversion happens before payout, and the recipient receives CNY. We found no official SAFE statement on whether that counts against the recipient’s $50,000 quota. Providers apply their own limits instead, e.g. Alipay’s per-transfer and annual caps.
