On today’s numbers, sending $1,000, Wise delivers ¥6,585.31 and Western Union → Alipay / Weixin (estimate) ¥6,580.59: ¥4.72 more with Wise.
Both send US dollars that arrive in China as yuan. The real price is the fee plus how far each one’s exchange rate sits below the mid-market rate, so we compare what actually arrives. Numbers below are recalculated about every 15 minutes from live data, with the time each provider’s quote was collected.
What arrives today
CNY that arrives and total cost versus the mid-market rate
Amount
WisePay by bank (ACH) → bank card / AlipayLive
Western Union → bank accountPay from bank accountLive
Western Union → Alipay / WeixinPay from bank accountEstimate
You pay $500
¥3,281.07Total cost $8.52 (1.70%)
¥3,251.19Total cost $13.00 (2.60%)
¥3,287.03Total cost $7.63 (1.53%)Most received
You pay $1,000
¥6,585.31Total cost $13.57 (1.36%)Most received
¥6,515.37Total cost $24.05 (2.40%)
¥6,580.59Total cost $14.28 (1.43%)
You pay $5,000
¥33,019.20Total cost $53.97 (1.08%)Most received
¥32,628.82Total cost $112.45 (2.25%)
¥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
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, to a Chinese bank account with a UnionPay card (starts with 62).
Western Union: up to $7,000 online to bank accounts in China.
Fee and markup are Western Union’s quote for a bank-account payout paid from a bank account, as recorded by Wise’s price comparison (time shown above). Not a published schedule; check your own quote. The debit-card fee is from WU’s estimator on 2026-10-18.
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).
Is Wise or Western Union cheaper for sending money to China?
On today’s numbers, sending $500, Western Union → Alipay / Weixin (estimate) delivers ¥3,287.03 and Wise ¥3,281.07: ¥5.96 more with Western Union → Alipay / Weixin. On today’s numbers, sending $1,000, Wise delivers ¥6,585.31 and Western Union → Alipay / Weixin (estimate) ¥6,580.59: ¥4.72 more with Wise. On today’s numbers, sending $5,000, Wise delivers ¥33,019.20 and Western Union → Alipay / Weixin (estimate) ¥32,929.03: ¥90.17 more with Wise. Quotes change several times a day and differ by pay-in method and promotions, so confirm in the provider’s app before sending.
How does Wise charge for transfers to China?
At $1,000: $3.47 + 1.01% sending fee, converts at the mid-market rate. 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.
How does Western Union → bank account charge for transfers to China?
At $1,000: $1.99 sending fee, exchange rate 2.21% below mid-market. Fee and markup are Western Union’s quote for a bank-account payout paid from a bank account, as recorded by Wise’s price comparison (time shown above). Not a published schedule; check your own quote. The debit-card fee is from WU’s estimator on 2026-10-18.
How does Western Union → Alipay / Weixin charge for transfers to China?
At $1,000: $0.99 sending fee, exchange rate 1.33% below mid-market. 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.
Wise: About 1 day (Wise’s estimate on 10/18); Western Union → bank account: About 1 day (WU estimator); Western Union → Alipay / Weixin: About 1 day (WU estimator).
